Shima Shima Tora no Shimajirō

Shima Shima Tora no Shimajirō (しましまとらのしまじろう) is a 1993 Japanese children's slice of life anime series primarily aimed at preschoolers, animated by Pierrot Plus. It is created and directed by veteran director Hisayuki Toriumi, who directed Science Ninja Team Gatchaman and character designs by Shigehito Tsuji. It aired at TV Setouchi and in all TXN TV networks in Japan from December 13, 1993, to March 31, 2008, becoming the 19th longest running anime in Japan from its debut to its final episode with a total of 726 episodes

The series is officially based on the Kodomo Challenge Educational Learning Program created by Benesse in 1988 aimed primarily to preschoolers, which Shimajirō serves as the official mascot. The anime is listed as one of the most popular Educational Preschool shows in Japan, with having a total of 8 seasons that continues to 3 anime sequels. It was widely popular among children, parents and adults, gaining a decent fanbase over the years. According to research done by Benesse in 2015, the series has 99.2% recognition among parents with children aged 0 to 6.

Overview
Shima Shima Tora no Shimajirō was officially created after Benesse and TV Setouchi both decided to adapt the Learning Program series into a full-fledged series for television, with part of the staff being former Tatsunoko Production director Hisayuki Toriumi and music composer Shin'ya Naitō. It was officially animated by Studio Pierrot's sister company, Pierrot Plus and premiered on December 13, 1993. The series ended after it aired its final episode on March 31, 2008, as the second series aired, alongside the children's variety series Hakken Taiken Daisuki! Shimajirō (はっけん たいけん だいすき! しまじろう). All of the later episodes of the series were aired in the variety series in the later years which also includes live action segments.

Theme and elements
The overall theme surrounding the series all revolves in Shimajirō's life as a preschooler and all the lessons he needs to learn in a daily basis such as making friends, saying sorry, making a resolve and others that reflects to the preschool demographic. Also educational elements such as planting flowers, how to use the toilet for the first time, helping others and learning in kindergarten is also applied.

The anime's overall elements are all based on the Kodomo Challenge series, with the storyline being completely original from the source material.

Setting
The anime is officially set in the fictional Challenge Island (ちゃれんじ島) located somewhere in the world. The island, inhabited by anthropomorphic animals, is suburban and very self-sufficient in resources. Various animal characters in the island vary as well as their culture such as the Mole People who live under the island or the Squirrel people who always hibernate during winter. Various means of transport as well as subways exist in the island. Aside from the animal characters, some characters such as Witches and Fairies exist in the island.

Story
The entire series focuses on Shimajirō Shimano, a curious tiger boy living in Challenge Island. Being the second in the family, he attends Kindergarten alongside his friends as they all discover everything around them, and learn valuable lessons as they grow up.

Characters

 * Shimajiro Shimano (縞野 しまじろう)
 * Voiced by: Chisato Nakajima (First Series), Omi Minami (Current Series)

The series's main protagonist, Shimajiro is a male tiger cub and the only son of Shimano family. He is a bright little boy who likes doughnuts and playing soccer. He fears thunder and ghost stories, and does not like to eat green peppers. He is very supportive to his friends and to his younger sister Hana, but can sometimes be a bit stubborn. He can be mischievous and selfish, but he always learns his lesson and is always there when his friends and little sister, Hannah (Hana in the Japanese versions), need him.


 * Mimirin Midorihara (緑原 みみりん) / Mimi-Lynne
 * Voiced by: Naoko Watanabe (First Series), Miki Takahashi (Current Series)

One of Shimajiro's childhood friends, Mimirin is a white female bunny with back ear tips. Living in a family of florists, Mimirin loves cute things and strawberry shortcake as well as running. However she has fear of insects and is never fond of carrots. Usually she also has an overbite and her tail appears out of her skirt. She can be nice but spoiled, selfish and clumsy and has a habit on crying if someone doesn't favor her opinion sometimes. Mimirin is also a good aspiring singer as well and also likes to be a princess. She was one of two characters in the series (the other being Ramurin) to not have an older sibling, but after Ramurin left Challenge Island in the series finale of Shimajirō Hesoka, Mimirin became the only one.


 * Torippii Sorano (空野 とりっぴい) / Flappie
 * Voiced by: Yūko Mita (First Series), Takumi Yamazaki (Current Series)

Also one of Shimajiro's childhood friends, Torippī is a male green bird. He usually has red, blue and yellow feathers on his head and has few tail feathers on his back, as well as a loose tongue. In earlier series, he only wore a shirt, but started wearing shorts as of Shimajirō no Wow. His name in the series is always mispronounced in several promotional materials. Torippii is an aspiring singer, but is somehow tone-deaf. He usually likes Takoyaki but like Shimajiro, he is easily scared of thunder, ghost stories and lastly by ghosts. Torippī, being a bird, has an ability to fly to survey things for his friends, and also can understand non-anthropomorphic birds. He usually lives with his grandmother and parents in a treehouse and is the oldest of four siblings.


 * Ramurin Makiba (牧場 らむりん)
 * Voiced by: Chisato Nakajima (First Series, earlier Seasons), Hinako Yoshino (First Series, later Seasons), Saori Sugimoto (Current Series)

Also one of Shimajiro's childhood friends, Ramurin is a pink female lamb. Unlike other sheep, she herself doesn't have a white face. She initially wore a bow on her head but replaced it with a bandana in later episodes. Her own father is a painter, and aspires her to become one when she grows up one day. She loves Pudding, but she has fears of ghosts and she is not good at running fast. She also likes both sports Judo and Sumo. Unlike the other characters, Ramurin's mentality is much higher than the rest of the main cast and usually behaves like a responsible sister. Her catch phrase is "suspicious" and usually keeps her promises sometimes. Like Mimirin, she doesn't have any older sibling. She officially left Challenge Island along with her father during the last episode of Shimajirō Hesoka, and moved to France to achieve her goals. As a result, she is the only character who doesn't appear in any of the movies.


 * Nyakkii Momoyama (桃山 にゃっきい)
 * Voiced by: Saori Sugimoto

First introduced in Shimajirō: A World of Wow!, Nyakkii is a pink-furred cat with a cream-colored face. She is great at sports, caring, and always stands up to bullies. Naturally, she is always up for adventure with Shimajiro and his friends. She loves climbing trees, foot racing and sports, and dreams to become an Olympic athlete one day when she grows up. She moved into Challenge Island with her grandmother, mother and her younger brother and befriended Shimajiro and the others in the second episode. Her father, however, lives separately somewhere in Challenge Island.

Music
The official music of the series is composed by Shin'ya Naitō in the first series and by Akifumi Tada of Tenchi Muyo! GXP in the later series.

The series officially has 7 Opening Songs and 7 Ending Songs. For the first series, the first opening is titled Shima Torando Island (しまとらンドアイランド) by Shima Shima Kids and the second Opening is titled Skip Step Island (スキップステップアイランド) by Omi Minami. The ending songs are titled Zutto Motto Daisuki (ずっともっと大好き) by Shima Shima Kids, the second ending titled Happy Jam Jam (ハッピー・ジャムジャム) by M.S.J and the third ending is titled Nyanda Korya (にゃんだこりゃ) by both Omi Minami and Bin Shimada

For ''Hakken Taiken Daisuki! Shimajirō'', the opening theme is titled Mainichi Challenger (まいにちチャレンジャー) by Omi Minami, Miki Takahashi, Takumi Yamazaki and Saori Sugimoto. The ending song is titled Happy Jam Jam (ハッピー・ジャムジャム), also by Omi Minami, Miki Takahashi, Takumi Yamazaki and Saori Sugimoto.

For Shimajirō Hesoka, the first opening is titled Sora Sora ☆ Aozora (ソラソラ☆あおぞら) by Aki Toyosaki and the second opening is titled Rainbow (レインボー) by Yusuke Kamiji. The first ending song is titled Shima Mimi to Rira mutsu (しまみみとりらむっ) by Fusanosuke Kondō and the second ending theme is Happy Jam Jam (HE SO KA Version) (ハッピー・ジャムジャム （HE SO KAバージョン）) by Tomomi Ukumori

For Shimajirō: A World of Wow!, the first opening is titled Bokura no hoshi no Miracle (ボクらのほしのミラクル) by Daudi Joseph and the second opening is titled Shimajirō to ikou yo (しまじろうと いこうよ) by HARCO. The ending theme is titled Tomodachi no Wow! (トモダチのわお!) by Puffy AmiYumi.

Critical reception
On its first airing, Shima Shima Tora no Shimajirō became TV Setouchi's most popular educational anime show in Japan, rivaling NHK's long running Okaasan to Issho. The series became most popular in the Kanto Region of Japan, and became Benesse's most successful adaptation of the Kodomo Challenge series. Reruns of the episodes are broadcast on other stations such as Kids Station and TV Tokyo.

Awards
The latest series was also nominated in the 2016 International Emmy Awards for best animated series, alongside Ronia the Robber's Daughter.

Mascot popularity
The anime also made Shimajirō one of the most iconic Anime Characters in Japan for preschoolers, rivaling Anpanman in terms of ratings. On his initial release. He was widely appeared in various Kodomo Challenge products and products from other companies and sponsors. Also, Tomica and Benesse created a limited edition "Shimajiro Car" that is limitedly distributed to Kodomo Challenge members all over Japan. Japanese car company Toyota created a life-sized replica of the Tomica model, titled the "426GT Shimajirō Car " which is a Customized Toyota Estima Hybrid. In 2013, a new version of the car is released by called "426EV Shimajirō Car II", based on the Tesla Model S. Tomica released a model version of the car under the name "Dream Car Tomica Shimajiro II" on February 2014 for Kodomo Challenge members and a retail release on March 2014.

Overseas popularity
Shima Shima Tora no Shimajirō is officially released in various TV stations all across the world, excluding the United States. The Chinese dubbed version was known as Qiao Hu. In China it is known for having "...thoughtful and scrupulous tutoring methods, as well as elaborate educational materials." The show contains cartoons as well as acted out portions that feature the signature tiger mascot as well as a rabbit and a few actors.

According to another source, the firm which sponsored the character has franchises in Beijing and Shanghai which has been considered "successful" by many parents for its ability to inspire children with "good character" amid China's recent social issues. This idea is further reinforced as it teaches children "how to love to learn" "build positive personality and good habit", addressing the need in children's different stages of learning. In 2014, the firm plans big staging events in Beijing under the title "Dawn of the Adventure Island" in Beijing's Haidian Theater. The anticipated event is notable in that it is one of the first shows targeted towards an audience of children rather than "... conventional justice evil drama of violence and adult language of thinking... ", which is referring to Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf. According to Amazon.com, the franchise was released on DVD in the year 2010.

In Taiwan, Shimajirō is the most popular character among children aged 0 to 6.