クレヨンしんちゃん外伝

クレヨンしんちゃん外伝 is a Japanese animated comedy streaming television series directed by Michio Mihara in its first and third seasons, by Shinnosuke Yakuwa in its second season, and by Akira Shigino in its fourth season. Produced by Shin-Ei Animation, it premiered on Amazon Prime Video on August 3, 2016, labeled as a Prime Original. The series ended its original run of 52 episodes on August 3, 2017 after four seasons of 13 episodes each. Each episode lasted seven minutes and was released every Wednesday, with a short 2-4 week hiatus between seasons.

The series is an adaptation of the Crayon Shin-chan anime series, also taking elements from chapters of the original manga series. It was created as a celebration for the 25th anniversary of the television series. Going beyond the Nohara family's daily life in modern-day Japan, each season has a unique setting and an unimaginable storyline.

Season 1
The first season of the spin-off series is a "sealed room" thriller suspense comedy set in the year 2216, starting with the entire Nohara family, their neighbors, their pet dog, and some new characters waking up from cold sleep to find themselves stranded aboard a spaceship drifting in space. The anime depicts the various events that take place inside the ship. No one knows why they're on the ship. In addition, despite the total number of people on board being ten plus a dog, only nine of the sleeping capsules that kept them asleep for 100 years exist, which suggests one of them may be an alien.

Season 2
The second season's plot is taken from the "Figure Wars" story in the 41st volume of the original manga, beginning when toys of Oban, a character from a tokusatsu show, become popular, but also lose popualrity quickly. Many unsold Oban toys are thrown away. A bolt of lightning strikes one of these toys one day, and gives it life. Alongside other toys thrown away by people, Oban swears revenge on humans, and attacks. At the same time, Oban's sworn enemy, Middle-Aged Mask, is given life, normally an overweight and depressed man, who powers up by eating cup noodles. Alongside Shinnosuke, he fights to reclaim peace for the world.

Season 3
The third season adapts the "Lone Wolf and Family" story from the original manga, which is based on Kazuo Koike's Lone Wolf and Cub manga. It begins with master butt-swordsman Hiroshinosuke Nohara, or Lone Wolf, who travels with his family seeking employment. The family encounters a mysterious girl named Hazumi and a wild dog named Shiro, deciding to travel together. The group is attacked by various assassins, and eventually their lives are threatened by the butt-swordsmen's enemy, the armpit-swordsmen of the Demon Bull Clan. Against an array of idiosyncratic enemies, Hiroshinosuke Nohara and his son Shinnosuke have the chance to display their swashbuckling skills to determine whether butts or armpits will win.

Season 4
The fourth season is an homage to the classic supernatural manga and anime Gegege no Kitaro. Beginning in a small country town which has recently witnessed many strange incidents, a yōkai kindergartener, Oh Oh Oh no Shinnosuke, and his yōkai father, Tamatama Dad, arrive in town. They are said to be looking for the yōkai Big Butt Mom, who has run away from home. When an elementary school girl named Fumie Sakura is suddenly attacked by the mysterious Fuzzy Wuzzy, a superfluous-hair yōkai, Shinnosuke goes to her aid. Their encounter is the start of the greatest yōkai case in the small town's history, and together they start a monster-busting business.

International versions

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