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Bikkuriman

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Bikkuriman
ビックリマン
GenreFantasy, Parody
Created byLotte
Anime television series
Directed byYukio Kaizawa
Written bySukehiro Tomita
Music byTakanori Arisawa
StudioToei Animation
Original networkANN (ABC, TV Asahi)
Original run October 11, 1987 – April 2, 1989
Episodes75
Anime film
Bikkuriman: Taiichiji Seima Taisen
Directed byHiroyuki Kakudo
Written bySukehiro Tomita
StudioToei Animation
ReleasedMarch 12, 1988
Runtime30 minutes
Anime film
Bikkuriman: Moen Zone no Himitsu
Directed byJunichi Sato
Written bySukehiro Tomita
Music byTakanori Arisawa
StudioToei Animation
ReleasedJuly 9, 1988
Runtime45 minutes
Anime television series
Shin Bikkuriman
Directed byYukio Kaizawa
Written bySukehiro Tomita
Music byShunsuke Kikuchi
StudioToei Animation
Original networkANN (ABC, TV Asahi)
Original run April 19, 1989 – August 26, 1990
Episodes72
Anime television series
Super Bikkuriman
Directed byYukio Kaizawa
Written byAya Matsui
Music byTakanori Arisawa
StudioToei Animation
Original networkANN (ABC, TV Asahi)
Original run May 17, 1992 – April 4, 1993
Episodes44
Anime television series
Bikkuriman 2000
Directed byYusuke Yamamoto
Written byAtsuhiro Tomioka
StudioStudio Comet, NAS
Original networkTXN (TV Tokyo)
Original run November 1, 1999 – February 26, 2001
Episodes68
Anime television series
Happy Lucky Bikkuriman
Directed byGo Koga
Produced byYasuhiko Nukaga
Written byKatsuyuki Sumisawa (eps 1-19)
Riku Sanjo (eps 20-46)
Music byYoshichika Inomata
Yoichiro Honda
StudioToei Animation
Original networkTV Asahi
Original run October 15, 2006 – September 30, 2007
Episodes46
Video game
DeveloperDrecom
PublisherDrecom
GenreSocial card battle
PlatformAndroid, GREE, mixi
ReleasedApril 18, 2011 (GREE, mixi), December 17, 2012 (Android)
Anime television series
Bikkuri-Men
Directed byTomohiro Yamanashi
Written byYuniko Ayana
Music byYasuhiro Misawa
Studio
Licensed by
Original networkTokyo MX, BS Asahi
Original run October 5, 2023 – December 21, 2023
Episodes12
icon Anime and manga portal

Bikkuriman (Japanese: ビックリマン, lit. Surprise Man) is a line of wafer snacks produced by Lotte, made notable for the randomly assorted bonus stickers included inside each snack. First released in 1977, Bikkuriman (ビックリマン, lit. "Surprise Man") became wildly popular in Japan with the introduction of the Devil VS Angel Seal (悪魔VS天使シール, Akuma vs Tenshi Shīru) series of stickers, leading to a prolific number of media tie-ins.

History

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Bikkuriman is a chocolate and peanut wafer snack made by Lotte that sold for 30 yen at the time of its introduction. Originally, the pack-in stickers were called "Dokkiri Seal" (どっきりシール, lit. "Shocking Seal). Each Seal featured a realistic image on a clear background, with the intention of using them for pranks or gags (broken glass, clothing tears, fake wall switches, etc.) By the 1980s, the Seals began featuring individual gag-based characters with a theme that united a particular set of Seals. These style of stickers would remain for the first 9 sets of Seal releases.

In August 1985, Lotte released the first of the Akuma vs Tenshi Seal series. While maintaining the same humorous art style of the earlier series, the Akuma vs Tenshi Seals featured characters based on assorted mythological, folklore, and even metaphorical sources engaging in an overarching story-line. Akin to the Mars Attacks trading card series from America, the battle between the Tenshi and Akuma is told on the back of each sticker, with the plot progressing with each new set. Each set was divided into several themed tiers featuring a Tenshi, Akuma, and an Omamori (お守り, "Protector"), with an ultra-rare "Head" Seal that serves as the main character of its particular set. The Head Seals were typically printed with a prism or holographic holofoil to set them apart from the Tenshi's metallic silver or gold backing, the clear backgrounds of the Omamori and the multi-colored backgrounds of the Akuma. The rarity of the early Akuma vs Tenshi Seals were, in order: Head, Tenshi, Omamori, Akuma.

Unfortunately, the popularity of the stickers led to trouble for the series. The zeal to try to obtain Head Seals would lead children to buy Bikkuriman in mass quantities, retrieve the stickers inside, and simply throw away the snack. This, along with the fact that children and collectors were willing to pay high amounts of money for the rarer cards, led to parent groups expressing concern of possible gambling implications for the stickers. This led to action by the Japanese Fair Trade Commission, and the number of Head Seals per pack was increased from the average 4 to 24 individual Seals.

Anime

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These stickers were a huge success, leading to a multitude of media tie-ins. The original Bikkuriman anime series, created by Toei Animation, aired from October 11, 1987, to April 2, 1989.[1] Sequels include Shin Bikkuriman, Super Bikkuriman, Bikkuriman 2000 and Happy Lucky Bikkuriman.

Bikkuri-Men

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A new anime project featuring original character designs by Hiroyuki Takei was announced on April 1, 2023.[2] The project was later revealed to be a television series produced by Shin-Ei Animation, animated by Lesprit, and directed by Tomohiro Yamanashi, with Yuniko Ayana in charge of series composition, Ayano Owada adapting Takei's original character designs for animation, and Yasuhiro Misawa composing the music. It aired from October 5 to December 21, 2023, on Tokyo MX and BS Asahi.[3][4] The opening theme song, "Collection", is performed by Dannie May while the ending theme song, "Seishun☆Whatcha Gonna Do", is performed by Daishi Kajita, Shuta Morishima, and Tatsumaru Tachibana.[3] Medialink licensed the series in Asia-Pacific.[5]

Characters

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Yamato
Voiced by: Daishi Kajita[6]
Ushiwaka
Voiced by: Shuta Morishima[6]
Jack
Voiced by: Tatsumaru Tachibana[6]
Phoenix
Voiced by: Soma Saito[6]
Hood
Voiced by: Yōhei Azakami[6]
Peter
Voiced by: Yuki Sakakihara[6]
Maris
Voiced by: Katsuyuki Konishi[6]
Ippontsuri
Voiced by: Yūichirō Umehara[6]
Shokoshi
Voiced by: Mitsuhiro Ichiki[6]
Alibaba
Voiced by: Atsushi Tamaru[6]
Cross
Voiced by: Yui Ogura[7]
Oasis
Voiced by: Yū Kobayashi[7]
Khan
Voiced by: Katsuhisa Hōki[7]
Takayan
Voiced by: Shinnosuke Tokudome[7]
Manseira Type-II
Voiced by: Hiro Shimono[8]
Super Devil
Voiced by: Junichi Suwabe[9]

Manga

[edit]

References

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  1. ^ "Bikkuriman Archived 2020-10-30 at the Wayback Machine." Toei Animation. Retrieved on April 2, 2009.
  2. ^ Morrissy, Kim (April 1, 2023). "Lotte's Bikkuri-Man Snack Gets New Anime With Original Story". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on April 1, 2023. Retrieved April 1, 2023.
  3. ^ a b Hodgkins, Crystalyn (September 8, 2023). "Bikkuri-Men Anime's Promo Video Reveals Theme Song Artists". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on September 8, 2023. Retrieved September 8, 2023.
  4. ^ Harding, Daryl (April 3, 2023). "Chocolatey Original TV Anime Bikkurimen to Premiere This Fall". Crunchyroll. Archived from the original on April 4, 2023. Retrieved April 3, 2023.
  5. ^ "🍂羚邦2023十月新番代理公告🍂 🍂Medialink October 2023 New Anime Line-Up🍂 🌟《BIKKURI-MEN》is arriving on Ani-One Asia!". Ani-One Asia. October 4, 2023. Retrieved October 4, 2023 – via YouTube.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Hodgkins, Crystalyn (July 13, 2023). "Bikkuri-Men Anime's 2nd Promo Video Reveals 10 Cast Members". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on July 13, 2023. Retrieved July 13, 2023.
  7. ^ a b c d Pineda, Rafael Antonio (August 24, 2023). "Bikkuri-Men Anime Reveals 4 Cast Members". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on August 24, 2023. Retrieved August 24, 2023.
  8. ^ Mateo, Alex (October 16, 2023). "Bikkuri-Men Anime Casts Hiro Shimono". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on December 10, 2023. Retrieved December 10, 2023.
  9. ^ Mateo, Alex (December 7, 2023). "Bikkuri-Men Anime Casts Junichi Suwabe". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on December 10, 2023. Retrieved December 10, 2023.
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