Lion Books
Lion Books is a 1950s Japanese manga series by Osamu Tezuka. It was published by Shueisha in the Omoshiro Book as a supplement. The same company published Lion Books II in Weekly Shōnen Jump in the 1970s, which would commonly be referred to as The New Lion Books. The series was partially adapted into an experimental anime series in the 1980s and 1990s.
1950s manga series
There are no continuations or relations between any of the stories.| # | Name | Original Name | Released |
| 1 | The Next Human Beings | August 1956 | |
| 2 | The Black Space Ray | September 1956 | |
| 3 | Spaceport | Spaceport | October 1956 |
| 4 | Spaceport | Orion No. 137 | November 1956 |
| 5 | The Green Cat | December 1956 | |
| 6 | Earthquake Predicting Old Lady | Earth Theater 1 | January 1957 |
| 7 | Twin Murder | Earth Theater 2 | February 1957 |
| 8 | The Crazy Border | Earth Theater 3 | March 1957 |
| 9 | Multiple-Eyed Devil | Multiple-Eyed Devil: Part 1 | April 1957 |
| 10 | Multiple-Eyed Devil | Multiple-Eyed Devil: Part 2 | May 1957 |
| 11 | Skipper Skeleton | June 1957 | |
| 12 | Bullet Hole in the Wilderness | July 1957 |
1970s manga series
There are no continuations or relations between any of the stories.| # | Name | Original Name | Released |
| 1 | Adachi-ga Hara | March 22, 1971 | |
| 2 | Mirage | April 26, 1971 | |
| 3 | Serenade of Pig's Navel | May 24, 1971 | |
| 4 | The Closed Classroom | June 21, 1971 | |
| 5 | A Hundred Tales | Wandering | July 26, 1971 |
| 6 | A Hundred Tales | Osorezan | August 23, 1971 |
| 7 | A Hundred Tales | Gold | September 27, 1971 |
| 8 | A Hundred Tales | Usurpation | October 25, 1971 |
| 9 | Mosa, the Flying Squirrel | November 22, 1971 | |
| 10 | Collapse | December 27, 1971 | |
| 11 | The Moon and Wolves | January 17, 1972 | |
| 12 | Mother River | February 14, 1972 | |
| 13 | Mansion OBA | March 20, 1972 | |
| 14 | Color of Full-blown Flower in Spring | April 17, 1972 | |
| 15 | Mimigarasu | Mimigarasu | May 15, 1972 |
| 16 | Mimigarasu | Dendekoden | June 19, 1972 |
| 17 | Seven Men from Outer Space | July 17, 1972 | |
| 18 | The March Covered with Mud | August 14, 1972 | |
| 19 | Muse and Don | Muse and Don 1: Wicked | September 18, 1972 |
| 20 | Muse and Don | Muse and Don 2: Call of Field | October 16, 1972 |
| 21 | Muse and Don | Muse and Don 3: Timetable of Underground | November 20, 1972 |
| 22 | The Sweet Smell of Success | December 18, 1972 | |
| 23 | The Distant Planet | January 22, 1973 | |
| 24 | The Strange School | February 19, 1973 |
Anime adaptations
Two of the stories in the manga were adapted into an experimental anime series titled the Lion Books collection. The original concept was to make 26 new anime episodes and canvass them for sale without any broadcast contract with TV stations. The first adaptation came in 1983 using the story "The Green Cat". It is regarded as the first attempt to produce an original video animation release on October 10, 1983. If the episode was finished independently on October 10, 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.The second story "Adachi-ga Hara" was adapted in 1991, and became the only movie in the series to be released to theaters. Four other stories were filled in from non-manga sources. The series was re-released as a DVD on March 21, 2003. It is also available streaming service Viki. The five first episodes were directed by Osamu Tezuka himself, while the last, shown at a Hong Kong Film Festival, was the first anime directed by his son Makoto Tezuka;
| Story | Anime | Release |
| 1 | The Green Cat | 1983 |
| 2 | Rain Boy | 1983 |
| 3 | Lunn Flies into the Wind | 1985 |
| 4 | Yamataro Comes Back | 1986 |
| 5 | Adachi-ga Hara | 1991 |
| 6 | Akuemon | 1993 |