ANPANMAN....

Today, I'd like to share about anpanman!!! have you heard of him? He's the latest craze in japan now. It's interesting how the Japanese could come up with such a character.

Although loved by millions of pre-school children throughout Japan, Anpanman is virtually unknown outside of his native country. Luckily, Anpanland stands to spread the legend of Japan's greatest living bread superhero throughout the English-speaking world!

Who is Anpanman?
Anpanman is a superman born from a popular Japanese snack called an anpan. An idealist, Anpanman is the fairytale hero of the bread world. When he fights for justice, he often gets badly hurt, however, with the help of Uncle Jam, he can be revitalized over and over again.
What is an anpan?
An anpan is a sweet roll filled with bean jam.
How does Anpanman feed the malnourished?
When Anpanman comes across a starving creature, he lets the unfortunate creature eat part of his head.
How does Anpanman replenish his head?
Uncle Jam bakes a new one for him.
Who is Uncle Jam?
Uncle Jam is the kindly old baker who created Anpanman by baking the first dough and praying to God for "living bread." From his bread factory nestled deep in the forest, Uncle Jam is able to revitalize Anpanman and all the other bread-based superheros (e.g. Currypanman and Shokupanman).
Who is Baikinman?
Baikinman is a supervillain germ, the arch-enemy of justice. Like light and shadow, Anpanman and Baikinman are eternal rivals.
Who is Currypanman?
Currypanman is one of Anpanman's superhero friends. Whereas Anpanman's head is made of the sweet anpan-bread, Currypanman's is made of the spicy currypan.
Who is Dokinchan?
Dokinchan is a female germ, Baikinman's partner in mischief. Unlike Baikinman, Dokinchan has a kind heart. Dokinchan has a crush on Shokupanman.
Who is Shokupanman?
Shokupanman is Anpanman's closest and most handsome superhero friend. His head is a slice of white bread and he is the patron superman of school lunches. Shokupanman's secret headquarters is deep inside of Toaster Mountain.
Who is Batako?
Batako is Uncle Jam's androgenous young female assistant.
Who is Cheese?
Cheese is Uncle Jam's "super watchdog." Anpanman found Cheese stranded in a deep ravine where the poor dog was starving and being pummeled by giant snowballs (courtesy of Baikinman, of course). Anpanman defeated Baikinman, revitalized Cheese by feeding him part of his yummy head, and brought the dog to Uncle Jam's bread factory.
Who can fly, and who can't?
Anpanman, Currypanman and Shokupanman can fly; Uncle Jam, Batako and Cheese can't. Baikinman and Dokinchan cannot fly of their own power, however they both own high-performance flying saucers.
Who created the Anpanman series?
The Anpanman series was created by Takashi Yanase (pictured at left with a giant, stuffed Anpanman). He was born in Kochi Prefecture in 1919. He began serializing "Anpanman" for Frobel-kan's monthly "Kinderbook" in 1973. He has received the Special Prize from The Association of Children's Songwriters in Japan (1989) and the Grand Prize from the Japan Cartoonists' Association (1990). Besides picture books and cartoons, Takashi Yanase writes lyrics to children's songs; his best-known musical contribution is "Turn Your Palm Into Sunlight."
What media has Anpanman appeared in?
Anpanman has appeared in comic strips, children's books and TV cartoons, on record albums, and on a myriad of toys, clothes, foods and other licensed products.
Is Anpanman Shampoo any good?
Not really. While the bottle is certainly cute and collectable, the shampoo itself smells too strongly of bubblegum and leaves long hair tangled and unmanageable.
Why isn't Anpanman as popular as Hello Kitty?
The Anpanman stories and characters uniquely reflect the Japanese experience; their complex cultural references do not necessarily translate well to international audiences. To a non-Japanese person, the concept of a living bread superman who fights giant germs and feeds the hungry with pieces of his head may seem bizarre. Apparently, a person needs no frame of cultural reference whatsoever to appreciate a talking cat with cute animal friends.
Are the adventures of Anpanman an analogy of the mission of Jesus Christ?
No. While both Jesus Christ and Anpanman were immaculately conceived, and while both were born in humble locations beneath a bright and shining star, and while both live(d) selfless lives dedicated to relieving the distressed, and while both exhibit transubstantiation (whereby ordinary bread becomes, in fact, living flesh), and while both ascend into heaven, and while the images of both frequently and miraculously appear in tortillas, hubcaps and oil spots...the similarities end there.