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There have been a lot of anime collaborations between Japanese and western studios over the years. Star Wars Visions, Batman Samurai and Pacific Rim: The Black are a few more recent ones based on popular, existing western properties. And while some may have succeeded, many have failed.
Superbook, produced all the way back in 1981, is one of these collaborations. In fact, it may be one of the very first collaborations between a Japanese and American studio. But how did an anime centering on Christian values become so popular in a country where that religion is a minority?
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The Superbook anime first aired in Japan in 1981 and was a collaborative effort between the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) and Tatsunoko Productions. The latter is best known for producing classic children's anime like Speed Racer, Time Bokan and Yatterman. The show was created as part of an outreach program in Japan. While Veggietales failed to captivate Japanese audiences and was canceled after just one season, Superbook proved to be more well-received and would go on to receive two seasons, with a total of 52 episodes broadcast.
The story of Superbook is rather simple, following a young boy named Christopher (Sho), his friend Joy (Azusa), and their robot mascot Gizmo (Zenmaijikake) as they experience the stories of the Bible first-hand via the titular Superbook. As they travel through the book, they must also search for Christopher's missing dog Ruffles (Kichomu). As is typical for most children's programs, Christopher and Joy also learn important lessons tied to the stories from the Bible throughout their miscellaneous adventures.
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Superbook was a massive success in its home country, with over eight million people tuning in every night. At the time of the show's airing, the Bible even became the number one bestselling book in the country. This unprecedented success encouraged those involved with the show's marketing to broadcast it to other countries. Superbook was thus translated into 43 languages and broadcast in 106 countries -- including Russia, which was still under Soviet rule at the time.
The show would later be succeeded by a spin-off series called The Flying House, which focused on stories from the New Testament. It was produced by the same team from 1982 to 1983 with a total of 52 episodes. Superbook would also be rebooted in 2011 as a CGI series; this effort was produced entirely by the Christian Broadcast Network, with no involvement from Tatsunoko Productions.
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So the question remains: how did an anime centering on a religion that very few Japanese people practice gain so much success? And why did a show like Superbook gain such popularity compared to anime and films based on popular, existing western properties? A lot of reasons can potentially be given, but the biggest one is probably that the series was written with a Japanese audience in mind, as well as trying to appeal to as many people as possible.
Because most anime that come from co-productions with western companies are based on existing properties, they often expect viewers to already be familiar with the source material. As a completely new and original title, however, anyone can jump into Superbook without prior knowledge of existing media, even the Bible. It was created with the intent to be accessible to anyone, and that's how it succeeds where many of its successors have failed.