Prince Planet is the English-language title given to one of the earliest anime television series, , when it was transmitted on American television in the United States in the mid-1960s. It did run on "The Works" television network before it ceased operations February 28, 2017. A 52-episode monochrome anime series, it tells the story of a member of the Universal Peace Corps, originally from the planet Radion, coming to Earth on a mission to determine if this world meets standards for membership in the Galactic Union of Worlds and assist its inhabitants during his stay. While on his mission, Prince Planet adopts the identity of an Earth boy named Bobby and gains comrades who work together alongside him fighting forces of evil, both alien and terrestrial. Production overview and history Prince Planet was originally produced by TCJ (Television Corporation of Japan, now Eiken) and aired on the Fuji Television network in June 1965. The show was one of the first heavily merchandised shows in Japan, with simple things like shoes getting the "Planet Boy Papi" logo. An English-dubbed version was released by American International Television Productions in September 1966, and produced by James Nicholson and Samuel Z. Arkoff. The dubbing was performed in Miami at Copri Films International and directed by Mark Harris, with dialog scripting by Reuben Guberman, who also reworked The Amazing 3 for Erika Productions in 1967 and developed the live-action tokusatsu-kaiju series Giant Robo for American television, later that same year, under the title Johnny Sokko And His Flying Robot. The American theme was composed by Guy Hemric and Jerry Styner, who had previously written songs for several of American International's "Beach Party" movies. Glico was a major sponsor for the series and made Papi "prizes" that came in certain candy products. Prizes included mini action figures and play jewelry. Main characters Prince Planet, allies, and enemies The main characters appearing throughout most of the series are all introduced by the fourth episode. In episode 1, Prince Planet arrives on Earth and meets a girl, Riko or Diana Worthy in the English-dubbed version and her father, Pops Worthy, who live on a large ranch. In episode 2, a wrestler known as Dan Dynamo, billed as "The strongest man in the world," joins the Prince Planet team. Episode 3 introduces Warlock, who is said to be the "Master of Martian Magic," although his Martian origins seem to