Bikkuriman

• Ja Kanji — ビックリマン • Genre — Fantasy, Parody • Creator — Lotte

• Type — tv series • Director — Yukio Kaizawa • Writer — Sukehiro Tomita • Music — Takanori Arisawa • Studio — Toei Animation • Network — ANN (ABC, TV Asahi) • First — October 11, 1987 • Last — April 2, 1989 • Episodes — 75

• Type — film • Title — Bikkuriman: Taiichiji Seima Taisen • Director — Hiroyuki Kakudo • Writer — Sukehiro Tomita • Studio — Toei Animation • Released — March 12, 1988 • Runtime — 30 minutes

• Type — film • Title — Bikkuriman: Moen Zone no Himitsu • Director — Junichi Sato • Writer — Sukehiro Tomita • Music — Takanori Arisawa • Studio — Toei Animation • Released — July 9, 1988 • Runtime — 45 minutes

• Type — tv series • Title — Shin Bikkuriman • Director — Yukio Kaizawa • Writer — Sukehiro Tomita • Music — Shunsuke Kikuchi • Studio — Toei Animation • Network — ANN (ABC, TV Asahi) • First — April 19, 1989 • Last — August 26, 1990 • Episodes — 72

• Type — tv series • Title — Super Bikkuriman • Director — Yukio Kaizawa • Writer — Aya Matsui • Music — Takanori Arisawa • Studio — Toei Animation • Network — ANN (ABC, TV Asahi) • First — May 17, 1992 • Last — April 4, 1993 • Episodes — 44

• Type — tv series • Title — Bikkuriman 2000 • Director — Yusuke Yamamoto • Writer — Atsuhiro Tomioka • Studio — Studio Comet, NAS • Network — TXN (TV Tokyo) • First — November 1, 1999 • Last — February 26, 2001 • Episodes — 68

• Type — tv series • Title — Happy Lucky Bikkuriman • Director — Go Koga • Producer — Yasuhiko Nukaga • Writer — Katsuyuki Sumisawa (eps 1-19) Riku Sanjo (eps 20-46) • Music — Yoshichika Inomata Yoichiro Honda • Studio — Toei Animation • Network — TV Asahi • First — October 15, 2006 • Last — September 30, 2007 • Episodes — 46

• Developer — Drecom • Publisher — Drecom • Genre — Social card battle • Platforms — Android, GREE, mixi • Released — April 18, 2011 (GREE, mixi), December 17, 2012 (Android)

• Type — tv series • Title — Bikkuri-Men • Director — Tomohiro Yamanashi • Writer — Yuniko Ayana • Music — Yasuhiro Misawa • Studio — * Shin-Ei Animation (production) • Lesprit (animation) • Network — Tokyo MX, BS Asahi • First — October 5, 2023 • Last — December 21, 2023 • Episodes — 12

• Portal — yes Bikkuriman is a line of wafer snacks produced by Lotte, made notable for the randomly assorted bonus stickers included inside each snack. First released in 1977, Bikkuriman (ビックリマン, "Surprise Man") became wildly popular in Japan with the introduction of the Akuma vs Tenshi Shīru series of stickers, leading to a prolific number of media tie-ins.

Bikkuriman is a chocolate and peanut wafer snack made by Lotte that sold for 30 yen at the time of its introduction. Originally, the pack-in stickers were called "Dokkiri Seal" (どっきりシール, "Shocking Seal). Each Seal featured a realistic image on a clear background, with the intention of using them for pranks or gags (broken glass, clothing tears, fake wall switches, etc.) By the 1980s, the Seals began featuring individual gag-based characters with a theme that united a particular set of Seals. These style of stickers would remain for the first 9 sets of Seal releases. In August 1985, Lotte released the first of the Akuma vs Tenshi Seal series. While maintaining the same humorous art style of the earlier series, the Akuma vs Tenshi Seals featured characters based on assorted mythological, folklore, and even metaphorical sources engaging in an overarching story-line. Akin to the Mars Attacks trading card series from America, the battle between the Tenshi and Akuma is told on the back of each sticker, with the plot progressing with each new set. Each set was divided into several themed tiers featuring a Tenshi, Akuma, and an Omamori (お守り, "Protector"), with an ultra-rare "Head" Seal that serves as the main character of its particular set. The Head Seals were typically printed with a prism or holographic holofoil to set them apart from the Tenshi's metallic silver or gold backing, the clear backgrounds of the Omamori and the multi-colored backgrounds of the Akuma. The rarity of the early Akuma vs Tenshi Seals were, in order: Head, Tenshi, Omamori, Akuma. Unfortunately, the popularity of the stickers led to trouble for the series. The zeal to try to obtain Head Seals would lead children to buy Bikkuriman in mass quantities, retrieve the stickers inside, and simply throw away the snack. This, along with the fact that children and collectors were willing to pay high amounts of money for the rarer cards, led to parent groups expressing concern of possible gambling implications for the stickers. This led to action by the Japanese Fair Trade Commission, and the number of Head Seals per pack was increased from the average 4 to 24 individual Seals.

These stickers were a huge success, leading to a multitude of media tie-ins. The original Bikkuriman anime series, created by Toei Animation, aired from October 11, 1987, to April 2, 1989. Sequels include Shin Bikkuriman, Super Bikkuriman, Bikkuriman 2000 and Happy Lucky Bikkuriman.

A new anime project featuring original character designs by Hiroyuki Takei was announced on April 1, 2023. The project was later revealed to be a television series produced by Shin-Ei Animation, animated by Lesprit, and directed by Tomohiro Yamanashi, with Yuniko Ayana in charge of series composition, Ayano Owada adapting Takei's original character designs for animation, and Yasuhiro Misawa composing the music. It aired from October 5 to December 21, 2023, on Tokyo MX and BS Asahi. The opening theme song, "Collection", is performed by Dannie May while the ending theme song, "Seishun☆Whatcha Gonna Do", is performed by Daishi Kajita, Shuta Morishima, and Tatsumaru Tachibana. Medialink licensed the series in Asia-Pacific.

• Yamato • Daishi Kajita • Ushiwaka • Shuta Morishima • Jack • Tatsumaru Tachibana • Phoenix • Soma Saito • Hood • Yōhei Azakami • Peter • Yuki Sakakihara • Maris • Katsuyuki Konishi • Ippontsuri • Yūichirō Umehara • Shokoshi • Mitsuhiro Ichiki • Alibaba • Atsushi Tamaru • Cross • Yui Ogura • Oasis • Yū Kobayashi • Khan • Katsuhisa Hōki • Takayan • Shinnosuke Tokudome • Manseira Type-II • Hiro Shimono • Super Devil • Junichi Suwabe

• Super Bikkuriman, a series published by Shōgakukan