Cyborg Kuro-chan (lost production material of cancelled/unaired episodes of anime series; 2001)

From The Lost Media Wiki
Revision as of 16:59, 6 March 2021 by Corvene (talk | contribs)
Jump to: navigation, search
Kuro-chan.png

The main character, Kuro.

Status: Lost

Cyborg Kuro-chan was an anime that aired from 1999-2001 with a planned 78 episodes. The anime adaptation of the manga was more toned down when compared to the manga. In January 2001 the show was cancelled after episode 66 due to the show's production company, PIBI filed for bankruptcy. With 66 of the 78 episodes aired, it is believed that PIBI began production on episodes 67-71 before their bankruptcy. The titles of these episodes do exist which gives fans of the series some idea of what they were about.

Plot

The plot of Cyborg Kuro-chan revolves around a cat named Kuro who cannot defend himself. One day while out on a date with his girlfriend, Kuro is kidnapped by an evil scientist named Dr. Go who turns Kuro into a robot and tries to make him apart of the Nyan-Nyan Army. After removing a chip that was embedded in him, Kuro sets off to defeat Dr. Go. Kuro ends up disguising himself with the skin of a stuffed animal but continues to live as a pet.[1]

Each episode would put Kuro's owners in danger and Kuro would have to rescue them from Dr. Go.

Cancellation

Episode 66 of the series aired on January 6th, 2001 which ended up being the final one to air. The series was originally planned to run until March 31st for 78 episodes. This never happened due to two company bankruptcies that resulting in the end of production. Public & Basic or PIBI who handed the series production and planning, and Studio Bogey who handled the animation production. According to a blog post on animation director Ichizou Kobayashi, the bankruptcy of Public & Basic resulted from debt and unpaid fees.[2]

Episode 66 was likely the last episode to have been completed before the bankruptcy. It was rumoured that the original version of the episode with a promo for episode 67 was aired by mistake in some regions of Japan. Only a clip from a TV Tokyo airing has surfaced, which cuts the ending narration and includes a promo for episodes that were rebroadcast in place of episodes 67-78.[3]

List of Cancelled/Unaired Episodes

# Episode Title English Title Planned Air Date Status Comment
67 no yukiotoko arawaru! 謎の雪男現わる! Mystery of the Abominable Snowman! Jan 13th, 2001 Lost Aside from the title and rumoured broadcast of the promo, little is known about the episode itself. Production materials and model sheets from the anime have been sold online, with some listings including sheets from episode 67. Each episode would use two sets of sheets, the first being for the main characters and the second being for side characters and things seen in fewer episodes. 3 new sheets were produced for the episode, dated 1st November 2000. The set also included a text document detailing a plot point about a snowball fight between Suzuki's students.
68 RAIBARU wa KOTAROU? ライバルはコタロー? Rival of Kotaro? Jan 20th, 2001 Lost All we know about this episode was from a blogpost by voice actress Makiko Ohmoto during a meetup.
69 KINTAROU no RIBENJI キンタローのリベンジ Revenge of Kintaro N/A Lost
70 KOSUPURE shoujo KAGUYA! コスプレ少女カグヤ! Cosplay Girl Kaguya! N/A Lost
71 akuma ni natta? Go-kun 悪魔になった? 剛くん Becoming a Devil? Go-kun N/A Lost

Gallery

References