Shin Chan

From OtakuWiki

Overview

Crayon Shin-chan, released in the United States as Shin-chan, first appeared in a Japanese weekly magazine called Weekly Manga Action, which is published by Futabasha. Crayon Shin-chan began broadcasting on TV Asahi on April 13, 1992, and has also been aired by the anime television network, Animax across Japan and Latin America. Starting in April 2006, Crayon Shin-chan celebrated its 15th anniversary by starting each broadcast announcing the fact that it is 15th anniversary no matter what season it is. This feature is expected to end in April 2007.

Much of the humor in the series stems from Shin-chan's occasionally weird, unnatural and inappropriate use of language, as well as from his inappropriate behavior. Therefore, much of this humor is untranslatable for Western readers and viewers, and a few jokes can't be translated into other East Asian languages. In Japanese, certain set phrases almost always accompany certain actions; many of these phrases have standard responses. A typical gag involves Shin-chan confounding his parents by using the wrong phrase for the occasion. For example, Japanese usually announce that they are back when they have returned home. Shin chan would make the mistake of saying "you are back," instead of "I am back."

The storylines used in the anime series are based on those in the comics most of the time. Although the stories have been softened for television, there has been controversy about the program, primarily from parents who argue that the main character, Shin-chan (like Bart on the American animated series "The Simpsons"), sets a bad example for children. Although some westerners have called Shin-chan the "Bart Simpson of Japan,"[attribution needed] there are fewer similarities than differences between the two characters. In particular, Bart is older and apparently more intentionally mischievous than Shin-chan, many of whose misdeeds seem to stem more from simple ignorance of correct behavior due to his age (however, this is less the case in FUNimation's English translation of the anime, which frequently takes artistic license with the original dialogue[citation needed]). This provides the writers with ample opportunity to write gags based on age-inappropriate behavior, such as Shin-chan's occasional use of extremely formal language.

(UPDATE) Shin Chan creator Yoshito Usui died as a result of a fall on a hiking trail on Arafune Mountain on September 11, 2009. However, Usui's team from UY Studios are continuing the manga series, under the title Shin Crayon Shin Chan.[1] The first issue will be published by Futabasha on August 5, 2010.