Hamtaro (ハム太郎) is a male hamster and the main character of the manga and anime, Hamtaro. Hamtaro and his friends love to have fun. He has a great relationship with his owner, Laura Haruna. Bijou has a crush on him, but he doesn't seem to notice. Hamtaro is always there for his friends. It doesn't matter if it is Boss or Snoozer; he will gladly help.
Character description
Anime
Owned by Laura Haruna, Hamtaro is a Ham-Ham who's always ready to help out his friends and his owner Laura. He can't stand being ignored by Laura. He is often seen as the real leader of the Ham-Hams. Due to his innocent nature, he is clueless about many things, most notably love, and it would appear that Bijou, Barrette, Sparkle, Lapis, and Oshare all have developed a crush on him at some point. Hamtaro makes the most of his life as a small hamster and lives each day in happiness hoping to make more friends and to have fun. In the original anime, Hamtaro ends his sentences with 'nanoda', a phrase often used by playful characters. This is changed to, "Ham-ha!", "paka-paka", and "kushi-kushi" in the English version.
Hamtaro cares deeply about others. He loves to help his friends and is very selfless and kindhearted towards everyone he meets. He is also incredibly brave, as shown when he saves Penelope from a cat in one of the first episodes. This is of course only one of many instances of his bravery and willingness to help friends.
Friendships
Oxnard
Oxnard was the first hamster Hamtaro met after moving in their new house, and the two have been best friends since. They were neighbors until Oxnard went to live with Pepper. Even their owners are best friends. Oxnard acts as if he were like a big brother to Hamtaro.
Boss
After Hamtaro met Oxnard, they both fell into a tunnel, after which they met Boss. Hamtaro looks up to Boss, as he is older and usually wiser than Hamtaro, and they are very good friends. Boss is jealous that Bijou likes Hamtaro, but Hamtaro doesn't even notice Bijou’s crush on him. Boss can occasionally get protective over Bijou for this reason. Despite this, Hamtaro and Boss remain very close friends.
Relationships
Bijou
Bijou has a crush on Hamtaro, but he is completely clueless about it. In the first episode, Bijou winks at Hamtaro after he sings and dances for her with Oxnard and Boss. Her crush on him becomes stronger in Come Out, Bijou! after Hamtaro compliments her ribbons. Bijou’s crush on Hamtaro becomes more obvious after Bijou's Favorite Ribbon, which is an episode centered around Bijou’s feelings for him. There are a few more cases of Bijou’s crush in episodes such as I Want To See You, Bijou!, and Satisfied Bijou, in which they go on a “date” (though Hamtaro doesn’t quite understand what a date is, and invites all the other Ham-Hams). In A Valentine Battle! she competes for Hamtaro's love against Sparkle and Oshare. Despite this, Hamtaro still retains a childish outlook on love. Although he cares about Bijou and considers her a close friend, he doesn't notice her crush on him, and his feelings for her remain purely platonic.
Sparkle
At first, Sparkle doesn't care much for Hamtaro or any other Ham-Hams, but in Someone Likes Hamtaro, she goes on a 'date' with him and after realizing how he is always happy and so sweet and gentle, she develops passionate feelings for him. But as usual, Hamtaro doesn't return them, as with every other female hamster crushing on him. Sparkle later returns in Cupid Sparkle! where she attempts to shake off her feelings for him, and tries to help Bijou pair up with him instead. She (to her own shame) quickly regains her feelings for him. From then on she is infatuated with him in most episodes following, and even fights for him against Oshare and Bijou in A Valentine Battle!. Hamtaro remains oblivious, even when Sparkle offers him a Valentine's Day present, which is a blatant sign of love.
Oshare rather spontaneously falls in love with Hamtaro somewhere between A Valentine Battle! and Non Non, Oshare!. She previously shows no signs of affection for him, but seemingly finds where her heart lies. She fights for him against Bijou and Sparkle. Hamtaro, as usual, is oblivious and does not understand why.
Barrette
In Knitting Barrette, Hamtaro is wrapped up with yarn by Barrette as some sort of woolly sweater. She calls him cute and kisses him on the cheek. Later, she announces she is in love with Hamtaro, to which Hamtaro is confused. She rivals Bijou. She continues to show affection for him throughout the episode. This love is short lived however, as this is the only and last episode before The Knitting Girl and Seamore, in which she instead develops a crush on Seamore.
Lapis
Lapis kissed Hamtaro on the cheek after he saved Lazuli in A Mysterious Seed Experiment! so it was rumoured she had a crush on him. The following episode, it is revealed by Lapis that this was supposedly just a 'Thank You Kiss' as she kissed Bijou as well. Lapis is ironically the most intimate out of any potential love for Hamtaro since no other girl ever kissed him (except for Barrette, but that crush was only for one episode). In Cupid Sparkle!, Sparkle tries to keep Lapis away from Hamtaro to help Bijou. Lapis’ possible crush on Hamtaro is also poked at in Devi! Big Panic! and Love Love, Valentine.
Games
Ham Hams Unite
Hamtaro is the player character of Ham Hams Unite. He goes around exploring and learning Ham-Chat while going off to bring the rest of the Ham Hams.
Ham-Ham Heartbreak
Hamtaro is the player character along with Bijou, He saves her from being trapped by a boulder and the two journey together to help other hamsters' relationships.
Manga
There is more than one hamster protagonist named Hamtaro in the manga series.
A Home for Hamtaro & Other Stories and Hamtaro Gets Lost & Other Stories
The Hamtaro in these two volumes lives with a little girl named Yukari. He was given to her as a birthday present from her dad. He lived with his mother and siblings until he went to live with Yukari. He acts more like a real hamster than his TV counterpart, being territorial, gnawing, and sensitive to extreme temperatures. He is quite proud and likes to show off his talents. He can get upset at times. He gets into scrapes and Yukari has to help him often. He can be nice too, and feels bad for Yukari when she is upset and wants to help her and also befriends another hamster named Chiro. He later is married to and has babies with a hamstern named Momo.
Jealous Hamtaro & Other Stories
Hamtaro in this book loves his owner Amy. He first met her when he was wet in a strong and has been loyal to her since. He is proud and quite delusional, thinking Timothy as a rival as well as thinking he would harm him or even when he thinks he has to leave Amy due to Timothy "winning". Despite his jealousy, he is not completely selfish and feels guilty whenever he causes Amy emotional pain and wants her to be happy. Says wuvv instead of love among other words.Hamtaro in this book loves his owner Amy. He first met her when he was wet in a strong and has been loyal to her since. He is proud and quite delusional, thinking Timothy as a rival as well as thinking he would harm him or even when he thinks he has to leave Amy due to Timothy "winning". Despite his jealousy, he is not completely selfish and feels guilty whenever he causes Amy emotional pain and wants her to be happy. Says wuvv instead of love among other words.
Gallery
- Main article: Hamtaro/Gallery
Trivia
- As stated in the Happy Birthday Hamtaro Special!, Hamtaro shares a birthday with Cappy (August 6th).
- Hamtaro doesn't truly 'love' any hamster. In fact, the only hamster he has ever shown obvious signs of affection for is Championi in You're Late, Prince! where he briefly stares adoringly at her along with the rest of the male hamsters present, and for Princess Cye-Ra in Hamtaro: The Captive Princess after she kissed him on the cheek.