Chiruchiru

A kindly and gentle father-figure, Chiruchiru is slow to anger. However that doesn’t mean he’s a pushover. Despite his droopy, rolly-polly exterior, he has the stalwart heart of a lion – especially when he’s protecting his cubs. He approaches his tasks with a solid determination to get the job done, and as such he is usually cast in roles of quiet authority. Although he is most associated with his namesake role in The Wonderful Journey (1950), he actually first appeared in the early version of The Moony Men [Fuji Shobo] (1948) as “Dr. Mangetsu” – a wholly appropriate casting considering the name means “Dr. Fullmoon” in English. However, when Tezuka rewrote the story as The Mooney Men [Manga Shonen] (1951), he lost the role to his round-faced rival Mokusan. He has also had a memorable role as the Martian homesteader, Mr. Hoshino in Captain Ken (1960-61), among many others. (Source: Tezukainenglish)