2019 in Review

After three years of continuous project growth, Orphan cut back this year. Many people on staff, particularly the translators and encoders, were snatched up by that dread event called Real Life; others retired or went missing or comatose. Still, there were quite a few interesting releases this year, ranging from a children's classic (Manxmouse) to epic historical drama (the Sangokushi movies).

Orphan Fansubs

Orphan's original projects for 2019 were:

1. Majo Demo Steady. A sexy sci-fi comedy. Laserdisc encode.
2. Eguchi Hisashi no Nantoka Narudesho! The second (and much worse) of Eguchi Hisashi's anthology shows. Hard to watch and harder to unsee. Laserdisc encode.
3. Tezuka Osamu's Tales from the Old Testament: In the Beginning, episodes 1-6. Tezuka Osamu's take on the Bible, featuring substantial textual liberties and a lot of cute animals. DVD encode.
4. DAYS: Touin Gakuensen. The true continuation of the DAYS TV series, documenting a high-tension match between rival teams. DVD encode. 
5. Maze Movie promo. The Maze movie is probably lost forever; only this tantalizing fragment remains. Laserdisc encode. 
6. Fukuyama Gekijou - Natsu no Himitsu. A charming anthology of stories for children, ranging from comedic to poignant. Laserdisc encode. 
7. Oedo wa Nemurenai! The last of the Margaret shoujo OVAs, and by far the best. Set in the Shogunate era, it tells a fast-moving tale of a intrigue and romance. VHS encode. 
8. Akatsuki no Yona OADs. The concluding episodes (alas) of Yona on anime, providing the background of Zeno, the last of the four dragons to be introduced in the TV series. DVD encode; joint with FFF.
9. Manxmouse. The Paul Gallico children's classic about a misshapen ceramic mouse that comes to life and ventures off to see the world. Laserdisc encode.
10. Amaama to Inazuma. An utterly charming slice-of-life series about a widowed father of a six-year-old girl, and their joint quest to escape an endless fate of store-bought meals. BD encode; joint with Godless Fansubs.
11. Sangokushi Daiichibu Eiyuu-tachi no Yoake. The first movie in the Sangokushi trilogy, documenting Cao Cao's rise to power. DVD encode.
12. Sangokushi Dai Ni Bu Choukou Moyu! The second movies in the Sangokushi trilogy, covering the events leading up to and immediately following the Battle of Red Cliffs. DVD encode.
13. Tezuka Osamu Ga Kieta?! 20 Seiki Saigo no Kaijiken. A tribute to the godfather of manga, bringing together his most famous characters to solve a mystery. DVD encode.
    
14. Sangokushi Dai San Bu Harukanaru Taichi. The final installment in the Sangokushi trilogy, covering the deaths of the major protagonists and the continuing stalemate in the battle for supremacy in China. DVD encode.
15. Let's Nupu Nupu. A series of racy comedy shorts more or less centered around an inept talking cat. Laserdisc encode; joint with Beatrice-Raws. 
16. AWOL Compression Remix. A ragtag team of specialists from the Allied planets must defeat a seemingly unstoppable terrorist organization. Laserdisc encode. 
17. Hiatari Ryoukou 25-48. The completion of Adachi Mitsuru's classic slice-of-life romcom-with-baseball from the 1980s. DVD encode; joint with ray=out.
18. Karuizawa Syndrome. A sexy, slice-of-life seinen show about a happy-go-lucky photographer and the women in his life. DVD encode.

The availability of new sources, as well as Orphan's significantly improved transcription capability for analog media, resulted in a record number of reissues:

1. Hashire Melos v2. A new encode, with proper scaling and better color equalization. Laserdisc source.
2. Tomoe's Run (v3?).  A new encode, at the proper frame rate, using the Domesday Duplicator. Laserdisc source.
3. Singles v2. A new encode, based on an uncompressed VHS capture. The improvement over the original ARR capture is significant.
4. Meisou-ou Border v2. A new encode, based on an uncompressed VHS capture. The improvement over the previous capture is amazing.
5. Boyfriend OVA. This is the "full length" version of Boyfriend, two parts totaling 110 minutes, versus the 94 minute TV special. New material and a vastly improved encode. Laserdisc source.
6. Al Caral no Isan v2. A new encode, using the Domesday Duplicator. Laserdisc source.
7. Tsuki ga Noboru made ni v2. A new encode, using the Domesday Duplicator. Laserdisc source; a substantial improvement over the VHS raw used previously.
8. Ultra Nyan (theatrical version). A new encode, using the Domesday Duplicator. Laserdisc source.

A big shout-out to our intrepid media maven, for setting up the media transcription capability in Japan, and to Erik of Piyo Piyo Productions, for his continual help and support. I also want to thank the Arutha foundation, which has hosted all of Orphan's releases on IRC. 

The Audio Side

Orphan released a lot of audio projects this year. Unless otherwise indicated, the sources were CDs and were ripped by Orphan's intrepid media maven.

1. Majo demo Steady image album.
2. Fukyuyama Theater original soundtrack.
3. Oedo wa Nemurenai! original soundtrack.
4. Singles original soundtrack.
5. Kiss wa Me ni Shite original soundtrack. 
6. Oshare Kozou wa Hanamaru original soundtrack.
7. Capricorn image album.
8. Project A-Ko 2 expanded soundtrack. Laserdisc source (Pony Canyon dual disc).
9. Boyfriend OP/ED single.
10. Hashire Melos ED single.
11. Boyfriend original soundtrack.
12. POPS original soundtrack.
13. Tomoe ga Yuku! music collection.
14. AWOL original soundtrack.
15. A-Girl original soundtrack (from Meisen).
16. Fighting Beauty Wulong OP/ED collection.
17. Majo demo Steady original soundtrack. Laserdisc source (Pony Canyon dual disc).

This shows where most of my media budget was spent this year...

Work for Other Groups

There seems to be less each year.

• Frozen-EviL. I continued to edit the Blu-Ray version of Yawara!
• Saizen. I continued to edit and typeset Laughing Salesman.
• Soldado. I QCed this year's Ninku releases. I'm actually finished, but the last five episodes haven't been released yet.
• Kiteseekers. I finished typesetting Idol Densetsu Eriko... and right glad I am about that.

Laughing Salesman continues to be a useful diversion; I find its exceedingly dark humor appropriate for the times. The end is in sight, and the team is doubling back to redo the first 25 episodes in HD. Yawara! continues to be fun, and I'm getting to see all the episodes I missed by coming in at the middle of the story in the DVD project.

Favorites of 2019

I'm not an anime critic, so I no longer try to compile a "best of" list for the anime year. These days, I don't watch enough anime, outside of the genres I like (slice-of-life, comedy, sci-fi, seinen, josei, cats), to be knowledgeable enough to make a "Top 10" list. Instead, I'm listing my favorites of the year and why they kept me interested all the way through.

My choices this year, in alphabetical order, are: 

• Dororo. Although this seems to violate my preference for shows without violence, I simply could not look away. This updating of the Tezuka Osamu classic improves on the source material while remaining faithful to the master's humanistic spirit.
• Doukyonin wa Hiza, Tokidoki, Atama no Ue. (My Roommate Is a Cat.) Well, it has cats, so need I say more? In fact, it's a remarkably complex story about how the interaction between a damaged man and his wary feline helps heal them both.
• Fukigen na Mononokean: Tsuzuki. A totally unexpected sequel to a modest fantasy series that I really enjoyed. It was wonderful to see Abeno, Ashiya, and of course Fuzzy, again.
• GeGeGe no Kitaro (2018). Still running after two years, and consistently excellent. It's made me look at earlier incarnations of the franchise, none of which, alas, are completely subbed.
• Kanata no Astra. A damned near perfect space opera. Not ponderous like Legend of the Galactic Heroes, not totally goofy like Hoshi Neko Full House, it blends adventure, danger, comedy, and camaraderie perfectly.
• Kono oto Tomare! A sports anime of sorts, but laser-focused on its characters rather than the typical shounen challenges.
• Mayonaka no Occult Koumuin. Another supernatural sleeper that hit it out of the park, despite limited production values. A humanist take on human-youkai relations, rather more optimistic than GeGeGe no Kitarou.
• Sarazanmai. This show that grabbed my interest from the opening frames and never let go. I did not like Ikuhara Kunihiko's previous series; I found them pretentious and depressing. This one has all of Ikuhara's trademark idiosyncrasies, but it tells a coherent and compelling story despite (because of?) the quirks.

I don't have any honorable mentions, but my Guilty Pleasure list is filled with detective shows, including anything with Tsuda Kenjirou, like Cop Craft and Special 7. And I liked the short series Yatogame-chan Kansatsu Nikki, for no discernible reason.

I know I should watch a broader range of anime. I'm missing out on terrific shows like Vinland Saga, Mix, and Beastars, but I Yam What I Yam - a confirmed old curmudgeon and likely to remain so. At least this way, I don't have to watch isekai or idol shows.

Looking Ahead

Orphan Fansubs will continue to focus on The Shows That Time Forgot™, probably at a slower pace than before. There's no shortage of good material to work on, and interesting raws are more abundant than ever; but qualified staff is in short supply. If you're a translator, encoder, QC, or yes, even an editor or typesetter, with an interest in the back catalog, please get in touch. We're a harmonious group of cats, if a bit old-fashioned; a team without Discord, so to speak.

Thanks, everyone - both team members and fans. Have a happy and safe 2020.

Karuizawa Syndrome

Here's another OVA with a bit of a checkered past, 1985's Karuizawa Syndrome. As originally made, it included live-action sequences of nude AV models. The sequences had nothing much to do with the actual story, and as a result, the OVA was rather poorly received. An anime-only version was released on VHS in 1986, and amazingly, it crossed the analog-digital divide and got a DVD release in 2002. That's the version Orphan used for this release. Sorry, AV fans.

Karuizawa Syndrome tells the story of Aizawa Kohei, former leader of the biker gang Deep, now turned freelance photographer specializing in nudes. (Maybe that was the justification for the live-action sequences.) Kohei has nothing much more on his mind than having fun and getting laid. He and his best bud Matsunama Sumio hoped to bum their way across the U.S. in a jeep, but that fell through. Now the pair, flat broke, are forced to flee creditors in Tokyo and take shelter in Karuizawa (a mountain resort town in Nagano province) with Sumio's sister Kaoru, who is also Kohei's childhood friend. There, Kohei meets a number of other women, including Kuonji Noriko (known as Non), the former leader of a girls' biker gang. She's brought Kunoshita Kumiko with her, in hopes of settling the score with Deep, whose members gang-raped Kumiko's older sister and drove her to suicide. Also in the picture are the proprietor of the local coffee shop La Cuca, the proprietor's sister, Minowa Milk, a local girl named Tsunoda Eri, and the current leader of Deep, Onda Jiro. Kohei tries to score with anything female, succeeds with both Non and Kaoru, and apparently gets both of them pregnant. (Non's actually just late.) The stress causes Kohei to flee the scene and take up with one of his models, Yukari, but she's sick of her aimless life and intends to return home and get married. Kohei realizes that he can't continue drifting. He returns to Karuizawa and Kaoru, apparently ready for a steadier relationship... maybe.

It's hard to characterize Karuizawa Syndrome; perhaps it's best described as a seinen slice-of-life. There's comedy, there's angst, there's drama, and there's lots of nudity and sex. However, all the sex scenes are done with super-deformed (chibi) characters - a stylistic decision that seems weird at first but that helps to keep the scenes light and frothy.

The character designs are also a mix of realistic and chibi styles. The younger siblings (Sumio and Kumiko) are drawn as chibis, with massive mops of hair, making them look about eight years old. In fact, they're both grown-ups.

The voice cast is a who's who of 1980s seiyuu stalwarts, and there's a staggering amount of overlap with previous Orphan releases:

• Shiozawa Kaneto (Kohei) played Shin in Hiatari Ryoukou, Iason in Ai no Kusabi, Rock Holmes in Fumoon, Shiina in Chameleon, Sanzou in I am Son Goku, and Kurahashi Eiji in Nine, all Orphan releases. He also played Joe in Tokimeki Tonight, Yoshio in Miyuki, Takeshi in Touch, D in Vampire Hunter D, Narsus in Arslan Senki OVA, Rosario in Dragon Half, and Abriel senior in Crest of the Stars.
• Toda Keiko (Noriko Kuonji, Non) played Hitomi in Cat's Eye, Iczer-2 in Iczer-One, Blinky in Fushigi ga Koala Blinky, Kitarou in Gegege no Kitarou (1985), Nina in High School Agent, Kiki in the Kiki no Lala series, Anpanman in the Anpanman franchise, Karara in Space Runaway Ideon, Sophia in A Wind Named Amnesia, Kate Jackson in Bavi Stock, and Eterna in Hoshi Neko Full House. The last two are Orphan releases.
• Sakakibara Yoshiko (Kaoru) played Sybil in Black Magic M-66, Sylvia Stingray in Bubblegum Crisis/Crash, Sir Integra Hellsing in both versions of Hellsing, Paula in Condition Green, Melinda Hearst in Dallos, and Mimau in Greed. The last three are Orphan releases.
• Matsuya Yuji (Sumio) played Margu in God Mars, Tatsuya in Touch, Pen Pen in Mr. Penpen, Kouji in Kiteretsu Daihyakka, Irabu in Kuuchuu Buranko, Jecy in Hi-Speed Jecy, Yuusaku in Hiatari Ryoukou, and Daisuke in Stop!! Hibari-kun. The last three are Orphan releases.
• Tsuru Hiromi (Milk) debuted as Perrine in Perrine Monogatari. She went on to play Kashima Miyuki in Miyuki, Madoka in Kimagure Orange Road, Barge in Blue Sonnet, and Mikami Reiko in Ghost Sweeper Mikami. She also played Keiko in Hiatari Ryoukou, Nozomi in Nozomi Witches, Jill in A Penguin's Memories, UFO-chan in Dokushin Apartment Dokudami-sou, and big sister Shizuka in Tomoe's Run!, all Orphan releases.
• Tanaka Hideyuki (La Cuca's manager, Minowa Takanari) played Terryman in the Kinnikuman franchise and Rayearth in Magic Knight Rayearth. He also played 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, and Ma Su, Fengji's lover, in Sangokushi 3, all Orphan releases.
• Tominaga Miina (Eri) played Ritsu in Fruits Basket (2002), Persia in Magical Fairy Persia, Rollpanna in the Anpanman franchise, Misaki in Tsuritama, Muuma in Bavi Stock, Hikaru in Chameleon (2-6), Kamiya in Tokimeki Tonight, and Karen in Yuukan Club. The last four are Orphan releases.
• Hironaka Masashi (Jiro) played Ihika in Yousei-Ou and Kazusa in Tomoe's Run!, both Orphan releases, as well as Siegfried in Legend of the Galactic Heroes
• Ogata Kenichi (Jiro's father) 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. He played the Lord of Kaga and narrator in Oedo ga Nemurenai!, the governor in Akuemon, the crooked casino boss in Okane ga Nai!, the Hong Kong chef in Yuukan Club, and the ruthless rival cyborg in Kigyou Senshi Yamazaki: Long Distance Call, all Orphan releases. 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.
• Miyuki Sanae (Kumiko) played Lynn in Lady Lady!! and  Botan in Yu Yu Hakusho. She also played Namiko in Akai Hayate, the Star Cat in Hoshi Neko Full House, and Kotetsu in Oedo wa Nemurenai!, all Orphan releases.
• Yokozawa Keiko (Yukari, the model) is probably best known for her starring role as Sheeta in Castle in the Sky. She played the title roles in Charlotte (1977), the Dorami-chan properties, and ESPer Mami, as well as leading roles in Plastic Little and Legend of Lemnear. She also played Pandora in Akuma-tou no Prince Mitsume ga Tooru, an Orphan release.
• Yamada Keaton (Naruse Dai, head of the modeling agency) played the narrator in Master Keaton, Kanako's father in Boyfriend, and Xun Yu in Sangokushi 1 and 2. The last two are Orphan releases.

The director, Nishikubo Mizuho, also helmed Miyuki, Purple Eyes in the Dark (an Orphan release), and most recently, Giovanni's Island. The music is by Kazato Shinsuke, who also wrote the scores for Urusei Yatsura, the Kinnikuman franchise, and Legend of the Galactic Heroes (OVA version).

A few translation notes:

• After Kaoru loses her virginity with Kohei, she makes an enormous breakfast, including red bean rice. That dish is a dead giveaway to her friends, because it's often used to celebrate a significant milestone in a woman's life.
• When Milk is wondering why Kohei is so popular, she uses the word kei-haku-tan-sho, which refers to a trend in consumer products for "smaller, lighter, better." Kohei mishears it as houkei tansho, meaning "small and uncut."
• Milk tries to teach Kumiko to resist Kohei's advances with the phrase, "I want to have a platonic relationship." Kumoko mishears "platonic" as "plastic" and proceeds to mangle the phrase totally, producing "I want to halve a plastic relay stripper."
• Eri tells Kaoru that Non is also pregnant by Kohei; this seems to precipitate Kaoru's miscarriage. Eri isn't messing with Kaoru. The manga makes it clear Eri hadn't heard that Non's pregnancy was a false alarm.

Moho Kareshi did the original translation. convexity checked the dialog and signs and translated the songs. ninjacloud timed, I did editing and typesetting, and Nemesis and VigorousJammer did QC. The encode is by fong, from an R2J DVD. The raw includes a six-minute promo at the end.

So Orphan is ending 2019 on the same note as it began, with an ecchi OVA. (Our first release of the year was Majo Demo Steady.) I quite enjoyed Karuizawa Syndrome, although it's a bit dated in its attitudes. It's available from the usual torrent sites as well as IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net.

Hiatari Ryoukou

Every now and then, I remember that Orphan Fansubs was started to complete series  abandoned (orphaned) by other groups. Simultaneous streaming has reduced the likelihood of abandoned series, so the original mission has been complemented, or perhaps overtaken, by a focus on shows stranded on the wrong side of the analog-digital divide. However, I do keep an eye on my "orphan series list," and occasionally an opportunity arises to check one off. Here, without further ado, is Hiatari Ryoukou. 

Hiatari Ryoukou (48 episodes, 1987-1988) was the fourth of Adachi Mitsuru's manga to be adapted for anime, and his fourth baseball rom-com, following Miyuki, the much shorter Nine, and the much longer Touch. It took over Touch's TV slot, thereby providing Japanese audiences with three continuous years of Adachi Mitsuru.  It bears more of a resemblance to Nine than to Touch, but it has many of the same stock Adachi character types and plot situations.

The Hiatari Ryoukou project began in ray=out in 2012. I was asked to edit on a freelance basis. The project struggled to maintain a consistent release cadence: an initial set of releases in 2012, almost nothing in 2013, a burst up to episode 24 in 2014, and since then, nothing, even though the basic script work - translation, timing, editing, encoding - was finished in early 2014. (I documented my frustrations with the project in this blog post.) Well, the wait is now over. Starting just after Labor Day, I went back to the Hiatari Ryoukou scripts, revisited the editing, typeset where necessary, and asked the Orphan team to help with additional translation and QC. It took just about three months to get everything in reasonable shape. So here, at long last, are the final 24 episodes of Hiatari Ryoukou. I have not revisited the first 24 episodes, nor do I intend to, but they are included in the batch for convenience.

Hiatari Ryoukou is as standard an Adachi Mitsuru story as you can imagine. Kishimoto Kasumi lives in her aunt's boarding house with four (male) students from Meijou, her high school: Takasugi Yuusaku (the good-natured one), Ariyama Takashi (the heavy one), Mikimoto Shin (the conceited one), and Aido Makoto (the invisible one). She has an older boyfriend, Muraki Katsuhiko, who is often off the scene, in college in America. Yuusaku, Ariyama, and Shin all end up playing for Meijou's fairly pathetic high-school baseball team, which is managed by Kasumi's friend Seki Keiko. Shin and Ariyama have a yen for Keiko. Yuusaku, although attracted to Kasumi, believes that he should defer to Katsuhiko, particularly when the latter returns to coach the Meijou team. The messy romantic relationships overlap with the baseball team's quest to become contenders and reach Koshien. Stir and repeat for 48 episodes. It's lighthearted fun. However, the ending is very rushed and abrupt, and the baseball side of the story is never resolved.

The voice cast includes many veterans of Adachi Mitsuru world, as well as some newcomers.

• Morio Yumi (Kasumi) played Akimoto Reiko in the long-running Kochikame franchise.
• Mitsuya Yuuji (Yuusaku) played Tatsuya (the lead, a Yuusaku clone) in Touch, Pen Pen in Mr. Penpen, Kouji in Kiteretsu Daihyakka, Irabu in Kuuchuu Buranko, Jecy in Hi-Speed Jecy, Seki in Majo demo Steady, and Daisuke in Stop!! Hibari-kun. The last three are Orphan releases.
• Shiozawa Kaneto (Shin) played Iason in Ai no Kusabi, Rock Holmes in Fumoon, Shiina in Chameleon, Sanzou in I am Son Goku, and Kurahashi Eiji, the ace pitcher, in Nine, all Orphan releases. He also played Joe in Tokimeki Tonight, Yoshio in Miyuki, Takeshi in Touch, D in Vampire Hunter D, Narsus in Arslan Senki OVA, Rosario in Dragon Half, and Abriel senior in Crest of the Stars.
• Hayashiya Kobuhei (Ariyama) is a Humanities professor and rakugo artist. His anime credits include Koutarou (the Ariyama clone) in Touch and Yoichi in the Kochikame franchise.
• Tsuru Hiromi (Keiko) debuted as Perrine in Perrine Monogatari. She went on to play Kashima Miyuki in Miyuki, Madoka in Kimagure Orange Road, Barge in Blue Sonnet, and Mikami Reiko in Ghost Sweeper Mikami. She also played Nozomi in Nozomi Witches, Jill in A Penguin's Memories, UFO-chan in Dokushin Apartment Dokudami-sou, and big sister Shizuka in Tomoe's Run!, all Orphan releases.

The chief director, Sugii Gisaburou, needs no introduction to readers of this blog. His many credits include other Adachi Mitsuru series (Touch and Nine); Nozomi Witches and Hidamari no Ki (both Orphan projects); and several recent movies. The songs are by various artists, including Serizawa Hiraoki, who did many of the songs for Nine. Just to emphasize the continuity, the last insert song in Hiatari Ryoukou is a variation on Midsummer Runner, the ending song for Nine.

This completion of Hiatari Ryoukou retains the styling decisions (dialog and song styles, the use of honorifics, the inconsistent romanization of long vowels) from the ray=out episodes. Compared to the state of the scripts in 2014, the main changes are:

• Translation of missing lines and more signs.
• Translation checking on the insert songs.
• An additional editing pass.
• Timing cleanup.
• Additional QC. 
• Wider horizontal margins and more frequent line breaks.
• Typesetting with motion capture to compensate for image instability.

The credits for these 24 episodes are a bit complicated. Athanor provided the DVD raws. For ray=out, AgitoAkito encoded, tacokichi translated, nollarg timed, alchemist11 styled, and first Saji and then Samika did QC through episode 38. For Orphan, I edited, checked, and typeset, Nemesis did QC, and Skr, Iri, and convexity translated missing lines and signs. convexity translation checked the insert songs.

With the success of Mix, Adachi Mitsuru is experiencing another revival, and several of his properties have shown up in high-definition on Japanese streaming sites. Mostly, they look like upscales - sometimes laserdisc upscales - but we can always hope for remastered versions done from original sources. In the meantime, here's Hiatari Ryoukou. You can get the episodes from the usual torrent site or from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net.

Orphans Dashboard

Except for short-runtime shows, few current series are left orphaned, because almost everything gets streamed and captured. Thus, orphaned series are mostly a matter of the back catalog.

Orphans rescued since I started this blog (aka, the Honors List):

• 3000 Leagues in Search of Mother (Marco) (neo1024)
• Aim for the Ace! (Bluefixer)
• Akai Hayate (Orphan)
• Alps Stories: My Annette (Licca)
• Amuri Star Ocean (mixed groups)
• Before Green Gables (ARR)
• Black Jack: the last OVAs (Bluefixer)
• Blue Dragon (Takeo84)
• Busou Chuugakusei - Basket Army  (Migoto/anon)
• Captain Tsubasa (Frenchies/Saizen)
• Code Breaker OVAs (Orphan) 
• Corrector Yui (OldCastle)
  
• Cutie Honey (TSHS)
• D4 Princess (tipota & Orphan) 
• Daa! Daa! Daa! (Aozora & TMUsubs) 
• Dash Kappei (Shindoi) - although it's a bit of a "do it yourself" project
  
• Dream Dimension Hunter Fandora (OnDeed)
• Gallery Fake (Muji) 
• Gyagu Manga Biyori S2 (sulez_raz) 
• Haita Nanafa second series (Omen then Glitch)
• Hakugai: The Legend of Moby Dick (tipota)
• Hakuouki - Otogisoushi (YouTube)
• Hal & Bons - last episode found subtitled on YouTube
• Hell Teacher Nube (ARR)
• Hiatari Ryoukou (ray=out-Orphan)
• Hidamari no Ki (Orphan)
• Hi-Speed Jecy (Orphan)
• Hyouge Mono (Doremi)
• Idol Densetsu Eriko (Kiteseekers & Licca) 
  
• Kakyuusei (1995) (Orphan) 
• Kakyuusei (1999) (C1) 
• Kiss Dum (Doutei)
• Kyou Kara Ore Wa!! (Saizen & Yabai)
• Jang Geum's Dream (ARR)
• Les Miserables Shoujo Cosette (Licca & Wasurenai) 
• Lime-iro Ryuukitan X Cross (Kiteseekers) 
• Little Women II (Licca)
• Love Get Chu (Oyatsu, Yoroshiku)
• Maicching Machiko-sensei (streaming on CR)
• Maple Story (Linguistic) - Korean audio
• Marginal Prince  (aarinfantasy)
  
• Marie & Gali S1 (Wasurenai)
• Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch (KiteSeekers) 
• Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch Pure (Licca & Wasurenai) 
• Miyuki (FroZen-EviL)
• Mizu Iro Jidai (Kiteseekers)
• Neon the Animation (Migoto & ray=out)
  
• Ninku (SolZen), using the new Blu-Ray release 
  
• Onara Garou (Kaitou, Double, and anon)
• Perrine Monogatari (Licca & KiteSeekers & Wasurenai)
• Porphy no Nagai Tabi (Licca)
• Rakugo Tennyo Oyui (ARR)
• Saint October (ReDone)
• Shinshaku Sengoku Eiyuu Densetsu Sanada Juu Yuushi (Sanada 10) - Orphan
  
• Showa Monogatari (GotWoot)
• Sonic Soldier Borgman TV (Mushin) - based on HK subs
• Sonic Soldier Borgman: New Century 2058 (Orphan)
• Souten Kouro (Gotwoot & Doutei) 
• Stop!! Hibari-kun! (Orphan)
• Tetsuko no Tabi (m.3.3.w) 
• Tokimeki Tonight (Orphan-Saitei)
• Tono to Issho S2 (anonymous)
• Ultraviolet Code 44 (KiteSeekers)
• Yamato 2520 (Orphan)
• Yawara (FroZen-EviL)
• Yoshimune (ARR)

Note that the list only includes series that were started by one group and abandoned and then picked up and redone or finished by a different group. Subbing old series that were never done before doesn't count; nor does resuming a series after a long pause. ARR's subs are often derived from Hong Kong or Malaysian DVDs.

Orphan rescues in progress (aka, the Fingers-Crossed List):

• Patalliro (aarinfantasy) 
• The Kobocha Wine (Flapsubs)
  

The note from the previous list applies here as well.

Orphans stuck in limbo (aka, the Series Broiler list):

• 3-Choume no Tama: Uchi no Tama Shirimasenka? 
  
• BAR Kiraware Yasai
• Chikkun Takkun
  
• Dibetagurashi
• Gene Diver
• Kuruneko
  
• Lady Georgie 
• Magnerobo Ga-Keen
  
• Oh! Family
  
• Onegai My Melody S3
• Piroppo
  
• Puu-neko
• Robin Hood no Daibouken 
• Romance of the Three Kingdoms (2010)
• SuzakiNishi
  
• Tanoshi Moomin Ikka
  

(Updated 10-Sep-2023)