Parental Divorce Crisis! What Saved Them Were the Children’s Tears—Chibi Maruko-chan’s Hilariously Absurd Reason Left Everyone Flabbergasted

This is one of the most serious episodes in Chibi Maruko-chan. Maruko’s mother (CV: Mie Suzuki), after having a huge argument with her father (CV: Yūsaku Yara), decides to leave home. What will the children do...? All the tear-jerking scenes, such as desperate pleas from Maruko (CV: TARAKO) and the others, are cleverly set up just to lead to a hilarious punchline.

Episode 47 of the first season, “Dad and Mom Fight” (Japanese title:「お父さんとお母さん　けんかする」), as the name suggests, deals with a crisis of marital separation. One morning, Maruko wakes up much earlier than usual for some reason. Sensing something amiss, she goes to her parents’ room, only to find a tense atmosphere hanging in the air, with her father and mother exchange lines: “It’s a divorce, then.” “I suppose so.”

What follows between Maruko and her older sister (CV: Yūko Mizutani) could be called one of the most memorable scenes in the series. The sisters have a secret conversation about which parent they would go with if their parents separated. The silence when they realize there’s a possibility they might have to live apart is indescribably heavy... Even though she tries to appear strong, the sight of the older sister shedding a single tear after Maruko leaves the room is just heartbreaking.

Thanks to Maruko and her sister’s tearful pleas, the divorce is somehow avoided. All seems well in the end, but what was the reason for their parents’ fight in the first place?