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Chibi Maruko-chan Manga Gets New Chapters With Irregular Serialization
posted on by Rafael Antonio Pineda
The official website for Shueisha's Ribon magazine revealed on Monday that the Chibi Maruko-chan manga will have new chapters drawn by Sakura Production, which is staffed by long-time assistants of original Chibi Maruko-chan manga creator Momoko Sakura. The manga will run irregularly in Ribon.
The first chapter, titled "Halloween Party o Yarō no Maki" ('Let's Throw a Halloween Party' Chapter), will debut in Ribon's November issue on October 3. The chapter is based on a script written by Sakura for the manga's television anime — thus honoring Sakura's wish to turn scripts she wrote for the anime into manga.
Sakura passed away due to breast cancer at the age of 53 in August 2018. She serialized the original manga in Ribon from 1986 to 1996. The comedy manga, which follows the everyday life of a third-grade schoolgirl, has about 32 million copies in print. Sakura launched a four-panel version in a Japanese newspaper in 2007, and she ended that version in 2011.
The original Chibi Maruko-chan manga inspired a television anime that is almost always the #2 rated anime series after Sazae-san. The first anime series ran from 1990 to 1992, and the ongoing second series premiered in 1995. Sakura herself composed the theme song "Odoru Ponpokorin."
Sakura's Coji-Coji manga also inspired a television anime from 1997 to 1999. Her "GJ8 Man" character received its own net anime series with English subtitles in 2016.
Sources: Ribon website, Comic Natalie
