Author of “Sakura Momoko” Passing away: Thank you for Warming My Childhood
I still remember that many girls (and probably boys), when they were young, came home from school, and when their parents had not got off work, they quickly turned on the TV and danced to the theme song of “Chi-bi Maruko”. As soon as they heard the footsteps of their parents outside the door, they turned off the TV instantly and put the remote control away.
Abundant childhood memories!
We don’t have a network, but we have small balls quotationsAt that time, we didn’t have such a well-developed social network, and we didn’t know that search engines could browse so much information, but we could sum up the classic quotations based on the contents of each of the small balls, excerpts on small books, and share them with our friends after school. See who remembers a lot, the kind of childhood vanity and sense of accomplishment are brought to us by small balls.
The confidant and innocent little girl with bangs.
Always delighted and content.
Also, that bestie friendship that made countless little girls envy- Maruko and Xiaoyu.
She is really, really cute!
Just as some netizen said: “I like Maruko so much, who is reminiscent of myself as a child.”
So “Even if no one favors Maruko, I insist favoring her the most.”
Although Maruko is a Japanese anime image, distinct in spatial geography and time span, Maruko still wins a large number of fans worldwide, which demonstrates the charm of animation culture.
02
Ordinary, but Flowing with Love
What I love most is Maruko’s family.
Before talking about the Maruko’s family, let’s first take a look at her classmate Hanawa Kazuhiko, a son of a truly rich family. There was once a post on Internet specifically discussing “How rich is Kazuhiko’s family.”
Going through only a few episodes, I discovered that the author has made an effort to reflect the financial resources of the Kazuhiko’s family. Once, Kazuhiko’s housekeeper reflected upon the past when Kazuhiko’s grandpa was young. The grandpa took out a precious vase, which was “a gift from the French aristocrats 300 years ago”. This small detail not only suggests the wealth of the Kazuhiko family, but also reflects the family power of the nobles. Now recalling, it turns out that when I was a child, I was too simple (poor) to understand these details.
It is also such a family that has cultivated a good-natured, confident, honest and widely-favored Maruko.
However, there are two people being exceptions. One is her classmate Kazuhiko, who owns a wealth and cares greatly about Maruko, does not exist. The other is Grandpa…. Although the author has a grandfather, he often beat her instead of bringing happiness to her. In contrast to the harsh reality, the grandfather in “Chi-bi Maruko” is so adorable and kind. Sakura Momoko didn’t blame others in her works, nor did she complain and resent the reality. Instead, she passed on her best vision with action.
“When drinking water, never forget the one who dug the wells.” Without Sakura Momoko, there will be no “Chi-bi Maruko”.
So let’s bear her in our minds– this great creator who brings our childhood so much joy.03“Never compromise. Go forward.”
In fact, Sakura Momoko is not the author’s original name. she was originally called Miura Miki.
Born into a family selling fruits and vegetables in Shimizu City, Shizuoka-ken’s family is not rich,just like like Maruko in the animation.
According to her friends, Miura Miki thought that selling fruit and vegetables is not cool, and did not like to eat the leftovers.
But such a somewhat picky girl had had a dream that seems to be out of reach since she was a child – becoming a cartoonist.
After graduating from school, she worked in a company’s sales department for two months, when she began to use her spare time to draw comics.
“Once they have a dream, people become terribly powerful.”
Because of painting, Miura Miki often stayed up late, causing sleepiness during daytime, even bumping into her computer several times as she dozed off.
As lack of sleep seriously affected her job, her boss once criticized her, asking, “Do you want comics or work?” She blurted out: “Comics.”
After that, she never looked back. According to Wikipedia, she was only 19 years old when she officially debuted.
After two years’ hard work, she created “Sakura Momoko” under the name of “Cherry Maruko”, which was serialized in the comic magazine Ribon.
Because in Miura’s heart, painting comics matters most.
As she said: “My character is “never-give-up”, so I always accept all kinds of challenges with a smile”. Only in this way can she can realize her dream and finally create this classic animation based on her own childhood experiences.
04
“Always keep the true self, always be respected.“
She never attended occasions like a public visit, even at the 30th anniversary of the “Sakura Momoko”, she did not show up.
However, according to her friend Wang Youliang, Miura Miji in her adulthood is not as lazy as Sakura Momoko in the animation, but rather diligent. At the same time, she does not live regularly as many creators do. Not only does she sings karaoke and drinks overnight, but she smokes.
She is really so cute as Sakura Momoko.
With such a unique personality, in addition to being a painter and writer, she is also a lyricist, the most famous work being the classic theme song of “Sakura Momoko” -“Let’s Dance”. I believe that anyone who has seen “Sakura Momoko” will not forget the joyful climax of the song – “pi pa pi / pi pa/ ba ba ba ba”.There are also the kind-hearted grandfather of Momoko, the mother who teaches Momoko, her close friend Xiao Yu and her wealthy friend Hanawa Kazuhiko.
These lively characters, shaped by Miura Miji, have accompanied us throughout our childhood.
Happiness is never created deliberately, but integrated into life. Thanks to the author Cherry Maruko and her “Sakura Momoko”, we have had a delightful childhood.
Source: Sina
熱門頭條新聞
- Announcing FMX 2025: Rhythm of Change
- Detective Mystery Game Detective Dotson Announces Animated Film
- DISCOVER WHAT LIES BEYOND THE DOORS OF THE SOMNIUM LABYRINTH IN WUTHERING WAVES UPDATE WHEN THE NIGHT KNOCKS COMING SOON
- The global GPU market is worth almost $100 billion.
- Submissions for 2025 Films are Open–ANNECY 2025
- Victura Introduces the World’s First Documentary Video Game
- Marvel Rivals Unveils Moon Knight Set to Join Launch Roster of All-Star Characters on December 6th
- A global business space for Latin American Animation projecting itself to the world