See The Lost Japanese Space Puppet Anime Classic

When Osamu Tezuka, the father of manga, died in 1989, nobody had a full archive of his works—at least not in English. But his genius was certainly recognized. Back in 1965, Stanley Kubrick even asked him to art direct 2001: A Space Odyssey. (Tezuka, a known workaholic, turned down the opportunity because he couldn't leave his studio for too long.) What was so important that he couldn't leave his studio for Kubrick?

One ongoing project at the time was Galaxy Boy Troop, a children's TV show that aired in 92 episodes between 1963 and 1965. The series, which made it to France but never to the US, combines animation, puppetry, a musical score by a famous electronic composer, and Tezuka's penchant for storytelling. The original Japanese reels have since gone missing, but the French had subtitled archives, and now parts of them are on YouTube. This one features vintage spaceship gadgetry, a cowboy, and a big crater. Galaxy Boy Troop: '60s anime-style sci-fi puppetry [Pink Tentacle]

2:00 PM on Fri Apr 11 2008
By LISA KATAYAMA
3,145 views
12 comments

Comments

Simpsons-Movie-ruled at 02:09 PM on 04/11/08
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Is something wrong with the images, or has my computer gone cuckoo for coco puffs?
spacedcowboy at 02:12 PM on 04/11/08
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the last few aren't workin for me
Plague at 02:14 PM on 04/11/08
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I went cuckoo for coco puffs watchin' that.
$Image of Evil Tortie\'s Mom$ Evil Tortie's Mom at 03:14 PM on 04/11/08
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@Simpsons-Movie-ruled: the .jpgs, they do nothing.
Torley at 03:35 PM on 04/11/08
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A mashup of this and some French house (not just Daft Punk) would rule. Kind of reminds me of Thunderbirds but with more pleasing character design: I like how these puppets blink! Almost live-action anime!
Freddie Freelance at 06:21 PM on 04/11/08
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I love the sets: Legos, guitar stomp boxes & random electrical equipment, oh my! More kids' shows need Lo-Fi puppet segments like this!
Killa_Charlie at 09:43 PM on 04/11/08
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Double subtitles!
James7344 at 10:12 PM on 04/11/08
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Man. Looks like a Gerry Anderson production of Astro Boy.
SoulCarnival at 05:45 AM on 04/12/08
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So the American character is a gung-ho, obnoxious, rude, trigger-happy cowboy named Tex?

niiiice :D
dOk at 10:22 AM on 04/12/08
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Did anyone else notice the Lego control board at the beginning? XD
magsman at 01:35 PM on 04/12/08
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I love that they felt it necessary to subtitle the exclamation "Oh!"
SigmundTheSeaMonster at 10:11 AM on 04/13/08
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aww. Poor Pedro. looks like he'll use up all his 02 with that laughing and jumping!