Picture a cartoon where your hero’s head is a bun filled with red bean paste. He doesn’t need to eat because his bread head sustains him. He does, however, become weak when his head becomes wet. If this happens his friend, Uncle Jam, will bake him a new head which he will replace with the old one, which subsequently flies off to an undisclosed location. Our hero is generous and lets hungry and less fortunate creatures eat part of his head. And when confronted with danger, he has two attack modes ‘An-punch’ and ‘An-kick’ which can shatter metal and destroy giant robots. And because he has super-hearing, people can call out his name anywhere in the world and he will fly off immediately to save the day. He is, after all, a symbol of justice. He will do anything so long as he makes people in need happy. Finding lost pets, educating children on the right foods to eat and pushing shopping trolleys for the elderly, he is ready to help and educate humanity. Welcome to the quirky world of Anpanman – Japan’s most popular cartoon. Created as a picture book series in 1973 by Takashi Yanase, Anpanman became a anime cartoon in 1988 and has been present on TV ever since. Children have consistently voted him the most popular fictional character and his popularity shows no signs of slowing down. As with anything wildly popular, Anpanman has leant his instantly recogniseable face on all manner of merchandise. There’s the usual clothes, lunch boxes, toys and video games.

But there’s also the Anpanman toilet seat cover, insect repellent seal, crisps and vending machine. Nothing is off limits as far as Anpanman is concerned.

There’s also an Anpanman museum in Kobe Harborland where children can interact with their hero. And the Anpanman books have sold a massive 50 million copies in total. It’s impossible to travel through Japan and not notice Anpanman’s face smiling back at you in some shape or form. Not bad for a character who was conceived during World War Two by a man who was faced with the prospect of starvation on a daily basis, and dreamed about eating anpan (a red-bean filled bun). Although Anpanman is the star of the anime cartoon, there are other unique characters that feature in the show. Indeed, in 2009 Anpanman held the record for the highest number of characters in a cartoon. There are a whopping 1,768 characters in total that have featured in the first 980 episodes. And that number continues to grow, creating an endless stream of adventures. Here are a few of them:

Baikinman

The main villain of the show. He is a purple bacteria from “Germ Planet”. His evil plans are to destroy Anpanman and spread bacteria across his world. Naturally, his weakness is soap which causes him to shrink to the size of an insect. He was born at the same time as Anpanman which creates a layered ying and yang type sub-plot.

Shokupanman

Anpanman’s friend has a sliced white bread for a head. He is a kind and sensible character, who delights in serving lunch to schoolchildren. He helps Anpanman and his allies with his van which is equipped with various gizmos to fight off attacks.

Currypanman

Another friend of Anpanman, his head is made from a bun filled with spicy curry. As a result, he is hot-headed and has a tendency to fly off the handle. He has some fearsome moves, which include Curry-punch and Curry-kick that does irrevocable damage to his foes. He can also use the hot curry in his head to burn the bad guys. All in a family friendly way, naturally.

Uncle Jam

Anpanman’s friendly creator. He’s a fairy and a baker and will bake Anpanman a new head should his old one become damaged. He lives in a bakery in the forest. Combining the fantastical, heroic and educational, this is a distinctly Japanese creation where epic battles are played out by cute, yet assertive, characters who each have their special attack moves. And amidst the fun and colourful action, there’s a moral center to each story that have kept kids and parents content and entertained for years, and will continue to do so for years to come.

Sam Holtmon

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Anpanman – Japan’s most popular anime cartoon