Anpanman

, written by Takashi Yanase, a Japanese writer of children's stories, is one of the most popular anime cartoon series in Japan. It is produced by Nippon Television Network Corporation. Each animated cartoon is approximately 24 minutes long split into 2 episodes of approximately 12 minutes each.

Yanase has been writing Anpanman since 1968. The television series called has been on the air in Japan since 1988.

As of September 26, 2006, Anpanman's books have collectively sold over 50 million copies in Japan.

In 2005, according to research by Bandai, Anpanman is the most popular fictional character from age 0 to 12 years in Japan. He particularly appeals to the younger end of that age group.

Yanase became inspired by the idea of Anpanman while struggling to survive as a soldier in World War II. He many times became faced with the prospect of starvation which made him dream about eating a bean-jam filled pastry called Anpan.

Characters

In each episode, Anpanman fights with Baikinman and helps the people of the town. He always goes on patrol in the area around the house of Jam Ojisan. He is a symbol of justice, fighting for the cause of justice every day. Anpanman has a long history and new characters are frequently introduced, keeping the series fresh. According to the 2005 Anpanman Large Catalog (アンパンマン大図鑑), there have been 1500 characters that are either unique or a variation of an existing character introduced up to this point.

Name	Japanese name	Voice actor	Description	Techniques/Abilities
Anpanman	アンパンマン	Keiko Toda	He is the main character of the anime, whose head is a bun made by Jam Ojisan. His name comes from the fact that he is a man with a head made of bread (Japanese: pan, a loanword from the Portuguese word meaning "bread") that is filled with bean jam (Japanese: an) called an anpan. His weakness is water or anything that makes his head dirty. He regains his health and strength when Jam Ojisan bakes him a new head and it is placed on his shoulders. Anpanman's damaged head, with Xs in his eyes, flies off his shoulders once a new baked head lands. He was created when a shooting star landed in Jam Ojisan's oven while he was baking.	He has two special attacks called: An-punch and An-kick (with stronger variations of both). When Anpanman comes across a starving creature or person, he lets the unfortunate creature or person eat part of his head. He also has super hearing in that he can respond to anyone that calls his name out in distress from anywhere in the world.
Jam Ojisan	ジャムおじさん	Hiroshi Masuoka	The father of Anpanman, and a very kind baker. His name means "Uncle Jam".	A skilled cook with knowledge of nearly everything in the world.
Batako	バタコ	Rei Sakuma	Assistant to Jam Ojisan. She's dedicated and hard working, but sometimes forgetful. Her name means "Butter Girl".	She makes and mends the capes Anpanman and the other heroes use to fly with.
Baikinman	ばいきんまん	Ryūsei Nakao	The villain in the story, coming from "Germ World" (ばいきん星), he is the leader of the Viruses. His name means "Germ Man". His ambition is to destroy Anpanman and turn the planet into another "Germ World", yet he is perfectly content to play tricks, steal, and bully those weaker than him. He and Anpanman were born at the same time, which can be taken to mean the embodiment of the dichotomy of Good and Evil. He has a weakness to soap, which shrinks him to the size of a fly.	Has a genius level intellect which allows him to construct machines and think of intricate plans to counteract Anpanman's strength.
Dokin(-chan)	ドキンちゃん	Hiromi Tsuru	Baikinman's female partner in crime. She is selfish, childish, and greedy, but sometimes shows kindness. She has a crush on Shokupanman. Her name is a combination of the onomatopoeia for a quickly beating heart, "Doki", and the diminutive/affectionate suffix "-chan". When she was first introduced to the show, her name was simply "Dokin", but over the course of the show, the "-chan" suffix became a permanent and official part of her name.
Kabirunrun	かびるんるん	unknown	These are Baikinman's little henchmen.	They can rot Anpanman's head with mildew/mold (Japanese: kabi).
Cheese	チーズ	Kōichi Yamadera	Jam Ojisan's dog. He became a loyal friend after Anpanman saved his life in the manga. In the anime, a young Anpanman feeds Cheese, who is starving, a part of his head as a part of his very first patrol and became inseparable afterwards.
Shokupanman	しょくぱんまん	Sumi Shimamoto	A friend of Anpanman. His head is made from sliced white bread (Japanese: shoku pan). He is level-headed and kind, but narcissistic. Tends to be the thinker of the trio. His job when not helping Anpanman is serving lunch to the schoolchildren.	Wields the Shoku-punch and Shoku-kick, which are similar to Anpanman's fighting techniques.
Currypanman	カレーパンマン	Michiyo Yanagisawa	Another of Anpanman's friends. His head is made from curry filled bread. He is quick tempered and hot-headed on the surface, but gives way to a kind and sentimental interior. Tends to be the strongman of the trio.	Wields the Curry-punch and Curry-kick, which are similar to Anpanman's fighting techniques. He can also use the hot curry concealed in his head as a weapon, using it to burn the bad guys' eyes.
Melonpanna	メロンパンナ	Mika Kanai	Anpanman's friend. Her head is made from melon bread. Sometimes she likes hanging out with Cheese.	Her special attack, the Melo-Melo Punch, makes bad guys woozy with affection.
Rollpanna	ロールパンナ	Miina Tominaga	Melonpanna's sister who has two hearts: A red one of goodness, and thanks to Baikinman, a black one of evil. The sight of Anpanman can trigger her evil heart while the sight of Melonpanna can trigger her good one. She started out in the series as a loner at Baikinman's beck and call, but she broke from his power and wanders the world doing good deeds, but stays away from others for fear of what she would do if her black heart is triggered. Her nickname is "The tragic heroine".	Uses a gymnastics ribbon as her main weapon. She can use it to wrap up her enemies or cause tornadoes.

Movies

Soreike! Anpanman: Melonpanna and the Unicorns (?????? ?????) 1989
Soreike! Anpanman: Shining Star's Tear (それいけ! アンパンマンキラキラ星の涙) 1989
Soreike! Anpanman: Baikinman's Counterattack (それいけ! アンパンマンばいきんまんの逆襲) 1990
Soreike! Anpanman: Fly! Fly! Chibigon! (それいけ! アンパンマンとべ! とべ! ちびごん) 1991
Soreike! Anpanman: The Secret of Building Block Castle (それいけ! アンパンマンつみき城のひみつ) 1992
Soreike! Anpanman: Nosshi the Dinosaur's Big Adventure (恐竜ノッシーの大冒険) 1993
Soreike! Anpanman: Lyrical Magical Witch's School (リリカル☆マジカルまほうの学校) 1994
Soreike! Anpanman: Let's Defeat the Ghost Ship! (それいけ! アンパンマンゆうれい船をやっつけろ!!) 1995
Soreike! Anpanman: The Flying Picture Book and the Glass Shoes (それいけ! アンパンマン空とぶ絵本とガラスの靴) 1996
Soreike! Anpanman: The Pyramid of the Rainbow (それいけ! アンパンマン虹のピラミッド) 1997
Soreike! Anpanman: Palm of the Hand to the Sun (それいけ! アンパンマンてのひらを太陽に) 1998
Soreike! Anpanman: When the Flower of Courage Opens (それいけ! アンパンマン勇気の花がひらくとき) 1999
Soreike! Anpanman: Tears of the Mermaid Princess (それいけ! アンパンマン人魚姫のなみだ) 2000
Soreike! Anpanman: Gomira's Star (それいけ! アンパンマンゴミラの星) 2001
Soreike! Anpanman: The Secret of Roll and Roura's Floating Castle (それいけ! アンパンマンロールとローラうきぐも城のひみつ) 2002
Soreike! Anpanman: Rubii's Wish (ルビーの願い) 2003
Soreike! Anpanman: Nyanii of the Country of Dream Cats (夢猫の国のニャニイ) 2004
Soreike! Anpanman: Hapii's Big Adventure (ハピーの大冒険) 2005
Soreike! Anpanman: Dorii of the Star of Life (それいけ! アンパンマンいのちの星のドーリィ) 2006
Soreike! Anpanman: Purun of Bubbles (シャボン玉のプルン) 2007
Soreike! Anpanman: Fairy Rinrin's Secret (それいけ！アンパンマン　妖精リンリンのひみつ) 2008

Animated shorts

These are short subject Anpanman anime of around 24 minutes that were shown in conjunction with the full length movies above. The shorts made in 1989 and 1993 are the only ones made not involving the world of Anpanman.

Robotan and Onegai Samia Don (ロボタンおねがい！サミアどん) 1989
Soreike! Anpanman: Omusubiman (それいけ! アンパンマンおむすびまん) 1990
Soreike! Anpanman: Dokinchan's Doki Doki Calendar (それいけ! アンパンマンドキンちゃんのドキドキカレンダー) 1991
Soreike! Anpanman: Anpanman and His Funny Friends (それいけ! アンパンマンアンパンマンとゆかいな仲間たち) 1992
Kaiketsu Zorori: "The Wizard's Apprentice" and "Find the Great Pirate Treasure" (かいけつゾロリまほう使いのでし大かいぞくの宝さがし) 1993
Soreike! Anpanman: Everyone Get Together! Anpanman World (それいけ! アンパンマンみんな集まれ! アンパンマンワールド) 1994
Soreike! Anpanman: Anpanman on Hapii's Birthday (それいけ! アンパンマンアンパンマンとハッピーおたんじょう日) 1995
Soreike! Anpanman: Baikinman and the San-"Bai" Punch (それいけ! アンパンマンばいきんまんと3ばいパンチ) 1996
Soreike! Anpanman: We're Heroes (それいけ! アンパンマンぼくらはヒーロー) 1997
Soreike! Anpanman: Anpanman and His Strange Friends (それいけ! アンパンマンアンパンマンとおかしな仲間) 1998
Soreike! Anpanman: Anpanman and His Fun Friends (それいけ! アンパンマンアンパンマンとたのしい仲間たち) 1999
Soreike! Anpanman: Yakisobapanman and Burakkusabotenman (それいけ! アンパンマンやきそばパンマンとブラックサボテンマン) 2000
Soreike! Anpanman: The Amazing Naganegiman and Yakisobapanman (それいけ! アンパンマン怪傑ナガネギマンとやきそばパンマン) 2001
Soreike! Anpanman: Tekkanomakichan and Gold Kamameshidon (それいけ! アンパンマン鉄火のマキちゃんと金のかまめしどん) 2002
Soreike! Anpanman: The Amazing Naganegiman and Princess Doremi (それいけ! アンパンマン怪傑ナガネギマンとドレミ姫) 2003
Soreike! Anpanman: Tsukiko and Shiratama: Heartracing Dancing (それいけ! アンパンマンつきことしらたま～ときめきダンシング～) 2004
Soreike! Anpanman: Snow Black and Motemote Baikinman (それいけ! アンパンマンくろゆき姫とモテモテばいきんまん) 2005
Soreike! Anpanman: Kokinchan and the Blue Tears (それいけ! アンパンマンコキンちゃんとあおいなみだ) 2006
Soreike! Anpanman: Horāman and Horāhorako (それいけ！　アンパンマン　ホラーマンとホラーホラコ) 2007

Notes of interest

Kōichi Yamadera and Mika Kanai, the voice actors for Cheese and Melonpanna respectively, were married. This is also translated in a way to the cartoon as Cheese spends most of his time in Melonpanna's company in the episodes she's in. Yamadera also does voices for recurring characters in the show, such as Kamameshidon. They divorced in Spring of 2006.
Spawned a short lived spin-off show after one of the more popular recurring characters on the show, Omusubiman.
Outer Space in Anpanman episodes and movies are breatheable and hospitable environments.
Anpanman doesn't need food or drink to sustain himself and has never been seen eating. It is believed the bean jam in his head gives him sustenance.
Anpanman movies usually follow the same general plotline - A person (usually a princess) comes from a foreign land or planet not previously mentioned, Baikinman unlocks some dark secret and controls a weapon or monster able to polymorph people, and with the help of the aforementioned person, Anpanman destroys said weapon/monster. Sometimes the person dies, but is brought back to life with a tearful song from the characters.