“Chibi Maruko-chan: My Favorite Song” What’s in the legendary music anime, Part 2

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2022.08.09Akira Murayama

The courage to turn something that cannot be answered into a piece of art while remaining ambiguous.

After the above-mentioned `` Hitorizumou '', Momoko Sakura published a book called `` Onbuni Dakko '', which describes her childhood memories. This book is the last collection of essays she has published as a complete body of work, having achieved a series of bestsellers in the field of essays.

`` Piggyback '' is a work that breaks new ground for Momoko Sakura, who has always sold humor and nonsense. The story vividly depicts episodes from the age of two and a half to the lower grades of elementary school, and most of the chapters depict the disappointment and anxiety that a young heart felt, and the feelings of frustration surrounding separation. Many times, he lost track of what he was trying to deliver.

However, `` Piggyback '' is a masterpiece that looks at unanswered questions and life itself where answers cannot be easily found, and the author himself said in the afterword, ``I felt that this work had something big and important to it.'' ”, he said with a solid response. It can be said that this was a turning point, indicating that the writer Momoko Sakura had entered a new phase.

`` Hitorizumou '' also has a chapter about marriage. The title is ``Iku-chan, who went to marriage'' and the story is about a young aunt who lived with him until he was 3 years old and who decided to marry him.

What is depicted is that her aunt, who said she would come once in a while, never came to visit. I used to call her Iku-chan until I got married, but my mother told me that I should call her Auntie Ikuko. When she saw Iku-chan and the baby who came to visit her after giving birth, she realized that she could no longer sit on Iku-chan's lap and take care of her. When I tried to carry my baby on my back, they wouldn't let me and I cried out loud. After the baby fell asleep, Iku-chan gently placed it on his lap...

Like the other episodes in Hitorizumou , there's no obvious punch line here that will make you laugh or laugh. However, it depicts one girl's childhood, solid insight, and a collection of emotions that even she doesn't know what to do with. However, because there is no clear-cut logic, the works are engraved with important moments and feelings that would otherwise be lost through logic alone. And in ``Iku-chan, the bride,'' marriage is still depicted as something that alienates loved ones and is accompanied by emotional pain.

The ``Haraiso'' sequence by Haruomi Hosono , one of the musical scenes in ``My Favorite Song,'' is also interesting. At her older sister's apartment, Maruko becomes obsessed with the picture her older sister drew of a princess and a dragon. Maruko's imagination expands, the princess meets a dragon, they go on an adventure together, and eventually, when the time comes, the dragon gets on a boat and leaves. Although Maruko doesn't realize it at this point, it is hinted from the beginning of the film that after their encounter, there will be a farewell, and a clock is carefully drawn to announce the time limit.

The essay “ Hitorizumou ” was written in 2005. Thirteen years have passed since ``My Favorite Song.'' However, looking at ``My Favorite Song,'' Momoko Sakura seems to have had a desire to depict something without a clear answer since 1992. I feel that ``My Favorite Song'' was an attempt to sublimate the inseparability of encounters and partings that are inevitable in life into story and video.

Text: Akira Murayama

Born in 1971. Writes articles for magazines, newspapers, movie sites, etc. Representative of “ShortCuts,” a review site for distribution-based works.

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