The Life And Adventures Of Santa Claus (partially found anime series based on L. Frank Baum's novel; 1996)

HD Still taken from the opening.

Status: Partially Found

The Life and Adventures Of Santa Claus, or Shōnen Santa no Daibōken, is a 1996 Japanese anime series based on the children's novel of the same name written by L. Frank Baum, who also wrote Land of Oz series. The anime "tells the story of Santa Claus as a child and youth before becoming the world-renowned saint of Christmas." It aired from April 6th to September 21st, 1996 on the Tokyo Broadcasting System. It ran for 24 episodes^[1] It was produced by Studio DEEN and directed by Yuji Moto. ^[2]

Opening & Ending

Only the anime's opening has been found on YouTube, uploaded by Cloakbass who took it from Billibilli. It was uploaded to Billibilli by 猪肉面 who took it from Tudou. The identity of Tudou's uploader remains a mystery, as the original upload on Tudou seems lost. 猪肉面 states that they looked everywhere for the anime but could not find it in the video's description. ^[3] An advertisement for Takako Okamura's album is also at the end of the upload, suggesting that it was taken from a VHS recording of a broadcast while it was airing.

The opening is called いつも心に太陽を or "Itsumo Kokoro ni Taiyō" by Takako Okamura. The title translates to "The Sun Is Always In Your Heart." A full version of the opening song was released on her eleventh album BRAND-NEW. ^[4]

While Takako Okamura did the lyrics, composition, and performance, Shinji Ebihara arranged the theme song. ^[2]

The ending song is titled 愛という名の翼 or Ai to iu Na no Tsubasa ^[2], which translates to "Wings Called Love" ^[5] also by Takako Okamura ^[4] which also has a full version on BRAND-NEW. Footage of the actual ending remains lost. This would also be the first time Takako Okamura's music was used in anime.

Information on DVD release

Jay, writer of The Royal Blog of Oz, made a blog post claiming to have found a high-quality DVD copy, potentially officially released. They go on to detail several plot elements in the series new to this adaptation, such as a rich boy wanting to buy a cat character named Blinkie and a mysterious figure who may or may not be Claus’s biological father. They also mention a battle over the Mantle of the Immortals, and new characters not present in the book. There is a potential English dub mentioned in the post, but its existence remains unconfirmed due to lack of solid proof. ^[6]

In The Wonderful Blog Of Oz, it is written that compared to the book, Claus and his cat can actually talk to each other and that there is a girl named Mari who is completely original to the anime. She has "lots of enthusiasm", "a bit of a temper and probably a crush on Claus." She also colors the toys Claus makes and helps him on his adventures. ^[7]

Cartoonresearch.com mentioned this series in a blog post about international Christmas Specials. They mention that Claus remains a child for most of the anime, in contrast to the book where "Claus grew up, mostly as a young adult and adult, until he became Santa Claus as an old man." ^[8]

Episode List

#	Episode Title	Translation^[5]	Air Date	Status
1	サンタクロースの生まれた森	The Birth Forest of Santa Claus	Apr 6, 1996	Lost
2	しのびよる黒い影	Lurking Shadows	Apr 13, 1996	Lost
3	動物たちが大暴れ	The Animals are Rampaging	Apr 20, 1996	Lost
4	はじめての旅	First Journey	Apr 27, 1996	Lost
5	さよならバージーの森	Farewell, Forest of Burzee	May 4, 1996	Lost
6	笑いの谷のクロース	Claus and the Laughing Valley	May 11, 1996	Lost
7	はじめての友達	First Friends	May 18, 1996	Lost
8	クロースは魔法使い?	Claus the Magician?	May 25, 1996	Lost
9	おばけの谷大作戦	The Ghost Valley Strategy	Jun 1, 1996	Lost
10	嵐を呼ぶゴブリン	The Goblin Which Calls the Storm	Jun 6, 1996	Lost
11	ブリンキーを助け出せ!	Rescuing Blinkie!	Jun 15, 1996	Lost
12	はじめてのプレゼント	First Present	Jun 22, 1996	Lost
13	ライオンのオモチャ	Lion's Toy	Jun 29, 1996	Lost
14	真実の山	The Mountain of Truth	Jul 6, 1996	Lost
15	プレゼントの重み	Weight of a Present	Jul 13, 1996	Lost
16	悪の影オーグワ	Awgwas, the Dark Shadows	Jul 27, 1996	Lost
17	霧の森の奇跡	Miracle of the Mist Forest	Aug 3, 1996	Lost
18	オーグワの復讐	Revenge of Awgwas	Aug 10, 1996	Lost
19	光と闇の大戦争	War of Light and Darkness	Aug 17, 1996	Lost
20	輝け! 光の心	Shine! Hearts of Light	Aug 24, 1996	Lost
21	最初のクリスマスツリー	The First Christmas Tree	Aug 31, 1996	Lost
22	森の支配者と海の支配者	Rulers of the Forest and Seas	Sep 7, 1996	Lost
23	サンタクロース誕生	Birth of Santa Claus	Sep 14, 1996	Lost
24	さよならサンタクロース	Farewell, Santa Claus	Sep 21, 1996	Lost