The Green Cat

The Green Cat (緑の猫) is the first anime episode in the Lion Books series. It was the anime industry's first attempt at releasing an OVA through famous director Osamu Tezuka.

Concept
The original concept was to make 26 new anime episodes and canvass them for sale without any broadcast contract with TV stations. "The Green Cat" is regarded as the first attempt to produce an Original Video Animation release on October 1, 1983. If the episode was finished independently on October 1, 1983 with no other episodes to follow in production, it very well could have been qualified as the first anime OVA. Because there is uncertainty as to whether the VHS was actually available for sale at the production end date, Dallos is credited to be the first official OVA released by the industry. The Green Cat is known to be screened in the "4th Tezuka Osamu Fan Club Meeting" on October 10, 1983

Story
The story is a mystery about a green cat and a private detective who investigates where it came from. The cat was thought to be good luck, but eventually brought misfortune to all those who come in contact. The story was taken directly from the 5th subtitle of the 1950s Lion Books manga.

DVD
It was re-released as a DVD on March 21, 2003 on the same disk as Rain Boy.

Staff
Director: Osamu Tezuka

Screenplay: Hiroshi Nishimura

Music: Reijiro Koroku

Art director: Seiji Miyamoto

Animation director: Hiroshi Nishimura