Jungle King Tar-chan (ジャングルの王者ターちゃん) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Masaya Tokuhiro. The manga was serialized in Shueisha's anthology Weekly Shōnen Jump from March 1988 to June 1990; midway through serialization, its title was changed to New Jungle King Tar-chan, and continued until April 1995. The overall series' chapters were collected in 27 tankōbon volumes. The manga was adapted into a 50-episode anime television series produced by Group TAC, broadcast on TV Tokyo between October 1993 and September 1994.

Plot

The series is about Tar-chan, a young man who was raised in the African savanna by the chimpanzee Etekichi, and his adventures protecting his home, his wife Jane, and his animal friends. As the series progresses, the simple episodic gag premise is switched to a fighting premise. Although long battles and emotional development began to unfold, after the end of these battles, the series would return to its gag style, switching back to the fighting style with each new battle. Although the story is called Jungle King Tar-chan, Tar-chan and his friends actually live on a savanna, and a jungle setting is never actually used.

Characters

Media

Manga

Written and illustrated by Masaya Tokuhiro, Jungle King Tar-chan was serialized in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump from March 21, 1988, to June 11, 1990. Midway through its serialization, the title of the series was changed to New Jungle King Tar-chan (新ジャングルの王者ターちゃん), and was serialize from June 18, 1990, to April 17, 1995. Shueisha collected the Jungle King Tar-chan chapters in seven tankōbon volumes, released from October 7, 1988, to January 10, 1991. Shueisha collected the New Jungle King Tar-chan chapters in 20 tankōbon volumes, released from February 8, 1991, to July 4, 1995. Shueisha republished the series in a bunkoban edition. Jungle King Tar-chan was released in three volumes published between October 16 and November 18, 2009, and New Jungle King Tar-chan in twelve volumes published between December 15, 2009, and October 15, 2010.

Anime

A 50-episode anime television series adaptation produced by Group TAC was broadcast on TV Tokyo from October 14, 1993, to September 29, 1994. In December 2014, it was announced that the series would be released on two DVD box sets by TC Entertainment. The first volume was released on March 27, 2015, and the second volume on April 24. TC Entertainment later re-released the series into two BD Discs between October 27 and November 24, 2017. The two opening songs "Shape of the Heart" (HEARTの形状) and "mama I Love You" are performed by B∀G. The first ending "Virgin Land" is performed by Ann Lewis, the second ending "Misty Heartbreak" is performed by access and the third ending "Jingle Jungle Dance" is performed by Ann Lewis.

Episodes

Video games

Jungle King Tar-chan for Game Boy, developed by Bandai, was released on July 29, 1994. Jungle no Ōja Tar-chan: Sekai Manyū Dai Kakutō no Maki for Super Famicom, developed by Bandai, was released on September 17, 1994. In addition, the series has been featured in two separate Weekly Shōnen Jump crossover video games; the RPG Famicom game Famicom Jump II: The Strongest Seven, and the Nintendo DS fighting game Jump Ultimate Stars.