Big X

Aired: 1964 - 1965

A TV anime produced by Tokyo Movie. Based on Osamu Tezuka's manga serialized in Kodansha's Weekly Shonen Magazine (1963-1966). Broadcast in 59 episodes on the TBS network from August 3, 1964 to September 27, 1965. During World War II, Nazi Germany and Japan jointly developed an ultimate bio-enhancement drug called 'Big X.' Akira Asagumo (voiced by Nana Yamaguchi), son of the Japanese doctor who inherited its secret, gains the ability to transform into a superhuman by injecting Big X via a pen-type syringe, and confronts the Nazi remnant organization 'Nazi Party' seeking world domination in this near-future SF spy action work. As the third TV anime adaptation of a Tezuka work (following Astro Boy and Jungle Taitei), it is an important work from Tokyo Movie's founding era, laying the groundwork for the company's later leap to Obake no Q-taro, Lupin III, and Ashita no Joe. Sponsored by Morinaga Confectionery. (C)Tezuka Productions