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Ulysses 31

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Ulysses 31 (宇宙伝説ユリシーズ31, Uchū Densetsu Yurishīzu Sātīwan, lit. Space Legend Ulysses 31) (French: Ulysse 31) is an anime series (1981) that updates the Greek mythology of Odysseus (known as "Ulixes" or "Ulysses" in Latin) to the 31st century. The show comprises 26 half-hour episodes as a co-production between DIC Audiovisuel and TMS Entertainment.[1]

Ulysses 31
GenreAction-adventure
Science fiction
Fantasy
Drama
Created byNina Wolmark
and Jean Chalopin
inspired by Homer's Odyssey
Written byNina Wolmark
Jean Chalopin
Voices ofMatt Birman
Adrian Knight
Anick Faris
Kelly Ricard
Howard Ryshpan
Vlasta Vrána
Country of originFrance
Japan
No. of episodes26 (list of episodes)
Production
Running time25 min NTSC
24 min PAL
Production companiesDIC Audiovisuel
TMS Entertainment
Original release
NetworkFR3 (France)
Nagoya Broadcasting Network (Japan)
Release10 October 1981 (1981-10-10) –
3 April 1982 (1982-04-03)

Plot

Narrator: It is the 31st century, Ulysses killed the giant cyclops when he rescued the children and his son Telemachus. But the ancient gods of Olympus are angry and threatened a terrible revenge.

Zeus: Mortals, you defy the gods? I sentence you to travel among unknown stars. Until you find the Kingdom of Hades, your bodies will stay as lifeless as stone!

Shirka: Ulysses, the way back to earth has been wiped from my memory!

Telemachus: Father, oh, father!

Ulysses: You are alive my son!

— opening narration

The series (made by the French Jean Chalopin) follows the struggles of Ulysses and his crew against the divine entities that rule the universe, the ancient gods from Greek mythology. The Gods of Olympus are angered when Ulysses, commander of the giant spaceship Odyssey, kills the giant Cyclops to save a group of enslaved children, including his son. Zeus sentences Ulysses to travel the universe with his crew frozen until he finds the Kingdom of Hades, at which point his crew will be revived and he will be able to return to Earth. Along the way they encounter numerous other famous figures from Greek mythology who have been given a futuristic twist.

Main characters

  • Ulysses (ユリシーズ, Yurishīzu)
Main character and captain of the Odyssey. He achieved the solar peace before becoming the subject of the Olympian gods' revenge. His weapon is a laser pistol that conceals an energy blade, complemented by an energy shield and a belt that allows him to fly. Ulysses is brave, noble, determined, and will stop at nothing to defeat the gods and the conditions imposed upon himself and his companions.
Son of Ulysses and second in command for most of the voyage. Yumi's friend and protector. Very beautiful, as described by Yumi in their first encounter. Courageous, adventurous, and level headed. He is a skilled pilot, and his weapon of choice is a hi-tech, energy-ball shooting slingshot. In the pilot episode, his birthday cake has nine candles, possibly signifying his age at the time of his birthday and the start of the series.
  • Yumi (ユミ, Yumi)
Thémis in the original French dub (after the name of the ancient Titan). A blue-skinned humanoid alien girl from the white planet, Zotra. She is the younger sister of Numinor and possesses telepathic powers. She is saved from being sacrificed to the Cyclops, along with Telemachus and her older brother, by Ulysses. She also exhibits telekinesis to some extent, as shown in the episodes "At the Heart of the Universe" and "The Lotus Eaters"; in addition, she is immune to fire. Although physically very frail, she is very intelligent and courageous. Zotrians, aside from blue skin, have snow-white hair, pointed ears and slanted eyes with cat-like vertical pupils; they are considered extremely beautiful.
  • Numinor (ユマイオス, Yumaiosu)
Noumaïos in the original French dub. A Zotrian teenager and older brother of Yumi. He is saved by Ulysses from being sacrificed to the Cyclops. He is in suspended animation along with the rest of the crew for most of the series. Japanese name Yumaiosu is the katakana orthography of English pronunciation of Eumaeus, the pig-guardian of Odysseus in Homer's poem.
  • Nono (ノノ, Nono)
Small robotic companion of Telemachus. Fond of eating nuts and nails. He is a trusty friend who was given to Telemachus as a birthday present. He is rather timid, but can be relied upon in a crisis. He is skilled at machinery repair and possesses tremendous physical strength.
  • Shirka (シルカ, Shiruka)
The Odyssey's main computer. Speaks with a deep female voice. Japanese name Shiruka seems a katakana form of the name Circe, though Circe herself appears as the antagonist in Episode 16.
  • Zeus (ゼウス, Zeusu)
The god of gods, persecutor of Ulysses.
God of the Seas, he is enraged by Ulysses' killing of his creature, the Cyclops. He wields a trident, the symbol of his power, and his servants pilot ships that are shaped like a trident.
Ruling god of the Underworld. Ulysses must find his realm to find the way back to Earth.

Episodes

Main article: List of Ulysses 31 episodes

Pilot

In 1980, Telecom Animation, TMS Entertainment, and DiC Audiovisuel produced a pilot for the series, simply titled "Ulysses 31".[2] Although there was a Japanese VHS release of the series by King Records in 1986, the pilot never saw an official home release and was used for internal use only. It would, however, eventually leak and be uploaded onto the DivX Stage6 website, along with several other TMS pilots.

The pilot has long been considered as only been recorded in Japanese, until a French searcher discovered a copy of the French version in July 2015, then a copy of the English-dubbed version in June 2022.[3]

The story is virtually identical to episode one of the finished series; however, the story was the only thing that was kept. Some characters underwent major redesigns from a typical anime design to the one seen in the finished series, which is a mix of Japanese anime style and European art based on the appearance of classical Greek sculpture.[2] Renowned Japanese illustrators and animators Shingo Araki and Michi Himeno, who have worked in anime adaptations of famous manga (such as Masami Kurumada's Saint Seiya, Fūma no Kojirō, Ring ni Kakero, Riyoko Ikeda's Versailles no Bara, and UFO Grendizer OVA) were responsible for the finished series' character designs, animation routines, and visual style.

Soundtrack

Most of the original soundtrack was composed by Denny Crockett and Ike Egan. Six additional themes were composed by Shuki Levy and Haim Saban: "Potpourri", "Final Glory", "Space Traffic", "Ulysse Meets Ulysse", "Mermaids", and "Change of Time (Theme of Chronos)".

The Japanese version has a different soundtrack. The music was composed by Wakakusa Kei, who was responsible for the soundtrack in both the series and pilot that was produced in 1980. An official soundtrack was released in 1986 on vinyl and on CD in 1988 by King Records.

Japanese theme songs

  • Opening
"Ginga Densetsu Odyssey" (銀河伝説オデッセイ, Ginga Densetsu Odissei, Galactic Legend Odyssey) by Tomoaki Taka
  • Ending
"Ai. Toki no Kanata ni" (愛･時の彼方に, Love, Over the Other Side of Time) by Tomoaki Taka

Staff

Credits

  • Original idea: Nina Wolmark, Jean Chalopin
    • with assistance from Yoshitake Suzuki
  • Directors:
    • Pilot: René Borg, Shigetsugu Yoshida, Tadao Nagahama
    • Series: Bernard Deyriès, Tadao Nagahama, Kyosuke Mikuriya, Kazuo Terada
  • Chief directors: Tadao Nagahama (Episode 1), Bernard Deyriès
  • Assistant directors: Pierre Jodon (Pilot), Michel Boulé (Pilot)
  • Producer: Tatsuo Ikuechi
  • Art director: Morishige Suzuki, Shinji Itoh
  • Chief animation director: Shingo Araki
  • Mecha designs: Studio Nue, Riyuki Motono
  • Music production: TMS Ongakushuppan (Japanese version)
  • Music: Kei Wakakusa (Japanese version); Denny Crockett, Ike Egan, Shuki Levy, Haim Saban (International version)

Voice cast

Release

In the United States, the show was broadcast as a half-hour segment in the 1986 anthology series Kideo TV.[4] The entire series was released in English in a complete DVD box set in the UK released by Contender Entertainment, and in Australia by Madman Entertainment. In the United States, one DVD titled Ulysses 31: The Mysteries of Time was released, containing only four selected episodes. The rights, like most of DIC's other programs, are owned by WildBrain, through its in-name-only unit, Cookie Jar Entertainment.

References

  1. ^ "ULYSSES 31". TMS Entertainment, Ltd. Archived from the original on 6 March 2012. Retrieved 20 October 2016.
  2. ^ a b "Ulysses 31 series pilot". Stage 6. Archived from the original on 4 September 2007. Retrieved 20 October 2016.
  3. ^ Hervé de La Haye, Le pilote d'Ulysse 31 retrouvé… en anglais ! [Ulysses 31 unaired pilot english version discovered!].
  4. ^ Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. pp. 471–472. ISBN 978-1476665993.

Further reading

  • Dixième Planète (French magazine) Issue No. 15 (Feb/Mar 2002), 8 pages about the series and toys produced
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