Knackered (Korogashi Ryota)

Knack was an anime company founded by former employees of Toei Douga and Mushi Productions. Despite the number of anime-industry notables who worked with Knack over the years (including Go Nagai, Ken Ishikawa, Kazuyuki Okasako, Masayuki Kojima, Tetsuro Amino, Shunichi Yukimuro, Yoshikata Nitta, and Fumio Ikeno), the studio developed a dubious reputation for the low quality of its productions, particularly in regard to animation quality, and for copying the premises of other, more popular shows. It struggled hard even to reach mediocrity, frequently resorting to ecchi comedy or softcore porn; its shows were often forgotten or stranded in analog format. So naturally, Orphan/Okizari has done a bunch of them:

• Shibuya Honky Tonk
• Asatte Dance 
• Bouken Shite mo Ii Koro
• Mellow
• Okama Hakusho 
• Lunatic Night (ep3)
• Submarine 707 (joint with M74) 

It's well documented that I have low tastes.

Korogashi Ryota (Rolling Ryota), a 3-part OVA released in 1990 and 1991, is in every way a typical Knack release: ecchi, sketchy, with lots of low comedy and grossly offensive humor. Based on a manga by Murata Hiroyuki, it tells the story of Takao Ryota, a fearsome biker turned bus driver, who uses his (publicly owned) vehicle to compete with and stomp on other current and former bikers who want revenge or just to raise hell.

He is supported by his long-suffering "younger brother" Ono Takashi and enjoys the explicit admiration of Umeko, Aki, Maruko and lots of other women.

There's no through story. Rather, each successive OVA was made to exploit the success of the previous one, until the series fortunately ran out of steam. The first episode is one long story; the second and third have three stories each. The action gets more outlandish and more explicit as the series proceeds; the third episode needs some censorship, which is deliberately prominent, a la Karakuri Ninja Girl.

• Ep1 - Ryota breaks all the rules to deliver a pregnant woman to the hospital. Afterward, he is challenged by members of the Panther biker gang. They kidnap Takashi to lure Ryota into an ambush. The episode includes a musical interlude.
  
  
  

  

  
  
• Ep2, "The Appearance of Konjac Sanji" - Sanji, a former biker, now working in his family's konjac business, uses his truck to challenge Ryota's bus.
  
  
  
  
  
• Ep2, "The Mysterious Sumo Wrestler" - A plus-sized woman, trained as a sumo wrestler, beats up everyone, until Ryota shows her the joys of sex.
  
  
  
  
  
• Ep2, "Hypnosis Is Scaaaary" - Risa, mama-san of the Sisters Snack Bar, hypnotizes Ryota to be her barkeep, masseur, and sex slave. Ryota's disappearance allows his rivals to run rampant.
  
  
  
  
  
• Ep3, "Otaki Appears" - Otaki, a former biker, tries to take over Ryota's and Takashi's women, only to be put in place by his own fearsome wife.
  
  
  
  
  
• Ep3, "When Sube Changes into a Swimsuit" - Two girls want Ryota to take them to the beach, but their swimsuit attire makes them a target for other bikers. Eventually, Ryota rescues them and gives them what they want.
  
  
  
  
  
• Ep3, "Clash" - Yoshimoto, another former biker, challenges Ryota by kidnapping Takashi's squeeze Miki. Ryota and his bus face off against Yoshimoto's armored car, with predictable results.

A translation note:

• In episode 1, Kawada thinks that Umeko's "idol Ryo-chan" is Ryotaro Sugi, a Japanese singer and actor, rather than Ryota. 

The voice cast is large and sometimes changed between episodes.

• Kosugi Juurouta (Takao Ryota - ep 1-2) played Murakami Atsushi in Magma Taishi, Mochizuki Rokurou in the Sanada 10 special, Utsubushi in Amatsuki, Aizman in Bavi Stock, Takanesawa in Hiatari Ryouko, Daisuke in Sei Michaela Gakuen Hyouryuuki, Gisuke in Shadow, Dr. Bayfam in Joker, the yakuza leader in Ashita Genki ni Naare!, and a bit part in Hi-Speed Jecy, all Orphan releases. He also played as Krest in Ariel, Fernand in Gankuutsou, Hertz in Marie and Gali, and Touji in Ninku.
• Ishimaru Hiroya (Takao Ryota - ep 3) starred as Abe George/Naoya in Shibuya Honky Tonk, played Sabu in Koiko no Mainichi and gave a bravura performance as the "interpreter" dog Allegro in Bremen 4, all  Orphan releases. He also played Rodimus Prime in the various Transformer TV shows, Sengoku Shunsuke in Cyber City Oedo 808, and Kabuto Kouji in the Mazinger Z franchise. 
• Kobayashi Yuuko (Mika, Ryota's girl) played Washu in the Tenchi Muyo franchise, Rapier in the Maze properties, Rin in Otaku no Seiza, and Benten in female guise in Oedo wa Nemurenai!, an Orphan release. 
• Kikuchi Masami (Ono Takashi, Ryota's "younger brother") starred as the lead in the Tenchi Muyo, Aa! Megami-sama!, and Comic Party franchises. He starred as Murakami Mamoru in Magma Taishi and played Iwayma Genzaburo in Princess Army, Terayama Suekichi in Asatte Dance, Makoto in Doukyuusei 2, Yukino Hiro in Houkago no Tinker Bell, and Taira no Kiyomori the younger in Genji, Part 1, and he appeared in Fukuyama Gekijou, all Orphan releases.
• Morimura Asuka (Yuki, Takashi's girl) was an AV actress. Her anime credits include Wakaba Miwa in Bouken Shite mo Ii Koro and Miki in Okama Report, both Orphan/Okizari releases. 
• Hirano Masato (Tajima, another biker - ep 1) played Zolf in Slayers and Dr. Gabou in Wonder Beat Scramble, and he appeared in numerous other shows, including Tomoe ga Yuku!, Blue Sonnet, Samurai Gold, Kimama ni Idol, and the second and third Sangokushi movies, all Orphan releases.
• Ono Kenichi (Tajima - eps 2-3) played Toujirou in Mikan Enikki, Shiro Shirota in Dai-Guard, Asurada in the Future GPX Cyber Formula franchise, and Touma in Dirty Pair Flash. He played Jack Redmond in Heavy, Abe no Yasuna in Akuemon, and Sugawara in Kindaichi movie 2, and he appeared in AWOL Compression Remix, Bavi Stock, Seikima II Humane Society, Wolf Guy, Shibuya Honky Tonk, and Ziggy Sore Yuke! R&R Band, all Orphan releases.
• Umezu Hideyuki (Yoshimoto, Tajima's buddy) played Akadama-sensei in Uchouten Kazoku and Uranos Corsica in Gangsta. He had featured roles in Shibuya Honky Tonk, Asatte Dance, Star Dust, Apfelland Monogatari, Blue Sonnet, Hashire Melos, Hi-Speed Jecy, Hidamari no Ki, Nana Toshi Monogatari, Neko Neko Fantasia, Singles, the What's Michael? OVAs, Yamato 2520, Genji, Part 1, Mellow, Ushiro no Hyakutaro, Heavy, and Ziggy Sore Yuke! R&R Band, all Orphan releases.  
• Oizumi Akira (Koji, the "okama biker") played Terayama Daikichi in Asatte Dance, Ichiji in Mellow, and Mama-rin in Okama Hakusho, all Orphan (and Knack) releases.
• Nakamura Daiki (Kawada, Komuro) played the title roles in Dangerous Jii-san Ja and Demon Beast Resurrection, Dayakka in Gurren Lagann, Seiji Date in Ronin Warriors, and Liu Bei in Yokoyama Mitsuteru Sangokushi. He also appeared in Shibuya Honky Tonk, Mikeneko Holmes, Condition Green, AWOL Compression Remix, and Sanada 10, all Orphan releases.
• Yamaguchi Ken (Henmi, leader of the Panther biker gang) appeared in Shibuya Honky Tonk, Asatte Dance, Dokushin Apartment Dokudami-sou, Yamato 2520, Hoshi Neko Full House, Shiratori Reiko de Gozaimasu!, and Condition Green, all Orphan releases.
• Mitsuishi Kotono (Aki, a waitress at the Sisters Snack Bar) played the title roles in Excel Saga, Birdy the Mighty, and the Maze TV and OVAs, Mink in Dragon Half, Katsuragi Misato in the Evangelion properties, Rosalia in the Angelique franchise, Kagura in the original Fruits Basket, Eri in Love Get Chu, and of course, Sailor Moon in the Sailor Moon franchise. She played the leads in Mother: Saigo no Shoujo Eve and Oshare Kozou wa Hanamaru, as well as Imai Midori in Magma Taishi, Watanabe Yumi in Tsuyoshi Shikkari Shinasai: Tsuyoshi no Time Machine de Shikkari Shinasai, Oshina in Hidamari no Ki, and appeared in Gakkou no Yuurei volume 1, Blazing Transfer Student, Nagasarete Airantou, and Yamato 2520, all Orphan releases.
• Tomizawa Michie (Umeko, one of Ryota's female admirers) played Linna Yamazaki in Bubblegum Crisis/Crash, Matsuzaka-sensei in Crayon Shin-chan, the nameless Office Lady in Oruchuban Ebichu, Sailor Mars in Sailor Moon, Mihoshi in Tenchi Muyo, Airi Komiyama in Those Who Hunt Elves, and Emi Ogasawara in Ghost Sweeper Mikami. She also played Shitara Yuri in Let's Nupu Nupu and female Joker in Joker: Marginal City, both Orphan releases.
• Uemura Noriko (Maruko, the female sumo wrestler) played the Queen of Hearts in Alice in Wonderland and Nodame's mother in Nodame Cantabile. She appeared in Nayuta, Nozomi Witches, Stop!! Hibari-kun!, and It Rained Fire, all Orphan releases.
• Wakamoto Norio (Sanji, an antagonist from Ryota's past) played the title role in The Gargoyle of the Yoshinagas, Kan in the Hoozuki no Reitetsu franchise, Vicious in Cowboy Bebop, Cell in the Dragonball franchise, Katakuriko in the Gintama franchise, Oda Nobunaga in the Sengoku Basara franchise, Guren in Ushio to Tora TV, Shining Saotome in the Uta no Prince-sama franchise, and Oskar von Reuenthal in Legend of the Galactic Heroes. He also appeared as Joshua Balboa in Plastic Little, Sakakibara in Sanada 10, Noa in Choujikuu Romanesque Samy: MISSING 99, York Denman in Apfelland Monogatari, Major Thrauza in Yamato 2520, Denon in Amon Saga, the Tengenji underboss in Koiko no Mainichi, and the Narrator in Joker: Marginal City, all Orphan releases.
• Matsumoto Yasunori (Toshi, Panther gang member) starred as Guy Hyuga in Heavy, Ichitaro in Ushiro no Hyakutaro, Akira in Mellow, Johnny in Starship Troopers, Kaname in Singles, and Tooru in Every Day Is Sunday, all Orphan releases. He was in numerous OVAs in the 1990s, including Houkago no Tinker Bell, Ziggy Sore Yuke! R&R Band, Seikimatsu: Humane Society, Fukuyama Gekijou: Natsu no Himitsu, and Al Caral no Isan, also Orphan releases. Among his other notable roles were Wataru Akiyama in Initial D, Jean Havoc in Fullmetal Alchemist, Gourry Gabriev in Slayers, Ryou in Sonic Soldier Borgman, and a personal favorite, Dick Saucer in Dragon Half.
• Kojima Yuri (Maya, Ryota's niece) appeared in Fencer of Minerva and Fobia, among other roles.

Ochiai Masamune, director of the first two episodes, also directed Don Dracula, Bouken Shite mo Ii Koro, Asatte Dance, and the Naniwa Yuukyouden OVA series. The third episode was directed by Agawa Chouou, who has no other credits.

Perevodildo translated and timed. I edited and typeset. Paul Geromini and MartyMcflies QCed. The encode is by an anonymous friend from the R2J ISOs. He wrote:

A rather fine source, all things considered, especially given the vintage of the source material... I was... able to reduce many of the frame blends from the source.... Otherwise I also reduced the aliasing and haloing more, though at the slight tradeoff of softening the image some and performed slightly less horizontal cropping. VFR was employed to preserve smooth motion of the scrolling credits... Interestingly, only the first episode includes a full opening, and I wasn't really expecting a traditional enka solo from such a program. 

So all in all, Korogashi Ryota is another typical Knack venture, fully of nudity and sex. It requires some censoring and is very much NSFW. For that reason, it's being released under the Okizari label. There are more untranslated shows in the Knack oeuvre, but enough's enough. You can get the show from the X-rated side of the usual torrent site.

But the Cat Came Back (Cat-Eyed Boy, Ep 13-14)

Orphan returns again to its intermittent releases of Cat-Eyed Boy; in this case, episodes 13-14. These episodes don't differ materially from the previous ones, except for the monster of the week. Cat-Eyed Boy is continuing his lonely journey to find his mother. In these episodes, he lends support to plucky young boys trying to fight a supernatural creature that threatens their family or village. To help his new-found friend, Cat-Eyed Boy must find, fight, and defeat the monster(s). But his triumph is short-lived, as he has to hit the road and continue his search.

Two reminders. First, Cat-Eyed Boy is done with gekimation, hand-manipulated paper cutouts paired with simple live-action special effects. Second, the episodes are from the laserdisc box set and are very primitive, with lots of grain, jittery images, noisy soundtrack, and film burn at scene changes. With those caveats, the episodes in this release are:

• Episode 13 - Wrath of the Stone Demon. Nobuo and his grandmother live in a remote village at the base of Mount Tengu. When a will-o'-the-wisp appears on the mountain, a white powder falls that puts everyone to sleep and eventually kills them. Nobuo sets off to find the source of the evil, so Cat-Eyed Boy rushes after him in support. They find a fallen goddess, who became a demon after a human stole her sacred mantle and is determined to be revenged on all humans.
  
  
  
  
  
• Episode 14 - Eerie! The Woman Who Lives in the Mirror. Sentaro's village is plagued by multiple murders. The victim is always drained of blood and nearly mummified. Sentaro believes it's caused by the Blood-Sucking Woman, who lives in abandoned houses. He goes to investigate a derelict inn and falls into the monster's clutches. Meanwhile, Cat-Eyed Boy finds a sick traveler who needs a place to rest and escorts him to the inn, placing everyone in peril.

The credits, so carefully translated, only have room for six or seven voice actors. Two are always Junko Hori (Cat-Eyed Boy) and Katsuhiko Ikeda (Narrator). The others in episode 13:

• Midori Kanbe (Stone Demon) appeared in Cat-Eyed Boy ep12.
• Yuji Shikamata (Nobuo) appeared in Raccoon Rascal and SPT Layzner, as well as Cat-Eyed Boy epidsode 10.
• Michiro Okada (Villager A) appeared in Cat-Eyed Boy episodes 9 and 11.

In episode 14:

• Midori Kanbe (Yukiko) appeared in Cat-Eyed Boy episodes12 and 13.
• Yoichi Mitsuhashi (Kazuhiko, Father) played Cygnus in the St. Seiya franchise, Naoki in Dragon Fist, and Ma Chao in Sangokushi 3. The last two are Orphan releases.
• Endo Yoshinori (Sentaro, Son) - no information.
• Michiro Okada (young traveller) appeared in Cat-Eyed Boy episodes 9, 11, and 12.

Once again, Skr was the driving force behind this release.For episodes 13 and 14, he checked Perevodildo's translation, edited, typeset, and encoded. I did additional editing and added a lot of typesetting in episode 14. Nemesis and Skr QCed.

So Orphan is pleased to bring you more Cat-Eyed Boy. You can get these episodes from the usual torrent site. See you again on Halloween, if not sooner!

  

Yukiguni no Oujisama

Here's a bit of an unlikely bird - not a black swan event, exactly, but not something I was expecting, either.

Yukiguni no Oujosama (The Snow Country Prince) was a 1985 movie, released for the Christmas season. It showed up one day in the Orphan staff Discord channel, translated, timed, typeset, and edited, with a pristine raw. It's a G-rated fairy tale about a timid boy in northern Hokkaido, who finds courage and self worth by caring for an orphaned juvenile swan. It's pretty far outside Orphan's usual habitats - not historic, like the Toei movies; not R-rated, like many 80s and 90s OVAs; not lost on analog media. So I found myself asking, "How did this happen?" - until I perused the AniDB entry more carefully.

Yukiguni is the brainchild of Ikeda Daisaku, Buddhist leader, author, educator - and the third president of Soka Gakkai, a Japanese religious movement (or cult, your choice). Soka Gakkai was founded in 1930, based on the teachings of a 13th century Buddhist priest, Nichiren, and his interpretation of the Lotus Sutra. It was banned for its pacifism and lack of respect for official (i.e., militarist) values during World War II. Its leaders were imprisoned, where the founder, Makiguchi Tsunesabura, died. Refounded after the war by Toda Josei and run by Ikeda after 1960, it is the largest of the Japanese new religious movements.

All this would be of peripheral interest except for one factor: Perevodildo, Orphan's prolific translator, is obsessed with Soka Gakkai. He is currently halfway through releasing Ningen Kakumei (The Human Revolution), a 20 episode hagiographic biography of Toda Josei. (I've been roped into QCing.) With that in mind, Perevodildo's interest in works by Ikeda becomes obvious.

So is Yukiguni no Oujosama religious propaganda, like the Happy Science films? The answer is no, at least not overtly. The film supports Buddhist values, but there's no lecturing or proselytizing. It's serious, family friendly, uplifting. Would it appeal to today's worldly-wise and cynical children, raised on video games, Pixar films, and the Internet? I don't think so, but I'm decades away from the target audience.

The protagonist is a young boy, perhaps 8 or 9, named Goichi. He lives with his sister Yuki, his parents, and his grandmother in Asahama, an impoverished fishing village in northern Hokkaido. 

Goichi hates the cold. 

With an exceedingly harsh winter at hand, he doesn't want to go outside to play, to the teasing amusement of other schoolboys.

Every year, swans from Siberia migrate to the inlet in Goichi's village for the winter. One day, an orphaned juvenile swan wanders into Goichi's yard, looking for food.

Goichi and Yuki try to befriend the swan. 

Then, Goichi is visited by the Prince of the Snow Country, who tells Goichi that he must find both the love and the courage to care for the swans. 

A dream perhaps? Goichi insists otherwise, and he redoubles his efforts to help the orphaned swan, now named Hanaguro ("black nose"). Goichi and Yuki begin finding food for the birds, clearing snow, and cracking the sea ice, so the swans will be more comfortable. Their efforts impress Goichi's classmates, and they pitch in to help.

But there will be many trials and setbacks before spring, when Hanaguro must be strong enough to fly back to its Russian feeding grounds. 

Will Goichi be able to find the courage to rise to all the challenges? Does the bear... Well, you get the idea.

The swans in the movie are probably whooper swans, which do indeed migrate from the Siberian taiga to northern Japan (and other locations) for the winter. They are large, noisy birds, among the heaviest avians that can fly. Their North American cousins, mute swans, are much quieter. Mute swans are also very territorial, so it would be very unusual to see an entire flock in close quarters in a single body of water, like this:

Further, the scene in which Hanaguro's mother is killed and carried off by a sea eagle is unrealistic. A sea eagle's sustained carrying capacity is 2-4 kg. A mature female whooper swan weighs 7-8 kg. (Mute swans are even heavier.) A sea eagle can kill a swan, but it would eat as much as it could where the swan fell.

The voice cast is as old school as the movie:

• Ikura Kazue (Goichi) is best known for the roles of Makimura Kaori in City Hunter, Toraou in Mashin Eiyuuden Wataru, Natsume Ryuunosuke in All Purpose Cultural Cat Girl Nuku Nuku, and Leni Milchstrasse in Sakura Wars. She played Jiliora in Gude Crest, Kuroeda Keiko in Aoki Honoo, and Hojo Masako in Genji, Part 1, and she also appeared in Sei Michaela Gakuen Hyouryuuki and 15 Shounen Hyouryuuki, all Orphan releases. see Aoki Honoo v2
• Miura Masako (Yuki) appeared in Mock & Sweet, Showa Aho Zhoshi Akanuke Ichiban!, Watashi to Watashi, and ESPer Mami. She played Suni in Kimu no Juujika, an Orphan release.
• Tanaka Hideyuki (father) played Terryman in the Kinnikuman franchise and Rayearth in Magic Knight Rayearth. He also played Kuroyanagi Moritsuna in Chocchan Monogatari, Kusuri in Tenjou Hen: Utsu no Miko, Max in Dallos, Unno Rokurou in Sanada 10, Harmer in Al Caral no Isan, Sammy in Bavi Stock, Sawamura in Nozomi Witches, Ronron in Greed, Aoto in Oedo ga Nemurenai!, Katze in Ai no Kusabi, Minowa Takanari in Karuizawa Syndrome, Kazuhiko, Chiko's father in Ohoshi-sama no Rail, Ma Su, Fengji's lover, in Sangokushi movie 3, and an extra in Heart Cocktail, volume 5, all Orphan releases.
• Mutou Reiko (mother) played the title role in Marvelous Melmo and Uran (Astro Girl) in the original Astro Boy. She played Countess Polignac in Rose of Versailles, Akiko in Kasei Yakyoku, Touko in Bride of Deimos, and Queen Tasuka in One Million Year Trip: Bander Book. The last three are Orphan releases.
• Nakanishi Taeko (grandmother) played the grandmother in Yuki, Ryouko in Kuro ga Ita Natsu, Yuri in Kuroi Ame ni Utarete, Helen in A Penguin's Memory, Mrs. Bontempeli in Perrine Monogatari, and Liu Bei's mother in the first two Sangokushi movies, all Orphan releases. She had featured roles in Emma, Glass no Kamen (1984), Little Women, Queen Millennia, Ringing Bell, and Sailor Moon R.
• Yanami Jouji (Gen-san) played Ozora Ibari in Stop!! Hibari-kun!,  Akahatsu (Red Shirt) in Bocchan, Lump in Ginga Tansa 2100-nen: Border Planet, Murphy in Maris the Choujo, the wine-loving Big Bird in Grimm Douwa: Kin no Tori, and the cart vendor in Akuma Tou no Prince: Mitsume ga Tooru, all Orphan releases. He narrated most of the Dragon Ball Z properties. He played Ittan Momen in several of the GeGeGe no Kitaro series and movies and Chuta Ban in all the Kyojin no Hoshi TV series.
• Ootake Hiroshi (Takeshi) played Tezuka-sensei in Fushigi na Melmo, Michael in the What's Michael? OVAs, Hamegg in Tezuka Osamu Ga Kieta?! 20 Seiki Saigo no Kaijiken, the fox in Shounen Jack to Mahou Tsukai, and the principal in Don Dracula. The last four are Orphan releases.
• Sakaguchi Tetsurou (Takeshi's father) was an actor. His only other voice credit was the first Sangokushi movie.
• Nakahara Shigeru (Prince) played the title role in Arion, Trowa Barton in Gundam Wing, Fujiwara no Takamichi in Haruka Naru Toki no Nake de: Hachyoushou, and Kurama in Kyousogiga. He also played Hyakutaro in Ushiro no Hyakutaro, Fujiwara no Yukitata in Haruka Naru Toki no Nake de 2, Arikawa Yuzuru in Haruka Naru Toki no Nake de 3, and Jenkins in Nessa no Wakusei, and he had featured roles in Aoki Honoo, Ziggy Sore Yuke! R&R Band, Ai no Kusabi, Dragon Fist, Dokushin Apartment Doukudami-sou, Chameleon, and Neko Neko Fantasia, all Orphan releases.
• Tanaka Ryouichi (schoolteacher) appeared in Barefoot Gen, Chibi Maruko-chan, Devilman, Koi Kaze, Vandread, Nine, and Dallos. The last two are Orphan releases.
• Yada Kouji (TV announcer) played Dr. Gero in the Dragon Ball franchise. He appeared in all the GeGeGe no Kitarou iterations through 2007, Haguregumo, Cat-Eyed Boy, Nine, and the Sangokushi movies. The last three are Orphan releases.
• Furukawa Toshio (policeman) played Kimball Kinnison in Galactic Patrol Lensman, Ataru in Urusei Yatsura, Kagege in Keroro Gunsou, Kai Shiden in Mobile Suit Gundam, Shin in Fist of the North Star, Shinohara Asuma in Mobile Police Patlabor, and Piccolo in Dragon Ball Z. He also played Inumaru in Maroko, Koganemaru in Maris the Choujo, Tree Kangaroo in Shirokuma Cafe, Prince Croyler in Grimm Douwa: Kin no Tori, Ryotaro in Nayuta, the Spartan Dragon in Stop!! Hibari-kun! and Sally in Chiisana Koi no Monogatari, all Orphan releases.
• Miyauchi Kouhei (vet) played Earth in Magma Taishi, Aaron in Dragon Slayer Eiyuu Densetu, Jack Goldman in Condition Green, King Kaiser in Grimm Douwa: Kin no Tori, Eddie in Nozomi Witches, Kogorou Shirachi in Stop!! Hibari-kun, the grandfather in Tsuki ga Noboru made ni, the judge in A Penguin's Memories, and Brigadier Hamilton in Techno Police 21C, and he appeared in the first two Sangokushi movies, all Orphan releases. He had a recurring role as Kame Sennin in the Dragon Ball franchise and played the mayor of Birdos in Watt Poe.
• Watanabe Misako (narrator) was a prolific movie and TV actress. She has no other anime credits.
  

The director, Katsumata Tomoharu, directed all three Sangokushi movies, Orphan releases, as well as many other Ikeda Daisaku projects.

Perevodildo translated, timed, and did most of the typesetting. Paul Geromini edited. I did some additional typesetting and QCed. Uchuu QCed as well. The raw source is one "WillySucker99," a single-use disguise for a well-known encoder. Frankly, if he didn't want to use his handle, plain old "anonymous" would have been fine. Orphan has lots of anonymous encoders; they're a shy lot.

I've been trying to keep a neutral tone about Yukiguni no Oujisama, out of respect for the other staffers who worked on it and liked it, but you can probably infer that I didn't care for it. It's sadly lacking in humor or shades of gray. It's earnest, and despite the importance of being earnest, a 90-minute movie needs variety in its tonalities to hold my interest. In any case, you can get the movie from the usual torrent site.

Animated Classics of Japanese Literature (batch)

Seishun Anime Zenshuu (translated as Animated Classics of Japanese Literature for its English release) is a 1986 anthology series that retells 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 are standalone, although there are 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. Orphan has now released them all.

• 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: A Ghost Story by Lafcadio Hearn.
• 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 batch torrent is intended to replace nine individual torrents for ease of downloading. There is one revised episode, and two others have changes in their file names:

• Episode 1, The Izu Dancer, has minor revisions to typesetting and styling, to match later episodes.
• Episodes 2 and 3, The Sound of Waves, lacked the CRC in their file names.

A patch for episode 1 can be found here. Episodes 2 and 3 should simply be renamed to include their CRCs, as shown in the batch torrent.

The staff credits are the same throughout, more or less:

• Original subtitles - Central Park Media
• Translation check - Perevodildo (plus Muzussawa on Growing Up and kokujin-kun on A Ghost Story) 
• Timing - ninjacloud (plus Collectr for The Izu Dancer)
• Editing and typesetting - Collectr
• QC - Nemesis and Paul Geromini 
• Encoding - anonymous 

Animated Classics is a mixed bag, as most anthology series are. I liked A Ghost Story best, for its atmospheric take on a classic Japanese legend, followed by The Harp of Burma and The Sound of Waves. All of the adaptations are straightforward, without much flair. Accordingly, I find the 1980 TV special of Botchan better than this version; it has more humor, better character designs, and livelier animation.

This batch is the end of Orphan's efforts on Animated Classics for now; but experience has taught me never to say never. If decent sources surface for other episodes — for example, Japanese VHS tapes or, mirabile dictu, the R2J DVDs — we may come back to the series.

Meanwhile, thanks for watching. 

 

The Harp of Burma

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: A Ghost Story by Lafcadio Hearn.
• 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.

We're concluding this set of episodes with a two-part adaptation of The Harp of Burma. It's based on a 1948 children's story by Takeyama Michio. The novel was adapted for the movies by Ichikawa Kon, first in 1956 and then again in 1985. The title would be better translated as The Burmese Harp, but the listed form is traditional.

The story is set in the waning days of World War II. Captain Inoue and the survivors of his platoon of Japanese Army soldiers are retreating from the British advance across Burma. They try to keep up their spirits by singing sentimental songs, notably Home! Sweet Home!, a sententious 1823 ballad John Payne and Henry Bishop.

They are resting in a village when the war ends.

They surrender to the British and are interned.

The British ask for a volunteer to negotiate with a Japanese unit that is refusing to surrender. Private Mizushima volunteers and goes off with the British. 

He does not return.

Increasingly worried, Inoue and his men are perplexed when they encounter a man dressed as a Buddhist monk who looks just like Mizushima. The monk refuses to talk to them. 

As repatriation day approaches, the men are desperate to get Mizushima to come home with them. They even train a parrot to pass on a message. 

Eventually, Mizushima visits his unit but remains silent. 

Just as Inoue and his unit are boarding a ship for Japan, they receive a letter from Mizushima. He intends to stay in Burma to bury the numerous Japanese soldiers whose bodies are lying and rotting where they fell. 

His comrades must go home without him.

In the book, Mizushima embodies the traditional Buddhist ideal of altruism. He is also atoning for his actions, and the actions of the Japanese, in the war; he calls Japan's colonial ambitions "wasteful desires." This mild criticism of Japanese brutality is downplayed in the two movies and disappears entirely in this anime adaption. Inoue and his men are portrayed as harmless, singing wholesome songs and partying with the locals. The Japanese occupation regime that killed more than 100,000 people (90,000 civilians, 12,000 Allied POWs) building the Burma railroad is nowhere to be seen.

In addition to Home! Sweet Home, the show includes many other traditional songs:

• Ryoushu, a Japanese folk song
• Koujo no Tsuki, another Japanese folk song
• Mugi to Heitai, another Japanese folk song 
• Aa Gyokuhai, a Japanese dormitory song
• Comin' Thro' the Rye, a Robert Burns poem set to a traditional melody
• Kokyou no Sora, a Japanese folk song using the same melody as Comin' Thro' the Rye
• Hakone Mountains, a Japanese traditional song, also featured in Nijuushi no Hitomi  
• Tabidachi no Hi ni, also known as the "Japanese Graduation Chorus Song." It is a symbol of an immediate and irrevocable parting.

The use of Tabidachi no Hi ni, played wordlessly, to convey Mizushima's determination not to return to Japan is particularly poignant. 

The voice cast includes many notable seiyuu:

• Yamamoto Kei (Captain Inoue) played played Jutaro in Band of Ninja, Mr. Gogetz in Dog of Flanders, Kurosawa in the first Kindaichi Shounen no Jikenbo movie, and Father in Tistou Midori no Oyayubi. The last two are Orphan releases.
• Uchida Naoya (Private First Class Mizushima) played the title role in the Cobra franchise, Yagami's father in Death Note, Daigo in the recent version of Dororo, Oda Nobunaga in Drifters, Askeladd in Vinland Saga, and Aikawa Youji in To-Y, an Orphan release.
• Asou Miyoko (Old Lady) 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, Nozawa Mitsuko in It Rained Fire, and the store owner in Yamatarou Comes Back. The last two are Orphan releases.
• Ogata Kenichi (Sergeant Ito) played Yamada in It Rained Fire, 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, the Narrator/Lord of Kaga in Oedo wa Nemurenai!, and the antiques dealder in Botchan (1986), 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.
• Genda Tesshou (Sr. Private Suzuki) played Colonel Muto in Joker Game, Moloch in Yondemasu Azazel-san, Rei in the Urusei Yatsura franchise, Moguro Fukuzou in New Laughing Salesman,  and "Oyaji" in Mitsuboshi Colors. He also played Don Bailey in Heavy, Tyler in Michite Kuru Toki no Mukou ni, Tamura in Ore no Sora, Akauma in Fire Tripper, Jin Kiryu in Blue Sonnet, Zigong in Eiyuu Banka Koushi-den, Paul Rusch in Yume Kakeru Kougen, Jim Hyatt in AWOL Compression Remix, Galbreath in Next Senki Ehrgeiz, Baguda in Greed, the narrator in Akai Hayate and Meisou-ou Border, Dog McCoy in Dallos, Mayor Carlo in Inochi no Chikyuu: Natsu no Dioxin, Hebopi in Wild 7, Oosukune in Izumo, Miyoshi in Sanada 10, and Kuroki and Kirishima in Eguchi Hisashi no Kotobuki Gorou Show, all Orphan releases.
• Kitagawa Takurou (Sr. Private Baba) played Green Dragon in Dragon Knight. He played Hosoki in Meisou-Ou Border and Yasuke in A Ghost Story, and he appeared in The Dancing Girl and Utsu no Miko, both Orphan releases.
• Shimada Bin (Private First Class Kobayashi) 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 played Shinji in The Sound of Waves and 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.
• Shioya Yoku (Private First Class Abe) played the title roles in Kariage-kun and the Umi no Triton TV series and movies, Ryouta in Slam Dunk, Jinpei the Swallow in Gatchaman, and Cosmo Yuki in Space Runaway Ideon. He played the young priest in A Ghost Story, Shotaro in Growing Up, Ritt in Samurai Gold, Tsuri in Tenjou Hen: Utsu no Miko, Yuzuru in Laughing Target, Mickey in Milky Passion: Dougenzaka - Ai no Shiro, Mizuki in Nayuta, and Zhuge Jun in the first Sangokushi movie, all Orphan releases.
• Sawaki Ikuya (Private First Class Maruyama) played Gooley in the Dirty Pair franchise. He also played Captain Marco in Tottoi, Gonbei the cat in Satsujin Kippu wa Heart-iro, Samuel Hunter in Wolf Guy, Masayoshi Hotta in Hidamari no Ki, Barry in Joker: Marginal City, Alan in Mother Saigo no Shoujo Eve, Itakura Shirouemon in Sanada 10, and the Kaiser in Apfelland Monogatari, and he appeared in in Nessa no Wakusei, Growing Up, Dallos, Heart Cocktail, and Chameleon, all Orphan releases.
• Sawa Ritsuo (Private First Class Okada) played Martin in Anne of Green Gables, Hajime Taki in Hidamari no Ki, Magoroku in Kage/Shadow, and Tom in White Fang. The last three are Orphan releases.
• Tatsuta Naoki (Parrot) 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 One Pound Gospel, Amon Saga, Growing Up, and Wolf Guy. The last four are Orphan releases. 
• Sakamoto Chika (Burmese boy) played Campanella in Night on the Galactic Railway, the title role in Tsuruhime, Nonoko in Tobira wo Akete, Tendonman in the Soreike! Anpanman franchise, and Agumon in the Digimon franchise. She appeared as Da in Galaxy Apartment Cosmo Hills, Oyoshi in Growing Up, Kijimuna in the Utsu no Miko movie, Miko in Ohoshi-sama no Rail, Yasuda Yumiki in Nine, Kometora in Charapno Land no Bouken, and Suzume's erstwhile love interest, Katagiri-kun, in Stop!! Hibari-kun!, all Orphan releases.
• Otaki Shinya (Indian Soldier 1) played Beat in Scoopers. He appeared in Shibuya Honky Tonk, Aoki Honoo, Wolf Guy, Elf ,17, Hoshizora no Violin, Gakkou no Yuurei volume 1, Nessa no Wakuesei, and Hi-Speed Jecy, all Orphan releases.
• Ishizuka Unshou (Indian Soldier 2) played King David and King Cyrus in Tezuka Osamu's Tales from the Old Testament, an Orphan release.

The director, Ishiguro Noboru, also directed Aoki Honoo, Koiko no Mainichi, The Dancing Girl, Season of the Sun, Heavy, Hoshi Neko Full House, and Meisou-ou Border, all Orphan releases, as well as many other shows.

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. 

The Harp of Burma is one of the better outings in the Animated Classics series, but I find the whitewashing of Japanese actions in Burma is annoying. Mizushima is a compelling protagonist, but the show would have been deeper and more meaningful if the Inoue platoon was presented in a more realistic way. In any case, you can get The Harp of Burma from the usual torrent site.

Batch torrent in a few days. 

 

 

Student Days

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: A Ghost Story by Lafcadio Hearn.
• 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.

This time, we're releasing the concluding episode in the CPM release, Student Days by Kume Masao. It is based on the short story "Notes of an Exam Taker" from the collection Student Days, published in 1918. The remaining story, The Harp of Burma, will be released in April, after the series translator returns and clears up a few points.

The story focuses on the intense competition to get into Daiichi Koutou Gakkou (First Higher School), usually shortened to Ichiko. It was an elite Meiji-era prep school that served as a gateway to Tokyo Imperial University. It was regarded as the most prestigious educational path in Japan. Kenkichi is an aspiring entrant who has already failed the test once. 

He has taken a room at his older sister's house to escape the distractions of Taisho-era Japan, but they find him anyway, particularly a beautiful young woman named Sumiko, his sister's cousin by marriage. 

Some of his friends have given up: Matsui has settled for a provincial school in Kanazawa,

and Sato has retreated into drinking and merrymaking. 

Then, Kenkichi learns that his younger brother Kenji intends to take the test, despite ill-health. 

On the fateful day of the exam... well, you'll see.

The voice cast includes:

• Nakao Ryuusei (Kenkichi) 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, Yasuo in The Sound of Waves, and Puu in Captain Bal, all Orphan releases.
• Fujii Kayoko (Sumiko) played Saeko Yagami in Bio Armor Ryger, Linda in Kiko Senki Dragonar, Seiryuu in the Mashin Elyuuden Wataru properties, and Emary in Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ.
• Kikuchi Masami (Kenji) starred as the male leads in the Tenchi Muyo, Aa! Megami-sama!, and Comic Party franchises. He played Murakami Mamoru in Magma Taishi, Iwayma Genzaburo in Princess Army, Terayama Suekichi in Asatte Dance, Makoto in Doukyuusei 2, Yukino Hiro in Houkago no Tinker Bell, Bunji in Growing Up, and Taira no Kiyomori the younger in Genji, Part 1, and he appeared in Fukuyama Gekijou, all Orphan releases. His "Magma Taishiiiii!" at the end of each preview is unmistakable.
• Ikeda Masako (Kenkichi's older sister) starred as Maetel in the Galaxy Express 999 franchise. She played Perrine's mother in Perrine Monogatari, the phoenix in the Hi no Tori movies, sister Nadoka in Ranma 1/2, Reiko in Ace wo NeraeI, and Nanzi in Eiyuu Banka Koushi-den, an Orphan release.
• Kan Tokumaru (Kenkichi's brother-in-law) played David Ryan in Silent Service, Miller in 2001 Ya Monogatari, Momochi in Black Lion, Kuroyasha in Karasu Tengu Kabuto, Nayuta's father in Nayuta, and Gan Ning in Sangokushi (1985). The last two are Orphan releases.
• Fujimoto Yuzuru (Principal) 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, Miyata Terukichi in The Sound of Waves, the Chief Priest in A Ghost Story, and Noah in Tezuka Osamu's Tales from the Old Testament, all Orphan releases
• Suzuoki Hirotaka (Sato) played Bright Noa in Mobile Suit Gundam, Huga Koijiro in Captain Tsubasa, Dragon Shiryu in Saint Seiya, Tenshinhan in Dragonball, Kuno in Ranma ½, Abriel Nei Debrusc Larth Kryb Debeus in the Crest of the Stars franchise, and Saito in Rurouni Kenshin. He appeared in Choujikuu Romanesque Samy: MISSING 99, Ginga Tansa 2100-nen: Border Planet, Sei Michaela Gakuen, and Chiisana Koi no Monogatari, all Orphan releases.
• Tatsuta Naoki (Matsui) 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 Growing Up, One Pound Gospel, Amon Saga and Wolf Guy, all Orphan releases. 
• Otaki Shinya (Tanaka) played Beat in Scoopers. He appeared in Shibuya Honky Tonk, Aoki Honoo, Wolf Guy, Elf ,17, Hoshizora no Violin, Gakkou no Yuurei volume 1, Nessa no Wakusei, and Hi-Speed Jecy, all Orphan releases.
• Kitagawa Takurou (Examiner) played Green Dragon in Dragon Knight and Private Baba in The Harp of Burma. He played Yasuke in A Ghost Story, Hosoki in Meisou-Ou Border and appeared in Utsu no Miko, all Orphan releases.
• Ono Kenichi (Student) played Toujirou in Mikan Enikki, Shiro Shirota in Dai-Guard, Asurada in the Future GPX Cyber Formula franchise, and Touma in Dirty Pair Flash. He played Abe no Yasuna in Akuemon and Sugawara in Kindaichi movie 2, and he appeared in Heavy, AWOL Compression Remix, Bavi Stock, Seikima II Humane Society, Wolf Guy, Shibuya Honky Tonk, and Ziggy Sore Yuke! R&R Band, all Orphan releases.

The director, Matsushima Akiko, also directed other (VHS-only) episodes of the series.

One translation note: Daiichi Koutou Gakkou is a mouthful, and the characters always call it Ichiko. The original subs used Ichiko University, but it wasn't a university, it was a pre-university prep school. Likewise, First Higher School drives up line lengths inordinately, so where it won't cause confusion, I've shortened that simply to First,.

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.

Student Days is a contemporary look at Taisho-era society and its pressures for social advancement. It's rather glum, and the ending is seriously downbeat. You can get the show from the usual torrent site.