is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yoshito Usui. The series revolves around the title character, as well as his family and friends, and their lives in and around the town of Kasukabe, Saitama. It was first serialized in Futabasha's manga magazine Weekly Manga Action from 1990 to 2000, before moving to the monthly magazine Manga Town that year. Following Usui's death, the original manga ended in February 2010. A new manga series by members of Usui's team, titled , began in Manga Town in August 2010; since 2023, it has run on its own website.
The manga spawned a media franchise, which includes an anime television series that has aired on TV Asahi since April 13, 1992, with over 1200 episodes. The anime has been dubbed in 30 languages and aired in 45 countries. The franchise also includes several spin-off anime and manga series, films, and video games. As of 2023, both the Crayon Shin-Chan and New Crayon Shin-Chan manga have over 148 million copies in circulation, making them among the best-selling manga series in history.
Synopsis
Set in the city of Kasukabe in Saitama Prefecture within the Greater Tokyo Area of Japan, the series follows the adventures of the five-year-old Shinnosuke "Shin-chan" Nohara and his parents, baby sister, dog, neighbours, and best friends. Most of the plot is about Shin-chan's daily life, but it is often interspersed with fantastic and incredible elements.
Many of the jokes in the series stem from Shin-chan's occasionally weird, unnatural and inappropriate use of language, as well as from his mischievous behaviour. Consequently, non-Japanese readers and some viewers may find it difficult to understand his jokes. Some gags may require an understanding of Japanese culture and/or language to be fully appreciated; for example, his "Mr. Elephant" impression, while being transparently obvious as a physical gag, also has a deeper resonance with contemporary Japanese culture since it refers to the popular Japanese children's song "Zou-san" (ぞうさん). But after modest translation, it is popular in the rest of Asia due to cultural compatibility. It also contains many sarcastic jokes and stereotype humour.
The series is mainly of a comedy style with a lot of sexual innuendo, leading to parents forbidding their children to watch it. However, due to its popularity, it's also stylistically as family-friendly as possible, although it may not apply everywhere. Most episodes are about the importance of family and friends. On rare occasions, it also has some darker episodes like Miss Matsuzaka's boyfriend dying in the manga, though it was not adapted into an anime episode. It also includes several horror adaptations, for example "The Line of no End", "The Horrible Elevator" and "The Kindergarten Stairs".
Abnormal for his age, Shin-chan regularly becomes besotted with pretty female characters in skimpy clothing who are much older than him, and an additional source of humour is derived from his childlike attempts at flirting with these characters, such as by asking them (inappropriately, on several levels) "Do you like green peppers?" (ピーマン好き?) (because he hates green peppers so much). He continually displays a lack of tact when talking to adults, asking questions such as "Why can't you cook?" to his friend's mom or "How old are you?" to elderly people.
Media Manga
Crayon Shin-chan, written and illustrated by Yoshito Usui, debuted in Futabasha's seinen manga magazine Weekly Manga Action in 1990. It started as a spin-off of the character Shinnosuke Nikaido (二階堂信之介) of another series by Yoshito Usui, Darakuya Store Monogatari (だらくやストア物語). The chapters were collected into 50 tankōbon volumes, which were published under Futabasha's Action Comics imprint, from April 11, 1992, to July 10, 2010.
Yoshito Usui died on September 11, 2009, after a fall at Mount Arafune. After Usui died, Futabasha originally planned to end Crayon Shin-chan in November 2009. Upon discovering new manuscripts, Futabasha decided to extend the comic's run until the March 2010 issue of the magazine, which shipped on February 5, 2010. Although the series formally ended on February 5, 2010, it was announced on December 1, 2009, that a new manga would begin in the summer of 2010 by members of Usui's team, titled . This manga moved to a dedicated website after the magazine it was serialized in ended publication in late 2023.
A series of four bilingual Japanese-English manga were released in 1996 in Japan as Shin-chan: The Little Horror! (クレヨンしんちゃんの楽しいゾ英会話).
ComicsOne translated ten volumes of Crayon Shin-chan into English and released it in the United States of America. Occasional pop culture references familiar to Americans, such as Pokémon and Britney Spears, were added to increase the appeal to American audiences. The manga is mirrored from its original to read from left to right. Starting with the sixth volume, many of the names were changed to the ones used in the Vitello and Phuuz English version of the anime, even though the dub never aired in North America. This translation is rated Teen.
Since then, American publisher DrMaster took over the licenses of several manga series, including Crayon Shin-chan, from ComicsOne. No new volumes of Crayon Shin-chan were released under the DrMaster imprint.
On July 28, 2007, DC Comics' manga division CMX announced the acquisition of the Crayon Shin-chan manga. The CMX version is rated Mature instead of Teen from ComicsOne, because of nudity, sexual humor, dirty and bad language. The first volume was released on February 27, 2008, with uncensored art, and the style of jokes that frequent the Adult Swim dub with some throw backs to the original version, such as his original greeting. However, volume 10 omitted a gag which was in the ComicsOne version.
On April 11, 2012, One Peace Books announced their release of the manga, which is a reprint of the CMX version, in an omnibus format. Three omnibus volumes were released simultaneously on October 15, 2012. Volume 4 was released on November 13, 2013, and included the Japanese volume 12, marking the first time that particular volume has an English translation.
The Crayon Shin-chan manga spin-off, Action Mask, is currently available as read-only/print-only subscription from Crunchyroll and Futabasha. The main Shin-chan manga is also available from Crunchyroll using the CMX version, concurrently up to volume 10.
Anime Television series
An anime adaptation of Crayon Shin-chan, produced by Shin-Ei Animation, has aired on TV Asahi since April 13, 1992.
A live-action film titled , based on Crayon Shin-chan's animated film Crayon Shin-chan: Fierceness That Invites Storm! The Battle of the Warring States, was released in 2009, with the live action film's Kawakami family being the equivalent of the anime's Nohara family.
Video games Console and handheld Many video games were only released in Japan, but there were others released in South Korea, Italy and Spain.
Title System Release dateCrayon Shin-chan: Ora to Shiro wa Otomodachi da yo (クレヨンしんちゃん "オラとシロはお友達だよ")Game BoyApril 9, 1993Crayon Shin-chan: Arashi o Yobu Enji (クレヨンしんちゃん 嵐を呼ぶ園児)Super Famicom and Mega DriveJuly 30, 1993 (SFC)March 11, 1994 (MD)FamicomAugust 27, 1993Quiz Crayon Shin-chan (クイズ クレヨンしんちゃん)ArcadeAugust 1993Crayon Shin-chan 2: Ora to Wanpaku Gokko da zo (クレヨンしんちゃん2 "オラとわんぱくごっこだゾ")Game BoyOctober 22, 1993Crayon Shin-chan Ora to Asobo (クレヨンしんちゃん オラと遊ぼ)ArcadeDecember 1993Crayon Shin-chan no Ora to Issho ni Asobou yo! (クレヨンしんちゃんのオラといっしょにあそぼうよ!)Sega PicoMarch 1994Crayon Shin-chan 3: Ora no Gokigen Athletic (クレヨンしんちゃん3 オラのごきげんアスレチック)Game BoyMarch 26, 1994Crayon Shin-chan 2: Dai Maou no Gyakushuu (クレヨンしんちゃん2 大魔王の逆襲)Super FamicomMay 27, 1994Crayon Shin-chan 4: Ora no Itazura Dai Henshin (クレヨンしんちゃん4 "オラのいたずら大変身")Game BoyAugust 26, 1994Crayon Shin-chan no Oekaki Note (クレヨンしんちゃんのおえかきノート)Sega PicoJanuary 1995Crayon Shin-chan: Taiketsu! Quantum Panic!! (クレヨンしんちゃん 対決!カンタムパニック!!)Game GearFebruary 24, 1995Crayon Shin-chan: Puzzle Daimaou no Nazo (クレヨンしんちゃん パズル大魔王の謎)3DOMarch 10, 1995Crayon Shin-chan: Nagagutsu Dobon (クレヨンしんちゃん 長ぐつドボン)Super FamicomSeptember 27, 1996Crayon Shin-chan: Ora no Gokigen Collection (クレヨンしんちゃん オラのごきげんコレクション)Game BoyDecember 20, 1996Crayon Shin-chan: Ora no Honto no Kaa-chan Ya~i (クレヨンしんちゃん オラのほんとの母ちゃんやーい)PC1997짱구는 못말려 (Korea)PC1997 (Korea)짱구는 못말려 2 (Korea)PC1999Jjanggu the Unhelpable 3 (짱구는 못말려 3 -돌아온 짱구-) (Korea)PC/Nuon2000 (Korea)짱구는 못말려 4 -부리부리왕국의 비밀 (Korea)PC2001짱구는 못말려 5 -짱구가 줄었어요! (Korea)PC2002짱구는 못말려 6 -원시시대 짱구 (Korea)PC2002짱구는 못말려 7 -흰둥이 구출작전 (Korea)PC2003짱구 스프링스 (Korea)PCKids Station: Crayon Shin-Chan (キッズステーション クレヨンしんちゃん オラとおもいでつくるゾ!)PlayStationNovember 29, 2001パソコンやろうよ!マウスでジグソーパズル クレヨンしんちゃんPCJanuary 18, 2002クレヨンしんちゃん オラと一緒に英語する?PCAugust 30, 2002Crayon Shin-chan: Arashi no Yobu Adventures in Cinemaland! (クレヨンしんちゃん 嵐を呼ぶ シネマランドの大冒険!)Shin chan: Aventuras en Cineland (Spain)Game Boy AdvanceApril 16, 2004December 25, 2005 (Spain)Crayon Shin-chan: Densetsu o Yobu Omake no To Shukkugaan! (クレヨンしんちゃん 伝説を呼ぶ オマケの都ショックガーン!)Shin chan contra los muñecos de Shock Gahn (Spain)Game Boy AdvanceMarch 23, 2006September 18, 2006 (Spain)Crayon Shin-chan: Saikyou Kazoku Kasukabe King Wii (クレヨンしんちゃん 最強家族カスカベキング うぃ〜)Shin chan: Las nuevas aventuras para Wii (Spain)WiiDecember 2, 2006April 25, 2008 (Spain)Crayon Shin-chan DS: Arashi wo Yobu Nutte Crayoon Daisakusen! (クレヨンしんちゃんDS 嵐を呼ぶ ぬってクレヨ〜ン大作戦!)¡Shin chan flipa en colores! (Spain)짱구는 못말려 DS 알쏭달쏭 크레용 대작전 (Korea)Shin chan e i colori magici! (Italy)Nintendo DSMarch 21, 2007November 16, 2007 (Spain)April 5, 2008 (Korea)September 12, 2008 (Italy)Crayon Shin-chan: Arashi o Yobu Cinema Land (クレヨンしんちゃん 嵐を呼ぶ シネマランド カチンコガチンコ大活劇!)Shin chan: ¡Aventuras de cine! (Spain)짱구는 못말려 시네마랜드 찰칵찰칵 대소동! (Korea)Nintendo DSMarch 20, 2008December 5, 2008 (Spain)September 15, 2009 (Korea)Crayon Shin-chan: Arashi o Yobu – Nendororon Daihenshin (クレヨンしんちゃん 嵐を呼ぶ ねんどろろ〜ん大変身!)¡Shin chan contra los plastas! (Spain)짱구는 못말려 말랑말랑 고무찰흙 대변신! (Korea)Nintendo DSMarch 19, 2009December 4, 2009 (Spain)December 3, 2010 (Korea)Crayon Shin-chan: Obaka Daininden – Susume! Kasukabe Ninja Tai! (クレヨンしんちゃん おバカ大忍伝 すすめ!カスカベ忍者隊!)짱구는 못말려 부리부리 떡잎마을 대모험! (Korea)Nintendo DSMarch 18, 2010October 19, 2012 (Korea)クレヨンしんちゃんオラとカラオケ大パニックCROSSOApril 12, 2010Crayon Shin-chan Shokkugan! Densetsu wo Yobu Omake Daiketsusen!! (クレヨンしんちゃん ショックガ〜ン! 伝説を呼ぶオマケ大ケッ戦!!)짱구는 못말려 원 플러스 원! 쇼크성랜드 대결전!! (Korea)Nintendo DSDecember 2, 2010October 27, 2011 (Korea)クレヨンしんちゃん 恋する47（フォーティーセブン）MobageApril 5, 2011クレヨンしんちゃん シネマDEカード!MobageNovember 9, 2011Crayon Shin-chan: Uchu de Achoo!? Yujo no Obakarate (クレヨンしんちゃん 宇宙DEアチョー!? 友情のおバカラテ!!)짱구는 못말려 판타스틱-! 우주별 대모험!! (Korea)Nintendo 3DSDecember 1, 20112013 (Korea)짱구는 못말려 온라인 (Korea)PC2012 (Korea)Crayon Shin-chan: Arashi wo Yobu Kasukabe Eiga Stars! (クレヨンしんちゃん 嵐を呼ぶ カスカベ映画スターズ! Crayon Shin-chan: The Storm Called Kasukabe Movie Stars!)Nintendo 3DSApril 10, 2014Crayon Shin-Chan Gekiatsu! Oden wa Rudo Dai Konran!! (クレヨンしんちゃん 激アツ！おでんわ～るど大コン乱！)Nintendo 3DSNovember 30, 2017Crayon Shin-chan: The Storm Called! Flaming Kasukabe Runner!! (クレヨンしんちゃん 嵐を呼ぶ 炎のカスカベランナー!!)Nintendo SwitchJanuary 14, 2020 (NA)January 24, 2020 (PAL)March 19, 2020 (Japan)Shin-chan: Me and the Professor on Summer Vacation – The Endless Seven-Day Journey (クレヨンしんちゃん オラと博士の夏休み ～おわらない七日間の旅～)Nintendo Switch and PCJuly 15, 2021 (Switch, Japan)August 31, 2022 (PC)Shin-chan: Shiro and the Coal Town (クレヨンしんちゃん「炭の町のシロ」)Nintendo Switch and PCFebruary 22, 2024 (Switch, Japan)October 24, 2024 (PC)
Smartphone and tablet Title Systems Developers/Publishers AvailabilityShin Chan Kasukabe's ChallengeAndroidiOSLUK InternacionalManduka GamesDoBCNDiscontinuedCrayon Shin-chan: The Storm Called! Flaming Kasukabe Runner!(クレヨンしんちゃん:嵐を呼ぶ!炎のカスカベランナー)AndroidiOSBushiroadDiscontinuedCrayon Shin-chan: The Storm Called! Flaming Kasukabe Runner! Z (クレヨンしんちゃん ちょ〜嵐を呼ぶ 炎のカスカベランナー!! Z)Android