Tezuka In English
Category: Anime

Astro Boy (Anime – 1963-66 TV Series)

 

Astro Boy (1963-66)

 

 

 

Broadcast Information

Original run: January 1, 1963 – December 31, 1966
Produced by: Mushi Production
Network: Fuji TV Network
Episode count: 1963
Format: Black & White
Genre: Science Fiction
Cast: Astro Boy, Dr. Ochanomizu, Uran, Cobalt, Higeoyaji, Dr. Tenma, Inspector Nakamura, Inspector Tawashi

Jeffbert’s guide to Astroboy B&W anime, sorted according to the English sequence. Includes links to the manga stories that inspired these episodes.

Astroboy Manga Index (much of the same data as below, but sorted by earliest to latest manga published.

Note that the hyperlinks are on the 1st versions of the stories, rather than being all in a certain column.

Astroboy B&W anime
English # English Title Japanese # Japanese Title (TezukaOsamu.net) Manga # Manga title (TezukaOsamu.net)
1 Birth of Astro Boy, The 1 Birth of Astro Boy SH-00 Captain ATOM
MA-01 Birth of Astro Boy
SS-11 Dr. Tenma
SS-13 Astro goes to the Circus
2 Colosso 2 Frankenstein Sh-03 Frankenstein
3 Expedition to Mars 3 Adventure on Mars Sh-07 Adventure on Mars
4 Sphinx, The 5 Sphinx Sh-14 Frozen Man, The
5 Cross Island 12 Cruciform Island Sh-25 Cruciform Island
6 Grass Boy 15 Plant People Sh-42 Plant Man
7 Zero, the Invisible Robot 6 Lightning Man Sh-11 Lightning Man
8 Silver Comet 16 Vehicle, White Planet, The Sh-49 White Planet
9 Hullabaloo Land 17 Robot Land Sh-47 Robot Land
10 Spirit Machine, The 8 Ghost Manufacturing Machine Sh-21 Ghost Manufacturing Machine
11 Strange Voyage 10 Fool Ivan, The Sh-30 Fool Ivan, The
12 Artificial Sun, The 14 Artificial Sun, The Sh-35 Artificial Sun Ball
13 Deep Freeze, The 9 Black Looks Sh-22 Black Looks
14 One Million Mammoth Snails 4 Guernica Sh-12 Guernica
15 Gangor the Monster 18 Gadem Sh-32 Gadem
16 Secret Agent 3-Z 30 Führer ZZZ Sh-10 Führer ZZZ
17 Haunted Ship, The 62 Phantom Ship, The Sh-09 Adventure of Coral Reef
18 Time Machine 11 Time Machine 4G-01 Astro Returns
19 Cosmic Giant, The 19 Astro Boy vs. Garon Sh-48 Astro vs. Garon
20 Toxor, the Mist Man 20 Gaseous Beings Sh-02 Gaseous Beings(1)
21 Satellite R-45 21 Satellite R-45 Sh-44 Mystery Man of the Blast Furnace(2)
22 Sea Serpent Isle 22 Sea Serpent Island Sh-05 Sea Serpent Island
23 Deadly Flies, The 23 Mutant, The N/A N/A
24 Kingdom of the Sea 3 24 Submarine Kingdom, The 3 Sh-20 Robot Bombs 3
25 Strange Birthday Present, The 37 Uran Sh-38 Miss Uran
26 Don Tay’s Infernal Machine 26 Atlas Sh-17 Atlas
27 Pearl People 27 Planet Pearl N/A N/A
28 Wacky Machine, The 28 Mad Machine Sh-27 Mad Machine
29 Memory Day 29 Memorable Day, The Sh-39 Day to Remember
30 Super Duper Robot, The 59 Robot Buron X, the Sh-41 Robot Buron X, the
31 Mysterious Cosmic Rays4 31 Black Cosmic Ray, The4 N/A N/A
32 Moon Monsters, The5, 6, 7 56 Earth Defense Army5, 6, 7 N/A N/A
33 Three Magicians, The 33 Two Magicians Sh-45 Third Magician, The
34 Beast From 20 Fathoms 34 Midoro Marsh Sh-18 Midoro Swamp
35 Planet X 35 Human Farm, The N/A N/A
36 Elixir of Life, The 36 Religion of Pui Pui, The N/A N/A
37 Astro Boy goes to School 57 Robot School N/A N/A
38 Asteroid Menace, The 38 Disturbed Small Planet, The N/A N/A
39 Mysterious Cat, The 39 Red Cat Sh-04 Red Cat
40 Abominable Snowman, The 40 Neo Caesar N/A N/A
41 Deadline to Danger 41 X Bomb N/A N/A
42 Island of Mystery, The 58 Thirteen Mysterious Statues of God, The N/A N/A
43 Ditto 43 His Highness Dead Cross Sh-40 His Highness Dead Cross
44 Cleopatra’s Heart 44 Egyptian Conspirators, The Sh-31 Secret of the Egyptian Conspirators, The
45 Return of Cleopatra 45 Cleopatra’s Necklace
46 Phantom Space Ship, The 46 Robot Spaceship, The Sh-51 Robot Rocket
47 Gigantic Space Crab, The 47 Cosmic Crab N/A N/A
48 Great Space Horse, The 48 Tenma Tribe, The Sh-26 Tenma Race
49 3D Tee Vee 49 Transparent Giant SH-37 Transparent Giant
50 Westward, Ha! 50 Astro Boy Goes to the West N/A N/A
51 Jimbo the Great 51 Little Elephant Pura 2G-04 Pula, The Baby Elephant
52 Snow Lion 52 Snow Lion Sh-36 Space Leopard
53 Dogma Palace 60 Demon Bees, The Sh-50 Demon Bees, The
54 Man-Made Iceberg, The 63 Artificial Iceberg, The N/A N/A
55 Vampire Vale 64 Count Bat Sh-28 Count Bat
56 Terrible Tidal Wave, The 65 Brave Escapee N/A N/A
57 Vikings 66 Space Viking N/A N/A
58 Devil Doll, The 67 Heroes of the Night N/A N/A
59 Dinosaur Dilemma 68 Rebellion of the Dinosaur People N/A N/A
60 Clock Tower Mystery, The 69 Secret of the Clock Tower, The N/A N/A
61 Flower Monster, The 70 Rafflesia N/A N/A
62 Attack From Space 71 Last Day of Earth, The Sh-53 Last Day on Earth, The
63 Shipwreck in Space 72 7 Days of Drifting in Space N/A N/A
64 Big Titan 73 Big Titan N/A N/A
65 Mission to the Middle of the World 74 Earth Expedition N/A N/A
66 Inca Gold Fever 75 Flying City N/A N/A
67 Monster Machine, The 76 Monster Machine, The N/A N/A
68 Hooligan Whodunit, The 77 Cape Town Lullaby Sh-22 Black Looks
69 Funnel to The Future 78 World in Five Hundred Thousand Years, The N/A N/A
70 Super Brain 79 Dr. Brain N/A N/A
71 Mighty Minute 80 Humanoid Bill N/A N/A
72 Dream Machine 81 Dreaming Machine N/A N/A
73 Robot Olympics, The 82 Robot Olympics N/A N/A
74 Dunder, Bird of Doom 83 Strange Bird, Garuda, The N/A N/A
75 Dolphins in Distress 84 Dolphin Civilization, The N/A N/A
76 Mad Beltway, The 85 Demented Beltway, The N/A N/A
77 Terrible Time Gun, The 86 Time Gun, The N/A N/A
78 Space Princess 87 Princess Kaguya N/A N/A
79 Mighty Microbe Army 88 Bacteria Corps, The N/A N/A
80 Horrible King Horrid 89 Gomes’ Ghost N/A N/A
81 Mystery of the Amless Dam 90 Robot Fortress, The N/A N/A
82 Galeom From Galaxy G 91 Garon’s Counterattack N/A N/A
83 Three Robotiers, The 92 Three Robot Knights N/A N/A
84 Brother Jetto 93 Cobalt N/A N/A
85 Angel of the Alps 94 Angel in the Alps N/A N/A
86 Magic Punch Card 95 Evil Punch Card, The N/A N/A
87 Great Rocket Robbery, The 96 Robot Future N/A N/A
88 Contest in Space 97 Confrontation in Space N/A N/A
89 Gift of Zeo 98 Zeo’s Legacy N/A N/A
90 Deep Deep Secret, A 99 Little Columbus N/A N/A
91 Wonderful Christmas Present, The 100 Robot House, The N/A N/A
92 Uncharted World 101 Unmapped World, The N/A N/A
93 Jungle Mystery 102 Queen of the Devils’ Place MA-05 Jungle Devil Boundary8
94 Terrible Spaceman, The9 103 Stairs Leading into Space N/A N/A
95 Mighty Mite From Ursa Minor, The 106 Boy from Outer Space, The N/A N/A
96 General Astro 105 General Atom N/A N/A
97 Mystery of the Metal Men 107 Release of the Earth N/A N/A
98 Super Human Beings 108 Saturn Man N/A N/A
99 Phoenix Bird 109 Phoenix N/A N/A
100 Menace from Mercury 110 Expedition on Mercury N/A N/A
101 Dangerous Mission 113 ‘Back,’ the Country without Laughter N/A N/A
102 Planet 13 119 Flying Lens N/A N/A
103 Prisoners in Space 121 Ganimate N/A N/A
104 Double Trouble 124 Parting Gift N/A N/A
Manga Reviews added weekly, to correspond with Cartoon Network’s schedule.’Astro’ when used anywhere but in the ”English Title” column, should really be ‘Atom,’ as this is the Japanese name for the character. Likewise, ”Astroboy” or ”Astro Boy” used anywhere but in the ”English Title” column, should really be ”Tetsuwan Atom,” which literally means ”Mighty Atom.” However, the Tezuka Osamu World website prefers to translate his name into the more familiar English-language name given to him by Fredd Ladd when he first began translating the 1963 animated cartoon into English. I have used the story titles exactly as they are listed on Right Stuf’s Boxed sets and the Tezuka Osamu World’s English-language pages.Notes

1 Although the Dark Horse manga groups these two stories under one title, they were originally separate tales. See the Astroboy manga review of Astroboy’s Parents and Astroboy manga review of Gaseous Beings.2 ‘Satellite’ merely uses a few vital plot elements from ”Mystery of the Blast Furnace” rather retelling the whole story.

3The animated version of this manga tale ”Robot Bombs” was actually put into two episodes, only the first of which was included in the English-language version. The second part was not even a consecutive episode, but was placed 152nd in the sequence, and titled ”Robot Bombs.”

4 Although the manga version of this tale is not an Astroboy story, it is a Tezuka Story, itself based upon the Picture of Dorian Gray. The Black Space Ray was one of several science fiction stories in Tezuka’s Lion Books series.

5 This is another Astroboy tale based upon a non-Astroboy comic: Number 7, Where the title refers to the title character Oshima Shichiro’s official number.

6 This was the only full-color episode of the series; however, the English-language version was in black & White. An English subtitled version of the full-color Japanese-language episode is on the extras disc in the The Right Stuf’s second boxed set (ISBN: 1-57032-812-9).

7 Three episodes were combined into a full-color movie ”THE BRAVE IN SPACE.” One, ”Earth Defense Troops” or ”Earth Defense Army,” the 56th episode, was originally made in full-color, while the other two, ”Robot Rocket,” the 46th and ”The Last Day of Earth,” the 71 st were originally made in monochrome. However, while the 46th episode was black and white, the 71st was made with a tinted background, first blue, then red.

8 Unfortunately, for some reason, this story, ”Jungle Devil Boundary” the 5th published in ASTRO BOY (Mighty Atom) Club, was not included in the 23 volume manga collection.

9 Although the Right Stuf’s booklet that accompanies boxed set #2 describes this episode which it correctly identifies as ”The Terrible Spaceman” with terms such as ‘roboids,’ it has nothing to do with any such things. Rather, this is the 103rd episode in the Japanese sequence, ”Stairs Leading into Space,” a completely different story than the one described in the booklet. Roboids, was Tezuka’s 60th comic adventure in his Astroboy series published in Shonen, and was the 126th episode in the B&W series. While the comic version is printed in Dark Horse’s 12th volume of Astro Boy comics (ISBN 1-56971-813-X), the animated version is only available on region 2 with Japanese dialogue. Dark Horse currently offers previews of the 1st 4 pages of its Astroboy comics. Roboids, being 1st in volume 12, is the previewed story: 1st page of preview. Furthermore, although all 4 stories in volume 12 were included in the 1963 animated series, none were included in the English-language version; therefore, volume 12 is highly reccomended.

 

 

Publication codes
2G 2nd Grade student
4G 4th Grade student
MA ASTRO BOY (Mighty Atom) Club
SH Shonen
SS Sankei Shinbun

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reviews, synopses, comments, and comparisons to other works are © 2005, 2006, 2007 Jeffbert. Any similarities between my own work and those of Tezuka Osamu, Tezuka Osamu World, or other sources are purely coincidental, except where sources have been cited.

 

Special thanks to Atoman, without whose friendship I would not have seen the Japanese-language region 2 DVDs.

Character names, short quotations of synopses, dates of publication, are the property of the respective copyright holders.

ASTRO BOY ® is a registered trademark of Tezuka Productions.

Tetsuwan Atom ® is a registered trademark of Tezuka Productions.

 

Tezuka, Osamu. Astro Boy. 23 volumes. Trans. Frederick, L. Schodt. Milwalkee, Oregon: 2002-2005.

Tucker, Raymond. www.astroboy.tv

Japanese Language Animated Cartoons:

Tezuka Osamu. Astro Boy (1960s). Perf. Shimizu Mari, Kachita Hisashi, Mizugaki Yoko, Muto Reiko,Yoshikawa Kazuko, Komiyama Kiyoshi, Yajima Kazuaki, Wada Fumio, Yokomori Hisashi, Sakamoto Shinpei, Kanemoto Shingo, Chiba Koichi. Tezuka Productions Co., Ltd. / Mushi Production, 1963.

English-language Animated Cartoons:

Tezuka Osamu. Astro Boy (1960s). Perf. Billie Lou Watt, Ray Owens, Gilbert Mack. NBC, 1963. DVD (2 sets). The Right Stuf 2006, 2007.
DVD Boxed Set 1
DVD Boxed Set 2

Comics:

TETSUWAN ATOM by Osamu Tezuka © Tezuka Productions. English Unedited translation © Frederik Schodt All other material © Dark Horse Comics, Incorporated. www.darkhorse.com