Bob Kuwahara's 1960 short, "House of Hashimoto", may seem to be the debut of Hashimoto-san, but the character had bowed a year earlier.
Hashimoto (John Myhers) reunites with old American friend who's now a reporter, and the tale he spins leads to a predictable ending.
What strikes me as odd is that Terrytoons never considered the prospect of Hashimoto meeting Mighty Mouse, which would've boosted the former's profile, even in later years.
Rating: A-.
2 comments:
Eh, I don't think Hashimoto would play very well in the modern era; he might've been seen as racially insensitive (or at the very least stereotypical) by some. Note how just 4 years later kids' beverage Funny Face was forced to change 2 of its' mascot characters, Chinese Cherry and Injun Orange, to Choo-Choo Cherry and Jolly Olly Orange after catching some flak from their respective ethnic groups.
That quick?
Oh, I actually think that if CBS-Viacom were to revive & reboot Hashimoto in a politically correct modern society, considering he was a judo instructor, he would speak perfect English. Ralph Bakshi was one of the artists on this short, and could've used Hashimoto in '87......
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