Thank you, Jeffbert for the clarification. Then the second opening did not air in Japan until the summer of 1964 and the next change happened almost a year and three months later. Also thank you for the images. I"jeffbert" wrote:[QUOTE=ASTROBUDDY;208364][QUOTE=jeffbert;208355]Cobalt's debut episode is #93, & the 3rd opening sequence debuts at #140. Sadly, I did not take note of when the 2nd sequence began. But I just checked, & it starts at #77.
[/QUOTE] Yes, #77 was shown July 4, 1964 Saturday, & #140 October 30, 1965 Saturday. Strange Wings: yes, it is a great balancing act![/QUOTE] I find it interesting that the first opening was superceded by the second in what one might consider "mid-season" . (Considering that Japanese programing in the sixties was not the same as in the US in that their seasons seem to run from New Year's to New Year's Eve, not Sept. to the following May (more or less) with the in-between months to the next Sept. a period of reruns on the prime time network hours. The Japanese did not repeat shows.
Any way it does seem that they wanted to acknowledge the popularity of Astro Girl. While I would not go so far as to say she was promoted to co-star status, considering the number of episodes in which she is actually featured, but it's obvious that she was considered an important and well regarded character.
Of course the second opening was made before Jetto/Cobalt was introduced, but I also find the images from the third opening just as interesting.
They feature Astro Boy alone flying and doing what appears to be a super deed, as if he were on patrol, and no scenes of him in battle. (The flying around with Astro Girl is left for the second closing scenes.)
I
