The End of the Road: Kakyuusei (1999)

So here, at long last, is the end of the "-uusei" franchise: 1999's non-hentai TV series, Kakyuusei (1999). With the release of this show, all eleven titles in the series are now available with English subtitles:

1. Doukyuusei: Natsu no Owari ni (1994); released in the US on DVD; rips available.
2. Doukyuusei Climax (1995-96); subtitled by Orphan.
3. Kakyuusei: My Petty Class Student (1995); subtitled by Orphan.
4. Doukyuusei 2 (1996-98); subtitled by Orphan.
5. Tenkousei (1996-97); subtitled by Orphan.
6. Doukyuusei 2 special: Sotsugyousei (1999-2000); subtitled by Orphan.
7. Elf ban Kakyuusei: Anata Dake o Mitsumete... (1998); subtitled by IY-F.
8. Kakyuusei (1999); subtitled by C1.
9. Kakyuusei 2 (2004); subtitled by Lunar.
10. Kakyuusei 2: Anthology (2006); subtitled by Erobeat.
11. Kakyuusei 2: Sketchbook (2007); subtitled by Erobeat.

The first five are borderline hentai; the last two are real hentai; and the middle four are PG-rated. Doukyuusei 2 (shorn of its sex scenes), Kakyuusei (1999), and Kakyuusei 2 were broadcast on TV. All the others were OVAs. All of them, except Kakyuusei (1995), were released on DVD; that one only never got past laserdisc.

Kakyuusei (1999) has the same plot structure as all the rest. The happy-go-lucky but undistinguished protagonist, Yamaguchi Tsuyoshi, a third-year high-school student, discovers the girl of his dreams, in this case a demure first-year student named Minamizato Ai. Before they can find their stumbling way to true love, Tsuyoshi is distracted by other girls. Eventually, the series settles down to a final rivalry for Tsuyoshi's affections between Ai and her best friend Iijima Miyuki. Tsuyoshi is aided, sort of, by his comical wingman, Gotu Minoru, who has a hopeless crush on their homeroom teacher, and opposed by the rich school playboy, Haruhiko Satake, who believes he is God's gift to women. Eventually, true love triumphs. What a surprise! The show is entirely innocuous, with nothing more serious than a kiss. The fourteenth episode isn't really part of the series. It provides a bit more fanservice, but nothing like the famous extra episode in Maze.

This series has been a long time coming. It began three years ago, when C1, an old line fansubbing group, suddenly revived after a four-year coma. Progress was slow, because the group leader had real life commitments, and the project almost died twice. As result, the credits are a bit complicated:

• Translation: EmptySoul (1-7), Moho Kareshi (8-14).
• Translation Check: Meiko (1-7), EmptySoul (8-12), kokujin_kun (13-14).
• Timing: EmptySoul (1-12), Eternal_Blizzard (13-14).
• Karaokes: EmptySoul (OP, ED1); Eternal_Blizzard (ED2, ED3)
• Editing: Collectr (all).
• Typesetting: EmptySoul (1-8), Collectr (9-14).
• QC: Calyrica, Eternal_Blizzard, Xanth.
• Encoding: anonymous.

The source is an R2J DVD set, but it's a mess of interlaced and blended frames, just like most of the other shows in the series. Perhaps a more labor-intensive encoding process could have done better, but the series isn't worth it.

Toochika Kouichi, who voiced Tsuyoshi, played the lead in the Comic Party shows and has had an ongoing role in all the Naruto properties. Sango Minako (Ai) played the same role in Elf Ban Kakyuusei and appeared in Tenkousei and other h-anime shows. Sonozaki Mie (Miyuki) played the same role in Elf Ban Kakyuusei and had featured roles in Kingdom, Strike Witches, and the Happy Lesson properties. The director, Kashima Norio, has a few other directing credits, including Elf Ban Kakyuusei and Refrain Blue.

There's nothing that really distinguishes Kakyuusei (1999) from any of its siblings. Its content is tame but otherwise follows the same plot line. If you aren't totally jaded by harem anime derived from eroge, you might like it; but to me, it seems fairly generic.

A batch torrent will be forthcoming for ease of downloading. There won't be any changes.