Television series

Mirai Shounen Konan

Name: Mirai Shounen Konan
Genre: Comedy, Action, Adventure
Released: 1978
Cast: Noriko Ohara, Mieko Nobusawa, Kazuyo Aoki

Survival adventure

A 1978 Japanese adventure series following a resourceful boy searching a post-apocalyptic world for a kidnapped girl. Energetic, earnest, and gorgeously animated, it balances survival against odds with genuine heart. Perfect for anyone who loves old-school adventure that takes its emotional stakes seriously without ever becoming grim.

TVMaze rating

3.5

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you love an adventure with a warm, scrappy heart, where a lone kid's stubborn loyalty and a sea voyage carry more weight than any grand mythology.

Skip it if you want a tight, modern pace; this is a 1970s series with episodic detours and broad, sometimes creaky humor that can feel slow between its big set pieces.

What it asks of you: Twenty-six episodes of about twenty-five minutes each, best taken a few at a time rather than in one sitting, with patience for its slower, sillier stretches.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

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Warriors of the Wind1984

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Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Mirai Shounen Konan

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

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Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket poster

Magia Record: Puella Magi Madoka Magica Side Story2020

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Twelve episodes that deconstruct magical girl adventure by taking it seriously. Girls with impossible choices, a world that doesn't reward goodness, animation that shifts to mirror emotional truth. Astonishing.

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Moana2016

Both centre a young protagonist's solo journey across dangerous waters to rescue/save someone or something they love, driven by conscience rather than destiny.

A girl crosses an ocean alone to save her people, animated with joyful motion and colour. Modern, yes, but carrying the same earnest belief in adventure, courage, and a teenager saving their world through stubbornness.

But It's a Disney film, which means it has that studio's particular emotional architecture. The songs divide viewers sharply.