Tottoko Hamutaro Anime Dechu! was the first animated adaptation of Hamtaro that was released directly to VHS. It consisted of four brief episodes and was made available on September 15th, 1999. Shogakukan was the only distributor of this VHS, and it could only be obtained through mail-order from their September 1999 edition. Individuals who worked at Shogakukan and had toddlers were given the tape for free.