Osamu Tezuka's anime series The Jungle Emperor, known in the U.S. as Kimba: The White Lion, is finally coming to DVD here in the States. Rhino Home Video is releasing a box set including four volumes collecting the first 26 episodes of the series. The MSRP for the box set, which contains some 350 minutes of material, is $59.95.
Tezuka, the key innovator in the development of manga and anime (see 'Osamu Tezuka: An Overview'), produced the animated version of his 1950 manga series Jungle Taitei (Jungle Emperor) in 1965. Partially financed by the American NBC TV network, Kimba was the first anime series produced in color and was widely broadcast in the U.S. The story parallels between Kimba and Disney's 1994 animated feature, The Lion King are striking. In both series a lion cub, whose father is killed, impatiently attempts to regain the family throne, helped by a mandrill/baboon counselor, and a constantly yakking bird buddy, while pitted against a scarred adversary and his hyena helpers.
