Episode 1

Title card

"The Bishonen Killer" is the first episode of the ''Patalliro'' anime, originally airing on April 8, 1982.

## Summary

MI6 agent James Bancoran is hired to guard the seven-year-old king of Malynera, Patalliro. He finds the task more arduous than he expects.

## Story Recap

Prince Patalliro the 8th arrives at the London Heathrow Airport as a goodwill ambassador from the country of the Malynera. There, he meets Bancoran, the special agent from MI6, who was appointed as the Prince's bodyguard during his time in England. Patalliro declines the services of Bancoran but Bancoran insists as there is internal conflict within the country of Malynera between the Prime Minister and Royal Family. Bancoran is worried that the Prime Minister might take action against Pataliro during his time in England, and also to keep an eye on Patalliro after his silly stunt of trying to fly the plane himself.

Jada, a long serving bishounen servant of Patalliro, enters the room and serves Patalliro his snack. Jada falls in love with Bancoran at first sight. Patalliro chides Jada for spacing out and the Tamanegi (Onion Shaped Head) subordinae tells Patalliro that this is a common reaction from bishounens as Bancoran is nicknamed the Bishounen-Killer (Pretty Boy Killer).

During nightfall, Patalliro discusses his plan with Jada. Turns out that Patalliro has plans to swipe a painting from the London Art Museum and hence Bancoran's presence is a hindrance. The rumour that Pataliro heard from Jada is that Patalliro's father was a romantic and he hid love letters he was exchanging with a woman in the back of a painting. Patalliro hopes to retrieve the painting so that the Prime Minister does not get his hands on it and make it into a huge scandal.

Bancoran intrudes on their discussion sensing they are plotting something. Pataliiro makes the excuse that he and Jada are thinking to sneak out at night to a playboy club. This infuriates Bancoran and keeps Patalliro under constant supervision to the extent of sleeping in the same bed. Patalliro asks if Bancoran is thinking to rape him to which Bancoran replies that he would rather jump into the Thames River and die.

Patalliro tries to seduce Bancoran through the night, letting him get little sleep but finally ends up being hung from the ceiling.

Early next morning, Patalliro sneaks out to meet with Jada to head to the London Art Musuem thinking that he has left Bancoran sleeping in the room after a taxing night. However, Bancoran is tailing them.

At the right time, Jada creates a small fires outside the premises of the museum causing the patrons to evacuate. Patalliro stays behind and places a blank cloth over the original painting and cries wolf that the painting has been stolen and to pursue the thief. He then volunteers to take the empty frame to the police to examine the fingerprints of the thief and thereby taking the painting out of the museum in broad daylight. All this was witnessed by Bancoran.

As Patalliro was making his escape with the painting, a guard comes out of the bushes and shoots at him. Bancoran sees this from a distance and warns Patalliro to duck for safety. Cross fire starts and Bancoran fends off the shooters. Patalliro escapes.

While heading back to the hotel in the lift, Patalliro tells Bancoran that something is wrong as his plan was confidential and the museum guards started shooting without warning. When the lift door opens, Jada was shocked to see Patalliro while the Tamanegi were acting as usual.

Back in the hotel room, Patalliro starts to search for clues to the hidden letters. Bancoran observes that Jada is behaving anxiously. Finally Patalliro questions Jada why there are no letters hidden at the back of the painting as claimed and asks who was the one that told Jada about the letters and Jada breaks down to confess that his father was in financial difficulties and the whole thing was a fabrication and trap orchestrated by the Malynera Prime Minister. Jada insists that he has no idea that the Prime Minister was intending to kill Patalliro and thought it was a scheme to simply embarrass him.

Bancoran has doubts on Jada’s story and mentioned that he did not kill anyone of the guards shooting at Patalliro as he had no idea who were the real guards or the assassins. He goes on further to say that his bullets swept over the guards right hands by a centimetre and so would have left burnt marks.

Patalliro checks and finds a fresh burnt mark on Jada’s right hand. Jada , seeing that his game is up, reveals that he is an assassin who will work for the right price paid and proceeds to shoot at Patalliro. Bancoran foils Jada’s attempt by wounding him on his left arm and is swiftly taken away by the Tamanegi guards. Bancoran comforts Patalliro for Jada’s betrayal thinking that Patalliro is stifling his cries. But Patalliro is actually stifling his laughs as he has plans to milk this affair.

The next day, Bancoran confronts Patalliro at the Heathrow Airport as Patalliro has plans to extradite Jada back to Malynera to make him witness against the Prime Minister’s plot. Patalliro tells Bancoran that he will pay Jada half of ten thousand pounds for his confession and his money was obtained by threatening the London Art Museum Director as the museum guards had shot at a Malynera royalty during his visit. Patalliro threatened to get him fired or make it into an international problem. Patalliro will pocket the other five thousand pounds as an allowance. With this, they send off the shameless Malynera prince back to the blue skies.

## Cast

Patalliro du Malyner VIII - Fuyumi Shiraishi

Jack Barbarosa Bancoran - Kazuyuki Sogabe

Jada - Keiko Toda

## Trivia

* It aired a year after *Dr. Slump Alare-chan* premiered, another Toei anime.