The old saying “you don’t know what you have until it’s gone” isn’t just a pretty lyric. Media that didn’t set the world on fire when released can gain appeal over time by being lost in time. Fans can only dream of a version of The Thief and the Shoemaker which matched the one envisioned by its creator, Richard Williams. Classic horror fans would love a fully intact version of the 1927 vampire movie London after midnight suddenly showed up in someone’s loft.
Anime has its own missing media that has captivated fans young and old over the years. Some may be fake, like the infamous one Go for a Punch/Saki Sanobashiwhile others were rediscovered, such as curiosities: Super Mario’s Road Safety. These examples are still lost, and some may not have been completed to begin with. Nevertheless, they remain some of the most sought after anime out there.
8/8 Akihabara @Deep
Based on the 2004 novel by Ira Ishida, Akihabara @Deep followed a group of outcasts as they tried to create a new AI-powered search engine to “solve” problems around Tokyo’s Akihabara district. This interests the Digital Capital Corporation, who want their technology for themselves.
It’s gotten a few adaptations over the years, from the noticeably lighter 2005 manga, the darker 2006 movie, and a TV drama that’s somewhere in between. It would be adapted into a CG anime by Nickelodeon and Polygon Pictures and redesigned to attract children. No one knows how far it went into production before it was discontinued and ported to another unfinished version by Radar Productions. In any case, the art stills of character designer Ippei Gyōbu can still be seen.
7/8 Crayon Shin-chan Episode 93
Colored Pencil Shin-Chano is a TV staple in Japan. The anime series is based on the manga by the late Yoshito Usui and has been running since 1992. It is about a little boy named Shinnosuke ‘Shin’ Nohara and his family and friends. While it does contain a few adult jokes here and there, the show is for all ages. But episode 93 was meant to be for no one, as it hasn’t been shown since its original broadcast in 1994.
It was never released on home video or streaming websites. The episode was also not dubbed in any language. However, according to the Spanish website ShinChaneros.net, the episode was finally discovered… but only the first of the 3 segments was made public on YouTube. No one knows for sure why the episode was locked up, but fans’ best guess was that the third segment was promoting Shin-chan’s 1994 film. Treasures of the Buri-Buri Kingdom would have been considered ‘obsolete’ after the film’s release.
6/8 Doozy Bots
Saban is animated Sailor Moon pilot was perhaps the most infamous western adaptation of an anime that went missing, until it was completely rediscovered by YouTuber Raven ‘Ray Mona’ Simone. The strange mix of animation and live action probably wouldn’t have caught on if it was televised. But as a secret pilot, it’s a fascinating look at what could have been.
that late Doozy Bots as the next questionable holy grail to find. It would be a western adaptation of SD Gundam by Sunrise Productions, where five attitude teens put their minds inside Professor Doozy’s robots and defend the world. It was supposed to have been released in 1991, but has disappeared without a trace. Some of it was used for the Superior Defender Gundam Force series, but otherwise there is only a low quality trailer.
5/8 Ghost Stories: “Am I Beautiful? Kuchisake-Onna”
Fans may recognize ghost stories like the horror series where a bunch of kids go up against another ghostly creature of the week. Or because of the insane English dub by ADV Films that added jokes and weird character traits, such as secondary lead role Momoko who is a hardcore Christian. However, they were unable to work with the 3rd episode of the show. It would be about main character Satsuki and friends encountering the Kuchisake-Onna, ‘The Slit-Mouthed Woman’.
She was a famous urban legend who killed passers-by or cut their mouths depending on how they answered her question, “Am I beautiful?” The episode was advertised, but it was never shown, dubbed or released on DVD. The reason generally given was that parents complained that it attacked people with cleft palate and lip disorders. The episode’s script was released online, along with some concept art by the Kuchisake-Onna himself.
doraemon makes Colored Pencil Shin-Chano look niche by comparison. The late Fujiko F.Fujio’s manga about the titular time-traveling robotic cat has inspired a wide variety of media since its 1969 debut. Some of them have disappeared. The first adaptation of the anime series in 1973 disappeared after the studio, Nippon TeleMovie Productions, went bankrupt. It was briefly rebroadcast in 1981, but was taken off TV to avoid disputing the newer Shin-Ei Animation version.
There were also a few short films that have hit the airwaves. Ken-chan’s adventure was made for the International Year of the Disabled in 1981. It was about Doraemon and Nobita helping a disabled boy named Ken catch butterflies. It was on TV once and then never again. An exciting solar car was made for cinemas in 1992 and was about Doraemon racing characters from Q-Taro and permanent. 1983 Taiwanese bootleg shorts Doraemon: Robot Warhad the robotic cat try to save Nobita from an evil scientist and his own mechanized menace.
3/8 Fist Of The North Star Uncensored
When Buronson and Tetsuo Hara’s hyper-violent tribute to Bruce Lee and… Mad Max got a film adaptation in 1986, fans were thrilled. It would have been less restrained compared to its TV counterpart. Sure, the plot was trimmed down more to fit in within 90 minutes or so. But the blood and gore would be back… and covered in funky ’80s VHS effects. The movie is still a creepy watch, though the bloodiest scenes now look like a serial killer’s music video.
However, it was not always so. The movie’s trailers showed snippets of those scenes without the effects. An old Italian VHS release actually contained a few uncensored clips. They suggest that some master tapes of the film were available without the neon fade. If these came out in the wild, people would be able to see what a truly uncensored version of Fist of the North Star would look like at its peak.
2/8 Empress Chung
For most of the world, the Korean War ended in 1953. But technically it still continues as North and South Korea are still in conflict with each other. Hence, the land and sea borders between the two nations are so guarded. But that doesn’t mean the two countries haven’t been able to work together. South Korean AKOM teamed up with North Korean SEK Studio to create a full-length animated film.
Empress Chung was an adaptation of a famous Korean fairy tale. In it, a princess must take drastic measures to save her father’s eyesight. It received critical acclaim in Korea upon its release in 2005. But box office receipts were weak, which may be why it never got a DVD release. The only traces it has left are a few trailers, screenshots and children’s books, although there are rumors that it has gotten a DVD release in North Korea.
1/8 Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Phantom Blood
Before the adaptation of the TV series in 2012, APPP Co., LTD produced an OVA series based on part 3 of: Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure. It was cut more short than the manga, but it kept the biggest moments of the part, including the final fight against Dio and The World. The company continued its cult success by making an adaptation of Phantom bloodJojo’s first part.
The film came out in theaters in 2007 and then disappeared. No home release, no follow-up, nothing. No one knows for sure why it disappeared. When asked about it in 2022, the director of the film simply said, “I don’t want you to see me angry and p*****, so it’s better if I don’t answer this question.” Fans can find trailers and a sound test animation for it on YouTube, but the full movie remains in limbo.
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