Perman
A clumsy boy becomes a superhero with alien-given gear.
Perman is a Japanese manga series created by Fujiko F. Fujio, following a clumsy boy named Mitsuo Suwa who is chosen to become a superhero. The manga began serialization in 1967, and the franchise includes two anime television series, the first produced in black-and-white in 1967 and a color series in 1983.
Quick Facts
- Genre
- Superhero
Facts from the source article.
Plot
Mitsuo Suwa, an ordinary elementary school boy, encounters an alien superhero named Birdman, a member of the Permans, a group that maintains universal peace. Birdman recruits Mitsuo, providing him with three items: a helmet that multiplies physical strength and serves as a mask, a cape enabling flight and running at up to 119 km/h, and a badge for communication and generating breathable air. Birdman warns that revealing his identity would turn him into an animal, and gives him a copy-robot doppelgänger to take his place. Mitsuo meets other Permans—Booby, Perko, and Peryan—and they become friends. Their adventures involve keeping secrets and averting crime and disaster. Eventually, Birdman selects Mitsuo to train as his successor on Bird Planet, and Mitsuo departs, leaving his copy robot on Earth.
Characters
Mitsuo Suwa, also known as Perman #1, is an 11-and-a-half-year-old boy chosen as the first Earth Perman. He struggles with studies but can succeed with effort, has a crush on classmate Michiko, and idolizes Sumire Hoshino, unaware she is Perko. He often relies on his copy robot, which sometimes resents him, but works hard in serious situations. At the series' end, Birdman acknowledges his achievements, and Mitsuo goes to Bird Planet for training. A manga chapter titled 'Perman Returns' shows him visiting Earth for two hours. Katsue Miwa voices Mitsuo in both anime series. Booby, or Perman #2, is a monkey. Originally living in a zoo, the setting was retconned so he lives with an old couple. Birdman chose him to avoid discrimination between humans and animals. Booby is highly intelligent but cannot speak human language, though Permans understand him; he uses objects and gestures. In stories focusing on him, he communicates with animals. Hiroshi Ōtake voices Booby in both series. Sumire Hoshino is Perman #3, also called Perko or Pergirl.
Media
The manga, written by Fujiko Fujio, was published by Shogakukan and serialized in Weekly Shōnen Sunday from 1966 to 1968 and again from 1983 to 1986, collected in seven tankōbon volumes. The first anime television series, produced by Tokyo Movie with music by Hiroshi Tsutsui, aired on TBS from April 2, 1967, to April 14, 1968, comprising 54 two-part episodes; some episodes are lost or have missing audio. It was dubbed into Brazilian Portuguese and Mexican Spanish. The second anime series, produced by Shin-Ei Animation and directed by Hiroshi Sasagawa and Sadayoshi Tominaga with music by Akihiko Takashima, aired on TV Asahi from April 4, 1983, to March 30, 1985, totaling 526 episodes, with rebroadcasts until July 2, 1987. Two video games for the Nintendo Famicom were released by Irem: Perman: Enban o Torikaese!! on December 14, 1990, and Perman Part 2: Himitsu Kessha Madoodan o Taose! on December 20, 1991.
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