Midori no Makibaō

Midori no Makibaō (みどりのマキバオー) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Tsunomaru. It was serialized in Shueisha's manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump from November 1994 to February 1998, with its chapters collected in 16  volumes.

A 61-episode anime television series produced by Pierrot was broadcast on Fuji TV from March 1996 to July 1997. A second manga series, titled Taiyō no Makibaō, was serialized in Weekly Playboy from 2007 to 2011, and later in the Shū Play News website, under the title Taiyō no Makibaō W, from 2011 to 2016, with the overall series' chapters collected in 36 volumes.

The Midori no Makibaō manga has had over 9 million copies in circulation. In 1997, it won the 42nd Shogakukan Manga Award in the children category.

Plot
Midori Makibaō is a small white mule. Compared to the other thoroughbred horses, his physical size is comparable to a donkey with wide nostrils. However, with guts and speed as his weapons, Makibaō wins in every big race.

At the beginning of his career, Makibaō has trouble making his debut as a racehorse. But he has reasons to overcome his difficulties; a lifelong rival horse called Superhorse Cascade, that Makibaō needs to defeat. Plus, he is determined to win back his mother, Midori, a horse taken away to pay debts.

There are many hardships that Makibaō has to overcome, but he thrives in a series of races to become a great racehorse.

Horses

 * Midori Makibaō (ミドリマキバオー) / Tarezo Unko (うんこ たれ蔵)


 * Cascade (カスケード)


 * Amago Wakuchin (アマゴワクチン)


 * Nitronics (ニトロニクス)


 * Ancalgia (アンカルジア)


 * Beanaccle (ベアナックル)


 * Tū Cutter (トゥーカッター)


 * Morriaror (モーリアロー)


 * Satomi Amazon (サトミアマゾン)


 * Makibako (マキバコ)


 * Blitz (ブリッツ)


 * Midoriko (ミドリコ)


 * Peter II (ピーターII)


 * Shabitel (ツァビデル):


 * Jerusalem (エルサレム)


 * Fried Chicken (フライドチキン)


 * Hiropon (ヒロポン)

Other

 * Tomonori Saegusa (三枝 友則)


 * Genjiro Obu (飯富 源次郎)


 * Chūbei (チュウ兵衛)


 * Masaru Obu (飯富勝)


 * Nobuhiko Horie (堀江 信彦)

Manga
Written and illustrated by Tsunomaru, Midori no Makibaō was serialized in Shueisha's manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump from November 28, 1994, to February 9, 1998. Shueisha collected its chapters 16 volumes, released from June 2, 1995, to June 4, 1998.

A second series, titled Taiyō no Makibaō (たいようのマキバオー), started in Shueisha's Weekly Playboy on March 26, 2007. The manga was later moved to the Shū Play News website, continued under the title Taiyō no Makibaō W (たいようのマキバオーW), where it ran from May 9, 2011, to November 14, 2016. Shueisha collected the Taiyō no Makibaō chapters in 16 volumes, released from August 17, 2007, to June 17, 2011, while the Taiyō no Makibaō W chapters were collected in 20 tankōbon volumes, released from September 16, 2011, to February 17, 2017.

Anime
A 61-episode anime television series adaptation, produced by Pierrot and directed by Noriyuki Abe, was broadcast on Fuji TV from March 2, 1996, to July 12, 1997. The opening theme is "Hashire Makibaō" (走れマキバオー) by F.MAP, while the ending theme is "Tottemo Umanami" (とってもウマナミ) by Men's 5.

The series was re-released on a Blu-ray Disc box on July 27, 2022, which included a five-minute-long new episode that adapted the final chapter of the original manga series.

Reception
The manga has had over 9 million copies in circulation. In 1997, the manga won the 42nd Shogakukan Manga Award in the children category.