Zenmai Zamurai

200 years ago, Zenmai Zamurai, who was originally named as Zennosuke (ぜんのすけ) at that time, was a thief by profession, but not a very skilled one. While stealing dumplings from a house one night, he saw a mouse and started to run away, but he fell down into a well and died. Luckily, he was resurrected by Daifukunokami (大福の神), who is known as the God of Bounty. A wind-up key, Zenmai (ぜんまい) was placed on Zennosuke's head. If the key winds down, Zennosuke dies. The only way the key can be wound is by Zennosuke doing good deeds, and if he does it 108 times, he will be released from his servitude to the god. In order to achieve this end, he is given the Dango-ken (だんご県), which is a sword with colorful Japanese Dumplings skewered onto it. Whenever Zenmai Zamurai sees people doing injustice or generally being out of control, he uses his sword to shoot the dumplings into their mouths. When people eat the dumplings, they suddenly become happy and suddenly becomes good people. He helps out everyone in many ways. Whenever he does well, a rainbow comes out of the sky to wind up his key. His name and the theme of the show is based on a short Japanese proverb, "Ichinichi Ichizen" (一日一膳), which means "Do a good deed daily".

• Zenmai Zamurai (ぜんまいざむらい) The main character in the show. He wears a windup key on his head and a sword with colorful dumplings on it. He is very friendly but always knows when things are getting out of control. He lives at Dangoyababa‘s Ippuku Dumpling Shop with his best friend, Mamemaru. Zenmai also has a fear of rats. Whenever he sees one, he begins to overreact and starts to get insomnia. Zukin-chan is in love with him.
• Mamemaru (豆丸) - Zenmai's diminutive best friend and a ninja in training. He has a habit of wetting his bed while sleeping. He is short, but he wishes to be tall someday. He is the eldest son of his parents and three brothers and sisters in a family of five. He has a younger brother, Azukimaru (あずき丸), and a younger sister, Goma-chan (ごまちゃん).
• Zukin-chan (ずきんちゃん) - The main female character in the show. She's a good friend of Zenmai and they show a mutual affection towards each other. Her bonnet hides a large, brown afro, but she seems to not like the afro. She also has a pet dog named Botan (ボタン).
• Cha-jiji (茶じじ) - Zukin-chan's grandfather. He's very protective of her and has an eye on for the younger women of the village. When he was young, he was a swordsman who had won many swordsmanship tournaments. He likes to relax with a cup of tea with his cat, Matcha (まっちゃ).
• Dangoyababa (だんごやばば) - An elderly woman who is the owner of the Ippuku Dumpling Shop. She doesn't it when Mamemaru wets his bed. She has long lost her looks, but more often than not tries to act young and attractive, which is met with disgust by the men of the village.
• Namezaemon (なめざえもん) - The main antagonist in the show. He is a rich aristocrat who has a sword with gold coins on it. He uses his gold coins as money and gets whatever he wants. He is very arrogant, selfish, and narcissistic. He is in love with Zukin-chan and will do anything to get Zenmai out of the way. Namezaemon also has a mother. She is known as the "Licking Mama."
• Nazonotengaiotoko (謎の天蓋男) - A mysterious man who wears a komusō. He was sent by Daifukunokami to watch over Zenmai Zamurai from the shadows, and when he does his good deeds, he writes on the scroll, "Zenmai Zamurai will do good again today." Even though Zenmai doesn't do any good deeds, he still writes down that he still does well.
• Pierre (町人ピエール) - An English teacher from Portugal. His spoken Japanese has a strange accent, but he studies hard and has quickly learned how to read and write in kanji, as well as how to say some very difficult tongue twister. He also likes to eat sushi. Dangoyababa is in love with him. During his childhood, he also had a friend named Alice (アリス), who can speak English and Japanese. She also knows the English alphabet.
• Kamichiyo-san (かみちよねーさん) - A charming, nice woman who wears a lot of makeup. She is a teacher at a school and teaches everyone many things. She also stays inside a fortune telling box, where she tells people in the village where they can predict their fortune and give advice. Pierre is in love with her. She also has a pet fish named Kin-san (金さん)
• Akutoridaikan (あくとり代官) - A chef who always wished to remove evil in the world. He lets people in the village eat his ramen and udon. When he was young, he ate nothing but a large pot of udon.
• Daifukunokami (大福の神) - A god who gave Zenmai a windup key and a dumpling sword. He told him that doing good deeds can wind up his key. He lives in the sky full of clouds. He likes to listen to music.
• Watāme-hime (わたあめひめ) - Daifukunokami's niece. She cast spells to summon clouds. She also helps Zenmai whenever he's in trouble. She also gave him a rainbow Dango-ken sword with extra dumplings on it. The rainbow dumplings can turn others more happier when eaten. She also likes Namezaemon.
• Akutare Zamurai (アクタレざむらい) - An evil counterpart of Zenmai Zamurai. The wind-up key on his head is his big weakness. If he gets struck by lightning, the polarity of goodness inverts and he becomes the evil Akutare Zamurai. What he likes is cause mischief, playing pranks on, and makes life difficult for everyone. The dumplings on his sword also changes into slimy balls which turn others evil when eaten. If he gets struck by lightning again, he turns back into Zenmai Zamurai.

• Official website (in Japanese)
• Zenmai Zamurai (anime) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia