Mako-chan's Road Safety: Evaluating the educational and entertainment value of children's anime

"Mako-chan's Traffic Safety": A short animation as a symbol of road safety education

The short animated film "Mako's Traffic Safety," released in 1971, was created to teach children the importance of road safety education. This animation was produced by Gakken Films and released in theaters. In just 11 minutes, it illustrates the basic rules and precautions for road safety. Below, we will delve deeper into the details of this work, the background to its production, and its significance.

Overview

"Mako-chan's Traffic Safety" is an animated film released in 1971, and is an educational film on the theme of road safety. Although it is a short film of just one episode, 11 minutes long, it was made to teach children the importance of traffic rules. It was directed by Teizou Ueda and Takehiko Takahashi, and produced by Gakken Films.

story

The main character of this work is an elementary school girl named Mako. On her way home from school, Mako encounters various traffic situations. The story depicts her safe return home while learning basic road safety rules such as obeying traffic signals, crossing the road correctly, and being careful of approaching cars. The animation emphasizes the message that by following traffic rules, Mako can protect herself from danger.

Cast and crew

The cast of this work includes Shin Aomori, Mie Azuma, Masako Sugaya, and Toshiko Miura, who play the characters Mako-chan and those around her, and who convey the importance of road safety to the audience.

In terms of staff, directors Teizou Ueda and Takehiko Takahashi played a central role in completing this work, working with the production team from Gakken Films. The script was written by Matsue Jinbo, and cinematography included Shojiro Yagi, Yasuo Aihara, Yutaka Takamichi, and Tadashi Yoshida. Art direction was by Sadao Nakamura, Koji Takada, Hiroyuki Keigawa, and Masami Harada, and music was by Yoichi Kurumiya. Additionally, Kashiwa Shigeo, principal of Sendagaya Elementary School in Shibuya Ward, Tokyo, Sekiguchi Isamu, principal of First Junior High School in Arakawa Ward, Tokyo, and Matsumoto Misao, executive director of the Tokyo Traffic Safety Association, were involved in the planning of the film.

Background

"Mako's Traffic Safety" was produced in the early 1970s, when the increase in traffic accidents had become a social issue. At the time, there was an urgent need to prevent traffic accidents involving children, and there was a need to raise awareness of road safety through educational films. This film was born against this social background and was produced to teach children the importance of traffic rules.

Gakken Films has been focusing on producing educational films, especially educational content for children. "Mako-chan's Traffic Safety" was produced as part of this effort, with the aim of having many children watch it through screenings at schools and public facilities.

Significance and influence of the work

"Mako's Traffic Safety" is a work that was created to convey the importance of road safety education to children, and this is extremely significant. This work was used as an educational tool to encourage children to understand traffic rules and act safely. By adopting the animation format, the content is easy for children to understand and keep them interested.

This work also contributed greatly to the spread of traffic safety education. In the 1970s in Japan, the increase in traffic accidents had become a social issue, and there was an urgent need to prevent traffic accidents, especially among children. "Mako's Traffic Safety" was produced against this social background, and played a role in teaching many children the importance of traffic safety.

Evaluation of the work

"Mako's Traffic Safety" has been highly praised as an educational film. It is considered to be particularly effective as a means of conveying the importance of road safety to children. By adopting the animation format, the content is easy for children to understand and hold their interest, and it has been praised for its high educational effectiveness.

This work is also recognized for its significant contribution to the spread of traffic safety education. In the 1970s in Japan, the increase in traffic accidents had become a social issue, and there was an urgent need to prevent traffic accidents, especially among children. "Mako's Traffic Safety" was produced against this social background, and played a role in teaching many children the importance of traffic safety.

Detailed content of the work

"Mako-chan's Traffic Safety" is a story about an elementary school girl named Mako-chan. On her way home from school, Mako-chan encounters various traffic situations. The story depicts her safe return home while learning basic road safety rules such as obeying traffic signals, crossing the road correctly, and being careful of approaching cars.

The animation emphasizes the message that Mako-chan can protect herself from danger by following traffic rules. Specifically, she is shown not to cross the street when the light is red, looking both ways before crossing the street, and being careful when a car is approaching. Through these scenes, the animation aims to teach children the importance of road safety.

The creative process

"Mako-chan's Traffic Safety" was produced by the production team of Gakken Films. Directors Teizou Ueda and Takehiko Takahashi were the core of the production, and the script was written by Matsue Jimbo. Cinematography was handled by Shojiro Yagi, Yasuo Aihara, Yutaka Takamichi, and Tadashi Yoshida, and art direction was handled by Sadao Nakamura, Koji Takada, Hiroyuki Keigawa, and Masami Harada. Music was composed by Yoichi Kurumiya.

In addition, Shigeo Kashiwa, principal of Sendagaya Elementary School in Shibuya Ward, Tokyo, Isamu Sekiguchi, principal of First Junior High School in Arakawa Ward, Tokyo, and Mitsuo Matsumoto, executive director of the Tokyo Traffic Safety Association, are also involved in the planning of this work. These staff members worked together to complete this work.

Evaluation and influence of the work

"Mako's Traffic Safety" has been highly praised as an educational film. It is considered to be particularly effective as a means of conveying the importance of road safety to children. By adopting the animation format, the content is easy for children to understand and hold their interest, and it has been praised for its high educational effectiveness.

This work also contributed greatly to the spread of traffic safety education. In the 1970s in Japan, the increase in traffic accidents had become a social issue, and there was an urgent need to prevent traffic accidents, especially among children. "Mako's Traffic Safety" was produced against this social background, and played a role in teaching many children the importance of traffic safety.

Recommendation

"Mako's Traffic Safety" is extremely valuable as a work for conveying the importance of road safety education to children. In particular, we recommend using it as an educational tool to encourage children to understand traffic rules and act safely. By adopting the animation format, this work has content that is easy for children to understand and hold their interest, and it has been evaluated as having a high educational effect.

This work also made a significant contribution to the spread of traffic safety education. In the 1970s in Japan, the increase in traffic accidents was a social issue, and there was an urgent need to prevent traffic accidents, especially among children. "Mako's Traffic Safety" was produced against this social background, and played a role in teaching many children the importance of traffic safety. For this reason, we strongly recommend using this work as part of your traffic safety education.