The 1963 series is 60 years old!

[Shiyonasan]

On January 1, 1963, the original Astro Boy anime series made it's debut in Japan on Fuji TV. This post was made on January 1, 2023, marking 60 years since that day.

Happy 60th anniversary to the 1963 series!

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[jeffbert]

60 YEARS OLD, AND STILL A KID!

[Tetsuwan Penguin]

So I was 9 years old when it first aired in Japan, and close to 10 when it aired in the US. I had been really pissed off that I'd missed the very first episode, and it was NEVER re-run in NYC (though almost EVERY other episode was rerun). I finally got to see the first episode when someone posted it to youtube, and now I own the full US DVD set.

[jeffbert]

But, what about the toys you wanted for birthdays, etc., but never got?


I cannot say that I remembered anything other than the opening and / or closing music/ lyrics.

[Tetsuwan Penguin]

As you probably know, Tezuka Productions changed the opening of the show for each of the three seasons, and the closing scenes also changed after the first season. However the US version kept the original opening and closing sequence even though they did pick up the second season (not all episodes). Tezuka productions also added 'words' to the opening music for the 2nd and 3rd seasons after they saw what the US version did. However, the Japanese version never did have a 'song' during the closing scenes.

[jeffbert]

I recall something F. Ladd said about that (in his book), that it never occurred to Mushipro to have lyrics. Yet, in the live-action serial, not only were there lyrics, but they were scrolled on the screen.