Ulysses 31

Ulysses 31 (宇宙伝説ユリシーズ) is a French–Japanese–Luxembourgian anime series based on the Greek mythology of Odysseus (known as "Ulixes" or "Ulysses" in Latin), set in the 31st century. It was produced by DIC Audiovisuel and Tokyo Movie Shinsha, in co-production with France 3 and RTL. The series comprises 26 half-hour episodes.[1]

Production

In 1980, TAF, TMS Entertainment, and DiC Audiovisuel produced a pilot for the series, simply titled "Ulysses 31".[2] Although there was a Japanese VHS release of the series by King Records in 1986, the pilot never saw an official home release and was used for internal use only.

The pilot has long been considered as only been recorded in Japanese, until a French searcher discovered a copy of the French version in July 2015, then a copy of the English-dubbed version in June 2022.[3]

The story is virtually identical to episode one of the finished series, but the story was the only thing that was kept. Some characters underwent major redesigns from a typical anime design to the finished series, which is a mix of Japanese anime style and European art based on the appearance of classical Greek sculpture.[2] Renowned Japanese illustrators and animators Shingo Araki and Michi Himeno, who have worked in anime adaptations of famous manga (such as Masami Kurumada's Saint Seiya, Fūma no Kojirō, Ring ni Kakero, Riyoko Ikeda's Versailles no Bara, and UFO Robo Grendizer OVA) were responsible for the finished series' character designs, animation routines, and visual style.

Plot

The series follows the struggles of Ulysses and his crew against the divine entities that rule the universe, the ancient gods from Greek mythology. The Gods of Olympus are angered when Ulysses, commander of the giant spaceship Odyssey, kills the giant Cyclops to save a group of enslaved children, including his son. Zeus sentences Ulysses to travel the universe with his crew frozen until he finds the Kingdom of Hades, at which point his crew will be revived and he will be able to return to Earth. Along the way they encounter numerous other famous figures from Greek mythology, given a futuristic twist.

Release

In the United States, the show was broadcast as a half-hour segment in the 1986 anthology series Kideo TV.[4]

In the United Kingdom, it first aired on BBC One at 16:30 on Thursday, November 7, 1985.[5] The entire series was released in English in a complete DVD box set in the UK released by Contender Entertainment, and in Australia by Madman Entertainment. In the United States, one DVD titled Ulysses 31: The Mysteries of Time was released, containing only four selected episodes. The rights, like most of DIC's other programs, were originally owned by WildBrain, through its in-name-only unit, Cookie Jar Entertainment.

It was also aired on Cartoon Network (Asia) in the 1992 NHK BS-2 Japanese version.[6]

Soundtrack

Most of the original soundtrack was composed by Denny Crockett and Ike Egan. Six additional themes were composed by Shuki Levy and Haim Saban: "Potpourri", "Final Glory", "Space Traffic", "Ulysse Meets Ulysse", "Mermaids", and "Change of Time (Theme of Chronos)".

The Japanese version has a different soundtrack, opening with "Ginga Densetsu Odyssey" (銀河伝説オデッセイ) and closing with "Ai. Toki no Kanata ni" (愛･時の彼方に), both by Tomoaki Taka. The music was composed by Wakakusa Kei, who made the soundtrack in both the series and pilot that was produced in 1980. An official soundtrack was released in 1986 on vinyl and on CD in 1988 by King Records.

Further reading

• Dixième Planète (French magazine), issue No. 15 (Feb/Mar 2002), 8 pages about the series and toys produced
• Escolano. "Silence Underscores Responsible Fatherhood in Ulysess 31". Shahinian and Salas. The Animated Dad. McFarland. 2024.

External links

• TMS official website;