Robin Hood – The 1990 anime series

Robin Hood – The 1990 anime series



Robin Hood's Great Adventure, also known as Robin Hood (ロビンフッドの大冒険, Robin Fuddo no Daibōken) is an Italian-Japanese anime series produced by Tatsunoko Productions, Mondo TV and NHK. It is an adaptation of Alexandre Dumas' version of the Robin Hood story, consisting of 52 episodes. In this version, Robin and his allies are mostly pre-teens.

The plot follows Robin, whose palace was burned on the orders of Alwyn, the Baron of Nottingham. Robin and his cousins ​​Will, Winifred and Jenny flee to Sherwood Forest, hoping to escape persecution. They come across a group of bandits led by Little John, who at the beginning of the series called himself Big John, until Robin jokingly renamed him “Little John” for playing with a cat. Together, Robin and the bandits must stop Baron Alwyn's persecution and greed, and stop the fat, greedy Bishop Hartford from adopting (in the Japanese dub, marrying) Marian Lancaster and obtaining her family's wealth.

The main characters include Robert Huntington or Robert Huntingdon, aka Robin Hood, heir to the noble Huntington family; Marian Lancaster, descendant of the noble Lancaster family; Will Scarlet, Robin's friend/cousin who fights alongside him when problems arise; Friar Tuck, an old monk who lives on the edge of Sherwood Forest and helps Robin if necessary; Little John, leader of the group of bandits forced to hide in Sherwood Forest to avoid forced labor; and King Richard the Lionheart, the true and rightful king of England.

The series uses two pieces of music: an opening called “Wood Walker” and a closing called “Hoshizora no Labirinsu (Labyrinth of the Starry Sky),” both sung by Japanese vocalist Satoko Shimonari.

Robin Hood's Great Adventure originally aired from July 29, 1990 to October 28, 1991 on NHK, and gained a sequel of 52 episodes. The series features many temporary antagonists who eventually end up helping the protagonists, but start out as Robin's enemies. By the end of the series, many of them begin to change for the better.

In conclusion, Robin Hood's Great Adventure is an engaging anime with a compelling plot and well-developed characters, mixing elements of Dumas' adaptation with a new take on the characters of Robin Hood and company. With the addition of engaging music and captivating animation, the anime achieved considerable success.

Robin Hood's Great Adventure

Director: Kōichi Mashimo
Author: Hiroyuki Kawasaki, Katsuhiko Chiba, Mami Watanabe, Seiko Watanabe, Tsunehisa Ito
Production studio: Tatsunoko Productions, NHK Enterprises, Mondo TV
Number of episodes: 52
Country: Italy, Japan
Genre: Adventure, Action, Animation, Historical
Duration: 25 minutes per episode
TV network: NHK
Release date: July 29, 1990 – October 28, 1991
The cartoon “Robin Hood's Great Adventure” is an Italian-Japanese animated series produced by Tatsunoko Productions, Mondo TV and NHK. It is an adaptation of Alexandre Dumas' version of the Robin Hood story, consisting of 52 episodes. In this version, Robin and his allies are mostly pre-teens.

Plot:
After Robin's palace is burned on the orders of Alwyn, the Baron of Nottingham, Robin and his cousins ​​Will, Winifred and Jenny flee to Sherwood Forest in the hope of escaping persecution. They encounter a group of bandits led by Little John, who calls himself Big John at the beginning of the series, until Robin mocks him by renaming him "Little John" for playing with a cat. Together, Robin and the bandits must stop Baron Alwyn's persecution and greed, as well as stop the greedy and fat Bishop Hartford from adopting (marrying in the Japanese version) Marian Lancaster and gaining her family's wealth.

Main characters:
– Robert Huntington or Robert Huntingdon, aka Robin Hood
– Marian Lancaster
– Will Scarlet
– Brother Tuck
– Little John
– Much
– Winifred Scarlet
– Jenny Scarlet, called Barbara in the Japanese version
– King Richard the Lionheart

Main antagonists:
– Baron Alwyn
– Bishop Hartford
– Gilbert
– Cleo
– King John
– Guy from Gisbourne

The series uses two pieces of music for the Japanese version; an opening theme and an ending theme. The Japanese opening theme is called “Wood Walker”, while the ending theme is called “Hoshizora no Labirinsu (Labyrinth of the Starry Sky)”, both sung by Japanese singer Satoko Shimonari. For the Italian version, the opening theme is sung by the popular singer Cristina D'Avena.



Source: wikipedia.com

90's cartoons

Gianluigi Piludu

Author of articles, illustrator and graphic designer of the website www.cartonionline.com

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