Leiji Matsumoto is one of the great names in Japanese manga. His numerous projects include The Cockpit, Space Battleship Yamato (with Yoshinobu Nishizaki), Space Pirate Captain Harlock, Galaxy Express 999, Galaxy Railways, Space Symphony Maetel, Ozuma, Queen Esmeraldas, and Queen Millennia. Virtually all of his manga have been adapted to anime, and the shows are very popular in Japan. However, treatment in the West has not been so kind. Harmony Gold mashed together Captain Harlock and Queen Millennia into a show called Captain Harlock and the Queen of a Thousand Years. It sank without a trace and is now considered lost. Captain Harlock was eventually released to streaming media and licensed by Discotek. Queen Millennia remained unavailable... until now. After 13 years, Live-eviL has finished its fansub of this incredible series, releasing the last four episodes yesterday. It's now possible to binge-watch this show in its entirety.
Despite the long duration of the project, Live-eviL's treatment has been remarkably consistent, despite changes in every department - translation, checking, timing, editing, typesetting, and QC. (The last episode contains a credit roll of all the people who worked on the show; it's huge.) There are subtle changes over the years. The Live-eviL IRC channel moved from EnterTheGame to Rizon. The fansub credits during the opening were replaced with the Japanese production credits; the fansub credits moved to the ending. The romaji font for the opening was updated to be more readable. Consistency may be hobgoblin of small minds, but it certainly helps the viewer if there are no jarring changes in fonts, names, and terminology as a long series progresses.
The voice actors were icons of 1980s anime but are probably not well known to current audiences:
Despite the long duration of the project, Live-eviL's treatment has been remarkably consistent, despite changes in every department - translation, checking, timing, editing, typesetting, and QC. (The last episode contains a credit roll of all the people who worked on the show; it's huge.) There are subtle changes over the years. The Live-eviL IRC channel moved from EnterTheGame to Rizon. The fansub credits during the opening were replaced with the Japanese production credits; the fansub credits moved to the ending. The romaji font for the opening was updated to be more readable. Consistency may be hobgoblin of small minds, but it certainly helps the viewer if there are no jarring changes in fonts, names, and terminology as a long series progresses.
The voice actors were icons of 1980s anime but are probably not well known to current audiences:
- Han Keiko (Yukino Yayoi, the "Queen Millennia" of the title) starred in numerous World Masterpiece Theater adaptations, playing Becky in Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Annette in Alps Story: My Annette, Meg in Little Women, and Nancy in Pollyanna. She played Queen Promethium in the numerous Millennia spinoffs and sequels, as well as Luna in the Sailor Moon franchise.
- Toda Keiko (Amamori Hajime, Yukino's helper) starred as Kitarou in the 1980's versions of GeGeGe no Kitarou, as Anpanman in the Soreike! Anpanman franchise, and as Hitomi, one of the leads, in Cats Eye. She also appeared in Hi-Speed Jecy, Oz, Bavi Stock, and Hoshi Neko Full House (all Orphan releases).
- The late Nagai Ichirou (Professor Hajime) appeared as Konaki-jiji in the 1980's versions of GeGeGe no Kitarou and as Happosai in the Ranma 1/2 franchise.. He also provided the off-the-wall narration in Gosenzosama Banbanzai and Maroko. He played Tezuka Ryousan in Hidamari no Ki, Professor Doherty in Nora, Togo in Yamata 2520, and the Hong Kong mafia leader in Yuukan Club (all Orphan releases).
A great series that I've known when I got two VHS tapes from Glass no Bara, the only fansubber that worked in this series in the pre-digital era. She called the series Millennial Queen, btw. It's good to see it completed after all these years.
ReplyDeleteThese are some freat news. Queen Millenia is probably my all-time favorite TV show, and to tink they kept working on translation all these years is fascinating.
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