Nono-chan


Nono-chan is a yonkoma manga series begun in 1991 by Hisaichi Ishii originally serialized as My Neighbors the Yamadas in the Asahi Shimbun in Japan. When the series first began, it was generally focused on all of the members of the Yamada family. As the series progressed, the daughter became the most popular character among readers and more of the strips focused on her and her point of view. In 1997, the series title was changed to reflect this change of focus.
In July 1999, Studio Ghibli released My Neighbors the Yamadas, a film based on this series. From 2001 to 2002, a 61 episode anime television series based on the manga was shown on the TV Asahi network in Japan.

Characters

Yamada family

;Nonoko Yamada
;Matsuko Yamada
;Takashi Yamada
;Noboru Yamada
;Shige Yamano
;Pochi

History

Due to health reasons, the series was on hiatus from November 22, 2009, to February 28, 2010.
On August 13, 2011, the series reached its 5,000th installment. Although there was no discussion related to this milestone in the manga's content, it was announced in the "Subatomic Particles" column of the evening edition on the same day. By January 2020, the series had reached its 8,000th installment. Including the series "Tonari no Yamada-kun," it has been ongoing for nearly 30 years, making it the longest-running manga serialization in the history of Asahi Shimbun. Although primarily composed of four-panel comics, in recent years, it has become more flexible, incorporating vertical panels in three panels, wide panels, and vertically split panels to create five-panel strips.
On April 2, 2020, including its predecessor "Tonari no Yamada-kun," the series achieved a total of 10,000 installments.
For Hisaichi Ishii, this was his first serialized work in a nationwide newspaper. Because he continued to work on the series without significantly changing his style from his magazine work, it has some rare features among four-panel comic strips in national newspapers. One notable feature is that several main characters speak Kansai dialect, particularly in the early days. Later, some characters spoke Okayama dialect.
While some episodes have obscure punchlines, this adds to their unique charm. The series also features overt satire aimed at celebrities and characters speaking in near-cryptic slang :
  • A direct parody of Toshiki Kaifu, then Prime Minister, by calling him "Mr. Miyazawa," who supposedly doesn't speak English, shortly after his resignation.
  • When Haruki Kadokawa was arrested for drug violations, a character says, "Even without drugs, I was getting high,".
  • A character modeled after Tsuneo Watanabe appears as "One-Man Man." At the time of this episode's publication, Yomiuri Shimbun criticized the manga for allegedly defaming a specific individual.
Despite being a slice-of-life manga, it incorporates elements of science fiction and fantasy, with some yokai living among the Yamada family, occasionally appearing as if they are ordinary.
Following the Great Hanshin Earthquake, the manga depicted the Yamada family's concern for the safety of earthquake victims. Over the subsequent five days, related stories were published consecutively, a rare case of sustained coverage of a single news event. After becoming "Nono-chan," the series has less frequently featured current events, including satire of celebrities. During the 2011 Tohoku earthquake, the manga avoided directly referencing the disaster, instead adding a fictional maritime accident as a background setting to explore the feelings of bereaved families.
Initially, furigana were not used, but now they are written in katakana.
Since resuming serialization in 2010, some illustrations are presented as four-panel comics in school newspaper formats within "Nonoko," depicting satirical portrayals of real people. These are similar or identical to other works by Ishii, such as "Ninja Mugencho," "Alas! The Crown Does Not Shine on You," "B-Gata Heiji Torimonocho," "War Without Justice," and "Part-Time Boy," among others. This experiment lasted about once or twice a month for roughly a year. Critic Tomohiko Murakami described it as an "Nono-chan Donut Book," but by the time of his observation, the project had been paused for over six months. No major protests occurred afterward, and "Nonoko" continued to appear into the 2010s.
In the May 11, 2011, issue, the manga included a story reminiscent of the sinking of the Shiun-maru, which resulted in casualties ten years earlier. The character introductions in the eighth volume mention some families of characters having died in a maritime accident. These sharply pointed experiments, including the girl baseball player Shimada, the school newspaper "Gakukoku," Womano-man, Roca, and the alien girl Tsumita Tsuki-ko, often experience long hiatuses or reappear after being forgotten, leading to periods with repeated Yamada family stories. The internal conflicts with the editorial department are not detailed, but Ishii has stated that he generally complies with rejection or revision requests. The final episode featuring Roca was announced on the official website as having been poorly received by core Asahi Shimbun readers, indicating some tension behind the scenes.

Differences between "Tonari no Yamada-kun" and "Nonoko-chan"

When renamed, most of the setting, characters, and worldview remained the same, but some roles and details were changed:
  • The character of the principal of Nonoko Elementary appears as the director of the city hospital in "Nonoko-chan."
  • Kôsuke Tabuchi, the unsuccessful mystery novelist and nephew of Matsu-ko in "Tonari no Yamada-kun," appears as Mr. Tabuchi, a PE teacher at Dai-san Elementary School, in "Nonoko-chan."
  • A character who was the president of a small factory in "Tonari no Yamada-kun" became a principal at an elementary school.
  • Takashi's older brother was depicted as running a farm in his hometown in "Nonoko-chan." Later, after the death of their mother, he moved in with the Yamada family and runs a bakery near their home, reflecting a more casual setting akin to the early days of "Yamada-kun."
  • The number of students in Noboru's class decreased from 500 to 200, then to 180.
  • In "Yamada-kun," Kikuchi-kun was depicted as having two older sisters, but in "Nonoko-chan," he is an only child.
Other setting changes may occur during serialization.

Books

  • "Tonari no Yamada-kun" — Published by Asahi Shimbun. A total of 6 volumes. This was the first complete collection of "Yamada-kun." Although it was interrupted, the editions from Tokyo Sogen-sha and Tokuma Shoten include full reprints of this volume.
  • "Tonari no Yamada-kun" — Published by Tokyo Sogensha. 11 volumes. Compiles all works published in Asahi Shimbun into semiannual volumes, with the publication date noted under each story. The end of each volume also includes reprints of past works such as "Wai wa Asashio ya" by the same author.
  • "The Complete Yamada-kun" — Published by Tokuma Shoten. 3 volumes. Includes related works like "Tonari no Kikuchi-kun." Released to coincide with the film adaptation. Together with "Nonoko-chan Complete Works," it fully reprints the series serialized in Asahi Shimbun.
  • "Nonoko-chan" — Published by Futabasha. 10 volumes. Collects works published in the newspaper not included in the "Yamada-kun" series or created before serialization. Some volumes feature characters on the covers.
  • "Nonoko-chan" — Published by Tokyo Sogensha. 12 volumes. Compiles all works published in Asahi Shimbun. The volumes are published biannually, with volumes 8 and onward including about 700 pages each, making it a massive collection unmatched in Japanese four-panel manga collections. Ishii historically did not fully compile his serialized works into single volumes or prefer to unify characters/worlds in collections.
  • "Tonari no Nonoko-chan" — Co-authored with Hiroshi Ogawa. Includes works from the first book and materials from the film press conference, focusing on the series' worldview. Also features setting materials and film comics from the "Nonoko-chan" anime.
  • "The World of Nonoko" — Published by Tokyo Sogensha. A revised and expanded paperback version of "Tonari no Nonoko-chan," excluding unrelated media.
  • "Fun!" — Published by Tokuma Shoten. Contains short manga stories "Fun!" featuring Pochi from Studio Ghibli's "Natsufū," and illustrated essays "Daily Pochi".
  • "Hayasichi Bunko: The People of the Yamada Family" — Published by Futabasha. 3 volumes. Focuses on family-themed works, including "Ojama Manga Yamada-kun." Volume 2 shows the transition from "Yamada-kun" to "Nonoko-chan." Volume 3 contains slightly different versions of "The Yamada Family" stories published elsewhere.
  • "Donuts Books" — Published by Channel Zero. 39 volumes. Includes unpublished newspaper works of "Nonoko-chan" and early works before "Yamada-kun" serialization. Some covers feature characters from "Nonoko-chan" or "Yamada-kun."
  • "Tama no Nono Nono-chan" — Published by Seibun-sha. Collects "Tama no Nono Nono-chan," serialized in "Kōhō Tama" and other outlets. Unlike "Nonoko-chan," all characters speak Okayama dialect.

TV Anime "Nono-chan"

TV Asahi aired this program from July 7, 2001, to September 28, 2002. It was a joint production with Toei Animation. The series consists of 61 episodes. Up to episode 35, each episode was broadcast in two parts, A and B; from episode 36 onward, a third part, C, was added, making three broadcasts per episode. After this program ended, in the same year, the successor animated series was "Tsuribaka Nisshi", which is broadcast nationwide as an anime. It has not been released on DVD. The series was also broadcast on the CS channel Animax.

Voice Cast

Staff (TV Anime)

  • Original Work – Hisashi Ishii
  • Production Supervisors – Munehisa Higuchi, Yukio Noda
  • Music – en avant
  • Series Composition – Takashi Yamada
  • Character Design – Hiroshi Ogawa
  • Art Design – Yukiko Iijima
  • Color Design – Takako Mimuro
  • Series Directors – Nobutaka Nishizawa, Kiyoshi Sasaki
  • Animation and Digital Coloring – Toei Animation Philippines
  • Digital Photography – Toei Lab Tec
  • Editing – Shigeru Nishiyama
  • Sound Recording – Sadashi Kuramoto
  • Sound Assistant – Satoru Fujimura
  • Sound Effects – Swara Pro / Yasuyuki Konno
  • Music Selection – Kousuke Nishikawa
  • Art Progress – Reiko Kitayama
  • Finish Progress – Yosuke Asama
  • Recording – Minori Kajimoto
  • Public Relations – Aruka Kyoku
  • Assistant Producer – Naomi Nishiguchi
  • Music Cooperation – TV Asahi Music, Toei Animation Music Publishing
  • Recording Studio – TAVAC
  • Online Editing – TOVIC
  • Cooperation – Daiko
  • Producers: Kenji Ota → Taro Iwamoto, Yumi Shimizu, Hiroyuki Sakurada
  • Production Cooperation – Toei, Dentsu
  • Production – TV Asahi, Toei Animation
  • Hisashi Ishii / Yamada Planning, TV Asahi, Dentsu, Toei Animation

Theme Songs

; Opening Theme: "Urushi no Uta"
; Ending Theme: "Nonoko-chan Family's Song"

Web anime "Nonoko-chan Theater"

An online-exclusive anime that directly adapts the original four-panel manga into animation, streamed via Asahi.com from September 2001 to February 2005. Production by Opera House, with casting cooperation from Laverite Pro.

Voice cast

  • Nonoko Yamada, Hitomi Fujiwara – Reina Yasumura
  • Matsuko Yamada, Miyabe-kun – Yuri Tetsuya
  • Shige Yamada, Suzuki-kun – Jun Mizuki
  • Noboru Yamada, Kubo-kun – Jun Aso
  • Takashi Yamada, Kikuchi-kun – Hiroaki Morisue

Appointed as Tamano City mascot character

With Ishii's cooperation,Tamano City, Okayama Prefecture, where Hisaichi Ishii is from, appointed Nono-chan as the city's image character in 2010, the 70th anniversary of the city's incorporation. A costume was made for Nono-chan, and she appears at local character events in the same way as other municipal mascot characters. In addition, a special edition, "Tamano Nono Nono-chan," is currently being serialized in the "Tamano Public Relations" magazine.
In July 2010, the government began issuing license plates featuring Nono-chan for motorized bicycles.