Koichi-chan

Koichi-chan, also simply known as Koichi, is an Japanese slice of life manga series written and illustrated by Yoshiya Toichi. The series depicts the everyday life of Koichi Matashichi and Makiko Chiharu from various perspectives, including in a fictionalised version of the author's hometown, while dealing with surrealistic adventures and situations.

Main

 * Koichi Matashichi -
 * Makiko Chiharu -

Supporting

 * Nagatsuka Shigemasa -
 * Hatake Sen -
 * Ishii Tetsuyuki -
 * Oyama Shumei -
 * Kanemoto Yosuke -
 * Miura Umeko -
 * Ishiwata Oriana -
 * Sawa Kahoru -
 * Hashimoto Eho -

Manga
The manga series is considered to be the "classic" type of series from the Golden Age. Manga experts agree that the manga series is a masterpiece. The Manga has been praised for its humor, realism, artwork, animation, character designs, and story. It was one of the most acclaimed series of its generation.

The anime was also praised for its humor and the series was considered to be one of the best anime series of the Golden Age. Koichi's character was well received, and the series was considered to be one of the best slice of life series. Fans and reviewers praised the animation, character design, and the overall atmosphere.

Early success
The first episode of the anime received a great response from fans and the manga's popularity was still high in 1979. As a result of the anime's success, Yoshiya Toichi's series saw a sharp increase in sales. At the same time, the anime has been considered one of the first successful anime series and has also been credited for helping the anime industry.

Funimation dub
The Funimation dub was praised for the characterization and story. The main criticism of the series was the poor quality of the English translation and soundtrack.

Sales and ratings
The manga series has sold 4.2 million copies as of May 2008. The anime version of Koichi-chan was also successful. However, the ratings were not high. The animation was not high either. But both the anime and the manga has some fans.

Live-action series
The first live action version of the series received positive reviews. Reviewers praised the cast of the series and the series itself. The second version of the series was criticized for its bad quality.

Allegations of declining quality
Ever since of 1994 after the first film, the anime had been undergoing with unoriginal filler episodes, poor writing, pandering to the otaku, and low production values that resembled the earlier parts of the anime. Filler episodes is a major problem. A lot of fans started to leave the series, but new fans come in. Some people even suggested that in time the anime got declined quality in general. The quality decline may be due to the decline in sales and viewers. The show's quality may have also been due to a lack of a serious story and lack of characters who have a meaningful presence.

Live-action series
The series was also adapted into two live-action television series in 1965 and 1976. The 1976 version, which has sixteen episodes, was broadcast on NHK.

Anime
The anime was directed by Fujikawa Yoshihiro and Wakaki Seishisai. It is produced by and it has premiered on  on November 20, 1979.

The series was first dubbed into English by in 2003 and aired on  in the United Kingdom from August 27, 2004 until June 20, 2008. acquired the Koichi-chan North America license in 2007. A rerelease of the dub of the series was added to Netflix on November 30, 2014.

Films

 * TBD (1993)
 * TBD (2002)
 * TBD (2016)

Video games

 * TBD (1992)
 * TBD (1994)
 * TBD (1997)
 * TBD (1999)
 * TBD (2003)