In The Beginning: The Bible Stories

手塚治虫の旧約聖書物語 In The Beginning

7.35(1K votes)

Ranked #3063Popularity #11339

episodes

Type

Status

Finished Airing

Aired

Apr 1, 1997 to May 9, 1997

Studios:Tezuka Productions

Synopsis

Through the Italian National Broadcasting Network, Tezuka Osamu received an ardent request from the Vatican to make the Bible into animated form. This request was probably made to see how the Bible would be depicted by the non-Christian Tezuka Osamu. Tezuka Osamu accepted the request and spent an entire two years to complete a pilot film. It was about the mythology of Noah's ark, with the enthusiastic Tezuka Osamu not only writing the scenario but also drawing pictures by himself. During production, however, he unfortunately passed away, so Director Dezaki took over the film and completed it. (Source: official homepage)

2,985 Members

Worth Watching? — Global Verdict

9.0/10

Average Review Score

100%

Recommend It

Reviews Worldwide

International Reviews

jmriz

Recommended

I loved this anime as a kid!!!! I used to visit a lending library in town with my dad when I was about 7 and we used to watch these Bible stories together; great memories! Very accurate and true to the Scriptures. I would recommend this to parents for teaching their kids about the faith and for their overall enjoyment. (Note: The first episode of the Japanese version contains minor nudity (Adam and Eve) which was edited in the English dubbed version.) Story: 10/10 As there were many theological advisors, Catholic, Jewish, and Protestant alike, who assisted both directors, the stories were impeccably told. Art: 6/10 Not great,but not bad, just adequate for the production. Sound: 6/10 I would have wished that the soundtrack was more orchestral rather than the slightly tinny 90's soft Jpop which served as the anime OP and ED. Character: 10/10 Perfect!! Gave the figures realism but not enough to go over the heads of kids. I very much appreciated that they were not treated as fictional characters but as real people who really lived. Enjoyment: 9/10 As I said before, this anime really helped teach me the Bible as a kid and guided my growth as a Catholic Christian, so my enjoyment of it is more sentimental and thankful. Overall: 9/10 Good, wholesome anime for kids and great memories for me!! Thanks for reading and God Bless! :)

27 found helpfulMay 27, 2017

Community Discussion

It's a pretty good adaption of the old testament, especially if you're not much of a Christian, it's still enjoyable to watch even as an adult since this was my very first anime I watched as a kid. I speak both English and Spanish so I don't really had to struggle finding all the episodes. I prefer to watch this series in Spanish(Spain) and I think it was good. The intro, at least in the Spanish version, is a masterpiece and I'm not exaggerating. It hits deep in my heart and brings out that sense of calming but also desperation call. I highly recommend thisfor kids as it's an easy way to get started for the old testament. The story covers basically the stories of the old testament in Tezuka's style of his interpretation of the bible but not the full story of the Bible itself. While it is an anime and a very old one at that since it was released in 1990s I believe, don't expect high levels of action. There are some fight scenes within the series, like David and Goliath however they're not long battles if that's what anyone is looking forward to. While Tezuka Osamu wasn't Christian himself, I think his interpretation of the bible of his work is amazing and a masterpiece despite not knowing the bible, it was his very last major project before his passing. The intro, music background, coloring, is beautiful. If not for the help of Director Dezaki, we wouldn't have this anime at all. The only downside however would be quality if you're watching on YouTube or anywhere since this is obviously an old anime so the quality to watch might not be so great so a pro tip would be to purchase the DVDs. Another thing is that more of the episodes are longer than your average anime episode with some leading to 24 minutes or 28 minutes so brace youselfs. Overall, I think everyone should try this anime if one wants to get a better picture of the old testament as it covers the stories of the beginning with Adam & Eve, to the birth of Jesus Christ himself as the final episode, and if you're Christian, this is basically your anime Biblical stories you're looking for.