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.