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Information

Title (English) Shiawaseso's Ermine

Title (Japanese) Shiawase-sou no Okojo-san

Advertising
Fantasy Novel

Notes TV Tokyo,2001

Classification shoujo

Synopsis A story about a weasel with an attitude, set in a "typical" shoujo setting.

Review This is definitely a year for "odd" anime in Japan. I just got to watch the first episode of the new TV Tokyo anime, "Shiawase-sou no Okojo-san". From the original ads for it, I assumed that it was going to be a kid's "animal show", sort of like "Hamtaro". Well, this strange crossover from the "LaLa" manga is certainly aimed at kids, particularly pre-teen girls, but it has a lot more in common with the recently completed "Jungle wa Itsumo Hare Nochi Guu" than "Hamtaro". BTW - an "Okojo" is a Japanese ermine, a member of the weasel family. So, what do you think that an anime for little girls about a weasel would be like? (L)
The show starts out weird enough - the usual warning to the kids to "not sit up too close and to leave some lights on in the room" is spoken by various characters - animals and people. Then the show starts with a Tokyo street scene, full of racing police cars. The police capture a large alligator, who complains lethargically as it is being taken away in a net. Nearby in an alleyway a white okojo stands, commenting on fate, but shrugging off the alligator's misfortune. The okojo turns to leave but is confronted by a strange looking man who holds a fan in front of his face. The man tells the okojo that the escape is finshed, but the okojo makes a mad dash at the man, slashing both his fan and his face, before flying through the air to freedom.
We get a flashback to what has happened - the strange looking guy is a pet shop owner, and while Okojo was trying to escape, the guy knocked over the alligator's tank, letting him loose too. Okojo tells the rather slow alligator that it is time for them to get away, but the alligator initially only wants to eat Okojo. It was after this that they were caught going down the street.
Next we see a typical shoujo-type male character ( imagine the guy designs in "Karekano" or "Fruits Baskets" ), walking straight-faced down the street. Tsuchiya is his name. He passes a pile of garbage, on which the okojo is laying belly up and still. Tsuchiya passes, then comes back and pokes the okojo with a stick. The animal moves and moans ever so slightly. The next scene we see, Tsuchiya is at home in his apartment with a displeased look on his face and the okojo happily draped around his neck.
After Tsuchiya leaves, Okojo checks out the apartment. He meets a little mouse, Chorori, ( who looks more like a hamster with a tail ), who greets him and offers to share some food, in this case a sunflower seed. Okojo is famished and happily bites into the seed, but spits it out - he wants meat. And Chorori is the nearest meat around. But just in time Tsuchiya comes home with his little brother, and more importantly, with some food. Okojo goes through various routines to try to bully his way to get some of the food. ( The narrator mentions to the audience that people can't understand animal words. ) But Tsuchiya, straight-faced as ever, gives Okojo a meat ball anyway, which gains him Okojo's everlasting gratitude ( until the next time he is hungry ).
The first half of the episode ends with Okojo wanting to go outside on the porch. But being impatient and hot headed as usual, he flies off the porch and into a yard, right in front of a dog house in which we can only see the glowing red eyes of a large, angry dog. A very beat-up Okojo barely makes it back up to the porch.
The second half concerns Tsuchiya and his brother bringing Okojo to a nearby Vet. The Vet, Akihi, who has a pretty, young female assistant, is obsessed with okojo. He has always wanted to see and touch one. Well, who comes in the door at that instant but the threesome - and the Vet is overjoyed. Tsuchiya fills out the requisite paperwork ahead of time, but is stumped when he comes to the space where it asks the pet's name. His little brother suggests Kojopi. Then just as the Vet is about to check out the animal, Kojopi awakens, and sees the Vet only as a variation on the dog, and the Vet gets a bunch of claw marks across the face. The next attempt rewards the Vet with a bite on his hand. And a third attempt gets the Vet more bandages on his face.
But Tsuchiya has the solution - he appears with more take-out food and they are able to bandage Kojopi while he is engrossed in another meatball. But Kojopi isn't happy with the result and launches himself at the Vet one more time. But he is tired, and instead just nudges the Vet in the cheek, which the Vet misinterprets as a "kiss" and is ecstatic. As the Vet said before while he was getting the scratches and bites - that's why he "became a vet".
So what we have here is a story about a weasel with an attitude, set in a "typical" shoujo setting, in order to provide a funny and unique twist on both conventional "pet" and "shoujo" series. The animation is quite good, particularly the character designs. The music is okay. But it is the droll humor and goofy situation that caught my attention. This is a series with a lot of promise, and I will definitely have to ask my friend to continue to tape it for me.
"Shiawasedo no Okojo-san" 4 episodes seen: This whacked-out "cute animal" show based upon a LaLa manga series is up there in the running for funniest series of the year. It takes a classic plot a stranger in a strange land and runs wild with it in this story of a little white Japanese ermine ( an okojo ) and his adventures with his laconic "master" and the various animals and people that come into Okojo-san's life. Despite its origin and time slot, "Okojo-san" is not really a little kid's show, unless the little kids are from the Addams Family. (g) Rating so far : A+ Dave Baranyi

Credits Dir: Hiroshi Negishi

Episodes

Release

TV Showing See the whole series for free? This series may be syndicated to regional cable, satellite or terrestial TV stations. For Europe click here.

Date 2001 Oct 2 -

Production

Broadcaster TV Tokyo

Animation Radix

References & Help Look up the latest data on this title at:
Richard Llewellyn's Animated Divots, or
Anime News Network (see Encyclopedia section) ,
or in "The Anime Encyclopedia" (Clements & McCarthy, Stone Bridge Press, 2001).
Help & further information.

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Information
Title (English)	Shiawaseso's Ermine
Title (Japanese)	Shiawase-sou no Okojo-san
Advertising Fantasy Novel
Notes	TV Tokyo,2001
Classification	shoujo
Synopsis	A story about a weasel with an attitude, set in a "typical" shoujo setting.
Review	This is definitely a year for "odd" anime in Japan. I just got to watch the first episode of the new TV Tokyo anime, "Shiawase-sou no Okojo-san". From the original ads for it, I assumed that it was going to be a kid's "animal show", sort of like "Hamtaro". Well, this strange crossover from the "LaLa" manga is certainly aimed at kids, particularly pre-teen girls, but it has a lot more in common with the recently completed "Jungle wa Itsumo Hare Nochi Guu" than "Hamtaro". BTW - an "Okojo" is a Japanese ermine, a member of the weasel family. So, what do you think that an anime for little girls about a weasel would be like? (L) The show starts out weird enough - the usual warning to the kids to "not sit up too close and to leave some lights on in the room" is spoken by various characters - animals and people. Then the show starts with a Tokyo street scene, full of racing police cars. The police capture a large alligator, who complains lethargically as it is being taken away in a net. Nearby in an alleyway a white okojo stands, commenting on fate, but shrugging off the alligator's misfortune. The okojo turns to leave but is confronted by a strange looking man who holds a fan in front of his face. The man tells the okojo that the escape is finshed, but the okojo makes a mad dash at the man, slashing both his fan and his face, before flying through the air to freedom. We get a flashback to what has happened - the strange looking guy is a pet shop owner, and while Okojo was trying to escape, the guy knocked over the alligator's tank, letting him loose too. Okojo tells the rather slow alligator that it is time for them to get away, but the alligator initially only wants to eat Okojo. It was after this that they were caught going down the street. Next we see a typical shoujo-type male character ( imagine the guy designs in "Karekano" or "Fruits Baskets" ), walking straight-faced down the street. Tsuchiya is his name. He passes a pile of garbage, on which the okojo is laying belly up and still. Tsuchiya passes, then comes back and pokes the okojo with a stick. The animal moves and moans ever so slightly. The next scene we see, Tsuchiya is at home in his apartment with a displeased look on his face and the okojo happily draped around his neck. After Tsuchiya leaves, Okojo checks out the apartment. He meets a little mouse, Chorori, ( who looks more like a hamster with a tail ), who greets him and offers to share some food, in this case a sunflower seed. Okojo is famished and happily bites into the seed, but spits it out - he wants meat. And Chorori is the nearest meat around. But just in time Tsuchiya comes home with his little brother, and more importantly, with some food. Okojo goes through various routines to try to bully his way to get some of the food. ( The narrator mentions to the audience that people can't understand animal words. ) But Tsuchiya, straight-faced as ever, gives Okojo a meat ball anyway, which gains him Okojo's everlasting gratitude ( until the next time he is hungry ). The first half of the episode ends with Okojo wanting to go outside on the porch. But being impatient and hot headed as usual, he flies off the porch and into a yard, right in front of a dog house in which we can only see the glowing red eyes of a large, angry dog. A very beat-up Okojo barely makes it back up to the porch. The second half concerns Tsuchiya and his brother bringing Okojo to a nearby Vet. The Vet, Akihi, who has a pretty, young female assistant, is obsessed with okojo. He has always wanted to see and touch one. Well, who comes in the door at that instant but the threesome - and the Vet is overjoyed. Tsuchiya fills out the requisite paperwork ahead of time, but is stumped when he comes to the space where it asks the pet's name. His little brother suggests Kojopi. Then just as the Vet is about to check out the animal, Kojopi awakens, and sees the Vet only as a variation on the dog, and the Vet gets a bunch of claw marks across the face. The next attempt rewards the Vet with a bite on his hand. And a third attempt gets the Vet more bandages on his face. But Tsuchiya has the solution - he appears with more take-out food and they are able to bandage Kojopi while he is engrossed in another meatball. But Kojopi isn't happy with the result and launches himself at the Vet one more time. But he is tired, and instead just nudges the Vet in the cheek, which the Vet misinterprets as a "kiss" and is ecstatic. As the Vet said before while he was getting the scratches and bites - that's why he "became a vet". So what we have here is a story about a weasel with an attitude, set in a "typical" shoujo setting, in order to provide a funny and unique twist on both conventional "pet" and "shoujo" series. The animation is quite good, particularly the character designs. The music is okay. But it is the droll humor and goofy situation that caught my attention. This is a series with a lot of promise, and I will definitely have to ask my friend to continue to tape it for me. "Shiawasedo no Okojo-san" 4 episodes seen: This whacked-out "cute animal" show based upon a LaLa manga series is up there in the running for funniest series of the year. It takes a classic plot a stranger in a strange land and runs wild with it in this story of a little white Japanese ermine ( an okojo ) and his adventures with his laconic "master" and the various animals and people that come into Okojo-san's life. Despite its origin and time slot, "Okojo-san" is not really a little kid's show, unless the little kids are from the Addams Family. (g) Rating so far : A+ Dave Baranyi
Credits	Dir: Hiroshi Negishi
Episodes
Release
TV Showing	See the whole series for free? This series may be syndicated to regional cable, satellite or terrestial TV stations. For Europe click here.
Date	2001 Oct 2 -
Production
Broadcaster	TV Tokyo
Animation	Radix
References & Help	Look up the latest data on this title at: Richard Llewellyn's Animated Divots, or Anime News Network (see Encyclopedia section) , or in "The Anime Encyclopedia" (Clements & McCarthy, Stone Bridge Press, 2001). Help & further information.