The Invincible Shogun - The 1981 anime series

The Invincible Shogun (Japanese original title ま ん が 水 戸 黄 門 Manga Mito kōmon) is a Japanese anime television series shōnen (for boys), consisting of 46 episodes directed by Kazuyuki Okasako. The original title of the series is Manga Mitokomon, or “Comic Mitokomon” as it is loosely based on the real life events of Tokugawa Mitsukuni, a historical figure of medieval Japan. The anime arrived in Italy in 1982 on Rete 4, and has been replicated by several local broadcasters.

History

The shōgun Mito Mitsukuni crosses Japan in disguise, accompanied by two bodyguards, the master swordsman Suke (Sasashi Sukesumaburo) and the strong Kaku-san (Atsumi Kakunoshin), his nephew Sutemaru, the dog Dombee and, in part of the series, by a girl named Yuki.

Each episode follows a basic plot: the group arrives in a village, with the shōgun hiding his identity. While resting, they witness some mysteries and some misdeeds committed by local personalities, prompting the group to investigate.

At the end of each episode Suke and Kaku confront the main thief and, after a fight in which Suke and Kaku show their physical prowess by beating the minions of the main perpetrator with their skills (Suke fights valiantly with her katana, Kaku flaunts "the strength of 100 men "to overcome his enemies), Suke shows the inrō revealing the identity of Mitsukuni, ordering the villains to surrender and accept the judgment of Mitsukuni, who then explains the mystery as an act of deliberate evil, punishes offenders and encourages good people to get on with their life.

Episode titles

1 The sea monster
「必殺 ・ 流星 十 文字 斬 り」 - hissatsu. ryūsei jūmonji turns 3 September 1981
2 The explosion in the devil's valley
「悪 魔 の 谷 ・ 大 爆 発」 - akuma no tani. daibakuhatsu September 10, 1981
3 The counterfeiters
「た ら ふ く 食 べ た 悪 い 夢」 - tarafuku tabeta warui yume 17 September 1981
4 The Kroatato gang
「黒 旗 党 を や っ つ け ろ」 - kokki tō woyattsukero September 24, 1981
5 The Tiger Hunt
「謎 の 大名 行列」 - nazo no daimyōgyōretsu 1 October 1981
6 The false prince
「馬 子 と 若 様」 - magician to jaku sama 8 October 1981
7 The water war
「助 三郎 ・ 危機 一 髪」 - jo saburō. kikiippatsu October 15, 1981
8 The cure for weight loss
「ジ ャ ジ ャ 馬 姫 ま か り 通 る」 - jaja uma hime makari tōru October 22, 1981
9 Monsters of the Oi River
「恐怖 の 河 童 大王」 - kyōfu no kappa daiō 29 October 1981
10 The very honorable "Dombè"
「鈍 兵衛 出世 太 閤 記」 - don bee shusse taikōki 5 November 1981
11 The revolt of the peasants
「大 暴 れ ・ 勇者 の 村」 - ooabare. yūsha no mura 12 November 1981
12 The raft race
「激 突 ・ 兄妹 夜」 - gekitotsu. kyōdai yoru November 19, 1981
13 The battle of Dombè
「鈍 兵衛 暗殺 夜」 - don bee ansatsu yoru November 26, 1981
14 The flying man
「空 飛 ぶ む さ さ び 小僧」 - kūhi bumusasabi kozō December 3, 1981
15 The god of the mountain
「火 を ふ く 妖怪 大 天狗」 - hi wofuku yōkai dai tengu 10 December 1981
16 The official doctor
「日本 一 の 悪 い 奴」 - nippon'ichi no warui yatsu December 17, 1981
17 "Goro" the whale
「ク ジ ラ に 乗 っ た 少年」 - kujira ni jōtta shōnen 24 December 1981
18 Horse thief
「盗 ま れ た 将軍 家 の 馬」 - nusuma reta shōgunke no uma 31 December 1981
19 A bad man
「大 決 戦 ・ 捨 丸 村 大 だ ぬ き」 - from kessens. sha maru mura dai danuki 7 january 1982
20 The Jungle Boy
「大 暴 れ 猿 の 軍 団」 - ooabare saru no gundan January 14, 1982
21 The White Knight
「わ ん ぱ く 砦 大人 を や っ つ け ろ」 - wanpaku toride otona woyattsukero 21 January 1982
22 Ransom for a seizure
「泣 き 笑 い 鈍 兵衛 の 初恋」 - naki warai don bee no hatsukoi January 28, 1982
23 The giant millipede
「村 を 救 っ た 大 ム カ デ」 - mura wo sukutta dai mukade February 4, 1982
24 The return to the light
「湖 の 竜 の 首 を 斬 れ」 - mizūmi no ryū no kubi wo kire 11 February 1982
25 The false heroes
「ど っ ち が ど っ ち？ ニ セ 黄 門」 - douche? nise kōmon February 18, 1982
26 The Karos Band
「悪 魔 の 火 文字」 - akuma no himoji February 25, 1982
27 A lively girl
「難 波 の じ ゃ り ん 娘」 - nanba nojarin musume March 4, 1982
28 The man disappeared into thin air
「地獄 の 塩 田 を 救 え！」 - jigoku no shioda wo sukue! March 11, 1982
29 The city of women
「や ま ん ば の 黄金 城」 - yamanbano ōgon shiro March 18, 1982
30 The pirates
「海賊 船 を や っ つ け ろ」 - kaizokusen woyattsukero March 25, 1982
31 The adopted son
「お 夏 が お 母 さ ん？」 - or natsu gao kaasan? April 1, 1982
32 The ransom
「金 毘羅 さ ま で 丸 裸」 - kin bi ra samade maruhadaka April 8, 1982
33 The "beast bath" spring
「命 の 泉 を 守 れ」 - inochi no izumi wo mamore April 15, 1982
34 The pearl divers
「海 女 を 襲 っ た 人 食 い 鮫」 - ama wo osotta hitokui i same 22 april 1982
35 In the footsteps of Icarus
「空 を 飛 ん だ 少年」 - sora wo ton da shōnen April 29, 1982
36 The theft of rice
「雨 に 泣 い た 握 り 飯」 - ame ni nai ta nigiri meshi 6 May 1982
37 A band of animals
「困 っ た 犬猫 騒 動」 - komatta inuneko sōdō 13 May 1982
38 Let's save dad
「父 ち ゃ ん を 救 え」 - tōchan wo sukue May 20, 1982
39 A strange inventor
「お か し な 発 明 ​​家」 - okashina hatsumeika May 27, 1982
40 The mystery of the old mountain
「古墳 山 の 謎 を 暴 け」 - kofun yama no nazo wo abake 3 June 1982
41 Sutemaru and Dombè against the demons
「捨 丸 ・ 鈍 兵衛 の 鬼 退 治」 - sha maru. don bee no oni taiji 10th june 1982
42 The battle of the bulls
「白 い 雌 牛 と 少年」 - shiroi meushi to shōnen June 17, 1982
43 The Japanese struggle
「ど す こ い 権 太 の 土 俵 入 り」 - dosukoi ken ta no dohyōiri June 24, 1982
44 A friend from far away China
「泣 く な 捨 丸 長崎 の 別 れ」 - naku na sha maru nagasaki no wakare 1 July 1982
45 The capricious princess
「や ん ち ゃ 姫 騒 動 記」 - yancha hime sōdō ki July 8, 1982
46 Surprise ending
「鈍 兵衛 の 命 を 賭 け た 恋」 - don bee no inochi wo kake ta koi 15 July 1982

Technical data

Anime TV series
Regia Kazuyuki Okaseko, Tadashi Nitta
Subject Seiichi Nishino
Film script Yoshihisa Araki, Yoshiaki Yoshida, Tsuneisa Ito, Hitoshi Mizuno
character design Keisuke Morishita
Artistic direction Tsuneumi Kamezaki
Music Koji Murata, Kentaro Haneda
Studio Knack Animation
1st TV September 3, 1981 - July 15, 1982
Episodes 46 (complete)
Relationship 4:3
Italian network 4 network
1st Italian TV 1982
Italian episodes 46 (complete)