Trivia / Unico

• Adaptation First: Outside of Japan, the animated films were released before the manga gained an English translation. The manga eventually gained an official English translation a few decades later.
• Celebrity Voice Actor:
  • In Mexico, Unico was voiced by Aracely Arámbula in the 2000 animated short Saving Our Fragile Earth. While Verónica Castro voiced the title character for both animated films. While Rocío Banquells voiced Unico in Unico: Black Cloud and White Feather.
  • In the 1979 pilot, Unico: Black Cloud and White Feather, Unico was voiced by male former child actor, Hiroya Oka and he remains the only male actor to have voiced him.
• Children Voicing Children: In the 1979 pilot Unico Black Cloud and White Feather, Unico was voiced by Hiroya Oka who was a Japanese child actor at the time of its release.
• Cross-Dressing Voices: Unico was voiced by women in almost all animated appearances (notably Barbara Goodson, Katsue Miwa and Verónica Castro), the one exception was in Unico's first animated appearance Unico: Black Cloud and White Feather where he was voiced by male child actor, Hiroya Oka.
• Descended Creator: In the 2005 anime short Dr. Pinoko's Forest Adventures where Unico is a secondary protagonist. Rumiko Tezuka (Osamu Tezuka's oldest daughter) provided the voice of Unico for the short.
• Keep Circulating the Tapes: While copies of the Spanish dub for The Fantastic Adventures of Unico and Unico in the Island of Magic aren't that difficult to find online. The 1980 Spanish dub of Unico: Black Cloud and White Feather with Rocío Banquells voicing the titular character alongside the 2000 Spanish dub of Saving Our Fragile Earth aren't so lucky.
• Late Export for You:
  • The manga didn't receive an official translation to some international regions (notably the United States and Canada) until the 2010s. Almost 40 years since the original manga's run from 1976 till 1979.
  • France was able to get an official translation of the series in 2005, 29 years after the original manga's Japanese release.
  • Italy got an official translation of the manga only in 2020, 44 years after its Japanese release.
  • Vietnam translated the manga in 1995 (in black and white format), 19 years after its original Japanese release.
• Market-Based Title: While the series is known as "Unico" in all international languages. In some Spanish speaking countries, the series is known as "Único el pequeño unicornio" (loosely translating to "Unique the Small Unicorn" or "Unique the Little Unicorn") with the titular character's name changed to "Unique". This name would be used for the Spanish version of The Fantastic Adventures of Unico.
• No Export for You:
  • While the animated films starring the protagonist were able to gain an international release. The 1979 animated short Unico: Black Cloud and White Feather was bundled with the English DVD release of the second movie as an extra. However, the 2000 short Saving Our Fragile Earth: Unico Special Chapter never left Japan. However Unico: Black Cloud White Feather and ''Saving Our Fragile Earth" were able to gain Spanish dubs and were brought over to Spain and Mexico.
  • On the flip side, the original manga managed to get translated in France and Vietnam, but the movies (and two animated shorts) never gained an official dub outside of America (films only) and Spanish-speaking countries (which gained all Unico animated works). The exception is Germany where it only dubbed the first movie, while Italy had to wait 39 years to dub the sequel film.
• The Other Darrin:
  • In Japan and Mexico, Unico has been voiced by four (three in Mexico and Spain) different voice actors. While his English and Japanese voice actress for The Fantastic Adventures of Unico managed to reprise their roles for the 1983 sequel.
  • Due to the 36 year gap between the original 1986 Italian dub for The Fantastic Adventures of Unico. The original Italian voice actors for Unico and The West Wind were both replaced for the 2022 Italian dub of the sequel.
• Outlived Its Creator: With news of an upcoming re-telling of the manga series titled Unico: Awakening, this will mark the first time any Unico Manga has been adapted without Tezuka's involvement. Prior to that, the 2000 short Saving our Fragile Earth: Unico Special Chapter was the very first time the series got a new adaption after his passing 19 years prior.
• Reality Subtext:
  • Osamu Tezuka first designed Unico◊ during a trip to Los Angeles, California on June 1976, while the manga begun publication on Lyrica during November of that same year.◊ A central theme in the manga is the importance of empathy, compassion, kindness, and love. At the same time, The Vietnam War ended which quickly became a hot topic with the general public (especially in the United States) along with the conclusion of The '60s, which was a decade that was notably violent and cynical. The manga was also written during a darker period in Tezuka's life, with Unico being written the exact same time as his MW manga.
  • "The Cat on the Broomstick" chapter was inspired from a brief period when Tezuka was hospitalized in 1977, causing the manga to enter hiatus on Sanrio's Lyrica magazine. The chapter features Unico alongside Chao/Chow befriending an unnamed old lady (referred as "The Old Lady", "Old Beggar Women" and "Granny") who's homeless, fragile, and losing her memories. The chapter ends with Unico using his powers to secretly heal Granny from the illness which she almost succumbed to. Other emotional and heartfelt moments between Unico and Chao were also influenced by Tezuka's mostly unpleasant hospital experiences, particularly when Chao cries into Unico's arms as the little unicorn reassures her by saying "Don't cry, at least you aren't dead".
  • The scene in "The Tale of the Fangs of Athens" chapter where Unico witnesses Piro's mother dying, gently breaks the news to Piro/Marusu of his mother's death, and consoles Piro as he's mourning her death◊ was influenced by witnessing his wife and children being very concerned with his health, while his two children feared that he might die.
• Uncredited Role: In the English dub, Barbara Goodson provided the voice of Unico in both films but was uncredited since the credits for both movies only credited the Japanese voice actors. Unico, alongside Ringing Bell (as Chirin), was Goodson's earliest voice acting role.
• Urban Legend: A persistent rumor in some circles is that Muppet performer Karen Prell voiced Unico in the English dub. She quickly debunked that rumor. In actuality, it may have been Barbara Goodson, who voiced Prell's Fraggle Rock character Red in the Animated Adaptation of that series, who voiced Unico. Goodson later confirmed that she voiced the character at numerous convention appearances.
• What Could Have Been:
  • Unico's original design from June 1976 was completely different from his future appearances. His fur was completely grey (with the exception of his chest and face), had a tiny patch of pink hair around his horn, and his hooves were pink instead of brown. When the manga was first published in November 1976, the white fur on his face was slowly shrinking before remaining on his mouth for the first couple of issues◊. Once the movies arrives, Unico was given a minor redesign which remained his default appearance even after Tezuka's passing in Feburary 1989.
  • The 1979 anime Unico: Black Cloud and White Feather (Unico's animation debut) was intended as a pilot for a potential anime starring the character. However the short was never picked up resulting in two movies by Sanrio.
  • A third movie was planned and would have featured the Night Wind, an Evil Counterpart to the West Wind briefly seen in the first movie.

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