Marine Boy

Marine Boy was one of the first color anime cartoons to be shown in a dubbed form in the U.S. (1960s), and later in Australia and the United Kingdom. It was produced in Japan as Undersea Boy Marine (海底少年マリン, Kaitei Shōnen Marin^?) from 1966 to 1967 by Minoru Adachi through K Fujita Associates Inc. It was released by Japan Tele Cartoons and Seven Arts Television worldwide. The plot revolved around the undersea adventures of a boy who was able to breathe underwater by chewing a special chewing gum called "oxy-gum". He was powered underwater by his propeller boots and armed with an electric boomerang. Marine Boy's father, Dr. Mariner was part of the Ocean Patrol, an organization set up to maintain peace and security in the Earth's oceans.

Adventures often featured the Ocean Patrol craft P-1, a submarine crewed by Piper and Bolton (a double act, reminiscent of Laurel and Hardy) who would assist Marine Boy. Other regular characters in the show included Neptina, a bare-chested mermaid who was always kept decent by her long flowing hair. Neptina's special power was derived from a magic pearl, which she wore around her neck, and that helped her foresee the future. Other characters included Splasher, his loyal and playful white dolphin, and Professor Fumble, the Ocean Patrol's absent-minded scientist, who provided Marine Boy with technology (like his propeller boots and oxy-gum), and worked for Dr. Mariner.

Series

In Japan, the program debuted with the 1965 Dolphin Prince (ドルフィン王子 - Dorufin Ôji) series, consisting of just three episodes in black and white. The first 13 color episodes aired in the second series, entitled Hang On! Marine Kid (がんばれ!マリンキッド - Ganbare! Marin Kiddo) and broadcast from 1965 to 1966. Finally a third series - Undersea Boy Marine (海底少年マリン - Kaitei Shônen Marin) - aired over two seasons with 36 episodes shown in 1969, and 78 episodes broadcast in 1971. It is the second season of this final series that was dubbed for broadcast in English, and the English-language versions were broadcast internationally significantly before their Japanese-language equivalents were first aired in the Japanese market. Broadcast information and records tend to indicate that in total, 130 episodes were produced, although this may simply be an indication of the number of episodes broadcast; the major problem with information about the series being that it has borne three separate titles.

English characterization

Stanley R. Jaffe was the producer of the English version. The voice of Marine Boy, Neptina and Cli Cli was that of Corinne Orr (female) who was also the voice of Trixie in Speed Racer. Jack Grimes, who also worked on Speed Racer, was the voice of Professor Fumble and Splasher, and Peter Fernandez (other work includes The Space Giants, Ultraman, Star Blazers (the American version of Space Battleship Yamato and most of the Godzilla films,) was the voice of Piper and Dr. Mariner, and later went on to be both Speed and Racer X from Speed Racer. Jack Curtis was the voice of Bolton, as well as the series' narrator (performing the same duties on Speed Racer). Warner Brothers bought out Seven Arts and its library in 1967, and holds all the Marine Boy masters.

Trivia

• Excerpts of the Marine Boy theme appear at the end of the Wondermints album "Bali."

External links

• Little Gems, dedicated to the Little Gems of children's television programs
• Classic Anime appreciation site - contains episode guides, photos, casts, etc.
• 60's Anime site in Australia