# Jungle Kurobe

Jungle Kurobe (ジャングル黒べえ, Janguru Kurobē) is a children's anime series by Fujiko Fujio.
Created by the same team of Doraemon and clearly influenced by it, it tells the adventures of a Tarzanesque child and his friends in modern Tokyo. It consists of 61 episodes and was originally broadcast on TV Asahi. The show is most famous for having initial character designs by famous anime director Hayao Miyazaki of Spirited Away and My Neighbor Totoro, though due to Fujiko F Fujio's involvement, the final designs were done by Yoshio Kabashima, known for his work on Gamba no Bouken and Lupin the 3rd: The Mystery of Mamo.
In 1989, it was deemed "racially offensive for its portrayal of Africans" and its manga and anime were withdrawn from Japanese commercial distribution, essentially becoming banned in Japan. However, TMS finally released the show in 2015 on DVD alongside Umeboshi Denka [jp], with a reprint being issued in 2024.

## Manga
### Serialization

The manga was serialized in Shogakukan's educational magazines (Yoiko, Youko, Kindergarten, and Shogakukan's educational magazines for each grade level) from February (March 1973) to November (December 1973) to coincide with the anime version, and in the Mainichi Shimbun (Osaka edition evening edition).

### Book
#### A few chapters were included in the second volume of Tentōmushi Comics' Bakeru-kun

    Published in 1978. Bakeru-kun is a comedy manga drawn by Fujimoto, the same Fujiko Fujio.

#### Only two chapters were included in Big Korotan's Fujiko Manga Heroes All Together.

    Released in December 1982 (published January 10, 1983 according to the colophon).

#### Fujiko Fujio Land

    In 1988, the series was collected into a single volume for the first time as the 175th volume of Fujiko Fujio Land. Some chapters have not been collected yet. Fujiko Fujio Land is a collection of works by Fujiko Fujio, published by Chuokoron-Shinsha.

#### Complete Works of Fujiko F. Fujio

    Published in one volume on May 25, 2010. The collection was published in four volumes, and this is the first of the four volumes. All works not previously collected in a book were included (except for the manga by Shinoda Hideo that was serialized in "Shogaku Rokunensei"). The commentary at the end of the volume is by Kintaro Kimotsuki, who voiced Kurobee in the anime version. In the "To Our Readers" disclaimer at the end of the volume, it is explained that even if the work contains expressions that would be considered discriminatory today, this was not intended, but the same disclaimer is included for all other works in the complete collection. }}.

### Temporary sealing

In July 1989, a civic group called the "Society for the Elimination of Racism against Blacks" pointed out that the depiction of the "International Ghost Alliance" episode of "Obake no Q-Taro," another Fujiko work, was racist against blacks. In response, Fujiko F. Fujio Productions, Fujiko Studio, and the book publishers Shogakukan and Chuokoron-Shinsha took measures to stop reprinting and recall the book that contained the episode of "Obake no Q-Taro." It is believed that this work, which had not received any protests or criticism, was also voluntarily recalled at the same time to avoid any repercussions or future problems. After that, the work was treated as "sealed," the book went out of print, and some episodes and introductions to this work included in the second volume of "Bakeru-kun" and "Fujiko Manga Heroes All Together" were replaced with other works.
On the other hand, the publisher has not given an official explanation for the voluntary recall, and it is publicly treated as simply "out of stock at the distributor, no plans for a reprint yet." Writer Kenji Ando conducted an interview to find out how the publication of this work was discontinued, and concluded that "after receiving a complaint from the International Obake Alliance, the publisher assumed that the "Society for the Elimination of Racism against Blacks" was backed down and buried it in the form of a voluntary recall," but the details remain unclear as no testimony from those involved has been obtained to clarify the circumstances.
Rebroadcasts of the anime also ceased, and for about 20 years from 1990 to 2010, the work was essentially buried in obscurity (see #Temporary closure of the anime for about 20 years).
In 2010, the Manga (see #Book) was released, and in 2015, a DVD-BOX of the anime was released, and since then it has become easy to obtain the work. In 2024, it was officially streamed on YouTube for the first time.

## Cast

* Kaneta Kimotsuki as Kurobe
* Kazuko Sugiyama as Shishio Sarari
* Eiko Masuyama as Toriko Sarari
* Hiroshi Ohtake as Sensei
* Junko Hori as Okara
* Keisuke Yamashita as Tiger
* Kouji Yada as Mitsuru Sarari
* Masako Ebisu as Takane Fujino
* Reiko Katsura as Aka-bee
* Tetsuo Mizutori as Pao Pao
* Yoshiko Yamamoto as Gakku