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ThunderCats

| 1985-01-12

ThunderCats is an American animated television series that was produced by Rankin/Bass Animated Entertainment and Leisure Concepts debuting in 1985, based on the characters created by Ted “Tobin” Wolf. The series, for which Leonard Starr was the head writer, follows the adventures of a group of catlike humanoid aliens. The animation for the episodes was provided by the Japanese studio Pacific Animation Corporation, with Masaki Iizuka as production manager. The studio was acquired in 1989 to form Walt Disney Animation Japan. Season 1 of the show aired in 1985, consisting of 65 episodes, followed by a TV movie entitled ThunderCats – HO! in 1986. Seasons 2, 3, and 4 each contained twenty episodes, starting with a five-part story.

Plot

ThunderCats follows the adventures of the eponymous team of heroes, cat-like humanoid aliens on a planet called Third Earth.[11] The series plot begins with the dying planet Thundera meeting its end, forcing the ThunderCats (a sort of Thunderean nobility) to flee their homeworld. The fleet is attacked by the Thundereans’ enemies, the Mutants of Plun-Darr, who destroy most of the starships in the “ThunderFleet”, but spare the flagship hoping to capture the legendary mystic Sword of Omens they believe is on board. The sword holds the Eye of Thundera, the source of the ThunderCats’ power, which is embedded in the hilt. Though the Mutants damage the flagship, the power of the Eye drives them back. The damage to the ship means the journey to their original destination is not possible, instead having to journey to “Third Earth”, which will take much longer than they had anticipated. The eldest of the ThunderCats, Jaga, volunteers to pilot the ship while the others sleep in capsules; however, he dies of old age in the process, but not before ensuring they will reach their destination safely. The flagship contains the young Lord of the ThunderCats, Lion-O, as well as the ThunderCats Cheetara, Panthro, Tygra, WilyKit and WilyKat, and Snarf.

When the ThunderCats awake from their suspended animation on Third Earth after ten “galacto-years”, Lion-O discovers that his suspension capsule has slowed, rather than stopped, his aging. He has now become essentially a child in the body of an adult. Together, the ThunderCats and the friendly natives of Third Earth construct the “Cat’s Lair”, their new home and headquarters, but before long, the Mutants have tracked them down to Third Earth. The intrusion of these two alien races upon the world does not go unnoticed, however, as a demonic, mummified sorcerer calling himself Mumm-Ra recruits the Mutants to aid him in his campaign to acquire the Eye of Thundera and destroy the ThunderCats so that his evil may continue to hold sway over Third Earth.

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The Transformers

| 1984-07-11

The Transformers is a half-hour American animated robot superhero television series which originally aired from September 17, 1984 to November 11, 1987. The first of many series in the Transformers franchise, it was based upon Hasbro’s Transformers toy line (itself based upon the Diaclone and Microman toy lines originally created by Japanese toy manufacturer Takara) and depicts a war among giant robots that can transform into vehicles and other objects.

Co-produced between Marvel Productions and Sunbow Productions for first-run syndication, animation for the series was done by Toei Animation in Japan, and later by AKOM in South Korea. The series was supplemented by a feature film, The Transformers: The Movie (1986), taking place between the second and third seasons.

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Space Cobra

| 1982-05-22

The anime series Space Cobra (スペースコブラ Supēsu Kobura) is based on the manga series of the same name written by Buichi Terasawa. The series is directed by Osamu Dezaki and produced by TMS Entertainment. Loosely based in the first eight volumes of the manga, the episodes follows Cobra, a spatial pirate, who enjoys an adventurous life along with his gynoid partner Armaroid Lady.

Space Cobra broadcast between October 7, 1982 and May 19, 1983 on Fuji Television.

The series use two pieces of theme music, an opening theme and ending theme: “Cobra” (コブラ Kobura) and “Secret Desire” (シークレット・デザイアー Shīkuretto Dezaiā) both by Yoko Maeno.

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Ulysses 31

| 1981-12-17

Ulysses 31 (宇宙伝説ユリシーズ31 Uchū Densetsu Yurishīzu Sātīwan, lit. Space Legend Ulysses 31) (French: Ulysse 31) is a French-Japanese animated television series (1981) that updates the Greek mythology of Odysseus (known as “Ulysses” in Latin) to the 31st century. The show comprised 26 half-hour episodes and was produced by DIC Audiovisuel in conjunction with anime studio TMS Entertainment.

Plot

The plot line of the series (made by the French Jean Chalopin) describes the struggles of Ulysses and his crew against the divine entities that rule the universe, the ancient gods from Greek mythology. The Gods of Olympus are angered when Ulysses, commander of the giant spaceship Odyssey, kills the giant Cyclops to save a group of enslaved children, including his son. Zeus sentences Ulysses to travel the universe with his crew frozen until he finds the Kingdom of Hades, at which point his crew will be revived and he will be able to return to Earth. Along the way they encounter numerous other famous figures from Greek mythology who have been given a futuristic twist.

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Mobile Suit Gundam

| 1979-02-04

Mobile Suit Gundam (also known as First Gundam, Gundam 0079 or simply Gundam 79) is a televised anime series, produced and animated by Nippon Sunrise. Created and directed by Yoshiyuki Tomino, it premiered in Japan on Nagoya Broadcasting Network and its affiliated ANN stations on April 7, 1979, and lasted until January 26, 1980, spanning 43 episodes. It was the very first Gundam series, which has subsequently been adapted into numerous sequels and spin-offs.

Plot

In the war between the Earth Federation and Zeon, a young and inexperienced crew find themselves on a new spaceship. Their best hope of making it through the conflict is the Gundam, a giant humanoid robot, and its gifted teenage pilot.

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The Mystery of the Arcadia (OAV)

| 1978-10-30

Space Pirate Captain Harlock is a manga series written and illustrated by Leiji Matsumoto. It was serialized in Play Comic from 1977 to 1979, with the chapters collected into five tankōbon volumes by Akita Shoten. The series follows the titular Captain, an outcast turned space pirate after he rebelled against Earth’s Government and humanity’s general apathy. Space Pirate Captain Harlock was adapted into an anime television series in 1978 directed by Rintaro and produced by Toei Animation.

Plot

In 2977, mankind has space colonies, machines do all the work and everyone just wants to have fun. When deadly plant-based aliens that look like women attack the Earth in order to colonize it, only one rogue captain can stop them.

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Space Pirate Captain Harlock

| 1978-10-30

Space Pirate Captain Harlock is a manga series written and illustrated by Leiji Matsumoto. It was serialized in Play Comic from 1977 to 1979, with the chapters collected into five tankōbon volumes by Akita Shoten. The series follows the titular Captain, an outcast turned space pirate after he rebelled against Earth’s Government and humanity’s general apathy. Space Pirate Captain Harlock was adapted into an anime television series in 1978 directed by Rintaro and produced by Toei Animation.

Plot

In 2977, mankind has space colonies, machines do all the work and everyone just wants to have fun. When deadly plant-based aliens that look like women attack the Earth in order to colonize it, only one rogue captain can stop them.

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Captain Future

| 1978-05-21

In 1978, one year after Hamilton’s death, Toei Animation of Japan produced a Captain Future (キャプテン・フューチャー Kyaputen Fyūchā) anime television series of 53 episodes, based on 13 original Hamilton stories. Despite the differences in cultural references and medium, the animated series was true to the original in many ways, from the didactic scientific explanations to the emphasis on the usefulness of brains as opposed to brawn.

Plot

Curtis Newton, aka Captain Future, is an orphan. His parents died in their artificial satellite while he was an infant. His father was a scientist, who has abandoned earth for the satellite to dedicate his life for science along with his aging friend the genius Dr Simon Wright. Wright senses his death, and decides to implant his brain in a mechanical container. They both manufactured a superior robot and an android. Captain future dedicated his life to fight evil along with his three men, the brain, android, and robot.

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Arrow Emblem: Hawk of the Grand Prix

| 1977-11-08

Arrow Emblem: Hawk of the Grand Prix (アローエンブレム・グランプリの鷹 Arō Enburemu Guranpuri no Taka) is an anime series aired from 1977 to 1978 in Japan. There are 44 episodes aired at 25 minutes each. It is also known as “Arrow Emblem Grand Prix no Taka”. In the United States, it was re-edited to a short movie called “Super Grand Prix”.

Plot

Takaya Todoroki’s dreams of becoming an F1 driver are halted when he crashes his self-built car, but a masked man offers him a second chance, and so Takaya takes on the challenge of establishing his talent with the new Katori Motors team.

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UFO Robot Grendizer

| 1975-11-14

UFO Robot Grendizer (ＵＦＯロボ グレンダイザー Yūfō Robo Gurendaizā), also known as Force Five: Grandizer in the United States, is a Japanese Super Robot anime television series and manga created by manga artist Go Nagai. It is the third entry in the Mazinger trilogy. The anime television series was produced by Toei Doga and Dynamic Planning and broadcast on Fuji TV from October 5, 1975, to February 27, 1977, and lasted 74 episodes. The robot’s first appearance in the United States was as a part of the Shogun Warriors line of super robot toys imported in the late 1970s by Mattel, then in Jim Terry’s Force Five series, both under the title Grandizer. It was widely popular in the Middle East, France, French-speaking Canada and Italy.

Plot

Escaping from Vega’s evil forces, the young Prince of planet Fleed leaves his destroyed homeland aboard the UFO Robot Grendizer, a powerful war machine, and makes it to Earth. Rescued by a bright scientist and fellow earthlings, he fights the saucers and robots sent by Vega, who plans to seize the mighty Grendizer and conquer the whole universe, or destroy it either.

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The Addams Family (1973 Cartoon)

| 1973-08-29

The Addams Family is an animated sitcom adaptation of the Charles Addams cartoons produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions in 1973. Jackie Coogan and Ted Cassidy who played Uncle Fester and Lurch respectively from the 1960s television series returned in voice-over roles.

Plot

The Addams Family consists of husband and wife, Gomez and Morticia Addams, their children, Wednesday and Pugsley, as well as Grandmama, Uncle Fester, and their butler, Lurch. The Addamses are a close-knit extended family with decidedly macabre interests and supernatural abilities. No explanation for their powers is explicitly given in the series.

This series depicts the Addamses on a cross-country road trip, exploring the United States in their Victorian-style camper. Along the way, they stop off at various locations and venues. They inadvertently cause mayhem wherever they go due to their unusual interests and mannerisms, their willingness to trust those who probably shouldn’t be trusted, and their getting swept up in criminal schemes or problems without their knowledge.

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Astroganger

| 1972-11-09

Astroganger (アストロガンガー Astroganga) is a Super Robot anime series created by Knack Productions. It consisted of 26 episodes and originally aired from October 4, 1972 to March 28, 1973.

Plot

An alien woman named Maya crash-lands on Earth. Her homeworld was destroyed by the Blasters, a cruel alien race who steals the natural resources from other planets. She falls in love with a scientist and gives birth to a human boy named Kantaro. When the Blasters invade the Earth, Kantaro must defeat them by fighting with Astroganger, a robot made from living metal.

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Mazinger Z

| 1972-05-11

Mazinger Z (Japanese: マジンガーZ, Hepburn: Majingā Zetto, known briefly as Tranzor Z in the United States) is a Japanese super robot manga series written and illustrated by Go Nagai. The first manga version was serialized in Shueisha’s Weekly Shōnen Jump from October 1972 to August 1973, and it later continued in Kodansha TV Magazine from October 1973 to September 1974. It was adapted into an anime television series which aired on Fuji TV from December 1972 to September 1974. A second manga series was released alongside the TV show, this one drawn by Gosaku Ota, which started and ended almost at the same time as the TV show. Mazinger Z has spawned several sequels and spinoff series, among them being Great Mazinger, UFO Robot Grendizer and Mazinkaiser.

PLOT
Teenager Koji Kabuto pilots the amazing super-robot Mazinger Z to avenge its inventor (his grandfather) against the Mycene Empire, led by the evil mad scientist Doctor Hell.

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Astro Boy • 1963 Series

| 1963-12-23

The Astro Boy animated television series premiered on Fuji TV on New Year’s Day, 1963, and is the first popular animated Japanese television series that embodied the aesthetic that later became familiar worldwide as anime. It lasted for four seasons, with a total of 193 episodes, the final episode presented on New Year’s Eve 1966. At its height it was watched by 40% of the Japanese population who had access to a TV.

Plot

The first Astro Boy anime is set in the year 2013, rather than 2003 of the original manga. Dr. Tenma, a scientist working in the Ministry of Science’s Department of Precision Machinery, loses his only son, Tobio, in a car-crash. Out of grief, he orders the production of a “super-robotic” in Tobio’s likeness. Though the robotic is the most advanced anyone has ever seen, he is not pleased with it because it does not grow, and in a fit of rage he sells it to the circus. After this, he loses his job at the Ministry of Science and rarely appears again. He harnesses a complicated relationship towards robotics, mainly believing that they should not be treated as humans but as slaves.

In the circus, where robotics exist but are a lot more primitively made than Tobio (now named Atom), they are forced to participate in fighting tournaments similar to gladiator battles. However, Atom wishes to be peaceful. Eventually, he runs into Professor Ochanomizu, the man who succeeded Dr. Tenma at the head of the Ministry of Science; Ochanomizu is treated much differently than Tenma, being regarded as a savior figure by the robots for his affection and kindness towards them that Tenma did not possess. After realising how advanced Atom is compared to the rest of the other robotics, he sets him free from the circus, becoming a surrogate father figure to him.

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