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Penelope (ちび丸ちゃん/ちび丸くん Chibimaru-chan ) is an adorable white and brown baby hamster. She is like a little sister to Pashmina. She always wears a yellow blanket over her head.

Character

Penelope is the youngest member of the Ham-Ham gang, and is owned by Kylie. Penelope is usually never seen without the cover of her yellow blanket. Although she is friendly to everyone, she feels particularly attached to Pashmina. Being innocent and naive, due to her age, she gets into trouble more often than most of the other Ham-Hams. In season three, she has shown some cross-species affection for Herbert the Pig, a boy by the name of Ethan (Kylie's younger cousin), and a rabbit at Ethan's school. Unlike the other Ham-Hams, and perhaps because of her young age, Penelope can't say anything more than 'Ookwee!' or 'Ookyoo!' ('Ukyu!' in the original Japanese version).

Friendships

Pashmina

Pashmina and Penelope are always together. There are few instances where they are separated, much to their reluctance. Pashmina acts like a big sister to Penelope, and seems to be one of the only characters that understand what the little Ham-Ham says. It is often stated that Pashmina and Penelope have a sister-like relationship; with some media outright stating that they are sisters (such as the English version of Hamtaro: Ham-Hams Unite!, when saying "Hammo" to Pashmina).

Penelope is shown to get very jealous if Pashmina is occupied; as seen in episodes like Watching Over Cute Penelope and Knitting Barrette, where Penelope is babysit by others while Pashmina is out, and she gets very upset about it. Due to her childlike nature, Penelope also sometimes misunderstands Pashmina's feelings towards her; most notably during the events of Penelope's Dream. Nonetheless, the two are still the best of friends.

Marron

Marron develops a friendship with Penelope in Marron's Autumn Festival, when Penelope helps Marron pick herself back up, and helps stop a river from overflowing using Fukusuke. She seems to understand what Penelope is saying. From then on, the two are very friendly whenever they see each other.

They are also of similar height (very short), which is unique to most of the other Ham-Hams. Visually, Marron also closely resembles the look of Penelope without her blanket, with similar fur colors and patterns.

Appearances Without Her Blanket

Penelopeunderblanket

While Penelope is almost never seen without her blanket, there are a few cameos of her true look:

  • In Opening #1 of the English dub, she is seen throwing her blanket up in the air during the train segment. She can also be seen without her blanket in the opening when she is asleep in the bed next to other Ham-Hams.
  • In Jingle, the Wanderer, for a split-second frame, she can briefly be seen without her blanket when she and Hamtaro fall out of Laura's bag.
  • In Hamtaro: Ham-Hams Unite!, she takes her blanket off momentarily when going back to the Ham-Ham Clubhouse with Hamtaro.
  • A handful of Hamtaro merchandise pieces, including the Hamtaro Origami book, show her without the blanket.
  • She also appears in some of the manga and books without her blanket.

Notable Episodes

Names in other languages

Etymology
Japanese
Chibimaru
(ちび丸 Chibimaru)
Chibimaru literally translates to "little round one". The "maru" part of the name is mostly used in male names such as "Ushiwakamaru".
English
Penelope May come from the Greek Mythological Penelope, whose one of the name meanings is "face that is hard to decipher", an ironic contrast to Hamtaro's Penelope whose emotion is easily understood. The weaving theme may be chosen to complement Pashmina's fabric-based name.
French
Pénélope French spelling of Penelope; same meaning as English
European Spanish
Penélope Spanish spelling of Penelope; same meaning as English
Latin American Spanish
Penélope Same as European Spanish
Italian
Timidy May come from the italian word "timido" which means "shy"


Trivia

  • The English dub changed "Ookyoo" into to "Ookwee" in later episodes, as the former could sound like a certain expletive phrase starting with the letter F. The first time she says "ookwee" is in The Precious Letter!, and Hamtaro even acknowledges it. Pashmina actually says early in the episode that she was "looking forward to showing off [her] new word". The official Hamtaro website was also changed Penelope's word to the new one the day the episode was released.
  • Penelope may know more words than just "ookyoo" and "ookwee", "ookwaa". In a few English episodes, she says "badda-badda" and "ticky-ticky" as she runs or walks, though this may have been an error on the dubber's part. She is also known to use Ham-Chat words in the games.
  • In Tottoko Hamutaro: Hamuchanzu de Gozaimachu! Vol.1, Penelope is the younger sister of Bijou. As aforementioned, it is stated that Penelope is Pashmina's sister in later media.
  • In the Tottoko Hamutaro Anime Dechu, Penelope is named "Chibimaru-kun" instead of "-chan". The term "kun" generally refers to boys, which may indicate (though does not outright confirm) that Penelope was originally intended to be male. However, "kun" can be used to refer to toddlers, regardless of gender.
  • In various pieces of merch, Penelope is seen with a nose on her yellow blanket. This is omitted from the anime and is seldom seen elsewhere (outside of early artwork).

Gallery

Main article: Penelope/Gallery
v - e - d Characters
Ham-Ham Gang Hamtaro | Oxnard | Bijou | Boss | Maxwell | Cappy | Pashmina | Penelope | Howdy | Dexter | Sandy | Stan | Panda | Snoozer
Allies Jingle | Elder Ham | Auntie Viv | Pepper | Sabu | Stucky | Lapis | Lazuli | Harmony | Robo-Joe
Recurring Omar | Sparkle | Nin-Ham | Hannah | Chef Ham | Flora | Barrette | Seamore | Ook-Ook | Buster | Hambini | Tomy-T | Eggy-P | Marron | Tater | Malta | Solara | Oshare | Radar | Championi | Sunflower King | Sunflower Princess | Hanamaru | Drizzle | Gelato | Broski | Ice | Lolly | Mole | Nande | Tux | Salia
Team Rainbow Prince Bo | Rosy | Ivy | Daisy
Otome's Crew Otome | Lion | Bear
Hamha Tree Skyham | Okini | Mystery | Magical
Other/Minor Hamsters Yuki | Tsurara | Haibi | Postie | Seedric | Hamstarr | Chibi Hams
Haruna Family Laura Haruna | Marian Haruna | Forrest Haruna | Woody Haruna | Willow Haruna
Iwata Family Kana Iwata | Conrad Iwata | Cindy Iwata | Mimi Iwata | Jack Iwata | Tina Iwata | Dylan Iwata
O'Hara Family Mindy O'Hara | Kazuya O'Hara | Ji-chan
Other Humans Travis Kimura | Maria | June | Kylie | Hillary | Noel | Roberto Arvelo | Phillip Yoshi | Goldie Houston | Zack Houston | Curtis Milan | Kip | Sue | Yume | Charlotte Rooster | Chairman Rooster | Butler | Dr. Lion | Glitter Kurihara | Melanie Foster | Nagase | Emi | Yukio | Sachiko | Yamato Yoshi | Atsuko Mushakōji | Jirō | Kaoru | Gabriel Black | Ethan | Kenta | Mia |
Animals Brandy | Herbert | Françoise | Turtly | Chicky-Chicky Gang | Kitty | Princess | Samba | Fukusuke | Hercules Beetle | Uribo | PePe | Kumajirō | Tattles | PiPi | Chicken Trio | Chobi
Djungarians Leo | Stripes | Bunny | Warts | Cactus Brothers | Fox | Raccoon Dog | Treasure Box | Octopus | Dolphin | Pheasant | Djungarian Choir
Ninja Hams Red Ninja Ham | Blue Ninja Ham | Yellow Ninja Ham | Grey Ninja Ham
Gozaimachu! Vol.2 Mama-Ham | Papa-Ham | Baby-Hams | Inspector Hams | Dharma Doll | Donohamu | Dr. Peanut | Dumpling | Haisha | Kantoku | Ken | Naruto | Shampoo | Sister | Stepp | Umeboshi
Mini Hams Good | Ai~n | Merica | Nonno | Takahashi
Mo Hams Taka Ham | Meshi Ham |Yasu Ham | O Ham | Nii Ham | Yoshi Ham | Kon Ham | Ishi Ham | A Ham | Go Ham
Movie Cook Ham | DJ-Ham | Princess Cye-Ra | King Hamja | Prince Hamja | Crystal | Dewey | Gettsu Ham | Villager Ham | Ayayamu | Ayayamu's schoolmates | Rika Ham | Shige Ham
Villains Spat | Devil-Ham | Sabaku-Nya | Captain Hamstern | Mystery Q Leader
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