Kimba (Leo)

Series Pages

The titles "Kimba the White Lion" and "Jungle Emperor Leo" refer to a number of works all based on the original manga Jungle Taitei Leo.

This page provides links, basic information, a timeline and treatment of different versions, and a brief discussion of the Lion King controversy.
For more detail on all these subjects, see:

The English dubbed version of the first Kimba TV series is in print on DVD in the US and Australia. The first few volumes of the manga were printed in French but are now out of print.

The setting for all the versions of the Kimba story is Africa, mid-20th century: A white lion, usually called Caesar, wants to give all wild animals a safe haven, free from fear of each other, but he steals pigs and cattle from nearby villages. To stop these raids, a professional hunter is called in, kills Caesar and captures his pregnant mate. The story then follows Caesar's son Kimba, who is born in captivity but escapes and tries to take over his father's position as ruler of the jungle at a very young age. Far from home, Kimba is found by some humans and learns the benefits of human culture, and decides to expand his father's peaceful animal kingdom with what he has learned. Thematically, Kimba treats issues of environmental exploitation by humans, as well as issues of racial prejudice and injustice which it explores through the relationships between different animal species. Tezuka's clear intent is to inspire children to respect nature and think more about the impact of humans on other species, themes common in his later work.

Kimba Timeline

  • 1950 — Original Jungle Emperor manga starts in Manga Shonen magazine.
  • 1965 — Jungle Emperor anime series begins as the first color TV anime series in Japan.
  • 1966 — Theatrical version of Jungle Emperor is released in Japan.
  • 1966 — Jungle Emperor Symphonic Poem (by Isao Tomita) is released on LP.
  • 1966 — Kimba The White Lion (dubbed version of Jungle Emperor TV series) airs in
    U.S.

  • 1966 — Second TV series, Janguru Taitei: Susumu Leo! (Jungle Emperor: Onward, Leo!)
    in Japan, featuring Leo (Kimba) as an adult.

  • 1984 — Jungle Emperor: Onward Leo! comes to the US, as Leo the Lion.
  • 1989 — A new film version of Jungle Emperor is made and shown in Japan.
  • 1991 — A new Jungle Emperor animated film is created, using the Symphonic Poem for its audio.
  • 1993 — The 1965 Jungle Emperor/Kimba The White Lion series is dubbed into English again and airs in this form to the present day.
  • 1994 — Disney releases "The Lion King" - strong similarities to Tezuka's Kimba series spark controvercies over copyright.
  • 1997 — New Janguru Taitei theatrical feature (Jungle Emperor Leo) is released in Japan, based on the second half of Tezuka's original manga story.

Due to licensing confusion and frequent copyright enfringement on early Western language dubs, even Tezuka productions themselves does not have a complete record of the releases of Kimba in European languages, but we have tracked down as many as possible:

Kimba Manga Internationally:

  • The French publisher is Glenat - three volumes were issued in 1997, now out of print.
  • The Italian publisher is Hazard - three volumes were printed in 2005-2006.
  • The German publisher is Carlsen Comics - no further information at this time.

Kimba Anime on International TV:

  • The 1965 TV series was released in the US, Spain, Italy, Germany and Brazil (Portuguese).
  • The second 1966 TV series was released in the US and Italy.
  • The 1989-1990 TV series was released in the US, Italy and Brazil (Portuguese) and probably French. It saw US and Australian video releases.

Kimba Anime VHS and DVD Releases: (for more see Kimba Biz)

  • The complete 52 episode 1965 series, digitally remastered, has been released in a deluxe box set by Rightstuf.com. It contains the English audio only on most episodes, but includes the Japanese pilot, as well as many interviews and extras. It retails for $116.99 at Rightstuf.com. A nearly identical Australian release came out the same year.
  • The 1997 Jungle Empeor Leo film is in print in bilingual US dvd (region 1), released by Mediablasters. It retails for $18 on Rightstuf.com.
  • A set of old, dub-only VHS tapes of the US dub of the 1965 Kimba series was released by Rightstuf entertainment - these are now out of print.
  • A VHS set of the 1989 New Leo series was released by Palm Beach Entertainment in the US at some point - this is also out of print.
  • A 1997 Australian DVD release of the New Leo TV series (1989 series) under the title Leo the Lion contained only the first 6 episodes in PAL format.
  • In 2003 the "Leo the Lion" 1989 series was released region free in the us, duplicating a dub which had previously been released on VH by Palm Beach Entertainment (no details)
  • A 2003 26 episode 4 disc dub-only boxset of the classic dub of the 1965 was released by Rhino entertainment associated with Media Blasters. It is now out of print, having been replaced by the Rightstuf release. The four discs were also released individually in 2003.
  • In 2005 a Canadian paper-slip release by Genius Entertainment included only 8 episodes, region 1.
  • In 2005 39 episodes of the 1977 German dub of the original 1965 Kimba series was released on German DVD, region 2.
  • In 2005 all 52 episodes of the 1965 series were released in an 8 dvd French set by Rouge Citron productions.
  • A second French DVD set of the same 52 1965 episodes was released by Déclic Images in 2006.

THE CONTROVERSY: Did Disney rip off Kimba when they made The Lion King? The similarities are certainly strong and many, including the way the animals are stylized, particular characters (for example the scarred uncle with hyena minions), the images of the main lion's dead parents appearing in the sky or the clouds, even the shape of Pride Rock. The differences are also significant, since humans never appear in The Lion King and the Kimba manga's strong focus on environmentalism and issues of prejudice and social equality are wholly absent from the Disney film which focuses on naturalism and life cycles. Opinions will always differ over whether or not Disney crossed the line in how much Tezuka it borrowed for The Lion King, but in the end the Disney film is (A) different and (B) excellent, and since Tezuka's own early work owed so much to Walt Disney (as you can tell in an instant if you look at Princess Knight) I hope he would have been good-natured about it.

For more on the debate, see Machilo Satonaka's Open Letter to Disney, an example of the Japanese reaction to the release of The Lion King.