Kodomomuke

Starring children — and made for them too!

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Kodomomuke translates from Japanese as "intended for children" and predictably indicates anime and manga aimed at children younger than the typical 12-18 shonen^note Literally, "shōnenmuke" in Japanese and shoujo^note Literally, "shōjomuke" viewers. Kodomomuke works are generally aimed at the 3-to-10-year-old range and are usually more gender-neutral than shōnen and shoujo. This sort of media often makes the transition from Japanese to Western audiences with fewer changes, being more easily comparable to most of your typical G-rated children's cartoons than shōnen and shōjo anime are.

One indicator that a show is of kodomomuke fare is if it spawns a kiddie ride shortly after launch, although given that even shows like One Piece and Gundam have spawned rides, it's not even a reliable indicator.

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None of this is meant to imply that you need to feel odd about liking anything on the list. Enjoy yourself! We won't judge you.

It's important to note that most anime that don't air in late-night timeslots^note Although there are a few exceptions, such as the 2018 Cardfight!! Vanguard series. are "kodomomuke".^note Like other countries of the world, Japan typically thinks of anime and manga as mainly being for families, although there are, of course, many, many exceptions. However, because of cultural and societal differences (and because of how ambiguous some shows can be at times anyway), it may not come off this way.^note It doesn't help that some shows released in North America have subtitled or dubbed versions that have characters swear (something that technically does not exist in Japanese), just because of certain terminology used. In some cases, some shows are even deliberately translated in a way so that they can appeal more to older viewers despite originally being family-friendly. In a few cases (especially if it's a Gag Dub) they may not even bother, and just go their own way, regardless of whether it's family-friendly or not. This list only covers shows that could potentially air outside of Japan with little, if any edits or other changes.

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Compare to Preschool Show, which several of these anime go under. Many of them, however, are more equivalent to shows aimed at elementary-schoolers (not unlike most of the western cartoons you probably watched on Saturday mornings as a kid); these older-skewing kodomomuke shows may cross over into shōnen or shoujo territory on occasion.

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Examples:

• 21 Emon
• The Adventures of Peter Pan
• The Aikatsu! franchise
• Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (JP) (anime TV series from 1983)
• Andersen Monogatari
• Animal Yokocho
• Anime Oyako Gekijou ("Anime Parent and Child Theater"), along with its second season Persocom Travel Tanteidan ("PC Travel Detectives"). Both were dubbed in English as Superbook.
• Numerous works by Takashi Yanase fall into this, including animated adaptations.
  • Yasashii Lion (The Kindly Lion/The Gentle Lion)
  • Little Jumbo
  • Bara no Hana to Joe (The Rose Flower and Joe)
  • The Anpanman franchise
  • Mighty Cat Masked Niyandar
• Asari-chan
• Ashita no Nadja
• Astro Boy (manga and anime)^note Along with most anime made in the 1960s., although, there is at least one exception, "Sennin Buraku", an anime for much older viewers that was the first ever late night anime.
• Baby Felix and Friends
• Bakugan
  • Bakugan anime
  • Bakugan: Battle Planet
• Bakuto Sengen Daigunder
• Bannertail: The Adventures of Gray Squirrel
• B-Densetsu! ("B-Legend!") Battle B-Daman, and it's sequel series B-Daman Fire Spirits.
• Barbapapa (especially including Barbapapa Around the World)
• Beyblade
  • Bakuten Shoot Beyblade
  • Metal Fight Beyblade/Beyblade: Metal Masters
  • Metal Fight Beyblade Zero-G/Beyblade: Shogun Steel
  • Beyblade Burst
• Bumpety Boo (known as Hey! Bunbuu!'' in Japan)
• Bomberman B-Daman Bakugaiden
• Bomberman Jetters
• Bonobono
• Butt Detective
• Calimero
• Castle in the Sky
• Chibi Maruko-chan
• Chinpui
• Coji Coji
• Croket (pronounced like "croquet")
• Cross Fight B-Daman (dubbed in English as B-Daman Crossfire)
• Cyborg Kuro-chan
• Daisuki! BuBu ChaCha
• Damekko Doubutsu
• Deko Boko Friends (along with anything else that aired as part of Okaasan to Issho^note Together with Mother, a long running Japanese series that has aired on NHK since the 1950s, although Deko Boko Friends was made decades later.)
• The Digimon franchise^note Except for Digimon Adventure tri. and Digimon Adventure: Last Evolution Kizuna, which are aimed at adult fans
  • Digimon Adventure
  • Digimon Adventure 02
  • Digimon Tamers
  • Digimon Frontier
  • Digimon Data Squad
  • Digimon Fusion
  • Digimon Universe: App Monsters
  • Digimon Adventure: (2020)
  • Digimon Ghost Game
• Dinosaur King
• Don Chuck Monogatari (aired in French in Canada as Le Petit Castor)
• Don Don Dommel to Ron ("Don Don Dommel and Ron"; dubbed in English as Wowser^note A Japanese / Dutch adaptation of the Belgian comic book Cubitus, known as Dommel in Dutch.)
• The Doraemon franchise (a seriously Long Runner consisting of various manga and anime works^note The second TV series (1979-present) is the one most viewers, even in Japan, are familiar with.)
  • Original Doraemon
• The Duel Masters franchise
• Fairy Idol Kanon
• Furusato Saisei Nippon no Mukashi Banashi (''Hometown Rebuilding: Folktales From Japan)^note The show later changed its name to "Furusato Meguri..." ("Hometown Visiting...").
  • Manga Furusato Mukashi Banashi (loosely, "Animated Homeland Folktales")^note Which aired in 1976 on the same network as this show: TV Toyko (back when it was known as "Tokyo 12 Channel").
  • Manga Nippon Mukashi Banashi (loosely, "Animated Japanese Folktales")^note A long-running series that began in 1975 on Mainichi Broadcasting (MBS), and aired well into the 2000s.
• Futago no Monchhichi ("Monchhichi Twins", an anime series from 1980 based on the Monchhichi franchise^note Not to be confused with the later American series from 1983 made by Hanna-Barbera.)
• Fuusen Shoujo Temple-chan (Balloon Girl Temple-chan^note Tatsunoko's suggested international English name is "Temple the Balloonist". The main character may or may not have been inspired by another "Temple", although some dubbed versions do in fact, call her "Shirley". Harmony Gold's abortive English dub of the show would have renamed Temple "Tiffany.")
• Fushigi na Koala Blinky to Printy (Blinky and Printy, the Mysterious Koalas; AKA: The Noozles)
• Grimm's Fairy Tale Classics
• Hamtaro
• Hana No Ko Lun Lun
• Happy Happy Clover
• Hare Tokidoki Buta ("Fine and Partly Piggy"; AKA: Tokyo Pig)
• Hero Bank
• Himitsu no Akko-chan (all three series)
• Honey Honey
• Honeybee Hutch
• Hoshi no Ouji-sama: Petit Prince (dubbed in English^note with some changes as "The Adventures Of The Little Prince")
• The Inazuma Eleven series^note However, there are moments of tragedy.
  • Inazuma Eleven: Ares
• Jikuu Tantei Genshi-kun (AKA: Flint the Time Detective)
• Kagaku Kyuujo Tai Techno Boyager ("Scientific Rescue Team Techno Boyager"; AKA: Thunderbirds 2086)
• Kaiketsu Zorori
• Kamisama Minarai: Himitsu no Cocotama
• Kiki's Delivery Service (based on a children's novel)
• Kimba the White Lion (along with the other animated incarnations)
• Kira Kira Happy Hirake Cocotama
• Kirarin Revolution (Viz Media holds the license for this show under the name "Kilari"^note Their romanization of the main character's name, although "Kirari" was used at first.)
• Kirby: Right Back at Ya! (adaptation of the Kirby franchise; known in Japan as Hoshi no Kirby/Kirby of the Stars, the same name used for the video games.^note The original game was released in North America as "Kirby's Dream Land".)
• Kiteretsu Daihyakka
• Klonoa
• Koala Boy Kokki (AKA: The Adventures of the Little Koala)
• Kyatto Ninden Teyandee (AKA: Samurai Pizza Cats)
• Kujira no Josephina
• Leave it to PET!
• The various manga adaptations of The Legend of Zelda franchise.
• Little Lulu
• Little Memole (released in English as "Wee Wendy" in the form of an edited compilation film)
• Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland (also known as simply, "Little Nemo")
• Little Ghost Q-Taro
• Lu Over the Wall
• The Lupin VIII pilot^note Which was cancelled due to being screwed by the Maurice Le Blanc estate (who, at the time held the rights to the original Arsene Lupin novels, which are now in the public domain). DIC Entertainment, who had put in a lot of money for the show to be made, ultimately made the non-anime series Inspector Gadget instead. likely would have been a Kodomomuke version of the Lupin III franchise, which is otherwise very much meant for older viewers.
• Mahou Tsukai Sally (Sally the Witch)
• Kupū~!! Mamegoma!
• The Magical DoReMi franchise
• Majokko Tickle (little known Go Nagai creation)
• Maple Town Monogatari (Maple Town Stories)^note Broadcast in the U.S. on Nickelodeon as simply "Maple Town" and its sequel series Shin Maple Town Monogatari: Palm Town Hen (New Maple Town Stories: Palm Town Saga^note Can also be translated as "Palm Town Arc".).
• Maya the Bee (Includes both Mitsubachi Maya no Bouken^note "The Adventures of Maya the Honeybee., and Shin [New] Mitsubachi Maya no Bouken.)
• Medabots: Nearly all of the franchise's manga spinoffs ran in the children's magazine Comic BomBom.
• Meiken Jolie (AKA: Belle and Sebastian^note However, the plot is kind of dark.)
• Midori No Makibao
• Mini Moni The Movie: Okashi na Daibōken!
• Miriya & Marie
• Mirumo de Pon! (licensed by Viz Media as Mirmo Zibang)
• Mazāgūsubideo tango-chō ^note  Mother Goose Video Wordbook (known as Mother Goose Songs & Rhymes in the west): A Japanese direct-to-video series that adapts numerous Nursery Rhymes, Lullabies, and children's songs with cute anthropomorphic animals. The series was made by Triangle Staff, with a total of 11 volumes released between 1988 and 1991. Only the first three were released outside Japan.
• Mojacko
• Mokku of the Oak Tree (AKA: Saban's Adventures of Pinocchio)
• Monster Farm (AKA: Monster Rancher)
• Mori no Youki na Kobitotachi Belfy and Lillibit (Merry Little People of the Forest Belfy and Lillibit; AKA: The Littl' Bits)
• Muka Muka Paradise
• The Mysterious Cities of Gold (original Japanese version is called Taiyou no Ko Esteban, or "Esteban: Child of the Sun")
• My Neighbor Totoro
• Nyanpire: The Animation
• Ninja Hattori
• Nintama Rantarou
• Nyanpire: The Animation
• Ojarumaru
• Okko's Inn (based on a children's novel)
• One Stormy Night: Secret Friends
• Oyako Club
• Parappa The Rapper
• Pecola
• Perman
• Piccolino no Bouken
• Pokémon:
  • Pokémon: The Series, especially the later seasons, although the earlier movies are more family-oriented and the XY series has a few Shōnen spin-off specials.
  • Pokémon Adventures
  • Pokémon: Diamond and Pearl Adventure!
  • Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Ginji's Rescue Team
• Pom Poko
• Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea
• Popee the Performer
• Powerpuff Girls Z
• The Pretty Cure franchise
• Pretty Sammy (Specifically, the TV series that was released by Pioneer^note Later Geneon. as "Magical Project S" in North America)
• The Pretty Series
  • Pretty Rhythm Aurora Dream
    • Pretty Rhythm Dear My Future
  • Pretty Rhythm: Rainbow Live
  • Pretty Rhythm All-Star Selection (a partial clip show series)
  • PriPara
  • Kiratto Pri☆Chan
  • Waccha PriMagi!
• Rockman: Hoshi ni Negai o (AKA: Mega Man: Upon a Star, part of the Mega Man franchise; an educational OVA meant to teach viewers about Japan)
• Rockman.EXE (dubbed in English as "MegaMan NT Warrior"^note The English production only covers the first two series, based on the games known as Mega Man Battle Network in North America)
  • Ryusei no Rockman (AKA: Mega Man Star Force)
• Rokumon Tengai Moncolle Knights
• Shima Shima Tora no Shimajirō (Striped Island Tiger Shimajirō, mostly known in the West due to Memetic Mutation from a clip of a potty-training episode that went viral).
• Many, many anime of franchises owned by Sanrio.
  • Dream Star Button Nose
  • Hello Kitty
  • Jewelpet (however, some seasons are explicitly intended for a slightly older audience)
  • Onegai My Melody
  • Ringing Bell (known as Chirin no Suzu in Japan) is a major subversion. See the article for details.
  • SugarBunnies
  • Usahana: Yumemiru Ballerina
  • Mewkledreamy
• Shizuku-chan
• Sonic the Hedgehog:
  • A manga from the early 1990s
  • An anime OVA from the mid 1990s
  • Sonic X
• Space Bug (CGI series; a Japan / South Korea co-production)^note The official international name is "The Journey Home" (named for the show's opening theme), which is the name used on Crunchyroll.
• Spoon Oba-san (anime adaptation of Mrs Pepperpot)
• Spellbound! Magical Princess Lil'Pri
• Stitch!
• Super Doll★Licca-chan
• Super Mario Bros.:
  • The Great Mission to Save Princess Peach!
  • The "Amada Anime Series" OVAs
  • Super Mario
  • Super Mario Bros. Manga Mania
• Super Pig
• Suzy's Zoo: Daisuki! Witzy
• Sylvanian Families
• Tama & Friends
• Tamagotchi
• Yanase takashi meruhen gekijō (Takashi Yanase Theatre)
• Time Bokan
  • Yatterman
  • Time Bokan 24
• Tondera House no Daibouken (Adventures of the Flying House)
• Transformers:
  • The three Japanese created sequel series to the original G1 series (Transformers: ★Headmasters, Transformers: Super-God Masterforce, and Transformers Victory)
  • Transformers: Car Robot (dubbed in English as Transformers: Robots in Disguise^note This was long before the name would be used for the sequel series to Transformers: Prime.)
  • The "Unicron trilogy" (Transformers Armada, Transformers Energon, and Transformers Galaxy Force)
• Tweeny Witches
• Twin Princess of Wonder Planet^note The concept's (and by extension, the show's) official English name.
• Vicky the Viking
• Ulysses 31
• Both Unico movies (including the 1979 pilot Unico Black Cloud and White Feather and 2000 special Saving Our Fragile Earth - Unico Special Chapter), as well as the original manga. However, the plot is kind of dark, plus, the original manga (at least) has a Downer Ending.
• Wan Wan Celeb Soreyuke! Tetsunoshin
• The Wizard of Oz
• The Wonderful Galaxy of Oz (AKA Space Oz no Bouken)
• The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
• World Masterpiece Theater (Click for more details.)
• Yo-Kai Watch
  • Yo-Kai Watch (anime series)
  • Yo-Kai Watch (manga series)
  • Yo-kai Watch Jam - Yo-kai Academy Y: Close Encounters of the N Kind
  • Yo-kai Watch: Shadowside
• Yumeiro Pâtissière
• Yume no Crayon Oukoku
• Zettai Zetsumei Dangerous Jii-san (lit. "Absolute Death: Dangerous Grandpa"^note Viz Media currently holds the license for the anime version under the name "Grandpa Danger".)
• The Zoids franchise (including Zoids: Chaotic Century and Zoids: New Century)
• Zo Zo Zombie (manga and Web Animation series)

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