Chibi Maruko-chan

So Chibi Maruko-chan was one of my first animes Ive ever watched so it will always have aplace in my heart. The Anime doesnt really have a story to it so you could refer it to SpongeBob or something. With that I mean you could start at episode 50 and it will still be funny As I said the story is not really there, the art is pretty old but I liked that. The sound is not perfect but I love the characters, especially the grandfather of Maruko-chan. He always wants to make Maruko happy and sometimes goes over the limits of a elderly! Enjoyment for meis 8/10. Overall its a solid anime. Its very old but gold. I would recommend this to all anime OG's.

This is some really good cartooning guys. Low scale slice of life with a big personality little girl as she faces the world and her family. Momoko Sakura is an icon for children everywhere. The realest third grader. I completely understood why Chibi Maruko-chan became an icon from its first episode. Very nice humor and character interactions that feel so real and just such good animation. And all of embodied in its op where getting shaved ice becomes an imagination adventure through the world even though she just steps into the store at the start and leaves at the end. The ed is now the OP inthe later version, and Maruko sings is on occasion and is a bop, and as a Yokai Watch fan, I feel like I can see the cultural line between Odoru Ponpokorin and Gera Gera Po. Honestly not sure how much more I can even say, this is like trying to recommend Tom and Jerry, Popeye or Scooby Doo, this is quintessential low investment but highly fun animation. Like who even are you if you can't love this.

I get asked sometimes on how and why I can enjoy an older and long series about the everyday life of a Japanese 3rd grader growing up in the 70s. This show reminds me how intelligent and thoughtful children can be. How they can be creative, mean, difficult, and kind. As the series goes on, you get to observe Maruchan (the nickname her best friend calls her) in a wide variety of situations. While most episodes are lighthearted in nature, there are scenarios that even adults struggle with. What do you say when an acquaintance experiences loss, what do you do when you mess upand have to apologize, how do you find the right words to say goodbye? Each episode is honest with presenting life to a growing Maruchan in a comedic-fashion, but also in a heartfelt manner. Additionally, there is this ongoing feeling of learning and discovery within each episode. Even as a ██-year-old, who is not a young child anymore, I found myself becoming emotional with Maruchan with every situation and experience she faces. There is an episode where Maruchan and her father are alone in the house as everyone else has gone out. Her father decides to take them both to the oden cart he frequents. While the two walk there, they walk with some distance apart. As they both converse with the cart owner and other patrons, she drinks her juice and he drinks his alcohol. Through this experience, she encounters a version of her father that is unfamiliar to her which makes her quite happy. The episode ends with Maruchan getting carried on her father's back while music softly plays and the night sky twinkles. Don't get me wrong, there are absolute CRAZY episodes that I'm so fortunate to have lived to see (Maruchan getting stuck in the school bathroom, Maruchan getting appendicitis but nobody believing her, Maruchan continuously leaving her homework to the last minute, etc, etc.) Episodes like the one above make me reflect on how I view and live my own life. How, even as adults, WE don't stop learning and discovering ourselves and others. We just have more independence, meaning we have to go out of our way to care and explore. Small moments like the one between Maruchan and her father show how simply starting a new conversation with someone you’ve known forever can spark so many reflections and deepen the existing bond. The narrator character is the most interesting as he often makes quite sassy commentary towards the characters' thoughts and actions that no one can hear except for us. While his main target is usually Maruchan, her friends and family are not spared from criticism. I've heard he isn't as harsh in the newer episodes which is too bad. I think he offers some realism to the daily nonsense the characters create for themselves. I often think of him when I do silly things and wonder what he would say. I started watching this show in high school and continued to watch it throughout my schooling as subbed episodes would come out (which I'm so grateful for!!!!) Despite the long 142 episodes, I can recall my favourites quickly & happily. I'm thankful for the memories this show has given me and I will definitely be re-watching my favourite episodes whenever I need a smile or laugh (also perhaps making a tier list as a shortcut to the best of the best episodes.) I recommend watching this weekly, and definitely not in one go. Maybe eat dinner while watching and reminisce over the fond days of your own childhood. Watching provides good opportunities to learn more about Japanese culture if you are interested in that as well. Also, I just love that Maruchan is just so crazy LOLOLOL!! One notable episode is her obsessing over wanting a nosebleed.. I love this representation of girls who are unapologetically weird yet deeply kind. ❤️