Hakushon Daimaō (also known as
The Genie Family) is an old comedy anime made by
Tatsunoko Productions (known in the west for
Speed Racer). It ran from October 5, 1969, to September 27, 1970, and it lasted 52 episodes.
It tells the story about a modern-day Japanese boy called Kan-chan who finds an ancient bottle that contains a genie (the titular Hakushon Daimaō) who is brought out and grants a wish to everyone who sneezes nearby. Unfortunately, Daimaō is very dopey, and combined with Kan-chan's occasional selfishness,
Hilarity Ensues. Yup, for once, it does
actually ensue.
It got an English dub by
Saban called
Bob in a Bottle, but unfortunately it never caught on, and this series is now incredibly obscure in the West. It's still very popular in Japan, though. Another English dub was made, but aired on
Cartoon Network's Asian feed in the late 90's.
The main character appeared in the Japanese version of
Tatsunoko Vs Capcom, but unfortunately, he had to be removed from the international version due to licensing issues.
This show provides examples of:
- A Boy and His Wish-Granting Sneeze Genie
- Bratty Half-Pint: Daimaō's daughter Akubi, who lives with her father in the bottle.
- The Ditz: Daimaō.
- Fat Idiot: Also Daimaō.
- Gag Series: Ostensibly.
- Genie in a Bottle
- Hey, It's That Voice!: Kan-chan was voiced by Sazae-san (Midori Kato).
- Speaking of which, Sazae's son, Tara-chan, voiced Akubi.
- Jerkass: The bulldog that loves to pick on Kan-chan.
- Literal Genie: Daimaō is this sometimes, but other times he just outright messes up.
- Spin-Off: Akubi got two, one in 2001 and the other one in 2006, called Yobarete, Tobidete! Akubi-chan and Akubi Girl respectively, they both had remarkably similar premises about Akubi brefiending a young girl, though the second had a romantic subplot the first one didn't have.
- Sudden Downer Ending | Drama Bomb Finale: Daimaō and Akubi are forced to leave the earth for 100 years.
- Trademark Favorite Food: Daimaō loves Salisbury steak.
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