'Crayon Shinchan' cartoonist missing

Wednesday 16th September, 01:25 PM JST

SAITAMA —

Yoshito Usui, cartoonist of the popular ‘‘Crayon Shinchan’’ series adapted for TV and film, has been missing since Friday, Saitama prefectural police said Wednesday. Before he left home in Kasukabe, Saitama Prefecture, on Friday morning, Usui, 51, told his family he was going hiking in the mountains in Gunma Prefecture and would return by the evening, according to the police.

His family reported him missing the next day and the Saitama police have been searching for him in cooperation with the police in Gunma and Nagano prefectures.

Usui started drawing ‘‘Crayon Shinchan,’’ the story of kindergarten boy Shinnosuke Nohara living in Kasukabe, in a comic book magazine published by Futabasha Publishers Ltd in 1990.

The city of Kasukabe issued a special residence card for the Nohara family in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the municipality and also has been using Shinchan since April as the city’s mascot for its childrearing support campaign.

Latest 15 of 21 Total Comments Show All

saborichan at 04:45 PM JST - 16th September

I highly recommend the Shin-chan comics for anyone studying Japanese. Short, able to be understood from the context and full of useful Japanese, they are a great resource. I have a half dozen in my bathroom and they're what I read when I am in there. Yes, Shin-chan is a little devil, and certainly a bit weird (he likes to draw an elephant on his ...ahem, and sticks his butt out frequently...) but it's a great way to get into manga without putting up with gangster drivel, sports clubs or psuedo-advertising like the Monster Hunter 'manga'.

I sincerely hope Usui is found okay.
saborichan at 04:46 PM JST - 16th September

Also: The shin-chan cartoon is a bit silly and irritating at times. I much prefer the comic.
Ah_so at 04:49 PM JST - 16th September

Crayon Shinchan books helped me to learn Japanese - the manga strips, in their excellent 3-page format, with furigana over the kanji, are written for both adults and children, but only the adults can truely appreciate the humour. The pictures provide excellent clues as to what is going on if any dialogue proves tricky.

I recommend them to anyone getting beyong beginner Japanese, starting with the early books. They are both educational and hilarious.

I never enjoyed the anime versions much, although they have been sold around the world. The drawings were not as good as the manga, the overall feeling of the product, and I thought Shinchan's voice was all wrong.
sansamp at 09:29 PM JST - 16th September

Crayon Shinchan ! Come back !
lunchmeat at 11:04 PM JST - 16th September

Hopefully 'Crayon Shinchan' has not joined Bakabon.
Good_Jorb at 12:34 AM JST - 17th September

Shinchan is moronically mind numbing. Maybe the guy will have an epiphany and create something intelligent.

It's a cartoon made primarily for children, that is enjoyed by children. Why would he change his style?
ca1ic0cat at 02:30 AM JST - 17th September

Hey, Bart Simpson has his own US postage stamp now so why not Crayon Shinchan? Hopefully he is OK but this doesn't sound good, does it?
mnemosyne23 at 05:20 AM JST - 17th September

I certainly hope the poor man is okay! Come back safely, Usui-san!

On a related side note, what is it with famous people going missing in Japan and no one reporting it until days later? Usui went missing on Friday, but we're only reading about it now? A similar thing happened with Noriko Sakai when she went to ground after her husband's arrest. I know you can't put out a nationwide press release for every single missing person and expect the news to report it, but you'd think the folks with notable names would at least merit a mention before they've been missing for close to a week.
memyselfI at 05:57 AM JST - 17th September

oh i know this character, he is always showing his naked rear end and farting all the time. Yeah, he reminds me off all mischievous little boys. Looks like a sucicide
memyselfI at 06:28 AM JST - 17th September

Fart boy
some14some at 06:39 AM JST - 17th September

Looks like a suicide. However, unexpected and unannounced appearance at some 'koban' may not be ruled out.
animallover at 07:19 AM JST - 17th September

I do not like the cartoon itself.The voice of Shinchan is disgusting. I wonder what can children learn from such dirtyminded Character. Hope the cartoonist is safe though.
The758 at 08:13 AM JST - 17th September

I preferred "City Hunter" for learning Japanese. If I wanted childish toilet humor I'd teach in an elementary school.
kokorocloud at 08:33 AM JST - 17th September

Oh no! I only watched Shinchan in the states in English, which was an odd experience in itself... But regardless of how I feel about the series, I hope they find the artist and that he is okay!
Ah_so at 04:53 PM JST - 17th September

I preferred "City Hunter" for learning Japanese. If I wanted childish toilet humor I'd teach in an elementary school.

The humour really is not that childish - as I wrote above, you need a certain maturity to appreciate the books, something that is lost in the anime.