| Wansa-kun | |
Wansa and his friends (Wansa is second to the left). |
|
| ワンサくん (Little Wansa) |
|
|---|---|
| Genre | Comedy, Drama |
| Manga | |
| Written by | Osamu Tezuka |
| Published by | Mushi Production Commercial Firm |
| Magazine | Tezuka Magazine Leo |
| Original run | October 1971 – February 1972 |
| Volumes | 1 |
| TV anime | |
| Directed by | Eiichi Yamamoto |
| Studio | Mushi Productions |
| Network | Kansai Telecasting Corporation |
| Original run | 2 April 1973 – 24 September 1973 |
| Episodes | 26 |
Little Wansa (ワンサくん Wansa-kun) is a mascot for Sanwa Bank designed by Osamu Tezuka. It was later turned into a manga series by Tezuka and an anime series from 1973.
The hero of Wansa-kun was Wansa, a puppy who is sold for a pittance, then escapes, and spends much of the rest of the series looking for his mother. Tezuka never completed the manga version of the series.
In 1973 an animated series based on the manga was made, produced by Yoshinobu Nishizaki and broadcast by Kansai Telecasting Corporation. Tezuka had little-to-no involvement in this series and Wansa-kun ultimately ended up being the last series produced by the original Mushi Production before its bankruptcy.
The anime series lasted 26 episodes. The first 21 episodes were very comedic in nature, but the final five episodes took a more dramatic turn, when Wansa began his search for his mother. Unlike the manga version, which was never completed, he succeeded in the final episode of the anime series.
After the series finished production, Nishizaki went to work on Space Battleship Yamato.