It aired from March 29 to September 24, 1971, in a 10-minute slot from 23:30 to 23:40 on weekdays on TBS. It was also broadcast in a 15-minute slot starting at 6:30 in the morning. ABC aired it on a 5-minute delay but canceled it on June 25. 　This was the first television anime adaptation. It was produced as a so-called "still animation," using still images drawn based on the original manga panels combined with character voices and sound effects. Saito Production officially refers to it as a "Gekiga Drama." 　It is rarely featured in later anime specials or anime magazines. In the 2016 TV program "Matsuko & Ariyoshi's Angry New Party," it was introduced as "(at that time) no footage is known to exist." Later stop-motion works were introduced as being created using the same technique as this series. 　Subsequently, film reels were discovered and restored. Select episodes (detailed later) of the digitally remastered footage were broadcast on BS-TBS in December 2023.