Obscure Adventures in Geek and Nerd Culture

Inspired by the Count of Monte Cristo is a classic in radionovela history named Yo Compro Esa Mujer, created by Cuban grandmaster Olga Ruilópez.  The story began life as a now long gone Cuban radionovela which likely aired at the same time as the first Corazón Salvaje radionovela.  The 1960 Puerto Rican telenovela was the first onscreen version of the tale, which might’ve been a good thing, but its cast wasn’t as diverse as that of the absolutely fabulous Brazilian version.  The 1965 Venezuelan telenovela was clearly insanely bad even by LatAm standards of the 1960s. Since its incredibly questionable casting decisions might’ve baffled even its own (otherwise media-illiterate) audience, it was so bad that it’s pretty much unauthorised and disowned by Olga Ruilópez’s estate at the end of that decade.  The 1968 Brazilian telenovela is likely the best of the 1960s versions, having an all star cast which might’ve entertained audiences back in its time of airing. It even f...

Haha. A 55th anniversary edition of Mazinger Z needs a truckload of references to the most popular of fellow old Shōnen stories, pre-Weekly Shōnen Jump launch.  Easter eggs are not as obvious, but are somewhat integral to the metafictional tale due to giving it a mild resemblance to actual real life. This includes a lot of mundane housewares and some references from pop cultural icons of long ago.  A list of references to seminal films, books, comics and tv shows will be here.  Korosuke Cub Shiro was reading some vintage manga books featuring a bear cub (likely Sanpei Yoshimoto and Masao Haga’s Korosuke Cub in all but name) at the school library.  Shiro and his friends later watch a parody movie, mashing up Korosuke Cub with a more famous young adult novella (likely Sheila Burnford’s The Incredible Journey). As its summary suggests, Korosuke Cub (nicknamed Kori), his friends and their teachers are stranded in a subtropical Taiwanese location, the Dong Yan Shan mounta...

When it’s going to be revived by fans who know the source material, even though it’s unlikely to happen, Jackie Chan Adventures is going to be renamed as Jackie Chong Adventures for obvious legal reasons.  There will be new characters and the story actually grows into a different, more melancholic direction without Jackie Chan’s involvement. 

The VOLN Sci Fi Masters Line   Spectreman  Based on the eponymous Tokusatsu classic and its manga tie in by Dai-ichi Kazamine and Tomio Sagisu (Sōji Ushio)  Plot: Joe Takahata becomes a cyborg with the help of a trans-human technician, gaining the best accessible superpowers that any human can have. Then he gets encased onto the galactic Spectreman, enriching the giant undead armour with his body.   Age Rating: 14+  The Amphibian Man  Based on a novel by Alexander Belyaev  Plot: As the reincarnation of a disease ridden boy, the Amphibian Man was made from the skins of various sea animals by the amoral Dr. Adamo Salvatore, who also turned fellow people into were-beasts in his spare time. He then meets a quarry of human allies and antagonists, while still facing a bunch of dangers all the way. At the end, he returns to the ocean on the verge of being eaten by a hungry young mermaid.  Age Rating: 16+  The Bomber Star Fleet  Based on the epo...

The Genco Visionaries Line  Adventurer Dankichi  Based on a series of manga and children’s books by Keizo Shimada Plot: Dankichi and his mouse Carabino are stranded in a foreign coast after a shipwreck killed the boy’s parents.  Age Rating: 9+ 

The plausible plans for the Mazinger franchise’s 55th anniversary will include a Shueisha Dash X Bunko serial novelisation and a 28 volume Shueisha manga line focusing on at least the four main franchise robots.  The first show, based largely on its manga counterparts, will focus on both Mazinger Z and Great Mazinger themselves.  Mazinger Z is an everlasting icon with distant links to Alexander Belyaev’s sci fi works. Its most faithful onscreen adaptation to date will feature a multilingual soundtrack. Unlike every other animated version, it will be co-produced by Debris Sapporo, Studio Bulldog, Production H+, Holy Cow and Studio Durian. It is also going to be distributed by CloverWorks in Japan and Aniplex internationally, with permission from the Dynamic Group (Go Nagai’s Dynamic Planning, Gogasha and Dynamic Productions).  While Katsumasa Yokomine will still helm it to an extent, Hiromitsu Kanazawa will co-write the whole show from scratch. Takashi Kojima will serve as...

Deep In The Eastern Congolian Frontier  A Salgari style adventure series about a nature hero born in Tokyo’s northeast side. His father, a disengaged salaryman, met a brunette prostitute and both had a baby boy, who then got orphaned in a tsunami. After coming to what was then the Belgian Congo, his scientist uncle and aunt were kidnapped by terrorists torturing both natives and expats alike. Thus, he was found by a bunch of gorillas in the wild, and the gorilla granny took him in. The boy learns a lot throughout the years of his childhood, while trying to live largely on the fruits, nuts and foliage in the rainforest. He doesn’t care that he’s a human, he’s still trying to survive like any other animal in the wild.  The young man lets both his uncle and aunt return to Tokyo, only for him to be shunned by his birth society, which suggests that the jungle is his true homeland. Finally, he becomes a gardening guy who rescues a mutinied former lackey, teaching her the skills he h...