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medea10 · 8 months

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My Review of Peter Pan no Bouken

Nearing the end of watching Little Lord Fauntleroy, instead of airing the preview for the next episode there was a preview for an upcoming anime that was going to air in it’s current timeslot. When you watch these World Masterpiece Theater animes in their original video format, you come upon that. In the past, I saw previews for other series I have yet to watch like Heidi and The Bush Babies. What do we have here this time?

Peter Pan?!

Peter Pan is an anime?! For real?! Okay, we’re watching this.

All I can say is, who hasn’t heard of Peter Pan? How many movies and television shows have been made that was loosely based off this fairy tale? Too many to count! Hook, Finding Neverland, Pan, Walt Disney’s Peter Pan, Peter Pan starring Mary Martin, Tinkerbell, the live-action Peter Pan in 2003, Return to Neverland, Chip n’ Dale Rescue Rangers, Peter Pan and the Pirates on FOX Kids, Once Upon a Time…It’s just endless! Add to that a new Disney live-action reboot to the tale starring Jude Law. So, this story is never going to die. And it shouldn’t! I grew up with the story. I’ve watched several plays. I’ve seen many movie adaptations. Because I have a boomer parent, I watched the Mary Martin Broadway version. But as we all know, the one I know front-to-back would be Walt Disney’s 1953 animated feature film starring Bobby Driscoll, Hans Conried, and Katherine Beaumont.

I know this film is canceled eight ways from Sunday and I don’t care. Disney+ has advisory notices everywhere with this one. And if I’m not mistaking, if you’re under 7 on Disney+, you’re not even allowed to watch this without parental permission. I’ll save the bitching about that for a different day. I liked this film. Disney’s Peter Pan is one of my guilty pleasures despite outdated stereotypes and major sexism. At least I know the Japanese version won’t sing a song called, “What Makes the Red Man Red”. I’m curious to see Japan’s take on this tale as these World Masterpiece Theater classics seem to be very accurate in their telling of the stories. And they’ve got 41 episodes to do so.

I do have to wonder though. Aren’t the main characters of the World Masterpiece Theater animes supposed to deal with heavy subject matter? The Darling children have it easy compared to nearly every other character from the other animes. They’re not orphaned. They’re not put to work in slave conditions. They're not escaping Nazis. Their home was not burned to the ground by Confederate soldiers. That’s a foreshadow to what I watch after Peter Pan. These kids get to hang out in Neverland with a boy that never grew up. Then again, it is a literary classic and I suppose they wanted to change things up with a more light-hearted story.

The story was created by Scottish playwright/novelist J.M. Barrie. Peter Pan is the story about a free-spirited and mischievous young boy who can fly and never grows older. Peter Pan lives in Neverland with a fairy named Tinkerbell. He spends his days hanging with other kids who didn’t grow up named the lost boys, conversing with the mermaids, dodging danger from the Indians, and occasionally fighting against the notorious pirate, Captain Hook.

But as we all know the story truly begins with the Darling family. Wendy, John, and Michael Darling are spirited children who are well taken care of by their loving and strict parents and a watchful dog named Nana. The children have recently been having dreams about the titular character. It’s an uncommon phenomenon for children their age to dream about a boy that never ages named Peter Pan. It’s just that there’s no book to prove his existence. But Peter Pan has found a fascination with the Darling household and shows up several times. After losing his shadow, Peter ends up meeting Wendy, John, and Michael. Peter tells them all about the place he lives, Neverland. Next thing you know, they’re covered in pixie dust and they’re flying from the UK all the way to Neverland.

Here, Wendy and her brothers spend their time hanging out with the lost boys, conversing with the mermaids, dodging danger from the Indians, and…okay, you get the idea. The Darling children are getting the Neverland experience.

BETWEEN THE DUB AND THE SUB: You ain’t gonna believe this. This anime has a dub. Not just one, but two dubs. In 1993, Sky One in the UK aired this anime (under the name Peter Pan: The Animated Series) and gave it a dub. Not to be confused with the other shows that went as Peter Pan: The Animated Series. This, I’m okay with. Real British people voicing real British characters. Thank you! Yeah, I praise that here, but when the UK dubs for Crayon Shin Chan and Urusei Yatsura, I make cringe faces. The other dub was done by Saban. Wow, how dated can you get with that company? Due to the limited data, I can’t really talk about the dub here. As usual, we get a few veterans from the World Masterpiece Theater animes and a few well-known voice actors early in their career. One more addition, it’s quite clever that Chiako Otsuka not only played Captain Hook here, but he was also the Japanese dub voice for many Disney movies that feature Hook (as well as some of the Kingdom Hearts games) and continued to do so before passing away several years ago. The more we know!

*Peter Pan is played by Noriko Hidaka (known for Kikyo on InuYasha, Akane on Ranma ½, Near on Death Note, Soujirou on Rurouni Kenshin, Ursula on Little Witch Academia, and Bellemire on One Piece)

*Wendy is played by Naoko Matsui (known for Misora on Death Note, Noriko on Itazura na Kiss, Monet on One Piece, Shikamaru’s mother on Naruto, and Bridget on Little Lord Fauntleroy)

*John is played by Kyouko Hamura

*Michael is played by Yuriko Fuchizaki (known for Anthy on Revolutionary Girl Utena, Hiro on Fruits Basket, Cyprine on Sailor Moon S, and Megumi on Ah My Goddess)

*Tinkerbell is played by Sumi Shimamoto (known for Ishizu on YGO, Kanata on Lucky Star, Sara on Princess Sara, and Mitsuba on Gintama)

*Captain Hook is played by Chiako Otsuka (known for Gol D. Roger on One Piece, Arthur on Hellsing, and Tao Pai Pai on Dragon Ball) [R.I.P.]

SHIPPING: Wait…what?! There should be no talk of shipping here.

Oh, but in episode six John has a crush on Tiger Lily. And then John continues to be all blushy around her throughout the series.

John and Tiger Lily? What sick fan-fiction tripe is this?! I’ve never seen any poppycock related to what I just wrote anywhere. Tiger Lily is supposed to have a crush on Peter and hate Wendy. Not on a yandere level like Tinkerbell, but still. Japan, do better!

To be honest, there is one ship I support in the Peter Pan universe and no, it is not Peter Pan x Wendy. That was never something I supported, not even as a kid.

I actually support Captain Hook x the crocodile. Yes, I am pro this. Even three-year old me would support this.

ACCURATE OR NOT: Time to see if this adaptation stacks up well compared to the original source material.

*This adaptation has fewer Lost Boys. Many of the adaptations are pretty loose when it comes to the lost boys in terms of how many there are and their names. Originally, there were six. So, we seem to be missing Nibs and the twins. I guess that’s one thing Disney’s Peter Pan got right and they didn’t even say their names.

*Not sure if all of these places in Neverland truly existed in the original text. Because here, it feels like there are a lot of places that even Peter Pan has never heard of or been to. Pretty sure Peter Pan has been in Neverland since God farted out the solar system. So, why would he question any part of the land he’s lived in his whole life? And don’t get me started on Tinkerbell’s situation. That’s a fairy-hole I don’t feel like traveling down.

*There was potential of a really threatening antagonist for this series with Darkness and her ambitions of stealing dreams from children. And it’s up to her granddaughter Luna to save this woman and show her the right way. Too bad Darkness and Luna do not exist in the original material. Hey, if this series is gonna be 41 episodes, you’ve gotta stretch it out as much as possible.

*Yeah, little Rascal here doesn’t exist outside the anime. Just like every other cute animal featured in these animes. Okay, go join the rest of the animals like Chouchou, Milky Ann, Piccolo, and Caesar that never existed.

*Mama Hook. Surely, she existed. I mean, Hook was originally a fellow who studied at the best schools of England including Eton and Oxford. It’s just that I don’t think she was ever mentioned in the novel. Other adaptations, very rarely. Even Disney didn’t have a Mama Hook until 2011 where they got Sharon Osbourne of all people. In the anime, it is always implied that Hook’s mother passed away, but he loves her so dearly. Every so often, he will talk about her.

THIS GODDAMN ANIMATION: I swore I would never yell about the Nippon animation for the World Masterpiece Theater collection. And it’s great that many of the Nippon animators went on to do greater pieces including movies for Studio Ghibli. But I can’t hold it in with this one. This is just bad. The animation quality went down after Little Lord Fauntleroy and it really shows. I keep wanting to wipe away Peter Pan’s mouth because I think he has a chocolate milk stain. And this might be bias on my part, but most of the Captain Hooks I’ve watched were (for a lack of a better term) PILFs. This Captain Hook looks like he belongs in that Oingo Boingo ending theme from Jojo's Bizarre Adventure Pt. 3.

ENDING: Depending on what Peter Pan adaptation you watch; chances are the ending will be different. Some will end with the Darling children back home with their parents, some end with the Darling children bringing the Lost Boys with them back home, and other endings show the future where Wendy is all grown up with her daughter Jane. And most of the non-Disney live-action ones will do something way out of left field, I turn off the TV in disgust and howl at the moon.

While I’m on a tangent, why did Pan have a scene where they’re singing Nirvana’s Smells Like Teen Spirit?

While most adaptations will showcase a Peter Pan vs. Captain Hook showdown, this series has Darkness and Luna. Darkness has plans for her granddaughter and Neverland. She plans to use this Black Mirror that will destroy Neverland. But of course, Darkness is too old to carry out anything and is missing a few things to make this come true. That’s where Luna comes in as she tries to groom her to become her successor. Luna has been hesitant and defiant against doing her grandmother’s bidding. Unfortunately, things do not go well when Captain Hook and the pirates get involved in this family squabble as well. Peter Pan and Wendy are friends with Luna and help her when she’s around, so yeah, they’re caught up in this mess too.

The pet raccoon Rascal was holding this special key that Darkness needs to make her dream into a nightmarish reality. Once everything was in place, Darkness was able to use her granddaughter’s body as a vessel in order to take over. The Luna that Peter and Wendy knew no longer exists. She’s out to destroy Neverland. Captain Hook is one for destruction, but even he knows to not fuck with the natural order of Neverland. Thankfully, Wendy was able to break through to Luna. The black mirror that Darkness has been harping about for several episodes is now the white mirror and peace can continue across the land. Okay, we’re at the final episode at this point. Is that all?

Wendy and her brothers feel like their time in Neverland is over after everything that has just happened. Yeah, just randomly bring up going home now. Absolutely no talks about leaving prior to this moment. Sure, they mention their lives in London every now and then while in Neverland but never talked about wanting to return. In this version, Wendy, John, and Michael leave without bringing back the lost boys.

After returning from Neverland, Wendy and the boys would always remember their time in Neverland…at first. In time, they will gradually forget what transpired there until it felt like nothing more than a dream. Peter promised to come visit. But days turn to weeks. Weeks to months, months to years. But one night, many years later, Peter Pan returns to the nursery to find Wendy’s daughter Jane. Better late than never!

Ehhh…not my favorite Peter Pan adaptation and right now my least favorite of the World Masterpiece Theater collection. I think for me, when it comes to Peter Pan, I prefer it to be in movie form and not a 41-episode trilogy. Frankly, this series bored me more than you would think. The addition this anime made with the black mirror, Darkness, and Luna piqued my interest slightly. It’s new to the Peter Pan story and stepping into unfamiliar territory, but it caught my attention for a short while. But to be blunt, I would rather stick to the movies I’ve grown up to enjoy.

Does that mean you’ll watch Disney’s latest Peter Pan & Wendy now?

Fuck naw. Disney can suck on a huge tray of dicks with their live-action reboots. After what they did to The Lion King, I wash my hands of that.

But if you are curious about the Peter Pan anime…good luck finding it.

Now that Peter Pan is over, it’s time I pick up another World Masterpiece Theater classic where we go back to America.