Cheese

Name: Cheese

Full official name: Meiken Cheese, often rendered in English as Cheese

Gender: Male

First appearance: TV Episode 1, "The Birth of Anpanman"

Voice actor: Kouichi Yamadera

Residence: The bakery run by Jam Oji-san

Nickname: Cheese

Species: Dog

Collar: Yellow

Distinguishing features: Rounded face similar in outline to Batako-san, beige to muted light-brown fur, and a black tip on his tail

Cheese is the dog kept at Jam Oji-san's bakery, though he is far more than an ordinary pet.

Unlike beast-like humanoid characters such as the children around Anpanman, he appears as a true animal.

In the television anime, he was once found crying in the forest and was rescued by a young Anpanman.

After that, he settled down at the bakery and became part of the household.

His name was given to him by Batako-san, who is also the person with whom he is closest.

He is also especially friendly with younger characters such as Cream Panda and Kabao.

Although he is a dog, he often walks on two legs and uses expressive gestures.

When he runs, however, he frequently returns to all fours.

The reference book Anpanman Great Research identifies his breed as a "famous dog," reflecting his many heroic talents.

That reputation fits him well, because he is one of the most capable non-human helpers in the series.

Cheese has dark beige or slightly dull light-brown fur and wears a yellow collar.

His face has a rounded, lower-heavy outline that strongly resembles Batako-san's.

He usually communicates by barking sounds such as "An!" and "An-aan!"

Even so, Anpanman and the bakery family, especially Batako-san, can understand what he means.

Many viewers assume he cannot speak.

However, according to creator Takashi Yanase, Cheese can speak just like the other characters and simply does not need to in the anime.

In the picture-book version, he does in fact speak normally, often adding dog-like phrasing at the end of his lines.

One episode also reveals that he is a poor singer.

Cheese is brave, intelligent, affectionate, and very food-loving.

He is cheerful and eager to help, but he also has a clumsy streak that can get him into trouble.

He is particularly attached to Batako-san, his namer and closest companion.

He also gets along very well with children and younger characters.

He is highly wary of Baikinman, even during times when Baikinman is not actively causing trouble.

If Jam Oji-san or Batako-san tries to treat Baikinman kindly, Cheese may object or look unconvinced.

That suspicion often pays off.

Cheese is frequently one of the first to doubt and expose Baikinman's disguises.

He loves food so much that he becomes excited whenever visiting characters are said to be bringing dishes to the bakery or the town.

He eats at the table with everyone else and can skillfully use chopsticks and forks, though his table manners are often poor enough for Batako-san to scold him.

According to Anpanman, Cheese enjoys going to the beach.

He also has a girlfriend, Rare Cheese, and the two are very much in love.

Still, his awkwardness often spoils his romantic plans.

He may arrive late to a date or make some other blunder that hurts Rare Cheese's feelings.

Cheese is remarkably capable for a dog and often performs feats that justify the title "famous dog."

He can walk upright, gesture clearly, and handle mechanical tasks.

He can drive the Anpanman-go, and he even helps throw Anpanman's new face together with Batako-san.

He can repair at least a broken doghouse by himself, and later in the series he is shown to be able to write as well.

At first, he could not read.

Later, however, he became capable of writing.

His teeth are extremely strong.

He can bite through ropes and even cables on Baikinman's machines.

He is also a capable digger.

On some occasions, he has escaped confinement by digging his way out.

His sense of smell is especially sharp.

He can track down Baikinman's base, find kidnapped guest characters, and detect trouble before others notice it.

He is often the first to spot signs in the sky indicating that something is wrong with Anpanman.

He also helps with work around the bakery, though his own confectionery-making skills have not yet become truly polished.

He is a talented mimic as well.

He can imitate guest characters convincingly, showing unexpectedly strong acting skills.

Batako-san

Batako-san is the person Cheese is closest to.

She gave him his name, understands him especially well, and has cared for him since his early days at the bakery.

Cheese sometimes sleeps in his doghouse, but on rare occasions he sleeps in Batako-san's bedroom instead.

Their bond is one of the strongest recurring relationships in the series.

Anpanman

Cheese was rescued by a young Anpanman when he was crying alone in the forest.

Since then, he has been one of Anpanman's loyal companions.

He regularly helps with missions and emergency support, especially by delivering or helping deliver Anpanman's replacement face.

He is also one of the quickest characters to notice when Anpanman is in danger.

Rare Cheese

Rare Cheese is Cheese's girlfriend, and the two are mutually in love.

He frequently asks her out on dates and tries hard to impress her.

When Rare Cheese is involved, his courage increases even more.

If she is kidnapped by Baikinman, or if someone threatens something important to her, he becomes especially determined and heroic.

Baikinman

Cheese does not trust Baikinman.

Even when others lower their guard, Cheese tends to remain alert and defensive.

This makes him one of the best detectors of Baikinman's schemes.

He often growls at him, resists his tricks, and recognizes suspicious disguises before anyone else does.

Cheese lives in a doghouse shaped like a loaf of bread.

Interestingly, a loaf-shaped doghouse already existed before Cheese began living there.

His current doghouse is the third one.

When it gets broken or blown away, he can sometimes repair it himself.

He usually sleeps in the doghouse.

As noted, though, he occasionally sleeps in Batako-san's room.

Cheese's original debut in the strawberry picture-book edition came in chapter 65, published in issue 85 in January 1982.

That version tells a very different and rather funny first story.

In it, Baikinman, having learned that Anpanman disliked dogs, used Cheese to attack the bakery.

Cheese was effectively sent in as a spy mounted by Baikinman.

However, Batako-san knew how to handle dogs.

She won Cheese over with food, and he promptly betrayed Baikinman and became attached to her.

As a result, he was welcomed into the bakery.

That story established both his love of food and his strong bond with Batako-san.

In the anime, Cheese is presented as the dog rescued by the young Anpanman in the forest.

In the original picture-book continuity, his first role was as a spy used by Baikinman.

In the manga version, his design was also somewhat different.

He looked more like an ordinary dog, had blotches on his face, was large enough to rival Jam Oji-san in size, and had a longer muzzle.

Cheese is not a fairy-like being shaped like an animal.

He is a real animal character within the world of the series.

He is not the only one of that type.

Other examples include Rare Cheese, Pickles, small birds, and even circus animals such as lions.

Some circus elephants in the series are even shown speaking.

This places Cheese in an interesting middle ground between ordinary animal behavior and the highly expressive style of the Anpanman world.

Cheese's appetite is one of his most consistent running gags.

Whenever delicious food is mentioned, he brightens immediately.

Even though he eats in a very human-like way, his manners can be rough.

That often leads to playful correction from Batako-san.

He is also known as a somewhat shaky driver.

When the Anpanman-go is seen drifting wildly, it is often Cheese at the wheel rather than Jam Oji-san.

His bravery is genuine, but romance can magnify it.

When Rare Cheese is in danger, or when he wants to look good in front of her, he becomes even bolder than usual.

One example involves a case where Dokin-chan wanted handmade cookies made by Usako, Rare Cheese's owner, and Baikinman invaded the bakery to steal them.

Situations like that push Cheese to act with extra flair.

Cheese is voiced by Kouichi Yamadera.

Within this franchise, Yamadera has performed more than twenty characters, including Cheese and, from 2019 onward, Jam Oji-san after taking over the role from Hiroshi Masuoka.

In the credits, only "Jam Oji-san / Cheese" is normally listed even though he voices many other characters.

A few film versions occasionally credit some of his additional roles.

It has also been noted that the role he originally wanted to play was Baikinman.

Perhaps fittingly, he has also voiced characters resembling Baikinman, such as Akakinman and a Baikinman born from a drawing.

This kind of multi-role casting is not unusual in the franchise.

Many actors in Sore Ike! Anpanman play several parts, including minor characters.

Official character guides often list him not simply as Cheese, but as Meiken Cheese.

In fan art circles, however, searching for Anpanman + Cheese tends to produce far more results than searching with the full formal name.