Hustle Punch (ハッスルパンチ , Hassuru Panchi) is a Japanese adventure anime series created by Yasuji Mori and produced by Toei Animation. Its 26 episodes were aired on November 1, 1965, to April 25, 1966, on TV Asahi.
Hayao Miyazaki and Yasuo Ōtsuka are credited in this series as animators, while Isao Takahata directed the series' opening.
Plot[]
The plot involves the adventures of three friends, Punch (a bear), Touch (a mouse), and Bun (a weasel), who all live in a scrapyard by themselves. Each episode has the three main characters stop the evil plans of Professor Garigari, a wolf who wants to build his own city over their hometown, including the scrapyard.
Characters[]
- Punch (パンチ)
- Nobuyo Ōyama (Japanese)
- The titular main character. Punch is an orphan bear who is literally hard-headed, making it impossible for him to be hit on the head, much to his advantage. Punch also uses his head to break holes in walls, having to just run into the wall with his head in front and smash through. He may be the oldest of the trio as he is capable of driving a car and even an airplane (though it might attribute more to his size than age since he's also the tallest).
- Touch (タッチ)
- Yoko Mizugaki (Japanese)
- A mouse who is really into fashion and jewelry. Because of her small size, she often sneaks in and out through small spaces, usually to help out Punch and Bun. She even uses her cute charms to get Nu to help her out, mostly whenever she is in Garigari's clutches.
- Bun (ブン)
- Chiharu Kuri (Japanese)
- A weasel who uses a slingshot as a weapon, and is an expert shot. In the English-sub, he is identified as "Boom".
- Professor Garigari/Garigari Hakase (ガリガリ博士)
- Jōji Yanami (Japanese)
- The main antagonist. A wolf. He is a professional inventor who uses his devices to commit crimes such as robbing banks or making counterfeit money. His main goal is to wipe out the city in order to make his own town in honor of his ancestors. He first plans on getting rid of the scrapyard where Punch, Touch, and Bun live, which is why the kids make sure his plans always fail.
- Professor Garigari would later reappear a decade later as an antagonist in Toei's third Puss in Boots movie; 長靴をはいた猫 80日間世界一周 Nagagutsu o Haita Neko: Hachijū Nichi-kan Sekaiisshū (Puss in Boots: Around The World in 80 Days) released in 1976.
- Black (ブラック)
- Hiroshi Ōtake (Japanese)
- A black cat who is one of Garigari's henchmen. He often carries around a pistol to threaten the orphans, but he always misses his targets due to his poor shooting skills. This often leads to Bun teasing him, which annoys him.
- While Black is very boastful and self-confident, when Garigari is around, he is easily frightened.
- Nu (ヌー)
- Takuzou Kamiyama (Japanese)
- Garigari's other henchmen who is a dimwitted pig. While Nu respects Black and follows Garigari's orders out of fear, sometimes he shows a soft side towards the orphans, especially Touch, who often flatters him into doing something for her and her friends.
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