Children’s TV shows

3 comments

1. “Cooking Papa” is old but has pretty simple stories and lots of dialogue among family, colleagues, and friends. “Detective Conan” has been popular for nearly 30 years now and features episodic detective stories. Of course, there’s always Pokemon.

2. Not a kid’s show per se, but a family show… But Chibi Maruko Chan (especially the original seasons) is really good and gives a window into Japanese culture as well. Some more that are more boring to me but are also super-popular in Japan are Sazae San (family show), and then getting even more childish, things like Doraemon…and maybe Crayon Shin Chan (childish yet somewhat crude). Of course, you can also search on Crunchyroll. And those with somewhat lower quality animation tend to be more childish/simple, too.

3. I like はじめてのおつかい (Old Enough on American Netflix)–I’m still a beginner learner, but it almost feels like I can understand everything without subtitles. I wouldn’t exactly call it a children’s show, but the narrator often talks to the kids in the episode using simpler language. There’s also a good mix of the more structured narration style vs the more natural conversation by the families.