MARIO ANIME (1986): PEACH-HIME KYUSHUTSU DAI SAKUSEN

December 19, 2003

On July 20, 1986, there was a 60-minute Mario anime movie released in theaters titled "Super Mario Bros.: Peach-hime Kyushutsu Dai Sakusen", or "Super Mario Bros.: The Great Mission to Rescue Princess Peach." The plot was simple: Mario and Luigi get sucked into their Famicom game, and save Princess Peach from Bowser. The animation studio, Grouper Productions has also made several Sanrio films. The movie was later put on rental video by Vap Video. The video's very hard to find now, even in Japan, apparently. Copies of the tape can go for as much as $180 on Japanese auction sites. A film comic was published in Japan at the same time as well.

After finding out about this anime, I looked around online and found out more information about the voice actors, soundtrack and production crew.

Production Info
- Release Date: July 20, 1986
- Length: 60 Minutes
- Animation Studio: Holly Planning Production/Grouper Production (Distributed by Shôchiku Fuji)
- VHS Release: Vap Video; Stereo; Edition No. 60395-88
 
- Director: Masami Hata
- Producer: Suzuki Masakatsu, Hatano Tsunemasa
- Animation Director Matsuyama Maya
- Script: Takayashiki Hideo
- Music: Kimori Toshiyuki
- Art Director: Abe Yukio
- Original Characters: Nintendo
- Key Animation: Kadowaki Kôichi, Ogawa Tomoko, Takeda Kazuhisa, Koyama Ryô, Kishita Yoshio, Kusuda Satoru, Kodama Shunji, Kobayashi Akemi, Komamiya Shingo, Mitsueda Tadashi, Satô Atsushi, Takaoka Kiichi, Toshida Kazuyuki, Nakayama Katsuichi, Negishi Jirô, Hanawa Hiroaki, Yamazawa Minoru, Yamashita Satoru, Suzuki Eiji, Eguchi Takashi, etc.
 

Voice Actors: I hope I didn't butcher these names when trying to translate them from Kanji. ^^;

Character Voice Actor Other Works
- Mario: Furuya Toru - Also voiced as Amuro Rei (Gundam), Tuxedo Mask (Sailor Moon), Pegasus (Saint Seiya), and Yamucha (Dragon Ball)
- Luigi: Mizushima Yuu - Has released many records and voiced in some anime, including St. Seiya and Kimagure Orange Road.
- Peach: Yamase Mami - A J-pop idol during the 80's, she is known to be quirky and to have a baby-sounding voice.
- Koopa: Wada Akiko - A famous female soul singer in Japan. (I'm just as confused with this one @_@)
- Prince Haru: Masami Kikuchi - Also voiced as Tenchi (Tenchi Muyo) and Keiichi (Ah! My Goddess)
- Mushroom Hermit: Kohei Miyauchi - Also voiced as Turtle Hermit Master Roshi on Dragonball
- Jugem, Miss Endless (?): Ayako Hori - Was in a Tekuza movie called Rain Boy and an anime called Mermaid Forest.
- Hammer Brothers: Quiton Yamada - Also voiced as 004 (1979 Cyborg 009 ), the Locomotive (Galaxy Express 999), and Detective Hattori (Kikaider the Animation)
- Kibedango (?) Chiba Shigeru ???
- Patapata (Paratroopa) Parent Nakano Reiko ???
- Patapata (Paratroopa) Child Berizzu ???
- Kuribo (Goomba) A Maruyama Yuuko ???
- Kuribo (Goomba) B Komiya Kazue ???
- Kinopio (Toad) A Yamamoto Yuriko ???
- Kinopio (Toad) B Emori Hiroko ???
 
Original Soundtrack: Edition No. 30191-25

- Adyuu Mai Rabu (Adieu My Love)

- Suishoutama (Crystal Ball)

- Doki-Doki Do It! ~ Sukisukikurakura Hen ~ (Compilation)

- Doki-Doki Do It! ~ Bishittobashitto Rock 'n Roll Gakkou Hen ~ (School Compilation)

 
Images: There are images that I found on various sites in the Internet. Unfortunately, I don't have the video or any of these items to make a more-extensive review.
- Animation Cel 1

- Koopa holding Peach hostage

- Animation Cel 2

- Mario and Peach holding phone cards?

- Movie Poster 1 - Movie poster for the anime
- Movie Poster 2 - Another movie poster for the anime, with a blurb about Super Mario Bros. 2
- VHS Cover

- VHS cassette by Vap Video

- VHS Back

- Info about the cast and crew

- VHS Inside

- Listing of characters' sizes

- VHS Tape

- The rental tape cassette of the movie

- Phone Card 1

- Various characters from the movie

- Phone Card 2

- The same as the VHS cover

- Screenshots 1

- Opening and Ending Credits

- Screenshots 2

- Random scenes of the movie. (Luigi has a different set of colors)

 
Links: Here's a list of sites where I found out more info about the movie. Many of these pages are in Japanese, so I had to use Google Japan and Babelfish to try to decipher all this information out.
- http://roryhoy.4t.com

- Images of the movie cassette and movie itself

- http://movie.goo.ne.jp (JP)

- A Japanese movie database, including a list of voice actors who played Mario, Luigi, Peach, and Koopa.

- Anison Generation - "Doki Doki Do It" Single Data (JP)
- Anison Generation - Movie Soundtrack Data (JP)
- Data about the music single, titled "Doki-Doki Do It", and the original soundtrack from the movie.
- All Mario Bros - Mario Fan Tsuushin (JP) - Includes the cast and production crew list of the anime.
- Pelleas.net - Masami Hata Filmography (JP) - This page has the works of Masami Hata, the director of the Mario anime, including a summary of the movie.
- Anime News Network Encyclopedia

- A quick mention of the anime movie in their database.

- TMK: "Mario Anime Does Exist"
- TMK: "Proof and Pics of The 1986 Mario Anime"
- Here's the forum posts about the Mario anime on the TMK forums that inspired me to do this commentary.
- Mario Land - Mario Phone Cards (JP) - A mass collection of Mario phone cards in Japan, including some for the movie.

Besides this, there has been a three-part OVA made in 1989, featuring characters from Super Mario Bros. 3 retelling the stories of Momotaro, Issunboshi, and Snow White. Here's my commentary on that OVA.