Internet Archive | Chibi Maruko Chan

For a second, no one moved. Then, the front door slid open. “I’m home!” called her mother, Sumire. “Why is the air conditioner off?”

The summer sun beat down on the small town of Shimizu, making the cicadas sing their loudest song. Inside the living room of the Sakura household, however, the only sound was the rhythmic click-clack of a mouse and the soft hum of a bulky, beige computer.

“They’re talking about us, Grandpa!” Maruko squealed. She scrolled down. One user had written: “Tomozou-san is the best anime grandpa. He would do anything for Maruko. I wish he was my grandpa.” chibi maruko chan internet archive

Maruko, still pale, pointed a trembling finger at the dead computer. “The past… is haunted.”

Tomozou patted her head. “Of course, Maruko. Some things are stronger than the Internet.” For a second, no one moved

She had typed in the only thing she could think of: her own name. “Chibi Maruko-chan.”

Her mother sighed. “Maruko, I told you not to play on that thing. You broke it, didn’t you?” “Why is the air conditioner off

“Aaah!” Maruko shrieked, scrambling backward and knocking over her juice box.

“Someone in a country called ‘Canada’ drew this,” Maruko whispered, her voice full of awe. “A long, long time ago. They wrote, ‘I love Maruko-chan. She is my best friend.’”

“There’s more!” Maruko clicked another link. It was a preserved forum discussion from 1999. The topic read: “Who is funnier, Maruko or her grandpa?”