Potemayo
Encyclopedia
is a Japanese four-panel
comic strip
by Haruka Ogataya. The manga was first serialized in the four-panel manga magazine Moeyon in July 2004. In October 2005, the manga moved to the Japanese seinen
manga magazine Comic High!
and continued until January 2011. A 12-episode anime
adaptation by J.C.Staff
aired between July and September 2007 on Tokyo MX
.
comic strip
manga
series, written and illustrated by Haruka Ogataya, originally started serialization in the Japanese manga magazine Moeyon on July 9, 2004. In October 2005, the series moved to the seinen
magazine Comic High!
and continued until January 22, 2011. Five tankōbon
volumes have been released in Japan, published by Futabasha
.
show entitled was streamed between June 29, 2007 and March 28, 2008 every Friday on Beat Net Radio! and Lantis Web Radio
. The author of the manga had made two guest appearances, and also the editor of Comic High, Kyōichi Nonaka, had made an appearance. The show was hosted by Kana Hanazawa, who played Potemayo in the anime, and Ayumu Tsuji, who played Guchuko in the anime.
series adaptation was produced by the animation studio
J.C.Staff
and directed by Takashi Ikehata. It aired in Japan from July 6 to September 21, 2007. Each anime episode usually contains two sub-episodes with separate storylines, ending with 24 sub-episodes by the end of the series. Additionally, there are short animated specials released on the DVD
s which are additional sub-episodes to the series. There will be one special per DVD, ending with six total specials.
The anime's opening theme was by Mosaic.wav
; the maxi single
containing the opening theme was released on July 25, 2007 by Lantis
. The ending theme was by Chata
; the ending theme single was released on August 22, 2007, also by Lantis. The anime's original soundtrack was released on October 10, 2007.
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....
by Haruka Ogataya. The manga was first serialized in the four-panel manga magazine Moeyon in July 2004. In October 2005, the manga moved to the Japanese seinen
Seinen
is a subset of manga that is generally targeted at a 20–30 year old male audience, but the audience can be older with some manga aimed at businessmen well into their 40s. In Japanese, the word Seinen means "young man" or "young men" and is not suggestive of sexual matters...
manga magazine Comic High!
Comic High!
is a Japanese seinen manga magazine pushlished on a monthly basis by Futabasha. It was launched as a special issue of Weekly Manga Action but has since become its own independent monthly anthology...
and continued until January 2011. A 12-episode anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
adaptation by J.C.Staff
J.C.STAFF
, is a Japanese animation studio founded in January 1986. Their first release was the three episode OVA Sengoku Kidan Yōtōden, in 1987. They have produced several well-known anime series, such as Revolutionary Girl Utena, Excel Saga, Shingetsutan Tsukihime, Shakugan no Shana, Toaru Majutsu no...
aired between July and September 2007 on Tokyo MX
Tokyo Metropolitan Television
thumb|Tokyo Metropolitan Television old headquarters : Telecom Center Building is the only commercial television station in Tokyo, Japan that exclusively serves the city. It competes with Nippon Television, TV Asahi, Tokyo Broadcasting System, TV Tokyo, and Fuji Television, all of which are...
.
Plot
One morning Sunao Moriyama, a male junior high student, finds a small, cute creature in his refrigerator. During breakfast, Sunao looks down at what he is eating, a bun with potato and mayonnaise filling, and decided to name the creature Potemayo. Sunao takes Potemayo to school with him and she is an instant hit with his classmates, especially the girls. While they are at school, another similar creature comes out of Sunao's refrigerator and makes its way to a park where Sunao and his class are spending an art class. Kyō Takamimori, one of Sunao's classmates, finds the creature and names her Guchuko. Unlike Potemayo, Guchuko is aggressively antisocial and shoots searing energy beams out of horns on the sides of her head when she is confronted.Characters
- Sunao is a male junior high school student who has a very serious attitude and shows little emotion. He was the one to find and name Potemayo, and she is very attached to him. He does his best to look after Potemayo, taking her to school with him each day. Sunao's mother passed away when he was younger, and since his father is almost never home, Sunao has become very self-sufficient. A running gag with Sunao is his horrible eyesight when he does not have his glasses.
- Potemayo is a mysterious creature that appeared one day in Sunao's refrigerator. The name Potemayo comes from first two characters of and —what Sunao was eating at the time. At first, she could not say anything but "honi", a nonsense phrase which she often utters even after learning how to say a few words like Sunao's name. Potemayo is very protective of Sunao, and if anyone tries to get close to him, she will growl and attack until they back off. When taken around with Sunao, she rides around on his head. She has the personality of a young child around two or three years of age, but has a super deformedSuper deformedSuper deformed or SD is a specific style of Japanese caricature where characters are drawn in an exaggerated way, typically small and chubby, with stubby limbs and oversized heads, to make them resemble small children...
body, complete with cat earsCatgirlA catgirl is a female character with cat traits, such as cat ears, a cat tail, or other feline characteristics on an otherwise human body. Catgirls are found in various fiction genres, and in particular Japanese anime and manga where they are more commonly referred to as Neko or Nekomimi , in...
on her head and a fluffy, round tail. Potemayo will fly into a jealous rage when Mikan tries to get close to Sunao. Potemayo is also telepathic, at least when others are thinking about her Sunao, and becomes violent when she "hears" Mikan even thinking about Sunao. While Potemayo dislikes Mikan, she adores Yasumi (Mikan's younger brother), much to his chagrin. A small chick named hangs around Potemayo and will often sit on her head. A running gag with Tori is that it will often eat things made with eggs or chicken, making Sunao call it a cannibal.
- Guchuko is another mysterious creature that appeared in Sunao's refrigerator, and is somewhat similar to Potemayo in appearance. Guchuko is named by Kyō Takamimori shortly after she ran into Guchuko at school. The name Guchuko is derived from a small chocolate ball called a guchu which Guchuko likes to eat, and added at the end, since it is a common ending for female given names in Japan. Guchuko carries a unique scytheScytheA scythe is an agricultural hand tool for mowing grass, or reaping crops. It was largely replaced by horse-drawn and then tractor machinery, but is still used in some areas of Europe and Asia. The Grim Reaper is often depicted carrying or wielding a scythe...
(which looks somewhat like an axeAxeThe axe, or ax, is an implement that has been used for millennia to shape, split and cut wood; to harvest timber; as a weapon; and as a ceremonial or heraldic symbol...
) with a skull on it, and can fire strong energy beams from two living horns (or possibly worms) on either side of her head. She has a very self-sufficient personality, and has only partially warmed up to Kyō, who often gives Guchuko food when at school or at home; Guchuko often repays Kyō by putting pig or cow carcasses in front of her house. It is strongly hinted Guchuko has a crush on Kyō (similar to Potemayo's on Sunao) as she continually blushes around Kyō and once attacked Potemayo who was about to be fed one of Kyō's snacks out of jealously. Guchuko sleeps in a tree right outside Kyō's house, and she has the habit of breaking doors with her scythe to go through (and patch them up afterward) instead of using them normally.
- Mikan is one of Sunao's classmates; she has a huge crushLimerenceLimerence is a term coined c. 1977 by the psychologist Dorothy Tennov to describe an involuntary state of mind which seems to result from a romantic attraction to another person combined with an overwhelming, obsessive need to have one's feelings reciprocated...
on him, but due to her soft-spoken personality, she does not find it easy to convey her feelings of love. Mikan will often have outrageous fantasies involving her and Sunao in a relationship together, which causes her to space out entirely.
- Kyō is another one of Sunao's classmates, and is Mikan's close friend. She has a tomboyish personality, and is athletic. She is also an excellent cook, especially of sweets, and has become involved with Guchuko as a result. Kyō's mother frequently tries to convince Guchuko to stay in their house, with usually bad results. Kyō has been the only person who has ever been able to hold Guchuko; this was once when she helped Guchuko get out of a bush and another when she believed Guchuko had died.
- Nene is a girl in Sunao's class, and is a close friend to Mikan. She normally has a high-pitched voice, but has been shown to alter her voice if she is impersonating another person's voice. She has a straight-forward personality, and is not afraid to say anything that is on her mind. Nene is very rich and has three older brothers who unilaterally adore her, though they often get her fist in their face. Nene's mother looks very young for her age (apparently it runs in their family), but she too often receives Nene's fist.
- Mudō is a boy in Sunao's class. He took an early liking towards Potemayo, though has not been able to even pet Potemayo. On Valentine's DayValentine's DaySaint Valentine's Day, commonly shortened to Valentine's Day, is an annual commemoration held on February 14 celebrating love and affection between intimate companions. The day is named after one or more early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine, and was established by Pope Gelasius I in 496...
in his second year of junior high school, he accidentally gave chocolate to Nene, which later caused him to become her slave for a time. Mudō is in the cheerleading club, and will dress up in a full female cheerleader uniform during club activities. A running gag is Mudō getting severely hurt, in many cases by the exploits of Guchuko. He seems to thinks Nene is cute when she does not talk at all.
- Kaoru is a boy in Sunao's class, and is a close friend to Mudō. Kaoru has shown obvious attraction towards Mudō and will support Mudō in his endeavors to get closer to Potemayo.
- Kōdai is Sunao's father, and is a folklorist. He has a childish personality and likes to play around constantly, which causes his son to not take him seriously in any situation. Kōdai is almost always away on travel, something Sunao resents him for. Often, Kōdai is beaten by Sunao for his immature behavior. He refers to Potemayo as "Mochi-Mochi".
- Yasumi is the younger brother of Mikan, though is much taller than her and looks older than most boys his age. Due to his sister's infatuation with Sunao, Yasumi is annoyed at his sister's personality when around Sunao and will often break up any chance for Mikan to have some time alone with Sunao. It is also hinted that he has an attraction to his sister. His name is a pun on the Japanese word .
- Tomari is a young girl in fifth grade of elementary school. She first met Potemayo while chasing Guchuko after she stole some chestnuts from her. She later ran into Mikan and her brother Yasumi, whom she takes a liking to after he gives her a hat that Mikan had originally given her brother. Tomari is a tomboyish girl who rarely wears female clothing and has very short hair for a girl, which makes her look like a young boy; it came as quite a shock to Mikan and Yasumi to find out Tomari was a girl.
- Miku is Sunao's late mother. She fell ill a few years before the story in Potemayo begins, and died as a result. She used to say to Sunao that she loved Japan the most out of anywhere in the world because of its flowers.
Manga
The four-panelYonkoma
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....
manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
series, written and illustrated by Haruka Ogataya, originally started serialization in the Japanese manga magazine Moeyon on July 9, 2004. In October 2005, the series moved to the seinen
Seinen
is a subset of manga that is generally targeted at a 20–30 year old male audience, but the audience can be older with some manga aimed at businessmen well into their 40s. In Japanese, the word Seinen means "young man" or "young men" and is not suggestive of sexual matters...
magazine Comic High!
Comic High!
is a Japanese seinen manga magazine pushlished on a monthly basis by Futabasha. It was launched as a special issue of Weekly Manga Action but has since become its own independent monthly anthology...
and continued until January 22, 2011. Five tankōbon
Tankobon
, with a literal meaning close to "independently appearing book", is the Japanese term for a book that is complete in itself and is not part of a series , though the manga industry uses it for volumes which may be in a series...
volumes have been released in Japan, published by Futabasha
Futabasha
is a Japanese publishing company headquartered in Higashigokenchō, Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan.-List of magazines published by Futabasha:*Bravo Ski*Comic Seed!*Futabasha Web Magazine*Manga Action ZERO*Tōji Rō*Getter Robot Saga...
.
Internet radio show
An Internet radioInternet radio
Internet radio is an audio service transmitted via the Internet...
show entitled was streamed between June 29, 2007 and March 28, 2008 every Friday on Beat Net Radio! and Lantis Web Radio
Lantis (company)
is a Japanese company that specializes as a music publisher label for Japanese musicians, anime soundtracks and video game soundtracks. It was established on November 26, 1999, and in May 2006, it was bought by, and became a subsidiary of, Bandai Visual...
. The author of the manga had made two guest appearances, and also the editor of Comic High, Kyōichi Nonaka, had made an appearance. The show was hosted by Kana Hanazawa, who played Potemayo in the anime, and Ayumu Tsuji, who played Guchuko in the anime.
Anime
A 12-episode animeAnime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
series adaptation was produced by the animation studio
Animation studio
An animation studio is a company producing animated media. The broadest such companies conceive of products to produce, own the physical equipment for production, employ operators for that equipment, and hold a major stake in the sales or rentals of the media produced...
J.C.Staff
J.C.STAFF
, is a Japanese animation studio founded in January 1986. Their first release was the three episode OVA Sengoku Kidan Yōtōden, in 1987. They have produced several well-known anime series, such as Revolutionary Girl Utena, Excel Saga, Shingetsutan Tsukihime, Shakugan no Shana, Toaru Majutsu no...
and directed by Takashi Ikehata. It aired in Japan from July 6 to September 21, 2007. Each anime episode usually contains two sub-episodes with separate storylines, ending with 24 sub-episodes by the end of the series. Additionally, there are short animated specials released on the DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
s which are additional sub-episodes to the series. There will be one special per DVD, ending with six total specials.
The anime's opening theme was by Mosaic.wav
Mosaic.wav
is a Japanese moe-pop band from Akihabara, widely known for doing theme songs to eroge, they eventually began to produce their own original work in 2004. Their name is a reference to the use of mosaics to censor the genitals in pornography, and WAV is a sound format...
; the maxi single
Maxi single
A maxi single or maxi-single is a music single release with more than the usual two tracks of an a-side song and a b-side song.-The first maxi singles:...
containing the opening theme was released on July 25, 2007 by Lantis
Lantis (company)
is a Japanese company that specializes as a music publisher label for Japanese musicians, anime soundtracks and video game soundtracks. It was established on November 26, 1999, and in May 2006, it was bought by, and became a subsidiary of, Bandai Visual...
. The ending theme was by Chata
Chata
is a Japanese singer who has performed theme songs for games and anime.She has also participated in various dōjin music circles. Her own private circle is called Usagi Kinoko.-History:...
; the ending theme single was released on August 22, 2007, also by Lantis. The anime's original soundtrack was released on October 10, 2007.