Hamtaro

Hamtaro
Cover of the first children's book featuring Hamtaro
とっとこハム太郎 (Tottoko Hamutarō[1])
Manga
Written by	Ritsuko Kawai
Published by	Shogakukan
Magazine	Ciao
Demographic	Shōjo
Original run	1997 – 2000
Volumes	3
Further information Original video animation Directed by Tomomi Mochizuki Produced by Kazuhiko Kurokawa Tadahito Matsumoto Written by Tomomi Mochizuki Music by Motoyoshi Iwasaki Studio TMS Entertainment Released 15 September 1999 Anime television series Directed by Osamu Nabeshima Written by Shinzo Fujita Yoshiyuki Suga Miho Maruo Atsuhiro Tomioka Fumihiko Shimo Koji Miura Toshiyasu Nagata Michiru Shimada[2] Music by Motoyoshi Iwasaki (JP) Tom Keenlyside John Mitchell David Iris (U.S.) Studio TMS Entertainment Licensed by CA: Alliance Atlantis NA: Viz Media Original network TXN (TV Tokyo) English network AU: Network Ten, Cartoon Network CA: YTV HK: TVB NZ: TV3 PH: GMA Network, TV5 UK: Fox Kids US: Cartoon Network (Toonami) Original run 7 July 2000 – 31 March 2006 Episodes 296 (Japanese) 105 (English) (List of episodes) Original video animation Directed by Osamu Nabeshima (1, 4) Kazuhiro Ochi (2, 3) Written by Michiru Shimada (1) Tomoko Konparu (2) Kouji Miura (3, 4) Music by Motoyoshi Iwasaki Studio TMS Entertainment Released 6 August 2001 – 6 August 2004 Episodes 4 (List of episodes) Anime film series Directed by Osamu Dezaki Produced by Masato Matsumoto Yuoh Sekita Written by Osamu Dezaki (1) Michiru Shimada (1, 2) Tomoko Konparu (3, 4) Music by Motoyoshi Iwasaki Studio TMS Entertainment Released 15 December 2001 – 23 December 2004 Runtime 50 minutes each Films 4 (List of films) Anime television series Trotting Hamtaro Hai! Directed by Osamu Nabeshima Written by Yoshiyuki Suga Music by Motoyoshi Iwasaki Studio TMS Entertainment Original network TXN (TV Tokyo) Original run 5 April 2006 – 26 March 2008 Episodes 77 (List of episodes) Anime television series Trotting Hamtaro Dechu! Directed by Osamu Nabeshima Studio TMS Entertainment Original network TXN (TV Tokyo) Original run 2 April 2011 – 30 March 2013 Episodes 103

Hamtaro, known in Japan as Trotting Hamtaro (とっとこハム太郎, Tottoko Hamutarō), is a Japanese manga and storybook series created and illustrated by Ritsuko Kawai about a hamster. The manga was serialized in Shogakukan's "Shougaku Ninensei" (Second Grade) magazine in April 1997;^[3] more Hamtaro stories would later be added into the other grade-level magazines, as well as in Ciao. The series focuses on a hamster named Hamtaro, who has a variety of adventures with other hamsters known as the "Ham-Hams" ("Hamuchans" in the Japanese version). Viz Media published the manga adaptations and storybooks in English.^[4][5]

Multiple anime adaptations were produced by TMS Entertainment and aired on TV Tokyo. The first series was dubbed in English by The Ocean Group.

Plot

The series revolves around a hamster named Hamtaro, who is owned by a 10-year-old girl named Laura Haruna (Hiroko Haruna in the Japanese/Original version). Curious by nature, he ventures out each day to make friends and go on adventures with a clan of fellow hamster friends known as The Ham-Hams. The Ham-Hams meet at a special clubhouse built by Boss ("Taisho").

Media

Manga

There are three manga about Hamtaro, A Home for Hamtaro, Hamtaro Gets Lost, and Jealous Hamtaro. In the first two, Hamtaro's owner is named Yukari while in the latter, her name is Amy.

Anime

In Japan, Hamtaro aired three anime series, released four films, several specials, many video game/DVD releases and merchandise. By 2002, the franchise had generated $2.5 billion in merchandise sales.^[6] The success was not paralleled in the United States, however, with only the first series, some special episodes, three video games (though two others were released in Europe), and limited merchandise. On 23 February 2011, it was announced that Hamtaro would be receiving a series titled Trotting Hamtaro Dechu!.^[7]

Games

The Hamtaro franchise has multiple video game titles with independent storylines. These titles include adventure and educational games that can be found for PC, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance (GBA), and the Nintendo DS consoles.

In popular culture

On 26 July 2020, a group of more than 2,000 protesters in Bangkok called the Free Youth Movement led a protest against the government of Thailand which involved singing the theme song for Hamtaro with modified lyrics to say "The most delicious food is taxpayers’ money. [...]Dissolve the parliament! Dissolve the parliament! Dissolve the parliament!"^[10] Other student protests during the same week continued to use Hamtaro as a symbol for the government's "feasting on taxpayer's money," and have involved groups running in circles, as if in hamster wheels, while singing the modified version of the jingle.^[11][12]

References

Further reading

• Fass, Allison (16 January 2002). "FOR YOUNG VIEWERS; Move Over, Pocket Monsters; Here Come the Little Hamsters". The New York Times.
• Keveney, Bill (10 June 2002). "Brace for 'Hamtaro'". USA Today.
• "Adventure-loving rodents rule on 'Hamtaro'". The Dallas Morning News. 9 June 2002.^{[dead link]}

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hamtaro.

• Hamtaro Official Japanese site (in Japanese)
• Hamtaro (anime) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
• Hamtaro at IMDb