Pyun Pyun Maru

 Pyun Pyun Maru- based on Ninja Awate-maru- from Toei ran for 26 episodes.

 

This kid would fit in with Naruto's orange tracksuit so well. The humor feels like Osomatsu-kun type comedy of the era. AND SHOUTOUT TO THESE TWO GAY NINJAS

King Kong and 001/7 Tom Thumb

King Kong: 001/7 Tom Thumb, or The King Kong show, is the first anime that was an outsourced  production for America- Rankin/Bass specifically. The series was produced by Toei for 26 episodes, and the first 10 episodes have been released in America on DVD, with some of the remaining episodes missing. Each episode consists of a a King Kong segment, a Tom Thumb segment, and another King Kong segment.

Our protagonist child Bobby finds King Kong and trains him like a very smart dog whose size varies drastically between scenes. The half minute dance segment in the middle of the first episode was jarring. Kong does fight a giant octopus and t-rex in the first episode if you're craving kaiju fights, and the second episode is a gentler version of the classic Kong on the Empire State Building.

Cheating at this entry, I watched only the first two Kong episodes and episodes 7 and 8 of Tom. Tom has a vintage, inspector gadget, bumbling hero with competent sidekick dynamic, simple and stylized characters in short save the world with bad jokes episodes. 

Kong may be fun for fans of the monkey himself, and if you enjoy classic 1960s spies and gadget series, Tom may be for you.

 

Kaminari Boy Pikkari★bee

Kaminari Boy Pikkari★bee ran for 53 episodes from Children's Corner, based on the manga from Tsunezō Murotani, best known for educational manga. It was released on DVD in Japan in 2005.

A little oni boy with a magical top hat joins a family and causes mischief. The humor is reminiscent of Akatsuka's works as fast paced over the top slapstick comedy. What is original here is an old woman with a naginata who I love dearly. 

The dvd quality is.... low but for such an old show that did not seem to have the cultural impact of some of its peers.I do wonder if Pikkaribee was at all an inspiration for Ten from Urusei Yatsura, or if I'm just lumping all small oni boys together.

We do still have racist caricature of island natives, who really seem to be the punching bag of this era. If you can get past that, Pikkari*Bee is a fun older Showa comedy great for fans of child driven silly comedies. 

Adventure on the Gaboten Island

 Adventure on the Gaboten Island, or Bouken Gabotenjima, from TCJ, is a black and white adventure anime that ran for 39 episodes. Multiple manga adaptations were produced after the anime's completion.

 Five children sneaking into a theme park at night I understand. All running into each other on a submarine ride makes sense. The submarine being fully functional and breaking off the track chains so easily makes these kids ending on on a deserted island the best case scenario for the amusement park company. Said island being a miniature filmed for parts of the opening is charming.

 

 Th island backgrounds, even in grayscale, are appealing, and the cast is designed to easily present the archetypes of our core cast- leader, rival, smart, fat, and girl. This is a common group design we will see again throughout time, so it's interesting to see this early iteration.

 

The amount of plants trying to kill the children is surprising for an adventure comedy, but some danger is a part of the children's fantasy of island life. Like a gorilla friend. Far more Swiss Family Robinson than Lord of the Flies, Gaboten island is cute kids series for anyone longing for a (somewhat deadly) island paradise of their own.

 

Ogon Bat

Ogon Bat, or Golden Bat, is a 52 episode adaptation by Asatsu-DK, based on the popular Paper Theater character of the 1930s- named after the cigarette brand-, whose popularity persists to the currently running Champion Red manga adaptation. While a number of manga have been made about this early superhero, a notable version would be from Osamu Tezuka, published in the early 1940s.

The golden skull faced Ogon Bat from Atlantis wakes 10,000 years into his future in present day. A young girl named Mary often summons our Bat after he is awakened by her to fight the scientist Nazo. Episodic villainous schemes are put to a stop by the mysterious hero and his catchy theme song that served for both opening and ending song.

The idea of a hero being summoned by another- a child- was seen in Big X with a robot, but as a fan of bats and skulls, this is far more my speed. Nazo's appearance with a claw arm and cat-like ears are reminiscent of Inspector Gadget's Dr. Claw. I would have liked to see more of Atlantis before it sinks back into the sea by the end of the first episode, but I guess it's fine since the backgrounds are nice, but not anything breathtaking. I did chupse at yet another portrayal of native islanders who made a brief appearance in episode two. 

Bat Bat Bat Bat Bat Bat Bat Bat Bat Bat

The art style may leave something to be desired for the average viewer, but the series has a strong personality- and a high body count. Nazo is not messing around. It feels odd that this is the only anime for such an influential character, so a few episodes would be good for anyone to check out- especially superhero fans.

Also the way Mary prays for Ogon Bat's help reminds me of Chibi-usa and Helios I had to toss this in somewhere take that how you will.

Perman

 The 54 episode Perman- split into 108 segments- from studio TMS is based on the manga by the Fujiko Fujio duo. The series was released in 2024 on BluRay in Japan, although the audio for a handful of segments is lost or heavily damaged. 

The idea of an alien giving his powerful technology to a random child so they can be a local superhero is one of those premises that understandably appeal to children. As an adult, this man really just gave some kid who happened to find him in a field wild abilities. Our protagonist does immediately drop a bully child from a high height with his flight, and I have to forcibly remind myself this is a silly comedy show for children. The monkey helps remind me of this.

 

Descriptions of later elements sound like the series has a few more elements, like the robotic duplicate of Mitsuo coming to resent him, and additional heroes with their own stories, though comedy will always be the driving element. I did enjoy local zoo animals escaping due to problems with the robot duplicate. It's also interesting that at no point does the series change to color.

 

A children's comedy about a superman-like may appeal to Shazam fans, and certainly Fujio fans will enjoy the humor.

Ribon no Kishi

Ribon no Kishi, or Princess Knight, is a 52 episode series from Mushi Pro based on the Osamu Tezuka manga of the same name. It has been released in the United States as a dub only disk under Nozomi, and in Japan as of 2008. 

 

Due to an angel screwing around, a princess is born with two hearts- one of a boy, and one of a girl. The angel Tink must help the now adolescent Sapphire, who was raised as a boy to keep the throne from falling into the clutches of evil. Sapphire is happy to keep both their hearts, while embracing both sides of the royal spectrum.

 

I can't say I'm a fan of the opening or ending theme song, but the animation is delightful. I have enjoyed the manga in the past, and the series is fully of the style of humor Tezuka's works are known for. I also did not expect to see Hecate, a minor antagonist turned ally, appear in the second episode. 

Hecate

 

Princess Knight's aesthetics were heavily based on Takarazuka works- all female musicals known for their handsome women playing the male roles. If any of this sounds familiar, both Takarazuka and Princess Knight have influenced any girl prince or lady knight that came after. Lady Oscar from Rose of Versailles, Sailor Uranus from Sailor Moon, Utena from Utena, Pearl from Steven Universe. 

 

What I am trying to say is if you like gender fluid and butch women with swords, Ribon no Kishi is the first within anime to deliver. There are times where our protagonist loses one heart and the gender stereotypes are out in full force, but on the whole, its a strong start to queer anime.Unrelated, here's an image of Sapphire and Hecate from a Black Jack gag manga.