When the kid wakes up with a dry bed, she gets to watch some of her favorite Japanese Underpants Videos, aka, Pantsu Pankuro, an animated short on NHK every morning about the big kid joys of using the toilet. [NHK sometimes issues takedowns for specific clips, so search YouTube for either pankuro or ぱんくろう. great stuff.]
Anyway, one of her favorites is not underwear-related; Pankuro, the grey one, and his friend Koricchi are competing to build the highest mountain in the sandbox. Komingo, Pankuro's little diaper-wearing sister is there too, and ends up winning [uh, spoiler alert? sorry. A]t which point a little creature enters stage right and starts jumping up and down in celebration. Who is this little thing? I can't find it mentioned anywhere. In my lo-res version, it looks like a hamburger patty carrying the spatula that flips it, but that makes no sense. Anyone out there a bigger Japanese children's toilet training otaku than I am? [Please say yes.]
no mention: Pants Pankuro [wikipedia]
Pants Pankuro sandbox [youtube via user koricchi]
A poop? With a flyswatter?
Hi, I enjoy your blog everyday and some of your interesting entries make me laugh! I am a Japanese mom who lives with white southern husband and 4 year old and 2 year old girls. I can't believe you know about Pankurou! I must tell you, NHK or Japanese kids show is a little bit out there, I don't think a lot of American people will get it. I am going back to Japan next week for a couple of week, so I will ask my niece about this character you are looking for.
you expect something in a japanese animation video to make sense? you haven't been paying attention!
I'm scared that I know this but that's "Tawashisshi"... he's a toilet brush (tawashi), as is the thing in his hand.
It's on the Japanese wikipedia page for Pankurou but they don't have any pics... try Googling "たわしっし パンツぱんくろう".
I haven't seen many toys with him but there is this one floating around out there...
Nice work, toilet nerd.
Wow, this is great! My two year old is pointing, dancing and chanting something that sounds like monsta-ta-ta, just to the photo! The little brown thing , to me, looks like it's probably a poop :)
Can't wait to find it in motion.
Yes, that's Tawashisshi! I just uploaded another video to YouTube that features him.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VO1wFtp5evM
haha, sweet. "outdoor toilet hide & seek"
The worst part about it is this is what's on TV while I'm eating breakfast most days... small price to pay for getting the rest of the NHK kids stuff on TV Japan's morning lineup though...