Monday, September 24, 2018

Okane ga Nai!

So why, after swearing off R1-licensed anime, is Orphan releasing Okane ga Nai? Call it conservation of momentum. The project got started yonks ago, when M74 and I were plotting to redo some of the early BL OVAs. M74 had the Okane ga Nai DVDs, and we used them to release the four omake with softsubs and proper typesetting. That led us to look at the OVAs proper. aarinfantasy's release was hardsubbed and marred by video artifacts, while Nosmas' release was upscaled, had the usual awful R1 subtitle timing, and lacked typesetting. So in for a penny, in for a pound...

If you're not familiar with Okane ga nai! (No Money!), it's a borderline hentai BL OVA about a college student (Ayase) forced to pay off his debt to a loan shark (Kanou) with his body. That's probably enough information for most people. If you need more, read the Wikipedia article.


The OVAs cover the first two volumes of the manga, which relate how Kanou "acquires" Ayase and then defends him against crooked a casino boss and then a corrupt politicians. It includes a lot of (too much, in fact) non-consensual sex, occasional violence, and some humor. Because the two leads spend most of their time in angst-ridden conversation and introspection, the humor comes from the side characters: Kanou's baka "younger brother" Gion, who wants to use the pair for the ultimate porn movie; Someya Kaoruko, Kanou's transgender childhood friend and client, who runs an okama bar; and Kanou's twin assistants, Homare and Masao, who observe their employer's moods, ranging from furious anger to anxious jealousy, with deadpan humor and not a small touch of dread.

The voice cast includes a cross-section of the industry.
  • The incomparable Fukyuma Jun (Ayase) starred as Panda in Shirokuma Cafe, an Orphan release, Geass in Code Geass, Yukio in Ao no Exorcist, Keita in Inukami!, Kuro-sensei in Assassination Classroom, and Tokidoki in Amatsuki (an Orphan release), among numerous other roles. He is one of the major seiyuu in current anime.
  • Kosugi Juurouta (Kanou) made his debut at the villainous Eyesman in Bavi Stock I, an Orphan release. He played Touji in Ninku and de Morcerf in Gankuutsuou. He also played Oguma in Fire Emblem, Dr. Bayfarm in Joker: Marginal City, Utsubushi in Amatsuki, and Gisuke in Kage, all Orphan releases. He is still active.
  • Okiayu Ryoutarou (Gion). His 30-year career recently included the lead roles in Keppeki Danshi Aoyama-kun and Recorder and Randsell. He played Gorgeous in Maze and Ebisu in Noragami. He appeared in Fire Emblem and Yamato 2520, both Orphan releases.
  • Tobita Nobuo (Someya) is best known for the roles of Kamille Bidan (Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam), Albert Heinrich/004 (Cyborg 009 (2001)), and Sueo Maruo (Chibi Maruko-chan). He appeared in Condition Green and Eien no Filena, both Orphan releases. He is still active, appearing in the recent Darling in the FranXX and Sirius the Jaeger.
  • Tsujitani Kouji (Homare) played the title role in the Captain Tylor franchise and the lead role in the 3x3 Eyes OVAs. He also played Guy in Ai no Kusabi, Shou in Condition Green, and Seishirou in Yuukan Club, all Orphan releases. His most recent role was in Kokkoku.
  • Hatano Wataru (Misao) played the hapless zookeeper Handa-kun in Shirokuma Cafe, an Orphan release, Kajii in Bungo Stray Dogs, and Nobunaga in Nobunaga no Shinobi. He is still very active, appearing in a dozen shows this year.
  • Ogata Kenichi (the crooked casino boss Hayashida) played the put-upon father in Gosenzosama Banbanzai and Maroko, as well as Smee in Peter Pan no Bouken, rival cyborg Suzuki in Kigyou Senshi Yamazaki, the Hong Kong chef in Yuukan Club (an Orphan release), 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.
The director, Sokuza Makoto, has a few other credits, notably the original (excellent) Kyou no Go no Ni OVAs.

The subtitles are basically from the R1 DVD, but I've interpolated from the aarinfantasy scripts in places, because the R1 subs are rather prissy and indirect sometimes - an odd choice for BL OVAs. M74 and Yogicat timed, I edited and typeset, Calyrica and I QCed, and M74 encoded. This is an Orphan and M74 joint release.

We've packaged the Okane ga Nai extras with this torrent, to make a complete offering. You can get the show from the usual torrent site or download it from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news on Irc.rizon.net.





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