Misae and Hiroshi in their younger years
Hiroshi Nohara (野原ひろし) (35 years old), Harry Nohara in the Vitello, Phuuz and Dutch dubs, is the father of the Nohara family, and its sole source of income as he works at as kakarichô (a low-level manager) at Futaba Shoji where he does overtime to earn a little more money and because of the 32-year mortgage he still has to pay. Quite surprisingly he still manages to have time to spend with his family. He met Misae Koyama at the age of 29 and after making her pregnant with Shinnosuke, the two wed.
He is a loving father to his two children, and ultimately a devoted husband. While he is the family breadwinner, he hands the reins of finance over to his wife, who maintains a totalitarian level of control on family spending. He is a stereotypical Japanese salaryman, working eight-hour days, enduring overstuffed trains, enjoying the occasional nightlife, and giving every bit of his take home pay to his wife every month. He is a quiet, reasonable person, who is almost always invited by his boss or a worker, to drink beers, were he almost always gets drunk.
He used to smoke a lot, when Misae was pregnant by Himawari, he quit smoking as a favor for her. He was born in Omagari, Akita (a village in Daisen, Akita), and has an older brother and niece.
Relations
While his relationship with his family is positive on the whole, there is an abundance of recurring conflict. He and his wife bicker on many different things, from how little he gets for spending money every month, to whose turn it is to give the baby a bath. Misae is also notorious for inflicting violence on Hiroshi whenever she gets very angry (usually when his gaze wanders to younger women). He often dreams about being a playboy while he sleeps as an escape, though this is usually interrupted by some external stimulation. He enjoys a playful relationship with his children; but sometimes they're the source of his problems. He loves a cold beer after work and shares Shin-chan's appreciation of TV shows with young women in skimpy clothing, often getting too excited about it for Misae's liking. He will not hesitate to save his allowance for things he wants, but can be seen spending much of it on things for family.
Shin-chan probably has inherited some of his lecherous habits from Hiroshi, who ogles pretty young things just as often as his son (and is chastised by Misae just as often, too). However, he is faithful to his wife, but only when awake: his dreams often deal with an office romance (and are usually rudely interrupted by Shin-chan's antics).
Where Misae is the stern disciplinarian, Hiroshi barely lays a hand on his son to reprimand him, but rather attempts to defuse Misae's temper with a few "maa, maa"s ('Now, now...') now and again. When Misae asks him to properly scold Shin-chan, Hiroshi tends to just sit down with the boy and tell him (tiredly) to shape up. He's also able to convince Shin-chan to go places he would normally not want to go by telling him about the beautiful women who are bound to be there, although this tends to incur his wife's wrath.
His weak point, as far as being belittled by his son goes, is his smelly socks, which are often used to wake up, threaten, and/or punish any member of the family, including the dog.
He calls Misae by her first name, not "Oi" ('Hey!'). Hiroshi generally sets a good example for Shin-chan, rarely coming home drunk and hardly ever using violence. Since Hiroshi rarely comes home late, the Noharas can usually eat dinner together, whether at home or at a restaurant. Even dining at fancier restaurants is a family affair. Misae and Hiroshi do have their quarrels, but they always, always kiss and make up. When Hiroshi was asked to take a month-long business trip to Osaka, he wept at the thought of leaving his wife and son.
Mr. and Mrs. Nohara have never gone anywhere without their son. When Misae won a trip to Guam, all three Noharas went; they go to zoos, spas, art museums, and baseball games as a family. Perhaps this is becoming more common in Japan nowadays, but certainly the stereotypical image is of the dad too busy with work or too tired of it to do anything with the family when he is home, which isn't often, due to extended overtime and group-building company activities. Then again, the story wouldn't be as fun if the main rabble-rousing character weren't in it.
Voice actors
English:
Vitello Dub: Eric Loomis
Phuuz Dub: Peter Doyle
Funimation Dub: Chuck Huber
Japanese: Keiji Fujiwara
German: Detlef Bierstedt
Korean: Won Hyeong Choi, Sae Hong Oh
Polish: Jaroslaw Domin
French: Frederic Meaux
Hindi: Gaurav Marwaha
Art evolution
Anime
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