Danchi Tomoo (団地ともお, "Apartment Complex Tomoo") is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Tobira Oda.[1] An anime adaptation was announced in January 2013[2] and ran between April 2013 and February 2015.
Plot
Danchi Tomoo stars elementary school student Tomoo Kinoshita who lives in the mammoth Edajima Apartment Complex in Building #29 with his mother Tetsuko and sister Kimiko, while his father Tetsuo lives in an apartment in the city. While full of surreal gags, Danchi Tomoo also shows the real emotions of the Kinoshita family and their friends, neighbors, and classmates.
A fourth-grade student who excels at sports but not at his studies, and always seems to get in trouble. However, he longs to be responsible and often surprises those around him when he displays his big-hearted personality.
Tomoo and Kimiko's mother. She works part time at the neighborhood supermarket to make ends meet. She claims she once was as beautiful as her daughter, but in her middle age she has gained a significant amount of weight and often tries new exercise equipment to lose it.
Tomoo and Kimiko's father. He does not live with his wife and children, but instead in a bachelor's apartment in nearby Egi Town for work. Despite living apart, Tomoo dearly loves his father, and he loves his family by putting a photo of them above where he sleeps. Neither the reader of the manga nor the viewer of the anime ever get to see Tetsuo's face.
Tomoo's older sister who is in her second year of middle school. She is part of her school's biology club and longs to have her own bedroom. At one point she begins a journal trade with another person, unaware that it is actually Tomoo's friend Mitsuo.
Tetsuo's father who lives in nearby Edajima Town. He is particularly good at making mochi and whenever he tries to give advice, he thinks of what his wife used to say.
Tomoo's classmate and neighbor in Building #3. He and Tomoo do not get along very well because of his bookish nature and also enjoys astronomy. He begins a journal trading with Kimiko, who is unaware that she is sharing her secrets with one of Tomoo's classmates.
Tomoo's classmate and neighbor in Building #31. She is a tomboy, and often has to playfully fight the boys to get them to stop acting badly. She has a straightforward personality and obsessed with food.
Keiko's mother
Voiced by: Hiro Nakajima
She often dotes on her daughter, but does punish her when Keiko accidentally ruins one of Sakagami's books.
Tomoo's classmate and neighbor in Building #22. She and Keiko are good friends. She is an honor student and also has to help take care of her baby sister, but she feels stifled by her place and Keiko tries to break her out of it.
Tomoo's classmate and neighbor, often called Chairman (委員長, Iinchō) because of how she takes lead in the class activities. She is not a morning person because she is part of an active online train enthusiast community.
Two of Setsuko's friends who the boys are enamoured with.
Masayuki Sayama (佐山 真雪, Sayama Masayuki)
Voiced by: Hiro Nakajima
A grade six student who lives in Building #10 who is trying to become the student body president. He has a twin sister named Mari (真理) who is his polar opposite.
Kimiko's friend and classmate from Building #28. When they were in grade four, she was involved in a traffic accident that left her comatose. She often appears in spirit or in flashbacks to Kimiko and Tomoo.
An 18-year-old girl who lives near the Edajima Apartments, but because of her difficulty in walking she does not attend school as much and has been held back two years. Regardless, she is well versed in the humanities and even some science. She communicates with Tomoo (and Keiko) by smoke signals and firecrackers whenever she needs help. She is also friends with Aoto.
Hidemi Aoto (青戸 秀美, Aoto Hidemi)
Voiced by: Kana Uetake
A year three high school student who lives in Building #10. She is always studying in order to pass the graduation exam and in her free time practices with a yo-yo. She often loses her temper.
A college student who lives in Building #2 and works in the local convenience store Tanishi Mart. For this reason, the children of the apartment complex all affectionately call him "Conveni Bro" (コンビニの兄ちゃん, Konbini no Niichan). He will gladly perform errands for their parents. After his father died, he and his brother Hachirō (八郎) inherited some money, and Hachirō decided to travel around the world, leaving Yūji by himself.
Convenience Store Manager (コンビニの店長, Konbini no Tenchō)
The head of the Edajima residents' association who lives in Building #29. While he seems like a gruff old man, nagging the ladies of the community to keep things clean, he is actually very sweet towards children.
Tomoo's elementary school teacher. She was apparently a wild child in junior high until her teacher made her change her ways. She often went to him for advice until he died, forcing her to try to learn how to be a better teacher on her own.
A retired man whose first name no one is quite sure how to read, and who may once have been a judge. He lives in Building #22 and often confounds the housewives.
Kimiko's classmate who is quiet and clumsy. He always seems to avoid going home, making several lunches and eating out as much as possible. This is because his father is abusive and is mother is an alcoholic. The children of the Edajima Apartment Complex call him Mister Geek (ガリベン君, Gariben-kun).
Tomiko Anada (穴田 とみ子, Anada Tomiko)
Voiced by: Hiro Nakajima
One of Kimiko's classmates who lives in Building #3. It is rumored that she has a pet anaconda because a large snake was seen following her home while she was playing the recorder once. She is part of the school's tennis club.
Toshiya Arama (阿羅間 年也, Arama Toshiya)
Voiced by: Nobuaki Kanemitsu
A professional baseball player who lives in the apartment complex who Tomoo and Yoshimoto look up to, as he played with Tomoo's favorite player Catherine (カトリーヌ, Katorīnu).
Non-human characters
Me, the Crow Who Does Not Tire of Humans (人間に対し興味の尽きないカラス オレ, Ningen ni Taishi Kyōmi no Tsukinai Karasu Ore)
A crow that lives in the woods near the apartment complex. He seems to be able to understand human gestures and words.
Conveni (コンビニ, Konbini)
Voiced by: Eiji Miyashita
A crow that also was interested in humanity, but gorged himself at the convenience store. He is hit by a truck and dies.
Old Man (おっさん, Ossan)
A crow that is deeply interested in human writing, particularly if the writer is bald.
Ashinaga (アシナガ)
A crow that managed to steal bait from one of the traps around the complex many times, until his luck ran out.
The Cram School Ghost (受験生の幽霊, Jukensei no Yūrei)
The ghost of a boy who hanged himself before taking the final examinations. Aoto encounters him, and his ghost cat who died after being abandoned and trying to eat the crows killed by the pest control, when staying at an inn before she takes her exams.
Chibi (チビ)
A cat who followed its owner 100 kilometers away from Hakone, only to collapse in the Edajima Apartment Complex. It prepares to die, but is saved by the apartment complex people and is ultimately reunited with its owner, only to be abandoned again, and decide to live in the apartment complex.
The Colonel's mentor and godfather who actually killed the Colonel's family, leading to Paul being beheaded.
Media
Manga
Written and illustrated by Tobira Oda, the Danchi Tomoo manga began serialization in Shogakukan's Big Comic Spirits in 2003, and finished on February 4, 2019.[3] The chapters are collected into tankōbon volumes, which have been published under Shogakukan's Big Comics imprint, since February 28, 2004.[4]
Anime
A cel shadedCGI anime adaptation of Danchi Tomoo, produced by NHK Enterprises and Shogakukan Music & Digital Entertainment, aired on NHK-G from April 6, 2013 to February 7, 2015 for a total of 78 episodes. The first season was aired from April 6, 2013 to February 1, 2014, while the second season was aired from April 12, 2014 to February 7, 2015.[5]Ayumu Watanabe served as director, Takashi Yamada handled the series composition, Tomoki Hasegawa composed the music, and Man Kuwabata designed the characters.[6][7]
The opening theme for the whole series is Danchi de DAN! RAN! (団地でDAN! RAN!) by Mongol800. The ending theme for episodes 1 through 20 is Start Line! (スタートライン!) by Sonar Pocket. The ending theme for episodes 21 through 39 is Super Smiler (スーパスマイラー) by LIFriends. The ending theme for episodes 40 through 52 is Akane (アカネ) by a flood of circle. The ending theme for episodes 53 through 65 is Friends! Friends! (フレンズ!フレンズ!) by Rico Sasaki. The ending theme for episodes 66 through 78 is Futari de Arukeba (ふたりで歩けば) by Masanori Shimada.[8]
The 1st series has been released on DVD across 13 volumes by Pony Canyon.[9] The same set of episodes are available for streaming on U-NEXT.[10]
Episode list
1st Series
#
Title
Original airdate
1
Transliteration: "Haruyasumi no Keikaku-hyō o Tsukuru Tomoo / Haruyasumi no Naraigoto o Sagasu Tomoo" (Japanese: 春休みの計画表を作るともお / 春休みの習い事を探すともお)
Transliteration: "Kurabu Katsudō wa Hirune no Jikan janai zo Tomoo / Neko wa Ugoku kara Chūishiro Tomoo" (Japanese: クラブ活動は昼寝の時間じゃないぞともお / 猫は動くから注意しろともお)
Transliteration: "Toppu Rannā nado Kantan da na Tomoo / Sore wa Dare no Shiwaza da? Tomoo / Hana yori Dango no Danchikko da Tomoo" (Japanese: トップランナーなど簡単だなともお / それは誰の仕業だ？ともお / 花より団子の団地っ子だともお)
Transliteration: "Kai Itakatta Dēsu da yo na Tomoo / Kokku-san wa Kunisan janai zo Tomoo / Ima-gō yori Shin Tenkai da ze Tomoo" (Japanese: 会イタカッタデースだよなともお / コックさんは国算じゃないぞともお / 今号より新展開だぜともお)
Transliteration: "Nemuranu Mori no Tomoo / Fasshon Rīdātte Dare? Tomoo / Shihai kara no Dasshutsu wa Naru ka Tomoo" (Japanese: 眠らぬ森のともお / ファッションリーダーって誰？ともお / 支配からの脱出は成るかともお)
Transliteration: "Abaka Reshi Torie da yo Tomoo / Umaku Hagemashita ka na Tomoo / Katadzukete Seikan da Tomoo" (Japanese: 暴かれし取り柄だよともお / うまく励ましたかなともお / 片づけて生還だともお)
Transliteration: "Kinoshita-ka no Shoku no Rūru wa Kibishī ka Tomoo / Mukashi wa kimi mo Wakakatta ne Taisa Tomoo / Otentosama ga Miterun da ze Tomoo" (Japanese: 木下家の食のルールは厳しいかともお / 昔は君も若かったね大佐 / お天道様が見てるんだぜともお)
Transliteration: "Kokō no Hito ni Nareru ka na Tomoo / Sonna ni Miraretemo naa Tomoo / Kusaimeshi o Kuu Tomoo" (Japanese: 孤高の人になれるかなともお / そんなに見られてもなぁともお / クサいメシを食うともお)
Transliteration: "Ichi-en no Omomi o Omoishiru ka Tomoo / Sono Kane o Narasu no wa Dare da Tomoo / Manatsu no Koi wa Eko janai ze Tomoo" (Japanese: 一円の重みを思い知るかともお / その鐘を鳴らすのは誰だともお / 真夏の恋はエコじゃないぜともお)
Transliteration: "Sei to Shi o Tsukasadoru zo Tomoo / Itsumo yori Ōku Mawatta na Tomoo / Zoku Mukashi wa Kimi mo Wakakatta ne Taisa" (Japanese: 生と死を司るぞともお / いつもより多く回ったなともお / 続・昔は君も若かったね大佐)
Transliteration: "Sokoshirenu Gijutsu Ryoku da na Tomoo / Daijina Fukuro no Hitotsu da na Tomoo / Ki ga Tsukeba Shunkashūtō Tomoo" (Japanese: 底知れぬ技術力だなともお / 大事な袋のひとつだなともお / 気がつけば春夏秋冬ともお)
Transliteration: "Omoide ha Itsumo Tomoo / Nyūsu Sōsu wa Nani da Tomoo / Mono ni mo Rekishi Arika Tomoo" (Japanese: 思い出はいつもともお / ニュースソースは何だともお / 物にも歴史ありかともお)
Transliteration: "Waraukado ni wa Nani ga Kurun da Tomoo / Soredemo, Soredemo Tsudzuiteiku no ka na Tomoo" (Japanese: 笑う門には何が来るんだともお / それでも、それでも続いていくのかなともお)
Transliteration: "Kanpai o Kissu Tomoo / Mukashibanashi wa Munashi Hanashi na no ka Tomoo / Soitsu wa Sankyū da na Tomoo" (Japanese: 完敗を喫すともお / 昔話は虚し話なのかともお / そいつはサンキューだなともお)
