2025 in Review

2025 turned out to be even more calamitous than I had feared. I couldn't bear to watch the news, as one horror followed another.

Orphan Fansubs

Despite the adverse conditions in real life, Orphan released a near-record number of projects, primarily thanks to prolific translator Perevodildo and the many staffers and helpers from across IRC and Discord. The team subbed several outstanding movies, crushed the backlog of untranslated Young Animator OVAs, revisited some old favorites, and laid the groundwork for interesting new and ongoing projects in 2026.

1. Gakkou no Yuurei volume 3. More ghost stories, mixed animation and live action.
2. Seirei Tsukai. Gods versus superpowered humans. Most of the planet ends up as collateral damage, and no one seems to care much.
3. Gakkou no Yuurei volume 4. Even more ghost stories, mixed animation and live action.
4. Tsuyoshi Shikkari Shinasai: Tsuyoshi no Time Machine de Shikkari Shinasai. A side OVA from long-running (112 episodes), totally forgotten sitcom. Put-upon elder brother Tsuyoshi and a pal travel back in time and discover, accidentally, why his family life in the present is so broken.
5. Mikosuri Han Gekijou. A collection of dirty jokes, strung together around themes. You'll like it, or you won't.
6. Sakyou Komatsu's Animation Theater. Outstanding science fiction and satire from a noted Japanese author. This show is always interesting, often thought provoking, and sometimes spooky.
7. Toraemon. A paean to the 1985 championship baseball team, the Henshin Tigers. Filled with topical references and satires on real characters, it is impossible to understand without a decoder ring.
8. Zetsuai 1989 v2. The grand-daddy of BL OVAs, in a new, shinier encode.
9. Tistou Midori no Oyayubi. A wondrous full-length movie about the power of goodness and beauty to alter lives for the better. Its fairy-tale like artwork and story soothe the soul.
10. Utsu no Miko (1989). This rarity is the prequel to the better-known OVA series of the same name. Utsu no Miko and his friends battle greed and perfidy on Earth, ultimately concluding they must take their battle to the heavens.
11. Tenjou Hen: Utsu no Miko (1990). A summary movie for the OVA series, covering the first five chapters.
12. Tanjou Debut. This OVA showcases four wannabe idols/actresses performing in unrelated TV dramas.
13. Cello Hiki no Gauche 1998. A highly abbreviated version of the classic, made to be shown in school classrooms. Faithful to the original but nowhere near as good as the Takahata Isao version.
14. Hashire Melos 1979. Another abbreviated version of a classic for the educational market. It is much shorter than the (later) movie but again, not as good.
15. Mahjong Hishouden: Naki no Ryuu 1988. An enigmatic mahjong player, known only as the Calling Dragon, tangles with various yakuza factions, all of whom want him for his legendary luck. An expanded version of the OVA that was subbed in 2024.
16. Kimu no Juujika. An excellent movie about the kidnapping of Korean workers for forced labor on the Japanese mainland during World War II. A religious overlay does not mask the brutality of the Japanese regime.  
17. Heart Cocktail Colorful episodes 1-5. A modern version of Watase Seizou's classic short tales of love found, lost, or regained. This set of five stories is set in spring. Joint with DarkWispers and LonelyChaser.
18. Magma Taishi, episodes 1-4. A Tezuka Osamu series that had been on my radar for a long time. Aliens led by the evil Lord Goa intend to seize Earth and destroy humanity. Only a handful of people, aided by a giant golden robot named Magma, stand in his way.
19. Tooyamazakura Uchuuchou: Yatsu no Na wa Gold. A complete clusterfuck of a sci-fi show, in which samurai themes are transplanted into an interplanetary future. Joint with Inka.
20. Gakkou no Yuurei volume 5. Still more ghost stories, mixed animation and live action.
21. Junk Boy. An ecchi, not to mention sketchy, story about a young boy who lands his dream job at men's magazine Potato Boy, only to find that life surrounded by beautiful (and sometimes naked) women is not quite what he expected. I originally edited this show for Erobeat. The new translation and encode are a significant improvement.
22. Heart Cocktail Colorful episodes 6-10. Five summer stories from Watase Seizou. Joint with DarkWispers and LonelyChaser.
23. Heart Cocktail Colorful episodes 11-15 and batch. The final set of five stories, set in late fall and winter. Joint with DarkWispers and LonelyChaser. 
24. Gakkou no Yuurei volume 6 and batch. The last of the original series.
25. The First Line. A recent web short, showing the tribulations of a young animator trying to find his own style. The anime plays with framing as a way of showing the young man breaking out of his constraints.
26. Usagi-chan de Cue!!. This very funny and very ecchi sci-fi caper posits a fusion between a schoolboy's pet rabbit and curvaceous girl delinquent. The resulting hybrid is very affectionate toward her keeper, and more than combative enough to fend off the various baddies. The third episode was my first attempt at rescuing an orphan, as part of C1. This version has a better translation and new encode.
27. Magma Taishi, episodes 5-7. The plot thickens. The aliens infiltrate by posing as humans, protected by various shady government agencies more interested in alien technology than saving humanity. 
28. Shin Gakkou no Yuurei. A sequel to the original series, fully animated for the first time since volume 1. 
29. Magma Taishi, episodes 8-10. The good guys' attempts to fend off Lord Goa seem increasingly futile. 
30. Magma Taishi, episodes 11-13 and batch. The Slough of Despond™ and the eventual victory of humanity. However, the outcome is not as clear-cut as one might expect in a shounen sci-fi series. 
31. Tezuka Osamu Works: Kyoto Animation Theater. A collection of short films that were shown in the Tezuka Osamu Kyoto Animation Theater, now closed. Shorts about familiar Tezuka characters - Astro Boy, Unico, Princess Knight, Leo the white lion, Black Jack, the Phoenix - alternate with humorous looks at key episodes in Kyoto's history.
32. Aoi Kioku. An excellent movie about Japan's attempts to colonize Manchuria during World War II. Teenage boys are lured to Manchuria with the promise of free land, only to find themselves unprotected and at the mercy of Russian soldiers when the Soviets invade in August, 1945.
33. Hello WeGo! A Young Animator's OVA. The protagonist is a lonely boy whose only companion is his mobile robot, named WeGo. A fairly routine coming-of-age story, but not offensive.
34. Kicks and Punk. Another Young Animator's OVA. The main character is a girl who loves to run in an age when everyone else uses automated propulsion. She discovers a shared mania for sneakers with an unlikely older woman.
35. Midnight Crazy Trail. A Young Animator's OVA. A young witch is sent to our world for training, but all she wants to do is get rid of her magic and be ordinary. Sort of a cross between Kiki's Delivery Service and Getbackers and not very original.
36. Hoshizora no Violin. A movie about a young boy whose quest to become Japan's Stradivarius is interrupted by World War II. Moving, but it whitewashes the Japanese regime in Manchuria; Aoi Kioku is more realistic.
37. Charanpo Land no Bouken. A Young Animator's OVA. Animals live in a fantasy world where a magic baobab tree provides all the necessities of daily life. When the tree suddenly becomes barren, three youngsters must race against time and other interests to restore the tree's essence.
38. Galaxy Apartment Cosmo Hills. A Young Animator's OVA. A fast-moving and subversive sci-fi story, in which a wannabe "Vtuber" slacker suddenly receives an overpowered baby as a present.
39. Shibuya Honky Tonk. The purported autobiography of George Akayama, ex-yakuza, author, and raconteur. Exaggerated and more than a bit smug, it's an entertaining comedy in spots.
40. Adesugata Mahou no Sannin Musume. Princess Persia, Minky Momo, and Creamy Mami hang out at a hot springs, make prank calls to their boyfriends, and review highlights from their TV series.
41. The Fullmoon Tradition: Indra (Pilot). A short promotional film for an Oshii Mamoru series that was never made. An intriguing premise.
42. Cat-Eyed Boy episodes 9 - 12. Once again, more Cat-Eyed Boy for Halloween. Subsequently, we've learned that the complete series will be released on DVD in 2026. 
43. Shin Takarajima DVD. An early Tezuka Osamu TV special, retelling Treasure Island with animal characters. It features a new, improved encode.
44. Heavy. A movie about a karate fighter who is recruited by a dying sports doctor to contend for the heavyweight title.
45. Animated Classics of Japanese Literature: The Izu Dancer. This collection of stories based on classic Japanese literature has been on my radar for a long time. The first is an oblique tale of a student's encounter with, and unfulfilled love for, an itinerant entertainer.
46. Ashita Genki ni Naare! This movie starts with the firebombing of Tokyo in March, 1945, but it mostly focuses on the plight of Japanese orphans immediately after the war.
47. It Rained Fire. This outstanding movie is tightly focused on the firebombing of Fukuoka in June, 1945. It's juxtaposition of children's carefree lives prior to the air raid, and the horrors they went through during it, is very effective. 
48. Animated Classics of Japanese Literature: The Sound of Waves. This second story in Animated Classics is a coming of age story about a young fisherman's romance with a local girl, and the obstacles both must overcome to reach their mutual happiness.
49. Animated Classics of Japanese Literature: The Dancing Girl. Episode ten of Animated Classics is another star-crossed romance, this time with tragic results.

Okizari, Orphan's h-anime label, was also active this year.

1. Bouken Shite mo Ii Koro. A reworking of a show first released by Erobeat, with improved encode and translation. It's about the (mis)adventures of a young man whose desire to be in films leads him to work as an AV actor for a porn video company.
2. Angel. A new translation of an OVA first released by Erobeat. This release uses the first edition Japanese laserdisc, which includes a smidgen of content cut from later home-video versions.

My personal favorites included Tistou Midori, Sakyou Komatsu's Animation Theater, Kimu no Juujika, Aoi Kioku, It Rained Fire, and Galaxy Apartment Cosmo Hills. The ultra-short The Fullmoon Tradition: Indra was very intriguing. Mikosuri Han Gekijou and Junk Boy were guilty pleasures.

A big "thank you" to all the team members, including translators Perevodildo, Skr, and Yume (who also time), editor and QC Paul Geromini, timer ninjacloud, QCs Nemesis, Uchuu, Topper3000, VigorousJammer, Eternal_Blizzard, bananadoyouwanna, MartyMcflies, Muzussawa, and True Noobow Gamer,and encoders anonymous1, anonymous2, "coffee," and WOWmd. I must also thank the Arutha foundation, which hosts all of Orphan's releases on IRC and reseeded all of our past releases. Finally, I'd like to thank our joint-project collaborators: Inka, DarkWispers, and LonelyChaser. But whether mentioned or not, every staff member has contributed to the work this year.

The Audio Side

Nothing this year.

 
Work for Other Groups

Some old, some new.

• Frozen-EviL. Yawara! reached a major milestone with the completion of the Blu-ray version of the show and the release of the batch torrent. I also edited the live-action movie. Sayona, Yawara-chan!
• Blasphemboys. I QCed more of Ningen Kakumei. I edited or QCed several other shows as well.
• Darkonius. I finished editing and typesetting a new version of Damekko Doubutsu (Useless Animals). This is one of my favorite short series, and I look forward to its release.

Favorites of 2025

I'm not an anime critic, so I don't try to compile a "best of" list for the anime year. Instead, I'm listing my favorites of the year and why they kept me watching all the way through. As usual, shows with lots of "action" (i.e., violence) mostly don't make the cut.

In alphabetical order:

• Ame to Kimi to. This low-key comedy about an introverted young woman who adopts a smarter-than-the-average-bear tanuki was very soothing. As is often the case with pets, the tanuki helps his(?) "owner" grow and come out of her shell.
• Apocalypse Hotel. An absurdist comedy about a high-end Tokyo hotel staffed completely by robots after the human race disappears. The humor gets very "out there" at times, but it worked for me.
• Ballpark de Tsukamaete! A feel-good comedy about the fans and staff at a mid-tier baseball team's stadium.
• Dandadan S2. It doesn't get more over-the-top than this show, and the the second season amped up the shenanigans to eleven. 
• Dekin no Mokura. An oddball show about college students awakening to the world of spirits after interacting with a generous, and perhaps immortal, recluse.
• Kowloon Generic Romance. An intriguing sci-fi/slice-of-life show, with an underlying premise that wasn't clear even after it ended.
• Kuroshitsuji: Midori no Majo Hen. This is the first Kuroshitsuji series I was able to watch all the way through. Although totally absurd in its science (tanks in the 1880s?), the human drama seemed more compelling and grounded.
• Kusuriya no Hitorigoto S2. The further adventures of Xiomao and Maomao and company. Although showing signs of "light novel syndrome" (i.e., spinning events out for the sake of more volumes), it still hits my historical shoujo sweet spot.
• Okinawa de Suki ni Natta Ko ga Hougen Sugite Tsura Sugiru. This lightweight, likeable comedy about a Tokyo boy smitten with an Okinawan girl but unable to understand her dialect never set a foot wrong.
• Shabake. Youkai and mysteries. For me, an unbeatable combination. The self-effacing, quiet protagonist proved much stronger than he appeared. 

Quirky personal favorites:

• Me and the Alien MuMu. Alien cats obsessed with consumer appliances trying to save Earth from destruction? What's not to like?

I continue to enjoy the Ranma 1/2 reboot, rather more than original. And I watched the extended epilogue of Boku no Hero Academia, which is a masterclass on how to conclude a long-running battle shounen.

 

Looking Ahead

Orphan ends 2025 with a significant backlog of projects. We intend to finish the DVD episodes of Animated Classics of Japanese Literature and continue to search for other sources for the rest. There will be more Cat-Eyed Boy, hopefully from the DVD remasters. And we're starting a new project to revisit the early Toei Douga movies, using the best sources available.

 

On the down side, the Arutha foundation is closing down early next year. Orphan is collaborating with Saizen for a new torrent seeding and archiving solution, but the IRC XDCC capability will disappear. If you use IRC XDCC, please get your files before January 31, 2026.

 

Meanwhile, thanks, everyone, both team members and fans. Have a happy and safe 2026. 

 

Yawara, Complete

The batch torrent for all 124 Blu-ray episodes of Yawara! has just been released. So, after more than 14-and-a-half years and close to 200 scripts, it's done.

The complete Yawara anime canon is:

• Yawara! A Fashionable Judo Girl - TV series, 124 episodes (DVD and Blu-ray)
• Yawara! A Fashionable Judo Girl Special Edition - one-off remastered version of episode 1 of the series (DVD only) 
• Yawara! Sore Yuke Koshinuke Kids!! (Yawara! Go Get 'Em, Wimpy Kids!!) - movie (DVD and Blu-ray)
• Yawara! Special: Zutto Kimi no Koto ga... (Yawara! Atlanta Special) - TV special (laserdisc and Blu-ray)
• Yawara! Extra - DVD box set special (DVD only)
• Yawara! - live action movie (laserdisc)

All of them have fansubbed by FroZen-EviL, a neologism for a joint project between Frostii, Saizen, and Live-EviL. 

I don't think there will be any more projects under this label.

So goodbye, Yawara-chan, for reals. At least the last anime leaves her in good hands (or arms):

Thanks for watching.

The Dancing Girl

Seishun Anime Zenshuu (translated as Animated Classics of Japanese Literature for its English release) is a 1986 anthology series that retold well-known stories from modern Japanese literature. It's very much in the mold of its contemporaries, the World Masterpiece Theater series. Most of the 34 episodes were standalone, although there were a few two- and three-parters. The show was licensed by Central Park Media, but the English version was left incomplete when CPM went bankrupt. Only twelve episodes were released on DVD:

• Episode 1: The Izu Dancer by Kawabata Yasunari. 
• Episodes 2,3: The Sound of Waves by Mishima Yukio.
• Episodes 7,8: Botchan by Souseki Natsume.
• Episode 10: The Dancing Girl by Ougai Mori.
• Episode 14: Growing Up by Higuchi Ichiyou.
• Episode 16: Kaidan: The Song of Hoichi by Lafcadio Heran.
• Episode 20: Season of the Sun by Ishihara Shintarou.
• Episodes 25,26: The Harp of Burma by Takeyama Michio.
• Episode S1 (33): Student Days by Kume Masao.

For Orphan's last release of 2025, I'm skipping ahead to The Dancing Girl, a short story by Ougai Mori published in 1890. For me, it's thematically related to The Izu Dancer and The Sound of Waves. All three are variations on the endless dance of longing and love, this time with tragic results. The team will circle back to the third story, Botchan, next year.

The story is set in 1880s Germany. Toyotaro Ota is a Japanese student sent to study in Berlin. After graduating, he works at the embassy as an interpreter.

One day, he meets Elise Wiegert, an impoverished dancer. She lacks the money even to bury her newly deceased father. 

He impulsively decides to help her. Their connection deepens, and they become lovers. 

However, word of the the affair reaches the embassay staff, and it costs him his job. He moves in with Elise to save money. His friend, Kenkichi Aizawa, helps him get a new job as an interpreter for a diplomat. However, Elise gets pregnant. Ota must choose between abandoning his homeland and marrying Elise, or abandoning Elise and returning home.

He chooses the latter. Elise has a nervous breakdown, compounding Ota's sense of guilt, but he still leaves.  

The Dancing Girl resembles the plot of Puccini's Madame Butterfly, with the nationalities reversed, but it precedes the opera by more than a decade.

The voice cast includes:

• Ikeda Shuuichi (Toyotaro Ota) played Char in Mobile Suit Gundam, Gilbert Durandal in Gundam Seed, and Ulrich Kessler in Legend of the Galactic Heroes. He also played Alex in Dallos, Azuma in Starship Troopers, and the Dragon in both versions of Naki no Ryuu, all Orphan releases.
• Yamamoto Yuriko (Elise Wiegert) played the title roles in Lady Georgie, Hello! Sandybell, Mahou Tsukai Sally 2, and the Iczer OVAs. She also played the title roles in Nora, Twinkle Nora Rock Me, and Tomoe's Run!, Rihabi and Sayuri in Stop!! Hibari-kun!, Maki in Choujikuu Romanesque Samy: MISSING 99 and Telenne in High Speed Jecy, all Orphan releases.
• Hazama Michio (Kenkichi Aizawa) began his career in 1963 with Astro Boy. He appeared in numerous anime, including his roles as Jacques' father in Hitomi no Naka no Shounen: 15 Shounen Hyouryuuki, Gilbert in Michite Kuru Toki no Mukou ni, and Senator Dan Foster in Oishinbo: Japan-America Rice Wars, all Orphan releases.
• Nunami Terue (Elise's mother) appeared in Tsushimamaru: Sayonara Okinawa, Ushiro no Shoumen Daare?, Heidi, Daddy Long Legs, and Alps Story: My Annette.
• Gouri Daisuke aka Nagahori Yoshio (Doctor) played Hoshinaga in Koiko no Mainichi, Kei Saijou in Wolf Guy, Mimi in Okama Report, Bancho in Rain Boy, Jubei in Maris the Chojo, the bartender in Nora Twinkle Rock Me, Bazoo in Bavi Stock, Fatty in Condition Green, the Public Safety Director in Dallos, Sabatini in Hi-Speed Jecy, Taki Seisai in Hidamari no Ki, Ryuusaku in Stop! Hibari-kun, Ujiki in Bouken Shite mo Ii Koro, and a bit part in Doukushin Apartment Doukudami-sou, all Orphan releases. He also played Mr. Satan in Dragon Ball Z, Judge in Enma Ou, and Robin Mask in the Kiniikuman franchise.
• Kitagawa Takurou (Attache) played the Green Dragon in Dragon Knight and Baba in Harp of Burma. He appeared in Meisou-ou Border, the Utsu no Miko movie, and The Sound of Waves, all Orphan releases.

The director, Ishiburo Noboru, was an industry veteran who also worked on Heavy, Mushishi, Hoshi Neko Full House, Legend of the Galactic Heroes, and Tytania.

The original subtitles are from CPM's R1 release. Perevodildo translation checked. ninjacloud fixed the original timing. I edited and typeset. Paul Geromini and Nemesis QCed. The encoder for the series wishes to remain anonymous. CPM's mastering includes hardsubbed translations for some of the Japanese credits. They are incorrectly timed and don't line up with the Japanese credits, but as hardsubs, they can't be fixed.

Like the other episodes in this series, The Dancing Girl is a straightforward adaptation of its source material, but its tone is elegiac and melancholic. It's quite a downer to end 2025 on, but it's been that kind of year. You can get The Dancing Girl from the usual torrent site.

Angel

Okizari presents a new English-subtitled version of the 1990 hentai OVA Angel. The show is based on a fragment of a long-running manga by the prolific ecchi and hentai mangaka U-Jin. The manga tells the adventures of Atami Kosuke, a scrawny and perpetually horny high-school student. The OVA focuses on his initial encounters with his childhood friend and eventual love interest, Himenogi Shizuka. Like many of U-Jin's works, Angel has comic moments between the sex scenes.

In this story, Shizuka has just arrived at a new high school. She hopes to be reunited with her childhood friend Kosuke. After being bullied, they had pledged to get stronger. Shizuka kept her word and has become a tall, strong, good-looking fighter. Kosuke, on the other hand, forgot all about Shizuka and has devoted his teenage years to ogling and, if possible, nailing pretty girls. 

After several feints, the serious plot involves an evil PE teacher who is trading better grades for sex and has ensnared a studious girl named Hitomi. Kosuke and Shizuka set a honey trap for the teacher.

It almost ends very badly, but thanks to the timely intervention of Kosuke's tall, manly friend Kanji, they succeed. Shizuka hopes Kosuke is a reformed character, but of course he isn't.

The sex scenes are heavily censored, but apparently even that wasn't sufficient. In the late 1980s, a serial killing set off a a press-fanned Otaku Panic that blamed anime and manga porn for the crimes. Censorship laws were tightened. As a result, the Angel manga did not receive a tankoban (book) release for many years, and the anime was edited down - six seconds were snipped from each of the sex scenes between the PE teacher and Hitomi. The cut version was used for all subsequent home-video releases. This is the first time that the original version has been made available outside Japan, as part of the ProxyMan project. 

As was common practice at the time, most of the voice actors used pseudonyms. Shiraishi Saori, an idol, who played Shizuka and sang the songs, used her real name. I think Ogata Kenichi played the PE teacher, but I can't be sure.

The original script was by Erobeat; I had edited that version. Perevodildo was skeptical of that script and did a new translation. He also redid the timing and quite a bit of the typesetting. I edited and did the rest of the typesetting. Paul Geromini and Muzussawa QCed. ProxyMan provided the raw, ripped and encoded from a Japanese laserdisc. The show is being released under the Okizari label.

Angel is very typical of last century hentai in having more plot than sex, and of U-Jin's work, in having some amount of comedy. It is also typical in featuring fetish themes and, by US standards, underage characters (Japan's age of consent was 13 at the time). It's not compelling, but at least it's complete. You can get Angel from the X-rated side of the usual torrent site.

Yawara! Live Action Movie

This is pretty much the final gasp of the Yawara! project: the live action movie. It was actually released in 1989, less than half way through the manga's run, and a few months before the anime started. It abridges the first half of the manga, introducing all the principal characters - Jigoro, Matsuda, Honami, Kazamasturi, Hanazono, Fujiko - but rushes through the plot. It ends abruptly, with Yawara and Matsuda on a romantic getaway to Barcelona, where the Olympics will be held in 1992.

Because the principal roles are played by actors, the judo had to be carefully staged and shot at a distance with stunt doubles. Consequently, the matches get less air time, compared to the interpersonal comedy, than in the anime. After more than a decade of work on the Yawara! anime, I find the movie less satisfying, but it makes a nice pendant to the project.

The cast included: 

• Yui Asaka (Yawara) was a singer and actress. She also sang the title song, "Neverland." 
• Keiju Kobayashi, (Grandpa Jigoro) was a veteran actor. His career began during World War II. 
• Hiroshi Abe (Matsuda) was a model and actor. He seems impossibly tall and good-looking to play the disheveled Matsuda, and indeed, his height (over six feet) limited his ability to find acting roles.
• Riki Takeuchi (Kazamatsuri) was an actor. He appeared in many yakuza-themed movies.
• Kouji Nakamoto (Kamoda) was primarily a comedian.

The movie was directed by Kazuo Yoshida.

The staff was drawn from the "old anime kairetsu":

• Translation - kokujin-kun
• Timing - sangofe
• Editing - Collectr
• Typesetting - kokujin-kun
• QC - Ayanami-, TougeWolf
• Encoding - anonymous 

The source is a Japanese laserdisc, ripped on the Domesday Duplicator. The movie has never been released on digital media.

This is not quite the end. (The project never seems to end.) While the revised episodes of the anime have been released individually, the batch torrent won't be out until early next year. I've bought all the music from the movie, but it will take a while to get it ripped and shaped up for release. Still, it's the last Yawara script I will ever edit, so it's a milestone.

So here's the Yawara! movie. Yawara-chan's first journey off the printed page is available from the usual torrent site or from the Saizen IRC bot in channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net.

The Sound of Waves

Seishun Anime Zenshuu (translated as Animated Classics of Japanese Literature for its English release) is a 1986 anthology series that retold well-known stories from modern Japanese literature. It's very much in the mold of its contemporaries, the World Masterpiece Theater series. Most of the 34 episodes were standalone, although there were a few two- and three-parters. The show was licensed by Central Park Media, but the English version was left incomplete when CPM went bankrupt. Only twelve episodes were released on DVD:

• Episode 1: The Izu Dancer by Kawabata Yasunari. 
• Episodes 2,3: The Sound of Waves by Mishima Yukio.
• Episodes 7,8: Botchan by Souseki Natsume.
• Episode 10: The Dancing Girl by Ougai Mori.
• Episode 14: Growing Up by Higuchi Ichiyou.
• Episode 16: Kaidan: The Song of Hoichi by Lafcadio Heran.
• Episode 20: Season of the Sun by Ishihara Shintarou.
• Episodes 25,26: The Harp of Burma by Takeyama Michio.
• Episode S1 (33): Student Days by Kume Masao.

The second story is a two-parter, The Sound of Waves. It's based on a 1954 novel by Mishima Yukio. Like The Izu Dancer, it's very popular and has been filmed at least five times. The protagonist, Kubo Shinji, is a young fisherman, living at home with his mother and his younger brother Ryuji. He's been working on Oyama Jukichi's boat since his father's death in the war.

He meets and falls in love with Hatsue, the daughter of Miyata Terukichi, a wealthy ship owner, and the feeling is mutual. 

However, Chiyoko, daughter of the local lighthouse keeper, is jealous and spreads false rumors that Shinji and Hatsue are sleeping together.

This prompts sneaky local Kawamoto Yasuo to try to take advantage of the opening by wooing (raping) Hatsue, but she wards him off.

Hatsue's father Terukichi to forbid Hatsue from seeing Shinji, but he has a plan. He sets up a secret competition between Shinji and Yasuo to determine which is the more suitable husband for Hatsue. 

No points for guessing who wins.

The voice cast includes:

• Koyama Mami (Miyata Hatsue) starred as the title character in the Minky Momo franchise, Paris no Isabelle, Princess Himetsu, and Nils no Fushigi na Tabi. She played Kei in Akira, Arale in Dr. Slump, Lunch in Dragon Ball, and Mendou Ryouko in Urusei Yatsura. She also played the title role in Maris the Choujo, Mimiru in Bander Book, and the female lead in Tezuka Osamu Monogatari: I Am Son Gokuu, all Orphan releases.
• Shimada Bin (Kubo Shinji) played Ken Nakajima in the You're Under Arrest franchise and numerous other roles, as well as Konaki Jijii and Wally Wall in the most recent version of GeGeGe no Kitarou. He appeared in Hoshizora no Violin, Bride of Deimos, Okama Report, Dokushin Apartment Dokudami-sou, Fukyukayama Gekijou, Tomoe's Run!, Satsujin Kippu wa Heart-iro, Princess Army, and Sangokushi, all Orphan releases.
• Koiso Katsuya (Kubo Hiroshi) was a TV/film actor.
• Hiroshi Masuoka (Oyama Jukichi) played Taro in Ashita no Joe, Ushigara in Haikara-san ga Tooru, Fuguta Masuo in Sazae-san for 41 years (!), Uncle Jam in Soreike! Anpanman, and King in Magical Princess Minky Momo. He appeared in Tokimeki Tonight, Fumoon, Bremen 4, Nine, and Tezuka Osamu Monogatari: I am Son Gokuu, all Orphan releases.
• Nakao Ryusei (Kawamoto Yasuo) played the lead in Igano Kabamaru, King Falke in ACCA, Hephaestion in Alexander's Decision, and Freeza/Cooler in Dragon Ball. He also played Chou of Benten in Usagi-chan de Cue!, Roger Rogers in Plastic Little, Akio in Chameleon, Peat Cullen in AWOL Compression Remix, and Puu in Captain Bal, all Orphan releases.
• Inaba Minoru (Takashima lighthouse keeper) played Neptune in One Piece Log: Fish Man Island Saga, Dr. Garaki in Boku no Hero Academia, Bart Bagley in The Faraway Paladin, Tatsuma in The Morose Mononokean, Ham in Tezuka Osamu's In the Beginning: Stories from the Old Testament, Miyoshi Tatsuje in Mahjong Hishouden: Naki no Ryuu, and the High Priest in Izumo (1991), among numerous featured roles. The last three are Orphan releases.
• Shouji Miyoko (Lightkeeper's wife had featured roles in Chihayafuru, NANA, and The Three Musketeers.
• Midori Junko (Kubo Tomi, Shinji's mother) played Sara in Tezuka Osamu's Tales from the Old Testament, an Orphan release.
• Fujimoto Yuzuru (Miyata Terukichi) played Hiyoshi in both reasons of Moyashimon. He voiced the nameless Aoba gang boss in Kasei Yakyoku, the nameless police chief in Twinkle Nora Rock Me, and Noah in Tezuka Osamu's Tales from the Old Testament, all Orphan releses.
• Tatsuta Naoki (Hamada Ryuji) played Oolong in the Dragonball franchise, the Cat Bus in My Neighbor Totoro, and Beta in New Dream Hunter Rem. He appeared in every GeGeGe no Kitarou series since 1985 and in Amon Saga, One Pound Gospel, and Wolf Guy, all Orphan releases. 
• Iizuka Shouzou (Captain) appeared in Yamato 2025, the What's Michael? OVAs, Neko no Midori, Rain Boy, and Hi-Speed Jecy, all Orphan releases. He played Lestrade in Sherlock Hound, Jumba in the Stitch! franchise, the wizard in The Wonderful Galaxy of Oz, and Humpty Dumpty in Alice in Wonderland.

The director, Ueda Hidehito, also directed all of the original Time Bokkan series.

The original subtitles are from CPM's R1 release. Perevodildo translation checked. ninjacloud fixed the miserable original timing. I edited and typeset. Paul Geromini and Nemesis QCed. The encoder for the series wishes to remain anonymous. CPM's mastering includes hardsubbed translations for some of the Japanese credits. They are incorrectly timed and don't line up with the Japanese credits, but as hardsubs, they can't be fixed.

The translation is mostly sound, but it's off in a few places. For example, in part 1, "During the war, this was a military firing base. They used to gauge the flight path of the cannonballs." World War II artillery pieces didn't fire cannonballs, they fired shells.

The Sound of Waves is a straightforward coming of age story, and the ending is happy, unlike many of stores in this series. It has a small amount of nudity, not atypical for an 80s OVA.

(The strategic placement of the branch in this shot and following ones reminds me of the ending skit in Austin Powers.) You can get the show from the usual torrent site.

P.S. Today is the anniversary of the passing of our late colleague, CP, QC extraordinaire for many groups. Friend, we miss you.

 

Hi no Ame ga Furu (It Rained Fire)

Orphan has already released an anime movie about the firebombing of Japanese cities, 2005's Ashita Genki ni Naare! Although that film began with the firebombing of Tokyo, it was really about the conditions that prevailed in postwar Japan, and the terrible plight of orphans and war victims. This release is an earlier film, 1988's Hi no Ame ga Furu (It Rained Fire, sometimes translated as Rain of Fire). It is a more unflinching look at the firebombing itself, focusing on Fukuoka, a mid-sized city on the northern shore of Kyushu.

This movie is exceedingly rare. Before this release, only tiny, undersized raws, derived from ancient VHS rips, had been available. This release uses a 16mm print of the movie. Kineko Video purchased the print and scanned it, in full HD. As a well-used print, it's full of scratches and defects, but it has far more detail than any previous raw. This is the first time the film can really be seen.

It Rained Fire starts with a look at everyday life in Fukuoa the early summer of 1945. Air raids have been happening for months, but Fukuoka seems too insignificant to justify the enemy's attention. Sixth graders Nozawa Yuji and Fujii Nobuo are friends. They and their coterie go to school, play at soldiers, and grumble about the cancellation of the traditional Hakata Gion Yamakasa festival. 

Yuji's father makes Hakata dolls, Fukuoka's traditional clay figures, but the authorities want him to work in a munitions factory. 

Yuji and his older brother Yuichiro, inspired by wartime propaganda and arms drills at school, want to join the military.

Into their everyday lives comes a cold splash of reality in the form of Shinagawa Yoriko, a sixth grader evacuated from Tokyo after the great firebombings of March, 1945.

She tells the boys that their bravado and the mindless propaganda about a "divine wind" are no match for the horror of the new American weapons.

Infuriated, they challenge her to an arm-wrestling duel, which she wins.

In spite of himself, Yuji is impressed and a bit smitten. 

When Nobuo's home is torn down to create a fire lane, and he must evacuate to the countryside, Yuji finds himself drawing closer to Yoriko.

He shares viewing spots of the city and the coast. But the fiery setting sun reminds Yoriko of the terrors of the firebombing.

And then, on June 19, 1945, the bombers arrive for real.

Unlike many movies about the war that skip quickly through destruction and focus on the aftermath, It Rained Fire shows the bombing for a full 20 minutes. It's terrifying.

There's no place of safety. Napalm is jellied gasoline, and it flows fire into shelters and basements that would work against high explosives. 

More than 20% of the city is destroyed and almost a thousand people killed. Yuji and Yoriko survive, by the skin of their teeth.

A few translation notes:

• "Come on! This is the temple of Kushida-sama!" Kushida is the guardian deity of Fukuoka.
• "It's been protected by the divine wind  since ancient times." Fukuoka was directly in the path of 13th century Mongol invasion, after Tsushima.
• "They've designated the Fifteenth Bank building as the evacuation site for our district." According to Wikipedia, the basement of the former Juugo Bank Fukuoka branch... which served as an evacuation shelter, was blocked by a power outage, trapping evacuees inside. Furthermore, the intense heat from the air raid caused water pipes to burst, causing boiling water to flow into the basement, resulting in the deaths of 62 people.
• "If all of you, fully prepared to die, become united in your will like a ball of fire..." The slogan and song of the National Spiritual Mobilization Movement of the Empire of Japan. 
• "And Dad's happi coat was just the right size for me." 
• Statue at 21:47 and later at 1:07:00 inscribed "Surrender of the enemy nation." This is the Hakozakigu Shrine.

Except for Mayumi Shou, playing Tokyo girl Yoriko, most of the seiyuu were from Fukuoka city or prefecture or surrounding prefectures. Some were recruited specially for this project and had no other anime credits.

• Shou Mayumi (Shinagawa Yoriko) played Kaizu Misao, Ryuuichi's little sister, in Aoki Honoo, Minako in Bride of Deimos, Ayako in Kimami ni Idol, Gannet in Hoshi Neko Full House, Peggy in A Penguin's Memories, Yuko Kurita in the Oishinbo movie-length specials, and Baby Boar in Katte ni Shirokuma, all Orphan releases.
• Shu Kawaguchi (Nozawa Yuji) had no other anime roles.
• Kaori Mineo (Fujii Nobuo) had no other anime roles.
• Ohara Ken (Nozawa Yuichiro, Yuji's older brother) had no other anime roles.
• Asou Miyoko (Nozawa Mitsuko, Yuji's mother) played Pinako Rockbell in Fullmetal Alchemist (both series), Machiko's aunt in Miss Machiko, Cologne in Ranma 1/2,  Fune Isono in Sazae-san through 2015, and the store owner in Yamatarou Comes Back, an Orphan release.
• Yara Yusaku (Matsuo Sensei) played the destroyer captain in Zipang. He had many featured roles, appearing in Tooyamazakura Uchuuchou: Yatsu no Na wa Gold, Kimu no Juujika, Kimama ni Idol, Hayou no Tsurugi, Eguchi Hisashi no Kotobuki Gorou Show, Eguchi Hisashi no Nantoko Narudesho, Next Senki Ehrgeiz, Eien no Filena, Hidamari no Ki, Nozomi Witches, both Sangokushi OVAs, Prime Rose, the second Sangokushi movie, Heavy, and both What's Michael? OVAs, all Orphan releases.
• Sawada Toshiko (Matsuo Yuki) has played teachers, mothers, or grandmothers in numerous shows, including Maison Ikkoku,The Big O, Usagi Drop, the Magi franchise, Hinako Note, Laughing Target, Hello WeGo!, and The Girl from Phantasia. The last three are Orphan releases. 
• Kanemoto Shingo (Ishii) appeared in the original Tetsuwan Atom and Tiger Mask. He played Ryuu the horned owl in the Gatchaman franchise, Franken in the Kaibutsu-kun franchise, Housaku in the Kyojin no Hoshi franchise, and Pang Tong (the fat strategist) in Sangokushi movie 2, an Orphan release.
• Ogata Kenichi (Yamada) played a paper merchant in The Izu Dancer, the put-upon father in Maroko, Suzuki in Kigyou Senshi Yamazaki: Long Distance call, the crooked casino boss in Okane ga Nai!, the Hong Kong chef in Yuukan Club, Chichi's father in Chiisana Koi no Monogatari, the business chief in Okama Hakusho, Tadinori Tachimi, the Terayama family lawyer, in Asatte Dance, and the Narrator/Lord of Kaga in Oedo wa Nemurenai!, all Orphan releases. He also played Smee in Peter Pan no Bouken and Gran Torino in Boku no Hero Academia. However, he's best known to me as the voice of Ranma 1/2's Sataome Gemna, whose alter ego - the grumpy panda - is my avatar on most anime forums.
• Imai Kazuko (Otatsu) played Calpurnia in Cleopatra, an Orphan release
• Masayuki Kato (Vice Principal) played Papa in  the Doraemon franchise through 1992 and appeared in Minky Momo and Princess Persia.
• Noriko Uemura (Tanaka, Yuji and Yoriko's homeroom teacher) played the Queen of Hearts in Alice in Wonderland, Takeshi in the Captain Tsubasa franchise, Hisae, Shin-chan's mother, in Crayon Shin-chan, and Noda's mother in Nodame Cantabile. She appeared in the first Sangokushi movie, an Orphan release.

The director, Arihara Seiji, directed several other World War II-themed projects, all of them vehemently anti-war, including Ushiro no Shoumen Daare? (Who's Left Behind?), Tsuru ni Notte, Raiyantsuuri no Uta, and Nagasaki 1945: Angelus no Kane. The last two are Orphan releases.

The project started with Kineko Video's purchase of a 16mm film print of the movie. They then scanned it. Without their initiative and financial generosity, this project would not have happened. Perevodildo translated and timed. Paul Geromini edited. I typeset and QCed. The typesetting was difficult, because flat typesetting looks wrong against the grainy film, but I'm not experienced enough to add realistic grain to sign lettering. Uchuu also QCed. Everyone liked the film. Perevodildo called it "the kino of kino," which I guess means topnotch.

It Rained Fire is engaging and wistful, enraging and horrifying. I enjoyed the glimpses of family life and childhood friendships at the start. I wanted to throw things at the screen when the children were being brainwashed with mindless propaganda about the superiority of the Japanese military, even though the war had been well and truly lost by then. And I wanted to run away during firebombing itself, as the prospects of escape and survival relentlessly dwindled. But I stayed to the end, and you should too. This is a really fine movie. You can get It Rained Fire from the usual torrent site.

Late breaking news: The fansub credits incorrectly credit MartyMcflies with acquiring the film. In fact, both purchase and scanning were done by Kineko Video. My sincere apologies to that team.