Ziggy Sore Yuke! R&R Band

Anime offerings involving real rock-and-roll bands are pretty rare; and when they're made, the plots always seem to be slightly batshit. Perhaps it's the influence of Yellow Submarine, which placed the Beatles in a psychedelic fantasy world with a flower-people-versus-Blue-Meanies plot. In Seikimatsu: Humane Society, the titular band was portrayed as demons from another plane trying to conquer the world. And in 1991's Ziggy Sore Yuke! R&R Band (Go Ziggy! R&R Band), the real-life Japanese band Ziggy is portrayed as falling afoul of evil neo-Nazis who want to yet again Conquer The World™, this time through rock music.

I'm not sure who dreams up these plots, or who pays them to do it, but in greater detail: The Japanese band Ziggy, consisting or Morishige, Sounin, Oichan, and Ooyama, are in London for a recording session. Their producer, Bernie, is suddenly killed, and the band is framed for the crime. Pursued by both Scotland Yard and the true villains, the band members flee into the backstreets of London and take refuge in the local rock scene, led by Carrie and Sonia. The villains, directed by a right-wing big shot named Stronburg, track them down and steal a guitar Bernie left behind. But the real prize is in the guitar case: a mysterious song score that has the power to brainwash audiences. The bad guys kidnap Carrie and demand the score in exchange for her life. The trade is going badly when Scotland Yard intervenes and gives chase. It all ends at a rock concert in Liverpool, where Ziggy must decide whether to play the brainwashing song to save Carrie, or to stay true to the spirit of rock music. You can guess how it ends.

Ziggy Sore Yuke feels like a bizarre cross between Hellsing, with neo-Nazis in a Zeppelin, and a rock music video. There are plenty of songs, but there's also plenty of plot, including murder, kidnapping, foot chases, car chases, and aerial chases, all leading to a climactic battle in which a bunch of punk rockers defeat gun-toting villains by using drumsticks and bare fists. It makes for a pretty strange experience. Maybe it all depends whether you like the music, or what mushrooms you've eaten lately.

As in Yellow Submarine, the band members in Ziggy Sore Yuke! R&R Band are played by professional voice actors; only the songs feature the voices of the band itself. The cast includes:

• Tsujitani Kouji (Morishige) played the title role in the Captain Tylor franchise and the lead role in the 3x3 Eyes OVAs. He also played Takuto in Boyfriend, Guy in Ai no Kusabi, Shou in Condition Green, and Seishirou in Yuukan Club, all Orphan releases.
• Matsumoto Yasunori (Sounin) starred as Johnny in Starship Troopers, Kaname in Singles, and Tooru in Every Day Is Sunday, all Orphan releases. He was in numerous OVAs in the 1990s, including Seikimatsu: Humane Society, Fukuyama Gekijou - Natsu no Himitsu, and Al Caral no Isan, also Orphan releases. Among his notable roles were Wataru Akiyama in Initial D, Jean Havoc in Fullmetal Alchemist, Gourry Gabriev in Slayers, Ryou in Sonic Soldier Borgman, and a personal favorite, Dick Saucer in Dragon Half.
• Nakahara Shigeru (Oichin) played the title role in Arion and Fujiwara no Takamichi in Haruka Naru Toki no Nake de 3. He had featured roles in Ai no Kusabi, Dragon Fist, Dokushin Apartment Doukudami-sou, and Neko Neko Fantasia, all Orphan releases.
• Tobita Nobuo (Ooyama) played Lumial in the Angelique franchise, Ken Wakashimazu in the Captain Tsubasa franchise, Randy in Fake, Sinistra in Kiddy Grade, the title role in Locke the Superman, and Dayon in Osomatsu-san. He appeared in Condition Green and Eien no Filena, both Orphan releases.
• Osamu Kobayashi (Stronburg) played the title role in Ogon Bat and Ulysses 31. He also appeared in Miyuki.
• Orikasa Ai (Carrie) made her debut in Shoukoushi Cedie. She played the title role in Romeo no Aoi Sora, Fee in Planetes, Seguchi Touma (the record company president) in Gravitation, Quatre in Gundam Wing, and Ryouko in the Tenchi Muyo franchise. She also played Sara in Eien no Filena, Toryune in Al Caral no Isan, and young Mars in Fire Emblem, all Orphan releases.
• Hisakawa Aya (Sonia) has had a prolific career. She played the title roles in Mamono Hunter Youko, Voogie's Angel, and Iria: Zeiram, Skuld in the Ah! My Goddess franchise, Cerberus in Card Captor Sakura, Sailor Mercury in the Sailor Moon franchise, Yuki in Fruits Basket, Haruka in RahXephon, Youko in The Twelve Kingdoms, and Storm in X-Men. She starred as Mishima Misako in Yume Tsukai, Shana in Al Caral no Isan, and Koneko in Ear of the Golden Dragon, all Orphan projects.

The OVA was directed by Mori Kazuhiro, who did storyboards and episode direction for Idol Densetsu Eriko and Yawara!, among other credits.

One translation note: the credits at the end are in English and reflect the usual problems with transliterating, in both directions. I've chosen to use actual English names for the western characters and modern romanization for the Japanese ones:

• Bernie instead of Burny
• Carrie instead of Carry
• Sounin instead of Sownin
• Ooyama instead of Ohyama

Of course, some of the western names can't be untangled. Inspector Nerigun? No idea what that was supposed to mean.

This project is Iri's brainchild. He bought the DVD and did the translation. tenkenX6 and Sunachan filled in a couple of difficult-to-hear lines. ninjacloud timed, I edited and typeset, and Nemesis and Topper3000 QCed. The encode is by M74. The source is a mess, unfortunately: badly interlaced, with plenty of blended frames.

So if you'd like to rock out, late 80s style, and watch some rockers versus villains shenanigans, you can get Ziggy Sore Yuke! R&R Band from the usual torrent site or from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net. Party on, dudes!