Ocha-Ken

Ocha-Ken (お茶犬) means in Japanese "tea puppy" or "tea dog". They are colorful puppies, most of them with leaves for ears, representing "tea leaves". They were first introduced as toys released by Sega Toys. Later, due to the popularity, an animated series was made based on the Ocha-Ken.

Ocha-Ken
DVD cover of Ocha-ken: Ryokutto Monogatari
お茶犬
Anime television series
Ocha-ken: Chokotto Monogatari
Studio	Teahouse
Original network	Kids Station
English network	TVB (China)
Original run	October 6, 2003 – March 29, 2004
Episodes	26
Anime television series
Ocha-ken: Hotto Monogatari
Directed by	Green Hillow
Produced by	T.A
Studio	Teahouse
Licensed by	MTO Games
Original network	Kids Station
Original run	January 16, 2006 – March 31, 2023
Episodes	128
Anime television series
Ocha-ken: Ryokutto Monogatari
Music by	PRESENTDAY Co, Ltd.
Studio	Teahouse
Original network	Nintendo DS
Original run	November 22, 2008 – February 21, 2009
Episodes	13

Characters

Main series

Dogs

Ryoku

Ryoku is the green Ocha-Ken with green leaves for ears. Most of the time, Ryoku is seen sleeping. His nose has a special tendency to smell the aroma of green tea, which Ryoku loves to drink. His tea is indeed green tea, 緑茶 (ryokucha).

Aru

Aru is the red Ocha-Ken with red leaves for ears. A very adventurous dog, he wants to be a superhero as in television, even going so far as to wear a cape, but most of his attempts do not turn out the way he wanted them to. His tea is black tea, 紅茶 (koucha).

Ron

Ron is the black Ocha-Ken with gold leaves for ears. The most mysterious of the Ocha-Ken, he seems to have the ability to do things no one else can. For example, he could predict rainfall. His tea is oolong (Wulong) tea, 烏龍茶 (u-roncha).

Hana

Hana is the pink Ocha-Ken with purple leaves and flowers for ears. The only female Ocha-Ken in the group, she loves flowers and is usually in a good mood. Her tea is herbal tea, ハーブ茶 (ha-bucha).

Chai

Chai is the pale cream-colored Ocha-Ken with yellow leaves for ears. The troublemaker of the group, he can be seen doing silly things, such as jumping into tofu, which he mistook for pudding. His tea is Indian Chai, チャイ (chai).

Cafe

Cafe is the dark brown Ocha-Ken with coffee beans for ears. Being very different from the other Ocha-Ken, Cafe was visibly upset at first, but he eventually got over it. His tea is actually not a tea at all, but coffee, コーヒー (ko-hi-)

Muha

Muha is the gold Ocha-Ken with brown grains for ears. He is hyperenergetic and extremely active. He can be seen running around while the other Ocha-Ken are tired. His tea is barley tea, 麦茶 (mugicha).

Cats

Sakura

Sakura is the pink Ocha-neko, a romantist. Likes being dramatic. Apparently has a crush on somebody. Her tea is cherry tea, 桜桃 [literally cherry tree-peach] (sakuranbou).

Ran

Ran is the blue Ocha-neko, a calm and quiet sort. She is very tolerant and has never been sighted angry. Likes being clean. Her tea is lavender tea, ラベンダー (rabenda-).

Min

Min is the yellow Ocha-neko, a polite and popular cat, surrounded by friends. Her tea is jasmine tea, ジャスミン (jasumin).

So

So is the aquamarine Ocha-neko with tan spots, a cleanly cat loving cleaning. She also takes lots care of keeping in health. Her tea is soba tea, 蕎麦 (soba).

Mini dogs

Ruu

The mini type of the black tea Ocha-Ken.

Midori

The mini type of the green tea Ocha-Ken.

Fan

The mini type of the oolong tea Ocha-Ken

Animated series

The Ocha-Ken animated series was aimed at a younger audience. There are 26 episodes, approximately 3½ minutes long, and include a short story and a lesson.

Toys

The Ocha-Ken toys were the original idea of the tea puppies. They are tea-scented and in the first year of its release, 400,000 of the Ocha-Ken toys were sold. They were released by Sega Toys.

Video games

Game Boy Advance

• Ochaken no Heya (December 19, 2003): It is similar to Nintendogs, though this came out before.
• Ocha-Ken Kururin: Honwaka Puzzle de Hottoshiyo- (October 28, 2004) by MTO. This is a puzzle game featuring the Ocha-Ken, and Ocha-Neko.
• Ocha-Ken no Yumebouken (April 28, 2005) by MTO. In this action game, the players control the Ocha-Ken, to go and gather balloons. They can collect parts to make own Ocha-Ken.
• Ochaken no Boukenjima (December 22, 2005)

Nintendo DS

• Ocha-Ken no Heya DS (April 27, 2006) by MTO. This is a Nintendogs-like game, but instead the players play with the Ocha-Ken. By playing mini-games, they can collect parts to make and design your own room. This game got localized to America and Europe under the titles Petz Dogz 2 in America, and Dogz 2 in Europe.
• Ochaken no Heya DS2 (January 18, 2007), another similar game to the first.
• Ochaken no Daibouken - Honwaku Yumemiru Sekai Ryoukou (December 20, 2007)
• Ochaken no Heya DS3 (May 22, 2008)
• Ochaken no Heya DS4 (November 2009)

Nintendo 3DS

• Ochaken to Itsumo Nakayoshi, a virtual pet game from Nippon Columbia, released on December 1, 2011.

Arcade

• Ocha-Ken no Puzzle, released in December 2010 by International Games System. This puzzle game is developed by Compile Heart.

External links

• Official site (Japan) (Japanese)
• Official site (Asia) (Japanese)
• Unofficial site (English)