Kanamemo
Encyclopedia
is a Japanese four-panel
comic strip
written and illustrated by . The strip has been serialized in Houbunsha
's seinen manga magazine Manga Time Kirara Max since June 19, 2007. It is about Kana Nakamichi and her growing experience as a newspaper deliverer, cook, and orphan.
The anime adaptation premiered in Japan on July 5, 2009 by Feel Studios.
.
The manga follows Kana’s daily life in the fast-paced yet joyous environment.
Ending theme: YAHHO!!
Yonkoma
thumb|right|150px|Traditional Yonkoma layout, a comic-strip format, generally consists of gag comic strips within four panels of equal size ordered from top to bottom...
comic strip
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
written and illustrated by . The strip has been serialized in Houbunsha
Houbunsha
is a Japanese publishing company founded on July 10, 1950.-Manga Time magazines:*Manga Time*Manga Time Jumbo*Manga Time Lovely*Manga Time Family*Manga Time Special*Manga Time Original*Manga Home-Manga Time Kirara magazines:...
's seinen manga magazine Manga Time Kirara Max since June 19, 2007. It is about Kana Nakamichi and her growing experience as a newspaper deliverer, cook, and orphan.
The anime adaptation premiered in Japan on July 5, 2009 by Feel Studios.
Plot
The story centers on Kana Nakamichi, a middle-school girl who had already lost her parents and just recently lost her only remaining relative, her grandmother. As a result, she ends up living and working at a newspaper delivery office. Everyone else living at the office are all charming, self-assertive bishōjoBishojo
is a Japanese term used to refer to young and pretty girls, usually below university age. Bishōjo is not listed as a word in the prominent Japanese dictionary Kōjien...
.
The manga follows Kana’s daily life in the fast-paced yet joyous environment.
Characters
- Kana is the main protagonist of the story, a young girl of thirteen years old. She is an orphan who had been living with her grandmother up until the beginning of the story where she also died. When repo-men come to repossess her belongings, Kana assumes she is being repossessed too and runs away. Her search for a new lodging leads her to the Fuhshin Gazette, where she now lives.
- Kana is a particularly soft spoken and shy girl who also gets frightened a lot, particularly in the presence of Haruka. She also tends to generally overreact to things she doesn't quite understand and frequently misinterprets them. Having lost her grandma, she sometimes gets rather lonely whenever she thinks about when she may inevitably have to leave the Fuhshin Gazette. However, she is willing to prove herself to do what she needs to help. Although she is sometimes clumsy and not generally skilled at various things, she is rather good at cooking.
- Saki is the assistant chief of Fuhshin Gazette, despite still being in elementary school. She is the only "serious" one of the group, and frequently reprimands the other girls when they neglect their duties. However, she often helps Kana with her problems, including stepping in when Haruka becomes too invasive, and is also prone to giving spontaneous rewards to everyone else, even though she always justifies her actions in the format of "We were (fill in the blank), anyway." Although having a mental disposition of a mature adult, she will sometimes act like a polite child in order to befriend classmates and convince their parents to buy subscriptions.
- Yume is an energetic girl with a taste for sweet things. For the most part, she is carefree and consistently in a good mood, sometimes to the point of annoyance in people around her. She is a student at a patisseriePâtisserieA pâtisserie is the type of French or Belgian bakery that specializes in pastries and sweets. In both countries it is a legally controlled title that may only be used by bakeries that employ a licensed maître pâtissier ....
academy, and, whenever cooking, often adds far too much sugar than what the recipe calls for (such as when she added two bags of sugar to a dish of curryCurryCurry is a generic description used throughout Western culture to describe a variety of dishes from Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Sri Lankan, Thai or other Southeast Asian cuisines...
). She and Yuuki are a couple, albeit an odd one. She is obsessed with doing everything with Yuuki, and is severely disappointed when they are denied the opportunity.
- Yuuki is a tall shy girl and Yume's girlfriend. Her emotional state is usually placid, except when Yume is doing something with someone else without her. She and Yume share an expressive yuri love, even kissing in public occasionally. When it comes to Yume's affections, Yuuki is very territorial, emitting a dangerous aura whenever Yume is doing something fun without her.
- Haruka is a mature blue-haired girl who wears glasses. She is an avid drinker of sake, and as such is often drunk. She attends college, studying bio-fermentation, and creates numerous different beverages from biologic substances (the resulting concoction almost always being alcoholic). She is a self-proclaimed lolicon with a fetish for young girls under 15, often making various advances on Kana, who fears her greatly in this regard.
- Hinata is a carefree girl who likes to gamble or invest through various means, such as Horseracing and the stock marketStock marketA stock market or equity market is a public entity for the trading of company stock and derivatives at an agreed price; these are securities listed on a stock exchange as well as those only traded privately.The size of the world stock market was estimated at about $36.6 trillion...
, but is otherwise hesitant about spending money on things such as cotton candyCotton candyCotton candy , candy floss or candyfloss or candy buttox , or fairy floss is a form of spun sugar. Since cotton candy is mostly air, a small initial quantity of sugar generates a tremendously greater final volume, causing servings to be physically large and voluminous...
at a festivalJapanese festivalsJapanese festivals are traditional festive occasions. Some festivals have their roots in Chinese festivals but have undergone dramatic changes as they mixed with local customs....
, claiming it to be "just a bunch of sugar". She has attempted to join a college numerous times, but has failed entrance exams twice, with a third failure being predicted frequently by the others. She is nice to Kana, occasionally helping her. Interesting of note is her unique usage of the masculine pronoun "I" ("boku") when referring to herself, where a female Japanese speaker would usually refer to herself using "watashi" or the more feminine "atashi".
- Mika is a newspaper deliverer at another center, although she won't admit it unless directly confronted. She is quick to blame others, and frequently turns her mistakes into inconveniences. When she becomes lost during a route, she literally runs into Kana, then forgives her by "allowing" her to escort her to her next stop, later becoming friends. She seems to have a crush on Kana, and gets riled up at the thought of Kana having a boyfriend. In the manga on the other hand, Kana appears to have strange feelings for her instead.
Other Characters
- Marimo is a minor character who appears in the eighth and twelfth episodes. She is a former Fuhshin Gazette employee before she graduated from college, and has a reputation as the worst employee the newspaper company ever had. Nevertheless, she was well liked by everyone. She and Saki shared a special friendship, although Saki rarely likes to bring it up. Following her work at Fuhshin Gazette, she lives off of odd jobs, such as selling vegetables in the flea market for outrageously cheap prices. When she is not working, she will, according to her words, "go where the wind takes her, where her mood takes her".
- Kana and Mika's classmate.
- Another classmate of Kana and Mika.
- Bunta is a stray cat that hangs around the Fuhshin Gazette. She is treated as a member of the family, and is often a form of encouragement for Kana.
- Kaniko is a robotic representation of the manga artist, Shoko Iwami, who appears in omake chapters of the manga and as a transition effect that spouts nonsensical things in the anime.
Manga
The following four volumes are released:Episode list
| # | Episode title | Original air date |
|---|---|---|
Theme songs
Opening theme:- Performance: Aki ToyosakiAki Toyosakiis a Japanese voice actress and singer from Tokushima Prefecture, Japan. She had her first major voice acting roles in 2007, voicing Amuro Ninagawa in Kenkō Zenrakei Suieibu Umishō and Su in Shugo Chara!...
, Kaoru MizuharaKaoru Mizuharais a Japanese voice actress working under Media Force. Her hometown is in Chiba, Japan.- Personal :Her voice talent was recognized by scouting agents when she worked as a department store announcer. She is a fan of musical artists Glay, Hisashi, access, L'Arc-en-Ciel, and aiko...
and Rie KugimiyaRie Kugimiyais a Japanese voice actress affiliated with I'm Enterprise.Kugimiya's most famous roles include Alphonse Elric in Fullmetal Alchemist, Happy in Fairy Tail, Kagura in Gintama, Nagi Sanzenin in Hayate no Gotoku!, Shana in Shakugan no Shana, Louise in Zero no Tsukaima, Taiga Aisaka in Toradora!, and...
Ending theme: YAHHO!!
- Vocals: Yui HorieYui Horieis a popular Japanese singer and voice actress. She is sometimes affectionately nicknamed by her Japanese fans.She hosts a radio show called and is the founding member of the singing group, Aice5. She is also a member of the band Kurobara Hozonkai, with the name YUIEL...
- Performance: Yui Horie