Mōretsu Atarō

Mōretsu Atarō
もーれつア太郎
Genre	Comedy
Manga
Written by	Fujio Akatsuka
Published by	Shogakukan
Magazine	Weekly Shōnen Sunday
Demographic	Shōnen
Original run	1967 – 1970
Anime television series
Studio	Toei Animation
Original network	TV Asahi
Original run	April 4, 1969 – December 25, 1970
Episodes	90
Anime television series
Directed by	Junichi Sato
Studio	Toei Animation
Original network	TV Asahi
Original run	April 21, 1990 – December 22, 1990
Episodes	34

Mōretsu Atarō (もーれつア太郎, Extraordinary Atarō) is a gag manga by Fujio Akatsuka. It was serialized from 1967 to 1970 in Weekly Shōnen Sunday. Two anime adaptations were produced for TV Asahi (then called NET TV).

The plot revolves around a young edokko named Atarō who lives with his father X-gorō (read as Batsu-gorō) in downtown Tokyo running the family store. After his father's sudden death, Atarō must take care of the store himself and, along with the help of his father's ghost, his friend Dekoppachi, former yakuza leader Butamatsu, and a nutty alley cat named Nyarome, he protects it from the tanuki-faced gang leader Kokoro Boss.

Cast

Atarō (ア太郎)

(Voice: Keiko Yamamoto (1st); Tomoko Maruo (2nd))

The initial main character of the series, Ataro is a 10 year old boy who runs a vegetable store in Tokyo with his father. He is serious and hard working but also sensitive.

X-gorō (×五郎)

(Voice: Ichirō Nagai (1st); Sanji Hase (2nd))

Ataro's father. He is killed when he falls out of a tree while trying to retrieve a young kids balloon. Because of the way his name is spelt, he could not enter heaven and was allowed back down to earth. However, since his body was cremated, he is stuck on earth as a ghost that only Ataro can see.

Nyarome (ニャロメ)

(Voice: Hiroshi Ōtake (1st); Akira Kamiya (2nd))

An ally cat who walks on two legs and can speak like a human. He is stubborn and mischievous, and often hits on human women.

Dekoppachi (デコッ八)

(Voice: Midori Katō (1st); Kyōko Tongū (2nd))

A 10 year old boy and Ataro's best friend. Dekoppachi has a short temper and a strong sense of justice. He was named by a reader.

Butamatsu (ブタ松)

(Voice: Kōsei Tomita (1st); Yō Yoshimura (2nd))

A former Yakuza leader who leads a gang of pigs.

Kokoro Boss (

(Voice: Jōji Yanami (both series))

An unusual man. Whether he is a tanuki or a human is unknown.

Kopun A (コプンA)

(Voice: Keiichi Noda (1st); Toshio Kobayashi (2nd))

One of Kokoro Boss's henchmen. He is the taller one of the two.

Kopun B (コプンB)

(Voice: Isamu Tanonaka (1st); Shinobu Satōchi (2nd))

One of Kokoro Boss's henchmen. He is the shorter one of the two

God (Voice: Takuzō Kamiyama (1st); Isamu Tanonaka (2nd))

God's Pupil (Voice: Masako Nozawa (1st); Mie Suzuki (2nd))

Kumagorō (Voice: Yonehiko Kitagawa (1st); Masaharu Satō (2nd))

Kumagorō's wife (Voice: Mariko Tsuda (1st); Noriko Uemura (2nd))

Kemunpasu (Voice: Keiichi Noda (1st); Keiichi Nanba (2nd))

A caterpillar with fuzzy hair. He is friends with Beshi.

Beshi (Voice: Kōsei Tomita (1st); Kōzō Shioya (2nd))

A frog with a mustache. He is friends with Kemunpasu.

Doctor Fukuwarai (Voice: Kiyoshi Kobayashi (2nd only))

Momoko (Voice: Aya Hisakawa (2nd only))

• Kōban Officer (Voice: Kazumi Tanaka (2nd only))

Cameos

The first anime featured cameo appearances by several characters from other Akatsuka works.

• Iyami (Osomatsu-kun) (Voice: Yonehiko Kitagawa)
• Chibita (Osomatsu-kun) (Voice: Kazue Tagami, Masako Nozawa)
• Totoko (Osomatsu-kun) (Voice: Kazuko Sugiyama)
• Depkapan (Osomatsu-kun)
• Omawari-san (Tensai Bakabon) (Voice: Isamu Tanonaka, Keiichi Noda, and others)
• Papa (Tensai Bakabon) (Voice: Jōji Yanami)

External links

• Mōretsu Atarō at Kore de ii noda (Fujio Akatsuka database)
• Mōretsu Atarō (1969) (anime) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
• Mōretsu Atarō (1990) (anime) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia