Contents

Norakuro

Japanese media franchise

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Norakuro
Manga volume 1 cover (1975 bunkoban edition)
のらくろ
Manga
Written by	Suihō Tagawa
Published by	Kodansha
Magazine	Shōnen Kurabu
English magazine	US: Kramer's Ergot
Demographic	Shōnen
Original run	1931 – 1981
Volumes	36
Anime television series
Directed by	Toru Murayama
Music by	Hidehiko Arashino
Studio	Eiken
Original network	Fuji TV
Original run	5 October 1970 – 29 March 1971
Episodes	26
Anime television series
Norakuro-kun
Directed by	Masami Anno
Studio	Studio Pierrot
Original network	Fuji TV
Original run	4 October 1987 – 2 October 1988
Episodes	50
Short films
See: #Short films (1933 – 1938)

Norakuro (Japanese: のらくろ) is a Japanese manga series created by Suihō Tagawa, originally published by KodanshainShōnen Kurabu, and one of the first series' to be reprinted in tankōbon format.^[1] The titular protagonist, Norakuro, or Norakuro-kun, is an anthropomorphic black and white dog inspired by Felix the Cat.^[2] The name Norakuro is an abbreviation of norainu (野良犬, stray dog) and Kurokichi (黒吉, the name of the dog, literally meaning "black luck").

Media[edit]

Manga[edit]

In the original story, the central character Norakuro was a soldier serving in an army of dogs called the "fierce dogs regiment" (猛犬連隊, mōkenrentai). The strip's publication began in Kodansha's Shōnen Kurabu in 1931, and was based on the Imperial Japanese Army of the time;^[3] the manga artist, Suihō Tagawa, had served in the Imperial Army from 1919 to 1922. Norakuro was gradually promoted from private to captain in the stories, which began as humorous episodes, but eventually developed into propaganda tales of military exploits against the "pigs army" on the "continent" - a thinly-veiled reference to the Second Sino-Japanese War.^[4] The series became a hit in Japan; Shonen Kurabu's circulation was of 750.000 in 1936,^[5] and several Norakuro-themed merchandise (toys, stationery and other products - licensed or not) were sold.^[6][7] Kimihiko Nakamura argues that "Norakuro connected children with the war and became a representative of wartime children's culture as an unofficial propaganda hero."^[8]

Serialization of Norakuro stopped in 1941 for wartime austerity reasons. After the war, due to the popularity of the strip, the character returned in various guises, including a sumo wrestler and a botanist.

There is an excerpt that appears in the sixth Kramer's Ergot comics anthology which is the only example of Tagawa's work published in English.^[3]

Short films[edit]

At least seven extant animated short films featuring Norakuro were made from June 1933 to 1939.

Anime series[edit]

Two post-war animated series of Norakuro, in 1970 and 1987, have also been produced. In the 1970 series, the voice of Norakuro was played by Nobuyo Ōyama, also known as the voice of Doraemon. During the 1980s and early 1990s, Norakuro was the mascot of the Physical Training School (Tai-Iku Gakko) of the Japan Self-Defense Forces.

See also[edit]

• List of anime by release date (pre-1939)
• Momotaro: Sacred Sailors

Notes[edit]

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• Norakuro-kunatStudio Pierrot
• Norakuro-kun at Studio Pierrot (in Japanese)
• Norakuro (1970 TV series) (anime) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia