Astro Boy (anime)/Trivia

1963 TV series

• No Export for You: Many European countries started only airing anime years after they switched to colour broadcast (PAL or SECAM), and as a result, this version was never released in many European countries. A notable exception was France.
• The Other Darrin:
  • Kazue Tagami voiced Astro in episodes 97-106 while Mari Shimizu was on maternity leave.
  • Uran was first voiced by Yoko Mizugaki, then by Reiko Mutou, then by Kazuko Yoshikawa.
  • Higeoyaji was first voiced by Masaaki Yajima, then by Ayao Wada.
  • Tawashi was first voiced by Shingo Kanemoto, then by Kouichi Chiba.

1980 TV series

• Channel Hop: This remake moved the franchise from Fuji TV (where the '60s series had aired) to the Nippon TV (NTV) network.
• Hey, It's That Voice!: Mari Shimizu reprised her role as Astro. Hisashi Katsuta also reprised his role of Ochanomizu.
• Marth Debuted in Smash Bros: Many European countries started only airing anime years after they switched to colour broadcast (PAL or SECAM). The United Kingdom and West Germany officially began colour broadcasting in 1967. Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Austria, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, and Hungary all started regular colour broadcasts around 1969–1970. Because both Spain and Portugal were late in introduction of colour broadcasts, they did not start broadcasting anime until 1978 and 1985, respectively (and still yet until the mid-1990s anime was out of Portuguese mainstream).
  • This version made the debut of Astro Boy in Italy. The country was one of the last European countries to officially adopt the PAL system in the 1976–1977 season.
  • It was also widely popular in Canada during the '80s, due to both the English and Quebecois French (Astro le petit robot) dubs being recorded in Montreal.
• Names to Know in Anime: The series director was Noboru Ishiguro, known for his work on Space Battleship Yamato and The Superdimension Fortress Macross among many others. Those two series, as Star Blazers and part of Robotech respectively, would be for budding American otaku of the 1980s what the original Astro Boy was in the '60s.
• Osamu Tezuka wrote the lyrics for the first ending theme "Mirai ni Mukatte - New Tetsuwan Atom."

2003 TV series

• Hey, It's That Voice!:
  • The English dub has Greg Cipes as Atlas, Candi Milo as Astro, and Lara Jill Miller as various episode-specific characters.
  • Hisashi Katsuta, who voiced Ochanomizu in the previous two anime adaptations, voices him once again in this series.
• Names to Know in Anime : The main writer for this series was Chiaki Konaka. Seriously. In fact, he was invited right after (and presumably due to) having worked on Digimon Tamers.

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