The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (Japanese: トム・ソーヤーの冒険, Hepburn: Tomu Sōyā no Bōken) is a Japanese anime television series produced by Nippon Animation and directed by Hiroshi Saito, which premiered on January 6, 1980, and ended its run on December 28 the same year.[1][2] It is based on the 1876 novel The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain[3] (and partially on The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn).
| The Adventures of Tom Sawyer | |
 Opening logo | |
| トム・ソーヤーの冒険 (Tomu Sōyā no Bōken) | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Comedy-drama, historical, Adventure, Western |
| Anime television series | |
| Directed by | Hiroshi Saito |
| Produced by | Takaji Matsudo |
| Written by |
|
| Music by | Katsuhisa Hattori |
| Studio | Nippon Animation |
| Original network | Fuji TV |
| English network | |
| Original run | January 6, 1980 – December 28, 1980 |
| Episodes | 49 |
The series was broadcast on the World Masterpiece Theater, an animation staple on Fuji TV, that each year showcased an animated version of a classical book or story of Western literature, and was originally titled Tom Sawyer no Bōken.[4] It was the second installment of the series, after Rascal the Raccoon in 1977, to feature the work of an American author.
This series was dubbed into English by Saban International and broadcast on HBO in 1988 under the title The Adventures of Tom Sawyer at 7:30 am. It alternated with the later World Masterpiece Theater version of Little Women. Celebrity Home Entertainment released videos in the United States under the title All New Adventures of Tom Sawyer.
A different English dub of the series has been shown in Southeast Asia. In 1997, 2008 and 2014, it was shown on ABS-CBN. In 2015 and 2016, a digitally remastered version was shown on the ABS-CBN Digital TV subchannel Yey! in the Philippines.[5] It has also been dubbed in other languages, including French, Italian, Arabic, Hebrew, Portuguese, German, Hungarian, Dutch and Spanish. In January 2011, it was shown in the United States in the original Japanese on the NHK's cable channel TV Japan.
Characters
Sawyers
- Tom Sawyer: Masako Nozawa in Japanese, Barbara Goodson in English dub.
- Sid Sawyer: Sumiko Shirakawa in Japanese, Brianne Siddall in English dub.
- Aunt Polly: Haru Endo in Japanese, Philece Sampler in English dub.
- Mary Sawyer: Kaoru Ozawa in Japanese, Melora Harte in English dub.
Phelpses
- Sally Phelps: Natsuko Kawaji
- Silas Phelps: Minoru Yada
- Penny Phelps: Yoshiko Matsuo
- Oscar Phelps: Kaneto Shiozawa in Japanese, Michael McConnohie in English dub.
Finns
- Huckleberry Finn: Kazuyo Aoki in Japanese, Wanda Nowicki in English dub
- Pap Finn: Toshiya Ueda
Thatchers
- Becky Thatcher: Keiko Han
- Judge Edward Thatcher: Ichiro Murakoshi
- Margaret & Jeff Thatcher: Yumi Nakatani, Cam Clarke (English; Jeff)
Others
- Jim: Ikuo Nishikawa
- Amy Lawrence: Kaoru Kurosu, Sanae Takagi
- Ben Rogers: Mie Azuma, Atsuko Mine
- Alfred Temple: Masako Sugaya
- Billy Fisher: Naoki Tatsuta, Ikuo Nishikawa
- Muff Potter: Eken Mine in Japanese, Robert V. Barron in English dub.
- Dr. Robinson: Jun Hazumi
- Injun Joe: Eiji Kanie and Kenji Utsumi (episodes 38-49) in Japanese, Tom Wyner in English dub.
- Mr. Dobbins: Ichirō Nagai
- Joe Harper: Kazuhiko Inoue
- Sheriff Collins: Taimei Suzuki
- Widow Douglas: Keiko Kuge, Barbara Goodson in English dub.
- Dr. Michael Mitchell: Tadao Futami in Japanese, Michael Forest in English dub.
- Dr. Helmen: Mike Reynolds in English dub.
- Lisette Jean
- Prosecutor: Richard Epcar in English dub.
- Peter (the cat)
- Caesar (the dog)
Episodes
English episode titles from the 1988 Saban dub are listed in parentheses.
| # | Title |
|---|---|
| 1 | The Small World of Tom Sawyer (トムとハックとブタ騒動, Tomu to Hakku to buta sōdō) ("Tom's Wild Pig Chase") |
| 2 | A Fun Punishment (ごきげんなペンキ塗り, Gokigen'na Penki nuri) ("The Whitewashing Party") |
| 3 | Love At First Sight (トム一目ぼれをする, Tomu hitomebore wo suru) ("Love at First Sight") |
| 4 | The Magic Spell (サムじいさんのおまじない, Samu-jī-san no Omajinai) ("Turning on the Charm") |
| 5 | Becky (恋は異なもの味なもの, Koha kotona Mono ajina Mono) ("Tom's First Date") |
| 6 | Huck's House (ハックの家づくり, Hakku no ie dukuri) ("Home Sweet Huck") |
| 7 | The Rival (ライバル登場, Raibaru-tōjō) ("Tom Meets His Match") |
| 8 | Panic at Board (あこがれの蒸気船, Akogare no jōkisen) |
| 9 | Aunt Polly is Sick (ポリーおばさんの子供たち, Pōri-oba-san no Kodomo-tachi) |
| 10 | Injun Joe (村の嫌われ者, Mura no kiraware Mono) |
| 11 | The Treasure (海賊の宝, Kaizoku no Takara) |
| 12 | The Professor (ベッキー・サッチャー怒る, Bekkī Satchā ikaru) |
| 13 | The Pirates (海賊になるんだ, Kaizoku ni narun'da) |
| 14 | Pirates Don't Go To School (海賊には学校はない, Kaizoku ni wa gakkō wa nai) |
| 15 | Poor Aunt Polly (冒険・冒険また冒険, Bōken; bōken mata bōken) |
| 16 | The Funeral (トム・ソーヤーの葬式, Tōmu Sōyā no sōshiki) |
| 17 | Back to School (運の悪い日, Hako no warui nichi) ("Tom's Moment of Glory") |
| 18 | Reconciliation (痛い仲直り, Itai naka naori) |
| 19 | The Frog Race (蛙の戦い, Kaeru no Tatakai) |
| 20 | The Secret of Mr. Dobbins (ドビンズ先生の秘密, Dobinzu-sensei no Himitsu) |
| 21 | The Summer Holidays (夏休みの始まり, Natsuyasumi no Hajimari) |
| 22 | The Charlatan (病気にならない薬, Byōki ni naranai kusuri) |
| 23 | Fishing Party (ナマズ釣りの日, Namazu tsuri no Nichi) |
| 24 | Huck Wears a Tie (ネクタイをしたハック, Nekutai wo shita Hakku) |
| 25 | A Stubborn Boy (意地っぱり野郎, Ijippari Yarō) |
| 26 | Lisette (子役のリゼット, Koyaku no Rizetto) |
| 27 | The Rising of the Curtain (お芝居の始まるまで, O-shibai no Hajimaru made) |
| 28 | Help Lisette! (リゼットを助けろ！, Rizetto wo tasukero!) |
| 29 | Goodbye Lisette (突然のさようなら, Totsuzen no Sayōnara) |
| 30 | Huck's Father (ハックの父親, Hakku no Chichioya) |
| 31 | The Candlestick (数を数えろ, Kazu wo kazoero) |
| 32 | Gold in Petersburg (黄金を見つけた！, Ōgon wo mitsuketa!) |
| 33 | Escape to Freedom (自由に向かって逃げろ, Jiyū ni mukatte nigero) |
| 34 | The Man who Came from the Sky (天から降ってきた男, Ten kara futte kita otoko) |
| 35 | Tom wants to Fly (空を飛びたい, Sora wo tobitai) |
| 36 | Fixing the Balloon (気球を直そう, Kikyū wo naosō) |
| 37 | Goodbye Arthur (空からの眺め, Sora kara no nagame) |
| 38 | The Accident (おそろしい出来事, Osoroshī dekigoto) |
| 39 | A Question of Confidence (良心の痛み, Ryōshin no Itami) |
| 40 | The Trial (マフ・ポッターの裁判, Mafu Pottā no Saiban) |
| 41 | Where is Injun Joe? (インジャン・ジョーの行方, Injan Jō no namegata) |
| 42 | A Pleasant Journey (楽しい船の旅, Tanoshī fune no tabi) |
| 43 | The White Horse (白い馬を見た, Shiroi uma wo mita) |
| 44 | The Capture (稲妻をつかまえろ, Inazuma wo tsukamaero) |
| 45 | Freedom (さらば白馬よ, Saraba hakuba yo) |
| 46 | The Haunted House (化物屋敷で, Bakemono yashiki de) |
| 47 | The Cave (マクドウガルの洞窟, Makudōgaru no Dōkutsu) |
| 48 | The Death of Injun Joe (インジャン・ジョーの最後, Injan Jō no Saigo) |
| 49 | The Sad Ending (格好のわるい終りかた, Kakkō no warui Owari kata) |
International titles
- As aventuras de Tom Sawyer (Portuguese)
- De avonturen van Tom Sawyer (Dutch)
- Las Aventuras de Tom Sawyer (Spanish)
- Le avventure di Tom Sawyer (Italian)
- Les Aventures de Tom Sawyer (French)
- Przygody Tomka Sawyera (Polish)
- Tom Sawyer (Spanish)
- Tom Sawyer no Bōken (Japanese)
- Tom Sawyers Abenteuer (German)
- Tom Sawyerin ja Huckleberry Finnin seikkailut (Finnish)
- Tom Story
- توم سوير (Arabic)
- ماجراهای تام سایر (Persian)
- トム・ソーヤーの冒険 (Japanese)
- 湯姆歷險記 (Chinese (Taiwan))
Reception
- Awarded Best Film Award for TV by the Children's Cultural Affairs Agency, Government of Japan[1]
References
Further reading
- Dani Cavallaro (2010) Anime and the Art of Adaptation: Eight Famous Works from Page to Screen. Jefferson, N.C., McFarland & Co.
- Hyoseak Choi (2017) Losing the War, Winning the Pooh: Ishii Momoko and the Construction of Contemporary Children's Literature in Postwar Japan (University of Toronto, unpublished MA thesis).
External links
- The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (anime) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
- The Adventures of Tom Sawyer at IMDb
- The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (on Amazon Prime)
