|
SMB3 ANIME OVA (1989): AMADA ANIME SERIES
|
June 27,
2005 |
|
|
 On
August 3,
1989,
(my 7th birthday, no less!),
a three-part OVA series was released in Japan featuring characters from
Super Mario Bros. 3 in classic fairy tales: Momotaro, Issunboshi, and
Snow White. Each of the three tapes were only 15 minutes long. The animation of the OVA seems to be much better than the
anime movie released years before as the characters are based on their
official designs.
I wonder if this animation studio also did the Japanese commercial for
Super Mario Bros. 3. Here are the three stories:
|
Momotaro
 Once
apon a time, there was an old elderly couple (played by
Hammer Bros.)
who had a granddaughter (Peach). One day, the granddaughter is kidnapped
by an evil ogre (Bowser)
and his underlings (Koopalings).
While the grandparents grieved for their abducted girl, a peach falls
from the heavens. In it was a boy named Momotaro (Mario)
who was taken in and raised by the grandparents. When Momotaro hears of
the story of the kidnapped girl. he sets out to the Island of Ogres to
rescue her.
The
grandmother gives Mario a gun [Yes, I kid you not] that has been
handed down from generation to generation and
a lunch comprising
of mushrooms. On his way, he befriends allies (Parabeetle,
Boomerang Bro, Spike) who have a grudge against the Ogre and offer
to help Momotaro. Once there,
Momotaro storms
the castle and does battle with the Ogre, defeating him and
tying him up at
gunpoint [I can't believe I just typed that. @_@]. The girl is freed
and the good guys are rewarded with the
Ogre's treasure.
|
 Issunboshi
Another
elderly couple find
a small inch-high
baby, who they named Issunboshi (Mario). However, as the boy grew,
he remained the same size. One day, Mario sets out on his own, making a
little boat and
sailing off to the world unknown. When Mario reaches the city, he
encounters a beautiful girl named
Peach and
becomes her companion. One day, they are confronted by
Bowser, who
decides to harass Peach. Mario defends Peach, but gets eaten by the
Kuppa. What Bowser doesn't know is that Mario has a needle/sword and
pokes at Bowser's
stomach. The
excruciating pain causes Bowser to spit out Mario. Bowser runs off
as
Peach and Mario
laugh mercilessly. Suddenly, Peach obtains a
Magic Mallet
that Bowser has dropped, and wishes for Mario to grow to normal size. |
Shirayukihime (Snow White)
 Here's
where things get a bit twisted. Everyone knows about Snow White, the
Seven Dwarfs, Prince Charming and the
Wicked Queen who
poisons the princess. Now, since we have
Peach, seven
Toads, and Mario playing their respected parts, who would play the
role of the Queen? I got it!
Put Bowser in
drag! Something no human is meant to see: Big Devil King Kuppa with
a crown and lipstick. The story starts out normally, until
Peach is poisoned
and
Mario
cures Peach's poison with medicine. (No kiss? Ripoff!) Then all hell
breaks loose. I don't know exactly what happens, but apparently Mario
goes on a vengeful rampage and starts
beating up random
Koopalings in search of Wicked Queen Bowser. As the story nears
its end, Queen Bowser somehow
takes Peach
hostage at knifepoint. (@_@ again!) When all hope seems lost, out of
nowhere,
Luigi
finally appears and kicks the Queen in the chest! Lovely! |
|
 Finding
info on these OVAs proved more difficult than the Mario anime movie from
three years prior. Thankfully I was led to the Japanese retrogaming site
198X, that had a review of videogame-based anime that included the Mario
animes. I've listed the sites that I've found very helpful while writing
this commentary below.
|
|
Links:
Here's a list of sites where I found out more info about the movie.
Some of these pages are in Japanese, so I had to use Google Japan and Babelfish to
try to decipher all this information out. |
|
-
198X: ゲームアニメ大行進 |
- The original source of the screenshots of the three OVAs
|
|
-
Niji no Rainbow |
- Lajos' summary of
the Momotaro OVA |
|
-
Otakara - Mario Listings |
- A Japanese store
with two of the OVAs listed with boxart. |
|
-
The Story of Momotaro |
- The complete story
of Momotaro and the Ogre. |
|
-
The Story of Issunboshi |
- The complete story
of the little Issunboshi |
Extra:
SMB3 JP Commercial (from Majik's Video Game Ads site)
|
|
|
|
|
