This year marks the 35th anniversary of the long-running TV anime "Chibi Maruko-chan," based on the popular manga by Momoko Sakura. Tarako, who had been the voice actor for the main character Maruko for about 34 years since the series began, suddenly passed away in March 2024, and voice actress Kokoro Kikuchi took over the important role of Maruko in April of the same year. Kikuchi has been a fan of the anime since "Chibi Maruko-chan" began airing on January 7, 1990, and is said to be reminiscent of Maruko in both appearance and personality, earning her the nickname "real Maru-chan" among the anime production staff. What is the real face of Kikuchi, who takes on this important role? As we approach the one-year anniversary of the voice actor change, we asked her about her thoughts on playing Maruko.
◇When I was a child, I loved Maru-chan and Tama-chan
Kikuchi was born on November 9, 1982 and is 42 years old. She is a voice actress who is active in the roles of Uchiha Sarada in "BORUTO: NARUTO NEXT GENERATIONS" and Toko in "One Piece". She also voiced the character Hana-chan in the episode "Maruko Saves a Ghost" of "Chibi Chibi Maruko-chan-chan" that aired on August 12, 2018. Kikuchi first encountered "Chibi Maruko-chan" on January 7, 1990, when the anime began airing.
"I was seven years old, in the second grade of elementary school, when ' Chibi Maruko-chan' started. I think 'Himitsu Chibi Maruko-chan' in the same time slot, and I started watching ' Chibi Maruko-chan' after 'Akko-chan' ended, and I was hooked. At the time, I really liked both Maru-chan and Tama-chan."
For Kikuchi, "Chibi Maruko-chan" has been a part of her daily life since she was a child. Although she cannot remember when she first became aware of the possibility of becoming a voice actor, she said, "It was such a long time ago that I can't remember," but she said, "I think when I was watching 'Akko-chan,' I thought, 'I want to be on this side.' However, I wonder if children would think something like that."
After graduating from high school, she attended a vocational school for two years with the goal of becoming a voice actress, and made her debut as a voice actress in "Zatch Bell!!" in 2003. However, even after her debut, she said, "it wasn't smooth sailing at all," and reflected, "In the first year after my debut, I probably only had a dozen or so jobs in that year. I worked part-time while doing voice acting for six or seven years. Gradually, the number of voice acting jobs started to increase, and when it became difficult to get shifts for my part-time job, I was fired."
Kikuchi decided to pursue a career as a voice actress after being fired from her part-time job. A decade later, she auditioned for the role of Maruko in "Chibi Maruko-chan."
◇ "I'm definitely the one who's been watching Maru-chan all this time."
On March 9, 2024, when TARAKO's death was reported, Kikuchi called her manager and said, "If there is an audition for the role of Maruko, I have been watching Chibi Maruko-chan for a long time, I love it, and I am very knowledgeable about it, so would you consider putting me forward?"
"I thought that out of all the voice actors, excluding the cast of ' Chibi Maruko-chan', I must be the one who has been watching Maruko-chan for a long time. I also thought that I must be the one who knows the most about her. On the day I heard the news of Tarako's death, I called the manager to ask for her to put me forward as a candidate, and although I felt that it was a little sneaky, I thought that it would be better than regretting it later on if I didn't muster the courage to say, 'Please put me forward as a candidate for the audition.' If I was able to audition and failed, I could just think that it was fate, so I didn't want to regret it."
Although Kikuchi was busy with part-time work in her 20s and "there were times when I couldn't watch it," she was proud of having been watching the TV anime "Chibi Maruko-chan" since she was 7 years old. Furthermore, there were some things she noticed because she had been watching TARAKO's character Maruko for so long.
"I'm sorry if my ears or interpretations are wrong, but when I watch anime, I sometimes think that TARAKO's pronunciation sounds like 'tsu' and 'su' sound a little closer to 'chu' or 'shu'. At the audition, I tried to pick up on that habit, or rather, my pronunciation. But I also wanted to be careful not to overdo it."
He also expressed his thoughts, "TARAKO-san cared very much about Maru-chan, so I wanted to play the role with care."
"When I was playing Maru-chan, there may have been times when I thought, 'I'll try doing it this way,' but it wasn't like, 'If I do it this way, I'll get in.' I tried to make it similar to the Maru-chan played by TARAKO, but I shouldn't think, 'It looks similar, right?' I tried to imitate it, but I didn't really copy it... I can't really explain it. Anyway, I wanted to cherish the Maru-chan played by TARAKO."
◇ "Chibi Maruko-chan" voice actors say she has "stamina" and "guts"
When Kikuchi was told that she would be taking over from TARAKO as Maruko, she commented, "My manager called me and told me, 'It's been decided,' and I was so surprised that I can hardly remember what was said after I said, 'Huh?' I was happy... nervous, relieved, anxious, and my head was filled with complex emotions that I couldn't really understand." Her first recording as Maruko took place just two days after she was informed of the decision, and she says that she "was so nervous that I don't remember much" about the first day of recording.
"On the first day, lots of different people came to greet me. I thought, this is big news... I had never had the experience of so many people coming specifically to greet me, so I vaguely remember thinking that I had to do my best."
From the first day of recording, Kikuchi said that for a while she recorded alone, "I think that would be closer to TARAKO's Maru-chan, but the staff told me to 'speak a lower voice'. Also, the director told me many times that Maru-chan is a third-grade elementary school girl, full of energy, but because she's a small girl. The director told me that she's a weak girl who would fall over if pushed. Because my first sound is strong, and I tend to make hard, clear sounds, I was told to 'soften it up because it's too strong' and 'you don't have to end your sentences so clearly'. I received detailed direction such as that lines like 'It's - -' could be something like 'It's - - o'."
After recording alone and joining the other voice actors, she felt that "everyone really accepted me. It's really thanks to everyone that I'm able to enjoy myself."
"Toyoshima Machiko, who plays my older sister, told me, 'You have a lot of stamina!' Sasaki Yuko, who plays my grandmother, and Naka Tomoko, who plays Fujiki, told me, 'You have guts!' That made me happy. I thought, 'I've got guts!' (laughs). The atmosphere during recording is great, and it's fun every week."
◇Is Kikuchi Kokoro the real Maru-chan? Her feelings for the role of Maru-chan will never change
It's been almost a year since Kikuchi started playing Maruko. How does she feel about the character she plays?
"It's partly because my ears have gotten used to it, but when I watch the broadcast, there are quite a few times when I think, 'They can do a bit more, right?' When I compare parts A and B, it seems like they get going after doing part A, or maybe part B is more energetic and familiar, and there are times when I think, 'I wish they could do that from part A onwards...'"
Kikuchi-san, who said this, looks a bit like Maruko, with her bob haircut, and when asked "Are there any similarities between you and Maruko?" she smiled and said, "We're similar in that we're both lazy." Among the anime staff, Kikuchi-san is apparently called "Real Maru-chan."
Although she feels that she has gradually become accustomed to the role of Maruko, she emphasizes, "I am playing the Maruko that TARAKO cherished. That will never change for the rest of my life."
"The director told me, 'It's about time you did Kokoro Kikuchi's Maru-chan, isn't it?' But I'm still wondering, 'What would be my own version of Maru-chan?' I hope I can find that out as I go along."
Kikuchi-san said that despite the great pressure of taking on such an important role, she never consulted anyone about it. "I thought that for a while I would not talk about Maruko to others. I thought that if what I said was misinterpreted, it would cause trouble for the set," she said, showing that she values the series and the character of Maruko above all else.
Finally, we asked him about his future goals as a voice actor.
"Even before I was cast in the role of Maru-chan, I had always wanted to appear in children's productions that families could watch together. I want to continue doing that in the future. After all, for me, I want anime to be something for children, and I think it's a dream come true."
Kikuchi-san will be playing Maruko, a character she loved as a child. The hardships and pressures involved are immeasurable. However, as Kikuchi-san says, it's hard not to feel like "it's a dream come true."
