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Obake no Q-tarō

Obake no Q-tarō

Little Ghost Q-Taro[1][2] (オバケのQ太郎, Obake no Q-Tarō), by Fujiko Fujio, is a Japanese manga about an obake, Q-Taro who lives with the Ōhara family. Q-Taro, also known as Q-chan or Oba-Q, is a mischief-maker who likes to fly around scaring people and stealing food, though he is deathly afraid of dogs.

The story is usually focused on the antics of Q-Taro and his friends. The manga was drawn in 1964–1966 by Fujiko Fujio (Fujiko F. Fujio and Fujiko Fujio A) and in 1971–1974 by Fujiko F. Fujio. An English manga volume was published in Japan as Q the Spook.[3][4]

There are three anime series of Q-Taro. The first anime adaptation of Little Ghost Q-Taro was shown on the Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS) in black & white, and ran from 1965–1968. Machiko Soga was the voice of Q-Taro. The series was especially popular preceding Doraemon. It also ran outside Japan, in Hong Kong under the name Q-tailong. The second series ran from 1971–1972 on Nippon TV, this time in color. The third series ran from 1985–1987 on TV Asahi. This adaptation is the only one of the three Obake no Q-taro anime to have a home video release.

Little Ghost Q-Taro
オバケのQ太郎
(Obake no Q-Tarō)
GenreComedy
Manga
Written byFujiko Fujio
Published byShogakukan
Shueisha
DemographicShōnen
Magazine*Weekly Shōnen Sunday
Shōnen Book
CoroCoro Comic
Bessatsu Shōnen Sunday*
Original run1964–1973
Volumes6
Manga
Shin Q-Tarō
Written byFujiko Fujio
Published byShogakukan
DemographicShōnen
MagazineCoroCoro Comic
Original run1976–?
Volumes4
Anime television series
Directed byMasaaki Osumi
Music byHiroshi Tsutsui
StudioTokyo Movie
Original networkTBS
Original run29 August 1965–28 June 1967
Episodes96
Anime television series
Shin Obake no Q-Tarō
Directed byTadao Nagahama
Produced byHarutoshi Kawaguchi
Kensuke Fujii(Nippon TV)
Music byNaozumi Yamamoto
StudioTokyo Movie
Original networkNippon TV
Original run1 September 1971–27 December 1972
Episodes70 (140 segments)
Anime television series
Shin Obake no Q-Tarō
Directed byMasuji Harada
Hiroshi Sasagawa(Chief director)
Produced byJunichi Kimura
Yoshiaki Koizumi(TV Asahi)
Yoshio Katō
Seitarō Kodama(Shin-Ei Animation)
(Asatsu-DK)
Music byShunsuke Kikuchi
StudioShin-Ei Animation
Original networkTV Asahi
Original run1 April 1985–29 March 1987
Episodes510
Game
Chubby Cherub
DeveloperTOSE
PublisherBandai
GenreAction
PlatformNintendo Entertainment System
Released1985
Anime film
Obake no Q-Tarō: Tobidase! Bake Bake Daisakusen
Directed byHiroshi Sasagawa
Music byShunsuke Kikuchi
StudioShin-Ei Animation
ReleasedMarch 15, 1986
Runtime120 minutes
Anime film
Obake no Q-Tarō: Susume! 1/100 Daisakusen
Directed byHiroshi Sasagawa
Music byShunsuke Kikuchi
StudioShin-Ei Animation
ReleasedMarch 14, 1987
Runtime15 minutes

Characters

  • Q-Taro (Q太郎)

Voiced by:Machiko Soga(1965),Junko Hori(1971), Fusako Amachi (1985)The protagonist of the manga, Q-Taro has a fear of dogs and cannot transform although he is anobake.

  • Shōta Ōhara (大原 正太, Ōhara Shōta)

Voiced by: Kazue Tagami (1965), Yoshiko Ōta (1971),Katsue Miwa(1985)A human friend of Q-tarō, Shōta Ōhara is a grade school boy. Q-Taro calls him "Shō-chan"(正ちゃん)and Shota calls Q-Taro "Q-chan"(Qちゃん).

  • Shin'ichi Ōhara (大原 伸一, Ōhara Shin'ichi)

Voiced by:Masako Nozawa(1965),Sumiko Shirakawa(1971),Yū Mizushima(1985)Shota's older brother.

  • U-ko (U子)

Voiced by:Eiko Masuyama(1965), Hiroko Maruyama (1971),Eiko Masuyama(1985)U-ko, ajudoka, is Q-Taro's girlfriend obake.

  • Doronpa (ドロンパ)

Voiced by: Misae Kita (1965), Yoshiko Yamamoto (1971),Fuyumi Shiraishi(1985)Doronpa is an American obake. Q-tarō tend to have a rivalry towards him due to the fact that U-ko idolizes Doronpa's intelligence and he likes to annoy Q-tarō.

  • P-ko (P子)

Voiced by: Yōko Mizugaki (1965), Kazuko Sawada (1971),Yūko Mita(1985)P-ko is Q-Taro's younger sister.

  • O-jirō (O次郎)

Voiced by: Makoto Kōsaka→Reiko Katsura(1971),Keiko Yokozawa(1985)O-jirō is Q-Taro's younger brother. Although he can understand others' speech, he can only say "bakeratta." Only Q-tarō understands what O-jirō says.

  • X-zō (X蔵)

Father of Q-Taro, P-ko, and O-jirō.

  • O-zetto (おZ)

Mother of Q-Taro, P-ko, and O-jirō.

  • Tsuyoshi Saigō (西郷 強, Saigō Tsuyoshi)

Voiced by:Kaneta Kimotsuki(1965/1971),Hiroshi Takemura(1985)Nickname: **Godzilla**. A bully in Shota's class and neighborhood.

  • Hakase (ハカセ, "Professor")

Voiced by: Unknown (1965),Sumiko Shirakawa(1971),Kaneta Kimotsuki(1985),Naoki Tatsuta(1985, stand-in)Shota's smart classmate.

  • Kizao Kiza (木佐 キザオ, Kiza Kizao)

Voiced by: Unknown (1965), Kazuko Sawada (1971),Naoki Tatsuta(1985)Shota's rich classmate who kisses up to Godzilla.

  • Yoshiko Koizumi (小泉 美子, Koizumi Yoshiko)

Voiced by: Mariko Tsukai (1965),Michiko Nomura(1971),Sanae Miyuki(1985)Shota's female classmate, always referred to as "Yotchan"(よっちゃん).

Reception and impact

Pac-Man creator Toru Iwatani cites the series as inspiration for the character design in the Pac-Man video game series.[5]

References

[1]
Citation Linknewspaperarchive.comhttps://newspaperarchive.com/oxnard-press-courier-jan-19-1975-p-46/
Sep 25, 2019, 11:43 PM
[2]
Citation Linkwww.newspapers.comhttps://www.newspapers.com/search/#query=little+ghost+q-taro
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[3]
Citation Linkwww.keibunsha-books.comhttp://www.keibunsha-books.com/shopdetail/000000016138/
Sep 25, 2019, 11:43 PM
[4]
Citation Linkwww.youzikyouzai.jphttps://www.youzikyouzai.jp/S/Page/GOODSDETAIL-19731
Sep 25, 2019, 11:43 PM
[5]
Citation Linkwww.wired.comKohler, Chris. "Q&A: Pac-Man Creator Reflects on 30 Years of Dot-Eating | Game|Life". Wired.com. Retrieved 2012-07-23.
Sep 25, 2019, 11:43 PM
[6]
Citation Linkwww.animenewsnetwork.comLittle Ghost Q-Taro
Sep 25, 2019, 11:43 PM
[7]
Citation Linkwww.animenewsnetwork.comLittle Ghost Q-Taro
Sep 25, 2019, 11:43 PM
[8]
Citation Linkwww.animenewsnetwork.comLittle Ghost Q-Taro
Sep 25, 2019, 11:43 PM
[9]
Citation Linknewspaperarchive.comhttps://newspaperarchive.com/oxnard-press-courier-jan-19-1975-p-46/
Sep 25, 2019, 11:43 PM
[10]
Citation Linkwww.newspapers.comhttps://www.newspapers.com/search/#query=little+ghost+q-taro
Sep 25, 2019, 11:43 PM
[11]
Citation Linkwww.keibunsha-books.comhttp://www.keibunsha-books.com/shopdetail/000000016138/
Sep 25, 2019, 11:43 PM
[12]
Citation Linkwww.youzikyouzai.jphttps://www.youzikyouzai.jp/S/Page/GOODSDETAIL-19731
Sep 25, 2019, 11:43 PM
[13]
Citation Linkwww.wired.com"Q&A: Pac-Man Creator Reflects on 30 Years of Dot-Eating | Game|Life"
Sep 25, 2019, 11:43 PM
[14]
Citation Linkwww.animenewsnetwork.comLittle Ghost Q-Taro
Sep 25, 2019, 11:43 PM
[15]
Citation Linkwww.animenewsnetwork.comLittle Ghost Q-Taro
Sep 25, 2019, 11:43 PM
[16]
Citation Linkwww.animenewsnetwork.comLittle Ghost Q-Taro
Sep 25, 2019, 11:43 PM
[17]
Citation Linken.wikipedia.orgThe original version of this page is from Wikipedia, you can edit the page right here on Everipedia.Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.Additional terms may apply.See everipedia.org/everipedia-termsfor further details.Images/media credited individually (click the icon for details).
Sep 25, 2019, 11:43 PM