Oz no Mahoutsukai (TV)

I was 6 when I first saw this version of The Wizard of Oz in the 1980s, and at the time I hadn't seen any of the other versions nor even knew it was actually based on a book. Only afterward did I get to find out it was based on a book series0 (which I have never read) and see the Judy Garland version plus the 'Return to Oz' movie released by Disney in the 1980s.

Needless to say my memory is a bit sketchy, however I can remember enjoying this one immensely (my local TV station ran it twice - restarting it as soon ... as its first run finished). One thing 'The Wonderful Wizard of Oz' has over some of the other versions is its length - it was able to be spread out over many episodes and not have to be crammed into a 2hr movie or something similar.

From my own experience I considered the story as being divided into 3 parts (I've since found out that it was officially considered 4 parts). The first part concerned to most memorable part of the Oz saga - Dorothy getting sucked up by the tornado only to land in Oz, where she meets up with the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodsman and the Cowardly Lion. They all join together in a variety of adventures as she attempts to get to the Emerald City to meet the famous Wizard who supposedly has the power to return her home. The Wizard instead sends them off to kill the Wicked Witch of the West (which they do) but upon returning it is discovered the Wizard is in fact just a normal man who arrived in Oz via a balloon. When Dorothy misses out on returning home with the Wizard she and her friends end up going to meet Glinda the Good Witch of the South (not the North interestingly) where Dorothy learns that she only needs to click her magic slippers to return home.

The second part involved characters such as the witch Mombi, the usurper-of-the-throne Queen Jinjur (the throne had previously been held by Scarecrow after the leaving of the Wizard) as well as the memorable Jack Pumpkinhead and his master/guardian Tip. This part ended with true heir to the throne, Princess Ozma, being revealed and taking her place on the throne of Oz. I have to admit I'm a little hazy on what happened during this part with the exception of Jinjur making herself Queen after Dorothy and co escape on a wooden horse (brought to life by Tip with the same magic powder that created Jack Pumpkinhead) as well as the end where Ozma is revealed and crowned.

The third part struck me as the strangest (and somewhat boring) part involving Dorothy visiting the land of Ev and meeting characters such as Tick Tock and the Nome King. This part ended with Dorothy ending up back in Oz and the Nome King launching an invasion of the Emerald City. One of the most memorable parts from this one was the ornament room where the correct ornament had to be chosen lest the person themselves be turned into an ornament ('Return to Oz' used this part too). At the time this part of the story struck me as the weirdest as I never really understood how Ev existed alongside Oz (I've since learnt that it was a neighbouring nation-state). I was also bored by it a bit as most of the storyline took place in Ev (which is more or less a desert). Fortunately the later sequences in Oz were more enjoyable, especially with the constant girl-fighting between Dorothy and Ozma (who had turned into a bit of a spoiled brat between this part and the last part).

(as mentioned previously, officially the series is divided into 4 parts - the final 2 sections (Part 3 in the land of Ev, Part 4 back in Oz with the Nome King invading) making up what I considered the third part above. Despite this knowledge I prefer to count it as one single entity as that was how I saw it as a kid)

All up it was an enjoyable series for me and I have plenty of fond memories of it. At the time I didn't know how close it resembled the original novels (from what I've heard the first part is fairly close; the second part is close as well but the novel didn't feature Dorothy; the third and fourth parts deviate the most by taking a number of liberties with the storyline from the books) but compared to some of the other attempts at bringing the Oz story to the screen (big and small) this one is good for taking the time to develop a nice, long story with characters who flesh out and grow as the series moves along.

Definitely recommended for anyone who enjoys the Oz universe.

This little anime series/cartoon comes on THIS network and when I saw it was on my Comcast channel in the early morning, I thought it was the filming of the original Black&White Wizard of Oz. But when I saw it was an animated series based on the books, I definitely decided to go watch it. I always be sad every time I miss it from going to sleep or doing something different so I try to keep in time and set the alarm clock to when the Wizard of Oz comes on and then i go to the channel and watch it. This series was ... really impressive. The voices sound like the original 1939 one, even though they sound a little higher, the characters were from the book except some of them like Princess Lulu or any of the strange guys. And I was addicted! This cartoon is astonishing! Only 52 episodes and from start to finish it was amazing. I had to buy the DVD off of Amazon but don't buy the Complete Set DVD. When I bought it, I was disappointed that most of the episodes were missing scenes. It really had better quality than THIS Network, but the most disappointing fact is that the series is trying to come together by cutting off scenes and make it incomprehensible. So I'd like to watch it on T.V. now. Watch it on television instead. You'll be impressed by this little adaptation.

I have to say that I'm watching this anime out of pure and utter nostalgia... I know that I saw it on TV in the 80's cause much of the art of this anime is firmly printed in head as one of the oldest memories I can recall...

This surely caused a big big impression in my 3-4-year-old brain... so much that when I caught a glimpse of some footage of it and was able to recognize it I knew I had to watch it!!! I felt the urge to see those images again...

So.... for the actual review...

The animation is as old as it gets... borderline ... being black and white.... but its ok as long as you set your mind to watch a 34 yrs old anime.

The art is AWESOME... especially the background art!! some of those sceneries could very well be on a canvas in a museum hall.

I have to say that the 3rth arc is the one that fascinates me the most. The land of Ev is filled with incredible surrealistic landscapes... dried out oceans, ancient crumbling ruins, sandy graveyards littered with rock-giant corpses..... Ev could be the setting for an incredible RPG campaign.

The soundtrack is incredible too... with a jazzy vibe that feels kind of over the top for such a simplistic animation.... but nonetheless is very enjoyable.

As a final remark... I have to say that chapter 35 is the one that struck me the most... the whole rock-giant fight and escape scene is the one that was more deeply engraved in my memory and I felt and incredible fascinations watching it 30 year later for a second time.... and I have to say is one of the few chapters that I feel any grown-up could watch and not realize it's from a show aimed at kids.