ULYSSES 31 Pilot

The Ulysses 31 pilot was produced in the early 1980s as a proof-of-concept for the collaborative series between the French studio DIC Audiovisuel and the Japanese animation powerhouse TMS Entertainment. Created to gauge interest in a space-faring adaptation of Homer’s Odyssey, the pilot served as a foundational exercise in blending Western narrative sensibilities with the high-caliber cel animation techniques pioneered by Japanese studios during the golden age of robot anime.

The design aesthetic was spearheaded by Shingo Araki and Michi Himeno, who sought to capture a distinctly futuristic, Greco-Roman fusion. While the pilot was intended as a strictly internal development tool, its visual style—characterized by the iconic Odyssey starship and the character designs of Ulysses—was lauded for its seamless integration of fantasy and science fiction. It successfully established the visual vocabulary that would eventually define the completed 26-episode series.