Kazumi's Lucky Show (1986 TV series)

Kazumi's Lucky Show is a Japanese/Canadian live-action/animated series, starring Kazumi Fujita (b. 1969). It was produced by NHK, The Disco Studio, and Sanford Productions with animated segments by Space Needle Animation Studios, Tatsunoko Production, and Sunrise and with distribution by ITC Entertainment Group, running for 6 seasons from April 2, 1986 to May 10, 1991. It ran in Syndication from 1986 to 1991. In Canada, it aired on CBC from 1986 to 1991 with reruns airing until 1994. In Japan, it aired on NHK General TV from 1986 to 1991 with NHK Educational TV airing reruns until 2002.

Live-Action
Kazumi Fujita as herself, a curious Japanese teenager fluent in Japanese and English. She leads the band "Kazumi!".

Toshiko Kanagawa as herself, Kazumi's best friend, and the lead guitarist of Kazumi's band.

Vered Sheng as herself, the rhythm guitarist of Kazumi's band.

Wendy Morokuzu as herself, the bassist of Kazumi's band.

Flávia Genji as herself, the keyboardist of Kazumi's band.

Keiko Adachihara as herself, the drummer of Kazumi's band.

Jake Sanford as Jeff Jones, Kazumi's best friend and pen pal from her younger days who visits in some episodes.

Eva Echohawk as Sapphire, Vered's pen pal who visits in some episodes.

Early Days
The show was created as a joint project of The Jeff Jones Show producers Sanford Productions and The Disco Studio and Japanese public broadcaster NHK to produce a Japanese-centric show set in the same universe as Jeff Jones.

Casting took place in Tokyo and Los Angeles in late 1985. Kazumi Fujita was chosen as the lead star at the suggestion of NHK executives. The other cast members were chosen at the Tokyo audition save for one. Toshiko Kanagawa was chosen for her ability to play guitar well, Vered Sheng (who was a Israeli expat, born to Kaifeng Jewish parents from China, who was fluent in Japanese) was chosen for her comparable guitar skills, Flávia Genji (a Brazilian expat of Japanese descent) was chosen for her ability to speak more than just Japanese and English, and Keiko Adachihara was chosen for her skills in drumming. Wendy Morokuzu was chosen at the Los Angeles audition, and was Japanese-American, allowing the "multicultural but with roots in one region" message of the band to go through well.

Live-Action
The show was taped at the NHK Broadcasting Center in Shibuya, Tokyo. The scripts were written in Vancouver and Los Angeles, and the sets were built in Montreal; being flown over by cargo plane to Tokyo and then taken by trucks to the studios for setup. Location filming took place in Tokyo and Hiroshima.

Animation
The animated segments were produced by American studio Space Needle Animation Studios and Japanese studios Tatsunoko Production and Sunrise. The scripts were written in Los Angeles and Vancouver, whilst storyboards were done in Tokyo and Los Angeles.