Ohayō! Spank (おはよう!スパンク, Ohayō! Supanku, lit. Good morning! Spank) is a Japanese 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 66 episodes, and a theatrical movie released in 1982. In 1981, it received the Kodansha Manga Award for the shōjo category.[1]

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 1979March 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 networkANN (ABC)
Original run March 7, 1981 May 29, 1982
Episodes66
Anime film
Directed byShigetsugu Yoshida
Produced byYutaka Fujioka
Written byChifude Asakura
Hiroshi Kaneko
Masaaki Sakurai
Yoshimi Shinozaki
Music byKouji Makaino
Tetsuo Ueno
StudioTokyo Movie Shinsha
ReleasedMarch 13, 1982
Runtime95 minutes

Plot

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Spank (voiced by Noriko Tsukase), the main character and regular protagonist, 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 has 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, merry, big-hearted dog. Whereas, Spank finds his love in the pet cat of Aiko's classmate. However, later, he finds in love with a blue dog named Fan Fan. At the end of the anime, despite Spank ruining everything, all will be forgiven cheerfully and all will really fall in love.

Characters

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Regular

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

Main

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  • 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.
  • Oyama - Torakichi's master.
  • 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

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  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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