The Genie Family is an animetelevision series by Tatsunoko Production. A new anime television series by Tatsunoko Production and Nippon Animation started airing on ytv on April 11, 2020. It is a sequel series that takes place 50 years after the end of the original anime and centers on Akubi and Kantarō, the grandson of the original anime's protagonist. Atsushi Nigorikawa is directing the series, with Hiroko Kanasugi handling series composition, Shin Takemoto and Masatsune Noguchi designing the characters, and Takamitsu Shimazaki, Hiroshi Sasaki, and Teppei Shimizu composing the series' music. On May 24, 2020, it was announced that episode 8 and further episodes would be delayed to June 20 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Plot
An old bottle has found its way into the household of a modern family, which consists of a boy named Kan and his parents. A genie, Hakushon, and his daughter, Akubi, reside inside it. When Kan finds the bottle, he discovers that a sneeze summons Hakushon and he must grant the wish of whoever sneezed, while a yawn summons Akubi and she must do the same for whoever yawned. Getting wishes granted by either genie may not be a good thing, for Hakushon messes them up due to his own extreme clumsiness, while the more capable Akubi likes to cause mischief by twisting their words and meanings so that something bad happens.
Localization
The series was dubbed in English by Saban Entertainment in 1992 under the name Bob in a Bottle. A reggae-style theme song was composed for this version. Hakushon, Akubi and Kan were renamed "Bob", "Illana" and "Joey" respectively. Later, Bob in a Bottle was aired in Spanish, German, French, Swedish, Danish, and Hebrew. The English version did not air in the United States but it aired on Canada's YTV, Kenya's KTN, Australia's Seven Network in 1992, Zimbabwe's ZBC TV and New Zealand's TV2 in 1994. The motto for the English version is "Make everyday like paradise" and "You sneeze, I please, that's the way it goes". It was shown in Latin America under the name Yam Yam y el Genio, in Italy under the name "Il Mago Pancione Etcì" and in Arabic speaking countries as El Fatah Borhan.
The Hakushon Daimaō franchise made a comeback in the 2000s with two animated spinoff series produced by Tatsunoko and directed by Hiroshi Sasagawa, featuring Akubi as the central character and Hakushon as a supporting character.
Yobarete Tobedete! Akubi-chan
In Yobarete, Tobidete! Akubi-chan, Akubi befriends a shy young girl named Koron Nemuta, who habitually yawns whenever she is embarrassed, thus summoning Akubi forth from the bottle.
Akubi Girl
In 2006's Akubi Girl, Akubi befriends a first-grader named Ruru-chan and attempts to grant her wish of becoming close friends with Itoshi-kun, the boy on whom she has a secret crush.
Crossover
Pandora to Akubi, an anime film crossover between The Genie Family and Monster Strike was released on April 5, 2019.
Other appearances
A statue of Hakushon Daimaō can be seen in the first episode of the 2008 series of Yatterman.
Hakushon Daimaō is featured as a playable character in the Japan-exclusive fighting game ' in December 2008, though due to licensing issues, he was not featured in the second iteration, ', which was released internationally.
A brief reference to the series is made in the Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers episode "A Bad Reflection on You" in which clips from the English intro are shown on a miniature television. Bulk states that it is his favorite cartoon. Music from the show, accompanied by visuals of Around the World in 80 Dreams, also appeared at the end of the season 2 episode "The Power Stealer", where Skull enjoys watching.
