Bincho-tan (びんちょうタン) is a mascot character, created by Japanese manga artist Takahito Ekusa (江草天仁) and produced by game goods company Alchemist.
The name is a play on words: binchōtan (備長炭) is a kind of charcoal, which is mainly used for cooking. However, -tan is a suffix created by the mispronunciation by young children of -san, that led to the suffix -chan. Relating to this dajare, the main cast is the moe anthropomorphic representations of different types of charcoal.
An anime began airing in February 2006 that was produced by Studio Deen. Animax, who have also broadcast all episodes within respective networks across Southeast Asia, South Asia, East Asia, translating and dubbing the series into English and other languages. The anime is set in Minabe, Wakayama, a location that is the largest producer of binchōtan charcoal in Japan.
Characters
- Binchō-tan (びんちょうタン)
- The main character in the anime. Binchō-tan is a young girl who lives by herself in an old house far from town and is always barefoot. As her name suggests, she often wears a piece of charcoal on her head. Each episode depicts a day in the life of Binchō-tan who needs to work in order to buy food and necessities. She is assumed to be an orphan because she lives by herself, refuses to answer