The Soreike! Anpanman children's anime franchise is now the verified Guinness World Record Holder for the highest number of characters in an animated franchise. As of March 27, 1,768 characters have appeared in the first 980 episodes of the Soreike! Anpanman superhero comedy television series and the first 20 Anpanman films. The producers actually submitted a world record application for over 2,000 characters in May, but some "characters" such as the Pan Kōjō (Bread Mill) and Baikin Shiro were disregarded by Guinness. The television anime series premiered on October 3, 1988, and it will mark its 1,000-episode milestone on August 28. The 21st film, Soreike! Anpanman: Dadandan to Futago no Hoshi, just opened in Japan on July 4. The Bandai conglomerate opened the Anpanman Children's Museum in the coastal city of Yokohama in 2007, and it even opened a hair salon at the museum later that year. Not only is Anpanman manga creator Takashi Yanase still alive at 90 years old, but he still judges the Japan Cartoonist Awards. Most recently, he created a 20-minute animated video to teach children in his Shinjuku ward of Tokyo about safety. Yanase reportedly said that the person most surprised by the world record is the creator himself. Sources: ANN
