The 1966 Anime import comes to DVD in its complete first season, ready to be scooped up by Anime buffs, everywhere. Similar in vein to “Kimba” and “Speed Racer,” “Marine Boy” was taken to America to air with a dubbed voice track, editing, and a new theme song. In its American form, “Marine Boy” is a fun and harmless animated series that really acts upon basic ideas of story structure while giving audiences some rousing entertainment.
Marine Boy is an advanced swimmer who, with unique technology and non-violent weaponry, fights the forces of evil alongside his pet Dolphin. With a red scuba suit, and some admirable cunning, he battles a series of megalomaniacs intent on hurting sea life, mining from the coral reefs and other sea based crimes. Set in the future where the world has become an ocean based society, Marine Boy is given his own enforced suit and a variety of tools to fight crime, all the while looking for his father who was kidnapped by enemies. Teaming with the Ocean Patrol, Marine Boy often sets out to thwart evil doers, and with its simplistic animation, “Marine Boy” channels a really interesting sense of adventure and whimsy.
While the art is often basic with less detail and more straight forward anime models, the series is still rife with epic possibilities, and unique ideas. Marine Boy’s weapons are cool, and his suit is just sleek and very close to what kind of suit an ocean bound soldier would wear. Not to mention Marine Boy is a courageous and tough hero, who walks in to danger, and battle men twice his size. I wish I’d seen this series when I was a kid, as I’d have rooted for the hero through every episode. His mission is valiant, and his determination will really inspire viewers to keep watching as he looks for his father and tries to keep the environment safe. The First season set comes with 3 Discs and contains 26 episodes.