Wanpaku Oji no Orochi Taiji

Aired: 1963

A theatrical anime produced by Toei Doga. Released March 24, 1963, with a running time of 86 minutes. Based on the Izumo mythology from Japanese folklore, this work depicts the legend of Susano-o slaying Yamata-no-Orochi as an adventure story of a mischievous and pure-hearted young prince, serving as Toei Doga's 6th feature-length theatrical work. Directed by Yugo Serikawa, with animation direction by Yasuji Mori and music by Akira Ifukube. Susano-o, exiled from Takamagahara after incurring his sister Amaterasu's wrath, meets Kushinada-hime in an Izumo village suffering under Yamata-no-Orochi and confronts the eight-headed serpent. The climactic Orochi-slaying scene, with key animation by Yasuji Mori, Yoichi Kotabe, and Yasuo Otsuka, is considered a legendary scene in Japanese animation history with its dynamic action and symbolic color design. The work greatly influenced later creators from Toei Doga, including Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata, and continues to be highly regarded as a classic of Japanese feature-length animation. (C)Toei Animation