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Genshi Shonen Ryu, or Ryu, the cave boy (原始少年リュウ Genshi shōnen Ryū) is the animated adaptation of Ryu no Michi that was produced by Toei Animation, it was broadcasted between 1971 to 1972 and consisted a total of 22 episodes. Shotaro Ishinomori was not satisfied with the omission of the science-fiction elements in the anime and later created his own manga adaptation of the story.

Description[]

Set in primitive times, a baby with white skin is born into the world. As his skin color is different from the rest of the children around him, the baby is immediately disliked and alienated from the others. Deserted and left on his own, the baby is eventually picked up by an ape called Kitty and raised him as her child. The baby, Ryu, grows up to be a good man but at this moment, his adoptive mother is attacked and killed by the infamous dinosaur, Tyranno. In order to defeat Tyranno and also find his real mother, Ryu decides to set off on his own journey. In the midst of his travels, he meets the siblings Ran and Don. With his new-found companions, Ryu begins his battle against hardships and obstacles.

[1] [2]

Episodes[]

Ep# Title card Title Airdate
1 Ryu ep1 title "Primitive Law" October 30, 1971
Time is primitive. Baby Ryu, sacrificed to the dinosaur Tyranno, was rescued by a female ape, Kitty, and was raised as her child. Several years later, Ryu, who has grown into a young boy, meets Ran, a girl from the Otsuno tribe. Ryu heads for the Otsuno's territory to collect herbs to treat Kitty's injuries, but the people of the clan are hostile towards Ryu. Tyranno appears again there. Ran saves Ryu in a difficult situation...
2 Ryu ep2 title "Terror of the Tyranno" November 6, 1971
Kitty is killed by Tyranno, but Ryu discovers that his real mother is still alive somewhere. He travels with Ran to search for his mother, aiming for a village where her younger brother, Don, is. However, the place where they arrived was also destroyed by Tyranno. Ryu takes a cold attitude when he finds a dying old woman.
3 Ryu ep3 title "Taka's Revenge" November 13, 1971
Ryu is separated from Ran because of the Sumekari tribe. Ryu found a place where Ran is being held, but Sumekari's powerful warrior, Taka, wants Ran to be his woman. Moreover, he harbors deep hatred towards Ryu for some reason. However, the elder acknowledges Ryu's courage for singlehandedly fought against the Devilhorn and proposes to join him.
4 Ryu ep4 title "Pursuit full of Wounds" November 20, 1971
Ryu and Ran run away from Taka while gasping in the sunshine. The two meet a man named Kiba in the mountains. He also said that Tyranno had wiped out his tribe, including his son Kumao and his wife, Onami. Kiba, who succeeded in stabbing Tyranno's right eye two years ago, was hiding in this mountain where Tyranno was, in order to defeat his nemesis.
5 Ryu ep5 title "The Yamaneko Tribe's Conspiracy" November 27, 1971
Ryu and Ran hid themselves in a ravine to escape Taka. Meanwhile, Taka meets an old man while out hunting and conspires with him to catch Ryu. Elsewhere, Ran and Ryu fall unconscious due to exhaustion, but were saved by Toco, a little girl from the Yamaneko tribe. The head of the tribe, Toco's father, turns out to be the old man Taka had met.
6 Ryu ep6 title "Fight for the Hunting Grounds" December 4, 1971
The Kasta tribe saves Ryu and Ran who were attacked by a carnivorous plant in a dense forest. The Kasta were chased away by the Warugi tribe and fled to the cave. In order to recapture their hunting grounds, the Kasta's chieftain, Milos, decides to engage in war with the Warugi. Meanwhile, the Warugi tribe feeds the lost Taka and adds him to their forces. At the hunting ground that crosses the hill of sunrise, both tribes finally collide.
7 Ryu ep7 title "The Bloody Hero" December 11, 1971
Now that Don has been found, Ryu is hesitant to involve the two siblings in his journey to find his mother. Ryu trains Don to wield the bow and arrow so that he can protect Ran even if they were to part ways. However, Ran encounters Tyrano in the forest. As Ryu fights back to protect her, Tyrano is repulsed by Kiba's help. Ryu rushes out to defeat the injured Tyranno, but...
8 Ryu ep8 title "Fated Encounter" December 18, 1971
Ran is abducted by two men who know Taka. Kiba was the one who saved her. Kiba tells Ran about his past. When he was a boy in the Anaguma Tribe, he was about to be given away to the Orgone Tribe in exchange for food, instead his younger brother was offered as a substitute. Since then, he has been suffering from remorse.
9 Ryu ep9 title "Devil Stone" December 25, 1971
Ryu and his friends arrive to the cold region and found an injured man, Amra. His younger brother, Goro, holds the burning "stone of God" and seizes the heart of the Alara tribe. It is said that he dragged Amra from the position of the chieftain and appointed his wife, Messa, to be the new chieftain. When Ryu heard that Messa had imprisoned her own son, Ben, he has doubts about "a mother's love."
10 Ryu ep10 title "Giant in the Blizzard" January 1, 1972
TBA
11 Ryu ep11 title "Wrath of the Mountain God" January 8, 1972
TBA
12 Ryu ep12 title "Training of Love" January 15, 1972
TBA
13 Ryu ep13 title "Fire Trap" January 22, 1972
TBA
14 Ryu ep14 title "A Warrior's Grave" January 29, 1972
TBA
15 Ryu ep15 title "The Mad Island" February 5, 1972
TBA
16 Ryu ep16 title "Human Beast" February 12, 1972
TBA
17 Ryu ep17 title "Screaming of the Cliff" February 19, 1972
TBA
18 Ryu ep18 title "Giant Elephants' Rampage" February 26, 1972
TBA
19 Ryu ep19 title "Barking Wolf" March 4, 1972
TBA
20 Ryu ep20 title "Slave Hunt" March 11, 1972
TBA
21 Ryu ep21 title "The Human Fang" March 18, 1972
TBA
22 Ryu ep22 title "Towards Tomorrow" March 25, 1972
TBA

In other countries[]

In Italy the anime was shown on television in 1979 and in France in 1989. The series was brought to Finland and Sweden in the 80s, almost at the same time as other classic anime series such as Silver Fang, Candy Candy, Sandybell, Grand Prix and Starzinger.

Alternate titles[]

  • Chłopiec z Parku Jurajskiego (Polish)
  • Huledrengen Rai (Danish)
  • Jaskiniowy chłopiec (Polish)
  • Nolan, enfant des cavernes (French)
  • Rai (Polish)
  • Rai Grottpojken (Swedish)
  • Rai-luolapoika (Finnish)
  • Ryu the Primitive Boy
  • Rai, a dzsungel fia (Hungarian)
  • Ryu, il ragazzo delle caverne (Italian)
  • 원시소년 돌치 (Korean)
  • Tao, el cavernícola (Spanish)
  • ڕیو، کوڕی ئەشکەوت (Kurdish)

Staff[]

  • Series Director: Masayuki Akehi
  • Episode Director: Masayuki Akehi, Osamu Kasai, Takashi Hisaoka (eps 7, 14, 21), Takeshi Tamiya, Tokiji Kaburaki, Yoshikata Nitta, Yoshio Takami
  • Planning: Kenji Yokoyama
  • Script: Hiroichi Fuse, Hirokazu Fuse, Kuniaki Oshikawa, Norimasa Mayumi, Tadashi Kintoo, Tadashi Kondô, Toyohiro Andō
  • Character Designer: Kazuo Komatsubara
  • Art Director: Mataharu Urata
  • Background Art: Geki Katsumata, Isamu Tsuchida, Kōji Itō, Makoto Yamazaki, Saburo Yokoi, Tadanao Tsuji
  • Animation Director: Eiji Tanaka, Hiroshi Wagatsuma, Kazuo Komatsubara, Manshū Fujiwara, Mataji Urata (OP,ED), Shingo Araki, Toshio Mori, Yoshiyuki Kumao
  • Music: Takeo Watanabe

Soundtrack[]

Opening theme[]

  • "Genshi Shonen Ryu ga Iku" (原始少年リュウが行く)
    • Lyrics: Shotaro Ishinomori
    • Composer: Jun Oshio
    • Vocals: Ichiro Mizuki

Ending theme[]

  • "Ran no Uta" (ランのうた)
    • Lyrics: Shotaro Ishinomori
    • Composer: Jun Oshio
    • Vocals: Mitsuko Horie

External links[]

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