Future Boy Conan

Conan is a cult case in Portugal, at least for people who are now around their thirties. Having been broadcast in 1984, it garnered a lot of following and deservedly so (it has been put on sale on DVD the past year - 2004). The story, has most of the themes that populates Miyazaki's work: man as the entity that destroys nature, the conflict between nature and technology, elements that would be developed in features like "Castle in the Sky" or "Princess Mononoke". I've been a fan of Mr. Miyazaki's work for some time now, and that started with Conan (and I personally remember having the cards that were placed on sale at the time it was first shown) - this show was magical, funny and the main character represented a freedom that every kid longs or aims for. The animation nowadays is dominated by computers, but somehow this work is a true classic: you still look at it with awe and amazement, for all the uniqueness that made it so special when it first was shown is still all there. A must see!

Highly dramatic and engaging, this TV series was near perfect and shows Miyazaki's talents for the first time he directed something. Interestingly, Miyazaki's characters that he developed in this TV series served as prototypes for the films he made. Indeed, this TV series is actually one 26 episode long film with many subplots that constitute each of the episodes.

Also, it is impressively dramatic considering it was a TV series marketed for children. The Japanese animated TV series were always much more dramatic and complex than American animated TV series, but in the 1970's anime it was still in its early stages and wasn't as well developed as it became in the 1980's, when it's range expanded to all demographic groups.

An excellent TV series, indeed, one of the most powerful ever made. Yes, I said powerful for an animated TV series from the 1970's, because it is.

It is one of the few animation series that I remember being broadcasted here in Portugal when I was younger (1984). I didn't know who the author was, but I loved it. Best of all, in those days here in Portugal, they would show Japanese Animation with the original voices (Japanese) with Portuguese subtitles.

Now about the series: It has drama, it has action, and it has comedy, all packed in fantastic animation (for 1978). In one series we see all the themes Hayao Miyazaki would use in his films. And a lot of characters are prototypes of others he creates in his films. Fantastic!

This was Miyazaki's first TV series he directed. It aired in Japan back in 1978 a year before his first film "Castle of Cagliostro".

It's about an alternate future when WW3 ended in 2008. After that most of the earth's continents are underwater. And forming small separate islands.

On one Island there's a young Boy who's no ordinary kid. Has super strengh and can hold his breathe for a long time. Lives alone with his Granfather on a lonely island where several people use to live on.

One day how ever when a girl appears on the shore of the island that's when Conan goes on his adventure to see the rest of the existing world he didn't know existed.

"Future Boy Conan" is a unique anime series. It showed how great Hayao Miyazaki was way before he got into movie making. A total of 26 episodes each one continues from the other. It's like watching a really long movie.

Has everything you'd expect from a Miyazaki made Anime. A Boy and Girl with mysterious powers or past, Anything that can fly, pigs, women with good role play, and hope for a brighter future.

This was known to be Miyazaki's earlier version of "Castle in the Sky" the 2 Main Characters look a lot like Pazu and Sheeta, and the main villain looks almost like Musca too. This anime had a lot of reused ideas he used for his later anime films too.

Sadly this anime has never been debuted into English before. Even if it did 20 years ago TV Cencorship of America would edit out the violence and certain drug use.

When will it be available in English, only time will tell. It's highly recommended to those who admire Miyazaki and anime. Conan deserves to be on the top 10 classic Animes of all time.

Those who want to see it, try Fansubs or internet search to see the series. It's worth watching.

I give it a 9/10 for a cool anime.

Though Hayao Miyazaki's work at Studio Ghibli is known the world over, few outside of Japan seem to know or care about the work he did before that in the 70s and early 80s. It's a real shame, because works such as Future Boy Conan (1978) still hold up well today despite the choppy television animation.

The plot is chock full of iconic Miyazaki themes and archetypes which look forward to his later films and manga. The post-apocalyptic setting, motif of flight, morally ambiguous characters, and environmentalist theme should all be familiar to hardcore Miyazaki fans. In fact, the whole thing feels like a dress rehearsal for the later Castle in the Sky (1986): the relationship between Lana and Conan mirrors the later bond between Pazu and Sheeta, the villain Lepka resembles Muska, and Captain Dyce and his crew bring to mind the Dola pirates.

Despite the similarities, though, Future Boy Conan stands well on its own. I would even go as far as to say it equals (or in some cases, even betters) Castle in the Sky. Being a 26-episode TV series, it has more time to let its characters develop and grow. One major difference between FBC and later Miyazaki is it's broad comedy. There's lots of goofy slapstick and silly moments that you don't see the like of in post-Nausicaa Miyazaki. Still, it's good comedy that never feels out of place.

I know most anime fans won't watch anything preceding Dragonball, but Ghibli fans and Miyazaki diehards will enjoy this series without a doubt. It helps show you where all those ideas, characters, and themes of his later films were first allowed to be fully expressed.