Kids Web Japan

Main character Sawaki Tadayasu and some influenza viruses.

Everywhere you look there are bacteria, even if you can�t see them. Some are used to make sake (rice wine), miso (soybean paste), and soy sauce. Others are used in the production of bread, cheese, and yogurt or fermented foods like spicy Korean kimchi and pickles. Some live in the ground, and some in the human body. Some like plastic, while others cause people to get sick. The list goes on. Bacteria like these take center stage in the anime series Moyashimon, which has been gaining more and more fans since it began airing in October 2007.

The main character of the story is a freshman at an agricultural university named Sawaki Tadayasu. Tadayasu�s parents run a store called Moyashi-ya that supplies yeast starters, or mold that is used when making things like miso. He also has the unique ability to see and even talk with bacteria and viruses that are, in reality, too small to be seen by the naked eye.

Older students at the university

A colorful cast of characters appears in addition to Tadayasu, including his mentors and schoolmates. For example, there�s Itsuki Keizo, a walking encyclopedia of bacteria and professor at the university; the rich-girl graduate student Hasegawa Haruka; and the clean freak Oikawa Hazuki, who never goes anywhere without her antibacterial spray. Bacteria are at the center of much that happens in the show, such as when Tadayasu prevents a food poisoning outbreak by discovering the 0-157 food-poisoning bacteria or the fuss that erupts over sustr�mming (pickled herring from Sweden), which is said to be the smelliest substance in the world.

The show features more than 100 types of cutely drawn, talking bacteria. Their catchphrase is "kamosu," which means �brew� and is used to describe when bacteria ferment something or make it go rotten. Another unique aspect of the show is a segment that appears at the end of each episode and teaches viewers about bacteria. From the microorganisms that permanently live in our skin to the black mold that dwells on our bathroom tiles, Moyashimon enables us to look at the bacteria in the world around us in a fun way.

A comedy with an academic setting, Moyashimon is a unique anime that the whole family can enjoy together - and learn a thing or two about bacteria at the same time.

Professor Itsuki Keizo.

Some of the bacteria and microorganisms that appear in the show.

Based on the manga "MOYASHIMON" by Masayuki Ishikawa
originally serialized in the bi-weekly EVENING magazine published by KODANSHA LTD.
(C)I•Kodansha/M

(Updated in February 2008)