Ulysses 31 - THEMIS!

Ulysses 31 - 1:18 Scale Action Figures - No. 88516 Themis/Yumi - Popy 1981

Ulysses 31 is a classic French/Japanese animated series from 1981. I have been hearing about this show my entire life. It's often listed among the greatest "forgotten" 80s cartoons. And the theme song also tends to top similar lists. But in the United States, this show never had the same impact that it did in the rest of the world. It only aired in 1986 in the DiC KideoTV lineup alongside shows like Popples, Rainbow Brite, and Lovely Ladylocks. As a mythological/futuristic adventure series, it didn't really fit in with the other shows and never captured a strong audience here. The show features Greek Mythological characters in a futuristic space-faring setting. Ulysses pilots the spaceship Odyssey with his son Telemachus and the young blue-skinned Zotran, Themis (named Yumi in the English dub of the cartoon). Zeus has banished them on a voyage through space to get to Hades to revive his crew and return to Earth, encountering legendary mythical figures along the way. It's really fun and inventive.

Popy made a really great line of action figures for the series back in 1981 (seemingly distributed by Bandai in some markets). This Themis/Yumi had been on my wishlist for years and I finally got her for a decent price. They are pretty rare in decent condition, especially available to ship to the US. Let's check out Themis below!

The pictures above were swiped from the internet. I've had them saved for so long that I don't know where they are from. But I appreciate that this minty packaged figure shown above shows Themis with a darker gray torso than the lavender color of her arms and legs. I was nervous that mine was discolored. And it may be (her jumpsuit is a single color in the cartoon), but at least it's a consistent colorization pattern.

Time for some Comparison Pics!

Here is Themis with my only other Popy action figure (so far), Psi from Once Upon a Time In Space (1982).

Cheers!