Anime Oyako Gekijou

Ever come home from school one day, only to find a magical talking book that would take you back in time to visit events from long ago? Well that’s the way everyday is for young Christopher.

Story: 9/10
Well basically it’s about Chris and his friend Joy visiting different eras from the Old Testament in the Bible, from Adam Eve (creation) to the birth of Jesus. (End of Old Testament) Its one of those stories that stays linear with its overall concept, yet changes with each story. The events that take place are fun and enjoyable, since something different is always going on, it helps to keep ... the story from growing stale or repetitive. One thing I found odd though, is that Chris owns this toy robot that comes to life whenever they are visiting the stories, yet it was never explained why. Now if your looking for a title with good cliffhangers or deep storyline then you won’t find it here, as all plot in the episodes are lighthearted and end after the credits roll, and aren’t really going to any kind of goal, other than sending the kids to all eras of this time. Though the children can get in a bit of trouble a lot of the times, sometimes even get captured by villains of the particular story going on. For what its worth though, the episode by episode stories are entertaining and cute with nothing offensive in the least. (unless Christianity offends you that is)

Artwork: 7/10
Well its a very old title, but the animation on the children themselves is very well detailed and colorful, and does have a distinct design to them as well. The actual Bible characters they meet seem to be a bit more on the bland side though. They are good and represent each well, but are just not as detailed as the main cast is, as most give off a plain and generic look to them, and just aren’t as appealing to look at as the main. The backgrounds also have their high and low points, some are nice, detailed and crisp (for its time), while others just look down right bland and unimaginative (mostly with the fields and roads). Just depends on where the story is actually taking place, I did find many of the housing and temples to be descent looking though.

Soundtrack: 7/10
It has its ups and downs. Regarding the songs, both the dub (light heart party style) and sub version (bouncy kiddie beat) have these wonderful opening and closing themes that come off as quite catchy, and might make some want to sway in motion with it while on your couch. The background is also nice, as it has its high beats that play when something happy is occurring, to lower soft toned when trouble is brewing. Both of which mimic an orchestral kinda flare. However the voice overs are not quite up to par, while the voices on the kids are great and fitting to each personalty. The story characters unfortunately can get tedious, since their always meeting someone new in each episode, a lot of the same supporting cast member voice overs do most of the overall characters, which can get repetitive very fast.

Characters: 8/10
Truly great, each character is portrayed quite nicely to their Bible counter parts, and give you a nice sense as to what they may have been like back then. Nobody ever comes off as annoying, (with the exception of Chris’ dad perhaps), never come off as stereotypical and each have a charm to them. Though again, being that the same voice actors do many of the characters, kinda hurts the overall score.

Bottom Line: 8/10
Superbook remains a solid title despite some of its short comings. If you like your overall plots to be edgy or deep, then you certainly won’t find it here. But if your looking for a fun and lighthearted adventure style title, (or maybe have never actually read the Bible) then Superbook is a fun way to experience it!

Here's a real review of Superbook. This anime was designed to help children understand the Judeo-Christian scriptures on their level. If you have a bias against the Judeo-Christian religion, don't watch, and please don't review.

My parents allowed me to watch this growing up. The story of Adam and Eve had non-sexual nudity. There's censored Pokemon-level violence in it, from what I remember, but bear in mind that I was a kid when I watched this, which was a mere few years before Pokemon came out in America.

The format of each story is actually your typical "kids adventuring without their parents" style. The boy's toy ... robot comes to life to act as their guardian, so they're not completely helpless. The episodes aren't 100% accurate because the kids have their own interaction with the environment, however, the overarching events do unfold as planned.

The idea behind Superbook was to allow kids to relate to the ones within the anime. Growing up, I'd watch this thinking it was cool to see the kids interact with things I'd heard about myself (I lived in that kind of community). It wasn't the same as watching Schoolhouse Rock, where you knew they were trying to teach you something. Like most anime I've seen between the 90s and today, Superbook taught basic moral values.

Believe it or not, I never watched this thinking, 'Wow, a Christian anime!' I remember watching it thinking, 'Wow, this is so cool!' Isn't that what matters most?