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Kazuyoshi Saitō Performs Chibi Maruko-chan Anime's 12th Ending Theme Song
posted on by Alex Mateo
The official website for the long-running Chibi Maruko-chan anime series announced on Tuesday that Kazuyoshi Saitō is performing the 12th ending theme song "Itsumo no Fūkei" (Usual Scenery), which will premiere on the show on Sunday.
The original manga creator Momoko Sakura wrote the song's lyrics with Saitō in mind as the performer before she passed away. Saitō composed and arranged the song. The animated video of the full ending theme song will feature Saitō as an anime character.
The original Chibi Maruko-chan manga inspired a television anime that is almost always the #2 rated anime series after Sazae-san. The first anime series ran from 1990 to 1992, and the ongoing second series premiered in 1995. Sakura herself composed the theme song "Odoru Ponpokorin."
Sakura passed away due to breast cancer at the age of 53 in August 2018. She serialized the original manga in Shueisha's Ribon magazine from 1986 to 1996. The comedy manga, which follows the everyday life of a third-grade schoolgirl, has about 32 million copies in print. Sakura launched a four-panel version in a Japanese newspaper in 2007, and she ended that version in 2011.
The Chibi Maruko-chan manga is getting new chapters drawn by Sakura Production, which is staffed by long-time assistants of Sakura. The manga is running irregularly in Ribon. The first chapter, titled "Halloween Party o Yarō no Maki" ('Let's Throw a Halloween Party' Chapter), debuted in Ribon's November issue on Thursday. The chapter is based on a script written by Sakura for the manga's television anime — thus honoring Sakura's wish to turn scripts she wrote for the anime into manga.
Sources: Chibi Maruko-chan anime's website, Comic Natalie
