ジャングル大帝 (1989) (Jungle Taitei (1989) also known as The New Adventures of Kimba the White Lion) is a remake of the original Kimba the White Lion series. The series was produced by Tezuka Productions and first shown on TV in Japan between October 12, 1989 - October 11, 1990 on TV Tokyo.
Overview[]
Compared to its 1965 predecessor, this interation of Kimba is much more dramatic, with significantly less 'cartoony' elements and comic relief. It is also more serialized, with episodes having a clear sequence.
Some fans criticized the series for its dark episodes (including unnecessary killings) at the point to consider the series unfaithful to the original version. As Osamu Tezuka had passed away after the first six episodes were completed, there is some speculation as to how true this series was to what its creator had in mind. With the exception of those first few episodes, the story line is very different from both the original manga or 1965 series.
However even if Tezuka passed away and the series was completed by another director, darker elements are present from the beginning. Even if he did not script the remaining episodes, the general outline for the series was likely established in the pre-production. Osamu Tezuka was no stranger to the use of serious and drama contents; notably the original manga, "Jungle Emperor" included them (with the subsequent change of the dramatic ending in the anime).
English Dub[]
In 1998, Pioneer Family Entertainment (now known as NBCUniversal Entertainment Japan) picked up the rights to series for distribution in North America under license from Nippon Herald Films. They commissioned Ocean Productions in Vancouver, Canada, to produce an English dub of the series. They dubbed 13 episodes of the original series and released it directly to home video. The TV series was given its English title: “The New Adventures of Kimba the White Lion”. Japanese episodes 2 and 4 were recut to skip a story arc where Kimba meets with Kenichi before he goes back to the jungle (Episode 3 was cut completely). Therefore, besides the first episode, the English episodes have a different order than the original Japanese ones. In general, most of the dubbed episodes have cut footage, due to lightening the gore, violence and blood. The score was also entirely redone digitally by synthesizers. Production was canceled after the 13 episodes were dubbed. “The New Adventures of Kimba the White Lion“ (Jungle Emperor) dub has yet to be released on DVD. The English Dub remains incomplete. 6 home video cassettes were released from October 13, 1998 - July 13, 1999 by Geneon Entertainment.
International Dubs[]
See main page - Jungle Emperor 1989 (International Dubs)
As stated, this series is known to have been dubbed in English (incomplete), but also in Korean, German, Italian and Russian (commentary only).
Production Staff[]
Japanese[]
Director:
- Takashi Ui
Writers:
- Susumu Gotohda
- Yukio Kurata
- Takyuki Matsutani
Character Design:
- Yoshiaki Kawajiri
- Osamu Tezuka
Original Music:
- Tomoyuki Asakawa
Lead Artists:
- Katsumata Hageshi
- Masumi Saito
Producers:
- Daisuke Baba (Nikkeisha)
- Kuniaki Ōnishi (Gakken)
- TV Tokyo
Characters[]
- Leo
- Tony (Known as "T.K." in the English Dub)
- Coco
- Laiya (Known as "Raiya" in the English Dub)
- Kurosaji (Uncle Rhino - Known as "Old Dice" in the English Dub)
- Bubu (Known as "Jamar" in the English Dub)
- Toto (Known as "Shaka" in the English Dub)
- Vulture
- Kenichi
- Dr. Shunsaku Ban
- Ham Egg (Known as "Jake" in the English Dub)
- Kutter
- Bob
- Queen Conga
- Kapi
- Leona
- Panja
- Eliza
- Pagoola
- Bizo
- Buzara
- Marody
- Keruru
- Amaji
- The Mammoth (Great Mother)
- Myu
- Martha
- Crave
- Joe
- Cheetah Boss
- The Old Elephant
- Silverback
- Garu
- Lamp
- Miss Chiffon
- Gibo
- Peter
- Dan
- Bobby
- Elder Dolf
- Jean
- Sylvia
- Billy
- Kerry
- Tanner
- Lulu
- Gorga
- Gorna
- Lucifer
Animals seen in the series[]
- Lion
- Parrot
- Gazelle
- Black Rhinoceros
- Mandrill
- African Elephant
- Warthog
- Leopard and black panther
- Vulture
- Wooly Mammoth
- Cheetah
- Zebra
- Hippo
- Giraffe
- Cape buffalo
- Wildebeest
- Ostrich
- Flamingo
- Eagles
- Hawk
- Gorilla
- Monkeys
- Hyena
- Cape painted dog
- Gemsbok
- Sable antelope
- Hartebeest
- Nile crocodile
- Meerkat
- squirrels
- Camels
- African penguins
- Eland
- Cows
- okapi
- Snakes
- Chameleon
- Aardvark
- Carcharadontosaurus or Tyrannosaurus Rex
- Dryosaurus or Hypsilophodon
- Archaeopteryx
Episode list[]
| Episode # | Title | Release Date | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 誕生 Birth ("The Successor" in the Dub) | October 12, 1989 | 
|
| 2 | 約束 Promise | October 19, 1989 | 
|
| 3 | 旅立ち Departure | October 26, 1989 | 
|
| 4 | 友達 Friends (#2 in the Dub) | November 2, 1989 | 
|
| 5 | 故郷 Homeland (#3 in the Dub) | November 9, 1989 | 
|
| 6 | 侵入者 Intruder (#5 - "The Invaders" in the Dub) | November 16, 1989 | 
|
| 7 | 勇気 Courage (#4 in the Dub) | November 23, 1989 | 
|
| 8 | 忠告 Warning (#6 in the Dub) | November 30, 1989 | 
|
| 9 | 仲間 Companions (#7 - "Flash Flood" in the Dub) | December 7, 1989 | 
|
| 10 | 自由 Freedom (#8 in the Dub) | December 14, 1989 |
|
| 11 | 森の掟 The Law of the Jungle (#9 in the Dub) | December 21, 1989 | 
|
| 12 | 赤い翼 Red Wings (#10 in the Dub) | December 28, 1989 | 
|
| 13 | 予言 Prophecy (#11 in the Dub) | January 4, 1990 | 
|
| 14 | 野性 Wild (#12 - known as "Terrible Power" in the Dub) | January 11, 1990 | 
|
| 15 | 失敗 Failure (#13 - known as "Growing Pains" in the Dub) | January 18, 1990 | 
|
| 16 | 白い獣 White Beast | January 25, 1990 | 
|
| 17 | 誇り Pride | February 1, 1990 | 
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| 18 | 闘志 Fighting Spirit | February 8, 1990 | 
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| 19 | 生命 Life | February 15, 1990 | 
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| 20 | 赤指導者 Leader | February 20, 1990 | 
|
| 21 | 帰郷 Homecoming | March 1, 1990 | 
|
| 22 | 再会 Reunion | March 8, 1990 | 
|
| 23 | 移住 Migration | March 15, 1990 | 
|
| 24 | 友情 Friendship | March 22, 1990 | 
|
| 25 | 犠牲 – 前編 Sacrifice Part 1 | March 29, 1990 | 
|
| 26 | 犠牲 – 後編 Sacrifice Part 2 | April 5, 1990 | 
|
| 27 | 惜別 Mourning | April 12, 1990 | 
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| 28 | 面影 Image | April 19, 1990 | 
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| 29 | 保護 Protection | April 26, 1990 | 
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| 30 | 冒険Adventure | May 27, 1990 | 
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| 31 | 信頼 Trust | May 4, 1990 | 
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| 32 | 自然 Nature | May 12, 1990 | 
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| 33 | 楽園 Paradise | May 19, 1990 | 
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| 34 | 幻の時 Time Illusion | May 26, 1990 | 
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| 35 | 脅威 Threat | June 1, 1990 | 
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| 36 | 和解 Reconciliation | June 8, 1990 | 
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| 37 | 父親 Father | June 5, 1990 | 
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| 38 | 親友 Best Friend | June 22, 1990 | 
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| 39 | 悪夢 Nightmare | June 29, 1990 | 
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| 40 | 脱出 Escape | July 6, 1990 | 
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| 41 | 予感 Premonition | July 13, 1990 | 
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| 42 | 共存 Coexistence | July 20, 1990 | 
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| 43 | 決意 Decision | July 27, 1990 | 
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| 44 | 潜入 Infiltration | August 8, 1990 | 
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| 45 | 再生 Rebirth | August 10, 1990 | 
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| 46 | 憧憬 Longing | August 17, 1990 | 
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| 47 | 栄冠 Crown | August 24, 1990 | 
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| 48 | 挑戦 Challenge | August 31, 1990 | 
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| 49 | 結集 Concentration | September 7, 1990 | 
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| 50 | 勝利 Victory | September 14, 1990 | 
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| 51 | 調和 – 前編 Harmony Part 1 | September 21, 1990 | 
|
| 52 | 調和 – 前編 Harmony Part 2 | September 28, 1990 | 
|
Now Streaming[]
(Periodically available - videos are sometimes privated) Animelog (Official YouTube Channel ) - Japanese audio with English subtitles
[Japan Only]
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- This anime series is the first to feature the animals that were not featured in the manga nor the 1965 series, such as the Wildebeest, the Meerkat, the Penguin etc.
- This is the first series to feature Tommy's Hat from the begining of the series.
- Tom, Tab, Mary, Jack, and the Destroyers of the Desert were absent in this series. (Queen Conga appears, but she doesn't have an alternate identity).
- Although In episode 05 The Homeland, two Hyenas that strongly resemble Tom and Tab briefly appear alongside Bubu, Toto, and Vulture.
- It's the first Jungle Emperor Leo series, and one of the first Tezuka Anime, to air on TV Tokyo.
- In 1990, there was a tie-in game planned to release on the Japanese Famicom titled, "Jungle Emperor", but it was cancelled.
- Between 1998-1999, Pioneer held a coloring contest to those who bought their VHS releases. The prizes for the winners could receive various electronic prizes or Leo/Laiya stuffed animals.
See also[]
- Japanese Opening Song - Past the Savanna
- Jungle Emperor 1989 (International Dubs)
- Coloring Pages for Kimba the White Lion / Jungle Emperor Leo
- Coloring contest image scans (1998-1999)
Resources[]
- Kimba 89 Episode Guide
- Credits and Production Staff: German DVD
- Some of dubbing history taken from the Dubbing wiki