Bonobono

Bonobono (ぼのぼの) is a yonkoma manga series by Mikio Igarashi. From March 1986 to March 1987, the series ran in the Takeshobo manga magazine Tensai Club before the magazine was replaced with Manga Club, where it has been serialized since April 1987. It has also been serialized in Manga Life since April 1986. It has been adapted into a television anime series, as well as two anime films and two video games.

While the series is considered a yonkoma manga, most of the "stories" use eight panels. The series follows the main character, a young sea otter after whom the manga is titled, and his daily adventures with his friends from the nearby forest. Bonobono combines gag comic and philosophical questions, bringing up comparisons to other manga such as Azumanga Daioh, and to films such as Forrest Gump.

In 1988, Bonobono won the Kodansha Manga Award in the General category. An anime film was released in theaters on 1993-11-13, and a television anime series was broadcast on TV Tokyo from 1995-04-20 through 1996-03-28. One day after the TV series began, a simulation game was released on the 3DO system. The following June, an adventure game was released on the PlayStation. Several ehon—or "picture books"—have been released since the manga series was first introduced over 20 years ago.

Books
In addition to the original tankōbon releases, the first twenty tankōbon volumes have been rereleased in bunkoban format as 10 volumes. Several stand-alone picture books have been released as well.

For the first film, an ekonte—or storyboard—volume and a set of four film comics have been released. hi

Tankōbon

 * Volume 1, ISBN 4884753178, March 1987, Takeshobo
 * Volume 2, ISBN 4884753186, December 1987, Takeshobo
 * Volume 3, ISBN 4884753194, September 1988, Takeshobo
 * Volume 4, ISBN 4884753208, August 1989, Takeshobo
 * Volume 5, ISBN 4884754689, September 1990, Takeshobo
 * Volume 6, ISBN 4884755162, June 1991, Takeshobo
 * Volume 7, ISBN 4884755553, November 1991, Takeshobo
 * Volume 8, ISBN 4884756452, May 1993, Takeshobo
 * Volume 9, ISBN 4884756703, October 1993, Takeshobo
 * Volume 10, ISBN 4884757610, November 1994, Takeshobo
 * Volume 11, ISBN 4884758277, August 1995, Takeshobo
 * Volume 12, ISBN 4812450012, January 1996, Takeshobo
 * Volume 13, ISBN 4812450853, September 1996, Takeshobo
 * Volume 14, ISBN 481245123X, March 1997, Takeshobo
 * Volume 15, ISBN 4812451663, December 1997, Takeshobo
 * Volume 16, ISBN 4812452309, September 1998, Takeshobo
 * Volume 17, ISBN 4812452503, August 1999, Takeshobo
 * Volume 18, ISBN 4812453305, December 1999, Takeshobo
 * Volume 19, ISBN 4812454158, August 2000, Takeshobo
 * Volume 20, ISBN 4812454654, January 2001, Takeshobo
 * Volume 21, ISBN 4812456665, 2002-05-27, Takeshobo
 * Volume 22, ISBN 4812457777, 2003-02-27, Takeshobo
 * Volume 23, ISBN 4812458382, 2003-07-26, Takeshobo
 * Volume 24, ISBN 4812459044, 2004-01-07, Takeshobo
 * Volume 25, ISBN 4812460093, 2005-07-27, Takeshobo
 * Volume 26, ISBN 4812460956, 2005-01-27, Takeshobo
 * Volume 27, ISBN 4812462738, 2005-10-07, Takeshobo
 * Volume 28, ISBN 4812464838, 2006-07-07, Takeshobo
 * Volume 29, ISBN 4812465745, 2007-04-07, Takeshobo

Bunkoban

 * Volume 1, ISBN 4812409381, July 2002, Takeshobo
 * Volume 2, ISBN 481240939X, July 2002, Takeshobo
 * Volume 3, ISBN 4812409403, July 2002, Takeshobo
 * Volume 4, ISBN 4812409411, July 2002, Takeshobo
 * Volume 5, ISBN 481240942X, July 2002, Takeshobo
 * Volume 6, ISBN 4812410533, January 2003, Takeshobo
 * Volume 7, ISBN 4812410541, January 2003, Takeshobo
 * Volume 8, ISBN 481241055X, January 2003, Takeshobo
 * Volume 9, ISBN 4812410568, January 2003, Takeshobo
 * Volume 10, ISBN 4812410576, January 2003, Takeshobo

Film comics
These books contain scenes from the first Bonobono film laid out in comic book format.
 * Volume 1, ISBN 4884756835, December 1993, Takeshobo
 * Volume 2, ISBN 4884756843, December 1993, Takeshobo
 * Volume 3, ISBN 4884756851, January 1994, Takeshobo
 * Volume 4, ISBN 488475686X, January 1994, Takeshobo

Storyboards
This book contains the storyboards for the first Bonobono film.
 * Bonobono no Ekonteshū (ぼのぼの絵コンテ集), ISBN 4884752546, November 1993, Takeshobo

Picture books
Various Bonobono picture books have been released, including the following. Titles are listed chronologically.
 * Kawaisō no Koto (かわいそうのこと), ISBN 4884750276, December 1987, Takeshobo
 * Shimarisu-kun Daikatsuyaku!! Gō (シマリスくん大活躍!!号), ISBN 4884750276, December 1987, Takeshobo
 * Ōkii no Koto Chiisai no Koto (大きいのこと 小さいのこと), ISBN 4884750330, June 1988, Takeshobo
 * Megane Yamane-kun no Koto (メガネヤマネくんのこと), ISBN 4884750411, May 1989, Takeshobo
 * Kurisumasu no Koto (クリスマスのこと), ISBN 4812404215, November 1998, Takeshobo
 * ''Minna Omoide na no Darō: Bonobono no Kagashū (みんな思い出なのだろう―ぼのぼの詩画集), ISBN 4884752538, November 1993, Takeshobo
 * Bonobono (ぼのぼの), ISBN 4884752554, December 1993, Takeshobo
 * ''TSuwaio no Koto' (ツワイオのこと), ISBN 4812427614, July 2006, Takeshobo

1993 film
The first theatrical release, titled Bonobono, opened in theaters on 1993-11-13. The film has since been broadcast on domestic television in Japan, including on broadcast satellite channels such as NHK BS-2. The film has been released on VHS and DVD in Japan, including in a "no cut" edition.

Staff

 * Director: Mikio Igarashi
 * Screenplay: Mikio Igarashi
 * Animation Directors: Yūji Mutō, Tameo Kohanawa
 * Producer: Atsushi Tashiro
 * Planning: Ippei Takahashi, Masayuki Miyashita, Shin Unosawa, Atsushi Tashiro, Naomasa Tsuruta
 * Art Director: Atsushi Ioki
 * Music: Gontiti
 * Distribution: Gaga Communications
 * Theme Song: Hatsukoi
 * Lyrics: Kanata Asamizu
 * Composition, Vocals: Yoshiyuki Ōsawa

Cast

 * Bonobono: Toshiko Fujita
 * Shimarisu-kun: Sumie Baba
 * Araiguma-kun: Yūsaku Yara
 * Araiguma-kun's father: Chikao Ōtsuka
 * Kuzuri-kun's father: Kazuo Kumakura
 * Kuzuri-kun: Sakiko Uran
 * Higuma-san: Yūko Sasaki
 * Kohiguma-kun: Mayumi Kumagai
 * Bonobono's father: Mikio Igarashi
 * Shō Nee-chan: Mayumi Tanaka
 * Dai Nee-chan: Manami Sasaki
 * Higuma no Taishō: Tesshō Genda
 * Sunadorineko-san: Hōchū Ōtsuka
 * Shimarisu-kun's father: Kazuyuki Sekiguchi
 * Shimarisu-kun's mother: Yukiko Shibata
 * Fennec Kitsune-kun: Kanako Tanaka
 * Fennec Kitsune-kun's father: Takahiro Fujita

Sources:

TV series
The Bonobono anime TV series ran from April 20, 1995 through March 28, 1996 as part of the "Anime Can" (アニメ缶) series on Tuesday evenings from 7:00 pm to 7:30 pm on TV Tokyo. Each episode was 15 minutes long, and was paired with an episode of Bit the Cupid to fill out the 30-minute timeslot. The series has been rebrodacast on several different channels and networks, including Animax and the on-demand internet streaming service GyaO.

The entire TV series was released as two DVD box sets on April 20, 2007.

Staff

 * Planning: Takashi Sakurai, Atsushi Tashiro
 * Director: Hitoshi Nanba
 * Series Director: Tetsuo Yasumi
 * Character Design: Yūka Hotani
 * Chief Animation Director: Yūka Hotani
 * Writers: Tetsuo Yasumi, Yasuhiro Komatsuzaki, Satoru Nishizono, Shōji Yonemura, Kazuhiko Gōdo, Chinatsu Hōjō
 * Episode Directors: Kiyotaka Ōhata, Takashi Ikebata, Shinichi Watanabe, Takashi Yamazaki, Daiji Suzuki, Kiyoshi Fukumoto, Kiyoko Sayama, Tetsuya Watanabe, Takashi Asami, Kazunari Kume, others
 * Music: Kazunori Miyake
 * Audio Director: Susumu Aketagawa
 * Music Producer: Sumio Matsuzaki
 * Art Director: Kō Watanabe
 * Editor: Masashi Furukawa
 * Director of Photography: Mitsunobu Yoshida
 * Producers: Keisuke Iwata (TV Tokyo), Masatoshi Kanesaka
 * Animation Producer: Kenjirō Kawato
 * Animation Production: Group Tac
 * Production: TV Tokyo, Amuse

Theme songs

 * Chikamichi Shitai (近道したい)
 * Lyrics, Vocals: Kyōko Suga
 * Composition, Arrangement: Etsuko Yamakawa
 * Ending theme for episodes 1-23 and 48


 * Love, Two Love
 * Lyrics, Composition, Vocals: Kyōko Suga
 * Arrangement: Ryō Yonemitsu
 * Ending theme for episodes 24-47

Cast

 * Bonobono: Kumiko Watanabe
 * Shimarisu-kun: Konami Yoshida
 * Araiguma-kun: Keiji Fujiwara
 * Sunadorineko-san: Jūrōta Kosugi
 * Araiguma-kun's father: Hideyuki Umezu
 * Araiguma-kun's mother: Keiko Han
 * Bonobono's father: Takashi Nagasako
 * Dai Nee-chan: Miki Narahashi
 * Shō Nee-chan: Mayumi Tanaka
 * Shimarisu-kun's father: Chafūrin
 * Shimarisu-kun's mother: Konami Yoshida
 * Kuzuri-kun: Sakiko Uran
 * Tamago no Kimi-kun: Sakiko Uran
 * Kuzuri-kun's father: Sakiko Uran
 * Fennec Kitsune-kun: Michiyo Yanagisawa
 * Fennec Kitsune-kun's father: Keaton Yamada
 * Bōzu-kun: Midori Nakazawa
 * Beaver-san: Masahiro Anzai
 * Bōzu-kun's mother: Rin Mizuhara
 * Kohiguma-kun: Aya Ishizu
 * Kokujira-kun: Aya Ishizu
 * Higuma no Taishō: Kiyoyuki Yanada
 * Higuma-san: Junko Hagimori
 * Hae: Kōji Tobe
 * Shimatchū Oji-san, others: (Nobuo Tobita
 * Yama-Ō, others: (Yūji Ueda)
 * Ki no Obake: Chie Satō
 * Min Min: Akiko Yajima
 * Nan Nan: Kōji Yusa
 * Ōsanshōuo-san: Toshiya Ueda
 * Kaeru-kun: Toshiya Ueda
 * Kokujira-kun's mother: Mari Mashiba
 * Nagareboshi-kun: Hiromi Ishikawa
 * Rabi Nii-chan: Nobuyuki Hiyama
 * Chirabi-chan: Kae Araki
 * Chibisuke to Okera-kun: Fujiko Takimoto
 * Kashira to Gonzo: Kōji Ishii

Sources:

TV specials
Following the anime TV series, nine specials were aired on TV Tokyo. At the beginning of each special, the next special was also introduced, and showed some animation from it. The specials used a lot of animation from the series, and while the content fit the season in which the special was broadcast, the music, scripts, and jokes were changed for each of the specials. The seiyū from the TV series were used for the specials.

2002 film
Bonobono: Kumomo no Ki no Koto (ぼのぼの クモモの木のこと) was the second theatrical Bonobono movie, released by Amuse Pictures in theaters in Japan on August 10, 2002. It was done completely in 3D.

Staff

 * Original Story: Mikio Igarashi
 * Director: Kōki Kumagai
 * Producer : Akihiro Itō
 * Screenplay Supervisor: Mikio Igarashi
 * Screenplay: Mikio Igarashi, Kōki Kumagai
 * Planning: Kiyoshi Tsuji, Akihiro Itō
 * Music: Gontiti
 * Storyboards: Mikio Igarashi, Kōki Kumagai
 * Executive Producers: Ippei Takahashi, Yasumasa Makimura

Cast

 * Bonobono: Yūto Uemura
 * Shimarisu-kun: Konami Yoshida
 * Araiguma-kun: Kappei Yamaguchi
 * Bobo-kun: Etsuko Kozakura
 * Bobo-kun's father: Masashi Sugawara
 * Bobo-kun's mother: Sumi Shimamoto
 * Kuzuri-kun: Yōko Michihira
 * Kuzuri-kun's father: Yūichi Nagashima
 * Sunadorineko-san: Reo Morimoto
 * Araiguma-kun's father: Danshi Tatekawa

Sources:

Games
Two games based on the Bonobono series have been released. The first was Bonogurashi (ぼのぐらし), a simulation game released on 1995-04-21 for the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer system by Amuse and Bandai Visual.

The second games was titled Bonogurashi: Kore de Kanpeki Disu (ぼのぐらし〜これで完璧でぃす〜), an adventure game released by Amuse for the PlayStation system on 1996-06-07.

Sources: