The 53 episode black and white series Tatakae! Osper based on a short manga from the previous year, was the first of only three tv anime series by the studio Nihon Hoso Eigasha. The film masters went missing and only the opening and one episode have been recovered in recent years. The mangaka Koichi Yamano had previously written episodes of Astro Boy and Big X, and was best known for his sci-fi short stories.
The opening is a sample of what purports to be the premise of every episode of the series- Osper fighting his enemy from his home under an alien sea, Drome, who is bent on destroying Earth.The single found episode- episode 41- is incredibly shaky. With only the one episode found, it's unclear if the show's filming system was poor, if bad equipment was used, or if the transfer process to digital caused this issue. I would recommend passing on this for anyone who gets motion sick.
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| 41's final shot |
The episode revolves around evil moths made by Drome that are eventually neutralized by good moths Osper's lady friend helped with. We see a variety of Osper's powers, including laser feet, and while I enjoyed the final shot of the episode, the story boarding and animation, even for the era, feels stiff. Fans of lost media and shonen stories should seek this out, and maybe one day we'll find another episode.
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| The evil Drome |
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