Until Sakura Momoko's death, she would occasionally write stories for certain episodes and also the recent movie! She owes Maruko-chan's lasting power to the changes the anime made to keep her timeless (the anime /always/ depicts Momoko/Maruko as nine years old, unless it's a kindergarten flashback or otherwise-- but Momoko depicted herself/Maruko as a teen, too, and also also wrote essays about her adult years--one story, about her having appendicitis in her twenties, was adapted to
Interesting, though sad in the sense that she was still contributing to the show but can’t any longer. Hope they manage to pull through, Maruko-chan seems like the kind of show that deserves to just continue forever due to what it offers to its viewers, it’s role isn’t to complete some set plot but to be relatable and supportive for children and like you said, give the older generations realistic childhood nostalgia. I’ve been thinking about this in regards to Pokemon as well, where I believe that TV shows have specific functions in society and Pokemon’s simply isn’t to satisfy the fantasies of its older viewers, Satoshi’s duty isn’t to grow up, it’s to guide his fellow children, and we should judge the show based on how well it fulfills that task.
