Crayon Shin-chan (クレヨンしんちゃん Kureyon Shin-chan, also known as Shin-chan) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yoshito Usui. It follows the adventures of the five-year-old Shinnosuke "Shin" Nohara and his parents, baby sister, dog, neighbors, and friends and is set inKasukabe, Saitama Prefecture. An anime adaptation of the series began airing on TV Asahi in 1992, and continues to this day.
Due to the death of author Usui, the manga in its current form ended on September 11, 2009, as announced in a broadcast of the anime on October 16, 2009. Although the series formally ended on February 5, 2010, it was announced on December 1, 2009 that a new manga would began in the summer of 2010 by members of Usui's team.
Basic information
Crayon Shin-chan first appeared in a Japanese weekly magazine called Weekly Manga Action, which is published by Futabasha. The anime Crayon Shin-chan has been on TV Asahi since April 13, 1992, and on several television networks, worldwide.
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 inappropriate behavior. Consequently, non-Japanese readers and viewers may find it difficult to understand his jokes. In fact, some of them cannot be translated into other languages. In Japanese, certain set phrases almost always accompany certain actions; many of these phrases have standard responses. A typical gag involves Shin-chan confounding his parents by using the wrong phrase for the occasion; for example, saying "Welcome back!" ("おかえりなさい" "okaeri nasai") instead of "I'm home!" ("ただいま" "Tadaima") when he comes home. Another difficulty in translation arises from the use of onomatopoeic Japanese words. In scolding Shin-chan and attempting to educate him in proper behaviour his parent or tutor may use such a phrase to indicate the correct action. Often through misinterpreting such a phrase as a different, though similar sounding phrase, or through interpreting it in one sense when another is intended, Shin-chan will embark on a course of action which, while it may be what he thinks is being requested of him, leads to bizarre acts which serve only to vex his parents or tutors even more. This is not restricted to onomatopoeic words, since almost any word can become a source of confusion for Shin-chan, including English loan-words, such as mistaking "cool" for "pool" ("That's pool!" or "Pu-ru da zo!" ("プールだぞ！") for "That's cool!").
Some other humorous themes which are repeated in the series are of a more universal nature, such as gags based on physical comedy (such as eating snow with chopsticks) or, as a child, unexpectedly using adult speech patterns or mannerisms. But even there, many of the gags may require an understanding of Japanese culture and/or language to be fully appreciated; for example, his infamous "Mr. Elephant" impression, while being transparently obvious as a physical gag, also has a deeper resonance with contemporary Japanese culture since it references the popular Japanese children's song "Zou-san" (ぞうさん). Shin-chan regularly becomes besotted with pretty female characters who are much older than him, and an additional source of humor is derived from his childlike attempts at wooing these characters, such as by asking them (inappropriately, on several levels) "Do you like green peppers?" (ピーマン好き?). He continually displays a lack of tact when talking to adults asking such questions as "How many people have you killed?" to tough looking men or, "When are you going to die?" to elderly people.
During the beginning of the series; the TV show was mostly based on the storyline in the original manga. As the show progressed, more and more episodes became anime-original. The show works under a sliding timescale where the characters have maintained their ages throughout the course of the show. Though time has passed to allow for the rise and fall of several pop culture icons, marriages, pregnancies, and births of various characters, all the characters still maintain their age at the time of their introduction. For example, if the two major births in the series are taken into account (Shinnosuke's sister and his kindergarten teacher's child), Shinnosuke would be seven years old and in second grade, but he is not.
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 discovery of new manuscripts, Futabasha decided to extend the comic's run until the March 2010 issue of the magazine, which shipped on February 5, 2010.
Shin-chan in other countries
Crayon Shin-chan is also very popular in many other countries, especially East Asian countries where many of the jokes can be translated.
[edit]Spain
Shin-chan found a devoted following in Spain since 2001 it appeared on TV3. The show was also later broadcasted on Cartoon Network, Antena 3 and several other channels in four different languages: Basque, Catalan, Galician and Spanish. The show is completely uncensored. Additionally many food products use Shin Chan on the product packaging. It has proved so successful that several Shin-chan movies have been a theatrical released nationally.
Despite its success, some TV channels have had to move the show to night programming or drop it completely after complaints by parents associations who claimed Shin-chan was not appropriate for children. Yoshito Usui visited Barcelona in 2004 in order to promote the Spanish release of the manga, when the show was already airing on Catalonia's public television channel TV3. Usui was so impressed by Shin-chan's popularity he decided to thank his Spanish followers by making an episode that takes place in Barcelona.
Spain is the only country outside Japan where a Game Boy Advance game based in the character was released (in 2005 by publisher Atari), with a sequel which was expected to follow in Q3 2006.
As of August 2012, Shin-chan is still aired in the national channel Antena Neox, which has broadcasted almost 700 episodes.
[edit]South Korea
In South Korea, the show and comics, titled 짱구는 못말려 (Jjanggu the Unhelpable), are also tremendously popular. Shin-chan's name is changed into "Shin Jjanggu" (신짱구), which is coined by his original Japanese name and the Korean word "jjanggu" (짱구) for "protruding forehead." In Korea, the animated version is severely censored compared to the original Japanese version.
Most South Koreans consider it a kids' cartoon, since many toys and website games there center around 짱구 and is represented as an icon for childish fun there. Scenes revealing Shin-Chan's genitals are mostly censored, with the exception of a few scenes in which exposure is inevitable, and only few scenes with his buttocks shown remain. Some episodes explicitly displaying adult material are censored, and all mature-themed jokes in the original Japanese version are dubbed into rated-G jokes in Korean to make the series more suitable for children, who were considered the main audience for the show in Korea. However, the comic book version is mostly uncensored, labeled as "for 19 or above." Now, the new versions of Crayon Shin Chan in Korea are for ages 12 and up.
[edit]Mainland China
In China, the show and title "La bi Xiao xin" (蜡笔小新 -lit. "Crayon Xiao xin", with "xin' pronounced as "shin") can be viewed on local channels mostly uncensored and well translated. Despite the fact that legal DVD sets and comics are published, most manga/videos bought in China are counterfeits as with Shin-chan merchandise. Shin-chan merchandise is especially popular among teenagers who often have them as accessories.
[edit]Taiwan
In the Taiwan area, the publisher of Crayon Shin-chan is Tong Li Comics. A Chinese subtitled version of Crayon Shin-chan in Japanese premiered in Taiwan on ETTV on April 13, 1992
[edit]Vietnam
In Vietnam, the series' first 6 books were released in July and August 2006. However, "Crayon Shin-chan" received bad reactions from Vietnamese media due to impertinent and sexual content. Even VTV criticized the series on its main news program. Due to intense public pressure, Kim Dong publisher stopped releasing the series. In December 2011, Kim Dong re-published the series with careful editing and age restriction.
[edit]Thailand
In Thailand, they call him "Chin Jung". Jung is usually used for Chan, when explaining a Japanese character.
[edit]Indonesia
Shin-chan is one of the most popular anime characters in Indonesia. The anime itself was extremely popular yet controversial. It is the first animated show to have a "BO" rating, then
"R-BO" rating (an Indonesian equivalent to the United States rating "PG"). The Comics are published by Indorestu Pasific (Mirrored) and Elex Media Komputindo (Official).
[edit]India
Shin Chan was first broadcast on Hungama TV in 2006, dubbed in Hindi language. It is also dubbed in Tamil and Telugu. Local English dubs are also available for new episodes. The songs that Shin Chan sings are changed into parodies of popular Bollywood hits.
Due to controversy over the behavior, style and attitude towards elders exhibited in the show, the Parents and Teachers Association complained about it claiming that Shin Chan is a bad role model for kids. The show was banned in October 2008 by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (India) on account of heavy nudity & profanity. Before the ban, the Hindi version of Shin-chan gained up to 50-60% market share. After many requests from the fans, the Censor boards re-examined and heavily edited the nude scenes and profanity and restarted broadcasting on 27 March 2009. All the mature theme jokes were translated into childish ones. The alcohol his father consumed was edited and said as "juice".
Shin Chan films are also aired in India on Hungama TV; Treasures Of Buri Buri Kingdom (October 2009), Action Kamen vs Higure Rakshas (August 2010), Shinchan in Bungle in the Jungle (April 2011 theatre; May 2011 TV), Shinchan in Adventures in Henderland (December 2011) and the latest Shin chan in Dark Tama Tama thrilling chase (June 17, 2012).
[edit]Malaysia
In Malaysia, Shin-chan's comic is titled as "Dik Cerdas", which roughly means "brilliant kid" or "active kid". Shin-chan's voice in the Malay language version of the anime is voiced by a 15-year-old. Like in South Korea, pictures revealing Shin-Chan's genitals were all censored by cutting the scenes. Mandarin versions that also shown in Malaysia however, are not as heavily censored.
Crayon Shin-Chan related merchandises are sold here especially for apparels. There has been a long history on the production of Shin-chan T-shirts, Polo Tees, Pants, socks and other apparel products. The current license of Crayon Shin-chan apparels is held under Multiple Premium Sdn. Bhd. (938039-v). A popular exclusive Crayon Shin-chan boutique is located at Sungai Wang Plaza, Jalan Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur.
[edit]Philippines
This show was broadcast in the Philippines, uncensored and dubbed in Filipino. Shin-chan was voiced by Andrew E., a multi-platinum awarded, movie actor, rapper, very well known for his suggestive lyrics. His mother is called "Carmen", his father was called "Bert", and his dog was named "Puti", which means white.
Another version featured a different voice actor (currently unknown) for Shin-chan, and contained jokes pertaining to Taglish.
[edit]Latin America
In Latin America, Shin-chan was originally shown on Fox Kids / JETIX in 2003, but was later moved to a new channel at the time, Animax, in mid-2005. There, the episodes are shown weekdays, 3 to 4 times a day, and are dubbed over the English edited versions of the anime.
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