Apache Baseball Academy (found Isao Takahata anime series based on manga; 1971-1972)
Still from the series.
Status: Found
Date found: Jan 25, 2016
Found by: hokuto_san
Apache Baseball Academy (アパッチ野球軍, known in English as Apache Baseball Academy) is an early 1971-1972 anime by Toei. The anime was adapted from a manga that ran in the now-defunct Weekly Shonen King. [1] This anime was famously directed in part by future Studio Ghibli director Isao Takahata. [2] It was released in Japan.
In it, an athlete grows up and decides to be a high school baseball coach instead of pursuing a professional career. [3] This paralleled a tension in the early Ghibli director's career, as his first feature at Toei in 1968 did poorly and he eventually decided to shift his focus to anime for a younger audience with Hayao Miyazaki. The series had a short run of 26 episodes from October 6, 1971 to March 29, 1972.
Prior to January 2016, the series was solely available through a limited edition DVD set in Japan (valued in the thousands of US dollars) and some rumored fansub VHS tapes. However, Apache Baseball Academy was found on Jan 25, 2016 and uploaded to nyaa.se torrents by user "hokuto_san."[4]
Gallery
The following are some videos of early episodes uploaded to YouTube (by user "1971Happa6464").[5]
References
- ↑ Ghibli blog article on series Retrieved 30 Jan 17.
- ↑ MyAnimeList page Retrieved 30 Jan 17.
- ↑ Isao Takahata's pre-Ghibli work in television Retrieved 30 Jan 17.
- ↑ Nyaa.se torrent link. Retrieved 21 Oct 16.
- ↑ The YouTube channel with three raw episodes. Retrieved 21 Oct 16.