CoroCoro Comic
Encyclopedia
is a Japan
ese monthly manga magazine published by Shogakukan
, starting on May 15, 1977. Its main target is elementary school
aged boys, younger than the readers of shōnen
manga. Several of its properties, like Doraemon
and the Pokémon
series of games, have gone on to be cultural phenomena in Japan.
The name comes from a phenomime
korokoro (ころころ) which means "rolling" and also represents something spherical, fat, or small, because children supposedly like such things. The magazine is A5
-sized, about 6 cm (2¼ in) thick, and often more than 800 pages in length.
The magazine has two sisters: Bessatsu CoroCoro and CoroCoro Ichiban!. Both are bi-monthly.
Advertising slogans is 「とんだもはやとっとと一生」。
.
s and video games related to their manga franchises, releasing stories and articles featuring them. Pokémon
's big success in Japan owes to this in a way; the Game Boy
game Pocket Monsters: Blue
was sold exclusively through the magazine at first, which helped CoroCoros sales as well. CoroCoro is also often a source of information about upcoming Pokémon games and movies.
Other successful tie-ins include:
, closing down due to declining sales. The current competition includes Kerokero Ace
and Pre-Comic Bunbun.
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese monthly manga magazine published by Shogakukan
Shogakukan
is a Japanese publisher of dictionaries, literature, manga, non-fiction, DVDs, and other media in Japan.Shogakukan founded Shueisha which founded Hakusensha. These are three separate companies, but are together called the Hitotsubashi Group, one of the largest publishing groups in Japan...
, starting on May 15, 1977. Its main target is elementary school
Elementary school
An elementary school or primary school is an institution where children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as elementary or primary education. Elementary school is the preferred term in some countries, particularly those in North America, where the terms grade school and grammar...
aged boys, younger than the readers of shōnen
Shonen
The term refers to manga marketed to a male audience aged roughly 10 and up. The Kanji characters literally mean "few" and "year", respectively, where the characters generally mean "comic"...
manga. Several of its properties, like Doraemon
Doraemon
is a Japanese manga series created by Fujiko F. Fujio which later became an anime series and an Asian franchise...
and the Pokémon
Pokémon
is a media franchise published and owned by the video game company Nintendo and created by Satoshi Tajiri in 1996. Originally released as a pair of interlinkable Game Boy role-playing video games developed by Game Freak, Pokémon has since become the second most successful and lucrative video...
series of games, have gone on to be cultural phenomena in Japan.
The name comes from a phenomime
Japanese sound symbolism
This article describes sound symbolic or mimetic words in the Japanese language. Most languages have such words; for example, "bang", "zap", "ding", "slither", "pop", etc. in English. Sound symbolic words occur more often in Japanese than in English—they are found in formal as well as vernacular...
korokoro (ころころ) which means "rolling" and also represents something spherical, fat, or small, because children supposedly like such things. The magazine is A5
Paper size
Many paper size standards conventions have existed at different times and in different countries. Today there is one widespread international ISO standard and a localised standard used in North America . The paper sizes affect writing paper, stationery, cards, and some printed documents...
-sized, about 6 cm (2¼ in) thick, and often more than 800 pages in length.
The magazine has two sisters: Bessatsu CoroCoro and CoroCoro Ichiban!. Both are bi-monthly.
Advertising slogans is 「とんだもはやとっとと一生」。
History
The magazine was launched in 1977 as a magazine for Doraemon, which is one of the most popular manga in Japan. Before then Doraemon had been serialized in 6 Shogakukan magazines targeted to students of 6 elementary school grades that target audience has now increased. It collected stories of Doraemon from these magazines. It celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2007 with an exhibition at the Kyoto International Manga MuseumKyoto International Manga Museum
The is located in Nakagyō-ku, Kyoto, Japan. The building housing the museum is the former Tatsuike Elementary School. The museum opened on November 25, 2006. Its collection of 200,000 items includes such rarities as Meiji period magazines and postwar rental books....
.
Tie-ins
CoroCoro regularly promotes toyToy
A toy is any object that can be used for play. Toys are associated commonly with children and pets. Playing with toys is often thought to be an enjoyable means of training the young for life in human society. Different materials are used to make toys enjoyable and cuddly to both young and old...
s and video games related to their manga franchises, releasing stories and articles featuring them. Pokémon
Pokémon
is a media franchise published and owned by the video game company Nintendo and created by Satoshi Tajiri in 1996. Originally released as a pair of interlinkable Game Boy role-playing video games developed by Game Freak, Pokémon has since become the second most successful and lucrative video...
's big success in Japan owes to this in a way; the Game Boy
Game Boy
The , is an 8-bit handheld video game device developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on , in North America in , and in Europe on...
game Pocket Monsters: Blue
Pokémon Red and Blue
Pokémon Red Version and Blue Version, originally released in Japan as , are role-playing games developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy. They are the first installments to the Pokémon series. They were first released in Japan in 1996 as Red and Green, with Blue being...
was sold exclusively through the magazine at first, which helped CoroCoros sales as well. CoroCoro is also often a source of information about upcoming Pokémon games and movies.
Other successful tie-ins include:
- Radio controlled car, Mini 4wdMini 4wdA mini 4WD is a 1:32-sized battery powered plastic model race car without remote control. All 4 rubber-tired wheels are driven, thus "4WD" for 4 wheel drive. Side rollers secure the vehicle against the vertical walls of the un-banked track for steering, providing very fast speeds compared to slot...
(with Tamiya) - Family ComputerNintendo Entertainment SystemThe Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
(Nintendo Entertainment System), Super FamicomSuper Nintendo Entertainment SystemThe Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...
(Super NES), and Game BoyGame BoyThe , is an 8-bit handheld video game device developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on , in North America in , and in Europe on...
(with NintendoNintendois a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
and third parties) - BeybladeBeybladeis a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Takao Aoki. Originally serialized in CoroCoro Comic from 2000 to 2002, the individual chapters were collected and published in 14 tankōbon by Shogakukan...
, B-DamanB-Damanis a marble shooting toy produced in Japan by Takara. In 2005, Hasbro licensed the "Battle B-Daman" configuration of the toy. In 2004, Hasbro joined forces with Takara and Fox Entertainment Group to bring it to the Japan and USA....
(with TakaraTakaraTakara Co., Ltd. was a Japanese toy company founded in 1955, that merged with another prominent Japanese toy company, Tomy Co., Ltd., on March 1, 2006 to form Takara Tomy, also known in English as TOMY Company Ltd....
) - BikkurimanBikkurimanis a Japanese anime series.The original Bikkuriman series, created by Toei Animation, aired from October 11, 1987 to April 2, 1989. Sequels include a second Bikkuriman series and Super Bikkuriman.-History:...
(with LotteLotte (conglomerate)Lotte Co., Ltd. is a South Korean-Japanese Jaebeol and one of the largest food and shopping groups in South Korea and Japan. Lotte was established in June 1948, in Tokyo, by Japanese-educated, Korean businessman Shin Kyuk-Ho – also known as...
)
1980s
- BikkurimanBikkurimanis a Japanese anime series.The original Bikkuriman series, created by Toei Animation, aired from October 11, 1987 to April 2, 1989. Sequels include a second Bikkuriman series and Super Bikkuriman.-History:...
- Oyaji-chan
- Dash! YonkuroDash! Yonkurois based on the popular manga comic strip about Mini 4WD in tournament. This manga series was created by Zaurus Tokuda and is one of the most successful and critically acclaimed manga in the genre of "Martial-Style Racer".-Manga:...
- Ganbare, Kickers!
- Honō no Dōkyūji: Dodge DanpeiHonō no Dōkyūji: Dodge Danpeiis a Shōnen manga based on dodgeball, by Tetsuhiro Koshita, which was serialized in the CoroCoro Comic. It was adapted into an anime from 1991 to 1992.It was also released 7 videos games for different consoles between 1992 and 1993.-Video games:...
1990s
- (Saru Get You) Ape EscapeApe EscapeApe Escape is a platform game published, produced and developed by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation. It was originally released in 1999. It was re-released for the Sony Greatest Hits and Best for Family line-ups in 2000; for the Platinum Range in 2001; and for the PSone Books...
- Crash BandicootCrash BandicootCrash Bandicoot may refer to:* Crash Bandicoot , a video game protagonist* Crash Bandicoot , a video game series* Crash Bandicoot , a 1996 PlayStation video game and first Crash Bandicoot...
- Donkey KongDonkey Kong (video game)is an arcade game released by Nintendo in 1981. It is an early example of the platform game genre, as the gameplay focuses on maneuvering the main character across a series of platforms while dodging and jumping over obstacles. In the game, Jumpman must rescue a damsel in distress, Lady, from a...
- Duel MastersDuel Mastersis a franchise based on a manga, anime and a trading card game. There is also a video game.-Trading Card Game:The card game originated in Japan, marketed by Takara Tomy. It was produced in English by Wizards of the Coast, who purchased the rights to the name Duel Masters from , which ran a...
- KirbyKirby (Nintendo)is the main protagonist of Nintendo's Kirby video game series created by Masahiro Sakurai and developed by HAL Laboratory. The Kirby series is one of Nintendo's many well-known game franchises, spanning nearly twenty games since 1992...
- Bakusō Kyōdai Let's & Go!!
- Ore wa Otoko da! Kunio-kun (manga based Kunio-kun series)
- Pocket Monsters (PokémonPokémonis a media franchise published and owned by the video game company Nintendo and created by Satoshi Tajiri in 1996. Originally released as a pair of interlinkable Game Boy role-playing video games developed by Game Freak, Pokémon has since become the second most successful and lucrative video...
) - Spyro The Dragon
- Super B-DamanSuper B-Damanis a Japanese manga series serialized in Coro Coro Comics, based on Takara's B-Daman toy. It was first released in 1994. An anime series produced by Xebec was shown in TV Tokyo between January 1, 1999 to October 1, 1999.-Team Guts:...
- Speed RacerSpeed RacerSpeed Racer is an English adaptation name of the Japanese manga and anime, which centered on automobile racing. Mach GoGoGo was originally serialized in print form in Shueisha's 1958 Shōnen Book, and was released in tankōbon book form by Sun Wide Comics, re-released in Japan by Fusosha...
- Super Mario-kunSuper Mario-Kunis a Japanese kodomo manga series written and illustrated by Yukio Sawada and serialized in the monthly manga anthology CoroCoro Comic. Individual chapters are collected into tankōbon volumes by Shogakukan, who released the first volume on July 27, 1991, and have released 43 volumes . The series...
- TamagotchiTamagotchiThe is a handheld digital pet, created in Japan by Akihiro Yokoi of WiZ and Aki Maita of Bandai. It was first sold by Bandai in 1996 in Japan. As of 2010, over 76 million Tamagotchis have been sold world-wide...
- WataruWataruis a comedy/adventure Super Robot multimedia franchise originally consisting of 45 episode anime series created by Sunrise first aired on April 15, 1988. Sunrise credited "Hajime Yatate" for the storyline and Shuji Iuchi directed the series...
- ZoidsZoidsis a multi-media model-kit-based franchise originating from Japanese toy company Tomy ; though now produced by various companies through licenses. The majority of the franchise is built around and focused on the various model kit series...
2000s
- Duel MastersDuel Mastersis a franchise based on a manga, anime and a trading card game. There is also a video game.-Trading Card Game:The card game originated in Japan, marketed by Takara Tomy. It was produced in English by Wizards of the Coast, who purchased the rights to the name Duel Masters from , which ran a...
- Battle B-DamanBattle B-Damanis an anime and manga series by Eiji Inuki that first aired in January 2004 in Japan, replacing Beyblade in its timeslot. It premiered in the United States on April 2005. Like its predecessor, it is themed around an enhanced version of a children's schoolyard game – whereas Beyblade was based...
- BeybladeBeybladeis a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Takao Aoki. Originally serialized in CoroCoro Comic from 2000 to 2002, the individual chapters were collected and published in 14 tankōbon by Shogakukan...
- Bomberman JettersBomberman Jetters, often abbreviated as "BMJ" by Japanese fans, is an anime based on the popular video game series Bomberman created by Hudson Soft. The show ran for a total of 52 episodes in Japan on TV Tokyo. The soundtrack was composed by Kazunori Maruyama...
- Crash B-DamanCrash B-Damanis the third comic adaptation of the B-Daman toy, first serialized in December 2005 issue of Coro Coro Comic. The television series started on January 9, 2006, replacing Battle B-Daman in TV Tokyo...
- Croket!Croket!, also spelled Korokke!, is an adventure manga by Manavu Kashimoto. It was published by Shogakukan in CoroCoro Comic from April 2000 to November 2006 and collected in 15 bound volumes...
- DorabaseDorabaseis a baseball manga series by Shintaro Mugiwara based on the characters of long-running series Doraemon. It is published in Shogakukan's CoroCoro Comic magazine...
- Denjyarasu JiisanGrandpa Dangeris an ongoing adventure manga by Kazutoshi Soyama published by Shogakukan in CoroCoro Comic since October 2001. It received the 2005 Shogakukan Manga Award for children's manga...
- Inazuma ElevenInazuma Elevenis a role-playing and sports video game for the Nintendo DS developed and published by Level-5. It was released on August 22, 2008 in Japan. A European release was confirmed by Nintendo and was released on January 29, 2011, three years after the Japanese release...
- Jak x Daxter ~Itachi de Waruika!!~
- Keshikasu-kunKeshikasu-kunis a Japanese children's manga written and illustrated by Noriyuki Murase. It has been serialized in CoroCoro Comic from June 2004. Keshikasu-kun received the Shogakukan Manga Award in the children's category in 2008....
- Kiyohara-kun
- FF7AC
- Rockman EXEMegaMan NT WarriorMega Man NT Warrior or Mega Man Battle Network, known in Japan as , is an anime and manga series based on the Mega Man Battle Network video game series...
- Pokémon Diamond & Pearl
- Ratchet & Clank – Gagaga! Ginga no Gakeppuchi Densetsu
- Ryusei no Rockman
- Sonic! Dash & Spin
- I'm Galileo!
- Kirby of the Stars
- Pokémon PlatinumPokémon Platinumis a title in the Pokémon series of video games. It was developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS handheld game console. It is an enhanced remake of Pokémon Diamond and Pearl in the same vein as Pokémon Yellow, Crystal, and Emerald were for their respective games...
- Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilverPokémon HeartGold and SoulSilverare enhanced remakes of the 1999 video games Pokémon Gold and Silver. The games are part of the Pokémon series of role-playing video games, and were developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS...
- Pocket Monster
- Sap-kun
- TamagotchiTamagotchiThe is a handheld digital pet, created in Japan by Akihiro Yokoi of WiZ and Aki Maita of Bandai. It was first sold by Bandai in 1996 in Japan. As of 2010, over 76 million Tamagotchis have been sold world-wide...
Rivals
Corocoro has had many rivaling children's magazine in the past, with one of them, Comic Bom BomComic Bom Bom
was a monthly Japanese manga magazine published by Kodansha and targeted at elementary school boys. Each issue had 700+ pages, with 80 of them being full-color advertisements. Similar to its rival CoroCoro Comic, it featured tie-ins with game makers and toy makers but toward the end of its run had...
, closing down due to declining sales. The current competition includes Kerokero Ace
Kerokero Ace
is a Japanese shōnen manga magazine published in Japan by Kadokawa Shoten. The magazine is aimed at boys between 9 to 13 years old. It is directly focused on the Sgt. Frog series and other works promoted by Bandai such as Gundam. The magazine contains manga comics, computer game reviews,...
and Pre-Comic Bunbun.