Superbook (スーパーブック), also known as Animated Parent and Child Theatre (アニメ 親子劇場), is a Japanese Christian anime television series from the early 1980s, initially produced at Tatsunoko Production and TV Tokyo in Japan in conjunction with the Christian Broadcasting Network in the United States. The series chronicled the events of the Bible's Old and New Testaments in its 52-episode run. The first 26 episodes aired from October 1, 1981, to March 25, 1982, followed by a second season called Superbook II: In Search for Ruffles and Return to the 20th Century (パソコントラベル探偵団) with 26 episodes from April 4 to September 26, 1983. Between both series in the first run was the companion series The Flying House.

Overview

Superbook (Anime Oyako Gekijo), begins at the home of a young boy named Christopher "Chris" Peeper, who discovers the ancient Bible named Superbook that can speak and send him, his friend Joy and his clockwork toy figure named Gizmo the Crusader Robot back in time during the events of the Old and New Testaments. The second series, Superbook II: In Search for Ruffles and Return to the 20th Century (Pasokon Travel Tanteidan), takes place two years after the first series, where Superbook falls onto a computer, giving anybody the ability to see into the past from Christopher's home via the monitor. Ruffles, his poodle, has managed to get lost in time, prompting Gizmo and Christopher's little brother (re-written as his cousin in the English dub), Uriah "Uri" Peeper, to search for Ruffles. While Chris and Joy keep watch and control of the computer from the present, Gizmo and Uri experience the stories from the Old Testament solely.

Cast and characters

Episodes

Season 1 (1981–1982)

Season 2 (1983)

VHS/DVD releases

Superbook Series I and Series II were released on various VHS volumes by Tyndale Entertainment. The entire series was available over 26 VHS Volumes. Superbook was released for the first time on DVD late 2005 to early 2006. The three DVD volumes features 4 episodes each from Series I.