While some might rememberthe Super Mario Brothers Super Show, theSuper Marioshow that actually premiered before it has been forgotten by even some of the most hardcore Nintendo fans. While the former production managed to have a total of fifty-two episodes, this series only managed to have three before being quickly forgotten and never being released outside of Japan.
What makes this even more of a shame is that the legendary Shigeru Miyamoto himself worked on the show. Still, there is no better time than the present to take a look back atAmada Anime Series: Super Mario Brothersand uncover the mysteries behind its production.
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Who Was Involved With The Series' Creation?
Miyamoto worked with Studio Junio to create the series. While they are no longer active today, at the time they were creating some ofthe best anime of the 80sincluding classics likeSaber Marionette JandTouch. They helped produce three eleven-minute episodes of the show.
For what was such a small production to make simple OVAs, the studio went out of their way to bring in some serious musical talent for the time to help produce the scores for the show. Two major synthpop groups had their music used in the series including the famous 80s German group xPropoganda with their songp:Machineryand the Grammy Award winning group Art of Noise for their songsComes and Goes,Donna, andSnapshot. Even ten-time Grammy Award winner Dave Grusin has his piece from the 1981 dramaOn The Golden PondtitledNew Hampshire Hornpipefeatured in the anime.
Even the voice talent forAmada Anime Series: Super Mario Brothersincluded some big names.Toru Fuyruya, now famous for playing Sabo inOne Pieceand Yamcha inDragon Ball, was chosen to be the voice of Mario. This was long beforeCharles Martinet would become famous for voicing the characterin future years. FellowOne PieceandDragon Ballveterans Tatsuta Naoki and Masaharu Satou voiced Luigi and Bowser respectively. Even Miyako Endo ofSailor Moonfame was brought in to play the role of Peach. Suffice it to say, the cast for the show was impressive.
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What Is The Series About?
As previously mentioned,Amada Anime Series: Super Mario Brothersspans three episodes, each putting the cast of Mario into a different fairy tale. These stories includedIssunboshi,Momotaro, andSnow White. Each episode was narrated by Toshiko Shawada, who worked onthe first-ever magical girl animeCutey Honey.
Issunboshiis similar to the story ofTom ThumborThumbelinabut is far more absurd than the classic versions of the story. It has Mario as the miniature protagonist setting out on quite the wacky adventure miniature rocket ship/boat flying past a massive Dry Bones and Lakitu trying to attack him with rain and lightning. He of course eventually meets Princess Peach, and they are inevitably attacked by Bowser. Bowser ends up eating the pint-sized hero who is able to attack him from the inside to save the day. One has to wonder if this episode eventually went on toinspire the gameBowser’s Inside Storyyears later.
InMomotaro,Mario takes on the role of the Peach Boy from the original tale but with some serious twists. Not only is he given a gun by his Koopa grandparents that looks similar to the NES Zapper, but he’s also assisted by a flying Buzzy Beetle, a Boomerang Brother, and a Spike to try and save Princess Peach from Bowser. They all journey to take down the villain on Mario’s rocket-powered sailboat and take down all of the Koopalings before taking down the big baddy himself.
Snow White in particular is fascinating becauseAmada Anime Series: Super Mario Brotherswas one of the first anime adaptations of the classic fairy tale despite the popularity of the 1938 Disney film. It would be five more years before the fifty-two-episode seriesThe Legend of Snow Whitewould be animated for Japanese audiences.
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Many years beforeBowsette would become an internet sensation, Bowser takes on the role of Queen Koopa in the story. Of course, once she learns that Princess Peach is actually the fairest in the land, she sends the Koopalings out to kill her. Mario swoops in to save the day before leaving her with the seven Toads in a secluded cottage to keep her safe while he continues his quests across many kingdoms.
While Queen Bowser is able to trick Princess Peach into eating the poisoned apple like in the original fairy tale, Mario ends up saving the princess not with a kiss, but a magical potion granted to him by a Goddess during his travels. The entire group then travels to take on the evil queen and her minions, but eventually, Bowser is able to capture Peach and hold her at knifepoint. This is when Luigi swoops in out of nowhere to take on the dastardly queen and save the day.
Where To Watch Amada Anime Series: Super Mario Brothers
Unfortunately, as the series was never released outside of Japan, it is incredibly difficult to find today. While some archival efforts have made the series available towatch on YouTube, there is currently no legal way to watch it but by finding the original individual episodes on VHS. Occasionally, listings for the series have appearedon eBayselling for upwards of $100 USD.
