is an

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 by

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 ...

s. that originally ran from October 1969 to September 1970, with a total of 52 episodes on Fuji TV. It tells the story of a boy who finds a bottle with a mysterious power - each time its user sneezes or yawns, a genie will come up and must grant the user's wish. A 1992 Saban Entertainment English dub called ''Bob In A Bottle'' was shown internationally and a

remake A remake is a film, television series, video game, song or similar form of entertainment that is based upon and retells the story of an earlier production in the same medium—e.g., a "new version of an existing film". A remake tells the same ...

was shown in 2020.

Plot

An old bottle has found its way into the household of a modern family, which consists of a boy named Kan and his parents. A genie, Hakushon, and his daughter, Akubi, reside inside it. When Kan finds the bottle, he discovers that a sneeze summons Hakushon and he must grant the wish of whoever sneezed, while a yawn summons Akubi and she must do the same for whoever yawned. Getting wishes granted by either genie may not be a good thing, for Hakushon messes them up due to his own extreme clumsiness, while the more capable Akubi likes to cause mischief by twisting their words and meanings so that something bad happens.

Localization

The series was dubbed in English by

Saban Entertainment Saban Entertainment, Inc. (along with Saban International; currently operating under the legal name is BVS Entertainment, Inc.) was a worldwide-served independent American-Israeli television production company formed in 1980 by Haim Saban and S ...

in 1992 under the name ''Bob in a Bottle''. A reggae-style theme song was composed for this version. Hakushon, Akubi and Kan were renamed "Bob", "Illana" and "Joey" respectively. Later, ''Bob in a Bottle'' was aired in Spanish, German, French, Swedish, Danish, and Hebrew. The English version aired in the United States on

PRISM Prism usually refers to: * Prism (optics), a transparent optical component with flat surfaces that refract light * Prism (geometry), a kind of polyhedron Prism may also refer to: Science and mathematics * Prism (geology), a type of sedimentary ...

from 1994 to 1995, and also aired on Canada's YTV, Kenya's KTN, Australia's

Seven Network The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, and is one of ...

in 1992, Zimbabwe's

ZBC TV ZBC TV, also known as ZTV, is Zimbabwe's public free to air television network that is fully owned and operated by the state broadcaster. History In the country, television was introduced on 15 November 1960, making it the second country after N ...

, New Zealand's TV2 in 1994, and the Netherlands' TV10. The motto for the English version is "Make everyday like paradise" and "You sneeze, I please, that's the way it goes". It was shown in Latin America under the name ''Yam Yam y el Genio'', in Italy under the name "Il Mago Pancione Etcì" and in Arabic speaking countries as ''El Fatah Borhan''. The English dub of the series was considered lost until April 2020 when a YouTube channel on the history of English anime dubs by the name of Yui-Senpai TV discovered that all episodes of the dub have been preserved on videocassette copies in the Library of Congress. On December 28, 2021, a YouTube channel by the name of TVFourgade discovered that the tapes being held in the Library of Congress are on the U-matic tape format. According to the librarian, the tapes are in decent condition, with some visual noise on one of the tapes. Since 2022, a YouTube channel by the name of FilmwaysVTC has been uploading full episodes of the show taken from syndicated airings on

in 1992.

2020 Remake

A new anime television series by Tatsunoko Production and

Nippon Animation is a Japanese animation studio. The company is headquartered in Tokyo, with chief offices in the Ginza district of Chūō and production facilities in Tama City. Nippon Animation is known for producing numerous anime series based on works of ...

aired on ytv from April 11, 2020, to September 26, 2020. It is a sequel series that takes place 50 years after the end of the original anime and centers on Akubi and Kantarō, the grandson of the original anime's protagonist. Atsushi Nigorikawa directed the series, with Hiroko Kanasugi handling series composition, Shin Takemoto and Masatsune Noguchi designed the characters, and Takamitsu Shimazaki, Hiroshi Sasaki, and Teppei Shimizu composed the series' music. On May 24, 2020, it was announced that episode 8 and further episodes would be delayed to June 20 due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

Viz Media VIZ Media LLC is an American manga publisher, anime distributor and entertainment company headquartered in San Francisco, California. It was founded in 1986 as VIZ LLC. In 2005, VIZ LLC and ShoPro Entertainment merged to form the current VIZ M ...

licensed the series as ''Genie Family 2020'' and released it on

Crunchyroll Crunchyroll is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Sony through a joint venture between Sony Pictures and Sony Music Entertainment Japan's Aniplex. The service primarily distributes films and tel ...

on October 15, 2020. The anime is also available on

Roku Roku ( ) is a brand of hardware digital media players manufactured by American company Roku, Inc. They offer access to streaming media content from online services. The first Roku model, developed in collaboration with Netflix, was introduce ...

Peacock Peafowl is a common name for three bird species in the genera ''Pavo (genus), Pavo'' and ''Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae, the pheasants and their allies. Male peafowl are referred to as peacocks, and female pea ...

and

Tubi Tubi is an American over-the-top content platform and ad-supported streaming service owned by Fox Corporation. The service was launched on April 1, 2014, and is based in Los Angeles, California. In January 2021, Tubi reached 33 million monthly ...

Cast

Japanese version (1969)

*Hakushon Daimaō -

Tōru Ōhira was a Japanese narrator and voice actor from the Tokyo Metropolitan Area. He was the founder of Ōhira Production and was also attached to 81 Produce. One of his best-known roles was the dub voice of Darth Vader in ''Star Wars'', on the series' h ...

*Akubi - Takako Sasuga *Daidaimaō -

Ichirō Nagai was a Japanese actor, Voice acting in Japan, voice actor and narrator from Ikeda, Osaka. He was previously affiliated with Tokyo Actor's Consumer's Cooperative Society, and was affiliated with Aoni Production at the time of his death. Career Nag ...

*Shakkuri-sensei -

Hisako Kyōda is a Japanese actress and voice actress. Some of her major voice roles include Genkai in ''Yu Yu Hakusho'', Omusubiman in ''Soreike! Anpanman'' and Yukari Godai in ''Maison Ikkoku''. Kyōda is affiliated with the talent agency Haikyō. Film ...

*Kan -

Midori Katō is a Japanese actress, voice actress, and narrator who is most famous for the role of Sazae Fuguta from the long-running family anime ''Sazae-san''. She is also known for voicing Yoshiko in ''Sally the Witch'' and Osomatsu Matsuno in ''Osomatsu ...

*Daddy -

Isamu Tanonaka was a Japanese actor, voice actor and narrator from Taitō, Tokyo. He was best known for voicing Medama Oyaji in nearly every adaptation of Shigeru Mizuki's '' GeGeGe no Kitarō'' made during his lifetime. Career During his life he had been atta ...

*Mommy - Mitsuko Asō *Gejigon -

Kazuya Tatekabe was a Japanese actor and voice actor. He was born in Kimobetsu, Hokkaidō. He was represented by Kenyu Horiuchi's Kenyu Office at the time of his death. He was most known for the roles of Jaian (''Doraemon''), Walsa (''Time Bokan''), and Tonzur ...

*Yuriko -

Minori Matsushima was a Japanese actress, voice actress and narrator that worked for Aoni Production. She was most known for the roles of Candice White Adley (''Candy Candy''), Hiyoko Isu (''The Song of Tentomushi''), Alexandria Meat (''Kinnikuman''), Sayaka Y ...

*Burukō - Tarō Sagami *Sorekara-ojisan -

Kinya Aikawa Kin'ya or Kinya (written: 欣也, 欣哉, 欽也 or キンヤ in katakana) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese fencer *, Japanese actor and voice actor *, Japanese actor *, Japanese singer and acto ...

Japanese version (2020)

*Hakushon Daimaō -

Kōichi Yamadera is a Japanese actor, voice actor, narrator and singer from Shiogama, Miyagi Prefecture. He graduated from Tohoku Gakuin University's economics school and is currently affiliated with Across Entertainment. Before that, he was affiliated with th ...

*Akubi - Sumire Morohoshi *Kantarō Yodayama -

Miyuri Shimabukuro is a Japanese voice actress from Okinawa Prefecture who is affiliated with Office Osawa. After debuting as a voice actress in 2017, she played her first main roles in 2018 as Yuuna Yunohana in the anime series ''Yuuna and the Haunted Hot Springs ...

*Pūta -

Daiki Yamashita is a Japanese voice actor affiliated with Arts Vision. He is best known for voicing the character Izuku Midoriya in the popular shonen anime ''My Hero Academia''. He won the ''Best Male Newcomer'' award at the 8th Seiyu Awards. Filmography Ani ...

English version

*Bob - Gary Jewell *Joey - Sonja Ball *Mr. Carter -

Richard Dumont Richard M. Dumont (born 1959 in Toronto, Ontario) is a Canadian voice actor, writer and director who has worked in both Canada and the United States. Dumont is known for playing Sardo, who owned a magic shop called Sardo's Magic Mansion, in ma ...

*Mrs. Carter/Chauncey -

Jane Woods Jane Haycock Woods (October 10, 1946 – July 18, 2022) was an American educator and Republican politician who served as a member of the Virginia Senate from 1992 to 2000, and Virginia House of Delegates from 1988 to 1992. Biography She was fo ...

*Llana - Liz MacRae *Tilly - A.J. Henderson *Dora/Miss Green -

Kathleen Fee Kathleen Fee (born in Montreal, Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name ...

*Additional Voices - Terrence Scammell, Mark Hellman,

Pauline Little Pauline Little (born c. 1958) is a Scottish-born Canadian voice, film, and television actress who currently resides in Montreal, Quebec. She voices the twins Lotus and Jasmine in ''The Little Flying Bears'', Maya in ''Maya the Bee'', Francine i ...

Arthur Holden Arthur Holden (born August 28, 1959) is a Canadian actor and writer. Known for his roles such as Mr. Ratburn in ''Arthur'', Baba-Miao in ''Sagwa, the Chinese Siamese Cat'', Mayor Mallard in ''The Little Twins'', and Mr. Larkin in later episode ...

Aron Tager Aron Tager (June 30, 1934 – February 28, 2019) was an American actor, poet, artist and sculptor. Career As an artist, Tager had numerous exhibitions of his work and has sculptures installed at the following locations: Mount Anthony Union Hi ...

Bronwen Mantel Bronwen Mantel (born 29 October 1948) is a Canadian actress. Mantel has appeared in numerous movies and has done extensive voice acting in animated films and television series. Early life and career Mantel was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. ...

Spinoffs

The Hakushon Daimaō franchise made a comeback in the 2000s with two animated spinoff series produced by Tatsunoko and directed by Hiroshi Sasagawa, featuring Akubi as the central character and Hakushon as a supporting character.

Yobarete Tobedete! Akubi-chan

In ''Yobarete, Tobidete! Akubi-chan'' (26 episodes, 2001–2002), Akubi (now voiced by

Asuka Tanii (born June 19, 1980), is a Japanese voice actress. Voice roles Anime ;2000 *''Shiawase Sou no Okojo-san'' (Hyaho, Miyu, Ruka, Ruru) *'' Yobarete Tobidete Akubi-chan'' (Akubi-chan) ;2002 *''Shrine of the Morning Mist'' (Girl B) *''Tokyo Mew Mew' ...

) befriends a shy young girl named Koron Nemuta (voiced by

Sakura Nogawa is a Japanese voice actress and singer. In August 2013, she took a break from voice acting and singing due to poor health and returned a year later. In February 2017, she announced that she had already changed the agency of Office Anemone. Filmo ...

), who habitually yawns whenever she is embarrassed, thus summoning Akubi forth from the bottle.

Akubi Girl

In 2006's ''Akubi Girl'' (also 26 episodes), Akubi befriends a first-grader named Ruru-chan and attempts to grant her wish of becoming close friends with Itoshi-kun, the boy on whom she has a secret crush.

Crossover

''Pandora to Akubi'', an anime film crossover between The Genie Family and

Monster Strike is a Mobile game, mobile Japanese role-playing game, Japanese role-playing physics game with elements of Puzzle video game, puzzle, strategy game, strategy and Cooperative video game, cooperative multiplayer. It is developed by Mixi, XFLAG for i ...

was released on April 5, 2019.

Other appearances

*A statue of Hakushon Daimaō can be seen in the first episode of the 2008 series of ''

Yatterman is a Japanese anime television series broadcast from January 1, 1977 to January 27, 1979, comprising 108 episodes. It is the second and longest show in the ''Time Bokan'' series by Tatsunoko Productions. The series succeeded ''Time Bokan'' a ...

''. *Hakushon Daimaō is featured as a playable character in the Japan-exclusive fighting game '' Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Cross Generation of Heroes'' in December 2008, though due to licensing issues, he was not featured in the second iteration, '' Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars'', which was released internationally. *A brief reference to the series is made in the ''

Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers ''Mighty Power Rangers'' (''MMPR'') is a superhero television series that premiered on August 28, 1993, on the Fox Kids programming block. It is the first entry of the ''Power Rangers'' franchise, and became a 1990s pop culture phenomenon al ...

'' episode "A Bad Reflection on You" in which clips from the English intro (Bob in a Bottle) are shown on a miniature television. Bulk (portrayed by

Paul Schrier Paul Schrier II (born June 1, 1970) is an American actor, director, and artist. He is known for his role of Farkas "Bulk" Bulkmeier in the ''Power Rangers'' series. He portrayed the character for seven seasons from 1993–1999, returning in 2 ...

) states that it is his favorite cartoon. Music from the show, accompanied by visuals of '' Around the World in 80 Dreams'' (another Saban cartoon), also appeared at the end of the season 2 episode "The Power Stealer", where Skull (portrayed by

Jason Narvy Jason Andrew Narvy (born March 27, 1974) is an American actor known for playing the role of Eugene "Skull" Skullovitch on the various iterations of ''Power Rangers'' and film franchise from 1993 to 2012, beginning with ''Mighty Morphin Power Ra ...

) enjoys watching.

References

External links

* *
Official 2020 anime website

"Bob in a Bottle" / "Hakushon Daimao" - English Dub History Episode 1, Yui-senpai TV Youtube
{{DEFAULTSORT:Genie Family, The 1969 anime television series debuts 1970 Japanese television series endings 2001 anime television series debuts 2006 anime television series debuts 2020 anime television series debuts Anime postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic Anime productions suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic Anime with original screenplays Comedy anime and manga Fox Kids Fuji TV original programming Genies in television Japanese children's animated comedy television series Nippon Animation Television series by Saban Entertainment Seven Network original programming TVNZ 2 original programming Tatsunoko Production Viz Media anime Yomiuri Telecasting Corporation original programming YTV (Canadian TV channel) original programming