Norakuro (のらくろ) is a Japanese manga series created by Suihō Tagawa, originally published by Kodansha in Shōnen Kurabu, and one of the first series' to be reprinted in format. The titular protagonist, Norakuro, or Norakuro-kun, is an anthropomorphic black and white dog inspired by Felix the Cat. The name Norakuro is an abbreviation of norainu (野良犬) and Kurokichi (黒吉).

Media

Manga

In the original story, the central character Norakuro was a soldier serving in an army of dogs called the "fierce dogs regiment" (猛犬連隊). The strip's publication began in Kodansha's Shōnen Kurabu in 1931, and was based on the Imperial Japanese Army of the time; the manga artist, Suihō Tagawa, had served in the Imperial Army from 1919 to 1922. Norakuro was gradually promoted from private to captain in the stories, which began as humorous episodes, but eventually developed into propaganda tales of military exploits against the "pigs army" on the "continent" - a thinly-veiled reference to the Second Sino-Japanese War. The series became a hit in Japan; Shonen Kurabu 's circulation was of 750.000 in 1936, and several Norakuro-themed merchandise (toys, stationery and other products - licensed or not) were sold. Kimihiko Nakamura argues that "Norakuro connected children with the war and became a representative of wartime children's culture as an unofficial propaganda hero." Serialization of Norakuro stopped in 1941 for wartime austerity reasons. After the war, due to the popularity of the strip, the character returned in various guises, including a sumo wrestler and a botanist. There is an excerpt that appears in the sixth Kramer's Ergot comics anthology which is the only example of Tagawa's work published in English.

Short films

At least seven extant animated short films featuring Norakuro were made from June 1933 to 1939.

Anime series

Two post-war animated series of Norakuro, in 1970 and 1987, have also been produced. In the 1970 series, the voice of Norakuro was played by Nobuyo Ōyama, also known as the voice of Doraemon. During the 1980s and early 1990s, Norakuro was the mascot of the Physical Training School (Tai-Iku Gakko) of the Japan Self-Defense Forces.