The Remaining ZIV International Albums - FOUND!
ZIV International released six record albums featuring some of their most prominent anime titles, all of which broadcasted in Japan during the 1970s. The titles that received the record treatment included: Angel (Hana no ko Lunlun), Captain Future, Captain Harlock, Little Lulu, and Fables of the Green Forest. Since their initial releases, all six albums have never been reissued.
 |
| Photo (No digital scans of this album yet…) |
Two of the remaining albums have finally surfaced online in 2022. The first title, “Angel,” seems to be the most highly sought-after out of all of them. The heightened interest of Angel and its ZIV International dub originates from Kenny Lauderdale, who formally uploaded short compilation clips on his main channel. Lauderdale uploaded a short 1-minute video called, “Release the Bees,” featuring the 3rd dubbed episode on December 18th, 2019, which reached almost a million views. [1] Since then, the original video has been taken down due to monetization issues, but was later reuploaded onto his second channel. The full intro was also uploaded to his second channel at one point. In my recollection, there were plenty of comments mentioning how good the theme song was.
For the longest time, the record could only be heard through a 2-minute amateur video recorded by YouTube user Rebobinando_el_Pasado. [2] In the comments section, you may notice that a number of people were itching to listen to the full album. At least some demand was evident in these comments.
The search for this particular album continued. On September 16, 2021, YouTube user kwiids uploaded a direct rip of the theme song, but not the rest of the album’s contents. In response to a comment by Johnny Three-Hats, Kwiids replied that he had “long since sold this record,” saving only one or two tracks. [3] This was a missed opportunity at the time, though it is unknown whether he sold the record before or after the renewed interest of Angel.
Finally, on June 5, 2022, YouTube user yaoiboi92 B-sides uploaded the entire album onto YouTube, albeit in two separate parts. It did not gain much notice until Kenny Lauderdale uploaded a wordless reaction meme on Twitter, July 6, 2022. [4] A few days later, I read the tweet and realized that the entire album was digitally ripped and uploaded in its entirety. As of this writing, the two parts only have a few hundred views each.
As for the album itself, the voice cast consists of different voices compared to the dub found on VHS. Although the ZIV dub and its album were both produced in 1980, the voice cast is not the same. Nevertheless, the BGM is fantastic overall. Hopefully, YouTube’s algorithm will recommend this album to more people, so that they can enjoy some funky tunes by Mark Mercury.
 |
| Digital Scan of the Peter Cottontail Album |
The other album that has been saved this year is the one featuring the characters of Fables of the Green Forest. Peter Cottontail’s Adventures is a compilation movie comprising several episodes of the series, similar to Italy’s 1981 film, The Incredible Adventures of Little Lulu.
The compilation movie received a home video release by Family Home Entertainment in 1981. [5] What is most peculiar is the selection of episodes. When ZIV International produced its English dub in 1978, the voice cast was changed in the middle of the series. Although the compilation movie simply uses the 1978 dub, the video editors disregarded the notion that the voice cast was not consistent. What we ended up with is a film that oddly “changes” its voice cast right in the middle of its runtime. It is hard not to notice this sudden switch.
The record album features none of the voice cast from the 1978 dub, opting to use a new cast instead. It is bizarre to hear different voices for the characters, considering that the Little Lulu album contains the original voice cast of its 1978 dub. Watching the compilation movie on VHS, followed by a listen of its album counterpart leaves confusing thoughts and unanswerable questions.
In regards to the theme song, the album only includes the initial recording (heard in opening credits on VHS) and not the alternative recording (heard in the ending credits). The alternative recording is a shortened version of the theme song, cutting out a few verses. Considering how lazy the home video release is, it is exceptional to see that ZIV International bothered to include an exclusive theme song dedicated to the compilation movie.
Compared to the 1978 theme song to the one in Peter’s Cottontail’s Adventures, I’m thankful that we got the Cottontail song on a record album over its actual theme song.
Sources:
1. Angel (found Ziv International English dub of "Lunlun the Flower Child" anime series; 1980)
2. Flower Angel - Ziv International LP (Uploaded by Rebobinando_el_Pasado)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wm4jkJ0LZ7A
3. Hal Winn & Mark Gibbons - Angel Theme Song (Uploaded by kwiids)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXP1Ldhh7MM
4. Kenny Lauderdale Tweet (7/6/2022)
https://twitter.com/KennyLauderdal3/status/1544886306169307137
5. 1981 Family Home Entertainment VHS Release
Comments
Post a Comment