Little Cherry (Chinese: 小樱桃; pinyin: Xiǎo Yīng Táo) is a Chinese media franchise created by Yang Shangjun. Owned by the Zhengzhou-based Zhengzhou Little Cherry Cartoon Art Co., it is primarily comedy manhua featuring a girl whose name is Little Cherry. It is titled Xoyto in English.[1]
The Little Cherry manhua debuted in October 1998.[2] It was originally titled『Xiǎo Yīng Zi』before Yang changed it to appear more Chinese. Upon initial publication, the comic strip gained popularity in few months, and Yang exited her job with the magazine Comics Monthly (漫画月刊) to work as a freelancer in September 1999. In 2000, Zhejiang Literature and Art Publishing House published the first Little Cherry comic book volumes which initially sold out. In the same year, Yang registered the Zhengzhou Little Cherry Cartoon Art Co. At one point there was a circulation of 17 million comic book copies. Derivative works and products included beverages, Flash animation, and toys.[3][4][5]
In 2008, a 26-episode animated television series adaptation debuted on CCTV. The second season premiered in July 2010, when the third season was reportedly in development.[6]
In October 2012, the Little Cherry Rescue Angels comic received the Golden Dragon Award for best children's comic.[7]
Media sources including Sina Games and Taiwan-based Liberty Times have included comparisons between the Little Cherry animated series and the Japanese manga and anime series Chibi Maruko-chan, such as their similar titles, in articles about alleged plagiarism in Chinese animation.[8][9]
^Yang, Shangjun, ed. (January 2008). Little Cherry: Housekeeper Elf (小樱桃: 守屋精灵). Zhejiang Literature and Art Publishing House. p. 100. ISBN9787533925635.
^Chen, Wei (2007-12-12). "樱桃女孩的品牌长征". Sina Finance (in Chinese). Retrieved 2017-10-11.
^Fan, Junqiang. "杨尚君:杨家"樱桃"初长成". Xzbu.com (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 2017-10-11. Retrieved 2017-10-11.
^Chen, Xiang (2010-07-28). "《小樱桃2》央视首播，图书出版权落入湘少社囊中". Guangming Daily (China) (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 2017-09-24. Retrieved 2016-02-07.
^Zuo, Lihui (12 October 2012). "《小樱桃·拯救天使》 获中国漫画最高奖". Zhengzhou Daily (in Chinese). Retrieved 2023-12-23.
^"有作品就補貼 中國姑息山寨動畫". Liberty Times Net (in Chinese). 2015-07-13. Retrieved 2016-09-19.
