Oruchuban Ebichu is an anime based on a comedy manga by Risa Ito.

The series utilizes crudely drawn animation, which is reminiscent of the animation used in Crayon Shin-Chan. The tone of Oruchuban Ebichu is also similar to the tone of Crayon Shin-Chan.

The idea for this anime series came about during the voice recording sessions for another anime, Neon Genesis Evangelion. Kotono Mitsuishi, one of the voice actors for Neon Genesis Evangelion, would read this manga between takes. She would laugh at the humor, and share with the others what she was reading. Ultimately, after getting enough exposure to the manga, Gainax decided that Oruchuban Ebichu should be produced as an anime. There are also in-jokes about Oruchuban Ebichu that show up in Neon Genesis Evangelion.

Oruchuban Ebichu is about a talking hamster named Ebichu, who is devoted to her rather indifferent owner. Ebichu's owner is a woman in her 20s, who is only known as “Office Lady” (OL). OL tends to give cynical commentary, and will occasionally beat on Ebichu if the hamster irritates her enough. OL is usually irritated by Ebichu's lack of tact, and how the hamster tends to embarrass her owner in front of other people.

Ebichu takes it all in stride, though. However, Ebichu doesn’t like OL's boyfriend, Kaishounachi (which means "worthless man"). OL's boyfriend tends to come over late, give lame excuses or tells outright lies about why he's late, and tends to leave in a hurry.

While this series may feature a hamster as a main character, it is definitely not meant for young viewers. Oruchuban Ebichu is very adult in nature, and includes explicit violence, innuendo, and sexual scenes. However, the sexual content is played for laughs rather than for "fanservice." There is also a bit of blood included, especially when OL hits Ebichu and sends her flying toward a nearby wall.

It has been a bit of a running joke that Oruchuban Ebichu is the polar opposite of Hamtaro, a wholesome anime that features a talking hamster as a main character. With all of this in mind, I would personally recommend Oruchuban Ebichu to anime viewers who are 18 years of age and older.

Title	Episodes	Release Year(s)	Director	Studio	N.A. Licensor
Oruchuban Ebichu	24	1999	Makoto Moriwaki	Group TAC	N/A