Pyun Pyun Maru

Aired: 1967 - 1969

A TV anime produced by Toei Doga. Based on the ninja gag manga serialized in Shonen Gaho with art by Naoki Tsuji, reworked from Yoshiharu Tsuge's concept material. Broadcast on the NET (now TV Asahi) network in two phases: the first period 'Ora Pyun Pyun Maru' (August 14 - December 25, 1967, 20 episodes), and the second period 'Pyun Pyun Maru' (January 13 - April 7, 1969, 13 episodes). Pyun Pyun Maru (voiced by Joji Yanami), a ninja boy living in the Furma village, engages in ninjutsu-filled gag comedy with his sister Princess Chie and companions Kemumaki and Sasuke. Although the program changed titles between the two phases, the program identity, characters, and staff continued, so it is registered as a single entry. As a representative work of Toei Doga's comedy lineage at the intersection of the ninja boom and the gag-anime lineage leading to Osomatsu-kun and Tensai Bakabon, it is also evaluated as an experimental ground for limited expression and sound-effect gags. (C)Toei Animation