Image: Sakura Production/Japan Animation
AMBot | 03/05/2026 | Reading Time: 3 Min.
Singer and songwriter Hikaru Utada is contributing the new ending theme for the anime series "Chibi Maruko-chan." The song is titled "Pappa Paradise" and will be heard for the first time on March 29, 2026, in a one-hour spring special episode.
This is the first time in about six and a half years that the series' opening theme has been changed. Until now, Kazuyoshi Saito sang the song "Itsumo no Fuukei." "Pappa Paradise" is already the 13th ending theme in the history of the anime series, which is based on the manga by the late cult author Momoko Sakura, who passed away in 2018.
According to the production company Sakura Production, Momoko Sakura was a great admirer of Utada's music. She often listened to albums like "First Love," "SAKURA Drops," or "traveling" at home—often together with her then-young son. "I wonder what she must have experienced to be able to write such wonderful lyrics at such a young age. She is truly someone who shines with her songs," Sakura is said to have remarked at the time. The production company is very pleased that this admiration has now turned into a collaboration and that they can look forward to a "new 'Chibi Maruko-chan'" with Utada's sounds.
Fuji TV producer Yoshinori Takeeda adds that they wanted a "positively cheerful tempo" for the new ending theme—a song that makes you look forward to the next day and gives hope. Utada perfectly implemented this request and created a typical Utada song that ideally fits the series. The anime series is now entering its 36th year, and they want to continue creating a work that is loved by the audience.
The spring special episode on March 29, 2026, includes three stories: In "Maruko Goes to Asama Shrine," Maruko and her friends travel to Fujinomiya to admire the cherry blossoms blooming there. In "Maruko and the Runaway Turtle," Maruko and her friends take care of a turtle that has come into their garden. And in "Maruko Dreams a Strange Dream," she dreams of that very turtle on a warm spring day and encounters her friends' pets.
This is the first time in about six and a half years that the series' opening theme has been changed. Until now, Kazuyoshi Saito sang the song "Itsumo no Fuukei." "Pappa Paradise" is already the 13th ending theme in the history of the anime series, which is based on the manga by the late cult author Momoko Sakura, who passed away in 2018.
According to the production company Sakura Production, Momoko Sakura was a great admirer of Utada's music. She often listened to albums like "First Love," "SAKURA Drops," or "traveling" at home—often together with her then-young son. "I wonder what she must have experienced to be able to write such wonderful lyrics at such a young age. She is truly someone who shines with her songs," Sakura is said to have remarked at the time. The production company is very pleased that this admiration has now turned into a collaboration and that they can look forward to a "new 'Chibi Maruko-chan'" with Utada's sounds.
Fuji TV producer Yoshinori Takeeda adds that they wanted a "positively cheerful tempo" for the new ending theme—a song that makes you look forward to the next day and gives hope. Utada perfectly implemented this request and created a typical Utada song that ideally fits the series. The anime series is now entering its 36th year, and they want to continue creating a work that is loved by the audience.
The spring special episode on March 29, 2026, includes three stories: In "Maruko Goes to Asama Shrine," Maruko and her friends travel to Fujinomiya to admire the cherry blossoms blooming there. In "Maruko and the Runaway Turtle," Maruko and her friends take care of a turtle that has come into their garden. And in "Maruko Dreams a Strange Dream," she dreams of that very turtle on a warm spring day and encounters her friends' pets.
This article was originally published in German. It was translated with technical support and editorially reviewed before publication.
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