Crayon Shin-chan

Shin Chan, or Kureyon Shin-chan (Crayon Shin-chan), is a long running Japanese anime and manga series created by the recently deceased Yoshito Usui. It follows the misadventures of five-year-old Shinnosuke "Shin" Nohara and his family and friends.

It was first dubbed by Vitello in 2001–2002, later by Phuuz and in 2006 by FUNimation, given a more extreme Gag Dub and aired on Adult Swim. The Funimation dub can be watched here. Rated TV-MA, though, so you need an account to see it. A fourth English dub of Crayon Shin-chan was released in 2016 by LUK Internacional.

A-E
"Narrator: "Boy, this show's been swearing more this season. That's either a sign that the Supes support it.. o-or don't care about it! Hey Zach! We're not getting canceled, are we!?" ADR Director Zach Bolton: "Nah, they got like 600 of these in Japan. We'll be doing this for years!""
 * A Boy and His X: Shin-chan and Whitey/Shiro/Lucky.
 * A Date with Rosie Palms: Lollipop in episode 70.
 * A Friend in Need: Shinnosuke is for the most part a Troll who annoys his friends non-stop. But when things get serious, he's always there for his friends when they need it, proving his Jerk with a Heart of Gold status.
 * Hell, this trope is the main plot point of Episode 553b, which highlights the difference between true friends and so-called "friends" who are only there when things are well, yet immediately leave when they're not.
 * Accidental Kiss: It happened with Shin-chan and Georgie/Kazama of all people!
 * Actor Existence Limbo: Which reduced Buriburizaemon to rare cameos after 2000.
 * Alliteration: Misae/Mitsy has two sisters named Masae and Musae.
 * Affectionate Parody: The story tales arcs of the manga and the movies.
 * Alternative Foreign Theme Song: The Vitello dub uses this, making it seem more kid friendly than it really is, but not shying away from showing Shin-Chan's naked buttocks.
 * Art Evolution: The series has undergone a noticeable change in character designs since the comic started in 1992. The art shift is extremely noticeable in the dub, where they don't run episodes in any particular production order. Rather, for the sake of the Gag Dub, they just looked through numerous episodes and chose ones they wanted to work with. Even for episodes that are aired in the order relating to the storylines (such as the Apartment or Kendo story arcs), a more primitive design comes back once in a while.
 * Art Shift: Often lampshaded in the dub.
 * Also between the manga and the anime. The manga has a cleaner, more well-defined style for the characters.
 * Ascended Meme: "You're the dog now, man!"
 * As Long as It Sounds Foreign: The Italian dub often changes the names of some characters with Japanese-sounding names which are actually Italian descriptions of their job, attitude or appearance. For example, once a fat guy was called "Namasa Dekili" ("Una massa di chili", "A big mass of kilos")
 * Author Avatar: Yoshito Usui has not one, not two, but three of them! First is mangaka Usuto Yoshii, who always has the misfortune of being bugged by Shin-chan, often resulting in delays is his manga publications. Second is a one shot character called Toyo Ishiuto who was once bugged by Shin-chan, but it inspired her to write the Show Within a Show Enpitsu Shin-chan. Third doubles also as a Creator Cameo in the fifth movie where Usui himself appears as a young man who likes to sing karaoke, and near the end of the movie ends up being punched in the face by an angry Hiro. Ouch.
 * Author Existence Failure: Yoshito Usui, the creator of the manga, died on September 11, 2009 after falling while hiking on Mt. Arafune. Whether the manga, which was still ongoing at the time of Usui's death, will be continued without him has not been announced.
 * Apparently his comic had enough draft to last until 2010 which then will be continued by another artist...mmm, interesting.
 * Continued by the co-editors and producers who worked along with him for years, as well as his family's consent.
 * Balloon Belly
 * Broken Aesop: NTV7 Malaysia advertises Shinchan as a kids' hero. Seriously?
 * Beware of Hitch-Hiking Ghosts: Subverted in the manga which has a series of AU short stories where the titular character grows up and becomes a cab driver. One of his lady passengers disappears mid-ride, leaving only a puddle of cold water on the seat. Much to said the ghost/passenger's exasperation, instead of realising that she is a ghost, he just becomes angry that the passenger ran off without paying and peed on the seat.
 * Big Damn Movie: While your usual Crayon Shin-chan episode is about Shin's Wacky Hijinks, either in his hometown of Kasukabe, or parodying a fairytale or sci-fi, the movies take a step further with Shin saving the world from outlandish villains, with the help of his family or his friends, while still managing to keep the wacky spirit of the TV series.
 * Do Big Damn Games count too?
 * Big Ol' Eyebrows: All the male Noharas.
 * Black Comedy Rape:
 * In the Funimation dub, Miss Polly is almost always constantly horny. She goes so far as to do research on other adults ("I don't mind if it's small. It's actually better for anal"), and it's implied that she rapes Principal Ench in numerous kinky ways, gets it on with a very willing Mr. K, and tries to get both Miss Katz and Miss Anderson in on the action. Miss Katz realizes her life sucks so much that she eventually submits to the idea of just letting Polly do whatever she wants with her.
 * It's also often suggested that Penny/Nene's mom is often raped by her husband.
 * Book Dumb: Yonro, who just can't seem to get into college.
 * Bowdlerise: Inverted with a vengeance in the American dub (that aired on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim line-up), which was made more like a Japanese version of South Park.
 * Brawn Hilda: Nanako's German roommate Griselda. She claims her muscle mass was mostly a result of the rhinoceros hormones.
 * Break the Haughty: This happens to Kazama often. They tend to be comedic (since it's Shinnosuke who tends to trigger it), but there's also times this has been played dramatically straight (Episode 553b is a good example)
 * Breaking the Fourth Wall: The dub likes to do this now and then. One episode is even titled "Stop Referencing The Show!"
 * The two year Development Hell is mentioned seconds into episode 53.
 * The final episode of season 3 kicks this Up to Eleven right into No Fourth Wall territory. It starts right away in "The Bitzi Saga Conclusion: Alternate Ending", when Mitzi starts talking back to the Lemony Narrator. All of this happens while the episode keeps rolling.

"Georgie: "If enough fans buy our DVDs, we'll be back just like Family Guy and Futurama!" Shin: "The show's over, but we'll live on!" Penny:
 * The rest of the episode just shatters what remains of the 4th wall with nothing but talk of whether Shin-Chan as a series will be cancelled or renewed for a 4th season. Numerous call-backs to previous characters, plot lines, and numerous Take Thats, Shout Outs, and parodies all over the place.

Masao: Penny:"

"Shin: ZO-SAN! ZO-SAN! (When doing the elephant dance) Shin: BURI BURI! BURI BURI! (ASS DANCE! ASS DANCE!) Nene Sakurada: You're not my usual mom! Principal Ench: I am not a Gangster, I am the Principal! Mitzi Nohara: SHIN!!!"
 * Brother-Sister Incest: In an episode, Hima becomes infatuated by a handsome package delivery man. When Shin arrives, Hima snaps, thinking he's the delivery man, and goes after her brother to forcefully steal a kiss from him! Shin's (and Hima's, after realizing who she was kissing) reaction? PRICELESS!
 * Another episode has them taking a bath together, and he mentions that "he'll get naked with her", disturbing Mitzi. Later, he starts showing unusual concern for the size of her breasts when she's older, disturbing Mitzi even further.
 * Butt Monkey: Mitzi, Hiro, and Whitey. Mostly Mitzi and Whitey. Shin quite literally becomes one himself in one of Hiro's dreams. Kazama and Masao also deserve a mention (especially the latter).
 * Call Back: Episode 57 has one to episode 3 -- Shin briefly asks for an allowance again, and Mitzi asks if he's going to do the "honor and a penis" dance immediately afterwards.
 * In Episode 66, Georgie ends up crapping his underwear. Georgie remorses that he lost his 53-episode streak of clean underwear, referencing Episode 13, where Georgie also crapped himself.
 * Casanova Wannabe: All the male Noharas.
 * Casting Gag: In the Funimation dub, Jerry Jewell, best known as Jimmy Kudo from Case Closed, was cast as Happiness Bunny because both roles are entire voiceover without any Mouth Flaps to pay mind to.
 * Catch Phrase:

"Mitzi: "You know, if we were in China right now, you'd be in a dumpster.""
 * Ceiling Banger
 * Chew Toy: Happiness Bunny
 * Child Prodigy: Whenever an episode revolves around him, Boo is often implied to be this.
 * Christmas Cake: Miss Katz's love life eventually gets the best of her as she realizes how alone she really is. After learning how much Penny's abusive father reflects her life, she states that Penny is the only person she knows who's life sucks worse than hers.
 * She was once forced to buy a literal family-sized Christmas Cake to keep appearances.
 * Comic Trio: Shin thinks Ryuko, Ogin and Mary (the Crimson Scorpions of Saitama) are this. Hilarity Ensues!
 * Cloudcuckoolander: Boo takes the cake, though Shin intentionally becomes one to annoy his friends.
 * Crazy Awesome: In-universe, Kenta really IS crazy, but he's a good Kendo instructor because of it.
 * Crazy Homeless People: Again, Kenta, the crazy Kendo instructor, who was abandoned at an orphanage by his father when he was young. He really is a lunatic who feels his ultimate purpose in life is to find Dildor, the Chosen One destined to defeat the evil Slutteress. He's convinced that Shin is Dildor, and persuades him to learn Kendo. Shin decides to go with it just for the entertainment, but actually learns and becomes rather well trained in the process.
 * His father  for his entire life.
 * Cross-Dressing Voices: The little boys are mostly played by adult women, lampshaded.
 * In the four-part story arc, The High School Years, Shin tells Georgie "Yeah, well you have the body of a first-grader. And the ass of a baby. And (in Laura Bailey's normal voice) the voice of a grown woman."
 * In the original, Shin-chan himself is voiced by Akiko Yajima.
 * In the Vitello dub, Shin was voiced by Kath Soucie.
 * Crossover: A ten-minute short has Shin meet the cast of Kamen Rider Den-O (early in its run; Urataros hadn't even appeared yet!) and becoming Kamen Rider Shin-O in order to help save his mother from an Imagin.
 * Darker and Edgier: The dub version, by way of Dead Baby Comedy.
 * The movies in general, as they typically throw the Nohara family into a trying situation, and then mix in a liberal amount of Adult Fear and Fridge Horror.
 * The 18th movie, for example, shows that not terribly long after the present day, a
 * Dead Baby Comedy: Among many examples, the frequent mention of Penny's sister Caitlin who "Lives in the lake now..."
 * Also heavily relied on in the American dub episode "Penny's Mom Abhors Shin".


 * Delivery Stork: When playing house with Shin, Ai declares to Penny that she's pregnant. "Shin and I French-kissed and then the stork came down and knocked me up!"
 * Development Hell: Season 3 of the dub. Several jokes are made regarding the "two-year summer vacation".
 * Dissimile* Ensemble Darkhorse: Happiness Bunny is like the Waspinator of the show. A total woobie in universe, but popular with the fans.
 * ACTION BASTARD!!!!!!!!!!!!
 * The Ditz: Boo
 * Averted in the original, where he's the smartest one in the Kasukabe Defense Force.
 * Expy: Action Bastard, a parody of Kamen Rider.
 * Action Kamen, on the other hand, parodies Tokusatsu heroes generally, but is a mix of Kamen Rider and Ultraman.
 * Kantam Robo's name is based on Gundam, of course, with elements of Mazinger Z and Giant Robo, but his design was apparently altered for the anime to resemble Xabungle and Walker Gallier, since they'd cast Ootaki Shinya to voice him.

F-J
"Shin: "What happens if you take these off?" *Takes off Miss Polly's glasses.* Polly: "THATS ENOUGH YOU ANNOYING LITTLE PRISON BITCHES! NO MORE ARGUING IN MAMA'S HOUSE! GET DOWN ON YOU KNEES AND BEG FOR FORGIVENESS, BUT KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT UNLESS I PUT SOMETHING IN 'EM!""
 * Face of a Thug: Principal Ench, whose face convinces everyone (adults and children alike) that he is a Yakuza. He uses this on occasion.
 * Fiction 500: Ai in the dub.
 * Flanderization: A reminder that Tropes Are Not Bad.
 * Foregone Conclusion: In a flashback episode when Shin was a baby, Hiro was in a happy marriage with Mitzi and expected to reach the top of the corporate ladder by the time Shin was in kindergarten. It's a little sad to see how his life spiraled downward.
 * Fractured Fairy Tale: If it has Shin-chan in it, then it's inevitable.
 * Freaky Friday Flip: With Shin and Mitzi in "Trading Faces".
 * The Friend Nobody Likes: Ai is usually incorpored in the Kasukabe Defense Organization, but no one (except Masao) likes her. It doesn't help she joins them just to be with her "prince" Shinnosuke, who couldn't be less interested.
 * Nene/Penny also has this going on due to her extremely bossy and annoying attitude, making her most of the time unbearable by both the boys and the audience alike. Unlike Ai, though, she shows moments of kindness and friendship to them, which downplays this trope to an extent.
 * From the Mouths of Babes: And Shin knows he is saying the darnedest things.
 * Future Badass: Every main character in the 18th movie Super-Dimension! The Storm Called My Bride... eventually, but only Future!Shin-chan start out this way.
 * Gag Dub
 * The Gadfly: Shinnosuke, bordering on Troll at times. This is especially apparent with Kazama/Georgie.
 * Get It Over With: Happiness Bunny wishes for death, but alas, it was not meant to be.
 * Getting Crap Past the Radar: The writers for the English dub identify this as existing in the original Japanese version in the commentary for an episode involving Action Bastard and a vibrating "back massager." Specifically, the part where Lollipop shows up with it and seems to have trouble walking. And then uses it on Action Kamen's groin.
 * The Glasses Come Off: When Miss Ageo/Polly's are knocked off in episode 57, her personality does a 180!

""Instead of the F word, you should say Flarp.""
 * Gold Digger: Nanako.
 * Good Parents: Hiro, although he can be as bad as Shinnosuke at times. Misae/Mitzi also has her rare moments of being this.
 * Gosh Darn It to Heck: Kenta, the crazy Kendo instructor from The Dildor Saga storyline doesn't like saying the more notorious swear words.

"Enchman: Umm, excuse me." Mitzi: [holding Hiro in a leg lock] What do you want!? Enchman: I received a distress signal and hurried over here. Is there something wrong? Mitzi: No, nothing's wrong. AS YOU CAN CLEARLY SEE, MY HUSBAND JUST FELL DOWN THE STAIRS! [Continues inflicting pain on Hiro] SAY MY NAME, BITCH!"
 * Guilty Pleasure: In-Universe, Georgie's favorite show is the "Princess Heiressz" show, intended for little girls. He always tries to hide the fact that he likes it though (very poorly, as his friends are aware of this).
 * Henpecked Husband: Hiro is Mitzi's bitch, natch.


 * Hey, It's That Voice!: Shin's parents are Hiei and Botan.
 * Hiro is also a psychopath who turned his own daughter into an unholy golem.
 * In the Vitello dub, Shin and Mitsy Nohara were voiced by Kath Soucie, and Cosmo and Uma were voiced by Grey DeLisle.
 * The Vitello dub also sees Hiro, renamed Harry, played by Eric Loomis, a.k.a. Iron Man from the Iron Man 2 tie-in video game, Avengers Earths Mightiest Heroes, and Marvel vs. Capcom 3.
 * Hidden Heart of Gold: Shin Nohara. And when he shows it, awwwwwww!
 * High School AU
 * Hilariously Abusive Childhood: Penny's father.
 * Interestingly enough, Penny (or Nene in the Japanese version) didn't have an abusive father at all in the original. Her Domestic Abuse is entirely exclusive to the English dub. Ironically, having her come from an abusive family actually makes more sense, because it explains why she and her mother are so emotionally unstable and why Penny (as evidenced by the way she plays house with her friends) has such a warped view of marriage.
 * YMMV, in the original manga it was due to her mom's Hair-Trigger Temper getting picked up by Nene and house game is a Serious Business. Her father even sported the Catch Phrase "You're not my usual wife!".
 * Hilarity Ensues
 * Hot-Blooded: The Flamer in season 3.
 * Housewife: According to a bonus web interview, the fact that the Noharas don't quite make enough money for Mitzi to live comfortably as a housewife is the main origin of Mitzi's unusual behavior.
 * Idiosyncratic Episode Naming: Most every Japanese episode title ends with "...zo".
 * Informed Attractiveness: "Hottie" Nonako, who doesn't look that much different from the other women in the series.
 * Incest Subtext: Shin-chan and his paternal grandpa get along very well. Maybe TOO well... (Played for laughs, of course)
 * The original is a more innocent birds of a feather or more possibly perverseness runs in the family given how Misao (Mitzi) and Hima are sometimes.
 * Intrepid Reporter: Mitzi's sister Bitzi claims to be a photographer who ended up getting mixed up with the affairs of third-world hell holes like Africa and Burma. Because of it, she got addicted to drugs and is now trying to kick her habit. She was especially fond of Brown-Brown, which is mixing Cocaine with gunpowder...
 * Jerkass: So many! It's a Sadist Show, after all.

K-O
"Shin: "Are you just going to leave me all alone?" Miss Katz: "Sorry, but I have to get going to my date." Shin: "But what will the Press think when they see you walking away right before the fire?" Miss Katz: "GOD-DAMN YOU, SHIN!""
 * Killed Off for Real: Hottie Nanako mentions that her boyfriend was fatally mauled.
 * In the manga,.
 * Lipstick Mark:
 * Lolicon: Parodied in the Show Within a Show Action Bastard.
 * Outright Lampshaded: "Skirt of blue! Scarf of green! When you're hit by her love beam -- tell the cop she looked eighteen!"
 * "Wait, Action Bastard's companion's name is LOLIpop?"
 * Lollipop's virginity is a Running Gag throughout all of Action Bastard.
 * Only present in the Funimation dub.
 * Long Runner: It's still running, both the manga, maybe, and anime.
 * Looming Silhouette of Rage: Usually Mitzi.
 * Love Hurts: In one episode in the dub, Penny sinks into a deep depression because her dad was taking anger management courses and no longer inflicted injuries on his family. Penny thinks it meant he stopped loving her, because she's never known otherwise.
 * Love Triangle: Maso has a crush on Ai, who has a crush on Shin.
 * Manipulative Bastard: Shin has a way with toying with people's emotions. Quite often, the only reason people stick around him is because they'd feel horrible if they didn't. His meddling is intentional, and sometimes he just says the right audaciously stupid thing to make others worry about him because they know he can't be trusted. It's almost a form of coercion, and he's aware of what he's doing. For example, in one episode, Miss Katz has to walk Shin home because his parents weren't home and couldn't pick him up from school. Miss Katz wanted to leave because she had other things to tend to, but Shin manipulated her to stay.

""Don't forget to wipe your ass!""
 * May-December Romance: Bitzi develops a crush on grandpa Gin.
 * May the Farce Be with You: Shin Wars, including as much homophobic, sexual, and toilet humor as possible -- three things practically non-existent in Star Wars.
 * The Men in Black: Kuroiso (Mr. K), Ai-chan's bodyguard. Guess what the 'Kuro' part means. Also, Mr. K, Get it?
 * Mistaken for Gay: Masao in the dub, Kazama/Georgie in the original.
 * Initially implied to be the case with Ken Nakatomi and Bernie Ota, a pair of detectives, who rent an apartment near the Noharas' as part of an investigation and claim to be a gay couple to cover up in the episode "Stakeout of the Closet". Subverted, because about halfway through their first appearance it becomes increasingly obvious that they both are gay and in denial. In a later episode, their Inner Monologue reveals that they both secretly love each other.
 * In the original they were just posing as father and son, and that's it. Although Shin-chan did suggest that they were a secret couple once as an one-panel gag with no follow-up.
 * Mouthy Kid: Shin, so much. He upholds Children Are Innocent, though.
 * Mushroom Samba: When Shin ends up eating a 'shroom, his parents have no idea that that's even tripping out because everything he says is perfectly within his realm of imagination anyway.
 * Naked People Are Funny: The "Elephant Dance"!
 * No Export for You: None of the movies have made it to the US. The first episodes of the series were only aired in the Vitello dub, which only aired in the UK and Ireland. See Parental Bonus.
 * No Sense of Personal Space: Shin-chan does this to Georgie, much to his annoyance. Even one time, Shin-chan entered Georgie's bathroom, while he was still using it!


 * One of the Boys: Nene/Penny. Played with, since she still forces the boys to play house with her, and how.
 * She also had quite a bit of trouble warming up to The Flamer.
 * Outlived Its Creator: After Usui's death it didn't take long for the announcement that the manga would be continued by his assistants and editors; even so they paid respect to his original run by ending the series at the 50th Volume, the new run not made by Usui is named Crayon Shin-chan Memorial, starting from Volume 1.

P-T
"Shin: You know, it's not polite to spell when some of us can't count. Georgie: I was abbreviating! Shin: And how do you know Yaz's name anyway? Georgie: Uhh... cultural osmosis?"
 * Pandaing to the Audience: Episode 67.
 * Parental Bonus: The Vitello dub aired on Fox Kids in the UK was full of these.
 * Parent Service: Mitzi "secretly" lusts after various Bishonen characters in Action Bastard.
 * One episode even revolved around Mitzi's secret admiration for a new show called Super Biker Ryuu and its title character. At the end, a newspaper had the following news: "Super Biker Ryuu, a favorite among housewives!"
 * Bit of truth in television. Live action superhero shows like Kamen Rider and Ultraman now hire extremely good-looking male actors to play the male characters to appeal to the mother fan-base. The kids watch for the action and the mothers watch for the male actors.
 * Picky Eater: Shin hates green bell peppers.
 * Playing Against Type: For being mostly cast as innocent young girls and the occasional hot woman, Laura Bailey sure shocked us all with her dead-on portrayal of the 5 year old lead.
 * What, and no mention of Akiko Yajima, who is better known for her lady roles?
 * Playing with Fire: The Flamer, who has what are at one point described as "mutant fire powers."
 * Plot Tailored to the Party: The 17th movie, "Howl! Kasukabe Wild Kingdom", has Shin-chan's friends turned into animal versions of themselves, and they discover that their new forms give them an edge in battle (Rabbits can hear well and kick like mofos', Armadillos can bounce around very effectively, and bats can apparently scream good)... But Kazama-kun is turned into a Penguin, and is therefore useless for the entire battle.
 * Popcultural Osmosis: Georgie's response in "Yaz-Manian Devil"

"Shin and Hiro: To be a man you must have honor! Honor and a peeeeeniiiiiiis!"
 * Puppy Love: Parodied in-universe in an episode where Shin imagines himself asking Penny's parents to let him marry her. Shin didn't like the idea, of course. Played for Laughs with Ai.
 * Rated "M" for Manly: The Manly Dance of Trust.

"Penny: Your stick figures suck! Miss Anderson: No, Penny, that's kanji, the Japanese writing we told your parents we're teaching you! Georgie: Riiight...douchebags use it for tattoos! Shin: Mmhm, mmhm, or on this show when they're too lazy to change things to English. Georgie: Stop referencing the show!"
 * Rich Bitch: Ai.
 * Refuge in Audacity: Everything.
 * Running Gag: Several, including:
 * Mitzi giving a strike in Shin-chan's head whenever he misbehaves. Sometimes other characters do this him, as well.
 * Shin-chan making fun of his mom's breast size or her big butt.
 * Shin-chan driving Penny's mom crazy, with Penny crying "You're not my usual mom!" Other times she goes to the bathroom to punch a stuffed bunny, a behavior that even carried over to Penny.
 * Shin-chan's Ass Dance and Elephant Dance.
 * Ms. Yoshinaga (Ms. Anderson)'s rivalry with Ms. Matsuzaka (Ms. Katz).
 * Principal Ench being mistaken for a boss of the Yakuza.
 * Running Gagged: In the Funimation dub, Penny's dad was VERY abusive. However, one late season 2 episode has her dad going to therapy and becoming a good father. It takes her an episode to realize not all Love Hurts. Even after a 2+ years break, the writers seemed to have kept this.
 * Also, the apartment characters went from recurring character status to occasional guest stars once the Noharas moved out.
 * Self-Deprecation:


 * Significant Anagram: In the second movie, Shin-chan meets a prince who is identical to him. His name: Sunnokeshi (anagram of Shinnosuke).
 * Sleep Cute: Georgie and Hima.
 * Slice of Life: When it's not about Shinnosuke's antics, then it's this.
 * The Smurfette Principle: Penny lampshades her status as the Smurfette of the show in the final episode of season 3 by directly referencing this trope.
 * Strawman Political: Played for laughs with Georgie.
 * Subverted Kids Show
 * Shotacon: Parodied in an extended spoof of sports based "High School" shows. Shin only wishes the women he met had this fetish.
 * Small Reference Pools: In an interview on the Adult Swim website the writers talked about how they were able to avert this trope.
 * Shout-Out: Lots, considering the long run of the series. For example, Penny has a crush on a student called Kazuo. She daydreams about him and accidentally calls Kazuo to Maso/Masao. Kazuo and Masao...
 * Theme Tune Cameo: In the Gag Dub, the characters frequently hum along to the background music of the scene. In a couple episodes, they outright sing the ending theme.
 * Third Person Person: Ai in episode 71.
 * Three Shorts
 * Three-Teacher School: Temporarily bumped to four during The Flamer's arc. When it was revealed he would be fired, the kids lampshaded the fact that Miss Katz rarely appears to teach them and suggested firing her in Flamer's place.
 * Throw the Dog a Bone: Miss Polly waited in line at a donut shop to get a "Kream-splosion". If she didn't get one, she'd relapse into her sex craze and everyone would suffer. The customer in front of her bought the last one, and she feared the worst, but the store restocked them. She wanted to buy them all, but every other woman standing in line protested.
 * Too Dumb to Live: Boo. The dub plays with this in "The High School Years" episodes when Boo gets knocked out during a boxing match. One punch to the head and he just stands there and doesn't move. The announcer declares "Victory by Technical Manslaughter" for his opponent. Boo continues to show up for the rest of the episode, but they insist that Boo is a ghost (when he's not). In other episodes, Shin suggests that Boo tends to stare up at the rain with his mouth open, and that he thinks he earns points in dodgeball by just standing there and letting everyone peg him with the ball.
 * Toilet Humor: Sometimes Shin's dialog is just "Farty poop fart fart" or something like that.
 * Okay everybody, who wants to poo? We do!
 * True Companions: The Kasukabe Defense Organization, consisting of Shin and friends.

U-Z

 * Unmoving Plaid: Principal Ench's pants. The English dub added some in-jokes.
 * Vitriolic Best Buds: Shin-chan and Kazama/Georgie. Shin loves to tease him, and Georgie wants to get away from Shin when he does, but deep down, they're the closest friends and do care for each other. Nene/Penny and Ai just as well.
 * Wham! Episode: Volume 47.
 * Wham! Line: Fighting his final foe, and having completed two separate power-ups, Kantam Robo declares that he's "sick and tired of powering up just to continue a bloodbath", then basically self-destructs with his wife to destroy President Gilgiros.
 * Why Did It Have To Be Happiness Bunny?: The Flamer is afraid of rabbits, but was able to overcome it with Shin's help.