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 at Amada Anime Series: Super Mario Brothers and uncover the mysteries behind its production.
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 While they are no longer active today, at the time they were creating some of the best anime of the 80s including classics like Saber Marionette J and Touch. 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 song p:Machinery and the Grammy Award winning group Art of Noise for their songs Comes and Goes, Donna, and Snapshot. Even ten-time Grammy Award winner Dave Grusin has his piece from the 1981 drama On The Golden Pond titled New Hampshire Hornpipe featured in the anime.
Even the voice talent for Amada Anime Series: Super Mario Brothers included some big names. Toru Fuyruya, now famous for playing Sabo in One Piece and Yamcha in Dragon Ball, was chosen to be the voice of Mario. This was long before Charles Martinet would become famous for voicing the character in future years. Fellow One Piece and Dragon Ball veterans Tatsuta Naoki and Masaharu Satou voiced Luigi and Bowser respectively. Even Miyako Endo of Sailor Moon fame was brought in to play the role of Peach. Suffice it to say, the cast for the show was impressive.
What Is The Series About?
As previously mentioned, Amada Anime Series: Super Mario Brothers spans three episodes, each putting the cast of Mario into a different fairy tale. These stories included Issunboshi, Momotaro, and Snow White. Each episode was narrated by Toshiko Shawada, who worked on the first-ever magical girl anime Cutey Honey.
Issunboshi is similar to the story of Tom Thumb or Thumbelina but 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 to inspire the game Bowser’s Inside Story years later.
In Momotaro, 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 because Amada Anime Series: Super Mario Brothers was 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 series The Legend of Snow White would be animated for Japanese audiences.
Many years before Bowsette 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 to watch 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 appeared on eBay selling for upwards of $100 USD.
More: A Game Adaptation of the Mario Movie Seems Inevitable
