Ojarumaru (おじゃる丸)[c] is a Japanese anime series created by Rin Inumaru, produced by NHK Enterprises, and animated by Gallop.[5] The series has aired on NHK Educational TV since October 1998, making it the second longest-running anime on NHK behind Nintama Rantaro, and the third longest-running anime series to date. The series focuses on a 5-year-old Heian-eraprince named Ojarumaru Sakanoue who accidentally time-warps to modern Japan and has adventures there while dodging a trio of young oni who try to get back a scepter that he stole from Great King Enma. The series has been dubbed in many languages.[6] It was the first NHK anime series to be animated using the digital ink-and-paint process instead of cel animation.[7]
Around 1,000 years ago in Fairy World (妖精界 Yōsei-kai) in the Heian era,[d] a young prince from a noble family named Ojarumaru Sakanoue is bored of his life of privilege. He is later lured into Enma World (エンマ界 Enma-kai) by the sound of a ukulele played by Great King Enma. Upon arriving, he steals Great King Enma's powerful scepter,[e] which he uses in order to judge the dead. While getting chased by Great King Enma, he accidentally falls into the Moon Hole (月の穴 Tsuki no Ana), which time-warps him to modern Japan via the Full Moon Road (満月ロード Mangetsu Rōdo). The furious Great King Enma sends his three adopted oni children, Aobei, Kisuke, and Akane, who are known as the "Little Child Trio" (子鬼トリオ Kooni Trio), to pursue Ojarumaru and get the scepter back. At the present time, Ojarumaru falls from the Moon to the roof of Sakata Apartment (坂田マンション Sakata Manshon) where he befriends a boy named Kazuma Tamura and his grandfather Tommy. Fascinated with the prince, Tommy helps Kazuma convince his parents Ai and Makoto into letting Ojarumaru stay with the family, to which they accept. Denbo, Ojarumaru's anthropomorphic firefly caretaker who witnessed the latter falling into the Moon Hole, eventually finds and takes care of him at the request of his parents. While making many new friends and rivals, as well as dodging the Oni Child Trio's efforts to retrieve the scepter, Ojarumaru has many adventures in Moonlight Town (月光町 Gekkō-chō) and encounters new things he has never seen before in his time period.
Later episodes tend to center around other characters, including Princess Okame, Ojarumaru's young fiancé who desperately tries to win over his heart; Okorinbō and Nikorinbō, two anthropomorphic komainu who try numerous get-rich-quick methods in a bid to get their shinto shrine out of poverty; Ken, a freeter who keeps changing jobs; Kazuma's classmates, big eater Kintarō Sakata, beauty-obsessed Komachi Ono, and the judgmental but well-intentioned Kentarō Iwashimizu; Icchoku Honda, Kazuma's energetic homeroom teacher; the Hoshino Family, three aliens from another planet who want to invade Earth and have a strange aversion to Ojarumaru; and Sachiyo Usui, an eccentric manga artist who is notorious for her creepy, highly detailed drawings.
Seven television specials have aired on NHK E-Tele. The first special entitled Ojarumaru: Shiawase no Aoi Senaka (おじゃる丸 しあわせの青いせなか, Ojarumaru: A Happy Blue Back) aired on January 1, 2000. The second special entitled Ojarumaru: Mangetsu Rōdo Kiki Ippatsu ~Tama ni wa Maro mo Dai Bōken~ (おじゃる丸 満月ロード危機一髪 ～タマにはマロも大冒険～, Ojarumaru: Peril at the Full Moon Road ~A Rare Adventure of Our Prince~) aired on May 3, 2007. The third special entitled Ojarumaru Supesharu: Ginga ga Maro o Yonde iru ~Futari no Negai Boshi~ (おじゃる丸スペシャル 銀河がマロを呼んでいる ～ふたりのねがい星～, Ojarumaru Special: My Galaxy is Calling ~The Two Wishing Stars~) aired on March 20, 2012. The fourth special entitled Ojarumaru Special: Wasureta Mori no Hinata (おじゃる丸 スペシャル わすれた森のヒナタ, Ojarumaru Special: Hinata in the Forgotten Forest) aired on August 14, 2015.[21] The fifth special entitled Ojarumaru Special: Saraba Mattari no Hibi yo (おじゃる丸 スペシャル さらば まったりの日々よ, Ojarumaru Special: Goodbye, Lazy Days) aired in 2 parts on November 1 and 2, 2017. The sixth special entitled Ojarumaru Special: Anime Janai de ojaru? (おじゃる丸 スペシャル アニメでないでおじゃる？, Ojarumaru Special: It's Not an Anime?) aired on November 3, 2017.[22][23] The seventh special Heian-chō Onigami Kessen (ヘイアンチョウ鬼神決戦) was scheduled to premiere on March 28, 2022,[24] and was later delayed to March 30 due to a high school baseball tournament preempting the special's initial 9:00 AM timeslot on March 28.[25]
The series has aired daily on Kids Station since November 5, 2018.[26]
A manga adaptation of the anime series, written and illustrated by Tatsuma Ejiri, was serialized in Shueisha's Saikyo Jump magazine from January 2012 to September 2014. The first and only tankōbon volume, which compiles select stories from the Saikyo Jump serialization, was published in Japan on July 4, 2014.[34]
