Marine Boy

Here's some Matropolis trivia for you- Marine Boy is the first ever purchase I made on Ebay. Yeah it's true. I came across the show when I was browsing the Internet and even though it was first broadcast in the 60's I recognised one of the screenshots from the show. Perhaps I saw a clip or an episode when I was really young? Who knows? Anyway it looked different and impressive for an older anime so I tried it out and I'm glad I did.

For those of you who don't know, Marine Boy is a japanimation (an older word for anime) show about the underwater adventures of Marine Boy and his dolphin pal Splasher as they work for the Ocean Patrol and protect the sea from danger.

Marine Boy is protected by a red wetsuit during missions but it's not just any wetsuit. It was created by his father Dr. Mariner and Professor Fumble to reflect any bullets or projectiles fired at him and is highly resistant to temperature but Marine Boy still manages to get knocked out and captured on a few occasions despite it. The suit also contains jet boots that can propel Marine Boy at great speed through the water. This can also be used as a weapon with the strong jet stream created. His signature weapon though is his electrified boomerang which is capable of shocking sea monsters and enemies, it's even powerful enough to destroy ships!

So how does he manage to breathe underwater? With oxygum of course! A special gum which provides oxygen when chewed. He reminds viewers this every time before he enters the water.

Patrolling the seas with Marine Boy are Bolton and Piper who also work for the Ocean Patrol and pilot the P1, a ship armed with torpedos and can manoeuvre at high speeds. Bolton is brave and strong where as Piper is a bit cowardly but has a big heart.

As well as being able to communicate with his dolphin Splasher, Marine Boy also befriends a mermaid called Neptina. Along with her magic pearl she helps him out on a number of occasions.

The show is a lot of fun, well presented and is one of those typical animes that give the bad guys ridiculous names such as Mr. Smirch and Mr. Goldpocket.

Speaking of names, Marine Boy is apparently his actual name. I imagine he loves his dad for that!

For fans of monsters, especially sea monsters, you will find a lot of them in this show.

Speaking of monsters I recommend you go check out Xenorama, the blog of heroes and monsters where you will find a lot more information on Marine Boy. David McRobie has even had a book published on the show which provides a lot of information and history. It even has an episode guide with synopsis and the original Japanese names for each episode! Great for any fan!

You can view his blog here

You can buy the book here

As with 'Bucky O'Hare' I also have a Marine Boy quiz up on Funtrivia which you can try out here

The first season has recently been officially released by Warner Archives so check it out.

Now only one question remains...where can I get myself some of that oxygum!?