Mōretsu Atarō


Mōretsu Atarō is a gag manga by Fujio Akatsuka. It was serialized from 1967 to 1970 in Weekly Shōnen Sunday. Two anime adaptations were produced for TV Asahi.

Plot

The plot revolves around a young edokko named Atarō who lives with his father X-gorō in downtown Tokyo running the family store. After his father's sudden death, Atarō must take care of the store himself and, along with the help of his father's ghost, his friend Dekoppachi, former yakuza leader Butamatsu, and a nutty alley cat named Nyarome, he protects it from the tanuki-faced gang leader Kokoro Boss.

Cast

Atarō
; Tomoko Maruo )
The initial main character of the series, Ataro is a 10 year old boy who runs a vegetable store in Tokyo with his father. He is serious and hard working but also sensitive.
X-gorō
; Sanji Hase )
Ataro's father. He is killed when he falls out of a tree while trying to retrieve a young kids balloon. Because of the way his name is spelt, he could not enter heaven and was allowed back down to earth. However, since his body was cremated, he is stuck on earth as a ghost that only Ataro can see.
Nyarome
; Akira Kamiya )
An alley cat who walks on two legs and can speak like a human. He is stubborn and mischievous, and often hits on human women.
Dekoppachi
; Kyōko Tongū )
A 10 year old boy and Ataro's best friend. Dekoppachi has a short temper and a strong sense of justice. He was named by a reader.
Butamatsu
; Yō Yoshimura )
A former Yakuza leader who leads a gang of pigs.
Kokoro Boss
; Toshio Kobayashi )
One of Kokoro Boss's henchmen. He is the taller one of the two.
Kopun B
; Shinobu Satōchi )
One of Kokoro Boss's henchmen. He is the shorter one of the two
God ; Isamu Tanonaka )
God's Pupil ; Mie Suzuki )
Kumagorō ; Masaharu Satō )
Kumagorō's wife ; Noriko Uemura )
Kemunpasu ; Keiichi Nanba )
A young caterpillar who is friends with Nyarome and Beshi. He is often used where a caterpillar may be needed, to dispense some commentary or advice or just crawl about.
Beshi ; Kōzō Shioya )
A frog offering exposition or hanging out with Nyarome and Kemunpas.
Doctor Fukuwarai
A doctor with an unusual face consisting of a wrinkled mouth and sagging eyes. He uses saws and other heavy tools in his surgery and considers his work to be artistic, as he can expertly re-arrange faces and bodies to mind-boggling results.
Momoko
The first anime featured cameo appearances by several characters from other Akatsuka works.