Ohayō! Spank

Ohayō! Spank (おはよう!スパンク, Ohayō! Supanku, lit. Good morning! Spank) is a Japanese shōnen and shōjo manga written by Shun'ichi Yukimuro and drawn by Shizue Takanashi. The series has been adapted as an anime television series, broadcast in Japan from 1981 to 1982 for 65 episodes, and a theatrical movie released in 1982. In 1981, it received the Kodansha Manga Award for shōnen and shōjo.[1] From the series were taken two spin-offs: "Spank's New Adventures" (スパンクの新冒険, 1989-1991) and "Spank and Torakichi Super Partners" (スパンクとトラ吉スーパーパートナー, 1994-1995).

Good Morning! Spank
Promotional image from Ohayō! Spank featuring the main character
おはよう!スパンク
(Ohayō! Supanku)
GenreComedy
Manga
Written byShun'ichi Yukimuro
Illustrated byShizue Takanashi
Published byKodansha
MagazineNakayoshi
DemographicShōjo
Original runFebruary 1979 – March 1982
Volumes7
Anime television series
Directed byShigetsugu Yoshida
Written byYutaka Kaneko
Yoshimi Shinozaki
Masāki Sakurai
Chifude Asakura
Music byKouji Makaino
Tetsuo Ueno
StudioTokyo Movie Shinsha
Original networkTV Tokyo
Animax
Original run March 7, 1981 – May 29, 1982
Episodes65
Anime film
Directed byShigetsugu Yoshida
Produced byYutaka Fujioka
Written byChifude Asakura
Hiroshi Kaneko
Masaaki Sakurai
Yoshimi Shinozaki
Music byKouji Makaino
Tetsuo Ueno
StudioTMS Entertainment
ReleasedMarch 13, 1982
Anime television series
Directed byShigetsugu Yoshida
Written byYutaka Kaneko
Yoshimi Shinozaki
Masāki Sakurai
Chifude Asakura
Music byKouji Makaino
Tetsuo Ueno
StudioTokyo Movie Shinsha
Original networkTV Tokyo, TV Asahi
Original run March 13, 1989 – September 29, 1991
Episodes154
Anime television series
Directed byShigetsugu Yoshida
Written byYutaka Kaneko
Yoshimi Shinozaki
Masāki Sakurai
Chifude Asakura
Music byKouji Makaino
Tetsuo Ueno
StudioTokyo Movie Shinsha
Original networkTV Tokyo, TV Asahi
Original run March 4, 1994 – September 29, 1995
Episodes120

Plot

Spank (voiced by Noriko Tsukase), the main character, is a dog whose owner went missing on the high seas. While awaiting his return Spank strays at the beach every day. One day he meets Aiko Morimura (voiced by Mari Okamoto), a junior high school student, whose father also went missing on a yacht tour ten years ago. Her mother, a designer of hats, left for Paris, leaving Aiko in the care of her uncle, Mr. Fujinami. Abandoned, Aiko believes that her father is still alive and awaits his return. She's recently lost her pet dog, Papi, a good-bye present from her mother, in a car accident, leaving her totally devastated. In the course of the anime, Spank begins to lighten up her gloomy mood as he is a clumsy and merry dog with lots of heart. She also falls in love with a friend of Spank's missing owner. Whereas, Spank finds his love in the pet cat of Aiko's classmate. At the end of the anime, despite Spank ruining everything, all will be forgiven cheerfully and all will really fall in love.

Characters

Regular
  • Spank (スパンク, Supanku) The main protagonist of the series. A little white dog with black/brown ears.
  • Aiko Morimura (森村 愛子, Morumura Aiko) A 14-year-old girl. She is Spank's master.
  • Torakichi (トラ吉) A cat that is a rival and/but friend of Spank.

Main
  • Shinako Yoshimura (芳村 科子, Yoshimura Shinako) Aiko and Ryo's friend.
  • Ryoichi Shinoda (篠田 亮一, Shinoda Ryōichi) Aiko and Shinako's friend. He enjoys art like his friend Shinako.
  • Seiya Tsukahara (塚原 誠也, Tsukahara Seiya) Baron's master.
  • Serino Mihara (美原 せりの, Mihara Serino) A snobby rich girl. She is the same age as Aiko and her pet is a female cat named Cat.
  • Cat A female cat that is a snob like her master Serino. Torakichi and Spank have a crush on her.
  • Fan Fan A cute little dog. Spank have a crush on her.
  • Baron A dog friend of Torakichi and Spank.

References
  1. Joel Hahn. "Kodansha Manga Awards". Comic Book Awards Almanac. Archived from the original on 2007-08-16. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
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