The 1991 OVA Yuukan Club (The Leisure Club) is about six high school students who are the sons and daughters of the elite and powerful. Together, they run the Student Council at their private high school and still have time for adventures as The Leisure Club.
Clockwise from the top left corner:
- Bidou Granmarnier, son of the Swedish Ambassador. He's a playboy with lovers around the world.
- Kenbishi Yuuri, daughter of the Kenbishi conglomerate. She has inhuman appetite and stamina.
- Shouchikubai Miroku, son of Superintendent General, Metropolitan Police. A mechanical genius.
- Kizakura Karen, daughter of a jeweler. She's primarily characterized by her adult sex appeal.
- Kikumasamune Seishirou, son of a major hospital's director. An intellectual martial arts master.
- Hakushika Noriko, daughter of a tea ceremony master. She is a Go master.
All of the Japanese characters are named for brands of sake; the one westerner is named for a French orange liqueur. The Chinese characters in episode 2 are named for Chinese alcoholic beverages.
The OVAs consist of two standalone episodes. In the first, the Leisure Club must contend with a nefarious petnapper. In the second, they get entangled with the Hong Kong mafia after impulsively flying there (in the Kenbishi private jet) to eat and shop. The episodes are random arcs from Ichigo Yukari's Yuukan Club manga, which ran to 19 volumes. In both, the emphasis is on comedy and madcap adventures. The franchise also includes a 2007 live-action TV series, which seems to have more of a mystery focus.
The voice cast is like a Who's Who of Japanese voice actors from the last 30 years:
- Tsujitani Kouji (Kikumasamune Seishirou) played the lead in 3x3 Eyes, Irresponsible Captain Tylor, and Otaku no Video, as well as Miroku in the Inuyasha franchise.
- Katsuki Masako (Kenbishi Yuuri) played Maroko in Gosenzosama Banbanzai and its movie version, Maroko, Mira in Ginga Tansa 2100-nen: Border Planet, and Tsunade (Fifth Hokage) in the Naruto franchise.
- Tominaga Miina (Kizakura Karen) played Persia in Magical Fairy Persia, Hikaru in episodes 2-6 of Chameleon, Karen in DNA^2, and Kamiya (the antagonist) in Tokimeki Tonight.
- Hidaka Noriko (Hakushika Noriko) played Satsuke in My Neighbor Totoro, Akane (the female lead) in Ranma 1/2, Peter in Peter Pan no Bouken, Mrs. Yamada (the mother) in the first two Chii anime series, Near in Death Note, and Kikyo in the Inuyasha franchise, among others. She is still active and recently appeared in Little Witch Academia.
- Koyasu Takehito (Bidou Granmarnier) has appeared in hundreds of video games. He played Izumi in Zetsuai and Bronze, Doujima Gin in Shokugeki no Souma, Thirteen in Grimoire of Zero, Dio in Jojo's Bizarre Adventures, the title role in Master of Mosquitron, and Lennon O'Sullivan in Yamato 2520. He's currently appearing in 18if and Elegant Yokai Apartment Life.
- Seki Toshihiko (Shouchikubai Miroku) played Sanzo in all iterations of the Saiyuki franchise (including the current one), Matsuda in the Yawara! properties, Riki in the original Ai no Kusabi, Zorro in Kaiketsu Zorro, and Mousse in Ranma 1/2.
- Nagai Ichiro (the Hong Kong mafia leader) provided the off-the-wall narration in Gosenzosama Banbanzai and Maroko. He also played Professor Doherty in Nora, Togo in Yamata 2520, and, of course, Happosai in the Ranma 1/2 franchise.
- Ogata Kenichi (the Hong Kong chef) played the put-upon father in Gosenzosama Banbanzai and Maroko, as well as Smee in Peter Pan no Bouken and, most recently, 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.
- Oobayashi Ryousuke (Miroku's father) played Tendo Soun, Akane's father, in Ranma 1/2.
- Yokoo Mari (Yuuri's mother) appeared in Oz, Outlanders, and, most recently, Gangsta.
Most of them have also done h-anime work. (A voice actor's gotta earn a living, you know.)
The director, Shibuichi Setsuko, is a veteran animator. She also directed Damekko Dobutsu (Useless Animals), one of my favorite short series. The songs are by Toy Boys and are typical 90s hard rock.
Iri translated the show, Yogicat timed it, I edited and typeset, and bananadoyouwanna and Nemesis did QC. The raws are from laserdiscs, encoded by Erik of Piyo Piyo Productions. The first episode includes a recorded performance of Toy Boys' Psychedelic Beat, which is used as an insert song in the episode. Our media guy bought the CD single of the song, which facilitated translating the lyrics. The names of the Chinese dishes in episode 2 are a bit problematic; they are a mangled mixture of Mandarin and Cantonese spoken by a Japanese actor with a faux Chinese accent. gu niang (姑娘), also used in episode 2, is a Chinese word meaning a young girl or maiden.
So enjoy Yuukan Club. It is, as the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy says of Earth, Mostly Harmless. There's little onscreen violence and no nudity. (This can be seen as a plus or a minus, depending on your point of view.) You can get it from the usual torrent sites or from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net. The episode 1 CD single (Psychedelic Beat, Shake Dance) is also available.
Eien no Filena (Eternal Filena) is a 1992 OVA series with six episodes. It's based on a series of light novels written by Takeshi Shudou and illustrated by Takada Akemi. In 1995, it was made into a role-playing game for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. Although the game was only released in Japan, patches and walk-throughs are available in English.
Eien no Filena is set in a fantasy empire vaguely similar to the Roman Empire, but with most mod cons - TVs, telephones, and cars, but not airplanes. Like Rome, this Empire has gladiatorial contests, between slaves called Battlers. Unlike Rome, the contests are scripted, sort of a lethal version of today's professional wrestling bouts. (The opening episodes' gladiatorial combat scenes contain graphic violence.)
The protagonist of the story, Filena, is the surviving princess of a kingdom called Filosena, which is wiped out by the Empire in the opening moments of the story. Raised as a boy, Filena fights as a Battler, using her wits and speed to compensate for her small stature and lack of strength. With the help of friends, including her "wife" Lila - another slave - Filena must outwit and outlast her enemies in order to reclaim her destiny and her throne. The show is, after all, "the story of a hero," as the opening narration repeatedly proclaims.
Except... the show never gets there. Rather like Wolf Guy, it gets to the Big Reveal of the Big Bad and then stops.
Perhaps the OVAs were just a teaser for the novels. Also, they were released before the light novel series was finished. Either way, the inconclusive ending make the show a bit of a disappointment. In addition, the possibilities of Filena's gender switch and her "marriage" to Lila are never explored. Filena's disguise as a man is thin: she has a nice figure, and it shows.
Nonetheless, the male characters don't seem to catch on.
This project started in Stardust Fansubs. At Stardust's request, konnakude brought it to Orphan to be reworked and completed as a joint project. Exode of Stardust did the original translation, and Mitsora of Stardust translation checked episodes 1-3. tenkenX6 checked the last three episodes. Yogicat timed, I edited and styled, and Calyrica, konnakude, and VigorousJammer did QC. The raws are Laserdisc rips from the Internet and are fairly good.
Filosena was played by Andou Arisa, a veteran voice actor with many roles to her credit, including a number of h-animes. For example, she appeared in Doukyuusei Climax, which Orphan translated. Lila was played by Mizutani Yuko. She too has many normal and h- credits, including Pinoko in all the Black Jack properties and Rika in Sei Michaela Gakuen Hyouryuuki, another Orphan project. Horiuchi Kenyuu (Nest) has an extensive resume, including Jin Akira in Wolf Guy and the title role in Guin Saga. Hori Hideyuki (Baraba) also had a lengthy career. The background music and ending song, by guitarist Jinmo, are spare and very effective. The character designs by Koizumi Kenzo, based on Takada Akemi's original illustrations, are unusual, featuring normal noses and eyes rather than the usual anime conventions.
I'd really like to know how Eien no Filena turns out. Everything on the web seems to reflect the game. If anyone has read the light novels, feel free to post an extensive spoiler in the comments. Meanwhile, you can get the OVA at the usual torrent sites, from bot Orphan|Arutha in IRC channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net. You can also get the original soundtrack on the usual torrent sites.
Orphan and M74 are proud to bring you a new version of Tezuka Osamu's 1984 TV special Daishizen no Majuu Bagi (usually translated as Bagi, the Monster of Mighty Nature). This release features a high-resolution, 720p encode and, for the first time, a professional translation. With this show, we've reached the halfway point in our collaboration with Beatrice Raws to release all of Osamu's NTV "Love Will Save the Earth" TV specials in high-definition.
Bagi tells the story of a human-cougar hybrid created in a super-secret government lab. Bagi escapes and is adopted as a normal kitten by a boy named Ryousuke, whose mother actually created Bagi as an experiment. As Bagi grows up, she starts to exhibit human traits, including the ability to stand on two legs and to write. Realizing that she is attracting suspicion, Bagi runs away. The devestated Ryousuke turns rebellious and joins a biker gang. Nine years later, the gang encounters the now fully grown Bagi. She tears everyone to pieces except Ryousuke, whom she recognizes. Together, they set out to discover the secret of Bagi's origin and to find Ryousuke's mother. Many wild adventures ensue.
The show is filled with nice touches. While the young Bagi looks like a normal kitten, the grown Bagi is a full anime cat-girl, complete with (fur-covered) breasts. This allows for some fanservice interludes, but they're not over the top. Bagi is very loyal to Ryousuke, a trait not normally associated with cats, particularly big cats, and she has the perplexing habit of sometimes dressing up in clothes and sometimes going bare, without any particular rationale for the choice. At one point, Ryousuke is guarded by Cerem Bond, a sort-of James Bond parody, at least if the background music can be taken as a clue. Bond leaves every decision to chance, kind of like Two-Face (Harvey Dent) in Batman. And various members of Osamu's "star system" show up as bit players.
According to Wikipedia, Bagi was Tezuka Osamu's protest against the Japanese government's decision to allow research on recombinant DNA. Today, the furor over gene manipulation has only grown, with large companies creating genetically modified organisms (GMO) for commercial profit, and a growing segment of consumers demanding clear labeling (fiercely resisted by agribusiness) and GMO-free food. The advent of inexpensive techniques for DNA manipulation, such as CRISPR/Cas9, means that recombinant DNA research will become ever more widespread - and potentially ever more dangerous.
I've chosen to use the literal translation of Bagi's name (バギ) rather than Baggy, which appeared in previous English translations. (Baggy would be バギー.) There's no reason to alter the Japanese title. For this release, M74 transcribed and timed the subtitles and encoded the BD source. I edited and typeset. We both did QC, along with Nemesis.
The adult Ryousuke was played by veteran seiyuu Inoue Kazuhiko. He has had starring roles in many shows, playing Yuki Eiri (the seme) in Gravitation, Saruwatari Gotou (co-lead) in Moonlight Mile, Tojo Iori (the noble gangster) in Tomoe ga Yuku, and Hatake Kikashi in the Naruto franchise. However, he's best known to me as the glorious comic voice behind Nyanko-sensei (and his alter ego, Madara) in all six seasons of Natsume Yuujinchou. Shimazu Saeko, the voice of Bagi, has also had a fine career, playing Yuri, one half of the eponymous Dirty Pair, as well as featured roles in the Ranma 1/2 and Urusei Yatsura franchises. Haneda Kentarou, who composed the music, has worked on many shows, including Barefoot Gen 1 and 2, Odin: Starlight Mutiny, Sherlock Hound, and the original Macross TV series and movies. Tezuka Osamu co-directed; he needs no introduction.
So enjoy this Tezuka Osamu classic. You can get it from the usual torrent sources or from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net.
When Orphan released its LD-based version of Kidaichi Shounen no Jikenbo movie 1, there was viewer pushback on the 640x480-with-letterboxing format that the encoder chose. Some viewers thought it should have been cropped to 640x352 (or thereabouts). Personally, I liked the letterboxing, as it minimized the subtitles' impingement on the limited viewing area, but that was just IMHO.
Shortly after movie 1 was released, a team member noticed that both movies had been broadcast on HDTV in Japan. We were too late to capture the first movie, but someone did encode it. Unfortunately, the encode featured horrible blocking and wasn't usable. Skr downscaled it to 480p and filtered it to produce a usable raw. We're rereleasing movie 1 using this raw for viewers who want a larger, clearer imaging without letterboxing.
This version does have its drawbacks. First, it has a bad video glitch at 35:20.
It was probably caused by signal dropout, a common problem with satellite broadcast channels. Second, it doesn't have the wonderfully hokey preview for the second movie that was on the laserdisc. Accordingly, I don't regard this version as definitive and have labeled it as "v0." It's possible that the HDTV broadcast means a DVD or even BD version of these movies is in the offing. It's equally possible that these movies will not see the light of day again for a long time.
Meanwhile, if anyone does find a better raw or has an uncorrupted transport stream, we'll do a true v1.
I won't repeat the original credits. For this release, Yogicat shifted and aligned the script to the new raw, I restyled the dialog and redid all the signs, and Skr did the encode and the release check. You can get the release from the usual torrent sites or from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news.
