Ulysses 31

In a futuristic retelling of Homeric legend, Ulysses 31 sends its hero and a small band of survivors across a strange, star-scattered universe after he angers the old gods. Stripped of an easy route home, Ulysses must keep his crew safe while confronting divine trials, bizarre civilizations, and the moral cost of defying beings who still behave like capricious deities. The series blends episodic encounters with an ongoing goal, so each strange planet brings new challenges, allies, and setbacks, while the captain holds onto the hope of returning to his family and restoring what was lost.

First aired in 1981, Ulysses 31 was a French-Japanese coproduction created by Jean Chalopin, Yoshitake Suzuki, and Nina Wolmark, and directed by Kazuo Terada, Tadao Nagahama, Bernard Deyriès, and Kyosuke Mikuriya. Its international broadcast helped it reach kids across Europe and beyond.

The show left a lasting mark on viewers who grew up in the 1980s, remembered for its unusual mashup of classical myth and space opera. Iconic visuals, striking creature designs, and a tone that didn't shy away from sorrow made it stand out among Saturday morning cartoons, and it still turns up in retrospectives and fan discussions about influential animation from that era.

Critics and fans tend to praise the series for taking mature emotional beats seriously while remaining accessible to younger audiences, reflected in a solid user rating around 8.0 out of 10. Recurring themes include fate versus free will, the consequences of pride, and the responsibilities of leadership, all framed by imaginative science fiction trappings rather than strict historical retelling.

Ulysses 31 didn't dominate major international award ceremonies, but it has enjoyed continued recognition at animation festivals and in academic or fan studies of TV anime and European animation. Its reputation has grown over time, securing the show a steady place in lists of memorable 1980s animated series and inspiring occasional homages in later genre work.