Tezuka Osamu's Tales from the Old Testament, Ep 7-9

It's been more than a year since the previous release, but here at last are the next three episodes of Tezuka Osamu's Tales from the Old Testament. These episodes tell the stories of the descendants of Abraham.

Episode 7 ("Isaac and Ishmael") touches on one of the important themes of the Patriarchal era - the question of succession. Do the father's land, goods, and spiritual inheritance go to the eldest son or the most deserving son? (It was always a son; this was called the Patriarchal era for a reason.) Was the succession determined by God or by more human factors, like schemes and plans? Isaac succeeds Abraham because Isaac's mother Sarah arranges for older brother Ishmael and Ishmael's mother Hagar to be banished. Jacob succeeds Isaac because his mother Rebecca arranges for Isaac to steal his father's blessing from Esau. And Joseph is set on his path to glory because his jealous brothers sell him into slavery.

Although this episode relates the facts of Ishmael's banishment, there's not much tension about or insight into the events. Ishmael's a good and dutiful son; Isaac is still an infant. Sarah is jealous of the younger and prettier Hagar and wants her gone. Abraham agrees because God tells him that everything will work out. Ishmael and Hagar agree to leave for the same reason. Hagar and Ishmael almost perish in the desert but are saved by God' intervention. Ishmael becomes the legendary founder of the Arabs. Rocco the fox puts in his usual cameo. It's all rather anodyne; Bible stories for children.

Episode 8 ("The Sacrifice of Isaac") retells one of the most profound and confounding stories in Genesis, the Binding of Isaac. God commands Abraham to sacrifice his only son Isaac as a burnt offering. Abraham submits. Father and son set off to a distant mountain. When Isaac asks, "Where is the lamb for the burnt offering?", Abraham only replies, "God himself will provide the lamb." Abraham binds his son and prepares to kill him. At the last minute, God stays Abraham's hand and provides a ram to be sacrificed in place of the boy.

The account in Genesis is terse, ambiguous, and terrifying. Isaac's feelings about the matter can be surmised from the fact that he never speaks directly to his father again. Here, Isaac is shown as submitting to God's will. In fact, Genesis says nothing about Isaac submitting; that's a later interpolation in Christian and Islamic traditions. Rocco again makes multiple appearances for comic relief. They feel more out of place than usual.

The Binding of Isaac has inspired great art, including some of the greatest paintings of the Renaissance:

In contrast, the artwork here is anime-standard; Isaac seems asleep:

The story has inspired poets and singers, such as Leonard Cohen's haunting Story of Isaac. Here there is pathos, but no poetry.

Scholars of all the western religions have argued about the Binding of Isaac for centuries: Was it a sham? Was it real? Was it a test of Abraham's faith? Of Isaac's submission to God? Here, it's just another anecdote, on par with Rocco's pursuit of a rabbit. One translation note: the episode title is literally "Abraham Sacrifices/Offers/Dedicates Isaac," but I've used the more familiar Western name for the story.

Episode 9 ("Joseph's Dreams") seems more comfortable terrain for the series. Joseph and his brothers has been a staple children's story for years (for example, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat), and the series is very comfortable telling it at that level. All the discordant details, such as Potiphar's wife and her attempted seduction, are omitted. Joseph is sold into slavery, becomes known for his dream interpretations, shows Pharoah what the future holds in store for Egypt, and is rewarded with a position of prominence. The stage is set for the story of Moses, the Exodus from Egypt, and the giving of the Ten Commandments, which will occupy the next six episodes.

New voice actors include:

• Toriumi Katsumi (Ishmael) played the male lead, Wakamatsu, in Miyuki. He appeared as Shigeru in Yume Kakeru Kougen, an Orphan release.
• Doi Mika (Hagar) played the title roles in Angel Cop and Explorer Woman Ray, Hayase Misa in the Macross franchise, the empress (Lafiel's grandmother) in the Crest of the Stars saga, Tabitha in the Zero no Tsukaima properties, Eclipse in Kiddy Grade, the narrator in Mushishi, and Nanase in Natsume Yuujinchou. She appeared as Yukari in Mikeneko Holmes no Yuurei Joushu, Rosa in Seikima II Humane Society, Captain Deladrier in Starship Troopers, and multiple roles in Kage, all Orphan releases.
• Iwanaga Tetsuya (Isaac) played the male lead, Mizuhara, in the El Hazard franchise, as well as Aida in the Evangelion franchise. He appeared in Yamato 2520, an Orphan release.
• Yanaka Hiroshi (Joseph) played Shiba in the recent revival of Piano and Gorou in the Free! franchise. He played Yuurakutei in Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinji and appeared in Noragami, Nanbaka, Terraformars, Wild 7, and Hidamari no Ki. The last two are Orphan releases.
• Okabe Masaaki (Pharoah) had featured roles in Legend of the Galactic Heroes and Sanctuary, an Orphan release.

The Orphan staff credits are the much the same. Skr did the heavy lifting: translation, timing, and encoding. I edited and also tweaked the typesetting. Nemesis and BeeBee QCed.

I hope it won't be a year until the next set of episodes, but I can understand why Skr is more motivated to work on Crayon Shin-chan than this series: Shin-chan has a lot more laughs. In any case, you can get these three episodes from the usual torrent site or IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net.