The first chapter of this book, “Sannin-gumi tōjō” [Enter the Three], introduces the sixth-grade trio of the title—Hakase, Hachibei, and Mō—clearly defining them by their individual quirks. Hakase studies every morning in the toilet, despite the complaints of his little sister. Hachibei is a class clown who arrives early and waits for the school gate to open, so he can get his favorite place in the school playground. Slow-moving Mō strolls into school after classes begin. One day, Hakase is in the toilet when burglars break into his home, but when he writes a message calling for help on toilet paper and drops it out of the window, the other two can’t read the word “burglary” and don’t know what to do. The third-person narration giving an overview of the action, and the light dialogue revealing the characters’ personalities combine to depict the confusion surrounding the trio. Manga artist Maekawa Kazuo’s illustrations add further life to the characters.
There are four more stories, including those describing an attempt to scare girls by setting up a ghost doll in the pond and a trip to a castle site to dig up an ancient shell mound. Sometimes the boys’ adventures touch on social issues, as when the boys find a woman who has committed suicide, or when a cave one of them strays into at the castle site turns out to be a wartime bomb shelter. The humorous characters and eventful episodes made the book a hit with readers, and it became a popular series with 50 volumes. (OM)
There are four more stories, including those describing an attempt to scare girls by setting up a ghost doll in the pond and a trip to a castle site to dig up an ancient shell mound. Sometimes the boys’ adventures touch on social issues, as when the boys find a woman who has committed suicide, or when a cave one of them strays into at the castle site turns out to be a wartime bomb shelter. The humorous characters and eventful episodes made the book a hit with readers, and it became a popular series with 50 volumes. (OM)