Hamtaro
Encyclopedia
is a Japanese
anime series. The main character is a hamster
named Hamtaro who has a variety of adventures with other hamsters, called "Ham-Hams" ("Hamuchanzu" in the Japanese version). The show is based on a manga series by Ritsuko Kawai
, Hamtaro Gets Lost and Other Stories, and Jealous Hamtaro and Other Stories. VIZ Media
published the storybooks in English.
creator Gosho Aoyama
. Hamtaro ("Hamutaro") is owned by a 10-year-old girl named Laura Haruna (Hiroko Haruna or "Roko-chan" in Japanese version). Hamtaro leads an exciting life for a small hamster. Curious by nature, he ventures out each day to make friends and go on adventures with a clan of fellow hamster friends known as The Ham-Hams. These Ham-Hams meet at a special clubhouse built by Boss ("Taisho"). Hamtaro is licensed by Viz Media
in North America, which dubbed it in a format aimed at a younger audience. People magazine named this show, "Hottest new thing in Hollywood!" due to its rise in popularity among small children and older ones alike. In Japan, Hamtaro ran for four seasons, had four movies, several specials/OVAs, saw many video game and DVD releases as well as merchandise. However, in the United States, there were only two seasons, no movies, few special episodes, only three video games (though two others were released in Europe), and limited merchandise. Hamtaro was cancelled in the United States. On February 23, 2011, it was announced that Hamtaro would be receiving a new series titled Tottoko Hamutaro Dechu.
However, when it was aired April 2, 2011, 9 a.m., it was found to be the original show with a new intro and borders. It is currently unknown if the series will be reintroduced in the U.S.
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
anime series. The main character is a hamster
Hamster
Hamsters are rodents belonging to the subfamily Cricetinae. The subfamily contains about 25 species, classified in six or seven genera....
named Hamtaro who has a variety of adventures with other hamsters, called "Ham-Hams" ("Hamuchanzu" in the Japanese version). The show is based on a manga series by Ritsuko Kawai
Ritsuko Kawai
Ritsuko Kawai is the creator of the anime television show Hamtaro. Kawai originally created Hamtaro as storybooks for children first published in 1997 and then the anime came to Japan in July 2000.Hamtaro is about a little hamster and his friends...
, Hamtaro Gets Lost and Other Stories, and Jealous Hamtaro and Other Stories. VIZ Media
VIZ Media
VIZ Media, LLC, headquartered in San Francisco, is an anime, manga, and Japanese entertainment company. It was founded in 1986 as VIZ LLC. In 2005, VIZ LLC and ShoPro Entertainment merged to form the current VIZ Media LLC, which is jointly owned by Japanese publishers Shogakukan and Shueisha, and...
published the storybooks in English.
Anime
The anime, , is based on the manga series, and features original character designs by Case ClosedCase Closed
Case Closed, known as in Japan, is a Japanese detective manga series written and illustrated by Gosho Aoyama. The series is serialized in Shogakukan's Weekly Shōnen Sunday since February 2, 1994, and has been collected in 73 tankōbon volumes as of September 2011...
creator Gosho Aoyama
Gosho Aoyama
, born on June 21, 1963 in Hokuei, Tottori Prefecture, Japan is a Japanese manga artist. He is best known as the creator of the manga series Detective Conan .-Educational background:Aoyama was talented in drawing even at an early age...
. Hamtaro ("Hamutaro") is owned by a 10-year-old girl named Laura Haruna (Hiroko Haruna or "Roko-chan" in Japanese version). Hamtaro leads an exciting life for a small hamster. Curious by nature, he ventures out each day to make friends and go on adventures with a clan of fellow hamster friends known as The Ham-Hams. These Ham-Hams meet at a special clubhouse built by Boss ("Taisho"). Hamtaro is licensed by Viz Media
VIZ Media
VIZ Media, LLC, headquartered in San Francisco, is an anime, manga, and Japanese entertainment company. It was founded in 1986 as VIZ LLC. In 2005, VIZ LLC and ShoPro Entertainment merged to form the current VIZ Media LLC, which is jointly owned by Japanese publishers Shogakukan and Shueisha, and...
in North America, which dubbed it in a format aimed at a younger audience. People magazine named this show, "Hottest new thing in Hollywood!" due to its rise in popularity among small children and older ones alike. In Japan, Hamtaro ran for four seasons, had four movies, several specials/OVAs, saw many video game and DVD releases as well as merchandise. However, in the United States, there were only two seasons, no movies, few special episodes, only three video games (though two others were released in Europe), and limited merchandise. Hamtaro was cancelled in the United States. On February 23, 2011, it was announced that Hamtaro would be receiving a new series titled Tottoko Hamutaro Dechu.
However, when it was aired April 2, 2011, 9 a.m., it was found to be the original show with a new intro and borders. It is currently unknown if the series will be reintroduced in the U.S.
Licensed products
- ShogakukanShogakukanis 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...
: Ritsuko Kawai's books, other Hamtaro related titles, Japanese videosVHSThe Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
/DVDDVDA DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
s - TohoTohois a Japanese film, theater production, and distribution company. It is headquartered in Yūrakuchō, Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group...
(Toho Co., Ltd.): Distribution of all 4 movies - Columbia Music EntertainmentColumbia Music Entertainmentis a Japanese record label founded in 1910 as . It affiliated itself with the Columbia Graphophone Company of the United Kingdom and adopted the standard UK Columbia trademarks in 1931. The company changed its name to Nippon Columbia Co., Ltd. in 1946. It used the Nippon Columbia name until...
: Japanese music CDs - Anime Video Comics: Launched in 2008 and it does not have a website. Summit Entertainment, an owner company of Anime Video Comics releases some episodes.
- Epoch Co., Ltd.: Plushes, collectible toy line, talking toys, musical toys, standalone electronic games (for the Japanese/Asian market only, but can also be found in some import stores in North America and Europe)
- HasbroHasbroHasbro is a multinational toy and boardgame company from the United States of America. It is one of the largest toy makers in the world. The corporate headquarters is located in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, United States...
: plushies, collectible toy line - The Learning CompanyThe Learning CompanyThe Learning Company is an American educational software company, founded in 1980. It produced a grade-based system similar to Knowledge Adventure's JumpStart series. The products for preschoolers through second graders feature Reader Rabbit, and software for more advanced students features The...
: Hamtaro: Wake Up Snoozer!Hamtaro: Wake Up Snoozer!Hamtaro: Wake Up Snoozer! Is a PC Video Game for Windows, and Mac. It is rated E by the ESRB. The game was developed by Shopro USA, Distributed by: The Learning Company, And published by: Riverdeep.- Plot :...
for the IBM PCIBM PCThe IBM Personal Computer, commonly known as the IBM PC, is the original version and progenitor of the IBM PC compatible hardware platform. It is IBM model number 5150, and was introduced on August 12, 1981...
/PC compatibles/Apple Macintosh - 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....
: video games -- For the Game Boy Color: Hamtaro (released in the US/Rest of the World), Hamtaro: Ham-Hams Unite!Hamtaro: Ham-Hams Unite!is a Hamtaro adventure video game developed by Shogakukan and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy Color handheld video game console. It was first released in Japan on April 21, 2001, and was later released in North America on October 28, 2002, and in Europe on January 10, 2003...
- For the Game Boy Advance: Hamtaro: Ham-Ham HeartbreakHamtaro: Ham-Ham Heartbreakis a Nintendo video game for Game Boy Advance and the sequel to Tottoko Hamutaro: Tomodachi Daisakusen Dechu and Hamtaro: Ham-Hams Unite!. Therefore, it was the second Hamtaro-game released in America and Europe, but the third one in Japan...
, Hamtaro: Rainbow RescueHamtaro: Rainbow Rescueis a video game developed by AlphaDream for Game Boy Advance and the sequel to Tottoko Hamutaro: Tomodachi Daisakusen Dechu , Hamtaro: Ham-Hams Unite! and Hamtaro: Ham-Ham Heartbreak. It was released in Japan and PAL regions...
, Hamtaro: Ham-Ham GamesHamtaro: Ham-Ham GamesHamtaro: Ham-Ham Games is a sports video game developed by Alphadream and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy Advance handheld video game console. It was released in Japan on July 15th,2004, Europe on July 16th, 2004, and released in North America on July 27th, 2004...
, Hamtaro E-Cards for the E-Card reader (Japanese market only). - For the Nintendo DS: Hamtaro: Nazo Nazo Q (Unreleased in the US/Rest of the World)
- For the Game Boy Color: Hamtaro (released in the US/Rest of the World), Hamtaro: Ham-Hams Unite!
- SegaSega, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...
: Arcade painting game, Sega PicoSega PicoThe Sega Pico, also known as , was an electronic toy by Sega. The aim of creating the Pico was to get more young children to use video game systems....
titles (Japanese market only), Cocopad titles (Japanese market only) - Natsume: Tottoko Hamtaro Ham Ham Challenge Atsumare Hai Nintendo DS game (Released as Hi! Hamtaro: Ham-Ham Challenge! in the US/Europe)
- BanprestoBanprestois a Japanese toy company, best known in America for game development, headquartered in the Shinagawa Seaside West Building in Shinagawa, Tokyo. It was founded April 1977 as Hoei Sangyo, Co. Ltd. The company was renamed Coreland in 1982, and during the 1980s it worked mainly as a subcontractor for...
: Arcade kiddie ride - Smuckers: Smucker's Snackers
- VIZ MediaVIZ MediaVIZ Media, LLC, headquartered in San Francisco, is an anime, manga, and Japanese entertainment company. It was founded in 1986 as VIZ LLC. In 2005, VIZ LLC and ShoPro Entertainment merged to form the current VIZ Media LLC, which is jointly owned by Japanese publishers Shogakukan and Shueisha, and...
(North America): books, English-language comics, videosVHSThe Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
/DVDDVDA DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
s - Chuang YiChuang YiChuang Yi Publishing Pte Ltd. is a publishing company based in Singapore that specializes in producing domestic and imported comics and comics-related merchandise, in English and simplified Chinese. Chuang Yi distributes all or some of its products in Singapore, Malaysia, India, and the Philippines...
(Singapore): books, English-language comics - SeikoSeiko, more commonly known simply as Seiko , is a Japanese watch company.-History and ongoing developments:The company was founded in 1881, when Kintarō Hattori opened a watch and jewelry shop called in the Ginza area of Tokyo, Japan. Eleven years later, in 1892, he began to produce clocks under the...
: Limited Edition watches - Daewon Media: All market character products from JapanJapanJapan 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...
and United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...