Vacation is almost over, so it's back to the usual animated TV show grind. This week's episode of "Chibi Maruko-chan" — the 1051st! (Fuji TV, Sun., 6 p.m.) — finds the eternal elementary school student coming home from class on Saturday to an almost empty house, which is unusual.

Her grandfather is off on an excursion with a group of seniors and her older sister is spending the day at a friend's house, so it's only Maruko and her mother. They eat lunch together in strained silence because the mood in the house is so different. But during the afternoon, Maruko discovers new things about her mother: She finds doodles on the back of a supermarket flyer and realizes that her mother takes a nap because housework wears her out. She finds this new information heartening and by the end of the day grows to appreciate her mother even more.

At the other end of the cartoon-child spectrum is everybody's favorite smart-mouthed kindergartner "Crayon Shin-chan" (TV Asahi, Fri., 7:30 p.m). In this week's episode Shinnosuke and his family go to a rice paddy to learn how to plant seedlings. Also there is a slightly older neighborhood friend, Kazuma-kun, and his mother, who are doing the same thing.