News
Kokoro Kikuchi Debuts as Chibi Maruko-chan Anime's Lead Role on April 21
posted on by Rafael Antonio Pineda
The official website for the Chibi Maruko-chan television anime announced on Friday that voice actress Kokoro Kikuchi (Boruto's Sarada) will be the new voice for the anime's titular character Maruko, with the first episode featuring her debut premiering on April 21.
TARAKO, the voice of Maruko for 34 years since the show premiered on January 7, 1990, died on March 4. The last new episode featuring her voice aired as a one-hour special on March 24. The show has been rerunning previous episodes since March 10, with the exception of TARAKO's final episode.
Chibi Maruko-chan is based on late manga creator Momoko Sakura's manga of the same name. The comedy manga, which follows the everyday life of a third-grade schoolgirl, has about 32.5 million copies in print. The anime is almost consistently the #3 rated television anime series after Sazae-san and Detective Conan. (Chibi Maruko-chan airs on Fuji TV on Sundays at 6:00 p.m., before Sazae-san at 6:30 p.m.) The first anime series ran from 1990 to 1992, and the ongoing second series premiered in 1995. Chibi Maruko-chan aired its 1,500th episode in May 2022.
Sources: Chibi Maruko-chan anime's website, Comic Natalie
