Once upon a time… Pollon - The 1982 animated series
Pollon (Japanese original title: オ リ ン ポ ス の ポ ロ ン Olympus no Poron, aka Pollon of Mount Olympus) is a Japanese manga series based on Greek mythology, based on the 1977 manga series Olympus no Pollon (オ リ ン ポ ス の ポ ロ ン, Orinposu no Poron, “Pollon of Olympus ”) By Hideo Azuma. From the manga an anime adaptation entitled Once upon a time ... Pollon was then taken (お ち ゃ め 神 物語 コ ロ コ ロ ポ ロ ン Ochamegami monogatari korokoro Poron ?, or The story of the little chubby goddess Pollon), produced by Fuji Television, consisting of 46 episodes and aired between 1982 and 1983. The series is known for its faithful depiction of the gods of Mount Olympus as fallible beings who succumb to true human flaws and weaknesses, such as selfishness, anger, debauchery, laziness and vanity.
The manga was published in Italy for the first time in 2001 by Lexy Production in four volumes; Subsequently the distribution passes to Magic Press Edizioni, which publishes a new edition of the comic in two volumes in 2010 and the complete series in single volume in 2017.
In Italy, the anime series was broadcast for the first time on Italia 1 in 1984. The Italian theme song is played by Cristina D'Avena, is written by Piero Cassano dei Matia Bazar and Alessandra Valeri Manera, and is called Pollon, Pollon combinaguai . In addition to the Mediaset television channels, the series was also replicated on the local Crotone broadcaster Radio Tele International and was also broadcast in France by La Cinq under the name La petite Olympe et les dieux.
History
The protagonist of the story is Pollon, a sweet and precocious child, daughter of the God of the Sun, Apollo. Pollon's goal in life is to become a beautiful and powerful goddess. Try to do good deeds and help in any way possible to achieve the state of divinity. Invariably, its openings backfire and end up causing major problems for both the Olympian gods and their human subjects. However, Pollon's kind heart, perseverance and indomitable spirit ultimately win when she gains the title of "Goddess of Hope".
Characters
Pollon
Daughter of Apollo, the sun god, she is a kind-hearted but somewhat naive girl who wants to be a goddess when she grows up. However, her attempts to prove herself worthy of the title of goddess usually result in disasters of comic proportions.
Eros
The God of Love, Pollon's cousin and best friend. He shoots heart-tipped arrows at people to make them fall in love, but as he's a pretty ugly creature, ironically he doesn't have a girlfriend of his own.
Apollo
Pollon's father and also the uncle of Eros, the sun god. He is a lazy drunkard who is a little careless with his daughter. His main job is to drive the chariot of the Sun across the sky each day, but because he is often too lazy and / or drunk to do so, Pollon often ends up driving the chariot himself.
Zeus
The king of the gods, father of Apollo and grandfather of Pollon. Despite his advanced age, he has a strong attraction for younger women, which often gets him into trouble with his wife, Hera.
Hera
The queen of the gods, mother of Apollo and grandmother of Pollon. She is portrayed as the stereotypical chicken-pecking wife, somewhat neurotic and prone to tantrums, and often violently responds to the flirtatious ways of her husband Zeus.
Artemide
The Moon Goddess, one of Pollon's aunts.
Afrodite
The goddess of beauty and another of Pollon's aunts. She is also the mother of Eros. Aphrodite is very beautiful and very vain, and she spends hours admiring herself in the mirror. He is ashamed of his unattractive son and often disowns him.
Poseidon
The God of the Sea is very tall in stature, towering much over the other gods. Although he is the god of the sea, ironically he cannot swim.
Atlas
Atlas is the Titan that bears the weight of the sky. It is proven that he is ticklish.
Hephaestus
God of punishment and husband of Aphrodite, he is a lovable, if clumsy, inventor. However, he does not like most of the other males, especially Apollo, because they are more beautiful than him.
Athena
The armored goddess of wisdom and war. One of the most serious and wisest characters in the cast. However, others don't like his stinging demeanor.
Dionysus
God of wine and merriment, he is a stout and bald man with dark glasses. He has never been seen without a bottle in his hand. The other gods greatly appreciate his company (and the wine he produces).
Ade
God of the underworld, he reigns supreme over his kingdom with his wife Persephone. They enjoy inflicting the most absurd punishments and tortures on the damned.
Cha Cha Cha
A somewhat modern-looking scientist. Clumsy and foolish, he sincerely believes himself to be the "healthiest person in this crazy world of fools". He tries to help Pollon by providing her with concoctions and potions which, according to him, could potentially solve every problem Pollon encounters in his adventures, but fail to always deliver the intended effect. It also provides Pollon with a powder that can induce happiness and euphoria.
Dosankos
The horse of Apollo.
The sun
The suffering sun is often torn, torn or otherwise disturbed by Pollon and / or the other gods. He became a heavy smoker to deal with the stresses of his life.
Narrator
A friendly elf who tells the story of Pollon and the gods as it unfolds.
Technical data and credits
Manga
Author Hideo Azuma
Editor akita shoten
Magazine Princess
Target shoujo
1 edition 1977 – 1979
Tankōbon 2 (complete)
Italian publisher Lexy, Magic Press
1st Italian edition 2001
Italian volumes 2 (complete)
Anime TV series
Once upon a time ... Pollon
Author Hideo Azuma
Regia Takao Yotsuji
Subject Masaru Yamamoto, Kenji Terada, Tomohiro Ando
Composition series Hirokazu Ishiyuki, Toshio Takagi
Music Masayuki Yamamoto, Volkovuky Irinuky
Studio Kokusai eigasha
Network Fuji TV
1st TV May 8, 1982 - March 26, 1983
Episodes 46 (complete)
Duration 30 min
Publisher it. Hobby & Work (VHS), Yamato Video (VHS and DVD), De Agostini (DVD), Fool Frame (DVD)
Italian network Italy 1, Network 4
1st Italian TV 10 September 1984
Dialogues it. Daniela Altomonte, Manuela Marianetti
Double studio it. AB Service
Double Dir. it. Renzo Stacchi