After we introduced you to the bread that he lend his name from, we will now put our focus on the favorite superhero of all young Japanese children: 

Anpanman (アンパンマン)

Anpanman is mainly a Japanese picture book series written by Takashi Yanase, running from 1973 until 2013 following his death. The series has been adapted into an anime series entitled Soreike! Anpanman, which is one of the most popular anime series among young children in Japan. The series follows the adventures of Anpanman, the superhero with an anpan, the bread we told you about before, for a head, who protects the world from an evil anthropomorphic germ named Baikinman.

Heavily merchandised, the Anpanman characters appear on virtually every imaginable children’s product in Japan, ranging from clothes to video games to toys to snack foods.

In each episode, Anpanman fights with Baikinman and helps the people of the town. He always goes on patrol in the area around the house of Uncle Jam. He is a symbol of justice, fighting for the cause of justice every day. Anpanman has a long history and new characters are frequently introduced, keeping the series fresh. In 2009, Anpanman was verified as a Guinness World Record Holder for the highest number of characters in an animated franchise with a total of 1,768 characters appearing in the first 980 episodes of the TV series and the first 20 Anpanman films.

Anpan regains his health and strength when Jam Ojisan bakes him a new head and it is placed on his shoulders. Anpanman’s damaged head, with Xs in his eyes, flies off his shoulders once a new baked head is made for him by Uncle Jam. Anpanman came to life when a shooting star landed in Uncle Jam’s oven while he was baking. He has two special attacks: An-punch and An-kick, with stronger variations of both. When Anpanman comes across a starving creature or person, he lets the unfortunate creature or person eat part of his head. He also has super hearing in that he can respond to anyone that calls his name out in distress from anywhere in the world. Anpanman has a group of friends resembling other foods and breads that help him fight evil. 

In 2011, research by Bandai found Anpanman to be the most popular fictional character among people ages 0 to 12 in Japan in 10 consecutive years. The Anpanman books have collectively sold over 50 million copies in Japan.

The anpanman franchise is literally everywhere, there is an anpanman park for kids in the the Jakarta area as well!