Kimba the White Lion, known in Japan as Jungle Emperor (Japanese: ジャングル大帝, Hepburn: Janguru Taitei), is a Japanese shōnen manga series written and illustrated by Osamu Tezuka which was serialized in the Manga Shōnen magazine from November 1950 to April 1954. An anime based on the manga was created by Mushi Production and was broadcast on Fuji Television from 1965 to 1967. It was the first color animated television series created in Japan. It began airing in North America from 1966. The later series was produced by Tezuka Productions.
This is the classic tale of Kimba, the white lion, destined to be the King of the African jungle. Orphaned shortly after his birth, Kimba quickly shows his potential to be one of the greatest leaders the jungle has ever seen. Striving to accomplish the goals of his great father, Caesar, he dreams of convincing the animal kingdom to become just as civilized as the human world. Ultimately, he desires to bring the two cultures together in peace.
Leo (a.k.a. Kimba in the U.S.) is a young ambitious lion cub who takes his father's place as emperor of the jungle when is father is killed by poachers. Even though his father's fate was met by the hands of humans, Leo is one of the few animals in the Jungle that doesn't fear or feel hatred toward humans. He is not alone either, he is guided by friends of his father to help create the best animal kingdom there can be.
The story of Leo, the lion emperor and his family, and their struggles to protect the jungle from intruders bent on recklessly mining the a precious stone.
