Underplayed Gems

In the Beginning: The Bible Stories (1992)

In the Beginning: The Bible Stories poster
Original title
手塚治虫の旧約聖書物語
Directed by
Osamu Dezaki
Genre
historical anime and manga
Country
Italy, Japan
Length
1 season, 26 episodes
Rated
TV-PG
Rating
3.8 of 10 from 3 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
The 3D catalogue: film cases on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalogue in 3D

The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this series is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

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How it feels

This anime series retells major stories from the Bible, from the creation of the world through events in the Old Testament. It follows key figures like Adam and Eve, Noah, Moses, and others as they experience divine encounters and dramatic events.

educationalreverentstraightforwardserioustraditionalslow-pacedsubduedcontemplative

What happens

In the Beginning: Stories from the Bible (手塚治虫の旧約聖書物語, Tezuka Osamu no Kyūyaku Seisho Monogatari; lit. Osamu Tezuka's Bible Stories) is a Japanese-Italian anime television series. The series was a coproduction between Japan's Nippon TV and Italy's government-owned broadcaster, Radiotelevisione Italiana (RAI) and animated by Tezuka Productions. Although the series was in production during a period of several years in the late 1980s and early 1990s, it was not aired in Japan until April 1, 1997, on the satellite channel Wowow, while it premiered in Italy on November 30, 1992 on Rai 1. The series has also been aired on TV in the United States (on the Catholic-oriented Eternal Word Television Network), Spain, Germany, and Australia (on Australian Christian Channel). In the Beginning: Stories from the Bible marked the fourth time Bible stories formed the basis of a Japanese-animated television series, following the two Superbook series and The Flying House, which were made for Pat Robertson's Christian Broadcasting Network by Tatsunoko Production in the early 1980s. In the Beginning: Stories from the Bible features episodes devoted to most of the major stories of the Bible, including the stories of the Creation, Cain and Abel, Noah's Ark, Abraham and Isaac, Joseph, Moses, David, and Solomon, with the final episode featuring the Nativity of Jesus. As with the second Superbook series, some stories were stretched out over several episodes. Unlike Superbook and The Flying House, however, no contemporary characters from modern times were inserted into the stories, save for the series mascots and viewpoint characters, Roco the fox and Mimi the vixen. Tezuka's manga work frequently included religious themes, and because of his long-running manga Buddha, he is sometimes perceived as having been a devout Buddhist, but in fact, Tezuka was largely agnostic. The theme music (for the English version), an ending theme called "Rainbow Blue", is written and performed by Reimy, and is the only ending theme that has English lyrics both in the Japanese version, the English version, and in the Spanish version. In the Italian version, an ending theme called "He Comes, He Saves You", is written by Paolo Zavallone and performed by Cristina Zavallone, and is the only ending theme that has English lyrics in the Italian version. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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