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. There are
comparisons of both Kimba, The White Lion and The Lion King.
Comparison #1:
Enough said...
Comparison #2
Scar looks like Claw, sort of...
Comparison #3
Kimba fights Claw, Simba fights Scar, Protagonists vs. Villians in their respective series.
Comparison #4:
The Baboon is a minor character in their respective series
I don't think I've counted all the
comparisons, so I'll just leave what I say as examples of these
comparisons. 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!
