Unico

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.

Unico is a children's series of manga and anime films based on the character of Unico, a baby unicorn who was born with the very special gift of making all living creatures lighthearted and happy. Developed by Osamu Tezuka, the manga consisted of two volumes running from November 1976 to March 1979.

An anime pilot was created but rejected, and two films and a short were completed afterward (in 1981 and 1983 respectively for the films). The movies are The Fantastic Adventures of Unico (1981) and Unico in the Island of Magic (1983), later accompanied by the short Saving Our Fragile Earth.

The story covered the adventures of Unico the unicorn who found himself facing issues such as environmental impact, friendship and teamwork.

Unico has also appeared in the Game Boy Advance game Astro Boy: Omega Factor, and Columns GB: Osamu Tezuka Characters for the Game Boy Color. Astro Boy and Hello Kitty also appear in Unico Canon.

Tropes used in Unico include:
  • An Aesop
  • And I Must Scream: Any of the folks changed into puppets and used to build skyscrapers.
  • Badass Adorable: Unico
  • Beware the Nice Ones: Unico can kick some ass, despite himself.
  • Blessed with Suck: Unico is born with the power to make all those around him happy - pretty awesome ability, right? Not if you have a panel of Gods who feel that they're the only ones should have it, and subsequently want you banished from existance for daring infringe on them.
  • Catgirl: Not played completely straight, but Katy's the kitty to call.
  • Cute Little Fangs: Katy in her cat form and Beezle have them.
    • And the Sphinx's daughter.
  • Friend to All Living Things: So much so that the gods try to banish Unico for making everyone too happy. The girl Cheri on Island also counts.
  • Green Aesop: The short, anyway. The movies don't really count.
  • Heart Is an Awesome Power: When he feels loved by those around him, Unico is able to turn into a full-grown unicorn, complete with the ability to fly. This allows him, in The Fantastic Adventures of Unico, to fly through the chest of a 50-story tall demon, killing him instantly.
  • Heroic BSOD: Unico has one after Cheri gets turned into a puppet.
  • Large Ham: Lord Kuruku, in an extremely disturbing sense.
  • Let's Get Dangerous: Throughout "Unico in the Island of Magic", Kuruku seems like a playful (if creepy) type of villain. Then he gets pissed.
  • Noble Demon: Beezle's very insistent on honoring his obligations; his dad raised him that way.
  • Ridiculously Cute Critter: Unico. The films were made with Sanrio; what else did you expect?
  • Say My Name: Holy crap. Both movies feature this and Big Word Shout. You can't go five minutes without hearing UNIICCCCCCCCCOOOO! or some other screaming.
  • The Imp: Beezle.
  • The Stoic: Toby.
  • The Power of Friendship: Literally, Unico can do all sorts of things, but only for those he considers his friends. It also gives Unico the power to change into a giant, flying unicorn capable of drilling a supersonic hole through a fifty-story-high demon. Yeah. Not so harmless now, is he?
    • It also kills Kuruku, as mentioned above.
  • The Power of Hate: Hate is the only thing keeping Kuruku animate.
  • Villainous Breakdown: Kuruku, during the climax.