Anpanman is a Japanese children's superhero picture book series and media franchise written by Takashi Yanase, running from 1973 until the author's death in 2013. The series has been adapted into an anime entitled Soreike! Anpanman , which is one of the most popular anime series among young children in Japan. The series follows the adventures of Anpanman, a superhero with an anpan for a head, who protects the world from an evil anthropomorphic germ named Baikinman.