Post by Dog on Feb 16, 2024 1:23:36 GMT
Hi guys!
I'm a long time lurker of the lost media community but have never posted before. There's an animation pilot I've been searching for since around 2016 by myself, but I've had little luck. I don't expect this to ever be publicly available, but it can't hurt to share it just in case.
I read a manga a few years back called "Flying Ben" which was created by Osamu Tezuka. Every now and then I'd see a note on a page saying it would soon appear as a TV show. While it didn't become a full show, two pilots were made and they're my personal lost media holy grails.
The afterword of the manga by Tezuka, mentions two pilots. Here's my translation:
"Two pilot films were made in an effort to adapt "Flying Ben" to television. One of them was produced by Mushi Productions. We spent a lot of money on the episode, but the production was careless and it turned out awful. The second was produced by animator Mr. Tsukioka Sadao, and was funded by myself personally. However by that time, the trend in anime had shifted to comedies so it wasn't picked up. However, I'd like to see "Flying Ben" as a television animation, even just once."
One of these pilots has been featured on the Osamu Tezuka Japanese website.
(I have some more images from older versions of the site, but I don't want to clog up my first thread too much! If I should share more images, just let me know.)
There's also a mention of the anime in a COM magazine I bought (Which was also created by Tezuka) in the September 1967 issue. It features a very different storyline to the manga. I've linked a scan I made - The detail is very poor but shows a few images that the Tezuka website never offered. Some Flying Ben illustrations also appear in my Mushi Productions 1967 calendar which lines up with the time they intended to release the pilot, and produce the rest of the TV series.
I've emailed Tezuka's company several times over the years in both English and Japanese but I've never gotten a reply. I imagine we'll never see this unless they decide to randomly upload it to their Youtube some day, but I guess it cannot help to mention it!
Anyways, thanks for reading. I'd love to get more eyes on this!
I'm a long time lurker of the lost media community but have never posted before. There's an animation pilot I've been searching for since around 2016 by myself, but I've had little luck. I don't expect this to ever be publicly available, but it can't hurt to share it just in case.
I read a manga a few years back called "Flying Ben" which was created by Osamu Tezuka. Every now and then I'd see a note on a page saying it would soon appear as a TV show. While it didn't become a full show, two pilots were made and they're my personal lost media holy grails.
The afterword of the manga by Tezuka, mentions two pilots. Here's my translation:
"Two pilot films were made in an effort to adapt "Flying Ben" to television. One of them was produced by Mushi Productions. We spent a lot of money on the episode, but the production was careless and it turned out awful. The second was produced by animator Mr. Tsukioka Sadao, and was funded by myself personally. However by that time, the trend in anime had shifted to comedies so it wasn't picked up. However, I'd like to see "Flying Ben" as a television animation, even just once."
One of these pilots has been featured on the Osamu Tezuka Japanese website.
(I have some more images from older versions of the site, but I don't want to clog up my first thread too much! If I should share more images, just let me know.)
There's also a mention of the anime in a COM magazine I bought (Which was also created by Tezuka) in the September 1967 issue. It features a very different storyline to the manga. I've linked a scan I made - The detail is very poor but shows a few images that the Tezuka website never offered. Some Flying Ben illustrations also appear in my Mushi Productions 1967 calendar which lines up with the time they intended to release the pilot, and produce the rest of the TV series.
I've emailed Tezuka's company several times over the years in both English and Japanese but I've never gotten a reply. I imagine we'll never see this unless they decide to randomly upload it to their Youtube some day, but I guess it cannot help to mention it!
Anyways, thanks for reading. I'd love to get more eyes on this!
