A Beginners Guide to Japan. An A to Z.

A is for Anpanman!

This little guy is everywhere in Japan and has been popular for over 30 years. He can be found on everything from  bento (lunch boxes), clothing, stationary and snack foods to toys and cooking products.

Anpanman was created by Takashi Yanase, firstly as a series of children`s picture books and then a popular animated series Soreike! Anpanman (それいけ！アンパンマん). On August the 28th, 2009, Anpanman reached 1000 episodes and has also appeared in countless movie incarnations.

Yanase was inspired to to create Anpanman after struggling to survive as a soldier in World War II. Faced with starvation, he dreamt about eating anpan which is what Anpanman`s head is made of.

Anpanman entered the Guiness Book of Records in 2009 as the holder for the highest number of characters in an animated franchise, with 1,768 in the first 980 episodes. Major characters, apart from Anpanman, includes his nemesis Baikinman (his name means Bacteria man), Jam Ojisan (Anpanman`s creator and a baker), Currypanman, Shokupanman and Dokinchan to name just a few.

My daughter, like most children in Japan, loves this franchise, mainly due, I think to the bright, cute characters and connotations of food. The moral of most episodes are the same as Anpanman, despite being a hero, needs help from his friends to overcome Baikinman`s nefarious schemes.

Personally, my favourite character is Tendon Man (Shrimp rice bowl man)!