Ulysses was another great piece of French/Japaese Anime, created in 1981 and running for 26, 30-minute episodes. Ulysses 31 takes the ancient Greek mythology of Ulysses and updates it to the 31st Century. The animation as with many anime cartoon of this time, is simple, picturesque and stylish.
Ulysses kills the cyclops whilst rescuing his son Telemachus, this angers the Gods so much that they take their revenge. Ulysses is set adrift in the stars, his whole crew frozen except for his son Telemachus, a girl from the planet Zartra called Yumi and a robot (for comic relief) called No-No. The ship's computer is called Shirka, and is conscious but has had all of her maps wiped from her memory. Ulysses is therefore doomed to roam the galaxy, unable to return home to his wife Penelope until he finds the kingdom of Hades, where he will be able to revive the crew. The cartoon is of course based on the Greek and Roman myth of Ulysses, see links in the resource section for lots of other translations of this myth.
Ulysses
Ok, so Ulysses is the hero of the piece, and is a hero in the classic sense. He stands up for what he beleives is right, against any odds even if this means defying the Gods. He is courageous and a man of action when required. Ulysses has a laser pistol, which also transforms into a light-saber style light sword. He also has an arm-shield and an anti-gravity belt, so he is well equipped to face off against most adversity. He is determined to save his crew and lead them safely home, no matter what the danger to himself.
The whole story starts with Ulysses throwing his son Telemachus a birthday party (at which Telemechus is given NoNo as a present). Ulysses is feeling pretty pleased with himself as he has just secured the Solar Peace, and brought a period of tranquility to the galaxy. He is now planning on setting off for home from Troy with his ship the Odyssey and its crew.
Telemachus
However on the way back Ulysses comes across the Cyclops, which has enslaved a group of children (including Telemachus). Ulysses destroys the Cyclops to save the children. This angers the Gods of Olympus who are enraged that a mortal would defy them.
To teach Ulysses a lesson Zeus sentences Ulysses to roam the galaxy until he finds the Kingdom of Hades, where the crew will be revived and Ulysses will be shown the way to Earth.
Thus starts Ulysses adventures, fortunately for Ulysses Telemechus is not one of the crew put into a deep sleep by Zeus (as he was captured by the Cyclops at the time) and so for the majority of the show Telemechus is the second in command of the Odyssey and he helps Ulysses out of quiet a few scrapes - he is a good pilot and shown to be responsible and trustworthy as Ulysses's second in command.
Yumi
When Ulysses goes to rescue Telmachus from the Cyclops he finds Yumi and her brother Numinor who are trapped with Telemachus. Yumin and Numinor are from the planet Zotra, and as you can see above they are both blue-skinned! Throughout the most of the story Yumi's brother is in suspended animation along with the rest of the crew, however Yumi escapes this and along with Telemachus helps Ulysses pilot the ship and search for Hades. Yumi is also a telepath and was called Themis in the original French version of the cartoon.
NoNo
NoNo is the comedy relief for the show. He is given to Telemaschus as a birthday present in the first episode, he jumps out of a cake! NoNo is a good friend to Telelmachus, is partial to eating nails and is also a lot stronger than he looks!
The main skill that he brings to the group is that he is very good at fixing anything mechanical, which often comes in useful, considering the very small size of the crew and the very big size of the Odyssey. NoNo also briefly falls in love with another robot of the same model type called Nanette (but she sacrifices herself to save NoNo from the city of Cortex.)
This brings us to the last main character, Shirka, Shirka is the female brain of the Odyssey. As per the opening credits, all of the maps have been wiped from her memory, however she is still a useful member of the crew, piloting the Odyssey and providing info to Ulysses when required.
Ulysses 31: The Lyrics
It is the 31st century, Ulysses killed the giant Cyclops when he rescued the children and his son Telemachus. But the ancient gods of Olympus are angry and threaten a terrible revenge:
Zeus: Mortals, you defy the Gods? I sentence you to travel among unknown stars. Until you find the Kingdom of Hades, your bodies will stay as lifeless as stone.
Sherka: Ulysses, the way back to earth has been wiped from my memory.
Telemachus: Father, oh, father!
Ulysses: You are alive my son.
Ulysses, Ulysses, soaring through all the galaxies, in search of Earth, flying in to the night.
Ulysses, Ulysses, fighting evil and tyranny, with all his power, and with all of his might.
Ulysses, no-one else can do the things you do. Ulysses, like a bolt of thunder from the blue.
Ulysses, always fighting all the evil forces bringing peace and justice to all.
It's me Nono small robot you know, friend of Ulysses.
It's me Nono small robot you know, friend of Ulysses.
Ulysses, no-one else can do the things you do. Ulysses, like a bolt of thunder from the blue.
Ulysses, always fighting all the evil forces bringing peace and justice to all.
It's me Nono small robot you know, friend of Ulysses.
Ulysses 31 Theme Tune 
