Shiawase Sou no Okojo-san
Encyclopedia
is a Japanese manga
series written and illustrated by Ayumi Uno and serialized in LaLa
. The chapters were collected into eight tankōbon
volumes by Hakusensha
and released from 1996 to 2005. The series is about an ermine
living as a pet in a small apartment
complex.
Okojo-san was adapted into a 51-episode anime
series titled by the Japanese animation studio Radix
, and aired on TV Tokyo
from October 2, 2001 to September 24, 2002.
, known in Japan as an okojo, Okojo-san lives at an exotic pet store
run by a greedy manager until one day he escapes. In the chaos following, he ends up unconscious in a garbage can, where college student Haruka Tsuchiya finds him. Mistaking him for a ferret
, Tsuchiya takes Okojo home with him. At the Shiawase apartment complex, Okojo meets other pets, including the mouse
Chorori, and the various eccentric human tenants.
With his friends, Okojo struggles to adapt to life with humans, vacuum cleaners, and all the other things that come with human society.
The comedy is largely reliant on absurdity
and Okojo's tendency towards melodrama.
End Themes
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 Ayumi Uno and serialized in LaLa
Lala
Lala VC was an Indian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth soldiers.-Details:...
. The chapters were collected into eight 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 by Hakusensha
Hakusensha
is a Japanese publishing company. It is headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo.The company mainly publishes manga magazines of various genres and is involved in certain series' productions in their games, original video animation, musical and their animated TV series....
and released from 1996 to 2005. The series is about an ermine
Ermine
Ermine has several uses:* A common name for the stoat * The white fur and black tail end of this animal, which is historically worn by and associated with royalty and high officials...
living as a pet in a small apartment
Apartment
An apartment or flat is a self-contained housing unit that occupies only part of a building...
complex.
Okojo-san was adapted into a 51-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....
series titled by the Japanese animation studio Radix
Radix (studio)
-Productions:*Akahori Gedou Hour Rabuge *Amazing Nurse Nanako *Bakegyamon *Comic Party: Revolution *Dennou Boukenki Webdiver *Divergence Eve *Haibane Renmei *Honey x Honey Drops...
, and aired on TV Tokyo
TV Tokyo
is a television station headquartered in Toranomon, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Also known as , a blend of "terebi" and "Tokyo", it is the key station of TX Network. It is one of the major Tokyo television stations, particularly specializing in anime...
from October 2, 2001 to September 24, 2002.
Synopsis
A white ermineErmine
Ermine has several uses:* A common name for the stoat * The white fur and black tail end of this animal, which is historically worn by and associated with royalty and high officials...
, known in Japan as an okojo, Okojo-san lives at an exotic pet store
Pet store
A pet store or pet shop is a retail business which sells different kinds of animals. Pet stores also sell pet food, supplies, and accessories....
run by a greedy manager until one day he escapes. In the chaos following, he ends up unconscious in a garbage can, where college student Haruka Tsuchiya finds him. Mistaking him for a ferret
Ferret
The ferret is a domesticated mammal of the type Mustela putorius furo. Ferrets are sexually dimorphic predators with males being substantially larger than females. They typically have brown, black, white, or mixed fur...
, Tsuchiya takes Okojo home with him. At the Shiawase apartment complex, Okojo meets other pets, including the mouse
Mouse
A mouse is a small mammal belonging to the order of rodents. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse . It is also a popular pet. In some places, certain kinds of field mice are also common. This rodent is eaten by large birds such as hawks and eagles...
Chorori, and the various eccentric human tenants.
With his friends, Okojo struggles to adapt to life with humans, vacuum cleaners, and all the other things that come with human society.
The comedy is largely reliant on absurdity
Surreal humour
Surreal humour is a form of humour based on violations of causal reasoning with events and behaviours that are logically incongruent. Constructions of surreal humour involve bizarre juxtapositions, non-sequiturs, irrational situations, and/or expressions of nonsense.The humour arises from a...
and Okojo's tendency towards melodrama.
Animals
- Okojo/Kojopii (Okojo-san, オコジョさん) - A white ermineErmineErmine has several uses:* A common name for the stoat * The white fur and black tail end of this animal, which is historically worn by and associated with royalty and high officials...
with a leaf on top of his head, Okojo-san is very confident, aggressive, and proud, viewing all humans as either servants or rivals. In spite of his professed disdain for them, Okojo finds himself becoming very attached to his extended family of humans and animals. He takes himself very seriously, and as such has a quick temper and is prone to melodramaMelodramaThe term melodrama refers to a dramatic work that exaggerates plot and characters in order to appeal to the emotions. It may also refer to the genre which includes such works, or to language, behavior, or events which resemble them...
. When Okojo must be taken to the local veterinarian, Yuuta gives Okojo the name "Kojopii," but the other animals continue to call him "Okojo-san." Saeki Shun, who initially thought Okojo was a mouse, calls him "Chuuchun."
- Chorori (ちょろり) - A pet mouseMouseA mouse is a small mammal belonging to the order of rodents. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse . It is also a popular pet. In some places, certain kinds of field mice are also common. This rodent is eaten by large birds such as hawks and eagles...
who lives in Shiawase Apartments, Chorori is very timid and polite, and sees Okojo-san as his superior. His owner, an unpopular mangaMangaManga 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...
artist, is very cruel to Chorori at times, but Chorori loves her nonetheless.
- Kojoru (コジョルー) - A female ermine
- Tatchin (タッチン) - A male ferretFerretThe ferret is a domesticated mammal of the type Mustela putorius furo. Ferrets are sexually dimorphic predators with males being substantially larger than females. They typically have brown, black, white, or mixed fur...
- Pyonki and Pyanki (ピョンキー and ピャンキー) - Two hedgehogs
Humans
- Haruka Tsuchiya (Tsuchiya Haruka) - A college student living in the Siawase apartment finds Okojo in a garbage can and cares for it. He also knows the neighbors pretty well, like Yuuta, an elementary student who lives next door and visits okojo. He apparently doesn't speak that much and only says a couple of words per episode. He attends Sumidagawa University with Saeki.
- Yuuta Kudou - Yuuta is an elementary student and is one of the neighbors of Haruka. He visits Haruka. Haruka planned to give Yuuta Okojo but decided not to. Yuuta loves to play with Okojo.
- Mayumi - Mayumi is a shy student that has a crush on Haruka Tsuchiya. She is dreaming about him but is too shy to ask him out. Her the best friend is Izumi, who wants to help her to win Haruka's heart.
- Doctor Akihi Tsukahara - A sensitive veterinarian at a pet clinic with his nurse, Miyako. He fell in love with Okojo and he bought his own okojo-plushie. He loves to visit Kojopii every time he can.
- Miyako - Nurse of Doctor Tsukahara. She does all that she can to help him, although she is annoyed when he ignores her when he dreams about him meeting Okojo.
- Manga Artist - The owner of Chorori, she is a manga artist. She does very cruel and unusual torture to Chorori. An example would be when she was about to feed Chorori to the crawfish but then Okojo bit her and fights her. She fears a call from the publisher. She's much nicer when the publisher accepts her manga.
- Ruru and Ruka Tadakoro - Two twin pre-schoolers who love to creep out other living things. For example, when Okojo and Chorori stumble into their room they start playing a game called "The Strange Game" where they would sing strange in perfect harmony. This creeped out Chorori and intimidated Okojo.
- Saeki Shun - A college student who lives in the apartment. He lives by himself and talks to himself. He's always seen smiling even when he's hurt. He frightens Okojo and Chorori because he talks to himself, plays with Okojo, and he seems never to get angry at Okojo for scratching him. He plays with Okojo by calling him an eel, making Okojo a scarf, and he mind-tricks Okojo to imitate him when he says the word "Chuuchun". He attends Sumidagawa University with Haruka. He lives with his sister, Tomoko. Saeki wanted Okojo to be his pet, but when he lost to Haruka, he decided to buy his own pet - a ferret named Tatchin.
- Tomoko Shun (佐伯トモコ) - Has the same personality as her brother. She played with Okojo as a scarf. She is still jolly and everything makes her laugh.
Voice cast
- Okojo-san - Miyuki SawashiroMiyuki Sawashirois a female Japanese voice actress and singer who works for Mausu Promotion.She voiced Puchiko in the English dubbed releases of Di Gi Charat the Movie and Leave it to Piyoko, making her one of the few Japanese voice actors to have reprised a role in English in addition to the original Japanese...
- Haruka Tsuchiya - Yutaka Koizumi
- Yuuta Kudou - Nanae KatouNanae Katouis a Japanese voice actress who is affiliated with Ace Deuce Code.-Filmography:* Fancy Lala , Boy , Classmate , Old Woman , Student , Student * Eat-Man '98 , Alex...
- Chorori - Masami Yamazaki
- Tsukahara Akihi - Hiroki TakahashiHiroki Takahashiis a Japanese voice actor best known for the role of Eiji Kikumaru in The Prince of Tennis, Kenji Harima in School Rumble and Katsuya Jonouchi in Yu-Gi-Oh. He works at Big Shot/Interchannel. He also has voice acted in some yaoi Drama CD's such as Love Neco, and Koi cha no Osahou...
- Saeki Shun - Harada Hideaki
- Saeki Tomoko - Asuka Nakamura
- Haruhi Terada - Narrator
Episodes
| Episodes |
|---|
| 1# Okojo-san has arrived!/ Okojo-san goes to the hospital (オコジョさんが来た!/オコジョさん、病院へ行く) |
| 2# Kojopy's Siawase Apartment Exploration/ Saeki laughs. (コジョピーのしあわせ荘探検/笑うサエキ) |
| 3# Okojo's grave/The enemy is a cleaning machine (オコジョの墓/敵は掃除機) |
| 4# Kojopii goes to paradise/Kojopii's campus life (コジョピー、パラダイスへ/コジョピーのキャンパス生活) |
| 5# Kojopii's secret/Kojopii vs Tatchin (コジョピーの秘密/コジョピーVSタッチン) |
| 6# Tatchin's tears/Kojopii's nightmare (タッチンの涙/コジョピーの悪夢) |
| 7# Kojopii's makeover!/Kojopii in love (コジョピー大変身!/恋するコジョピー) |
| 8# The fantastic hiking/Cosmos-hata's Tsukahara (すてきなハイキング/コスモス畑のツカハラ) |
| 9# Life with Kojopii/There is paradise in Kotatsu (コジョピーのいる生活/コタツの中はパラダイス) |
| 10# Yuki, Yuuta and Karaage/Leader Okojo! Appearance Chapter (雪とゆうたとカラアゲと/オコジョ番長!登場編) |
| 11# Choruri and Nezumi-dono/I like Kojopii (ちょろりとネズミどの/好きすきコジョピー) |
Songs
Opening Theme- Ano ko no Happy Face (A Child's Happy Face) - Shiawase Sisters (eps 1-25)
- Kojopii no Uta (Kojopii's Song) - Shiawase Okojo-gumi (eps 26-51)
End Themes
- Nemuku Naru Made - Hideaki Takatori (eps 1-25)
- Poka Poka Kojoru - Mika Sakenobe (eps 26-51)