# Superbook (1981 TV series)

Superbook (スーパーブック, Sūpābukku), also known as Animated Parent and Child Theatre (アニメ 親子劇場, Anime Oyako Gekijō), is a Japanese Christian anime television series from the early 1980s, initially produced at Tatsunoko Production and TV Tokyo in Japan in conjunction with the Christian Broadcasting Network in the United States.
The series chronicled the events of the Bible's Old and New Testaments in its 52-episode run. The first 26 episodes aired from October 1, 1981, to March 25, 1982, followed by a second season called Superbook II: In Search for Ruffles and Return to the 20th Century (パソコントラベル探偵団, Pasokon Toraberu Tanteidan, lit. Personal Computer Travel Detective Team) with 26 episodes from April 4 to September 26, 1983. Between both series in the first run was the companion series The Flying House.

## Overview

Superbook (Anime Oyako Gekijo), begins at the home of a young boy named Christopher "Chris" Peeper, who discovers the ancient Bible named Superbook that can speak and send him, his friend Joy and his clockwork toy figure named Gizmo the Crusader Robot back in time during the events of the Old and New Testaments. The second series, Superbook II: In Search for Ruffles and Return to the 20th Century (Pasokon Travel Tanteidan), takes place two years after the first series, where Superbook falls onto a computer, giving anybody the ability to see into the past from Christopher's home via the monitor. Ruffles, his poodle, has managed to get lost in time, prompting Gizmo and Christopher's little brother (re-written as his cousin in the English dub), Uriah "Uri" Peeper, to search for Ruffles. While Chris and Joy keep watch and control of the computer from the present, Gizmo and Uri experience the stories from the Old Testament solely.

## Cast and characters

* Christopher "Chris" Peeper (飛鳥翔, Asuka Shō) (voiced by Masako Sugaya in Japanese, Billie Lou Watt in English): The main hero of the series, who is Professor Peeper's son and Gizmo's former owner.
* Joy (大和あずさ, Yamato Azusa) (voiced by Katsue Miwa in Japanese, Sonia Owens in English): Chris's next-door neighbor and best friend.
* Gizmo the Crusading Robot (ぜんまい仕掛け, Zenmaijikake) (voiced by Hiroshi Masuoka in Japanese, Helena van Koert and Billie Lou Watt in English): The name of two characters, depending on the season. In the 1st season, he is Chris's advanced toy figure who can become a real-life robot. In the second season, Gizmo became a real-life sized robot built by Uri's father.
* Uriah "Uri" Peeper (飛鳥悠, Asuka Yū) (voiced by Runa Akiyama in Japanese, Helena van Koert in English): Chris's little brother (cousin in the English dub) and Gizmo's current owner.
* Professor Frederick "Fred" Peeper (あすかはかせ, Asuka hakase) (voiced by Fumio Matsuoka in Japanese, Ray Owens in English): An archaeologist and Chris's father.
* Phoebe Peeper (飛鳥さつき, Asuka Satsuki) (voiced by Kumiko Takizawa in Japanese, Sonia Owens in English): Chris's mother.
* Ruffles ( Kikyomu in Japanese): Chris and Uri's pet Yorkshire Terrier.
* Superbook (タイムブック, Taimu bukku) (voiced by Koji Totani in Japanese, Ray Owens in English): An ancient Bible that takes Chris, Joy, Gizmo and Uri back to the Old and New Testament periods or eras.

## Episodes

| Series | Episodes | Episodes | Originally released | Originally released | Originally released |
| Series | Episodes | Episodes | First released | Last released | Network |
| 1 | 26 | 26 | October 1, 1981 (1981-10-01) | March 25, 1982 (1982-03-25) | TV Tokyo (Japan) CBN (United States) |
| 2 | 26 | 26 | April 4, 1983 (1983-04-04) | September 26, 1983 (1983-09-26) | TV Tokyo (Japan) CBN (United States) |

### Season 1 (1981–1982)

| No. overall | No. in series | Title | Scripture reference(s) | Directed by | Written by | Original release date |
| 1 | 1 | "How It All Began" "Adam and Eve" | Genesis | Masakazu Higuchi | Akiyoshi Sakai | October 1, 1981 (1981-10-01) |
| 2 | 2 | "My Brother's Keeper" "Cain and Abel" | Genesis | Masakazu Higuchi | Akiyoshi Sakai | October 8, 1981 (1981-10-08) |
| 3 | 3 | "The Flood" "Noah's Ark" | Genesis | Masakazu Higuchi (supervising) | Kiichi Takagi | October 15, 1981 (1981-10-15) |
| 4 | 4 | "The Test" "Abraham and Isaac" | Genesis | Masakazu Higuchi (supervising) | unknown | October 22, 1981 (1981-10-22) |
| 5 | 5 | "Here Comes the Bride" "Rebekah" | Genesis | Masakazu Higuchi (supervising) | unknown | October 29, 1981 (1981-10-29) |
| 6 | 6 | "Double Trouble" "Jacob and Esau" | Genesis | Shoichi Yasumura | Ryoko Takagi | November 5, 1981 (1981-11-05) |
| 7 | 7 | "A Dream Come True" "Joseph" | Genesis | Ryoji Fujiwara | Kiichi Takayama | November 12, 1981 (1981-11-12) |
| 8 | 8 | "The Miracle Rod" "Moses" | Exodus | Osamu Sekita | Kazuo Satou | November 19, 1981 (1981-11-19) |
| 9 | 9 | "Those Amazing Trumpets" "Joshua and the Fall of Jericho" | Joshua | Kenjiro Yoshida | Naoko Miyake | November 26, 1981 (1981-11-26) |
| 10 | 10 | "Pitchers of Fire" "Gideon" | Judges | Masakazu Higuchi (supervising) | unknown | December 3, 1981 (1981-12-03) |
| 11 | 11 | "Muscleman" "Samson and Delilah" | Judges | Masakazu Higuchi (supervising) | unknown | December 10, 1981 (1981-12-10) |
| 12 | 12 | "The First Christmas" "The Birth of Jesus" | Gospels | Masakazu Higuchi (supervising) | Ryoko Takagi | December 17, 1981 (1981-12-17) |
| 13 | 13 | "Miracles of Love" "The Life and Ministry of Jesus" | Gospels | Masakazu Higuchi (supervising) | Naoko Miyake | December 24, 1981 (1981-12-24) |
| 14 | 14 | "The Best News Yet" "The Death and Resurrection of Jesus" | Gospels | Masakazu Higuchi (supervising) | Saburo Ebinuma | December 31, 1981 (1981-12-31) |
| 15 | 15 | "Mother's Day" "Ruth, Naomi and Boaz" | Ruth | Shoichi Yasumura | Kiichi Takayama | January 7, 1982 (1982-01-07) |
| 16 | 16 | "The Patience of Job" "Job" | Job | You Kitazato | Saburo Ebinuma | January 14, 1982 (1982-01-14) |
| 17 | 17 | "Big Fish and Little Fish" "Jonah and the Whale" | Jonah | Kenjiro Yoshida | Ryoko Takagi | January 21, 1982 (1982-01-21) |
| 18 | 18 | "The First King" "Samuel and Saul" | 1 Samuel | Norio Yazawa | Saburo Ebinuma | January 28, 1982 (1982-01-28) |
| 19 | 19 | "The Giant Killer" "David" | 1 Samuel | Kenjiro Yoshida | Tsutomu Kawauchi | February 4, 1982 (1982-02-04) |
| 20 | 20 | "Superbrain" "King Solomon" | 1 Kings | Ryoji Fujiwara | Naoko Miyake | February 11, 1982 (1982-02-11) |
| 21 | 21 | "A True Prophet" "Elijah and King Ahab" | 1 Kings | Kenjiro Yoshida | Kiichi Takayama | February 18, 1982 (1982-02-18) |
| 22 | 22 | "Flaming Chariots" "Elisha" | 2 Kings | Norio Yazawa | Kiichi Takayama | February 25, 1982 (1982-02-25) |
| 23 | 23 | "The Lion's Den" "Daniel" | Daniel | Kimiharu Oguma | Ryoko Takagi | March 4, 1982 (1982-03-04) |
| 24 | 24 | "Nehemiah and the Walls of Jerusalem" | Nehemiah | Ryoji Fujiwara | Kazuo Satou | March 11, 1982 (1982-03-11) |
| 25 | 25 | "The Beauty Queen" "Esther" | Esther | Kazuo Yamazaki | Nobuko Morita | March 18, 1982 (1982-03-18) |
| 26 | 26 | "The Mighty Convert" "Paul of Tarsus" | Acts | Kenjiro Yoshida | Saburo Ebinuma | March 25, 1982 (1982-03-25) |

### Season 2 (1983)

| No. overall | No. in series | Title | Scripture reference(s) | Directed by | Written by | Original release date |
| 27 | 1 | "Where, Oh Where..." "Abraham and Lot" | Genesis | Masakazu Higuchi | Akiyoshi Sakai | April 4, 1983 (1983-04-04) |
| 28 | 2 | "Hot Dog" "Sodom and Gomorrah" | Genesis | Masakazu Higuchi | Akiyoshi Sakai | April 11, 1983 (1983-04-11) |
| 29 | 3 | "The Test of Faith" | Genesis | Masakazu Higuchi | Akiyoshi Sakai | April 18, 1983 (1983-04-18) |
| 30 | 4 | "Love at First Sight" | Genesis | Masakazu Higuchi | Akiyoshi Sakai | April 25, 1983 (1983-04-25) |
| 31 | 5 | "Father's Pet" | Genesis | Masakazu Higuchi | Akiyoshi Sakai | May 2, 1983 (1983-05-02) |
| 32 | 6 | "All About Dreams" | Genesis | Masakazu Higuchi | Akiyoshi Sakai | May 9, 1983 (1983-05-09) |
| 33 | 7 | "The Hostage" | Genesis | Masakazu Higuchi | Akiyoshi Sakai | May 16, 1983 (1983-05-16) |
| 34 | 8 | "The Family Reunion" | Genesis | Masakazu Higuchi | Akiyoshi Sakai | May 23, 1983 (1983-05-23) |
| 35 | 9 | "A Gift From Heaven" | Exodus | Masakazu Higuchi | Akiyoshi Sakai | May 30, 1983 (1983-05-30) |
| 36 | 10 | "The Burning Bush" | Exodus | Masakazu Higuchi | Akiyoshi Sakai | June 6, 1983 (1983-06-06) |
| 37 | 11 | "No More Plagues" | Exodus | Masakazu Higuchi | Akiyoshi Sakai | June 13, 1983 (1983-06-13) |
| 38 | 12 | "So You Want To Go Back To Egypt!" | Exodus | Masakazu Higuchi | Akiyoshi Sakai | June 20, 1983 (1983-06-20) |
| 39 | 13 | "Snakes and a Donkey" "Joshua" | Numbers Deuteronomy Joshua | Masakazu Higuchi | Akiyoshi Sakai | June 27, 1983 (1983-06-27) |
| 40 | 14 | "Worth Fighting For" "Othniel" | Judges | Masakazu Higuchi | Akiyoshi Sakai | July 4, 1983 (1983-07-04) |
| 41 | 15 | "The Good Left Arm" "Ehud and King Eglon" | Judges | Masakazu Higuchi | Akiyoshi Sakai | July 11, 1983 (1983-07-11) |
| 42 | 16 | "Stick In The Mud" "Deborah and Barak" | Judges | Masakazu Higuchi | Akiyoshi Sakai | July 18, 1983 (1983-07-18) |
| 43 | 17 | "That's A Promise" "Jephthah's vow" | Judges | Masakazu Higuchi | Akiyoshi Sakai | July 25, 1983 (1983-07-25) |
| 44 | 18 | "Just Rewards" "Eli and Samuel" | 1 Samuel | Masakazu Higuchi | Akiyoshi Sakai | August 1, 1983 (1983-08-01) |
| 45 | 19 | "A Wonderful Gift" "Saul is anointed king of Israel" | 1 Samuel | Masakazu Higuchi | Akiyoshi Sakai | August 8, 1983 (1983-08-08) |
| 46 | 20 | "The Mighty Little Shepherd" "David" | 1 Samuel | Masakazu Higuchi | Akiyoshi Sakai | August 15, 1983 (1983-08-15) |
| 47 | 21 | "The Bigger They Come" "David and Goliath" | 1 Samuel | Masakazu Higuchi | Akiyoshi Sakai | August 22, 1983 (1983-08-22) |
| 48 | 22 | "Faithful and True" "David's friendship with Jonathan" | 1 Samuel | Masakazu Higuchi | Akiyoshi Sakai | August 29, 1983 (1983-08-29) |
| 49 | 23 | "David the King" | 1 Samuel 2 Samuel | Masakazu Higuchi | Akiyoshi Sakai | September 5, 1983 (1983-09-05) |
| 50 | 24 | "In All His Glory" "King Solomon" | 1 Kings | Masakazu Higuchi | Akiyoshi Sakai | September 12, 1983 (1983-09-12) |
| 51 | 25 | "The Wicked Queen" "Athaliah and Joash" | 2 Kings | Masakazu Higuchi | Akiyoshi Sakai | September 19, 1983 (1983-09-19) |
| 52 | 26 | "A Matter of Time" "The Prophets, Hezekiah and Isaiah" | 2 Kings | Masakazu Higuchi | Akiyoshi Sakai | September 26, 1983 (1983-09-26) |

## VHS/DVD releases

Superbook Series I and Series II were released on various VHS volumes by Tyndale Entertainment. The entire series was available over 26 VHS Volumes. Superbook was released for the first time on DVD late 2005 to early 2006. The three DVD volumes features 4 episodes each from Series I.