The Song of Tentomushi

The Song of Tentomushi
Cover art from the first volume of Tentōmushi no Uta, as published by Shogakukan
てんとう虫の歌 (Tentōmushi no Uta)
Genre	Slice of life
Manga
Written by	Noboru Kawasaki
Published by	Shogakukan
Demographic	Children
Imprint	Tentōmushi Comics
Magazine	Shogakukan no Gakushō Zasshi
Original run	1973 – 1975
Volumes	4
Anime television series
Directed by	Hiroshi Sasagawa
Written by	Shigeru Yanagigawa Takao Koyama
Music by	Shunsuke Kikuchi
Studio	Tatsunoko Production
Original network	Fuji TV
Original run	6 October 1974 – 26 September 1976
Episodes	104

The Song of Tentomushi (てんとう虫の歌, Tentōmushi no Uta^?) (lit. "The Ladybug's Song") is manga series by Noboru Kawasaki published from 1973 to 1975 by Shogakukan in their elementary school study magazines in the Shogakukan no Gakushō Zasshi series. The manga was collected in four volumes. An anime series adapted from the manga was created by Tatsunoko Production. The anime was also broadcast in Italy under the title Coccinella. Following Inakappe Taisho in 1970, it was the second of Kawasaki's works to be made into animation by Tatsunoko.

There are seven young brothers and sisters who grow up peacefully supported by the love and care of their parents. As a token of gratitude, the children present a trip to the couple on their wedding anniversary. This heartfelt deed, however, causes a terrible misfortune as their parents are killed while on their travels. Though it is certainly a shocking tragedy to the youngsters, they cannot be left in sorrow for a long time. Rather they have to make efforts to stand on their own feet in a body without depending on anybody else. So, their strenuous and daring living starts anew helping one another with brotherly affection, and their sincere attitude and lively activities gradually win admiration and encouragement from people of the community.

The name of the Isshuu family means "one week". Since they are a family of seven children, each of these children represent a day of the week.

Tsukimi Isshuu (一週 つきみ^?) (Voiced by Mari Okamoto) The eldest daughter in the family, representing Monday. Tsukimi is 11 years old, and is in the 6th grade. She does a good job regarding housework, and even gets good grades in school. However, she struggles with her mother role in the family. In the Italian dub, she is 16 years old.