History Anime / Superbook

* {{Bowdlerise}}: A number of the Bible stories were altered to make them more kid-friendly. Some examples:
** The story of Joshua, as told here, never mentions [[TheOldestProfession Rahab's job]] once, and completely ignores the fact that everyone in Jericho (apart from her and her family) were slain.
** The Sodom and Gomorrah episode makes no episode of sexual immorality and also eliminates Lot's idea of "offering" his virgin daughters to the hostile crowds outside his door. [[note]]Perhaps unintentionally, this puts the episode in line with some more liberal Biblical scholars who insist that the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah were greed, selfishness and inhospitality to strangers, not sexual deviancy. Still, it opens a DoubleEntendre box that the English episode is called "Hot Dog" and involves a hungry Uri and Gizmo traveling to Sodom in search of wieners, which they hope to use to attract Ruffles with the promise of human food. By the time they get there, however, the city is in ruins.[[/note]]

* DerangedAnimation: Occurs whenever the kids travel through time

* GodIsGood

* {{Narrator}}: Superbook, who knew.

* PortalBook

* ReligiousRobot: Gizmo, of course.
* RobotBuddy: Gizmo, in Season 2.
* ShonenHair: Christopher

Surprisingly, it was good. The creators did their best to keep true to the original stories as best as they could while still keeping it appropriate for kids. The Biblical characters, while often one-shots, were still given good characterization. And, importantly, the producers tried to illustrate the stories that showcased God's love and mercy, rather than focusing exclusively on the judgment and wrath part. And surprisingly in a nation where Christianity is a minority religion then as now, the show was popular: the two ''Superbook'' series as well as sister series ''Anime/FlyingHouse'' attracted high ratings during their original broadcast runs and were rerun on TV Tokyo continuously through 1986. CBN claims the show attracted more than eight million viewers in Japan at its peak.

In 2011, [[WesternAnimation/Superbook2011 a computer-animated reboot of the series]] was produced. The remake is notable for being the first animated series to air on Creator/ABCFamily (who aired the original back when they were known as CBN Cable in the early 80's) since around 2005. Interestingly, the reboot has also begun airing in the nation where it all started - Japan - as of early 2018. Meanwhile, the original series can still be found on the Christian kids' channel Smile Of A Child (but in the wee morning hours - better prepare your DVR![[note]]Only if you live in parts of the US and have AT&T U-Verse TV.[[/note]]).

''Super Book,'' or ''Anime Oyako Gekijō'' ("Animated Parent and Child Theater") in the original Japanese, was a Japanese-American tag-team effort to try to show stories from the Old and New Testament of [[Literature/TheBible the Judeo-Christian Bible]] to Japanese children. Released from 1981 to 1983, and produced by Creator/TatsunokoProduction (with animation assistance from Creator/StudioDeen and Creator/StudioShaft among others) for Creator/TVTokyo, although it was aired on affiliates of all of Japan's major television networks except Creator/{{NHK}}.[[note]]TV Tokyo (formerly Tokyo 12 Channel} was still a standalone TV station in 1981; the formation of what would become the TX network began with the opening of TV Osaka later in 1982 and TV Aichi in Nagoya in 1983. Thus, the show was syndicated to Creator/FujiTV, Creator/TokyoBroadcastingSystem, Creator/NipponTV or Creator/TVAsahi affiliates in other cities.[[/note]] Originally, it was for Japan only (no one thought anime was marketable in the U.S. back then), but a positive response at a French convention led to an English dub in the United States of America and dubs in many other languages, becoming perhaps (due to its use as an evangelistic tool) one of the most widely distributed Japanese animated series ever, even if it isn't often thought of as "anime" despite its origins. Although it was syndicated in the U.S., most American viewers probably saw it on [[Creator/{{Freeform}} CBN Cable]], where it ran alongside other anime series such as ''[[Manga/HoneyHoneyNoSutekiNaBouken Honey Honey]]'' and the original English dub of ''Anime/MazingerZ''.

The second series (''Superbook II,'' or ''Pasokon Travel Tanteidan'') took place two years after the first and had Super Book accidentally fall on a computer keyboard. This somehow transferred Super Book's powers to the computer, allowing anyone who wanted to see into the past. Unfortunately, Chris' dog Ruffles accidentally gets lost in time in the process. To find her, Chris' cousin Uriah (Uri for short; Sho's ''brother'' Yuu in Japanese) and Gizmo (now a fully functioning robot even outside Super Book, with a built-in computer for recall purposes) regularly travel back in time to find her, adding an overarching plot arc to the second series. There is, however, much less interaction between the protagonists and the Biblical figures than in the previous series; the show focuses more on [[PlotParallel]]s, going back and forth between Uri and Gizmo's quest and the Biblical storylines with little intersection between them.

The second series (''Superbook II,'' or ''Pasokon Travel Tanteidan'') took place two years after the first and had Super Book accidentally fall on a computer keyboard. This somehow transferred Super Book's powers to the computer, allowing anyone who wanted to see into the past. Unfortunately, Chris' dog Ruffles accidentally gets lost in time in the process. To find her, Chris' cousin Uriah (Uri for short; Yuu in Japanese) and Gizmo (now a fully functioning robot even outside Super Book, with a built-in computer for recall purposes) regularly travel back in time to find her, adding an overarching plot arc to the second series. There is, however, much less interaction between the protagonists and the Biblical figures than in the previous series; the show focuses more on ParallelPlots, going back and forth between Uri and Gizmo's quest and the Biblical storylines with little intersection between them.

The second series (''Superbook II,'' or ''Pasokon Travel Tanteidan'') took place two years after the first and had Super Book accidentally fall on a computer keyboard. This somehow transferred Super Book's powers to the computer, allowing anyone who wanted to see into the past. Unfortunately, Chris' dog Ruffles accidentally gets lost in time in the process. To find her, Chris' cousin Uriah (Uri for short; Yuu in Japanese) and Gizmo (now a fully functioning robot even outside Super Book, with a built-in computer for recall purposes) regularly travel back in time to find her, adding an overarching plot arc to the second series. There is, however, much less interaction between the protagonists and the Biblical figures than in the previous series; the show focuses more on [[ParallelPlot Parallel Plots]], going back and forth between Uri and Gizmo's quest and the Biblical storylines with little intersection between them.

Thus begin Chris and Joy's adventurers. OnceAnEpisode, they travel within Super Book to experience one of the Biblical stories it contains, accompanied by Chris's toy robot Gizmo, who becomes a fully functioning robot during their adventures. Though they often interact with the Biblical characters themselves (at one point, they even try to stop Abraham from sacrificing Isaac), they primarily observe the stories, learning from them the lessons each tale has to teach.

The second series (''Superbook II,'' or ''Pasokon Travel Tanteidan'') took place two years after the first and had Super Book accidentally fall on a computer keyboard. This somehow transferred Super Book's powers to the computer, allowing anyone who wanted to see into the past. Unfortunately, Chris' dog Ruffles accidentally gets lost in time in the process. To find her, Chris' cousin Uriah (Uri for short; Yuu in Japanese) and Gizmo (now a fully functioning robot even outside Super Book, with a built-in computer for recall purposes) regularly travel back in time to find her, adding an overarching plot arc to the second series.

There was also a third, separate series called ''Anime/FlyingHouse'' that focused more on stories from the New Testament, primarily the ministry of Jesus Christ.

Surprisingly, it was good. The creators did their best to keep true to the original stories as best as they could while still keeping it appropriate for kids. The Biblical characters, while often one-shots, were still given good characterization. And, importantly, the producers tried to illustrate the stories that showcased God's love and mercy, rather than focusing exclusively on the judgment and wrath part. And surprisingly in a nation where Christianity is a minority religion then as now, the show was popular: the two ''Superbook'' series as well as sister series ''Anime/FlyingHouse'' attracted high ratings during their original broadcast runs and were rerun on TV Tokyo continuously through 1986.

* ArtEvolution: Between series one and two. Series two features cleaner, more consistent animation, much less CheekyMouth, and refreshed character designs for Chris and Joy (since they are now several years older, although they still wear the same outfits as the first series). Part of it is likely Tatsunoko switching its subcontracting animation studio from Production LOOSE to Creator/StudioShaft.

* ChristianFiction: Your mileage may vary on whether the Bible stories themselves are fiction, but the stories in the "real" (or "modern") world at the beginning and end of each episode definitely count.

* PowersAsPrograms: In Season 2, the Super Book's information are transferred to Chris' computer.

* {{Bowdlerise}}: A number of the Bible stories were altered to make them more kid-friendly. The story of Joshua, as told here, never mentions [[TheOldestProfession Rahab's job]] once, and completely ignores the fact that everyone in Jericho (apart from her and her family) were slain.

* ClingyJealousGirl: Joy/Azusa seems to have budding feelings for Chris/Sho, which she doesn't try to hide all that well, even telling him outright in one episode that she expects him to marry her when they grow up. Thus she gets mad when Chris doesn't seem to reciprocate and shows signs of jealousy whenever Chris looks upon beautiful women like Eve and Queen of Sheba. (In reply to Chris's comment that Sheba is the most beautiful woman he's ever seen, Joy huffs, "I thought you liked blondes!" Of course, Joy herself is blonde.)
** In addition, in the Queen Esther episode, Joy got all huffy when she learned that Chris was thinking of voting for another girl in their school's beauty contest (only the promise of Joy's home-baked cookies got Chris to change his mind).

* ArtShift: Between series one and two. Series two features cleaner, more consistent animation, much less CheekyMouth, and refreshed character designs for Chris and Joy (since they are now several years older, although they still wear the same outfits as the first series). Part of it is likely Tatsunoko switching its subcontracting animation studio from Production LOOSE to Creator/StudioShaft.

* ArtShift: Between series one and two. Series two features cleaner, more consistent animation and refreshed character designs for Chris and Joy (since they are now several years older, although they still wear the same outfits as the first series). Part of it is likely Tatsunoko switching its subcontracting animation studio from Production LOOSE to Creator/StudioShaft.

* BibleTimes
* {{Bowdlerise}}: A number of the Bible stories were altered to make them more kid-friendly. The story of Joshua, as told here, portrays Rahab as an innocent woman bullied by the soldiers of Jericho (she was actually a whore), and completely ignores the fact that every living thing in Jericho, apart from her and her family, were slain.

* NamesToKnowInAnime: One future "big name" showing up in the credits is episode director Kazuo Yamazaki, who would later become the series director of comedy hits like ''Manga/UruseiYatsura'', ''Manga/MaisonIkkoku'', and ''Anime/TheSlayers''.

* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: In episode 5 of the original anime (English dub), Joy is upset because she read in a fan magazine that her favorite singer, [[Music/BarryManilow Barry Mannyhigh]], married [[Music/OliviaNewtonJohn Olivia Piggyback]].

''Super Book,'' or ''Anime Oyako Gekijō'' ("Animated Parent and Child Theater") in the original Japanese, was a Japanese-American tag-team effort to try to show stories from the Old and New Testament of [[Literature/TheBible the Judeo-Christian Bible]] to Japanese children. Released from 1981 to 1983, and produced by Creator/TatsunokoProduction (with animation assistance from Creator/StudioDeen and Creator/StudioShaft among others) for Creator/TVTokyo, although it was aired on affiliates of all of Japan's major television networks.[[note]]TV Tokyo (formerly Tokyo 12 Channel} was still a standalone TV station in 1981; the formation of what would become the TX network began with the opening of TV Osaka later in 1982 and TV Aichi in Nagoya in 1983.[[/note]] Originally, it was for Japan only (no one thought anime was marketable in the U.S. back then), but a positive response at a French convention led to an English dub in the United States of America and dubs in many other languages, becoming perhaps (due to its use as an evangelistic tool) one of the most widely distributed Japanese animated series ever, even if it isn't often thought of as "anime" despite its origins. Although it was syndicated in the U.S., most American viewers probably saw it on [[Creator/{{Freeform}} CBN Cable]], where it ran alongside other anime series such as ''[[Manga/HoneyHoneyNoSutekiNaBouken Honey Honey]]'' and the original English dub of ''Anime/MazingerZ''.

* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: In season 5 of the original anime (English dub), Joy is upset because she read in a fan magazine that her favorite singer, [[Music/BarryManilow Barry Mannyhigh]], married [[Music/OliviaNewtonJohn Olivia Piggyback]].

''Super Book,'' or ''Anime Oyako Gekijō'' ("Animated Parent and Child Theater") in the original Japanese, was a Japanese-American tag-team effort to try to show stories from the Old and New Testament of [[Literature/TheBible the Judeo-Christian Bible]] to Japanese children. Released from 1981 to 1983, and produced by Creator/TatsunokoProduction (with animation assistance from Creator/StudioDeen and SHAFT among others) for Creator/TVTokyo, although it was aired on affiliates of all of Japan's major television networks.[[note]]TV Tokyo (formerly Tokyo 12 Channel} was still a standalone TV station in 1981; the formation of what would become the TX network began with the opening of TV Osaka later in 1982 and TV Aichi in Nagoya in 1983.[[/note]] Originally, it was for Japan only (no one thought anime was marketable in the U.S. back then), but a positive response at a French convention led to an English dub in the United States of America and dubs in many other languages, becoming perhaps (due to its use as an evangelistic tool) one of the most widely distributed Japanese animated series ever, even if it isn't often thought of as "anime" despite its origins. Although it was syndicated in the U.S., most American viewers probably saw it on [[Creator/{{Freeform}} CBN Cable]], where it ran alongside other anime series such as ''[[Manga/HoneyHoneyNoSutekiNaBouken Honey Honey]]'' and the original English dub of ''Anime/MazingerZ''.

* AbortedArc: After Chris' mom announces she's pregnant at the end of the first series, we never see a baby in the second series, nor is the pregnancy ever mentioned.

''Super Book,'' or ''Anime Oyako Gekijō'' ("Animated Parent and Child Theater") in the original Japanese, was a Japanese-American tag-team effort to try to show stories from the Old and New Testament of [[Literature/TheBible the Judeo-Christian Bible]] to Japanese children. Released from 1981 to 1983, and produced by Creator/TatsunokoProduction (with animation assistance from Creator/StudioDeen and SHAFT among others) for Creator/TVTokyo, although it was aired on affiliates of all of Japan's major television networks.[[note]]TV Tokyo (formerly Tokyo 12 Channel} was still a standalone TV station in 1981; the formation of what would become the TX network began with the opening of TV Osaka later in 1982 and TV Aichi in Nagoya in 1983.[[/note]] Originally, it was for Japan only (no one thought anime was marketable in the U.S. back then), but a positive response at a French convention led to an English dub in the United States of America and dubs in many other languages, becoming perhaps (due to its use as an evangelistic tool) one of the most widely distributed Japanese animated series ever, even if it isn't often thought of as "anime" despite its origins. Although it was syndicated in the U.S., most American viewers probably saw it on [[Creator/{{Freeform}} CBN Cable]], where it ran alongside other anime series such as ''[[Anime/HoneyHoneyNoSutekiNaBouken Honey Honey]]'' and the original English dub of ''Anime/MazingerZ''.

''Super Book,'' or ''Anime Oyako Gekijō'' ("Animated Parent and Child Theater") in the original Japanese, was a Japanese-American tag-team effort to try to show stories from the Old and New Testament of [[Literature/TheBible the Judeo-Christian Bible]] to Japanese children. Released from 1981 to 1983, and produced by Creator/TatsunokoProduction (with animation assistance from Creator/StudioDeen and Creator/{{SHAFT}} among others) for Creator/TVTokyo, although it was aired on affiliates of all of Japan's major television networks.[[note]]TV Tokyo (formerly Tokyo 12 Channel} was still a standalone TV station in 1981; the formation of what would become the TX network began with the opening of TV Osaka later in 1982 and TV Aichi in Nagoya in 1983.[[/note]] Originally, it was for Japan only (no one thought anime was marketable in the U.S. back then), but a positive response at a French convention led to an English dub in the United States of America and dubs in many other languages, becoming perhaps (due to its use as an evangelistic tool) one of the most widely distributed Japanese animated series ever, even if it isn't often thought of as "anime" despite its origins.

* PinkGirlBlueBoy: Azusa/Joy wears a pink shirt, and Sho/Christopher wears a blue jacket and blue jeans. The show's character designer, Akiko Shimomoto, was apparently fond of this trope as she used it in several other Tatsunoko series - see also Anime/TheLittlBits.

* ExtremelyDustyHome: Or extremely dusty attic, anyway, in episode 1 of the first series. It's so dusty that Chris has to wear a mask to clean it. But it's also how he and Joy discover Superbook.

Compare to ''WesternAnimation/TheKingdomChums'', which also features time-traveling children (one of whom is Jewish) witnessing Bible stories and was also animated in Japan (though the chief production staff were American and thus it isn't considered "anime").

Compare to ''WesternAnimation/TheKingdomChums'', which also features time-traveling children witnessing Bible stories and was also animated in Japan (though the chief production staff were American and thus it isn't considered "anime").