, also known as , is a

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι� ...

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 ...

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed be ...

from the early 1980s, initially produced at

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 ...

and

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 certifie ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

in conjunction with the

Christian Broadcasting Network The Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) is an American Christian media production and distribution organization. Founded in 1960 by Pat Robertson, it produces the long-running TV series '' The 700 Club'', co-produces the ongoing ''Superbook'' ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

, and rebooted in 2011 by CBN with

Asia-Pacific Asia-Pacific (APAC) is the part of the world near the western Pacific Ocean. The Asia-Pacific region varies in area depending on context, but it generally includes East Asia, Russian Far East, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Australia and Paci ...

region animation studios along with locally based partners like

Tokyo MX JOMX-DTV, branded as Tokyo MX (officially stylized as TOKYO MX), is an independent television station in Tokyo, Japan, owned by the . It is the only television station that exclusively serves the city. It competes with Nippon TV, TV Asahi, NH ...

and Word of Life Press Ministries in Japan. The original series chronicled the events of the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus ...

Old Old or OLD may refer to: Places *Old, Baranya, Hungary *Old, Northamptonshire, England * Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, M ...

and

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chris ...

s in its 52-episode run. The first 26 episodes aired from October 1, 1981 to March 25, 1982, followed by a second season called with 26 episodes from April 4, 1983 to September 26, 1983. Between both series in the first run was the companion series '' The Flying House''. The Christian Broadcasting Network produced a

computer animated Computer animation is the process used for digitally generating animations. The more general term computer-generated imagery (CGI) encompasses both static scenes (still images) and dynamic images (moving images), while computer animation refer ...

reboot starting on September 1, 2011, which has had 5 seasons and 68 episodes so far. Together, they are considered to be the most successful animated collaborative Japanese and American

media franchise A media franchise, also known as a multimedia franchise, is a collection of related media in which several derivative works have been produced from an original creative work of fiction, such as a film, a work of literature, a television program ...

Overview

Original series

The 1st series, ''Superbook'' (''Anime Oyako Gekijo''), begins at the home of a young boy named Christopher "Chris" Peeper, who discovers the ancient Bible named Superbook that can speak and send him, his friend Joy (Azusa Yamato) and his clockwork toy figure named Gizmo the Crusader Robot back in time during the events of the Old and New Testaments. The 2nd series, ''Superbook II: In Search for Ruffles and Return to the 20th Century'' (''Pasokon Travel Tanteidan''), takes place 2 years after the 1st series, where Superbook falls onto a computer, giving anybody the ability to see into the past from Christopher's home via the monitor. Ruffles, his poodle, has managed to get lost in time, prompting Gizmo and Christopher's little brother (re-written as his cousin in the English dub), Uriah "Uri" Peeper, to search for Ruffles. While Chris and Joy keep watch and control of the computer from the present, Gizmo and Uri experience the stories from the Old Testament solely.

Reboot series

Set in the 23rd century, the kids (Chris and Joy) and the robot (Gizmo) uncover the secrets of Superbook through a mysterious portal to the past, traveling back in Biblical times from the

Old Testament The Old Testament (often abbreviated OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew writings by the Israelites. The ...

and

eras.

Cast and characters

Original series

* (voiced by Masako Sugaya in Japanese,

Billie Lou Watt Billie Lou Watt (June 20, 1924 – September 7, 2001) was an American actress. She was best known as the original English dub voice of the title characters of the 1960s anime series ''Astro Boy'' and ''Kimba the White Lion'', the character Elsi ...

in English): The main hero of the series, who is Professor Quantum's son and Gizmo's former owner. * (voiced by

Katsue Miwa is a Japanese voice actress from Osaka affiliated with the studio Aoni Production. She began her career in 1960 and has since starred in a number of voice-over roles for various anime, video games, films, and television commercials. Works Anime ...

in Japanese, Sonia Owens in English): Chris's next-door neighbor and best friend. * (voiced by Hiroshi Masuoka in Japanese, Helena van Koert and Billie Lou Watt in English): The name of 2 characters, depending on the season. In the 1st season, he is Chris's advanced toy figure who can become a real-life robot. In the 2nd season, Gizmo became a real-life sized robot built by Uri's father. * (voiced by

Runa Akiyama was a Japanese voice actress. Her real name was . She was born in the Metropolitan area of Tokyo, Japan. She was affiliated with the voice talent management group 81 Produce at the time of her death. Later years During her later life, her work ...

in Japanese, Helena van Koert in English): Chris's little brother (cousin in the English dub) and Gizmo's current owner. * (voiced by Fumio Matsuoka in Japanese, Ray Owens in English): An archaeologist and Chris's father. * (voiced by

Kumiko Takizawa was a Japanese voice actress from Tokyo, Japan. Filmography Anime *Makiko Shikishima in ''Tetsujin 28-go'' (1980) *Midori Kurenai in ''Hell Girl'' *Hazuki's Grandmother in ''Ojamajo Doremi'' *Sawako Sawanoguchi in ''Magic User's Club'' (TV) *Gr ...

in Japanese, Sonia Owens in English): Chris's mother. * Ruffles (''Kikyomu'' in Japanese): Chris and Uri's pet Yorkshire Terrier. * (voiced by

Koji Totani Koji, Kōji, Kohji or Kouji may refer to: *Kōji (given name), a masculine Japanese given name *Kōji (Heian period) (康治), Japanese era, 1142–1144 *Kōji (Muromachi period) (弘治), Japanese era, 1555–1558 *Koji orange, a Japanese citrus ...

in Japanese, Ray Owens in English): An ancient

that takes Chris, Joy, Gizmo and Uri back to the

and

eras.

Reboot series

* Christopher "Chris" J. Quantum (voiced by

Samuel Vincent Sam Vincent (born 1963), is an American basketball player and former coach. Sam or Samuel Vincent is also the name of: *Sam Vincent (voice actor) Sam Vincent is a Canadian voice actor working for Ocean Productions. He is best known for his role ...

): An awesome skateboarder, video-gamer and lead guitarist in a garage band with his Valleyview Middle School buddies. He uncovers the secrets of Superbook through a mysterious portal to the past. * Joy Pepper (voiced by

Shannon Chan-Kent Shannon Chan-Kent (born September 23, 1988) is a Canadian voice and stage actress. She is known for her roles as Silver Spoon and Smolder and the singing voice of Pinkie Pie in '' My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic'', Misa Amane in the English ...

): Next-door neighbor, best friend and classmate of Chris at Valleyview Middle School. She is outgoing and usually a bit more adventurous than Chris. She loves soccer, is athletic and great at other sports as well. * Gizmo (voiced by

Cathy Weseluck Cathy Weseluck is a Canadian actress and comedian who frequently works with Ocean Productions in Vancouver, British Columbia and is known for her roles as Near in ''Death Note'', Cybersix/Adrian Seidelman in ''Cybersix'', and Spike in '' My Lit ...

): A robot created by Chris's dad, Professor Quantum, to protect both Chris and Joy, but they end up protecting him. He loves upgrades to make himself more useful and would rather stay in the lab than time-travel with Superbook. A really cool feature of Gizmo is that he can change his appearance as needed. * Superbook (voiced by Colin Murdock): A device that takes Chris, Joy and Gizmo through a portal to travel back in the Old and New Testament eras during biblical times. * Professor Crispin Quantum (voiced by

Jan Rabson Jan Rabson (June 14, 1954 – October 13, 2022) was an American actor. Life and career Rabson was born in East Meadow, New York, on June 14, 1954. Jan's voice has been heard on thousands of commercials, films, TV shows, and animated films and se ...

): A scientist and inventor who is Chris's father, Phoebe's husband and Gizmo's creator. * Phoebe Quantum (voiced by

Nicole Oliver Nicole Lyn Oliver (born February 22, 1970) is a Canadian actress. She is best known for her roles as Princess Celestia and Cheerilee in '' My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic'' and Zoe Trent in '' Littlest Pet Shop''. Early life Oliver was born ...

): Chris's mother and Crispin's wife.

Episodes

Original series

Season 1 (1981–1982)

Season 2 (1983)

Reboot series (2011–present)

Season 1 (2011–2013)

Season 2 (2013–2014)

Season 3 (2015–2017)

Season 4 (2017–2019)

Season 5 (2019–2022)

Explorer (DVD release)

In 2016, Superbook began releasing DVDs which contained two previously released episodes per DVD. There are also special features on each DVD, such as how to draw a character in the Superbook artwork style, music videos, and/or informational videos explaining where the events of the stories may have taken place or how they relate to Jesus Christ.

Gizmo Go!

In 2020, Superbook began releasing DVDs about Miss Tina starting her internship at Quantum Labs and meeting four comical robots: Gizmo, Rig, Gears and Widget.

Superbook Specials

VHS/DVD releases

Superbook Series I and Series II were released on various VHS volumes by Tyndale Entertainment. The entire series was available over 26 VHS Volumes. Superbook was released for the first time on DVD late 2005 to early 2006. The three DVD volumes features 4 episodes each from Series I. Episode 6 of the new 3D animated Superbook series was the first to be released on DVD in 2009. Episode 1 of the new Superbook series was released in November 2010 on DVD. New Superbook episodes are of CBN's Superbook DVD Club.

References

External links

Official Website

Official Website
* * (reboot series) {{Tatsunoko Production 1980s animated television series 1981 anime television series debuts 1983 anime television series debuts 1981 Japanese television series debuts 1983 Japanese television series endings 2011 American television series debuts 2010s American animated television series 2020s American animated television series 1980s science fiction television series 2010s American science fiction television series 2020s American science fiction television series American children's animated education television series American children's animated science fiction television series Animated television series about children Television series set in the 23rd century Cultural depictions of Adam and Eve Christian animation Christian children's television series English-language television shows Tatsunoko Production Television series based on the Bible TV Tokyo original programming Japanese time travel television series American time travel television series Christianity in Japan

Overview

Original series

Reboot series

Cast and characters

Original series

Reboot series

Episodes

Original series

Season 1 (1981–1982)

Season 2 (1983)

Reboot series (2011–present)

Season 1 (2011–2013)

Season 2 (2013–2014)

Season 3 (2015–2017)

Season 4 (2017–2019)

Season 5 (2019–2022)

Explorer (DVD release)

Gizmo Go!

Superbook Specials

VHS/DVD releases

See also

References

External links