Monster School (partially found Japanese puppet TV series; 2003)
Brazilian Portuguese poster art of Monster School.
Status: Partially found
Monster School (バケルノ小学校ヒュードロ組; Bakeruno shōgakkō hyūdoro-gumi) was a Japanese educational puppet show created by Children's author and writer Sachiko Kashiwaba and aired on NHK's E-tele block. It was a continuation of the original 2001 series, Bakeruno shōgakkō Monogatari(バケルノ小学校物語). It originally ran from 2003 to 2006 and aired 39 episodes and had 2 seasons. The setting and characters were based on Japanese folklore and the series primarily focused on teaching children the importance of communication.
Premise
The series is about Nobiro, a normal human boy in second grade, whose parents had to travel to Africa for work, leaving him with to live with a family of Tengus, Otengu (the husband), Metengu (the wife), and Kotengu (Their baby daughter). They live on the 30th floor of an apartment called "Monster Heights"(Obake heights) and Nobiro goes to a school that is located at the very top of the same apartment, which is the titular "Monster School" (Bakeruno Shogakko).He ends up befriending various other mythological Japanese monsters (Yokai) at the school including Santa (a kappa), Miko (a bakeneko), Byakko (a kitsune fox), the Yukinko Brothers (twin yetis), and Mash (a ghostly mushroom), all with their own special powers, along with his principal, Bunbuku Kochou (A old tanuki with supernatural powers), Okiku Hyudoro (A Ghostly teacher who can change her appearance to have a demon-like face whenever she is angry), and Noperra (A Nopperra-Bo chef who is a kung fu master).
Cast
- Ai Orikasa as Nobiro Kurama
- Hori Ayako as Santa Numano
- Emi Motoi as Mash Kinoshita
- Naoko Watanabe as Byakko Kitakitsune
- Yumi Takada as Miko Nemuri
- Kenichi Ogata as Yukinojo Fuyata
- Eiko Hisamura as Yukinoshin Fuyata
- Noriko Hidaka as Okiku Hyudoro
- Kenichi Ogata as Bunbuku Kochou
- Hiroyuki Shibamoto as Noperra
- Eiko Hisamura as Metengu Karastengu
- Kosei Tomita as Otengu Karastengu
- Noriko Hidaka as Kotengu Karastengu
- Kosei Tomita as Oni no Mi (Monster Plant)
- Hiroyuki Shibamoto as Baaya
- Emi Motoi as Shitsu Obake (Sheet Ghost)
Availability
Aside from the plot, episode list, The Cast and a few episodes that have been uploaded online, not a lot is known about the show. The only other info available was that one of the actresses on the show was Eiko Hisamura (who played Metengu), the episodes were 15 minutes long each, it aired in Brazil in 2006, and the existence of two low-quality screenshots. It's also known that the show has 3 dubs that we know of. A Portuguese dub, an English dub and a Sinhalese dub.
On June 25, 2017, user Dadistalon uploaded the 2nd episode ''Metengu Lays an Egg'' in Portuguese on YouTube, but it was later removed by NHK due to a copyright claim. On Dec 28th, 2017, user Central Nostalgia uploaded the same Brazilian Portuguese-dubbed episode online.
On March 26, 2021, User Christopher Paliulis uploaded the 4th episode, ''Why Isn't Ms. Okiku Angry?'' on the Wayback Machine.
On April 5, 2022, User Segandubs uploaded 3 Sinhalese-dubbed episodes. ''Kotengu is Born'', ''Nighttime at the Monster Market' 'and ''Nobiro's School Project.
On April 11, 2022, User Segandubs uploaded 2 more Sinhalese-dubbed episodes. '' The Haunted Bathroom.'' and ''My Cute Little Sister''.
On April 14, 2022, User Segandubs uploaded the last 2 Sinhalese-dubbed episodes. ''Nanny Knows Best'' and ''Monster School Cinderella''.
On Feb 9, 2023, User Nobiro Uploaded a Sinhalese-dubbed episode. ''Midnight Marathon''.
From Oct 13th to November 10th, NHK reaired 4 episodes from the 2001 series, Bakeruno Shogakko Monogatari as part of their ''E Tele Time Machine'' Program. Making 4 of the episodes from the prequel series found.
Episode List
| Episode Titles (English Transl) | AirDate | Status |
|---|---|---|
| だいすきバケルノ小学校 (I Love Monster School) | April 8th, 2003 | Partially FoundReleased By NHK Archive |
| メテングたまごをうむ (Metengu Lays An Egg) | April 22nd, 2003 | Found(In Portuguese) |
| ミーコとびゃっこのばけくらべ (Miko And Byakko's Contest) | May 13th, 2003 | Lost |
| オキク先生がおこらない? ( Why Isn't Ms. Okiku Angry?) | May 27th, 2003 | Found |
| コテングたんじょう (Kotengu Is Born) | June 10th, 2003 | Found(In Sinhalese) |
| 夜のバケビニ (Nighttime at the Monster Market) | June 24th, 2003 | Found(In Sinhalese) |
| ノビローの工作 (Nobiro's School Project) | Augest 26th, 2003 | Found(In Sinhalese) |
| あかずのトイレ (The Haunted Bathroom) | Semptember 16th, 2003 | Found(In Sinhalese) |
| かわいい妹 (My Cute Little Sister) | Semptember 30th, 2003 | Found(In Sinhalese) |
| まよなかのうんどうかい (Midnight Marathon) | October 14th, 2003 | Found(In Sinhalese) |
| ふしぎな色えんぴつ (My Magic Pencil Crayons) | October 28th, 2003 | Lost |
| おせっかいばあや (Nanny Knows Best) | November 11th, 2003 | Found(In Sinhalese) |
| ヒュードロ組のシンデレラ (Monster School Cinderella) | November 25th, 2003 | Found(In Sinhalese) |
Video
Gallery
Nobiro with Santa and Mash.
A group shot of the characters.
