Prince Planet is the English-language title given to one of the earliest anime television series, Planet Boy Papi (遊星少年パピイ), when it was transmitted on American television in the United States in the mid-1960s.[1] It did run on "The Works" television network before it ceased operations February 28, 2017. A 52-episode monochrome anime series, it tells the story of a member of the Universal Peace Corps, originally from the planet Radion, coming to Earth on a mission to determine if this world meets standards for membership in the Galactic Union of Worlds and assist its inhabitants during his stay. While on his mission, Prince Planet adopts the identity of an Earth boy named Bobby and gains comrades who work together alongside him fighting forces of evil, both alien and terrestrial.[2]
Production overview and history
Prince Planet was originally produced by TCJ (Television Corporation of Japan, now Eiken) and aired on the Fuji Television network in June 1965. The show was one of the first heavily merchandised shows in Japan, with simple things like shoes getting the "Planet Boy Papi" logo. An English-dubbed version was released by American International Television Productions in September 1966, and produced by James Nicholson and Samuel Z. Arkoff. The dubbing was performed in Miami at Copri Films International and directed by Mark Harris, with dialog scripting by Reuben Guberman, who also reworked