Norakuro
{{Short description|Japanese media franchise}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2024}}
{{Expand Japanese|topic=manga|のらくろ|date=July 2020}}
{{Infobox animanga/Header
| image = Norakuro bunkoban vol. 1.png
| caption = Manga volume 1 cover (1975 {{Transliteration|ja|bunkoban}} edition)
| ja_kanji = のらくろ
| genre =
}}
{{Infobox animanga/Print
| type = manga
| author = Suihō Tagawa
| publisher = Kodansha
| magazine = Shōnen Kurabu
| magazine_en = {{English manga magazine
| US = Kramer's Ergot
}}
| demographic = {{Transliteration|ja|Shōnen}}
| first = 1931
| last = 1981
| volumes = 36
| volume_list =
}}
{{Infobox animanga/Video
| type = tv series
| director = Toru Murayama
| producer =
| writer =
| music = Hidehiko Arashino
| studio = TCJ
| first = 5 October 1970
| last = 29 March 1971
| episodes = 26
| episode_list =
}}
{{Infobox animanga/Video
| type = tv series
| title = Norakuro-kun
| director = Masami Anno
| producer =
| writer =
| music =
| studio = Pierrot
| network = FNS (Fuji TV)
| first = 4 October 1987
| last = 2 October 1988
| episodes = 50
| episode_list =
}}
{{Infobox animanga/Footer}}
{{Nihongo|Norakuro|のらくろ|lead=yes}} is a Japanese manga series created by Suihō Tagawa, originally published by Kodansha in Shōnen Kurabu, and one of the first series' to be reprinted in {{Transliteration|ja|tankōbon}} format.Jason S. Yadao. The Rough Guide to Manga The titular protagonist, Norakuro, or Norakuro-kun, is an anthropomorphic black and white dog inspired by Felix the Cat.{{Cite web|url=http://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/norakuro/|title = "Norakuro" {{pipe}}}} The name Norakuro is an abbreviation of {{nihongo|norainu|野良犬||stray dog}} and {{nihongo|Kurokichi|黒吉||the name of the dog, literally meaning "black luck"}}.
Media
=Manga=
File:Norakuro01.jpg comics anthology.]]
In the original story, the central character Norakuro was a soldier serving in an army of dogs called the {{nihongo|"fierce dogs regiment"|猛犬連隊|mōken-rentai}}. The strip's publication began in Kodansha's Shōnen Kurabu in 1931, and was based on the Imperial Japanese Army of the time; 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.{{Cite book|last=Exner|first=Eike|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5Hw-EAAAQBAJ&dq=norakuro+sino+japanese&pg=PT177|title=Comics and the Origins of Manga: A Revisionist History|date=2021-11-12|publisher=Rutgers University Press|isbn=978-1-9788-2723-3}} The series became a hit in Japan; Shonen Kurabu
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.{{cite web| author=Deppey, Dirk| date=25 September 2006| title=Kramers Ergot 6| url=http://archives.tcj.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=414&Itemid=70| work=The Comics Journal| access-date=2011-07-02| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120324102709/http://archives.tcj.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=414&Itemid=70| archive-date=24 March 2012| url-status=dead}}
=Short films=
At least seven extant animated short films featuring Norakuro were made from June 1933 to 1939.
=Anime series=
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
Notes
{{notelist}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20090115150958/http://pierrot.jp/english/title/norakuro.html Norakuro-kun] at Studio Pierrot
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20090628114238/http://pierrot.jp/title/norakuro/ Norakuro-kun] at Studio Pierrot {{in lang|ja}}
- {{Anime News Network|anime|1406|Norakuro (1970 TV series)}}
{{Eiken}}
{{Pierrot (company)}}
Category:1933 animated short films
Category:1934 animated short films
Category:1970 anime television series debuts
Category:1971 Japanese television series endings
Category:1987 anime television series debuts
Category:1988 Japanese television series endings
Category:Animated television series about dogs
Category:Anime series based on manga
Category:Comics about anthropomorphic dogs
Category:Comics characters introduced in 1931
Category:Fiction about talking animals
Category:Fuji Television original programming
Category:Manga adapted into films