Future Boy Conan
Encyclopedia
is an anime
series, which premiered across Japan on the NHK
network between April 4 and October 31, 1978 on the Tuesday 19:30-20:00 timeslot. The official English title used by Nippon Animation is Conan, The Boy in Future.
Spanning a total of 26 episodes, the series was produced by Nippon Animation
and featured the likes of Hayao Miyazaki
(director, character designs, storyboards), Isao Takahata
(storyboards) and Yoshiyuki Tomino
(storyboards). It is an adaptation of Alexander Key
's novel The Incredible Tide
.
A video game version of the series by Telenet Japan
was released in 1992 on NEC
's PC Engine console. The game was released on the Super CD-Rom format and was only available in Japan. In January 2011, NewGin
announced a pachinko game titled based on the television anime series.
An attempt by a group of people to flee to outer space failed, with their spaceships being forced back to earth and vanishing, thus shattering their hopes. But one of the spaceships narrowly escaped destruction and crash landed on a small island which had miraculously survived the devastation. The crew members of the spaceship settled there, as if they were seeds sown on the island.
Amidst these survivors, a boy named Conan is born on October 2010, bringing a new ray of hope to the earth. After several years, during which most of the other survivors had died and the only people left on the island were Conan and his grandfather, he meets a young girl named Lana, and their adventure begins.
Between the different islands left in the world: Industria, High Harbor, Remnant, and others, the group travel and conflict rises between good and evil.
between April 4 and October 31, 1978, during the Tuesday, 7:30pm timeslot. It has been regularly broadcast across Japan on the anime satellite television
network, Animax
, who have also later translated and dubbed the series into English
for broadcast across its respective English-language networks in Southeast Asia
and South Asia
, under the title Conan, The Boy In Future.
The series was also translated into numerous other languages, including Cantonese, Mandarin, French
, Spanish
, Italian
, Catalan
, Basque
, Portuguese
, Korean
, Turkish
and Arabic
, being broadcast across Europe
, Latin America
, the Arab World
, and numerous other regions.
and still is today. Conan's name was changed to Adnan. Lana's name was changed to Leina so that they could have names similar to Arabic name
s. A DVD version was released for most of the episodes with the anime dubbed into the Arabic language
.
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
series, which premiered across Japan on the NHK
NHK
NHK is Japan's national public broadcasting organization. NHK, which has always identified itself to its audiences by the English pronunciation of its initials, is a publicly owned corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee....
network between April 4 and October 31, 1978 on the Tuesday 19:30-20:00 timeslot. The official English title used by Nippon Animation is Conan, The Boy in Future.
Spanning a total of 26 episodes, the series was produced by Nippon Animation
Nippon Animation
is a Japanese animation studio. The company is headquartered in Tokyo, with chief offices in the Ginza district of Chūō and production facilities in Tama City....
and featured the likes of Hayao Miyazaki
Hayao Miyazaki
is a Japanese manga artist and prominent film director and animator of many popular anime feature films. Through a career that has spanned nearly fifty years, Miyazaki has attained international acclaim as a maker of animated feature films and, along with Isao Takahata, co-founded Studio Ghibli,...
(director, character designs, storyboards), Isao Takahata
Isao Takahata
is a Japanese anime filmmaker that have earned critical international acclaim for his work as a director. Takahata is co-founder of Studio Ghibli with long-time collaborative partner Hayao Miyazaki. He has directed films such as the war-themed Grave of the Fireflies, the romantic-drama Only...
(storyboards) and Yoshiyuki Tomino
Yoshiyuki Tomino
is a Japanese mecha anime creator, director, screenwriter and novelist. He was born in Odawara, Kanagawa Prefecture, and studied at Nihon University's College of Art...
(storyboards). It is an adaptation of Alexander Key
Alexander Key
Alexander Hill Key was an American science fiction writer, most of whose books were aimed at a juvenile audience. He became a nationally known illustrator before he became an author...
's novel The Incredible Tide
The Incredible Tide
The Incredible Tide is a post-apocalyptic science fiction novel written by Alexander Key, published in 1970. It was the inspiration for the Japanese animated television series Future Boy Conan, directed by Hayao Miyazaki.-Overview:...
.
A video game version of the series by Telenet Japan
Telenet Japan
was a Japanese video game and software developer founded in October 1983 by Kazuyuki Fukushima. The company was also known as Nippon Telenet . The company was best known for the Valis series as well as its Wolfteam & RiOT divisions...
was released in 1992 on NEC
NEC
, a Japanese multinational IT company, has its headquarters in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. NEC, part of the Sumitomo Group, provides information technology and network solutions to business enterprises, communications services providers and government....
's PC Engine console. The game was released on the Super CD-Rom format and was only available in Japan. In January 2011, NewGin
NewGin
is a privately owned Japanese manufacturer of pachinko and pachislot machines incorporated in May 1968 in Nagoya, Japan. The company slogan is .-History:The company was originally founded in October 1949 as Marushin Bussan, then was reorganized into in 1958...
announced a pachinko game titled based on the television anime series.
Story
The story begins in July 2008, during a time when humankind is faced with the threat of extinction. A devastating war fought between two major nations with ultra-magnetic weapons far greater than anything seen earlier brings about total chaos and destruction throughout the world, resulting in several earthquakes and tidal waves, the earth thrown off its axis, its crust being rocked by massive movements, and the five continents being torn completely apart and sinking deep below the sea.An attempt by a group of people to flee to outer space failed, with their spaceships being forced back to earth and vanishing, thus shattering their hopes. But one of the spaceships narrowly escaped destruction and crash landed on a small island which had miraculously survived the devastation. The crew members of the spaceship settled there, as if they were seeds sown on the island.
Amidst these survivors, a boy named Conan is born on October 2010, bringing a new ray of hope to the earth. After several years, during which most of the other survivors had died and the only people left on the island were Conan and his grandfather, he meets a young girl named Lana, and their adventure begins.
Between the different islands left in the world: Industria, High Harbor, Remnant, and others, the group travel and conflict rises between good and evil.
Characters
- The main protagonistProtagonistA protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
of the series, Conan, is an 11 year old boy who grew up on the island and was raised by his grandfather. Conan is very strong, and can even hang from a ledge using only his toes. Conan is friends with Lana.
- Lana who is also 11, is the first non-Remnant Island inhabitant, and the first girl Conan sees. Lana is the granddaughter of Dr. Lao, and Lepka wants to use her to get Lao to tell him the secret of solar power. Lana is referred to as possessing ESPExtra-sensory perceptionExtrasensory perception involves reception of information not gained through the recognized physical senses but sensed with the mind. The term was coined by Frederic Myers, and adopted by Duke University psychologist J. B. Rhine to denote psychic abilities such as telepathy, clairaudience, and...
, allowing her to communicate with a ternTernTerns are seabirds in the family Sternidae, previously considered a subfamily of the gull family Laridae . They form a lineage with the gulls and skimmers which in turn is related to skuas and auks...
named Tikki, as well as sense the presence of her grandpa. She comes from High Harbour.
- Conan's elderly grandfather, who's alive after their spaceship crashes on the remnant island in the first episode.
- A young commander of Industria's armed forces, Monsley is the second non-Islander Conan sees. Piloting the flying boatFlying boatA flying boat is a fixed-winged seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a float plane as it uses a purpose-designed fuselage which can float, granting the aircraft buoyancy. Flying boats may be stabilized by under-wing floats or by wing-like projections from the fuselage...
Falco, she follows Lepka's orders by helping capture Lana, and eventually leading the invasion of Industria to conquer the High Habor. Ultimately after the lost battle in the High Harbor, Monsley renounces Lepka's ambitions, and joins with Conan against him.
- A wild boy living alone on the first island Conan arrives at, Jimsy quickly becomes Conan's first 'companion', helping him rescue Lana. Jimsy is a master hunter, and motivated by his stomach.
- Dyce is a citizen of Industria, and the captain of the ship Barracuda. He was ordered to kidnap Lana prior to the start of series, but let her escape due to his obsession with his captive. Dyce is initially a comedic villain in the show, but eventually becomes one of Conan's allies .
- The head of administration of Industria, Lepka technically serves under the Industria High Council, a group of scientists. However over the course of the series he becomes the sole dictator of Industria, and the primary antagonistAntagonistAn antagonist is a character, group of characters, or institution, that represents the opposition against which the protagonist must contend...
. Lepka desires to extract the secret of solar powerSolar powerSolar energy, radiant light and heat from the sun, has been harnessed by humans since ancient times using a range of ever-evolving technologies. Solar radiation, along with secondary solar-powered resources such as wind and wave power, hydroelectricity and biomass, account for most of the available...
from Lao to power his weapons, allowing him to rule over what remains of the world.
- The grandfather of Lana, the main scientist responsible for the development of solar power for both civil and wartime usage. Originally a member of the Industrian High Council, he defected after he learned of Lepka's ambitions. He believes that the people of Industria must be taught to discard their weapons, and begin new lives. For this reason he escapes, bringing with him the secret of how to access the orbiting solar power station from pre-war times.
- Umasou, which means "Looks Delicious" in Japanese, is Jimsy's piglet.
- The coward and the traitor of the High Harbor, he follows the Industria and has an evil plot to become a leader of High Habor then he gives a demand to everyone to give up Industria.
- Orlo's younger sister, she's injured by a rocket from Industria's soldiers and is the second leader of Orlo's men.
Anime
Future Boy Conan first aired across Japan on the NHK TV networkNHK
NHK is Japan's national public broadcasting organization. NHK, which has always identified itself to its audiences by the English pronunciation of its initials, is a publicly owned corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee....
between April 4 and October 31, 1978, during the Tuesday, 7:30pm timeslot. It has been regularly broadcast across Japan on the anime satellite television
Satellite television
Satellite television is television programming delivered by the means of communications satellite and received by an outdoor antenna, usually a parabolic mirror generally referred to as a satellite dish, and as far as household usage is concerned, a satellite receiver either in the form of an...
network, Animax
Animax
is a Japanese anime satellite television network, dedicated to broadcasting anime programming. A subsidiary of Japanese media conglomerate Sony, it is headquartered in in Minato, Tokyo, Japan, with its co-founders and shareholders including Sony Pictures Entertainment and the noted anime studios...
, who have also later translated and dubbed the series into English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
for broadcast across its respective English-language networks in Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
and South Asia
South Asia
South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries to the west and the east...
, under the title Conan, The Boy In Future.
The series was also translated into numerous other languages, including Cantonese, Mandarin, French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
, Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
, Catalan
Catalan language
Catalan is a Romance language, the national and only official language of Andorra and a co-official language in the Spanish autonomous communities of Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and Valencian Community, where it is known as Valencian , as well as in the city of Alghero, on the Italian island...
, Basque
Basque language
Basque is the ancestral language of the Basque people, who inhabit the Basque Country, a region spanning an area in northeastern Spain and southwestern France. It is spoken by 25.7% of Basques in all territories...
, Portuguese
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
, Korean
Korean language
Korean is the official language of the country Korea, in both South and North. It is also one of the two official languages in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in People's Republic of China. There are about 78 million Korean speakers worldwide. In the 15th century, a national writing...
, Turkish
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
and Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
, being broadcast across Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
, the Arab World
Arab world
The Arab world refers to Arabic-speaking states, territories and populations in North Africa, Western Asia and elsewhere.The standard definition of the Arab world comprises the 22 states and territories of the Arab League stretching from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Arabian Sea in the...
, and numerous other regions.
Staff
- Original story: Alexander KeyAlexander KeyAlexander Hill Key was an American science fiction writer, most of whose books were aimed at a juvenile audience. He became a nationally known illustrator before he became an author...
(The Incredible TideThe Incredible TideThe Incredible Tide is a post-apocalyptic science fiction novel written by Alexander Key, published in 1970. It was the inspiration for the Japanese animated television series Future Boy Conan, directed by Hayao Miyazaki.-Overview:...
) - Planning and production: Nippon AnimationNippon Animationis a Japanese animation studio. The company is headquartered in Tokyo, with chief offices in the Ginza district of Chūō and production facilities in Tama City....
- Executive producer: Kōichi Motohashi
- Production manager: Mitsuru Takakuwa
- Planning: Shōji Satō (Nippon Animation)
- Producers: Junzō Nakajima, Shigeo Endō
- Script: Kenshō Nakano/Sōji YoshikawaSoji Yoshikawais an animator, a scriptwriter, a director of anime, and a stage director. He has worked under the aliases , , and . He dropped out of senior high school, entered an Mushi Production, and became an animator...
/Tetsu Kurumi - Music: Shin'ichirō Ikebe
- Character designs: Hayao MiyazakiHayao Miyazakiis a Japanese manga artist and prominent film director and animator of many popular anime feature films. Through a career that has spanned nearly fifty years, Miyazaki has attained international acclaim as a maker of animated feature films and, along with Isao Takahata, co-founded Studio Ghibli,...
/Yasuo ŌtsukaYasuo Otsukais a Japanese animator who worked with Toei Animation and Studio Ghibli.Prior to becoming an animator, Ōtsuka worked in the Kantō-Kōshin'etsu district drug enforcement office at the Ministry of Health and Welfare. As a member of the support staff , he was responsible for the seizure of drugs and... - Chief animation director: Yasuo ŌtsukaYasuo Otsukais a Japanese animator who worked with Toei Animation and Studio Ghibli.Prior to becoming an animator, Ōtsuka worked in the Kantō-Kōshin'etsu district drug enforcement office at the Ministry of Health and Welfare. As a member of the support staff , he was responsible for the seizure of drugs and...
- Art director: Nizo Yamamoto
- Sound director: Shigeharu ShibaShigeharu Shibais an anime audio director and producer. He graduated from Tokyo University of Education and went on to form the Jiyū Theatre Troupe. Shiba then joined Omnibus Promotion, were he worked on anime TV series, OVAs, and movies.-TV:*Anime Himitsu no Kaen...
- Storyboards: Hayao MiyazakiHayao Miyazakiis a Japanese manga artist and prominent film director and animator of many popular anime feature films. Through a career that has spanned nearly fifty years, Miyazaki has attained international acclaim as a maker of animated feature films and, along with Isao Takahata, co-founded Studio Ghibli,...
(ep.1~4,8,12,15~19,22~26), Keiji Hayakawa (ep.3&4,8,12,15), Isao TakahataIsao Takahatais a Japanese anime filmmaker that have earned critical international acclaim for his work as a director. Takahata is co-founder of Studio Ghibli with long-time collaborative partner Hayao Miyazaki. He has directed films such as the war-themed Grave of the Fireflies, the romantic-drama Only...
(ep.7,9&10,13,20), Seiji Okuda (ep.5&6), Yoshiyuki TominoYoshiyuki Tominois a Japanese mecha anime creator, director, screenwriter and novelist. He was born in Odawara, Kanagawa Prefecture, and studied at Nihon University's College of Art...
(ep.14,21), Noboru IshiguroNoboru Ishigurois a Japanese animator who is noteworthy for directing the anime series The Super Dimension Fortress Macross, The Super Dimension Century Orguss, Yōkai Ningen Bem, Megazone 23, Legend of the Galactic Heroes, Noozles, and the 2008 completed series Tytania.He was in a hawaiian style music band in his...
(ep.11), Takayoshi Suzuki (ep.17) - Animation checker: Hidemi Maeda
- Animation Assistance: OH! Production: Johji Manabe, Kazuhide Tomonaga, Koichi Murata, Shojuro Yamauchi, Shunji Saida
- Backgrounds: Atelier Rourke: Masamichi Takano, Taisaburō Abe, Junji Kasahara
- Photography: Tokyo Animation Film: Hitoshi Kaneko, Masatatsu Shimizu
- Editing: Takeshi Seyama
- Film developers: Tōyo Genzōsho
- Effects: Hidenori Ishida
- Sound recording: Kunio Kuwabara
- Sound production: Omnibus PromotionOmnibus Promotionis a film and anime sound effects production and distribution company established on 1963-08-01 and located in the San'ei-chō district of Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan...
- Sound studio: Cinebeam
- Sound Effects: Ishida Sound Production (now Fizz Sound CreationFizz Sound Creationis a sound effects company working in the television, movie, radio, video, CD, cassette and game animation industry in Japan.-Company history:The company was founded in 1971 by as...
): Hidenori Ishida - Co-director: Keiji Hayakawa
- Assistant directors: Takayoshi Suzuki, Ken'ichi Baba
- Production assistants: Nobuaki Hosoda (ep.1~26), Kazuhiko Hoshīde, Kōji Takeuchi, Shūji Uchiyama, Yoshimasa Kanda
- Finish checker and color design: Michiyo Yasuda
- Episode directors: Hayao MiyazakiHayao Miyazakiis a Japanese manga artist and prominent film director and animator of many popular anime feature films. Through a career that has spanned nearly fifty years, Miyazaki has attained international acclaim as a maker of animated feature films and, along with Isao Takahata, co-founded Studio Ghibli,...
(ep.1~26), Isao TakahataIsao Takahatais a Japanese anime filmmaker that have earned critical international acclaim for his work as a director. Takahata is co-founder of Studio Ghibli with long-time collaborative partner Hayao Miyazaki. He has directed films such as the war-themed Grave of the Fireflies, the romantic-drama Only...
(ep.9&10), Keiji Hayakawa (ep.11~26) - Director: Hayao MiyazakiHayao Miyazakiis a Japanese manga artist and prominent film director and animator of many popular anime feature films. Through a career that has spanned nearly fifty years, Miyazaki has attained international acclaim as a maker of animated feature films and, along with Isao Takahata, co-founded Studio Ghibli,...
- Production: Nippon AnimationNippon Animationis a Japanese animation studio. The company is headquartered in Tokyo, with chief offices in the Ginza district of Chūō and production facilities in Tama City....
, NHKNHKNHK is Japan's national public broadcasting organization. NHK, which has always identified itself to its audiences by the English pronunciation of its initials, is a publicly owned corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee....
Theme songs
- Opening theme: (performance: Naozumi Kamata, Yūko Yamaji)
- Ending theme: (performance: Naozumi Kamata, Yūko Yamaji)
- Italian theme: "Conan" (performance: Georgia Lepore)
Popularity in the Arab World
The show was very popular in the Arab WorldArab world
The Arab world refers to Arabic-speaking states, territories and populations in North Africa, Western Asia and elsewhere.The standard definition of the Arab world comprises the 22 states and territories of the Arab League stretching from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Arabian Sea in the...
and still is today. Conan's name was changed to Adnan. Lana's name was changed to Leina so that they could have names similar to Arabic name
Arabic name
Long ago, Arabic names were based on a long naming system; most Arabs did not simply have given/middle/family names, but a full chain of names. This system was in use throughout the Arab world. Today however, Arabic names are similar in structure to those of Modern and Western names...
s. A DVD version was released for most of the episodes with the anime dubbed into the Arabic language
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
.
External links
- Nippon Animation's official website for Conan, the Boy in Future
- Nippon Animation's official English webpage for Conan, the Boy in Future
- NHK's official website for Conan, the Boy in Future
- Conan Future Boy (A.K.A. Adnan & Lina) Arabic / English Website - Story, Characters, Downloads,DVD And Much More..
- عدنان و لينا Arabic / English Website - موقع عدنان و لينا- القصة, ملخص الحلقات, الشخصيات, الـ دى فى دى, والمزيد
- Bandai Visual's official Conan website
- HighHarbor - Fan Site for Conan, the Boy of the Future
- Conan, The Boy in Future at Nausicaa.net
- Conan, The Boy in Future (Anime Mundi), detailed production information