Vampire Vale

Vampires seem to be behind the strange disappearances from a village in Transmellvania, but Astroboy suspects a hoax.

Tetsuwan Atom, Uran, Dr. Ochanomizu, Ringmaster Hamegg, Dr. Tenma.
Characters, English Version: Astro Boy, Astro Girl, Dr. Elefun, Albert Duncan/Daddy Walrus, Alvin, Theodore, Astor Boynton III, Dr. Boynton, Atlas, Livian, Skunk, Jump, Nikki, Mother, Father, Mr. Pompus

A total of 193 episodes were produced. Of these, only 104 episodes were adapted for the U.S. Market.

In fact, this was not the first animated TV series produced in Japan, although many people mistakenly think so! The first anime TV series was "Otogo Manga Calendar" (also known as "Instant History" and "Manga Fairy Tales"), produced by Otogi Productions and broadcast on TBS, starting in 1961.

The series had its beginnings in 1951 as "Captain Atom" in "Shonen Magazine." The following year, it was renamed "Mighty Atom." The story became the magazine's flagship title and was adapted in 1959 into a live-action TV series.

This was Osamu Tezuka's first animated adaptation of his own work.

The series was first shown on Fuji TV on January 1, 1963; eventually, it moved to NHK. Ratings of the original Japanese version rose to over 40%. Because of Tetsuwan Atom's excellent TV ratings in Japan, NBC Films brought the series to the United States, where it and the main characters were given American names and the soundtracks were redubbed.

Animation was limited, with frequent quick moves from pose to pose and occasional "dissolving" between still shots.

This was the first anime to be broadcast abroad. It was first known worldwide as "Mighty Atom," but the existence of a similarly-named comic character forced a name change to "Astro Boy" in the United States. Fred Ladd adapted the series for the English-language market.

There were 104 episodes broadcast in the U.S. version.

Due to his talents with this series, Tezuka was offered a job by director Stanley Kubrick as a production designer on "2001: A Space Odyssey." However, he declined.

Atom (Astro Boy) appeared in "Hero of Space" (1964), a feature-length animated movie directed by Atsushi Takagi.

Hamegg (Cacciatore), the villain of the series, was reused in Tezuka's "Kimba and the White Lion."

"Atom Chronicles," written by Tezuka for "Shonen Magazine," was directed at an older audience.

"Jetter Mars" (also known as "Jet Mars") was an attempt to remake the series.

In 1980, the original series returned as "The New Adventures of Astro Boy," this time in color. Most scripts were written by Tezuka, although Ryosoke Takahashi wrote some and Kenji Terada was credited with "literary assistance." New directors included Noburo Ishiguro, Satoshi Dezaki, Naoto Hashimoto and Takashi Anno. In a bid to please the audience, Astro Boy was shown as younger-looking. Episodes had brighter colors but a darker mood than in the original series, with heroes often dying and missions failing. Characters included Atlas and Count Walpurgis (Walper Guiss). The series ran for 52 episodes, and two separate dubs were made in Australia and Canada.

An American live-action feature film has been rumored. Development had begun on a Japanese-Canadian IMAX co-production, but the project was halted in 2000.