Nontan

Did You Know?

• Kiyono died of a brain tumor on 19 June 2008 at age 60, but her death was not announced until December of that year.
• In March 2000, ITOCHU developed character products using Nontan and Tom Tom ☆ Boo series as part of the Mama Nontan World Series.
• The series has been criticized for lacking clear lessons, with some fearing it would promote bad behavior.

History

The Nontan series began in August 1976. Its creators, Kiyono and Yasuomi Ōtomo, first imagined a white fox in a book called Akanbe Kitsune. They later switched to a cat, renaming the project Akanbe Dora-kun. Because children struggled to say "Dora-kun," the character was renamed Nontan, after Kiyono's daughter. The earliest published titles were Nontan Buranko no Sete and another. In 2002, Nathan released French editions of four Nontan books, where the character became Miouki.

Characters

Nontan is a curious male kitten who enjoys playing and exploring. He lives by himself in a house marked by a flag on its roof, though he now shares it with Tartan. His age shifts between different stories and is never fixed. Most characters besides Nontan and Tartan have no names, as their creator saw no need. Tartan, Nontan’s sister, wears a blue ribbon and enjoys pranks and oni. She first appeared in 2001, and her name was taken from the name of Kiyono’s son’s sister. Buta-san is a piglet who loves apples. Three pink rabbits appear in the books: one boy and two girls, all six years old, looking identical. The boy rabbit is gentle, easily frightened, and far-right. In the CGI series, each character had its own voice actor. Tanuki-san is a three-year-old tanuki who enjoys gazing at the sky and sea and singing, though he is quite tone deaf. Kuma-san is an eight-year-old bear who acts as a leader, helping others in trouble but often busy; he likes books, naps, and fish. A silent bee hovers near Nontan, watching over him and seeming to communicate without speech. A bear doctor treats Nontan whenever he is sick or hurt.

Anime

An anime series ran from 1992 to 1994 on Fuji TV's children's program Ugōgorūga, with 265 episodes produced, two of which were not broadcast. Chiaki Fujimoto handled the theme song and voiced Nontan, with narration by Hirano. Pierrot, in charge of animation production, planned it as a "musical-style animation" with comical sound effects and music. The anime was dubbed into Arabic and aired on SpaceToon. Another CGI anime aired on Kids Station in 2002.