Genre Comedy, Adventure Published by Poplar Publishing Directed by Yoshio Takeuchi | Volumes 60 Creator Yutaka Hara | |
Original run November 1987 – present Adaptations Majime ni Fumajime: Kaiketsu Zorori (2005), Kaiketsu Zorori (2004) Similar Sgt Frog, Anpanman, Chibi Maruko‑chan, Tensai Bakabon, DT Eightron | ||
Kaiketsu Zorori (かいけつゾロリ, "Incredible Zorori") is a popular Japanese children's book series created by Yutaka Hara and published by Poplar Publishing. The original books were also made into an OVA, animated feature-length films, anime, and comic. They all have "Zorori" in the title.
Contents
- Synopsis
- Main characters
- Secondary characters
- Anime only characters
- Manga
- Series 1
- Series 2 Season 1
- Series 2 Season 2
- Movies
- 1993 version
- Quest for the Mysterious Treasure
- G G G Great Adventure
- Kaiketsu Zorori
- Majime ni Fumajime Kaiketsu Zorori
- References
Synopsis
Set in a parallel world inhabited by anthropomorphic animals (in their Earth's version of Japan), the story follows the protagonist, a fox named Zorori and his twin boar bandit apprentices Ishishi and Noshishi as they travel from place to place. The series debuted in 1987 with its first issue: Kaiketsu Zorori no Doragon Taiji (かいけつゾロリのドラゴンたいじ, "The Incredible Zorori, Dragon Slayer") and has published about two issues per year, totaling 50 issues as of December 2011. It was adapted into an anime series from February 1, 2004 to January 28, 2007. A Hong Kong produced English dubbed version by Red Angel Media aired on Cartoon Network Philippines on January 4, 2010. The dub featured the voices of Russell Wait as the title character, Candice Moore, Muriel Hofmann, Michael Pizzuto, and Jack Murphy.
Zorori was originally a villain for the series Hōrensō Man (ほうれんそうマン, "Spinach Man") written by Shiho Mitsushima, and when Hōrensō Man ended, Shiho Mitsushima understood the need to give it an independent spin-off. What both series shared in common was that the end of Hōrensō Man no Yūreijō (ほうれんそうマンのゆうれいじょう, "Spinach Man and the Haunted Castle") (depicts Zorori leaving on a journey to get a castle) ties in with the beginning of Kaiketsu Zorori no Doragon Taiji and Zorori's aspiration, "Zorori Castle Part 2" is established (It appears Part 1 came from the Zorori Castle in Hōrensō Man no Yūreijō). Another part is the reoccurring characters (Zorori Mama and Yōkai Gakkō no Sensei, and to some degree the debut of Sumire and Bokushi Robo) that were not given anything past trivial appearances. However, knowing the background story of the Hōrensō Man series is not needed to be able to enjoy the Zorori series.
Using clear patterns and lines, the characters would speak using speech bubbles more similar to comics than to picture books. The text and words would not use any difficult kanji or any furigana, instead using lower grade level words so that it can be read alone without needing any help. It also features excessive puns and it is because of this that puns saw a boom in use in elementary school students. In spite of it being called a well read elementary school "children's book", it has an array of farting, belching, and vulgar words that sometimes parents and guardians in the PTA demanded apologies for it. (Remember, this is a comedy series) Whenever Zorori is in a desperate situation and it appears he'll reach his demise, a fake notice is posted advising to skip the next page due to gruesome violence (Of course this is all a joke. The next page just has him finding a way out of his predicament).
At the time of publication, The Zorori League (ゾロリーグ, Zororiigu) and Stupid Monster (ボケーットモンスター, Bokeetto Monsutaa) (a play on Pokémon) were very popular comedies, especially among Japanese comedians for its use of Japanese jokes.
Furthermore, the Spanish word for fox is "zorro", and the author intended for Kaiketsu Zorori to resemble Zorro.
Main characters
Zorori (ゾロリ) / Voiced by: Kōichi Yamadera (Japanese); Russell Wait (speaking voice), Jack Murphy (singing voice), David Lee McKinney (movie) (English) ('93 Short Film: Akira Kamiya)
The fox protagonist of the story and a wanted criminal (after Arrested!! (つかまる!!, Tsukamaru!!). He keeps traveling with the goal of becoming the King of Pranks (悪戯の王者, Itazura no Ōja), finding a beautiful bride, and getting his own castle. He refers to himself as Ore-sama and Ore. He can build mecha out of rubbish and trash, and even amusement parks, by himself since he is a genius. A self-proclaimed Prankster Genius (悪戯の天才,, Itazura no Tensai), he is by no means a villain, as he has a tender heart and as the protagonist of a picture book, he is more of a dark hero or an anti-hero. He would do anything to achieve his goals, but from time to time he would help others, especially if he sees an opportunity to benefit from a situation himself. He normally wears a sandogasa and a striped cape reminiscent of an Edo period gambler, but at crucial moments he changes into a Zorro-esque costume with the letters ZZ on the chest. He is very dextrous and can build almost any machine to suit his needs. He is also the owner of the Bukkura Koita, a book that tells oyaji gags so bad they freeze all who hear it. His favorite food is anpan.Zorori's Apprentices
Zorori's Family
Secondary characters
Demon School Teacher (妖怪学校の先生, Yōkai Gakkō no Sensei) / Voiced by: Junpei Takiguchi (Japanese); Jack Murphy, Scott Evans (movie) (English)
Yōkai-sensei for short. He teaches different monsters and demons how to scare people.Monsters
Arthur (アーサー, Āsā) / Voiced by: Sōichirō Hoshi (Japanese); Muriel Hofmann (English)
The brave, noble, and honest black panther. He is often the target of Zorori's schemes and suffers much physical abuse.Princess Elzie (エルゼ姫, Eruze-hime) / Voiced by: Fumiko Orikasa (Japanese); Candice Moore (English)
A cat princess that Zorori had kidnapped in order to save her, marry her, and get her castle. She was rescued by Arthur and then married him.Nelly (ネリー, Nerī) / Voiced by: Satomi Arai
A wizard that finds Zorori and gives her confidence to train harder to be a wizard. She is a 2nd year student at the magic school. Resulting when she reads a book she calls for help of Zorori and he help her with that. She is Milly's younger sister.Najō (ナジョー) / Voiced by: Junko Iwao (Yellow/Orange), Rikako Aikawa (White/Green), Motoko Kumai (Aqua/Brown/Navy), Satomi Arai (Purple/Red), Tomoe Hanba (Blue/Pink)
The Wizard (魔法使い, Mahōtsukai)
Paru (パル) / Voiced by: Kōhei Kiyasu ('93 short film: Keiko Han)
The son of a pirate captain. When he was first introduced he was a lion cub, but for the rest of the series he is a teenager. He has his own toy car store.Ship Captain (船長, Senchō) / Voiced by: Bon Ishihara ('93 short film: Shōzō Iizuka)
Paru's father.Tiger (タイガー, Taigā) / Voiced by: Fumihiko Tachiki ('93 short film: Kōsei Tomita)
Paru's former first mate. He committed mutiny and became the pirate captain. His left hand is mechanical.Duke Bururu (ブルル公爵, Bururu-kōshaku) / Voiced by: Daisuke Gōri
A bulldog who is also a candy mogul. He always holds contests with fabulous prizes to increase candy sales. He also finds loopholes to prevent Zorori from getting his prize.Koburu (コブル) / Voiced by: Yū Mizushima
Duke Bururu's assistant. He often rubs his hands together and says "yes, yes" (はいはい, haihai).Shirodaruman (シロダルマン) / Voiced by: Yūto Kazama
Dinosaur Mama (恐竜のママ, Kyōrū no Mama) / Voiced by: Masako Nozawa
Dinosaur Kid (恐竜のぼうや, Kyōrū no Bōya) / Voiced by: Chie Satō
Mojara (モジャラ) / Voiced by: Hiroya Ishimaru
Monster (怪獣, Kaijū) / Voiced by: Yasuhiko Kawazu
Alien Princess (宇宙人のお姫様, Uchūjin no Ohime-sama) / Voiced by: Yuri Shiratori
Suzuki Santa and Yamada Santa / Voiced by: Katsuhisa Hōki and Naoki Bandō
The two Santas in "The Terrifying Presents"Santa Police (サンタポリス, Santa Porisu) / Voiced by: Matsuo Matsuo, Tomoaki Ikeda, Shinya Fukumatsu, Yoshikazu Kazuma, Kiyotaka Furushima
Chipoli (チポリ) / Voiced by: Daisuke Sakaguchi
Topol (トポル, Toporu) / Voiced by: Tomoyuki Shimura
Chief Gomez (ゴメス署長, Gomesu Shochō) / Voiced by: Kōsei Tomita
Tail (テイル, Teiru) / Voiced by: Saki Aibu (Japanese); Andrea Kwan (English)
Madi (マディ) / Voiced by: Masami Kikuchi (Japanese); Scott Evans (English)
Yutaka Hara (原ゆたか, Hara Yutaka) / Voiced by: Himself
The creator of Kaiketsu Zorori, Yutaka Hara appears in every episode, often in the background.Anime-only characters
Tanuki Mother (母さんダヌキ, Kaasan Tanuki)
Professor Gaon (ガオン博士, Gaon-hakase) / Voiced by: Masashi Ebara
A lone traveling wolf scientist in search of things he wants to build. He is intelligent, strong and resourceful. He and Zorori are equally matched and are friendly rivals. He has his own Bukkura Koita he made himself, but it is no match for Zorori's original.Mayor Porks (ポークス市長, Pōkusu Shichō) / Voiced by: Seizō Katō
Milly (ミリー, Mirī) / Voiced by: Tomoe Hanba
Nelly's older sister. She has a crush on Roger.Roger (ロジャー, Rojā) / Voiced by: Akira Ishida
A character that in some ways resembles Zorori but never understands Milly feelings until she slaps him then they got together .Puppe (プッペ) / Voiced by: Miyako Itō
A ghost guide in finding the 'Minus Eel'. He can escape from his body and move around as a spirit. He is somethimes of great help to Zorori.Manga
The first Zorori book was released in November 1987 and has seen two releases per year ever since. The first 39 volumes have been used as source material for the anime, while volumes 40 and beyond are book only, due to being printed after the anime's cancellation.
Series 1
The first series, titled Kaiketsu Zorori, is primarily based on the children books by Yutaka Hara.
Series 2 Season 1
The second series, titled Majime ni Fumajime Kaiketsu Zorori (まじめにふまじめ かいけつゾロリ), differs from the first series in a few ways. It adopts fewer of Hara's books and instead focuses on a season long story arc, something the first series did not have. Season 1 focuses on the wizard Nelly and the mysterious Najō as Zorori, Ishishi, and Noshishi help them restore the magic forest in a magical country.
Series 2 Season 2
Season 2 focuses on Puppe's search for the Minus Eel. It does not adapt any of Yutaka Hara's books.
Movies
Kaiketsu Zorori has had three theatrical movie releases, one in 1993 simply titled "Kaiketsu Zorori", another in 2006 titled "The Great Mysterious Treasure Plan", and another, Kaiketsu Zorori Da-Da-Da-Daibouken in winter 2012.
1993 version
This movie adapts books 3 and 4. It was shown alongside Soreike! Anpanman: Nosshi the Dinosaur's Big Adventure (それいけ!アンパンマン 恐竜ノッシーの大冒険, Soreike Anpanman Kyouryuu Nosshii no Daibouken)
Quest for the Mysterious Treasure
This movie adapts books 38 and 39. It was shown alongside Keroro Gunsō the Super Movie on March 1, 2006. Zorori, Ishishi, and Noshishi help out Tail find a treasure her father Gale died trying to figure out. Along the way, they are helped out by Youkai-sensei and several monsters, but Tiger and his crew stand in their way.
G-G-G-Great Adventure
Based on books 47 and 48. Zorori, Ishishi, and Noshishi, while out searching for treasure, come upon a town with a widespread illness. In order to make the secret medicine for it, they must set out on an adventure. This will be the first full-length Zorori movie.