Manga / Nono Chan

Nono-chan (ののちゃん) is a yonkoma manga series begun in 1991 by Hisaichi Ishii originally serialized as My Neighbors the Yamadas (となりのやまだ君, Tonari no Yamada-kun) in the Asahi Shimbun in Japan. When the series first began, it was generally focused on all of the members of the Yamada family. As the series progressed, the daughter (Nonoko, or "Nono-chan") became the most popular character among readers and more of the strips focused on her and her point of view. In 1997, the series title was changed to reflect this change of focus. The Asahi Shimbun continues to feature this manga series as of October 2007.

It was adapted into an animated feature film My Neighbors the Yamadas from Studio Ghibli directed by Isao Takahata in 1999 as well as a 61 episode anime by Toei Animation on the TV Asahi network in Japan, the intro can be found here.

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This manga provides examples of:

• Breakout Character: Nonoko Yamada became so popular that the series was renamed after her.
• Dom Com: The Japanese version.
• Dysfunctional Family
• Gag Series: The series relies heavily on comedic elements and gags to entertain readers.
• Imagine Spot: The characters in often have imaginative daydreams or fantasies that are depicted through illustrations or brief storytelling sequences.
• No Export for You: The comic and the anime series were not released outside of Japan and have no English version.
• Nuclear Family
• Keep Circulating the Tapes: The anime series is currently lost media.
• Shout-Out: One comic has Shige Yamada going to see Princess Mononoke.
• Slice of Life: The series primarily focuses on depicting the daily lives and experiences of the Yamada family.
• The Comically Serious: The father, Takashi Yamada, is often portrayed as the serious and responsible figure in the family, but his reactions to various situations can be comically exaggerated or mismatched, resulting in humorous outcomes.

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