Yasuji Mori’s “Hustle Punch” (1965)
“Funny animals” are a staple in American animation, ranging from Bugs Bunny to Ren & Stimpy, but it is incredibly rare to see one in Japanese cartooons. Generally if an…
Category Archives: LOST PLANET ANIME
Two Offbeat Mini-Anime from Tatsunoko
Today, I call your attention to an unusual pair of Tatsunoko mini-anime series: Kaba Totto (1971) and Kaiketsu Tamagon (1972). Things couldn’t be better for Tatsunoko Productions in the 1970s….
Worst Anime Ever: “Chargeman Ken” (1974)
I don’t think anyone sets out to do bad cartoons on purpose, but it happens. Reasons vary: executive meddling, people not caring about the property, inexperience, nonexistent budget, etc. Some…
Mini-Anime: 1961-1970
Most TV shows air once a week, that’s a fact just about everywhere. However, schedules can be flexible if channels desire them to be, and that includes Japan as well….
“Jungle Kurobe” (1973)
Move over, Paula Deen! In the early part of the 20th century, blackface was a staple of stage and screen comedy. It was prominent in American cartoons and comic books….
Rampoo the Flying Warped Boy (1984)
As we all know, the early 1980s was a dark time in made-for-TV animation in the ‘States. Everything had to be talked down to the audience so as it doesn’t…
The Most Idiotic Anime Ever Made
As I wrote earlier, Fujio Akatsuka pioneered the gag manga genre in Japan. He showed what it means to do a funny comic for the mainstream circulation, and he did…
Tatsunoko’s “Hakushon Daimao” (1969)
Tatsunoko Productions was unusual as far as a TV animation studio in Japan was concerned. Most other companies produced shows based on pre-existing comics, which was the norm in Japanese…
The Strange Case of the 1973 “Doraemon” Series
I talked about Japanese cartooning team Fujiko Fujio in my previous post, so I won’t dwell too much about them here. But I figure now would be a good time…
Q-Taro The Ghost (1965)
Cartooning team Fujiko Fujio, a joint pseudonym of Hiroshi Fujimoto (1933-1996) and Motoo Abiko (b. 1934), are famous for their children’s comics, having created numerous series throughout their career. Their…
