Kiteretsu Daihyakka

is a Japanese manga series by , which ran in the children's magazine Kodomo no Hikari from April 1974 to July 1977. The manga was later made into an animated anthology television special which aired in 1987 on Fuji Television and its affiliates and a 331-episode anime television series that ran on the same channel from March 27, 1988, to June 9, 1996.

Plot

The series is the story of a scientific inventor boy genius named Eiichi Kite, a descendant of an inventor named Kiteretsu Saisama, who has built a companion robot named Korosuke. His friends are Miyoko, a girl in his neighborhood who has a crush on him, Buta Gorira (Kumada Kaoru), a local bully, and Tongari, a rich boy. They all attend the same school and are in the same grade. Eiichi goes on frequent adventures with his friends and Korosuke in the time machine which he built.

Characters

(a.k.a., )

An 11-year-old 5th grader who lives in Tokyo. He is the city’s one of the smartest kids who’s also an excellent genius student and is quite the smarty pants, has a strong mechanical and inventive aptitude, but the only thing he is weak at is sports. He can repair normal machines and invent variations of the Daihyakka gadgets. .

Kiteretsu's lazy robot assistant who usually ends his sentences with . He usually wears an artificial samurai sword. He is an invention in the encyclopedia. He was made by Kiteretsu himself. .

(a.k.a., ))

A very intelligent girl who is one of Kiteretsu's best friends, and Kiteretsu's love interest. She is shown to be Kiteretsu's future wife in several time-travel episodes. She resembles Michiko Sawada from Perman. .

(a.k.a., )

One of Kiteretsu's friends who is the son of a green grocer who loves vegetables. He is a typical bully, but is mostly comic relief. .

(a.k.a., )

A rich boy and one of Kiteretsu's friends. He is easily frightened, and a best friend of Butagorira, though is quite often bullied by him. .

Benzō Karino

A friend and mentor of Kiteretsu and his friends, as well as a university student. He owns a car. .

Kiterestu Saisama

Kiterestu Saisama is the great grand father of Eiatro Kite and the great great grandfather of Eichii Kite. In Eiichi Kite's dreams he mostly speaks to him. An ancestor respected by Eiichi Kite and an inventor of the Edo period..

Michiko Kite (木手美智子 Kite Michiko)

Kiteretsu's mother. .

Eitarō Kite

Kiteretsu's father. .

Kumahachi Kumada

Butagorira's father.He owns a vegetable shop .

Sayuri Kumada

Butagorira's mother. .

Kōichi Tongari

Tongari's father. .

Takako Tongari

Tongari's mother. .

Media

Manga

• Kiteretsu Daihyakka vol. 1–3 (Tentōmushi Comics, Shogakukan, 1977)
• Kiteretsu Daihyakka vol. 1–4 (Fujiko F. Fujio Land, Chūō Kōron Shinsha, 1984)
• Kiteretsu Daihyakka vol. 1–2 (Shogakukan Koro r Bunko, Shogakukan, 1984)
• My First BIG Kiteretsu vol. 1–2 (Shogakukan, 2003)

Anime

The manga was later adapted into an anime series, which aired on Fuji TV between March 27, 1988, and June 9, 1996.

Staff

• Planning: Taihei Ishikawa→Kenji Shimizu (Fuji TV), Yoshirō Kataoka (Asatsu)
• Producers:
• Kenji Shimizu→Minoru Wada→Yoshihiro Suzuki (Fuji TV)
• Yoshio Kataoka→Kazuhiko Ishikawa→Tateshi Yamazaki→Yutaka Sugiyama (Asatsu)
• Akio Wakana (Gallop)
• Tetsuo Kanno (Staff 21)
• Script: Shun'ichi Yukimuro, Takashi Yamada, Toshiyuki Aoshima, Satoshi Namiki, Tadaaki Yamazaki
• General Animation Directors: Tsukasa Tannai, Kazuyuki Kobayashi, Hajime Watanabe, Nobuyuki Tokinaga, Shōjurō Yamauchi
• Art director: Shichirō Kobayashi→Satoshi Shibata
• Backgrounds: Kobayashi Production, Studio Kanon
• Director of photography: Shigeo Sugimura (credited as Yasuhiro Shimizu for part of it)→Hiroaki Edamitsu
• Music director: Nobuhiro Komatsu
• Music: Shunsuke Kikuchi
• Director: Hiro Katsuoka→Keiji Hayakawa
• Executive Producer: Mikio Wakana
• Sound Producer: Yōsuke Kuroda

Theme songs

Opening theme songs

Listing includes the song title followed by the episodes and the singer in parentheses.

• Kiteretsu Daihyakka no Uta (キテレツ大百科のうた "The Song of Kiterestu Encyclopedia") (90-minute special on November 2, 1987, Mitsuko Horie)

1. Oyome-san ni Natte Agenaizo (お嫁さんになってあげないゾ "I won't be your bride") (ep. 1–24, Kaori Moritani)
2. Body dake Lady (ボディーだけレディー "Only a body is a lady") (ep. 25–60, Junko Uchida)
3. Yumemiru Jikan (夢みる時間 "Dreaming time") (ep. 61–86, Megumi Mori)
4. Hajimete no Chū (はじめてのチュウ "My first kiss") (ep. 87–108, Anshin Papa)
5. Suimin Busoku (スイミン不足 "Lack of sleep") (ep. 109–170, Chicks)
6. Oryōri Kōshinkyoku (お料理行進曲 "Cooking march") (ep. 171–331, Yuka)

Ending theme songs

Listing includes the song title followed by the episodes and the singer in parentheses.

• Korosuke Machi wo Yuku (コロ助まちをゆく) (90-minute special, Kyōko Yamada)

1. Magical Boy Magical Heart (マジカルBoyマジカルHeart) (ep. 1–16, Kaori Moritani)
2. Lace no Cardigan (レースのカーディガン) (ep. 17–24, Kaori Sakagami)
3. Korosuke Rock (コロ助ROCK) (ep. 25–60, Junko Uchida)
4. Felt no Pencase (フェルトのペンケース) (ep. 61–86, Megumi Mori)
5. Merry ha tada no Tomodachi (メリーはただのトモダチ) (ep. 87–108, Toshiko Fujita)
6. Hajimete no Chū (はじめてのチュウ) (ep. 109–170, 213–290, 311–331, Anshin Papa)
7. Happy Birthday (ep. 171–212, Yuka)
8. Uwasa Kiss (うわさのキッス) (ep. 291–310, TOKIO)

International broadcast

In Spain, The series was licensed for Spain by LUK Internacional under the title of "Kiteretsu, el primo más listo de Nobita" (English translation: Kiteretsu, Nobita's Smarter Cousin).

Games

• On February 23, 1990, Epoch released an action game for the Famicom.
• On July 15, 1994, another action game, Kiteretsu Daihyakka: Bouken Ouedo Juraki, was released by Video System for the Game Boy.
• A board game titled Kiteretsu Daihyakka: ChōjikÅ« Sugoroku was released on January 27, 1995, by Video System for the Super Famicom.
• Another game was made for the Sega Pico.

Television drama

A 1 hour-15 minute one-shot live action drama adaptation aired on NHK Educational TV on January 1, 2002. The adaptation featured a CGI Korosuke voiced by Mami Koyama.

Reception

The anime was ranked 31st on a list published by TV Asahi in 2005 of the top 100 anime. The series was said to be "little more than a respray of the creators' earlier and far more successful Doraemon". The Review Geek indeed noted that, "In some instances, Kiteretsu Encyclopedia feels like a Doraemon clone. This series not only shares the same creator as Doraemon; it follows a similar episodic premise involving a robot and a human. This show includes a cartoon-like art style and is an enjoyable series to watch when you feel stressed or worn out".

The same media wrote that the series "relie[d] on its charming family dynamics and varied humor to keep the audience entertained".

Notes

References

External links

• Official Tokyo MX website