Little Wansa
A puppy mascot turned into an unfinished manga and complete anime.
Little Wansa (ワンサくん, Wansa-kun) is a mascot for Sanwa Bank designed by Osamu Tezuka. It was later turned into an unfinished manga series by Tezuka in 1971, and a complete anime series in 1973. The anime was the last series produced by the original Mushi Production before its bankruptcy.
Quick Facts
- Ja Romaji
- Little Wansa
- Genre
- Comedy, drama
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Little Wansa began as a mascot for Sanwa Bank, designed by Osamu Tezuka. In 1971, Tezuka turned it into a manga series serialized in 'Tezuka Magazine' (also known as 'Tezuka Manga Magazine'), but the series was left unfinished due to labor disputes at Mushi Production, the magazine's publisher. The hero of the story is Wansa, a puppy sold for a pittance who escapes and spends much of the series searching for his mother.
Reader's Guide
In 1973, an animated series based on the manga was produced by Mushi Production and aired on KTV and Fuji TV. As with the earlier Triton of the Sea, Tezuka had little-to-no involvement in this series. The anime lasted 26 episodes: the first 21 were comedic, while the final five took a dramatic turn as Wansa began his search for his mother. Unlike the unfinished manga, the anime concluded with Wansa succeeding in finding her. Wansa-kun ultimately became the last series produced by the original Mushi Production before its bankruptcy. After production, Nishizaki and many of the production team went on to work on Space Battleship Yamato. A stage play adaptation ran from August 18 to 28, 2016.
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