Gumball the Cat

Gumball the Cat is a 1978-1989 Japanese surreal comedy manga series created by Osamu Tezuka. Produced primarily by Tezuka Productions, the anime first aired on May 3, 1981. The series revolves around the lives of 12-year-old Gumball Watterson, a blue cat and his goldfish best friend—adoptive brother 10-year-old Darwin, who attend middle school in the fictional city of Elmore. They frequently find themselves involved in various shenanigans around the city, during which time they interact with fellow family members—younger sister Anais, mother Nicole and father Richard—and an extended supporting cast of characters.

Tezuka based several of the series' characters on rejected characters from his previous commercial work and making its premise a mixture of "family shows and school shows", which Fuji TV was heavily interested in. He pitched Gumball to the network and Makoto Tezuka subsequently greenlit production of the series. It is the first series to be produced by Tezuka Productions.

The series has made multiple stylistic changes throughout its production, specifically in the transition between its first and second seasons. Such changes include character redesigns, higher quality animation, and a shift towards a much darker, more satirical comedic style.

Characters

 * Gumball
 * Darwin
 * Anais
 * Richard
 * Nicole
 * Grandmother Jojo
 * Louis
 * Penny
 * Banana Joey
 * Adam (played by Astro Boy)
 * Uran
 * Larry
 * Ocho
 * Bobert
 * Rock Holmes
 * Sarah Gelato

Crossovers

 * Astro Boy, Uran, Mama, Papa, and Rock Holmes made guest appearance as recurring characters.
 * Tezuka announced that a crossover episode with an unknown show would air as part of the fifth season. This turned out to be the episode, "The Copycats", which features the characters interacting with ones from Miracle Star, a Chinese bootleg clone of the manga.
 * "The Boredom" featured characters from Astro Boy, Kimba the White Lion, and Princess Knight making cameo appearances.
 * Jettermars appeared in "The Sucker" as a main character.