I might be a young adult, but that doesn’t mean I’ve thrown away things that were important to me when I was a kid. Far from it, I’ve embraced those things (Well, some of them at least) in order to become more mature & adult. Bugs Bunny, Bill Nye the Science Guy, you name it! Even anime that’s geared for younger people, I’ve learned to appreciate over the years. Today’s review actually comes from my Parent’s generation, or more specifically my Mom’s childhood. A show that she grew up with & loved, and one that she actually passed to me in recent years. A kid’s show that equal parts serious & silly, manic & mature, heartfelt & hilarious. With it’s revival in recent memory, I couldn’t pass this show up. So without further interruptions, here’s a look at the mid-60s classic, Kimba the White Lion!
Story/Setup
Taken from Wikipedia:
“In Africa during the mid-20th century, as mankind encroaches, the white lion Panja (Caesar in the English dub) gives the jungle's wild animals a safe haven. However, he angers nearby villagers by stealing their cattle and their food to feed the jungle carnivores. (In the English dub he merely frees the cattle.) A professional hunter, Ham Egg (Viper Snakely in the English dub), is called in to stop these raids. He avoids directly attacking Panja. Instead, he records the sounds of Panja and uses them to trap his mate, Eliza, who then becomes bait in a trap for Panja. Panja is killed for his hide, and the pregnant Eliza is put on a ship, destined for a zoo. Leo (Kimba in the English dub) is born on the boat. Eliza teaches him his father's ideals. As a huge tropical storm nears, she urges her cub out through the bars of her cage. The storm wrecks the boat, and he flounders in the ocean. The fish help him learn to swim. As he begins to despair, the stars in the sky form the face of his mother, who encourages him. Guided by butterflies, he makes it to land. Leo lands far from his ancestral home and is found and cared for by some people. He learns the advantages of human culture, and decides that when he returns to his wild home he will bring culture to the jungle and stand for peace like his father. The show follows Leo's life after he returns to the wild, still a young cub, and how he learns and grows in the next year. Leo soon learns that only communication and mutual understanding between animals and humans will bring true peace.”
For a kids anime, Kimba the White Lion has one of the deepest & most mature stories ever written! Very few show can be compared to it, and the shows that can are almost as old as Kimba itself. There are plenty of moments where things are quite mature: characters learn things, go through some very tough circumstances, and almost have a brush with death! This show doesn’t completely concentrates of these serious components, however. There are also an equal number of moments where there’s a more lighthearted atmosphere. New friendships, having fun, and even the blossoms of love take center stage when something heavy isn’t needed. What makes this great is that Kimba the White Lion never leans towards one side or the other: during the course of the series, it maintain a perfect balance, never losing it during the entire time.
Animation
Kimba The White Lion’s animation is something of a double-edged sword. On the one hand, you can immediately tell that this is an old series. Even with the re-mastering of the entire series, you can still see that this is a 60s series. I can only describe the color pallet as a rainbow that exploded at a nuclear power plant. There are episodes that are bursting with color, while other episodes sometimes seem slightly muted. Again, even with the previously mentioned remastering, these problems can be spotted by even the most casual of animation fans.
On the other hand, this is a Osamu Tezuka series, and as such is a visually striking series. Characters look unique, and the world itself that was created is a wonder to behold! There are plenty of set pieces that capture your imagination, and even the more basic elements are pleasant to look at. There are times where segments are repeated, but 9 times out of 10 you’ll be seeing something different in each of the show’s 52 episodes.
Voice Acting
If the show’s animation was a double-edged, then it’s voice acting leans more towards the “Meh” side of things. In addition to the re-mastering of the animation, the audio quality was re-mastered as well. The voice work sounds much more crisp & clean, although it’s still dated, but for completely different reasons. Many of the lines within are absolutely goofy & silly, and sure Kimba is a kid’s show, thus there’s an expected aspect of silliness. However, there are lines within that have left me scratching my head, not to mention the hokey musical numbers that would induce diabetes in lesser individuals. I suggest you watch episode 34, a.k.a. “Jungle Fun”, for what may be the sappiest song in the entire series, and see if you don’t come out of it without at least a hint of mental trauma.
Characters
For a kid’s series, there is a wealth of characters in Kimba the White Lion. There are plenty of humans Kimba & the gang come across, and a breadth of animals & wildlife that make up a bulk of the individuals the viewer encounters. Both sides come across as very different groups: the humans are very ignorant, have a disregard for nature, and sometimes act before they think. The animals, meanwhile, have something of a collective mentality. There’s a big “All for one, One for all” belief within the animal kingdom, but there are plenty of circumstances where this is not the case. Some of the worst villains in this series actually come from animal side of the cast, and they’re really just humans wearing an animal’s skin. There are exceptions among the humans as well: a handful of them understand the plight that Kimba and his friends are going through, and do what they can to help. In the case of one individual (Roger Ranger), they actually live within the jungle, and live as Kimba and the rest of the animals do.
This really is the bulk of what makes Kimba the White Lion so great, apart from the story. Every single character, even the secondary ones, all have personality to them. Everybody pulls their weight, and they all change overtime for the better. Even a villain or two is a little different by the end of the show, and when the animals & humans get together, it’s often quite powerful & emotional in someway.
Availability & Pricing
In a great set of circumstances, Kimba the White Lion recently has been re-released to the public (It’s been released on DVDs & tapes before, but those have become harder to locate). July of 2013, to be exact. Due to this re-release, you can find the collection on the typical places (Amazon, F.Y.E., Best Buy). Pricing ranges across the 3 places: FYE is the most expensive of the options, which are priced at 60 dollars. Amazon is the 2nd most expensive, with the pricing range from 34 to 40 dollars. Best Buy is actually the best (Pun somewhat intended) option in the regard, with a brand new copy going for 35 dollars. Yes, it’s a tiny bit more expensive than the base price of Amazon, but a dollar difference isn’t always an issue.
Other
Yes, some of the sticklers among you are going “Disney ripped this story off for The Lion King! They’re cheap!”. I’m not going to disagree with many of you, as there are plenty of parallels between the two stories: the father that dies, the prodigal son, the advisors & friends that help the son grow into a man, etc. Yeah, there’s a lot of things you can compare to, but there are also some things that still make both series/movies different from one, enough to the point where they’re still two separate things.
Overall Impression & Rating
It’s unfortunate that so many children’s anime today has become so substandard. Weak stories & condescending morals really make it difficult to convey an important message, and considering that most of them are really commercials, there’s nothing of substance. Kimba the White Lion curb-checks all of them: a good story, fantastic morals, wonderful characters, and a great message can all be found within every single episode. There’s definitely some blemishes to be sure, but they really can’t take away the weight & power of Kimba. Certainly a title you should watch, whether you’re a kid or adult.
Kimba The White Lion gets a 8.5 out of 10.
See you all next time, when I’ll review a more mature title!
***
If you want to watch a few episodes to judge the series before you buy, click the link below:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=ELP7kHaRxcFPg
No comments:
Post a Comment