星の子チョビン is a Japanese animated series that was produced by Studio Zero, created by Shotaro Ishinomori and directed by Rintaro. It originally aired between April 5, 1974 and September 27, 1974 on Tokyo Broadcasting System for 26 episodes. The series follows a young alien named Chobin, sent away from his home planet, Bright Star, which was conquered by an alien warlord named Burunga. He then lands on Earth, living with a little girl and her scientist grandfather. Each episode, Burunga sends monsters after Chobin, who Chobin fights while searching for his mother.
Episodes[]
| № | Episode title | Premiere |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | ぼくは王子だぞ!! | April 5, 1974 |
| 2 | フェアリスターの秘密 | April 12, 1974 |
| 3 | 王子はえらいんだ! | April 19, 1974 |
| 4 | 星のしずくがなくなった! | April 26, 1974 |
| 5 | すてきなプレゼント | May 3, 1974 |
| 6 | 悪魔の木をたおせ! | May 10, 1974 |
| 7 | まちぶせの丘 | May 17, 1974 |
| 8 | 大変なおみやげ | May 24, 1974 |
| 9 | トンカラ森の王者 | May 31, 1974 |
| 10 | 新しい仲間 | June 7, 1974 |
| 11 | 空をとんだぞ | June 14, 1974 |
| 12 | 嵐の中の卵 | June 21, 1974 |
| 13 | ママ上の子守歌 | June 28, 1974 |
| 14 | トンカラ森に火がついた! | July 5, 1974 |
| 15 | あべこべクマんどん | July 12, 1974 |
| 16 | 不思議なカプセル | July 19, 1974 |
| 17 | とびだした王子 | July 26, 1974 |
| 18 | 原始怪獣が出たぞ! | August 2, 1974 |
| 19 | レーダーこうもりを追え!! | August 9, 1974 |
| 20 | トンカラ森が大洪水 | August 16, 1974 |
| 21 | ママ上消えないで! | August 23, 1974 |
| 22 | 敵か味方か!? 兄弟ダヌキ | August 30, 1974 |
| 23 | 暑くて寒くて大さわぎ | September 6, 1974 |
| 24 | 見つけたぞ! ブルンガ基地 | September 13, 1974 |
| 25 | 星から来た謎の少年 | September 20, 1974 |
| 26 | さよならトンカラ森 | September 27, 1974 |
International versions[]
| Language | Title | Channels | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
French | Chobin | FR3/France 3 (Amuse 3 and Sam'Dynamite blocks, formerly) |
|
German | Blinki, der außerirdische Wunderzwerg | direct-to-video |
|
Italian | Chobin, il principe stellare | Anime Gold (formerly) Canale 5 (formerly) Italia 1 (formerly) LA7 Cartapiù (formerly) Man-ga (formerly) Super 3 (formerly) Telepace (formerly) direct-to-video |
|
Mandarin (Taiwan) | 星星王子 | TTV (formerly) SBC 8 (formerly)[1] |
|
Persian | کارتون چوبین | IRIB TV3 (formerly) IRIB Namayesh (formerly) direct-to-video |
|
|
Portuguese (Portugal) | Chobin, o Filho das Estrelas | SIC (Buéréré block, formerly) |
Notes[]
- The series would later serve as a primary inspiration for the Kirby: Right Back at Ya! anime series, with both a similar premise and characters, as well as sharing a writer, Sōji Yoshikawa, who took over for the second half of Chobin. Similarly to Chobin,
- Kirby is a baby alien who crash lands on Planet Popstar, living with a young girl named Fumu and her family,
- Kirby is destined to fight Nightmare and his monsters,
- Kirby lives in a rural town, having little technology,
- Kirby's antagonist, King Dedede, is similar to Chobin's bear character, disliking him and trying to get rid of him, as well as pushing other characters around,
- and none of the residents want to help Kirby unless they have to, often blaming him for bad things that happen to their home.
- Like both the Star Rod/Warp Star in Kirby, on Chobin's wrist is a bracelet with a bright stone on it, giving him supernatural power that is the only means to save Bright Star and destroy Burunga's forces. With its help, Chobin finds the location of Burunga's base, where his mother is also held, and then directly fights Burunga.
- Episode 25 of Chobin also involves another alien landing on the planet, who wants to take a powerful item away from Chobin, while accusing him of not living up to his heroic title, using a weapon created by the villains. This is similar to Sirica's story in episode 60 of Kirby.
- Both series have similarly animated shots within their theme songs.
- Other series serving as inspiration, also involving Yoshikawa, are The Wonderful Galaxy of Oz and Bit the Cupid, although Chobin seems to be the starting point of many story beats seen in Kirby, despite its simplicity. These other two series are closer to Kirby in execution, whilst having different premises, but Kirby pulls heavily from 1970's Japanese culture and contemporary entertainment.