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Technically any good? While made for kids, the director, one of Japan's answers to Walt Disney, Hayao Miyazaki, has the ability to create a real feeling of danger. He'll actually kill characters off, every once in a while, which is really surprising for a kids show. In fact, Miyazaki will put the 11 year-old lead character in incredibly dangerous, truly frightening moments and treat those moments with incredible realism for a show that I think is still perfectly safe for kids to watch. Yes, there are some typical anime and cultural cliches in this, but they are done well. The story keeps you guessing (for the most part) and is a total blast to watch even if you're an adult.
How did it leave me feeling? Wishing for a sequel series! There's just something about Conan's "never say die" spirit that I find incredibly inspirational. There are three things I think people should know about this:
1) The direct translation of the title is actually "Future Boy Conan." However, the series is about a boy in the future, not a time-traveling boy, as I assumed.
2) This show deals with a lot of black and white issues--sometimes blatantly so. The subtleties are in character, not in theme. In particular the evils of technology and the perfection of communism (!) probably would have gotten tiresome in anyone else's hands but Miyazaki's.
3) This series is not available on DVD in the US. I don't know why. Probably because of the handful of very scary scenes where Conan suffers physical violence. We Americans treat our kids too nicely, I think. Read more about Mirai Shonen Konan in its Wikipedia article.
Final Rating? FI - FIND IT! This show is a lot of fun and I think even the more cynical adult viewers will get sucked in after a few episodes.
Orignal From: Mirai Shonen Konan - Conan, Boy in the Future (1978)
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