Conan, le fils du futur

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.

How I wish I was a child seeing Conan, if not to enjoy without knowledge of Hayao Miyazaki, but to have been able to go to school and talk about it with all my friends. It would have been my favourite show. Instead I've made do watching older, it's excellent though.

To explain the plot, the world has been partially destroyed by man through use of nuclear weapons, tilting the world on its axis, thus sinking most of the land and destroying civilisation as we know it. 30 years later the few survivors are on living on a small island, Conan an 11 year old boy lives with his grandfather peacefully, until a girl washes up on the beach. It would be criminal to go much further since one of the best features of 'Conan' is its storytelling, and at 26 episodes it can take it's time.

Directed by Hayao Miyazaki with some help from Isao Takahata, Conan displays many of the traits of a Ghibli movie, best described and a cross between 'Laputa: Castle in the Sky' and 'Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind', both in plot and design. It could be said that these films improved and expanded on the ideas in Conan which could be taken that Conan isn't worthwhile, but it's more like Conan is an opportunity to see 13hrs of Miyazaki doing what he does so well.

Personally it's very difficult to review Conan, I know I love it, but there's so much to write. The plot is pretty complex, its twists and turns are genuinely surprising. The characters are great, since it's early Miyazaki there's a lot of slapstick, much in the vein of Miyazaki's Lupin III movie, the art direction is certainly of lower quality than his later offerings, but it was his directorial debut. Conan is dated in terms of animation, but again like in Lupin the characters are simplified, thus allowing animation to go smoothly, plus the backgrounds are beautiful, the ideas flowing, the design of the main boat is cleverly an upside down boat adapted to sail, at least I think it is! Its a few years before Joe Hisaishi is working with Miyazaki, so the music is less grand, but sweet and catchy.

Conan is a fantastic, while dated is as good a show a child or adult could watch today, plus another excellent Miyazaki project for the converted. I really can't praise Conan enough!

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!

I would say its the best "animated anything" of all time, but to avoid excessive hyperbole I reluctantly confine myself to "Japanese anime TV series". This is one of Hayao Miyazaki's earlier projects (by no means earliest), and yet it is his best. The colors are not as rich, the animation not as fluid as in his later works but its still his best. Its a 1970's anime made with 1970s techniques, yet you could not want it any other way. The character's drawing is simple by later standards, monotone faces, quite flat, but they are unforgettable and their visual "flatness" only emphasizes their depth of character. The scenery despite the limitations of technology is simply beautiful. All in all, what Miyazaki achieved with this series is the equivalent of replicating the Mona Lisa using nothing but crayons. I will say no more. Except that I pity that part of the world which never had the pleasure to watch it or even hear of it.

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!