Marine Express

かいていちょうとっきゅうまりんえくすぷれす

Aired: 1979

A television special anime produced by Tezuka Productions and broadcast within Nippon Television's 24-hour charity program 24-Hour Television: Love Saves the Earth 2. It is the second 24-Hour Television anime special following the previous year's Bander Book, an original feature special for which Osamu Tezuka handled the original story and composition. It employs a star system in which famous Tezuka manga characters such as Astro Boy, Black Jack, Princess Knight, and The Three-Eyed One play different roles. A science-fiction mystery adventure in which, around the maiden voyage of the dream super-express Marine Express that links Japan and America by an undersea tunnel, the passengers caught up in a great incident and the mystery of the lost ancient civilization of Mu intersect. Co-directed with Tetsu Dezaki, it is an ambitious work combining the entertainment value and thematic depth that culminate the Tezuka world, also known for Yuji Ohno's lively music.