, also known as ''Demetan the Frog'' and ''The Brave Frog'', is a 39 episode

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 ...

series 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 ...

first aired in 1973.

Overview

The story is about Demetan (Jonathan in the English version), a poor young

frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely Carnivore, carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order (biology), order Anura (ανοὐρά, literally ''without tail'' in Ancient Greek). The oldest fossil "proto-f ...

living in Rainbow Pond with his mother and father (a toymaker), who becomes friends with a popular and sweet girl frog named Ranatan (known as Pookie and later Hilary in different English versions), despite the differences in their social standings: Ranatan is the daughter of the leader of Rainbow Pond (English name, Leopold), while Demetan and his parents are

tree frog A tree frog (or treefrog) is any species of frog that spends a major portion of its lifespan in trees, known as an arboreal state. Several lineages of frogs among the Neobatrachia have given rise to treefrogs, although they are not closely relat ...

s, which make them automatic outcasts in the community. Together, Demetan and Ranatan enjoy many adventures. Like many of Tatsunoko's series at the time (in particular its predecessor ''

Kashi no Ki Mokku ''Pinocchio: The Series'', also known as ''Saban's The Adventures of Pinocchio'' and known as in Japan, is a 52-episode anime series by Tatsunoko Productions first aired on Fuji Television in 1972, which was edited by Saban in 1990. The story ...

''), the show was often sad, tragic and even

sadistic Sadism may refer to: * Sadomasochism, the giving or receiving of pleasure from acts involving the receipt or infliction of pain or humiliation * Sadistic personality disorder, an obsolete term proposed for individuals who derive pleasure from the s ...

, with Demetan having to deal with natural

predator Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill th ...

s as well as the

bullies A bully is someone responsible for bullying, using aggression to intimidate or dominate others. Bully may also refer to: Animals * American Bully, a breed of dog * Bull Terrier or bully, a breed of dog * '' Gobiomorphus'' or bully, an Australia ...

who rule the

pond A pond is an area filled with water, either natural or artificial, that is smaller than a lake. Defining them to be less than in area, less than deep, and with less than 30% emergent vegetation helps in distinguishing their ecology from th ...

. The well-loved theme song sung by

Mitsuko Horie is a Japanese actress, voice actress and singer. She was born in Yamato, Kanagawa. She has voiced several characters throughout her career, such as Sailor Galaxia in '' Sailor Moon: Sailor Stars'' and Remi in the Nippon Animation World Masterp ...

has a melancholy sound. In addition to its original broadcast 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 ...

in 1973, ''Kerokko Demetan'' was re-run 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 ...

in 1982, as a replacement for ''

Don Dracula is a manga by Osamu Tezuka that began serialization in 1979. An anime television series aired from April 5 to April 26, 1982. Plot After living in Transylvania for several years, Count Dracula has moved to Japan. (The English summary on the ...

'', which was pulled off the air following the bankruptcy of its production company. The series became very popular in other regions, such as Asia, Europe (particularly in France, where the entire series was released on DVD in October 2005 ), Quebec, Canada, and Latin America. All of the 39 episodes were dubbed in Italian and broadcast on

Italia 1 Italia 1 (Italian pronunciation ) is an Italian free-to-air television channel on the Mediaset network, owned by MFE - MediaForEurope. It is oriented at both young and adult people. Italia 1 was launched on 3 January 1982 and, originally, was o ...

from 1982 as ''La banda dei ranocchi'' with an original theme song. The show was fully dubbed to Arabic in the 1980s by Agrama Films, which was based in the US.

English versions

The series has been translated into the

English language English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the is ...

on two occasions by Harmony Gold. In 1985, two

feature-length A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...

movie A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

adaptations, edited from the TV series, were produced by Harmony Gold. The two movies, called ''The Brave Frog'' and ''The Brave Frog's Greatest Adventure'', tell the entire storyline of the series in heavily condensed form.

Rebecca Forstadt Rebecca Forstadt is an American voice actress, best known for playing young female roles in various animated series. After studying theater at Orange Coast College, in Costa Mesa, California, Forstadt began her acting career by working at Knott' ...

portrayed the voice of Pookie (Ranatan). The first movie was released on videocassette in 1994 and on DVD in 1999. In 1990, Harmony Gold also translated the 39 episodes into English under the title "Adventures On Rainbow Pond," which featured

Dave Mallow Dave Mallow (born October 19, 1948) is a retired American voice actor. Biography Mallow's father worked in radio and television and was a 30-year on-air veteran at Chicago's WGN. After graduating from Maine South High School, Mallow attained a ...

as Jonathan Jumper (Demetan). Ranatan is known as "Hilary Hopper" in this version.

Japanese voice actors

Yuko Hisamatsu Yuko may refer to: * Yuko (judo) (''yūkō''), a score in judo competition * Yuko (Ukrainian band), a Ukrainian band * Yūko, a Japanese female given name (including a list of persons with the name) * Yuko, a Belgian band * Yuko people, an Am ...

as Demetan *

Mari Okamoto is a Japanese actress and voice actress. Biography Despite being born in Tokyo, Okamoto was actually raised in Hirakata, Osaka, where she also spent her elementary-school years. In 1961, she made her debut for performing arts activities in c ...

as Ranatan *

Hiroshi Ohtake is a common masculine Japanese given name. It can also be transliterated as Hirosi. Possible writings Hiroshi can be written using different kanji characters and can mean: *浩, "meaning" *汎 *弘, *宏, *寛, *洋, *博, *博一, *博司, ...

as Ibokichi *

Kōichi Kitamura , better known by the stage name , was a Japanese voice actor born in Osaka, Japan. Kitamura was employed by the talent management agency Mausu Promotion. He is known for dubbing roles played by Peter Cushing. He died on October 2, 2007 of pneum ...

as Amataro * Kousei Tomita as Gyata *

Miyoko Shoji Miyoko (written: is a feminine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *Miyoko Akaza, Japanese actress *Miyoko Asada, Japanese actress *Miyoko Asahina, retired female long-distance runner *Miyoko Asō, Japanese voice actress *, ...

as Amako *

Shun Yashiro was a Japanese actor and voice actor from Tsuyama, Okayama. At the time of his death, he was affiliated with Theater Echo. Throughout his career, Yasario was also known as , , and . Yashiro was best known for his roles in ''Inakappe Taishō'' ...

as Kyaru * Yasuo Tanaka as Zari *

Haruko Kitahama is a feminine Japanese given name. Its most common translation is "spring child" (春子, which may also be read as a Korean name Chun-ja), though other kanji provide different meanings. Notable people with the name include: * Princess Haruko (� ...

as Narrator

Extra production information

*Broadcaster: Fuji TV *Planning: Tatsuo Yoshida *Storyboard(s): Yoshiyuki Tomino *Writer(s): Jinzo Toriumi *Character Designer(s): Yoshitaka Amano, Tatsuo Yoshida, Masayuki Hayashi *Music: Nobuyoshi Koshibe

References

External links

Official anime website
of

Tatsunoko Production 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 ...

Tatsunoko anime history/Dementan Information.
* {{Tatsunoko Production 1973 anime television series debuts Animated television series about frogs Fuji TV original programming Tatsunoko Production