Kimba the White Lion
ジャングル大帝Leo the white lion was born on an ocean liner that crashed on the shores of a bustling city, where he spent his childhood learning the language and customs of humans. But something was missing. In search of his family, home, and a place to truly belong, Leo traveled back to Africa and began his journey to become the King of the Jungle. Leo's adventure centers around finding peace between the animals and humans who live in his African home, often competing for space and resources. As he grows, Leo must survive both the area's harsh environment, dangers from other animals, and humans who hunt lions like him for sport. Only communication and mutual understanding can end the fighting, and Leo's knowledge of human culture may be just what the jungle needed.Jungle Taitei is the epic story of a young lion's struggles to survive in a dangerous land.
Reviews
carolyn.wyman - 2013-09-18 06:59:49
Critic's Log - Earthdate: October 31, 2012. Review #20: Kimba, The White Lion
Back when I was about 5 or 6 years old, there was a Disney movie that I watched all the time. That Disney movie was The Lion King. I loved the animation in the movie and I never got tired after repeated viewing. Today, I haven't watched it as much because there are other movies I like and I have shows that I want to watch. I decided to do a little research on the movie and I found that it bears a striking resemblance to Kimba from the anime Jungle Emperor (Kimba, The White Lion in The U.S.) There was a controversy over The Lion King because of its similarity to Kimba, The White Lion. It's been 18 years since The Lion King was released so I have no comment about the whole comparison of both things. My theory is that Kimba, The White Lion was the primary influence for The Lion King. It didn't completely plagarized Kimba, The White Lion. I also want to mention that I am treating this review as a retrospective. With that said, here's Kimba, The White Lion!
The basic premise of this anime is that Leo (Kimba in the American release), a young lion cub who becomes king of the jungle when his father was killed by a human hunter.
To be technical, this is a Mushi Pro production and this is an anime adaptation of Osamu Tezuka's manga of the same name. Don't know who Tezuka-san is? I'll tell you. Tezuka-san is a cartoonist, manga artist, animator, producer, activist, and was best known for series such as Astro Boy (which was the first anime to come to the U.S.), Black Jack, and Kimba, The White Lion. Tezuka-san was often nicknamed "The Godfather of Anime" and often considered the Japanese equivalent of Walt Disney, which made total sense. Tezuka-san was influenced by some of Walt Disney's work. Tezuka-san has a prolific output, and had pioneering techniques, and innovative redefinitions of genres that earned him nicknames such as "The Father of Manga" or "The God of Manga".
Before I go any further, I want to apologize beforehand that I dropped this series and I don't plan on finishing it. I will simply give out my retrospective of Kimba, The White Lion to the best of my abilities.
First of all, I am going to excuse the quality of animation on this anime for a couple of reasons. First off, this is the first anime in color. Secondly, this was a 60's anime. The animation has definitely aged as time goes on.
The music by Isao Tomita may not be recognizable today but he often composes soundtracks of the anime adaptations of Osamu Tezuka's series.
As far as voices go. This is going to be a bit difficult to talk about. I am assuming the Japanese cast is good on this show. The Dub is from way before 90's dub quality and the dub is corny but actually watchable and that's saying a lot. Too bad the American release never included the subtitled version. it's a Dub-only affair in the U.S.
The characters are simply introduced well but it was hard for me to latch on to the characters in this show. I don't have much to say on this matter
Then there's the story, It is kid-friendly but it does challenge the audience with some mature themes. It has a simple premise that expands as the show progresses. I've read a source that the story has redeeming value and it blends drama, humor, morality, and a little playfulness. There is a slight discontinuous storyline and uneven pacing but nothing that would hurt the show too much. I should also point out that Rintaro (who went by the name Shigeyuki Hayashi during the making of Kimba) was the chief director. You might want to do a little research on this guy because there might be a few animes that he was involved in that you probably didn't know that he was part of. Also, Eiichi Yamamoto was also the director of this anime and he also did the series composition for Space Battleship Yamato (Star Blazers in the US).
After sharing those little tidbits, allow me to mention The Lion King once more. About the whole controversy about whether The Lion King homaged this anime or plagarized it.
This anime was influential in Japan and might as well be a major influence to The Lion King. The Lion King might as well be an American tribute to Kimba, The White Lion
Kimba, The White Lion is available from Right Stuf.
With that said... Kimba, The White Lion is an anime worth checking out if you are looking for an anime that is definitely worth seeing if you want to go as far as the 60's. This may not be everyone's cup of tea. However in order to fully appreciate this anime, you will have to overlook the flaws and technicalities that this show had to offer. This was a 60's anime, this anime was completely hand-drawn and not many sound effects were possible at the time. What you see is what you get when it comes to this anime. Many children in Japan grew up watching this anime and now are the key players in the anime industry today. I may not have a big interest in this anime, but at least I was able to give out my first-impression retrospective into the series.
I give Kimba, The White Lion a 5 out of 10, it is SO-SO!
feel free to comment, and give out a might roar!