also known as ''Gazula the amicable Monster'', ''Gudzulla'' or ''So It's Gudzulla'',Jonathan Clements, Helen McCarthy: ''The Anime Encyclopedia. Revised & Expanded Edition.'' Berkeley 2006, Stone Bridge Press, ISBN 978-1-933330-10-5, S. 222. is a comedy

manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...

series which was serialized on

Weekly Shōnen Sunday is a weekly ''shōnen'' manga magazine published in Japan by Shogakukan since March 1959. Contrary to its title, ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' issues are released on Wednesdays. ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' has sold over 1.8billion copies since 1986, ...

in 1967. The manga was based on Hiroshi Sasagawa's one-shot "Onboro Kaijū Guzura" published in the same magazine the previous year as the clumsy and straightforward character of Guzura was very popular at the time. Later a 52-episode comedy

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

adaptation of the series, directed by Hiroshi Sasagawa and produced by

Tatsunoko Productions and often shortened to , is a Japanese animation company. The studio's name has a double meaning in Japanese: "Tatsu's child" (Tatsu is a nickname for Tatsuo) and "sea dragon", the inspiration for its seahorse logo. Tatsunoko's headquarters are i ...

, was aired on

Fuji TV JOCX-DTV (channel 8), branded as and colloquially known as CX, is a Japanese television station based in Odaiba, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Owned and operated by the it is the key station of the Fuji News Network (FNN) and the Fuji Network Sys ...

between 7 October 1967 and 25 September 1968. The anime was remade into a 44-episode series also directed by Sasagawa. The remake aired on

TV Tokyo JOTX-DTV (channel 7), branded as and known colloquially as , is a television station headquartered in the Sumitomo Fudosan Roppongi Grand Tower in Roppongi, Minato, Tokyo, Japan, owned and operated by the subsidiary of listed certified b ...

between October 12, 1987, and September 30, 1988.

Plot

One day Mt. Bikkura erupts and blows up a huge egg, which hatches a funny little monster named Guzura. Astray in the human world, he is surprised and puzzled as everything he hears and sees is so strange and wonderful, and he is involved in odd affairs one after another. Besides, people around him are often drawn into humorous troubles. He has a magic ability to eat metal and produce a variety of mechanical devices. Also, he can blow flames out of his mouth and jump high using his powerful tail. Yet he is so innocent and friendly that he becomes popular wherever he goes.

Localization

The original black-and-white series was aired on Australia in 1971 under the title ''Gazula the Amicable Monster''. Guzura and Bonta were renamed "Gazula" and "Oshio" respectively. The anime series was aired in Australia's

Nine Network The Nine Network (stylised 9Network, commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of five main free-to-air television netw ...

.Jonathan Clements, Helen McCarthy: ''The Anime Encyclopedia. Revised & Expanded Edition.'' Berkeley 2006, Stone Bridge Press, ISBN 978-1-933330-10-5, S. 222. The 1987 remake series was aired internationally, such as on France where it was shown under the name "Gozura" and on Italy where it was shown under the name "Il mio amico Guz".

Cast

Toru Ohira TORU or Toru may refer to: *TORU, spacecraft system *Toru (given name), Japanese male given name *Toru, Pakistan Toru Mardan Toru is a village and union council in Mardan District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It has an altitude of 291 m (958 fe ...

as Guzura *Mie Azuma as Bonta *Yoshiko Matsuo as Susuko *

Kei Tomiyama , better known by his stage name , was a Japanese actor, voice actor, and narrator born in Anshan, Manchukuo. Tomiyama was affiliated with Aoni Production and Production Baobab. Tomiyama is best known for his roles in ''Tiger Mask'' (Naoto Date/ ...

as Papa * Mitsuko Asou as Mama

References

External links

* * 1967 anime television series debuts 1987 anime television series debuts Comedy anime and manga Dinosaurs in anime and manga Fuji TV original programming Tatsunoko Production Animated television series about dinosaurs TV Tokyo original programming {{Anime-television-series-stub