Anpanman is the male protagonist of Sore Ike! Anpanman, a hero whose head is made of sweet bean bread and who fights evil while feeding the hungry with pieces of his own face.
Gender: Male
First appearance: TV Episode 1, "The Birth of Anpanman"
Voice actor: Keiko Toda
First-person pronoun: "I"
Birthday: Unknown
A celebratory date is sometimes associated with him on February 6, the birthday of creator Takashi Yanase, and on October 3, the broadcast date of the anime's first episode.
Since 2016, October 3 has officially been recognized as Anpanman Day.
In the film Dokin-chan's Exciting Calendar, he is described as being born in October.
No exact age, height, weight, or blood type is given in the source text.
Anpanman is the central hero of the Anpanman series.
He is a champion of justice whose face is a delicious bun filled with red bean paste.
He patrols the skies using the cape on his back, which allows him to fly.
If he finds someone hungry, he tears off part of his face and gives it to them.
If he encounters someone causing trouble, he warns them first and then fights if necessary.
His signature attacks are the Anpunch and Ankick.
The bean filling inside his head is chunky red bean paste.
This is said to reflect either the wrinkled look of a wise brain or simply creator Takashi Yanase's personal preference for chunky bean paste.
Even though he gives away parts of his face to others, Anpanman himself does not need to eat in order to function.
According to official settings, the bean paste in his head serves as his energy source.
He is powerful, courageous, and highly mobile in the air.
Because Baikinman usually attacks using flying machines, Anpanman's battles often become aerial fights.
Anpanman weakens when his face becomes wet, dirty, damaged, or partially missing.
In the television series, he often says that his face is ruined and that he cannot summon his strength.
Mold and water are especially dangerous to him.
When weakened, he often becomes so feeble that he can barely stand.
In films, however, he is sometimes portrayed as continuing to fight bravely even in a weakened state.
He may still insist that he is all right and refuse to give up while protecting others.
His standard recovery pattern involves Batako-san or another ally throwing him a freshly baked new face.
The new bread knocks off the old one, and he revives with the line, "I'm 100 times stronger now, Anpanman!"
According to official settings, the discarded old face disappears naturally.
Usually a fresh face also restores him to an enhanced state, though there are exceptions.
Sometimes only a damaged portion is repaired, and he still regains normal strength.
If his face has merely become wet, sunlight or a fire may occasionally dry it out and restore him.
In more recent television episodes, full face replacement happens less often than before.
He sometimes defeats Baikinman without changing faces at all.
In Episode 1, "The Birth of Anpanman," Jam Oji-san and Batako-san bake the world's most delicious, heartfelt sweet bean bread.
A Star of Life falls from the sky into the dough, giving it life and creating Anpanman.
Upon being born, he introduces himself by saying, "I am Anpanman."
Even as a baby, he already had the ability to fly.
At first he lacked skill and could not fly properly, which frustrated him.
Following advice from Jam Oji-san to befriend the wind rather than fight it, he practiced and eventually learned to soar freely through the sky.
In the anime's first episode, he learns the meaning of helping others after rescuing Jam Oji-san from a cliff fall.
Later, after saving Cheese in the forest, he resolves to help people who are suffering from hunger.
Some episodes give slightly different reasons for why he decided to become a hero.
As he matured, his face began to be made from the finest ingredients, and Batako-san gave him a special cape that let him fly farther and higher.
He can also use bread made by someone other than Jam Oji-san as a replacement face.
Depending on the kind of bread used, his personality may change somewhat.
His first battle with Baikinman came soon after his early development as a proper hero.
However, later anime episodes added stories in which he had already fought Baikinman during childhood.
Some characters who appear to meet the grown Anpanman for the first time are later shown to have met him as a child.
This is part of the franchise's habit of expanding earlier continuity.
Anpanman has on several occasions fallen into a condition where his life or death was unclear.
In most cases, he survives with help from his friends or guest characters.
In the film Dolly and the Star of Life, however, the Star of Life leaves his body and he truly dies.
The Star of Life is explicitly described as his life itself.
As Jam Oji-san explains, a new face is meaningless if the Star of Life is gone.
If the Star of Life leaves completely, Anpanman's death is final.
If it has not fully vanished yet, he can still be saved.
In Shine! Kulun and the Star of Life, he is pushed to the brink of losing it entirely, but revives normally after receiving a new face.
The faces made by Jam Oji-san contain the extract of a special flower called the Flower of Courage.
Without this extract, Anpanman weakens drastically and drops to only threefold energy instead of his usual strength.
He may also become timid and unable to confront enemies properly.
In some cases he can still fight, but with much less confidence and power.
This idea appears in the TV episode "Anpanman and the Flower of Courage" and in several films and anime stories.
The Flower of Courage is closely tied to both his morale and his heroic identity.
Although he comes from a children's series, Anpanman is depicted with astonishing combat power.
The source text presents him as far stronger than he might first appear.
He can throw giant monsters and robots many times his own size.
He can also shatter them with punches and kicks.
Even this may not be his full power.
When he releases more of his strength, his body shines brilliantly and he can use a technique called the Light Anpunch.
With support from guest characters or special powers, his attacks become even stronger.
In Dadan-dadan and the Twin Stars, he is described as smashing an asteroid of enormous scale with a single punch.
His flight speed is also extraordinary.
One example states that he can ascend straight through the atmosphere, implying a speed around Mach 32.
He can further accelerate using jet propulsion from the soles of his feet.
In When the Flower of Courage Blooms, he launches a rocket-like punch after breaking through the atmosphere and returns to the same location in only moments.
Other stories portray him flying faster than lightning to shield others from danger.
In Happy's Great Adventure, he protects a guest character by moving ahead of a lightning strike.
In the TV episode "The Disappearing Anpanman," he flies back to Earth even while resisting the pull of Baikinman's artificial black-hole-like device.
He does this despite having part of his face missing.
He also dodges beam weapons and sometimes moves ahead of light-based attacks in ordinary episodes.
The source text therefore argues that his flight speed can be interpreted as beyond light speed.
His durability is equally extreme.
He can withstand atmospheric reentry heat, severe volcanic temperatures, vacuum, and freezing conditions without becoming fully inoperative.
If his body is damaged or altered, changing his head usually restores him instantly.
There are exceptions, such as one episode in which a magical hammer shrinks his body and a new face does not reverse the shrinking.
By changing his face, he can gain special abilities suited to unusual situations.
Some alternate faces give him resistance to water, immunity to certain cutting attacks, or powers involving heat and electricity.
He does not like to rely on these alternate forms unless necessary.
He says that he prefers being his usual self.
He also has sharp judgment in battle.
In The Dream Cat Country's Nyaanii, for example, he breaks off part of the ground and uses it as a shield.
Despite all this strength, he intentionally restrains himself in normal situations.
He uses his power to save lives, not to inflict needless violence.
His sense of responsibility is central to his heroism.
He believes strength should exist to protect the weak.
In films and major crises, this ideal becomes even clearer.
Even while injured and weakened, he keeps rescuing others again and again.
Anpanman is kind, selfless, and deeply caring.
He loves everyone who lives in his world.
He also has a stubborn side.
This trait is especially emphasized in stage musical versions.
His kindness can sometimes go too far and become overindulgence.
Jam Oji-san has pointed this out to him.
He is extremely shy in front of crowds.
Acting and singing in public make him nervous, and he has said that when he is tense, he may walk awkwardly with the same-side hand and foot moving together.
Because of this, his line delivery in plays often sounds stiff.
Shiratama-san even says that he is completely unsuited for acting.
Anpanman himself knows this and sometimes declines offers to perform.
He is also poor at the lively sales talk needed for peddling goods.
He is not truly tone-deaf, however.
He can sing at an ordinary level and knows several songs, including theme songs related to characters.
He is especially good at narrative recitation.
That talent stands out in contrast to his awkward stage acting.
Regarding romance, he generally says that he loves everyone equally.
As a hero of justice, he does not normally single out one person as especially beloved.
There are rare exceptions.
In the film When the Flower of Courage Blooms, he seems to blush around Princess Kirara and shows signs of romantic affection.
Near the end of that film, he begins to say, "I truly..." to her in a deeply personal way.
In Save! Kokorin and the Miracle Star, he also tells Kokorin, "You are my precious friend!"
He does not hate or despise anyone, including Baikinman.
Still, he sometimes tries to keep his distance from forceful personalities such as Shiratama-san or Princess Durian by using patrols or deliveries as excuses.
Early-series characterization
In the early and middle years of the anime, Anpanman was written as more childish and emotionally immature than in later stories.
This gave him a more human and impulsive edge.
He sometimes took naps with guest characters.
He occasionally attacked manipulated allies while apologizing to them.
He has even wrongly suspected innocent characters.
At times he teased frightened children or gave in to despair and said that all was lost.
There are episodes where he tries to punch Baikinman the moment he appears, even if Baikinman is briefly unresisting.
There are also stories where he flees from danger because he is too weak to fight, even though others need saving.
He has brawled directly with Baikinman.
In one case, he and his allies even failed to trust each other and ended up destroying themselves through mutual conflict.
When Baikinman gave up and ran away, Anpanman sometimes chased him and continued attacking.
He also threw enemy inventions back at him as punishment.
Anpanman himself once stated that wrongdoers must be punished.
This harsher edge was more visible in the early version of his character.
Later-series characterization
From the 2000s onward, he appears to become more emotionally mature.
His rougher side fades, and he grows calmer and more composed.
The emphasis shifts away from defeating villains and toward saving the hungry and helping people in trouble.
He also stops launching surprise attacks or chasing after fleeing enemies in most cases.
There are still occasional exceptions in some scripts, live shows, and museum events.
Even so, the dominant modern portrayal is gentler and more reflective.
When the ingredients for his normal face are unavailable, Anpanman can receive a substitute face made from other foods.
These forms usually change both his abilities and, at times, his personality.
He generally says he prefers his ordinary face.
After the immediate crisis is over, he usually returns to normal.
Apple Pie Anpanman
This version has a face made of apple pie.
His catchphrase is "Full of energy, Apple Pie Anpanman!"
He uses the Apple Pie Anpunch.
Its power is limited and not especially impressive.
Candy Bread Anpanman
This version is made from candy with bean paste inside.
His power falls to tenfold energy, meaning only one tenth of his usual strength.
When he blocks Baikinman's hammer attack, he admits that he lacks the power.
This form is clearly much weaker than normal.
Fried Doughnut Anpanman
This form uses fried sweet bean bread made by Fry Boy.
He attacks with the Fried Doughnut Punch, which heats whatever it touches.
Bean Pie Man
This version has a face made of bean-filled pie.
He uses the Bean Pie Punch.
Steamed Bun Man
This form has a face made of a steamed bean bun.
His speech changes into a Chinese-style manner of speaking.
He uses techniques such as the Steamed Bun Man Punch and Steamed Bun Man Kick.
His fighting style resembles Chinese martial arts.
Golden Anpanman
This rare form is made from precious golden wheat.
It is essentially a pure power-up form.
He uses the Golden Anpunch.
In the story he introduces himself as having 200 times the energy.
Moon-Viewing Anpanman
This form has a face made from moon-viewing dumplings.
He bounces and strikes with the Moon-Viewing Punch.
Mochi Man
This form appeared in the newspaper comic Fly! Anpanman.
When Anpanman's face was damaged, an elderly mochi maker temporarily restored him with rice cake.
He could still fly, but had almost no real power.
After returning to the Bread Factory, he was changed back to normal.
Kappa Anpanman
By placing a kappa's dish on his head, Anpanman becomes this form.
He can function underwater without trouble.
His special move is the Anpanman Spin, in which he whirls like a vortex and charges forward.
This is one of his more situational transformations.
Curry Anpanman
This form appears in TV Episode 8, part B, and in the mini-book Anpanman and the Monster Ankora.
Anpanman is filled with extremely spicy curry to stop a creature that devours bean paste.
He enters the monster's mouth along with the curry and shocks it with the intense spiciness.
His appearance remains mostly the same as usual.
Chestnut Anpanman
This form has a chestnut-shaped face filled with chestnut paste.
He uses the Chestnut Punch and ends his speech with "kuri," the Japanese word for chestnut rendered in English context as a verbal tic.
Cream Bread Man
This version has custard cream inside his face.
He looks gentler and even has a different voice actor, with the role performed by Eiko Yamada.
He is not as strong as standard Anpanman.
Baikinman defeats him quite easily.
He is also used by Baikinman in a humiliating sequence involving playground equipment.
After receiving a proper bean-paste face, he returns to being Anpanman and defeats Baikinman.
Chestnut Sweet Anpanman
This form is filled with chestnut sweet made by Ton-chan.
His face and body become yellow like the filling.
He can knock back spiky chestnut burrs fired by Baikinman.
His attack is the Chestnut Sweet Anpunch.
His flavor is so good that even Jam Oji-san praises it highly.
This form is both effective and delicious.
Crayon Anpanman
This form is created from a crayon-style Anpanman vehicle drawn by Crayonman.
He attacks with the Crayon Anpunch.
Its power is not very high.
In that story, he and Shokupanman defeat Baikinman together with a double punch.
Brown Sugar Anpanman
This version uses brown sugar made by Chura Obaa instead of ordinary sugar.
His face becomes dark in color.
He uses the Sata Anpunch.
His catchphrase is "Full of energy, Brown Sugar Anpanman!"
Coffee Bread Man
This form is created after his coffee-soaked face is baked again in the Bread Factory oven.
He becomes cool and theatrical, striking exaggerated poses like a kabuki actor.
He uses the Coffee Punch.
His catchphrase is "100 times stronger, the slightly stylish Coffee Bread Man is me!"
Melonpanna reacts by saying that he seems strange.
This form is remembered mainly for its dramatic personality change.
Bamboo Dumpling Anpanman
This version is made from bamboo dumplings crafted by Sasadango-chan.
The bamboo leaves stick out sideways like hair.
Instead of saying he is energetic, this form is described as having 100 times the power.
The visual design is one of the most distinct among his alternate forms.
Giant Anpanman
This is one of the earliest alternate forms, appearing in the original picture book and in TV Episode 2, part A, "Anpanman and Baikinman."
He receives a giant face to oppose a black cloud created by Baikinman.
Small attacks do not affect him much in this form.
When launching, his huge face smashes the Bread Factory roof, but Jam Oji-san calmly says they can repair it later.
In the original book version, even his body becomes gigantic.
In another story involving cold winds, he remains large in order not to be blown away.
Sugar Anpanman
This form is made from sparkling sugar candies using syrup from Sugar Land.
He is surrounded by a rainbow aura.
His attack is the Sugar Anpunch.
His catchphrase is "Sweetness 100 times over, Sugar Anpanman!"
Noodle Anpanman
This form is made from noodle ingredients.
He attacks with the Noodle Punch.
His face has almost no friction.
Because of this, Baikinman's scissor attack cannot cut him at all.
Daifuku Man
This form is made from mochi filled with bean paste.
He attacks with the Daifuku Punch.
Immediately after changing, he instinctively introduces himself as regular Anpanman.
After Batako-san corrects him, he renames himself with a stronger daifuku-themed line.
Electric Anpanman
This form is charged with electricity at Battery Marsh.
His special move is the Plasma Anpunch.
He shines so brightly that even he finds it a little dazzling.
This form emphasizes electrical energy over physical flavor themes.
Spring Roll Anpanman
This version uses bean paste wrapped and fried in spring roll skin by Spring Roll Boy.
He fires off repeated crisp Spring Roll Anpunches.
His catchphrase is "Crisp and 100 times stronger, Spring Roll Anpanman!"
The form combines speed and rapid striking.
Hot Anpanman
This form is baked with Hot Sandwich-chan's hot sandwich plate and has a square face.
He can heat enemies by circling them at high speed.
His finishing move is the Hot Anpunch.
His introduction is "100 times stronger, Hot Anpanman!"
Hotcake Anpanman
This form is made from hotcake ingredients.
He uses an ordinary Anpunch rather than a uniquely named attack.
From the side, his face appears much thicker than normal.
From the front, however, he looks surprisingly close to his standard design.
Hot Sandwich Anpanman
This form is visually identical to Hot Anpanman and is made in the same way.
Its official name differs, and its attack is the Hot Sandwich Anpunch.
He introduces himself as "100 times stronger, Hot Sandwich Anpanman!"
The distinction is mostly nominal and move-based.
White Cream Pie Man
This form uses cream and pie crust supplied by Princess White Cream.
Its energy level is only 70 times, lower than the standard full recovery.
He attacks with the White Cream Punch.
It is a stylish but somewhat underpowered variation.
Marron Anpanman
This form contains marron cream.
Its power level is 60 times.
He uses the Marron Anpunch.
A normal punch is not enough to destroy Baikinman's aircraft, but a spinning punch lets him match the force of a standard 100-times recovery.
Syrup-Coated Anpanman
This form coats his face with syrup from Sugar Land so it will not get dirty.
It can repel mold liquid spat out by certain enemies.
He uses the Syrup Anpunch and Syrup Ankick.
His catchphrase is "Sweetness 100 times over, Syrup-Coated Anpanman!"
Steamed Anpanman
This form is created by steaming his face in Sei-ro-kun's bamboo steamer.
Its weapon is the Steamed Anpunch, which adds intense heat to the usual strike.
His catchphrase is "Heat 100 times over, Steamed Anpanman!"
This form emphasizes thermal attacks.
Meringue Anpanman
This version wraps bean paste in meringue.
He can throw foamy meringue and attack with the Meringue Anpunch.
Its style is light and airy compared with his heavier bread-based forms.
It is one of the more unusual culinary transformations.
Monaka Anpanman
This form uses wafers from the monaka siblings.
The source text names it but provides little further detail.
Anpanman has a famously simple design made mostly of circles and lines.
He is widely known as a character that even small children can draw easily.
Bandai's long-running annual survey of children's favorite characters placed the franchise at the top for many years.
Only in 2015 and 2016 was it overtaken by Yo-kai Watch.
Outside Japan and parts of East Asia such as Taiwan, South Korea, and Hong Kong, Anpanman has far less recognition.
In Europe, his name is said to be almost unknown.
One reason given is cultural difference.
Some Western audiences associate the act of feeding others with pieces of his own face with cannibalism and react negatively.
Sweet bean bread itself is also a Japanese food rather than a globally familiar one.
That makes the character's central image much more intuitive in East Asia than in Europe or North America.
Anpanman has no tongue inside his mouth.
This is a shared feature among many bread-based and food-themed characters in the series.
In the original picture books, he continues moving around even after his entire bread face is gone.
For a long time, the anime did not clearly depict this, though a few episodes showed brief hints of it.
A full, unmistakable version of faceless Anpanman later appeared in the film Save! Kokorin and the Miracle Star from 2011.
This visual became one of the series' more startling images.
The deeper origin of the hero lies in an earlier short story included in Twelve Pearls.
That early version was not a bread-headed hero but a superhuman baker who flew through the sky delivering bread to the hungry.
He was mocked by established heroes and by a bat-themed figure.
In the end, he was shot by soldiers as an intruder while trying to bring bread to people suffering in a war zone.
That tragic predecessor later became known as the First Anpanman.
A later surreal manga version, The Anpanman Nobody Knows, serialized in the late 1970s, was fully republished in 2016.
There is also a minor planet in the asteroid belt named after Anpanman.
This shows how broad his symbolic presence has become.
Why make a hero out of food rather than a warrior or machine.
The answer lies in Takashi Yanase's wartime experience.
He said that people can endure long marches and heavy burdens, but not being able to eat is suffering that cannot truly be endured.
This shaped his view of justice.
For Yanase, justice changes depending on time, place, and perspective.
But feeding a hungry person is always just, no matter the era or the recipient.
He came to believe that true justice is not about punching villains or striking down monsters.
It is about helping those who are starving.
He also believed that feeding someone else requires giving up part of oneself.
That willingness to lose something of your own for another person became the core idea behind Anpanman.
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