The Right Stuf and Nozomi Entertainment announced the October 6th release of Astro Boy Mini Sets 1& 2 and Kimba: The White Lion Mini Set #1.  The October release of these two original anime series from Osamu Tezuka is clearly timed to take advantage of the October 23rd release of the new computer-generated feature film based on Tezuka’s Astro Boy in more than 3,000 theaters in North America.  Right Stuf has released the original Astro Boy and Kimba series, both of which aired on American TV in the 1960s, before, but the new Mini Set releases have lower suggested retail prices, as they provide 550 minutes of anime for an MSRP of just $49.99.  Both the Astro Boy and Kimba are presented in the same form they appeared on American TV with just an English language soundtrack.

 

Each Astro Boy Mini Set contains 26 episodes of the original Astro Boy anime series produced by Tezuka’s Mushi Productions in 1963.  As Japanese pop-culture expert Frederik L. Schodt put it: “It all started with Astro Boy. By animating his hugely popular Mighty Atom manga in 1963, Osamu Tezuka created the template for Japan's modern and gargantuan manga/anime industry. Today the series is still entertaining, charming, and fascinating for the sophistication of its ideas. But it also reveals how the anime boom began, and is a must-watch for all true anime fans.”

 

While the original Astro Boy was in black-and-white, Tezuka’s Kimba: The White Lion, was produced in color.  Many believe that Kimba was the inspiration for Disney’s mega-hit, The Lion King—and there are many similarities.  This series is worth watching in its own right, but those familiar with the story of The Lion King will get the extra thrill of discovery.