1974 in Anime
Hoshi no Ko Poron(1974-1975)
Translated as Star Child Poron. Poron is an alien child that comes to Earth but meets animals and assumes they are the dominant lifeform, ignoring humans. The show consisted of five minute shorts. The entirety of the cast was voiced by Masako Nozawa. The show has since gained a meme based following.
Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1974)
The second Hayao Miyazaki/Takahata and Studio Ghibli film.
One thousand years have passed since an apocalyptic alien invasion known as the Seven Days of Fire destroyed civilization and a vast toxic jungle has grown on the Earth filled with giant insects. The Valley of the Wind is a kingdom which predicts a savior clad in blue robe in a golden field. Nausicaa is the princess of the Valley of the Wind and has been exploring the jungle and trying to understand the creatures including the giant Ohm insects, hoping to find a way for the jungle and humans to coexist.
One Day a cargo ship from the Kingdom of Tolmekia crashes in the valley despite Nausicaa trying to save it. The Princess onboard is from the Kingdom of Pejite and she pleads with Nausicaa to destroy the cargo before dying. The cargo turns out to be a giant alien warrior in an embryo, one of the beings that caused the seven days of Fire and was though destroyed when Earth retaliated with its nukes. The plane crashed after being attacked by Insects. One of the injured insects tries to attack by Nausicaa calms it down and lures it away from the village. Tolmekia troops led by Princess Kushana invade, and reveal that Tolmekia attacked the Kingdom of Peljit in order to obtain the Embryo with the ship desperately trying to fly away to prevent it from falling into their hands. Tolmekia attacks, killing Nausicaa’s father and capturing the Embryo. This causes Nausicaa to snap and attack the soldiers, killing several but is about to be killed when the sword master of the Valley Lord Yupa saves her. Kushana plans to raise the Giant Warrior as a weapon to destroy the toxic jungle. In gettin a wounded Nausicaa to safety and following her instructions of where to go, Yupa finds a secret area where Nausicaa has been experimenting with growing plants in healthy soil and water, but the soil and water in the jungle is toxic. Kushana’s forces find them and they are taken hostage rather than killed when they see her research.
As Nausicaa and the five hostages are being taken to Tolmekia, a Pejite fighter attacks and shoots down the planes carrying Nausicaa and the others, causing them and Kushana to crash into the toxic jungle and disturb several Ohm which Nausicaa calms down. Nausicaa goes to rescue the Pejite Pilot but both fall into quicksand only to find themselves in an area beneath with clean water and soil. Nausicaa realizes the plans purify the polluted soil and produce the clean water and soil underground. The Pejite Pilot is revealed to be Prince Asbel, twin brother of the Princess who died in Nausicaa’s arms. Nausicaa and Asbel travel to Pejite but find it ravaged by insects. A group of survivors there explain that they lured the insects to kill the invading Tolmekians. They have also done this with Tolmekia itself, destroying it and leaving only the military faction left and intend to do the same to the Valley. They capture Nausicaa when she tries to leave to warn the Valley but she escapes with the help of Asbel and a number of sympathizers. Nausicaa escapes on her glider and finds Pejite soldiers attacking the Ohm, and using a wounded baby to drive the Ohm to the Valley. The People of the Valley hide while the occupying Tolmekians open fire with tanks. Kushana awakens the Embryo of the Great Warrior but the creature is not ready to be born and begins falling apart. It is able to fire a powerful laser that obliterates everything it touches with the power of several atomic bombs but this is not enough and it dies, collapsing on Konasha as it does so, instigating a rebellion by the people of the Valley agains their oppressors. Nausicaa frees the baby Ohm and gains its trust. She tries stopping the Ohm horde with the baby but they are run over. The Ohm calm down and use golden tentacles to seemingly heal her, lifting her up into the sky where she wakes up, her dress stained in blue Ohm blood, resembling the prophecy about the savior in the Golden field as she carefully walked don the golden tendrils of the Ohm, which when put together resemble golden grass. The Ohm depart with the people of the Valley rebuilding with the help of the Pejite. Underneath the Toxic Jungle a non toxic tree sprouts.
The film was a massive success upon release, further cementing the duos great talent. It was also the debut of composer Joe Hisaishi. Disney would dub the film soon after[1].
Majokko Megu-chan(1974-1975)
Translated to Little Meg the Witch Girl. A manga was created by Tomô Inoue and Makiho Narita. The series conspired of 72 episodes produced by Toei Animation. While not the first magical girl show, the series proved influential to the genre. Most notably Sailor Moon. Megu-Chan follows a young witch sent to Earth as an initiation ritual as she is a contender to take the throne. She is adopted by a former witch named Mammi Kanzaki who gave up her royal ambitions of taking the throne to marry a mortal. Mammi uses magic to convince her family that Megu has always been their eldest child. Megu begins to change from a selfish brat to a kinder person after experiencing new and unpleasant emotions for the first time while battling monsters, magic users and the dark side of human nature, which is arguably her greatest enemy. The series dived into subject matter considered at the time too mature for children such as domestic violence, substance and abuse and affairs.
The show came about when Hiromi Productions, makes of the less successful Miracle Shoujo Limit-chan offered to make a darker Magical Girl show for Toei. The show also shared most of the Honey Idol staff. The show had several surprisingly voyeuristic scenes of the protagonist undressing. The theme song also boasts about Megu’s breasts and ability to charm boys, due to the lyricist also writing similar songs for J-Pop Idol Mom Yamaguchi. The show also had several male characters, usually depicted as villains, attempting to catch Megu nude. She was fortunately over 18 in the story. While the show itself has become obscure since its airing, it still inspired many later entries in the genre. One scene implies Little Meg the Witch Girl is set in the same world as Honey Idol, namely Honey Idol appearing performing a song on a TV screen[2].
Chargeman Ken!(1974)
A Science Fiction anime by Tetsuji Suzukawa and Eiji Tanaka by Knack Productions. The series is set in 2074 where aliens called Juralians attack Earth and are fought by the protagonist Ken Izumi as the hero Chargeman. Thee show was made by several of the staff of Astroganger. Episodes were made on a cheap 500,00 Yen per episode. As a result of the low budget the staff often skipped work to go to the Beach. Not even the voice actors are known[3].
Getter Robo(1974-1975)
Based on the Super Robot Manga by Ken Ishikawa and Go Nagai that ran concurrently. Produced by Toei Animation. The series was broadcast on Fuji TV. Go Nagai revived his original concept of creating a team of three which combined into a robot capable of changing into three different forms. The three protagonists are teenagers Ryoma Nagare, Hayato Jin, Musashi Tomoe, who pilot an Eagle, Jaguar and Bear respectively, each built for different terrain. They battle the Dinosaur Empire, a race of Dinosaurs which moved underground and now seek to reclaim the Earth[4].
Jack in the Beanstalk(1974)
An animated film by Group TAC and Nippon Herald films, in fact it was their first feature film. A musical fantasy film based on the fairy tale with a screenplay by Shūji Hirami. The plot is slightly different as Jack finds that a Witch has brainwashed a princess into marrying her giant son and sets out to save her after climbing the Beanstalk. The film would get a boost when it was chosen to appear in World Masterpiece Theatre[5].
Great Energer(1974-1975)
The Sequel to Energer Z following its success and the end of its run from 1972 to 1973. It was animated and released by Toei Animation. The series follows where Energer Z vs Demon Lord Dante left off. Energer Z protagonist Kouji Kabuto has seemingly died and his son Tetsuya Tsurugi is being raised as his successor, piloting a new Energer called Chogokin Z(Super Alloy Z). A new threat to humanity emerges in the Mycenae Empire and his battle beasts. Tetsuya is joined by a teammate in Jun Hono, a half japanese, half african American girl piloting the Venus Ace Energer robot. In a climactic battle, the original Energer is destroyed to the horror of Tetsuya(it is framed in a cinematic way as if he is watching his father die through the machine as the melting robot appears to shed a tear). Tetsuya is able to overcome his depression and fear to defeat the Battle Beasts and save the world. While not as successful as the original Energer, the series was still popular and successful, spawning a line of toys and merchandise.
Urikupen Kyūjotai(1974)
A Television series by Tatsunoko and directed by Hiroshi Sasagawa. The title was translated into Urikupen Rescue Team. It follows a rescue team in the fictional kingdom of Urukupen who rescue animals.
Hurricane Polymar(1974-1975)
A series by Tatsunoko Productions created by Tatsuo Yoshida. The protagonist Takeshi is given a special suit made of a polymer that allows him to shape shift, including into vehicles.
First Human Giatrus(1974-1976)
Based on the Manga by Shinji Sonoyama that ran from 1965 to 1975. It had two spinoffs focusing on supporting characters. Shinji Sonoyama won the 1976 Bungeishunjū Manga Award for Gag Manga[6]
Asteroid Ship Icarus(1974-1975)
The idea for the series is credited to Yoshinobu Nishizaki,Keisuke Fujikawa, Eiichi Yamamoto and Aritsune Toyota. It is a Live Action Series or tokusatsu, inspired by novels
Methuselah's Children and Toyota's own
Desecrated Earth along with then successful shipwreck films
The Poseidon Adventure and
Japan Sinks and the novel
Lord of the Flies. The plot concerned a crew of humans from all over the world living in a hollowed out Asteroid as it seeks a new planet called Iscandar for humanity to live on following Earth becoming inhospitable due to an invasion. There was infighting among the crew and the threat of Alien robots called the Rajendora, who are revealed to have come from a home planet devastated like the Earth had been. The series invited many comparisons to the later series
Galactica(1978-1980). Eiichi Yamamoto oversaw production. The Robots were fleshed out and several nods to World War II were added including the battle near Neptune paralleling Germany passing the Maginot Line. It is one of the most influential Tokusatsu series.
The series consisted of 52 Episodes, which oversaw the declining health of Captain Okita and the transformation of the young orphan Susumu Kodai into a mature adult and his romance with Yuki Mori. The series shifted to focus on the Icarus and a new generation of characters with the older cast serving as their mentors. The Show included an outer space version of Auschwitz, A baby born on the Icarus, Tension between the people on the Icarus and Dessler as Icarus looked for a new home planet, and a touching story focusing on the Space Battleship Arizona(a nod to the most famous of the American ships sunk at Pearl Harbor). This led to the introduction of an interstellar empire based on America. There was also a romantic interest for Sanada and more focus and development for Captain Dan Hammer, along with a look at the Shalabart religion. The series still cut down much such as the journey to Iscandar, though did feature the introduction of Captain Harlock, who was Susumu Kodai's brother[7]
Calimero(1974-1978)
Callimero is based on a character that appeared in the Italian show Carosello during advertisements. A popular icon in Italy, Calimero is a black chick in a family of yellow chickens who wears half of his egg shell on his head. At the end of each episode it was revealed Callimero isn’t black, just very dirty and would be cleaned by the advertised cleaning product of the day. Toei Animation picked up the license to produce. The English release is known for its catchy country sounding theme song[8]
Notes
[1] The film replaces the OTL, Heidi, Girl of the Alps in release date. OTL the film was made by Takahata after Pippi Longstocking failed. Since it didn’t ITTL there’s not need to make the film. Naussicaa was Ghibli’s first film OTL but was made in 1984, meaning it’s now 10 years earlier. Miyazaki OTL made a Lupin III episode called Wings of the Albatross with basically a proto Naussicaa in 1980. Since he started working on the show ITTL, something similar happened, resulting in early Naussicaa. I didn’t go into detail as the plot is similar to OTL. Joe Hisaishi made his TV debut on First Human Giatrus. He went on to do the music for all but one Miyazaki film. The same applies ITTL except he has started much earlier along with Ghibli.
As for Heidi: Girl of the Alps. It’s OTL reception has been given to TTL’s Pippi Longstocking. It’s still a classic to this day, draws Japanese tourists to Sweden, stamps with the character appear on posts, and Japanese bands cover the theme song.
[2] OTL the show was surprisingly sexual for the time, though this is based on Honey Cutie doing the same thing. ITTL Honey Cutie basically did the same thing as this show so most of the influence which Little Witch Meg had is now had by TTL’s Honey Idol.
[3] OTL Chargeman Ken! Became popular when it was randomly included on a DVD Box Set by Line Communications. Which does not happen ITTL, depriving the world of at least one source for memes.
[4] Getter Robo is famous for introducing the concept of a team of heroes each with a Mecha that can combine into one single Mecha. OTL Go Nagai conceived the idea but was vetoed from using it in Mazinger Z. ITTL Go Nagai had more creative freedom and did indeed use it, so this show did not introduce the concept.
[5] OTL Heidi Girl of the Alps aired as part of World Masterpiece Theatre and is seen as the best thing they’ve ever played. Heidi doesn’t exist ITTL due to Pippi Longstocking being made, which ITTL was featured as part of World Masterpiece Theatre in its television debut in 1973 and it was a megahit. This year however, since they rely on adaptations of European tales, which are fairly scarce this year OTL besides Heidi, they were forced to pick Jack and the Beanstalk, which in general is just weird. So while 1974 was their best year OTL thanks to Heidi, ITTL 1973 was their best year thanks to Pippi and 1974 is their worst year instead thanks to Jack and the Beanstalk.
[6] Joe Hisaishi began his career OTL on First Human Giatrus in 1974. He would later do the music of all but one Miyazaki film, starting with Nausicaa. ITTL, interestingly he still does the music on Nausicaa despite the film coming out 10 years earlier, it’s just that it’s his first film. He still did the music on all but one Miyazaki film ITTL too, as he hadn’t started working until after Pippi Longstocking was released, making it the only film he didn’t work on.
[7] OTL this concept became Space Battleship Yamato, with the robots replaced by aliens and the asteroid replaced by a the World War II era Yamato retrofitted into a space vessel. The changes came about due to the the overseer of the project changing twice. First it was Eiichi Yamamoto, then Toshio Masuda, who worked on the World War II film Tora! Tora! Tora!. ITTL he never became director on that film as he did so after Akira Kurosawa was fired(Due to attempting to change the script, which was meant to depict both sides of the Pearl Harbor attack and he was rewriting the American portion which had its own director, and casting not actors but investors to fund his future film). ITTL Kurosawa played nice and made the film, so he doesn’t have that credit. Due to Eiichi Yamamoto staying on, Manga artist Leiji Matsumoto isn’t brought on to rewrite the series into “Space Battleship Yamato”. The series ran longer than OTL for the planned 52 episodes.
[8] ITTL the Calimero theme song is somewhat similar sounding to OTL’s Canyonero song from the Simpsons episode “The Last Temptation of Krust”.
And now for one show that has been butterflied away: Barbapapaa. Barbapapa was conceived OTL as a 1970 Children’s book by French-American Couple Annete Tilson and Talus Taylor. It came about when Talus Taylor, who was American overheard a child at Luxembourg Garden saying “Baa Baa Baa Baa” asking for “Barbe a Papa” which is French for Cotton Candy and translates to Daddy’s Beard because of what it visually looks like. Taylor and his wife Annette Tilson then brainstormed the character. Due to thelarge number of coincidences this required(The trip to the Garden on that day, the random kid asking for Cotton Candy, Etc…), Barbapapa does not exist ITTL. The butterflies got him. Probably because he was made of Cotton Candy.