Title page of the first Hamtaro manga, from the April 1997 issue of Second Grade.
The Shogakukan Learning Magazines (小学館の[学年別]学習雑誌) are a Japanese magazine series for school children. The series was divided into separate issues sorted by grade-school level, from First Grade to Sixth Grade (alongside four different preschool/kindergarten levels). Production of the series began in 1922; most of the series was discontinued in 2012, though "First Grade" is still produced to this day.
The April 1997 issue of the "Second Grade" (小学二年生) magazine marks the first ever appearance of Hamtaro, in the form of a small, seven-page comic/manga. The original Second Grade Hamtaro mangas would later be published as two books: A Home for Hamtaro & Other Stories and Hamtaro Gets Lost & Other Stories. As Hamtaro grew in popularity, the Hamtaro comics were then placed in the other grade levels. In total, over six unique Hamtaro manga series were serialized through the various Learning Magazines, alongside dozens of unique Hamtaro promotions and exclusive merchandise pieces.
Overview[]
Little is known about the Shogakukan Learning Magazines' early history (e.g. from the 1920s-60s); though since at least the early 1980s, various popular brands and characters filled much of its content. Characters like the Mario Bros., and Shogakukan's own Doraemon, would receive serialized manga in the Learning Magazines; with the reading of the manga itself acting as the "educational" factor. Entering the tail end of the 1990s, Hamtaro would become one of the biggest "characters" in the magazine.
Each Learning Magazine issue was often bundled with various extras (sometimes referred to as "appendixes"). Numerous Hamtaro products would be bundled with the magazines; such as small books, papercrafts, and special variants of the Hamtaro trading cards. Many products were also available via mail-order from the magazine; notably, this included the Tottoko Hamutaro Anime Dechu! VHS, which acts as the "pilot" for the Hamtaro anime series.
Hamtaro content in the Learning Magazines slowly diminished as time went on. By April 2006 - marking a new school year in Japan, as well as when Hamtaro's final anime episode aired - Hamtaro was no longer published in most of the Learning Magazines.
Hamtaro "Friend Contests"[]
Various Friend Contest submissions from Fourth Grade magazine (1999)
One notable feature in the Learning Magazines were the Hamtaro "Friend Contests". These contests had students design their own Ham-Ham, with the winning entry in each grade becoming an actual Hamtaro character. These hamsters would be used in multiple pieces of actual Hamtaro media; which also implies that, somehow, their copyright would be instantly transferred to Shogakukan.
While the full set of Friend Contest entries is unknown, confirmed winners include:
- Ken (Second Grade, Nov. 1999 [?])
- Stepp (Fourth Grade, Nov. 1999)
- Solara (Kindergarten, Jan. 2001)
- Dharma Doll (First Grade, Jan. 2001)
- Nin-Ham (Second Grade, Jan. 2001)
- Tux (Third Grade, Jan. 2001)
- Eggy-P (Fourth Grade, Jan. 2001)
- Marron (Fifth Grade, Jan. 2001)
- Donohamu (Sixth Grade, Jan. 2001)
Going by several internal design documents, characters such as Omar, Seamore, and Radar are likely also Friend Contest creations; however, this is currently unconfirmed.
Lists of issues featuring Hamtaro[]
- First Grade issues featuring Hamtaro
- Second Grade issues featuring Hamtaro
- Third Grade issues featuring Hamtaro
- Fourth Grade issues featuring Hamtaro
- Fifth Grade issues featuring Hamtaro
- Sixth Grade issues featuring Hamtaro