is a Japanese

anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

series based on

Arthurian legend The Matter of Britain (; ; ; ) is the body of medieval literature and legendary material associated with Great Britain and Brittany and the legendary kings and heroes associated with it, particularly King Arthur. The 12th-century writer Geoffr ...

. Produced by

Toei Animation is a Japanese animation studio primarily controlled by its namesake Toei Company. It has produced numerous series, including '' Sally the Witch'', '' GeGeGe no Kitarō'', '' Mazinger Z'', '' Galaxy Express 999'', '' Cutie Honey'', '' Dr. Slu ...

, the series consists of 30 half-hour episodes released between September 9, 1979 and March 3, 1980. The series achieved great popularity in its non-English translations. The series tells the story of

King Arthur According to legends, King Arthur (; ; ; ) was a king of Great Britain, Britain. He is a folk hero and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In Wales, Welsh sources, Arthur is portrayed as a le ...

and the

Knights of the Round Table The Knights of the Round Table (, , ) are the legendary knights of the fellowship of King Arthur that first appeared in the Matter of Britain literature in the mid-12th century. The Knights are a chivalric order dedicated to ensuring the peace ...

, featuring 'Arthurian' characters such as

Lancelot Lancelot du Lac (French for Lancelot of the Lake), alternatively written as Launcelot and other variants, is a popular character in the Matter of Britain, Arthurian legend's chivalric romance tradition. He is typically depicted as King Arthu ...

Guinevere Guinevere ( ; ; , ), also often written in Modern English as Guenevere or Guenever, was, according to Arthurian legend, an early-medieval queen of Great Britain and the wife of King Arthur. First mentioned in literature in the early 12th cen ...

Tristan Tristan (Latin/ Brythonic: ''Drustanus''; ; ), also known as Tristran or Tristram and similar names, is the folk hero of the legend of Tristan and Iseult. While escorting the Irish princess Iseult to wed Tristan's uncle, King Mark of ...

Percival Perceval (, also written Percival, Parzival, Parsifal), alternatively called Peredur (), is a figure in the legend of King Arthur, often appearing as one of the Knights of the Round Table. First mentioned by the French author Chrétien de Tr ...

Merlin The Multi-Element Radio Linked Interferometer Network (MERLIN) is an interferometer array of radio telescopes spread across England. The array is run from Jodrell Bank Observatory in Cheshire by the University of Manchester on behalf of UK Re ...

Uther Pendragon Uther Pendragon ( ; the Brittonic languages, Brittonic name; , or ), also known as King Uther (or Uter), was a List of legendary kings of Britain, legendary King of the Britons and father of King Arthur. A few minor references to Uther appe ...

, and

Igraine In the Matter of Britain, Igraine () is the mother of King Arthur. Igraine is also known in Latin as Igerna, in Welsh as Eigr (Middle Welsh Eigyr), in French as Ygraine (Old French Ygerne or Igerne), in ''Le Morte d'Arthur'' as Ygrayne—ofte ...

and other familiar elements of Arthurian lore, including the castle

Camelot Camelot is a legendary castle and Royal court, court associated with King Arthur. Absent in the early Arthurian material, Camelot first appeared in 12th-century French romances and, since the Lancelot-Grail cycle, eventually came to be described ...

and Arthurian relics such as

Excalibur Excalibur is the mythical sword of King Arthur that may possess magical powers or be associated with the rightful sovereignty of Britain. Its first reliably datable appearance is found in Geoffrey of Monmouth's ''Historia Regum Britanniae''. E ...

. The series is not entirely faithful to the original legends since it adds new characters and stories which make the plot less brutal. The second season had an even lighter tone.

Plot

When Prince Arthur is a baby, his father, King Uther Pendragon, rules Camelot. ''Lavik'', another king who wishes to conquer Camelot, attacks the castle. Arthur is saved by Merlin who sends him to a knight for safekeeping. For many years, this knight raises Arthur as his own son. At the age of 15, Arthur attends a tournament with his foster father. At the tournament, he finds that he is able to pull the sword

from a stone. This action proves Arthur is the legitimate king of

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. As a result, Arthur's foster father reveals the truth of his royal lineage. King Arthur and his subjects decide to fight against the evil King Lavik, who is aided by the witch Medessa.

Characters

Akira Kamiya is a Japanese voice actor. He played several notable roles in Japanese manga and anime television series, including Kenshiro in ''Fist of the North Star'', Ryo Saeba in '' City Hunter'', Shutaro Mendo in ''Urusei Yatsura'' and Kogoro Mori (fir ...

Keiko Han is a Japanese actress and voice actress. She sang the theme songs in productions, such as '' Story of the Alps: My Annette'' and '' The Swiss Family Robinson: Flone of the Mysterious Island''. She is a fortune teller of western horoscopes. She ...

Hideyuki Tanaka is a Japanese actor, voice actor and narrator from Tokyo who is attached to Aoni Production. He is a graduate of the Toho Gakuen School of Music. He is most known for his roles in ''One Piece'' (as Donquixote Doflamingo), '' Dokaben'' (as Tarou ...

Sir Kay In Arthurian legend, Kay (, Middle Welsh ''Kei'' or ''Cei''; ; French: ''Keu''; Old French: ''Kès'' or ''Kex'') is King Arthur's foster brother and later seneschal, as well as one of the first Knights of the Round Table. In later literature h ...

Makio Inoue was a Japanese actor and voice actor. He is most noted for his two longstanding roles, as the title character in Captain Harlock from 1978 through the 1980s and 1990s, and Goemon Ishikawa XIII of ''Lupin III'' from 1977 to 2011. Career Inou ...

* Satomi Majima as Phine * Michie Kita as

Galahad Galahad (), sometimes referred to as Galeas () or Galath (), among other versions of his name (originally ''Galaad'', ''Galaaz'', or ''Galaaus''), is a knight of King Arthur's Round Table and one of the three achievers of the Holy Grail in Ar ...

Tesshō Genda (sometimes credited as Tessyou Genda, Tetsuaki Genda, or Tetsusyo Genda) is a Japanese actor, voice actor and narrator. He is employed by the talent management firm 81 Produce. When he debuted, he used his real name, as artist name. Because h ...

Banjō Ginga , sometimes credited as his real name , is a Japanese actor, voice actor and narrator who was born in Kofu, Yamanashi. Ginga is affiliated with Aoni Production. He is married to voice actress Gara Takashima. Known for his deep baritone voice, ...

as Rubik/Lavik *

Daisuke Gōri was a Japanese actor, voice actor and narrator from Kōtō, Tokyo. Throughout his life, he was attached to TV Talent Center Tokyo, Yoshizawa Theatre School and then Mausu Promotion; he was attached to Aoni Production at the time of his dea ...

Kenji Utsumi was a Japanese actor and voice actor from Kitakyushu, affiliated with the self-founded Ken Production. He was best known for his roles in ''Sally the Witch (1966)'' (as Sally's Papa), ''Fist of the North Star'' (as Raoh and Kaioh), '' Dr. Sl ...

as Gastar *

Ichirō Nagai was a Japanese actor, voice actor and narrator from Ikeda, Osaka. He was previously affiliated with Tokyo Actor's Consumer's Cooperative Society, and was affiliated with Aoni Production at the time of his death. Career Nagai played ''GeGeGe no ...

Sir Ector Ector , sometimes Hector, Antor, or Ectorius, is the father of Kay and the adoptive father of King Arthur in the Matter of Britain. Sometimes portrayed as a king instead of merely a lord, he has an estate in the country as well as propertie ...

and Longinus *

Hidekatsu Shibata is a Japanese actor, voice actor and narrator from Asakusa, Tokyo who is affiliated with Aoni Production. He was a classmate of former prime minister Yasuo Fukuda at Azabu High School. Shibata is married to fellow voice actor Akiko Sekine. H ...

as Yuuzel * Yasuo Hisamatsu as

* Akiko Tsuboi as

* Kohei Miyauchi as Archbishop *

Masato Ibu Masato (written: , , , , , , , or ) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *Masato (kickboxer) (born 1979), Japanese former welterweight kickboxer, won K-1 WORLD MAX kickboxing tournament in 2003, 2008 * Masato ...

Leodegrance King Leodegrance , sometimes Leondegrance, Leodogran, or variations thereof, is the father of Queen Guinevere in Arthurian legend. His kingdom of Cameliard (or Carmelide) is usually identified with Cornwall but may be located in Breton Cornouai ...

Toshio Furukawa is a Japanese actor, voice actor and narrator affiliated with Aoni Production. He is married to fellow voice actress Shino Kakinuma. Career He became famous for his roles in his career as Kagege (''Sgt. Frog''), Kai Shiden (''Mobile Suit G ...

Pellinore King Pellinore (alternatively ''Pellinor'', ''Pellynore'' and other variants) is the king of Listenoise (possibly the Lake District) or of "the Isles" (possibly Anglesey, or perhaps the medieval kingdom of the same name) in Arthurian legend. ...

Uther Uther Pendragon ( ; the Brittonic name; , or ), also known as King Uther (or Uter), was a legendary King of the Britons and father of King Arthur. A few minor references to Uther appear in Old Welsh poems, but his biography was first writ ...

Production and release

Isao Sasaki is a Japanese actor, voice actor, and singer. Career Sasaki has had voice roles in anime such as ''Legend of the Galactic Heroes'', ''Space Battleship Yamato'', and ''Gatchaman''. He has also performed the opening themes for anime such as ''Y ...

and

Koorogi '73 were a Japanese backing vocals group best known for their contributions to the Super Robot series and Toei's Super Sentai and Kamen Rider Series. The group was disbanded after 1990. The Japanese word means "a cricket Cricket is a Ba ...

sang the opening theme "Kibou yo sore wa" and "Ou no Naka no Ou". The ending theme is performed by

Mitsuko Horie is a Japanese actress, Voice acting in Japan, voice actress and singer from Yamato, Kanagawa. She is known as the . Horie has voiced several characters throughout her career, such as Shadow Galactica#Sailor Galaxia, Sailor Galaxia in ''Sailor ...

and Koorogi '73. In the early 1980s, a

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

-dubbed version, titled ''Le Roi Arthur'', was released through Jacques Censtrier Productions. The first four episodes were released on VHS. In this version, all of the characters' names and the opening and closing theme songs were kept the same. An English dubbed version called ''King Arthur & the Knights of the Round Table'' was produced and distributed by ZIV International, Inc. in 1981.

Manga adaptation

The series was adapted into several comics published in ''Telebi Magazine'' (テレビマガジン), ''Terebi Land'' (テレビランド) and ''

Bōken Ō ''Bōken Ō'' (冒険王, "Adventure King") was a monthly magazine for youth published by Akita Shoten between 1949 and 1983. It was among the first generation of children's comic magazines after World War II in Japan and was initially focused o ...

''. The ''Bōken Ō'' adaptation was created by Satomi Mikuriya (御厨さと美) and "Mic Mac Production".A page from the Bouken-Oh comicization
(Japanese). The series was followed by '' King Arthur: Prince on White Horse'' in 1980.

List of episodes

References

External links

''King Arthur''
at

's English website * * {{Toei Animation, state=collapsed 1979 anime television series debuts 1980 anime television series debuts 1979 Japanese television series debuts 1980 Japanese television series endings Adventure anime and manga Television series based on Arthurian legend Toei Animation television Television series about kings