Ulysses 31

Ulysses 31 (宇宙伝説ユリシーズ31, Uchū Densetsu Yurishīzu Sātīwan, lit. Space Legend Ulysses 31) (French: Ulysse 31) is a French-Japanese anime series (1981) that updates the Greek mythology of Odysseus (known as "Ulysses" in Latin) to the 31st century. The show comprised 26 half-hour episodes and was produced by DIC Audiovisuel in conjunction with anime studio TMS Entertainment.[1] The rights to this show, like most of DIC's other programs, are presently owned by WildBrain, through Cookie Jar Entertainment. Prior to 2006, the international distribution rights were owned by Saban International and Jetix Europe.

Ulysses 31
GenreAction-adventure
Science fiction
Fantasy
Drama
Created byNina Wolmark
Jean Chalopin
inspired by Homer's Odyssey
Written byNina Wolmark
Jean Chalopin
Voices ofMatt Birman
Adrian Knight
Anick Faris
Kelly Ricard
Howard Ryshpan
Vlasta Vrána
Country of originFrance
Japan
No. of episodes26 (list of episodes)
Production
Running time25 min NTSC
24 min PAL
Production companiesDIC Audiovisuel
TMS Entertainment
Release
Original networkFR3 (France)
Nagoya Broadcasting Network (Japan)
Original release10 October 1981 (1981-10-10) –
3 April 1982 (1982-04-03)
External links
Website

The plot line of the series (made by the French Jean Chalopin) describes the struggles of Ulysses and his crew against the divine entities that rule the universe, the ancient gods from Greek mythology. The Gods of Olympus are angered when Ulysses, commander of the giant spaceship Odyssey, kills the giant Cyclops to save a group of enslaved children, including his son. Zeus sentences Ulysses to travel the universe with his crew frozen until he finds the Kingdom of Hades, at which point his crew will be revived and he will be able to return to Earth. Along the way they encounter numerous other famous figures from Greek mythology who have been given a futuristic twist.

In the United States, the show was broadcast as a half-hour segment in the 1986 anthology series Kideo TV.[2] The entire series is available in English in a complete DVD box set in the UK released by Contender Entertainment, and in Australia by Madman Entertainment. In the United States, one DVD entitled Ulysses 31: The Mysteries of Time was released, containing only four selected episodes.

The first four episodes were available on Jaroo, a defunct online video site operated by Cookie Jar Entertainment, with whom DiC has since merged, now DHX Media on 22 October 2012.[3] There are currently no plans to add more episodes.[4]

Main characters
  • Ulysses (ユリシーズ, Yurishīzu)
Main character and captain of the Odyssey. He achieved the solar peace before becoming the subject of the Olympian gods' revenge. His weapon of choice is a laser pistol that conceals a blade very similar to the lightsabers in George Lucas's Star Wars, complemented by an energy shield and a belt that allows him to fly. Ulysses is brave, noble, determined, and will stop at nothing to defeat the gods and the conditions imposed upon himself and his companions.
Son of Ulysses and second in command for most of the voyage. Yumi's friend and protector. Very beautiful, as described by Yumi in their first encounter. Courageous, adventurous, and level headed. He is a skilled pilot, and his weapon of choice is a hi-tech, energy-ball shooting slingshot. In the pilot episode, his birthday cake has nine candles, possibly signifying his age at the time of his birthday and the start of the series.
  • Yumi (ユミ, Yumi)
Thémis in the original French dub (after the name of the ancient Titan). A blue-skinned humanoid alien girl from the white planet, Zotra. She is the younger sister of Numinor and possesses telepathic powers. She is saved from being sacrificed to the Cyclops, along with Telemachus and her older brother, by Ulysses. She also exhibits telekinesis to some extent, as shown in the episodes "At the Heart of the Universe" and "The Lotus Eaters"; in addition, she is immune to fire. Although physically very frail, she is very intelligent and courageous. Zotrians, aside from blue skin, have snow-white hair, pointed ears and slanted eyes with cat-like vertical pupils; they are considered extremely beautiful.
  • Numinor (ユマイオス, Yumaiosu)
Noumaïos in the original French dub. A Zotrian teenager and older brother of Yumi. He is saved by Ulysses from being sacrificed to the Cyclops. He is in suspended animation along with the rest of the crew for most of the series. Like his sister, he is considered extremely beautiful. He has a sweet and very gentle personality. He is courageous, as well as trustworthy and loyal. He awakes three times before being finally released from the gods' curse in the final episode of the series: The first time in "The Lost Planet", where the Odyssey comes across a white Zotrian moon. Secondly, in "Mutiny on Board", where the crew are subjected to possession by an alien essence. The third time is in "The Magician in Black", when the entire crew is awakened by a powerful spell by the titular character. Japanese name Yumaiosu is the katakana orthography of English pronunciation of Eumaeus, the pig-guardian of Odysseus in Homer's poem.
  • Nono (ノノ, Nono)
Small robotic companion of Telemachus. Fond of eating nuts and nails. He is a trusty friend who was given to Telemachus as a birthday present. He is rather timid, but can be relied upon in a crisis. He is skilled at machinery repair and possesses tremendous physical strength.
  • Shirka (シルカ, Shiruka)
The Odyssey's main computer. Speaks with a deep female voice. Japanese name Shiruka seems a katakana form of the name Circe.
  • Zeus (ゼウス, Zeusu)
The god of gods, Ulysses' persecutor.
God of the Seas, he is enraged by Ulysses' killing of his creature, the Cyclops. He wields a trident, the symbol of his power, and his servants pilot ships that are shaped like a trident.
Ruling god of the Underworld. Ulysses must find his realm to find the way back to Earth.

Episodes
Main article: List of Ulysses 31 episodes

Pilot

In 1980, Telecom Animation, TMS Entertainment, and DiC Audiovisuel produced a pilot for the series, simply titled "Ulysses 31".[5] Although there was a Japanese VHS release of the series by King Records in 1986, the pilot never saw an official home release and was used for internal use only. It would, however, eventually leak and be uploaded onto the DivX Stage6 website, along with several other TMS pilots.

The pilot appears to have only been recorded in Japanese.

The story is virtually identical to episode one of the finished series; however, the story was the only thing that was kept. Although all the characters were kept, some underwent major redesigns from a typical anime design to the one seen in the finished series, which is a mix of Japanese anime style and European art based on the appearance of classical Greek sculpture.[5] Renowned Japanese illustrators and animators Shingo Araki and Michi Himeno, who have worked in anime adaptations of famous manga (e.g., Masami Kurumada's Saint Seiya, Fūma no Kojirō, Ring ni Kakero, Riyoko Ikeda's Versailles no Bara, and UFO Grendizer OVA) were responsible for the finished series' character designs, animation routines, and visual style.

Out of all the characters, Telemachus received the largest redesign.[5] Nono was kept identical to the anime design of the pilot, without changes. In the series, Numinor and Yumi are identical to their design in the pilot, only the color of their clothes was changed from purple and dark blue to lilac and yellow, and their hair became slightly longer. Also, their boot length was shortened from knee-high (in the pilot episode) to normal-length boots in the final series.

The Odyssey ship also received some redesign work, as in the pilot episode it simply resembled an enormous ring. The design inspired by an FR3 logo shape found in the finished series is reminiscent of the ring design in the pilot episode. Although many scenes would be scrapped and redone for the finished episode 1, a couple of shots were re-used, notably some of the backgrounds originally produced for the pilot.

Soundtrack

Most of the original soundtrack was composed by Denny Crockett and Ike Egan. Six additional themes were composed by Shuki Levy and Haim Saban: Potpourri, Final Glory, Space Traffic, Ulysse Meets Ulysse, Mermaids, and Change of Time (Theme of Chronos).

The Japanese version has a different soundtrack. The music was composed by Wakakusa Kei, who was responsible for the soundtrack in both the series and pilot that was produced in 1980. An official soundtrack was released in 1986 on vinyl and on CD in 1988 by King Records.

Japanese theme songs
  • Opening
Ginga Densetsu Odyssey (銀河伝説オデッセイ, Ginga Densetsu Odissei, Galactic Legend Odyssey) by Tomoaki Taka
  • Ending
Ai. Toki no Kanata ni (愛･時の彼方に, Love, Over the Other Side of Time) by Tomoaki Taka

During the mid-1980s, there was a court ruling against the international producers of Ulysses 31 (Haim Saban) due to copyright infringement via Lucasfilm Ltd. The cue "Battle Theme"/"Ulysse Terrasse le Cyclope" was the case as the piece blatantly used the John Williams' cue from George Lucas's Star Wars sequel, The Empire Strikes Back (heard in the film and on the Williams soundtrack album as "The Battle In The Snow"). Under the hearing, it was deemed that existing prints of the show could use this piece of music after damages were paid. Subsequent soundtrack releases would later omit that theme as royalties would have to go to their respective owners of that music. The actual version used in the series is a disco remix of 'the battle in the snow' cue taken from the 10-inch vinyl album Meco Plays Music from the Empire Strikes Back released in 1980.

Staff

Credits
  • Original idea: Nina Wolmark, Jean Chalopin
    • with assistance from Yoshitake Suzuki
  • Directors:
    • Pilot: René Borg, Shigetsugu Yoshida, Tadao Nagahama
    • Series: Bernard Deyriès, Tadao Nagahama, Kyosuke Mikuriya, Kazuo Terada
  • Chief directors: Tadao Nagahama (Episode 1), Bernard Deyriès
  • Assistant directors: Pierre Jodon (Pilot), Michel Boulé (Pilot)
  • Producer: Tatsuo Ikuechi
  • Art director: Morishige Suzuki, Shinji Itoh
  • Chief animation director: Shingo Araki
  • Mecha designs: Studio Nue, Riyuki Motono
  • Music production: TMS Ongakushuppan (Japanese version)
  • Music: Kei Wakakusa (Japanese version); Denny Crockett, Ike Egan, Shuki Levy, Haim Saban (International version)

Voice cast

Broadcast history
Country Station Years aired Notes
Australia ABC Television 1983, 1989–2000
Nickelodeon 1995–99
Canada Radio-Canada 1984
Costa Rica Canal 6 1988 (approx.)
Cuba Canal 6 Mid-1980s
El Salvador Canal Cuatro 1985–86
France FR3 1981–82, 1982–83, 1983–84
West Germany Tele 5 End of the 1980s
Greece ERT 1981–83
Honduras TVC Early 1990s
Ireland RTÉ 1985–86
Italy Rai 1 1982–??
Japan TV Asahi 1988 First 12 episodes
NHK BS-2 1991 All 26 episodes
Cartoon Network 2007–08 Rerun of NHK BS-2 version
Korea KBS 1987
Poland TVP 2 1991–93
Fox Kids 1998–2000
TV 4 2000–03
Portugal RTP 1984–85
Spain TVE1 1982
United Kingdom BBC 1985–86
Channel 4 1995
The Children's Channel 1994–95
Disney Channel 1998–99
Fox Kids 1999
Jetix 2004–09
Toon Disney 2005–06
United States Syndication 1986–87 As part of Kideo TV
Pakistan Network Television Marketing 1990–99

References
  1. "ULYSSES 31". TMS Entertainment, Ltd. Archived from the original on 6 March 2012. Retrieved 20 October 2016.
  2. Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. pp. 471–472. ISBN 978-1476665993.
  3. "Ulysses in the 31st Century". Jaroo. Archived from the original on 18 November 2011. Retrieved 20 October 2016.
  4. "Schedule". Jaroo. Archived from the original on 26 August 2012. Retrieved 20 October 2016.
  5. "Ulysses 31 series pilot". Stage 6. Archived from the original on 4 September 2007. Retrieved 20 October 2016.

Further reading
  • Dixième Planète (French magazine) Issue No. 15 (Feb/Mar 2002), 8 pages about the series and toys produced
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