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.

 

Mach Go Go Go (1967)

 Mach Go Go Go, better known in the U.S. as Speed Racer, ran for 52 episodes from Tatsunoko Productions. Based on a manga by Tatsuo Yoshida, the series was both released in Japan on Blu Ray in 2024, and the United States saw a Speed Racer Blu Ray in 2017 from Funimation.

I love the smell of an English adapted opening theme song, and while this may not be my favorite version, it is certainly a catchy tune. The inherent premise of 'guy who drives race cars and other racers keep trying to kill him' is sure to land with car enthusiasts, and the addition of a mysterious driver and a missing brother does raise this series above being just a racing anime.

The Japanese Blu-ray releases are lovingly restored, and outside of the animation being of its time, the only real complaints I see visually come from a number of scenes having been photographed or cropped poorly, revealing unpainted areas.

An unpainted area of a scene in Episode 1

The ending credit sequence may not have an original song, but the series of classic cars is quite charming, and the use of a cliffhangers is still novel at this time. I did watch the third episode with the classic English dub, and it is easy to see why Speed Racer was why your average American (my boomer parents and television jokes) had a stereotype for decades about 'those wacky Japanese cartoons' sounding so stilted and repetitive.

 

A less refined American Blu Ray release screencap

People of a certain era clearly have a lot of love for this series, and it has cropped up in a number of parodies. Genndy Tartakovsky in particular seems to have been partially influenced by the show, and with Genndy's influence on the American cartoon scene, Mach's influence still trickles through modern cartoons.

Dexter's Lab parodying Mach GoGoGo