Frog Gonjiro: What is the appeal of the unique characters and story?

Kedama no Gonjiro - Kedama no Gonjiro - Reviews and Recommendations

■ Public Media

TV anime series

■ Original Media

character

■ Broadcast period

April 6, 2019 - March 28, 2020
10:00～

■Broadcasting station

TV Tokyo series

■Frequencies

half an hour

■ Number of Episodes

Episode 102

■Original Story

Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Music Entertainment, Aniplex, Shogakukan

■ Director

・Series Director: Kenshiro Morii (Dubtoon Studio)
Directors: Kenshiro Morii (1-25), Tetsuo Hirakawa (26-51)

■ Production

Animation production: OLM, WIT STUDIO

■Works

©SIE・SME・ANX・Shogakukan ©Gonjiro Project

■ Story

One day, Makoto, a slightly timid and big-headed fifth grader, encounters a mysterious ball of fur that hops around! When Makoto's button sticks to the ball of fur, a miracle happens!
"Ke ke ke! I'm Gonjiro the Frog!"
A mysterious life form made of hairballs is born! Since Gonjiro is just hair, he has an instinct to "protect" things, and he saves Makoto by saying, "Relax hair!"
Using the hair's ability to grow and tangle, he uses various abilities such as "Fit" and "Hair Change" to solve cases, and even "Button Change" by swapping out buttons, and he solves cases... no, he "solves" them!
A hairy, meddlesome furball named Gonjiro will tangle up in your heart in this hairy, hairy comedy story!

■Cast

・Gonjiro/Matsushige Makoto・Maegami Makoto/Ishigami Shizuka・Puujiro/Sasamoto Yuko・Hades/Ohara Megumi・Shigechin/Yuzuki Naoko・Futoshi/Yaoya An・Ken-chan/Nogami Sho・Tatsun/Muro Genki・Ojo/Shiraishi Haruka・Buchou/Kawamura Umino・Makoto's father/Majima Junji・Makoto's mother/Sonozaki Mie・Taizo/Ishihara Bon・Tawashiago/Kiuchi Taro・Pikacho/Miyazawa Tadashi・Cat/Unochihiro・Narrator/Egawa Hisao

■ Main staff

Original story: Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), Sony Music Entertainment, Aniplex, Shogakukan Original character design: Hiromasa Okubo (SIE), Toshihiko Nakai (SIE)
Character design: Hatsue Kato Series director: Tetsuo Hirakawa Series composition: Jyuokuemon Ichikawa Music: Shigeru Yamamoto (OLM Music)
・Sound Director: Takatoshi Hamano ・Animation Production: OLM×WIT STUDIO×SIGNAL.MD

■ Main Characters

Gonjiro - A living being made up entirely of fur balls. He is held together by Makoto's button, and is somehow able to convey Makoto's feelings.
He uses the properties of wool to solve all kinds of cases, big and small, with his abilities of "Fit" and "Hair Change"! ... But sometimes his attempts end in failure. In addition, it seems that the quality of Gonjiro's hair changes when he uses the "Button Change" ability to change the button on his belly!
His favorite food is yakisoba bread.
Maegami Makoto is a modern fifth grade elementary school student. He often makes the kinds of mistakes and gets into trouble that elementary school students often make.
He is an ordinary boy who always follows the instructions from his parents and school, but when he meets Gonjiro, his daily life falls apart, and he becomes embroiled in all sorts of incidents as he is tossed around by Gonjiro's persistent interference.
His favorite food is yakisoba bread.

■Subtitle

Episode 1: "I'm Gonjiro the furry" "Fit is so soft!"
Episode 2: "Cleaning the room is all about squeak ...
Episode 3: "Can you find me?" "Are you scared of the teacher?"
Episode 4: "Is Button Hair Important?" "Run, Gonjiro!"
Episode 5: "Family travel is a hair transplant" "Going home is a hair transplant"
Episode 6: "Do eggs carry with them a gentle coat?" "The Three Star Chef has a gentle coat!"
Episode 7: "Pujiro Appears!" "Pujiro Doesn't Need Fur!"
Episode 8: "Will he become a home run hitter?" "Ken-chan's hair is so troublesome"
Episode 9: "BBQ Party Futoshi" "Give me the Yakisoba Bread!"
Episode 10: "Ancient Button Appears!" "The Third Birthday Campaign!"
Episode 11: "You're amazing, hairy Ryuken" "Is he sick yet?"
Episode 12: "The Second Ancient Button"
Episode 13: "Playing with Water with Ancient Buttons!" "The Secret of Tatsun"
Episode 14: "Is a firefighter a good fur?" "Once upon a time, Fur-Taro"
Episode 15: "The Legendary Button Appears"
Episode 16: "Hero Change with the Ancient Button" and "Let's Go Hawaii!"
Episode 17: "The Secret of Taizo Kancho" and "The Hair Thief's Guest"
Episode 18: "Go Space with the Ancient Button" and "Make the Yakisoba Bread Hairy!"
Episode 19: "A summer filled with ancient buttons" and "Let's polish men at the mud school"
Episode 20: "Find the Wolf Man!" "Escape! The Furry World"
Episode 21: "Tawashi-chin Sensei's Love!?" "Pujiro's First Adventure"
・Episode 22: "The Legend of the Pirate Button"
Episode 23: "I won't let this be the final meeting" "Let's go to the moon with the ancient button!"
Episode 24: "Meow Meow Meow Meow" "Mahiru's Dodgeball Showdown!"
・Episode 25: "The Accurate Hair Fortune Telling" "The Day of Departure, Farewell Gonjiro"
Episode 26: "Win with the Button! Sports Day" "Hotohair Gonjiro is here~~"
Episode 27: "Evolution! Gladiator Button!"
・Episode 28: "Mystery and hair! Treasure hunting in autumn" "The hair that goes all the way to the sky, Chohair soft"
Episode 29: "A New Disaster: Ketastrophe!" "Get it! God Button Chariot"
Episode 30: "Get Your Manga Back! The Tale of Shurike Gonjiro!" "Horrifying! Halloween Costume Contest!
Episode 31: "Lots of hair?! The Seven Mysterious Hairs at School!" "It'll get smaller! Squeeze the button!!"
Episode 32: "Brilliantly Saved! Chimo-kun Curry Gonjiro!" "Top Hair Battle! Magic vs. Magic Hair!"
Episode 33: "The Hairy Man! AI Speaker vs. Hairy Speaker!" "The Hairy Mergency Returns! The New Legendary Button!"
Episode 34: "What day is it today? Labor Appreciation Day!" "I'll flush anything! Benke Brothers Gonjiro!"
Episode 35: "The Threat of Koutastrophy! Save the Luxury Cruise Ship!" "Roar! God Button Ligerbolt!"
Episode 36: "A fever makes me nervous?! Makoto has a cold and can't relax!" "An SOS from the ski resort?! Roll, roll, roll the button!"
Episode 37: "Which is which?! I'm me and I'm me!" "Hair Battle! K-Sports Hairy Sweater Championship!"
Episode 38: "Merry Christmas Tonight" "A Rival Appears! My Name is Hades"
Episode 39: "Furball Battle! A heated snowball fight!" "The furballs that come and go are busy on New Year's Eve!"
Episode 40: "Let's go to the dungeon! Find the Hades button!" "Strong enemy! Defeat the Kemoja Dragon!"
Episode 41: "Infiltrate Hades! Steal the Button from the Maegami Family!" "Yooo, Turnip Hair!"
Episode 42: "Get the Hades Button! The Great Demonic Fur" "Three Trials!? Win the Puzzle Solving Battle!"
Episode 43: "I want chocolate! It's Valentine's Day, right?!" "Professor Bakezan appears! A calligraphy battle of ink-covered hair!"
Episode 44: "Hades Moves! The Terrifying Button Hunt" and "The Flying Temple of Mogenia! The Trial of the Zeus Button"
Episode 45: "Ojou's Hair (Marriage)!? Zeus Button and the Bride Rescue Mission" "The Legendary Moo Continent! The Final Hades Button Appears!"
Episode 46: "Get the last Zeus button!" "The final battle of the Haruma Gedon! Gonjiro vs. Hades"
Episode 47: "It's a big mess for the fur! A cat-cat commotion!" "Make me a stuffed animal! Furry Bear Gonjiro"
Episode 48: "We are aliens! An encounter with the Keilians" and "A tearful farewell!? Thank you, Professor Tawashiago"
Episode 49: "Keravian Night - The Keravian Demon Gonjiro!" "Let's get that girl! The Big White Day Plan!"
Episode 50: "Time warp with the push of a button! Let's save Urashima Taro!" "The Yatai -1 Grand Prix is ​​being held! Show us the power of your fur ball!"
Episode 51: "Time warp to 300 million years ago! Destroy the Hades button" "Connect to the future! Let's communicate with Kedamas!"

■ Theme songs and music

・OP
・Let's! Gonjiro ・Song by CHAI
・ED
・Wild rustling!
・Song by Demon Kakka

review

"Kedama no Gonjiro" is a 102-episode anime series that aired on TV Tokyo from April 2019 to March 2020. The series is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Music Entertainment, Aniplex, and Shogakukan, and features a story that revolves around the characters. Animation was produced by OLM and WIT STUDIO, and the series was directed by Kenshiro Morii and Tetsuo Hirakawa.

The main characters of the story are Maegami Makoto, a fifth grade elementary school student, and Gonjiro, a mysterious fur ball lifeform he meets. Makoto is a bit timid and big-headed, but his daily life changes when he meets Gonjiro. Gonjiro comes to life by attaching himself to Makoto's button, and solves various cases using his hair's abilities such as "fit," "hair change," and "button change." Gonjiro's phrase, "What a relief, hair!" leaves a strong impression on viewers, and the show is full of hilarious scenes.

The charm of this anime lies above all in its humor and unique worldview. The very existence of Gonjiro's furball is comical, and the story unfolds in many unpredictable ways, making it enjoyable for both children and adults. Also, a different "button" ability appears in each episode, and the way it is used to solve problems is always fresh and interesting. In particular, the scene where Gonjiro's fur changes texture through a "button change" is visually enjoyable.

The characters are also attractive, and in addition to Gonjiro, there are many other unique characters such as Poo-jiro, Hades, and Shigechin. The relationship between Gonjiro and Makoto is particularly moving as a story about friendship and growth. The sight of Makoto learning about the importance of courage and friendship through his encounter with Gonjiro will have a positive influence on children.

There are many noteworthy points on the music side as well, with the opening theme "Let's! Gonjiro" by CHAI and the ending theme "Wasawasawasa!" by Lord Demon. Both songs match the worldview of the anime and will excite the viewers.

The animation is produced by the talented studios OLM and WIT STUDIO, and the character designs and background art are of very high quality. In particular, the movements and expressions of Gonjiro's fur ball are drawn with great attention to detail. The colors and direction of each episode are also stunning, matching the theme of each episode, making this a visually enjoyable work.

"Kedama no Gonjiro" is not only an anime for children, but is also highly regarded as an entertainment piece that adults can enjoy. With a humorous storyline, unique characters, and high-quality animation, this work is definitely worth watching at least once. Watching it with your family will allow you to share laughter and emotions.

Recommendation

We highly recommend "Kedama Gonjiro" as an anime that the whole family can enjoy. Children will empathize with Gonjiro's humorous actions and Makoto's growth, and adults will be drawn in by the unique world view and story development. In addition, all viewers will be able to discover new things and be moved by enjoying the theme of each episode and the abilities of the "buttons."

In particular, it will be a good opportunity to teach children the importance of friendship and courage. Through the relationship between Gonjiro and Makoto, children can learn the importance of friends and the courage to face difficulties. In addition, through the problem-solving process in each episode, it is also possible to develop creativity and thinking skills.

Furthermore, this anime is visually enjoyable. The movements and expressions of Gonjiro's fur ball, and the colors and production of each episode will surely attract children's visual interest. The opening and ending songs are also important elements that add excitement to the world of the anime, and you can feel the charm of the anime even more deeply through the music.

"Kedama no Gonjiro" is a wonderful anime that you can watch with your family and share laughter and emotions. Please watch it once and enjoy its unique world view and humorous story.