The Marble Brothers’ Great Adventure!

In the world of NHK’s hit show PythagoraSwitch, marbles travel through a series of ingenious mechanisms made of ordinary things, setting wondrous contraptions into motion. The heroes are the Marble Brothers: Red, Yellow, and Green. But a dark force is not happy that they always hog the spotlight. With the envious Black Ball Army hot on their heels, the marbles must band together as they face obstacles. Lying in wait are pitfalls, drawbridges, and paper cups. The delightful inanimate heroes come to life in this addictive visual. The programme is aimed at children aged 4 to 6. Marbles have no eyes or mouths with which to make facial expressions. But viewers can tell a lot from the marbles’ colors and sizes and from the context. They feel as though they are reading a story in which the marbles are living characters. People’s ability to create a story and their cognitive ability to see a story in unfolding events brings the marbles to life. As children watch, their imagination enables them to immerse themselves in the story. The broadcast of episode one (5 min) sparked a huge response, so a second episode was made. This is a 15-minute series finale.