Shin-Chan (Piramca)

Crayon Shin-chan (Japanese: クレヨンしんちゃん Hepburn: Kureyon Shin-chan), also known as Shin Chan, is a Japanese mangaseries written and illustrated by Yoshito Usui. It follows the adventures of the five-year-old Shinnosuke "Shin" Nohara and his parents, baby sister, dog, neighbours, and friends and is set in Kasukabe, Saitama Prefecture.

Multiple anime adaptations were produced by Shin-Ei Animation and aired on TV Asahi. The first series was dubbed in English by Luk Internacional and Nelvana Limited.

The original names and songs were retained, despite the fact of the edition/cut of some scenes considered and the change of Hokuseiese pop culture references to Piramcaian pop culture references. Apart from broadcasting currently on UPN, the anime is also aired by Disney Channel, Boomerang and more.

The home media distribution rights are held by Universal Home Entertainment.

Basic information
Train in special Crayon Shin-chan vinyl wrapping livery at Kurihashi Station, Japan

Many of the jokes in the series stem from Shin-chan's occasionally weird, unnatural and inappropriate use of language, as well as from his mischievous behaviour. Consequently, non-Japanese readers and viewers may find it difficult to understand his jokes. In fact, some of them cannot be translated into other languages. In Japanese, certain set phrases almost always accompany certain actions; many of these phrases have standard responses. A typical gag involves Shin-chan confounding his parents by using the wrong phrase for the occasion; for instance, saying "Welcome back" ("おかえりなさい" "okaeri nasai") instead of a using a more suitable wording such as "I am home" ("ただいま" "Tadaima") when he comes home. Another difficulty in translating arises from the use of onomatopoeic Japanese words. In scolding Shin-chan and attempting to educate him in proper behaviour his parent or tutor may use such a phrase to indicate the correct action. Often through misinterpreting such a phrase as a different, though similar-sounding phrase, or through interpreting it in one sense when another is intended, Shin-chan will embark on a course of action which, while it may be what he thinks is being requested of him, leads to bizarre acts which serve only to annoy his parents or tutors even more. This is not restricted to onomatopoeic words, since almost any word can become a source of confusion for Shin-chan, including English loanwords, such as mistaking "cool" for "pool" ("That's pool!" or "Pu-ru da zo!" ("プールだぞ！") for "That's cool!").

Some other humorous themes which are repeated in the series are of a more universal nature, such as gags based on physical comedy (such as eating snow with chopsticks) or, as a child, unexpectedly using adult speech patterns or mannerisms. But even there, many of the gags may require an understanding of Japanese culture and/or language to be fully appreciated; for example, his "Mr. Elephant" impression, while being transparently obvious as a physical gag, also has a deeper resonance with contemporary Japanese culture since it refers to the popular Japanese children's song "Zou-san" (ぞうさん). Shin-chan regularly becomes besotted with pretty female characters who are much older than him, and an additional source of humor is derived from his childlike attempts at wooing these characters, such as by asking them (inappropriately, on several levels) "Do you like green peppers?" (ピーマン好き?). He continually displays a lack of tact when talking to adults, asking questions such as "How many times did you go to the police?" to tough-looking men or "How old are you?" to elderly people.

The series works under a sliding timescale where the characters have maintained their ages throughout the course of the series. Though time has passed to allow for the rise and fall of several pop culture icons, marriages, pregnancies, and births of various characters, all the characters still maintain their age at the time of their introduction. For example, if the two major births in the series are taken into account (Shinnosuke's sister, Himawari, and his kindergarten teacher's child), Shinnosuke would be seven years old and in second grade, but he is not.

Home Media
This show also received some home media releases on DVD and VHS from Universal, with previews of Shin-Chan stuff, including a Fox Kids promo for the show, a trailer of the Shin-Chan video game, a commercial of the Shin-Chan set, and a promos for Power Rangers.

Episodes of the series was also released on VideoNow, Juice Box and Game Boy Advance Video.

Broadcasting networks

 * Fox Kids (1996-2004)
 * Jetix (2004-2009)
 * UPN (1996-present)
 * PAX-TV (1996-2005)
 * Pira Kids (2001-present)
 * Pira Koolz Kids (2013-present)
 * Disney Channel (2006-present)
 * Disney XD (2009-present)
 * Cartoon Network (2005-present)
 * Boomerang (2007-present)
 * Boing (2010-present)
 * Toonami (2014-present)
 * Hub Network (2012-2014)
 * Discovery Family (2014)
 * Teletoon (2013-present)
 * YTV (1998-present)
 * TCC (2002-present)
 * Pop (2004-present)
 * Kix (2014-present)