Saiyuuki (1960) HD

In honor of the 60th anniversary of its release in 1960, Orphan is releasing a high-definition version of Saiyuuki, encoded from an HDTV version of the movie's recent 4K remastering. Our loyal fans (all six of them) have been asking for a high-definition version of Saiyuuki ever since a 1080p web rip became available in 2017. However, I felt the video in that raw was no better than the original release, which used ARR's DVD encoding and remains available. This new version is a major improvement, with more vibrant colors and greater image stability.

Saiyuuki was based on Tezuka Osamu's highly popular manga of the same name, which in turn was based on the Chinese classic Journey to the West. Tezuka's name was used prominently in promoting the film, although he always denied active involvement in the production. According to some sources, he was displeased with the film's happy ending, and that spurred him to form his own animation company, Mushi Productions.

Saiyuuki is set in China and recounts the adventures of Son Gokuu, a monkey king. Son Gokuu is both powerful and willful. In his arrogance, he challenges heaven itself and is punished by exile to Mount Gogyou. He is eventually released on condition that he accompany a monk named Sanzou to India in order to receive the Buddhist sutras. Along the way, he defeats and then befriends the pig-man Cho Hokkai and the ogre Sa Gajou. Together, they must confront and defeat the terrible bull demon Gyuumaou before Sanzou can accomplish his mission.

 

 

The core cast is supplemented by Rin Rin, a love interest for Son Gokuu, and Shouryuu, a mischievous imp whose head horn doubles as an antenna for a 1960s mobile phone.

Like the original manga, Saiyuuki is a mishmash of styles, with plenty of anachronistic elements. Broad comedy is mixed in with action and chase sequences. Western influences coexist with Asian styling and thought. For example, the gods are depicted with angelic halos, and some of heaven's denizens are from Greek mythology. When Cho Hakkai is trying to impress his bride-to-be (actually Son Gokuu in disguise), he appears successively in formal Western attire, then in a Russian Cossack costume, then as an Indian chief, and then as a hula dancer. Still, Saiyuuki is recognizably a children's film in the 1950s Disney mold. Action sequences alternate with slower sections to allow kids to "cool off." Songs are used to underline the characters or delineate chapters. (Songs account for 10% of the lines in the script.) And despite trials and tribulations, the good guys triumph.

 

Saiyuuki was Toei Douga's third color animated film. The animation is fluid and represents a real advance over the studio's previous animated movies, although there are obvious animation errors; for example, Son Gokuu disappears in one frame of a sequence. Personally, I find the movie a bit bland. I prefer Takahata Isao's Horus: Prince of the Sun, which shows signs of his unique directorial sensibility, even though it too is a G-rated children's movie. Horus is lively, while Saiyuuki is frenetic. However, Saiyuuki was a greater commercial success in Japan. It was redubbed and re-edited for the North American market as Alakazam the Great but failed at the box office.

Because the movie is sixty years old, the voice cast belongs to an earlier era of Japanese animation:

• Komiyama Kiyoshi (Son Gokuu) appeared as the puppeteer in Oedo ga Nemurenai!, an Orphan release. He also appeared in the original Astro Boy, the original GeGeGe no Kitarou, Candy Candy, and other roles.
• Kinoshita Hideo (Cho Hokkai) played Rock in Wan Wan Chuushingura, an Orphan release. He also appeared in other Toei Douga movies, including Sinbad and Wanpaku Ouji.
• Shinoda Setsuo (Sa Gajou) also appeared in Wanpaku Ouji.
• Sekine Nobuaki (Sanzou) appeared in Jungle Taitei, Devilman Lady, Heat Guy J, and Salaryman Kintarou.
• Shindou Noriko (Rin Rin) appeared in Wanpaku Ouji, Sinbad, and Princess Knight.

A few translation notes:

• ri is an old unit of distance, equal to 3.927 kilometers.
• Gogyuu, the mountain where Gokuu is imprisoned, takes its name from the five elements of Chinese medicine: earth, wood, metal, fire, and water.

The subs are little changed since the first release, although the typesetting had to be redone. Magistral did the initial translation; convexity checked the dialog and translated the songs. M74 timed the first release; Yogicat cleaned the timing up for the new raw. I edited and typeset. Calyrica and konnakude did QC on the first release. banandoyouwanna encoded the raw from a TV capture; the resolution is 1280 x 544 (effective 720p). Even though this version is based on the 4K remaster, the video quality wasn't good enough for a 1080p encode. Perhaps we'll get a real Blu-ray someday and be able to release in full HD.

If you missed Saiyuuki the first time, here's an opportunity to see it at higher resolution, with its glorious colors restored.. You can find this release on the usual torrent site or download it from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net

Choosing Sources

Orphan does many of its show from analog sources - laserdisc by preference, VHS if need be. This reflects the team's interest in the "anime that time forgot" rather than nostalgia for old technology. But occasionally, as with the recent Amon Saga, we'll use an analog source (in this case, laserdisc) instead of an available digital source (in this case, DVD). This raises a valid question: why? Aren't modern digital sources always better?

For modern anime, which are created on computers, the answer is always yes. For back catalog shows, particularly those originating on film stock, the answer is mostly yes. Digital sources have error correction; analog sources do not. Digital sources can be replayed and will always yield the same bit stream; analog sources will not. However, there are cases where an analog source is a valid alternative to a digital source, or even a preferable alternative.

Case 1 - the digital source has been altered in some irremediable way. A notorious example of this is the Maze TV series. The DVDs ares censored; the laserdiscs are not. Further, the series masters are apparently lost, so the laserdiscs are the only possible source for the original version. Another example is Legend of the Galactic Heroes (the 110 episode OVA version). Scenes in episodes 06, 07, 15, 18, 20, 21, 23, 25, 26, 27, 28, 31, 34, 35, 37, 38, 39, 40, 42, 43, 44, 46, 47, 48, 50, 52, 56 and 92 were redrawn for the digital releases. Is the new animation better or worse? I don't know (reviewers have mixed opinions), but it's different.

Case 2 - the digital source has been carelessly mastered. This is more controversial, because the appearance of a source is in the eye of the beholder. In the early days of DVDs, mastering was often terrible. For example, the Yawara! DVDs looked like VHS transfers, and the Laughing Salesman DVDs were awful too. Erik of Piyo Piyo Productions ripped Amon Saga despite the availability of a DVD (something he almost never does) because prevailing opinion said the DVD was terrible. Members of the Orphan team prefer the laserdiscs of Project A-ko to the DVDs and, apparently, so does Discotek.

Case 3 - the digital source is unaffordable. Yes, economics play a role, especially in a volunteer hobby like fansubbing. Some DVDs were produced in small quantities and have become collector's items. For example, Heart Cocktail was released on six laserdiscs; the first four were released on DVD. When it's for sale, which is rarely, the second-hand DVD sells for hundreds of dollars. So if Orphan ever does sub Heart Cocktail, it will be from laserdiscs. Cost considerations may also dictate the use of a VHS source rather than a laserdisc source. The Aoki Honoo laserdisc, and the first volume of Kasei Yakyoku, when they come up for sale, sell for exceedingly high prices, so Orphan used VHS tapes for those shows.

 

I maintain a list of "problematic sources" used in prior Orphan releases. The team has standing searches on Japanese second-hand sites to find better source material, but most of the searches have been fruitless, even over several years. The best hope may be that the properties show up on a streaming site, either remastered or with a good transfer, but that's unpredictable. The ownership rights for old shows can be very murky, and the masters may no longer exist. Still, you never know.

Sweet Spot

Here's an almost totally unknown work from director Sugii Gisaburou, the 1991 OVA Sweet Spot. Based on a manga by Chuusonji Yutsuko, it tells the story of OL (office lady) extraordinaire and golf fanatic Oyamada Non. She is 23 and works at Major Products in Tokyo's commercial district, Marunouchi. Between bossing her bosses and managing her managers, she finds time to golf, shop, party, and pursue the important things in life, i.e., marriageable men. In short, it's a comedy.

Sweet Spot doesn't have much of a through plot; rather, it's a series of vignettes. First, Oyamada organizes a "50th anniversary golf competition," even though the company is only 42.5 years old. Next, her drive to succeed convinces her boss that she can entertain an important client at a golf resort; the client turns out to be a lush. She then confronts the different attitudes of the younger generation - her sister and some college students - who regard golf more as a fashion accessory than as a serious game. Finally, she tries her hand at socializing, first at a mixer with colleagues, and then with her manager. Throughout, she runs rings around everyone. The laughs are frequent, unexpected, and not in the least mean-spirited. Even though I concur that "golf is a good walk spoiled," I quite enjoyed the show.

Sweet Spot has unusual character designs, very flat and cartoonish. It was the first project for character designer Eguchi Marisuke, who would collaborate with Sugii Gisaburou on many other projects, including Nozomi Witches and Hidamari no Ki (both Orphan releases), Arashi no Yoru ni, Lupin III: The Secret of Twilight Gemini, and Cinnamon the Movie. Sugii was at the height of his fame, having just finished his Adachi Mitsuru trilogy - Nine, Touch, and Hiatari Ryouko (the first and last are also Orphan releases). The OVA was made in collaboration with Fuji TV. In an unusual move, there's only one real seiyuu - Morio Yumi (Oyamada Non), who starred as Kasumi in Hiatari Ryouko. All the other roles were played by announcers from Fuji TV, most of whom never appeared in any other anime. The ending credits feature live action of the dubbing session, and there's a short promo at the end that showcases more of Fuji TV's announcing talent.

Sweet Spot is another goodie from Erik's pile of Laserdisc Goodness. He ripped it on his Domesday Duplicator and encoded it. There's some video and audio glitches, but as Erik noted in his release blurb, the disc is rotted, and there's only so much software can do. Iri translated and rough timed, Yogicat fine timed, I edited and typeset, and Nemesis and BeeBee QCed. The show has a ton of location signs, and they're all rather jittery, but they're not motion-tracked. Life is too short. Both the digital and analog audio tracks are included. The digital sounds better, but the analog has fewer glitches.

The show is heavy with 1990s slang. For example, Oyamada is referred to as an "oyaji" (old man) gal, because she likes activities associated with older men - golf, table massages, etc. The "kogal" dialog of the college girls is almost incomprehensible, perhaps in order to set up Oyamada's "I can't understand what you people are saying!" outburst. The absurdist humor is evident in this exchange between Oyamada and her section head:

Boss: Oyamada-kun,can you stop wearing spikes and making noise as you walk around the office?
Oyamada: I cannot.
Boss: Huh?
Oyamada: Section Head, even as I'm making tea, I'm walking on the fairway called life.

Well, perhaps you need to be there.

So if you're ready for a break from the heavy stuff Orphan's been releasing lately, you can find Sweet Spot on the usual torrent site or download it from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net. As Oyamada says, "Shot!"

Mea Maximum Culpa (Exper Zenon v2)

What, another v2? Yup... and for a problem that's happened before: timecodes. Several of the raws Orphan has used have had timecode problems. For example, a discrepancy between Aegisub and MPC-HC throws off some 29.97 fps raws. Some H.265 raws that we've used have "mid-frame" timecodes that get interpreted one way by Aegisub and another by MPC-HC. There have been other issues too. Typically, a timecode problem throws the signs and the dialog off by one (or more) frames. The solution in all cases is simple: generate timecodes in Aegisub and mux them into the final release in place of the original timecodes.

The problem usually surfaces during QC or RC, when a muxed version is reviewed. That happened with Amon Saga and others. But sometimes, the problem is not noticed until the release is public. That's what happened with the Orphan-PPP joint project, Exper Zenon. So here, alas, is v2.

Because the fix is a timecode swap, the problem is easily patched. You can get the patch here. For reference, I'm posting a new torrent and updating the file on Orphan|Arutha for downloading.

Again, I'm sorry for the inconvenience. And I'll be checking timecodes for every release from now on.

Nagasaki 1945: Angelus no Kane (The Angelus Bell)

The atomic bombing of Nagasaki on August 9, 1945, is less well known that the bombing of Hiroshima three days earlier, for several reasons. Because it was first, Hiroshima has become synonymous with the terror of atomic warfare. The casualties at Hiroshima were higher. And Hiroshima has received most of the long-term media and historical coverage, whether in print (John Hersey's Hiroshima), anime (Barefoot Gen, Kuroi Ame ni Utarete, Kuro ga Ita Natsu), or movies. The 2005 anime movie Nagasaki 1945: Angelus no Kane (Nagasaki 1945: The Angelus Bell) seeks to tell the less well known story of Nagasaki's ordeal.

Like most accounts of historic horrors, Nagasaki 1945: Angelus no Kane is told from the viewpoint of a survivor. The main character, Dr. Akizuki Tatsuichirou, is the lead medico at St. Francis Hospital, a converted Christian religious institution. The hospital is just far enough (1.4 km) from ground zero to be spared immediate destruction, although it catches fire and becomes unusable. Akizuki and his staff are able to get the patients out of the burning building and to relative safety. However, in the aftermath, many patients, as well as survivors who reached the hospital from the city, die of burns or from massive doses of radiation. Shortages of medications, and lack of treatments for radiation poisoning, lead to steadily mounting casualties and declining morale. Finally, a massive typhoon on September 16 washes much of the radioactive fallout out of the air and the radioactive ash off the ruins, bringing some relief to the devastated city.

Nagasaki 1945 tells its story calmly, without anger, but with a mounting sense of despair.  (Indeed, the only time Dr. Akizuki shows visible anger is when the head of the local association - basically, a government informer and enforcer - comes by with a cock-and-bull story about Japan dropping atomic bombs on America.) The hospital staff gamely tries to carry on, initially helped by the discovery of a small cache of medications in an undamaged storeroom. When Japan surrenders and the Americans arrive, the US military (portrayed as monsters and rapists in Japanese propaganda) tries to help. But the scope of the disaster is beyond anyone's means to alleviate, and only nature provides some ultimate balm. The movie tries to end on a hopeful note, showing how the surviving locals dug up one of Urakami Cathedral's Angelus bells in time for Christmas, but it's small solace.

The cast of characters is huge, and as is sometimes the case, the voice cast is only identified by name, without their roles. Here are some of the better known seiyuu:

• Itou Kentarou (Dr. Akizuki) played Doll Isamu in Super-doll Licca-chan, Tetsuo in Hikaru no Go, Akimichi in Naruto, Abarai in Bleach, Tsuchiura in Kiniro no Chord, Riki in Ai no Kusabi (2012), and Tadokoro in Yowamushi Pedal.
• Ogata Ken'ichi played the put-upon father in Maroko, Suzuki in Kigyou Senshi Yamazaki: Long Distance Call, the crooked casino boss in Okane ga Nai!, the Hong Kong chef in Yuukan Club, Chichi's dad in Chiisana Koi no Monogatari, and the Narrator/Lord of Kaga in Oedo wa Nemurenai!, all Orphan releases. He also played Smee in Peter Pan no Bouken and 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. 
• Doi Mika 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 Hagar in Tales of the Old Testament, 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.
• Yamaguchi Kappei (Hayashi, a child with a throat wound) played the lead character in the Detective Conan franchise, Ranma in the Ranma 1/2 franchise, Inuyasha in all the Inuyasha properties, Usopp in the One Piece franchise, Sakuma Ryuichi in Gravitation, Arslan in the Arslan Senki OVA series, the title role in Mouse, Ougi in Boyfriend, and Shibuya in Zetsuai 1989 and Bronze: Zetsuai Since 1989, among many others. The last three are Orphan releases.
  
• Ishimori Takkou played Cesar in Perrine Monogatari and appeared in Akai Hayate, Mikan Enniki, and Usagi Drop.

The director, Arihara Seiji, has helmed several other anime movies set in World War II, including Hi no Ame ga Furu, Ushiro no Shoumen Daare, and Tsuru ni Notte. All of them, including Nagasaki 1945, were made by Mushi Productions, the descendant of Tezuka Osamu's original anime production company. The spare background music is by Koroku Reiijirou, who composed the scores for all the Lion Book OVAs as well as Izumo (1991), all Orphan releases.

I found a raw for the movie on the web. It interested a translator, who wishes to remain anonymous. ninjacloud timed. I edited and typeset. BeeBee and Nemesis did QC. The raw is from R-Raws and is pretty good.

Nagasaki 1945: Angelus no Kane is earnest and straightforward, but it packs an emotional wallop nonetheless. I recommend it strongly. You can get the movie from the usual torrent site or from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net.

Waza no Tabibito

Here's a modern OVA that slipped under the radar, 2011's Waza no Tabibito (Skills Journey). Waza is virtually a one-man production - created, written, designed, directed, and produced by mangaka Matsuena Shun (romanized as Syun in the video), author of Kenichi: History's Strongest Disciple. Iri had a raw of this on his hard drive and decided to translate it, primarily to give me a break from typesetting after some of the recent sign-heavy shows.

Waza no Tabibito is set in familiar sci-fi/fantasy post-apocalyptic landscape. The remnants of human civilization are trying to survive by salvaging parts from the ruins of technological civilization, but they are beset by war-weapon monsters that also survived the previous era. Into this setup wanders Techni Debugger and her owl familiar, Fukku. Techni has come from the far east, whose people have abandoned technology for spiritual power and spells, known as wazan (skills or techniques); practitioners are called wazabito. Techni saves a young girl named Ruri from a monster and gets taken back to Ruri's people, who live in an abandoned city. Her father, Cient, is the city leader. He hopes to resurrect technology, but his burrowings in an abandoned military base have awakened the monsters. They attack the city in force. All Seems Lost™ when Techni-chan charges in with her mystic spells to combat the enemy. Will she succeed? Well, what do you think?

The cliched plot doesn't begin to summarize the issues with this OVA. The CGI backgrounds are pretty to look at,

 

 

but the human characters fall squarely into the "uncanny valley" of viewer discomfort.

 

The writing is clumsy, with long sequences of exposition substituting for organic development. Techni-chan is the epitome of anime cliches, with a cute verbal tic (she's the wazibito who says "Ni"). She's scantily-clad, with enormous breasts bursting from an inadequate halter (monogrammed with the word waza), and skimpy pantsu with well-defined creases. Her boobs move in accordance with the laws of anime rather than real physics, and the 3D CGI only makes it stranger. Her owl familiar is annoying, Ruri is cloying, and Cient is a strawman for western faith in technology. Oh, and Cient's second-in-command is a catgirl named Carrot.

So why did Iri translate the show? Because... KugiRie. Yes, the legendary "queen of tsundere" plays the lead. Indeed, the voice cast is the best part of the OVA:

• Kugimiya Rie (Techni) starred in the title roles for Lotte no Omocha and the Hidan no Aria franchise. She also starred as Shana in the Shakugan no Shana properties, Nagi in Hayate no Gotoku!, Aisaka Taiga in Toradora! and Louise in the Zero no Tsukaima franchise. She played Alphonse Elric in Fullmetal Alchemist (both versions),  Rizel in Rizelmine, Hina in Guardian Hearts, Daisuke in Major, Rose in Dragon Crisis, Momo in the Shokugeki no Souma franchise, Atsumi in Recorder to Ransel, Yukimura in Hyakka Ryouran, Cure Ace in the Precure franchise, Happy in Fairy Tail, and Kagura in Gintama. She also appeared as Rena in Hand Maid May, an Orphan release.
• Seki Tomozaku (Cient) starred in the title roles for Maze and Keniichi: History's Strongest Disciple. He starred as Sousuke in Full Metal Panic, , Kyou in the original Fruits Basket, Gilgamesh in the Fate franchise, Shuichi in Gravitation, Yotaro in Showa Genroku Rakugo, Dee in Fake, Rentarou in Futakoi: Alternative, Ryuuiki in Saiunkoku Monogatari, Nobuo in Nana, Striker in Gangsta, Tanaka in Genshiken, Tenma in Harukanaru Toki no Nake de Hachiyoushou, Suneo in the Doreaemon franchise, and my personal favorite, Chiaki in Nodame Cantabile. He appeared as Hajime in Yume Tsukai, Yagi in Amaama to Inozuma, Reiji in Sanctuary, and Taira in Haruka Naru Toki de Naka de 2, all Orphan releases.
• Kawakami Tomoko (Carrot) starred in the titles roles for Revolutionary Girl Utena, Hikaru no Go, and Chiccha na Yuki Tsukai Sugar. She also played Chiriko in Fushigi Yuugi, Kamio Misuzu in Air, Soi Fon  in Bleach, Rosette Christopher in Chrno Crusade, Yura in Futari Ecchi, Kazuma in Detective Academy Q, Akane in Harukanaru Toki no Nake de Hachiyoushou, Youko in Tactics, Linen in Lime Iro Ryuukitan Cross, Sumi in Amaenaide yo!!, and a personal favorite, Elise the irate personal assistant in Nodame Cantabile. She also played Rinko in Kigyou Senshi Yamazaki: Long Distance Call, an Orphan release.
• Mochizuki Takashi (Fuuku) worked mostly in production. This is his only voice-acting role.
• Satou Arise (Ruri) appeared in Hanamaru Kindergarten, Mobile Suit Gundam 00, Strike Witches, and other shows.

Iri translated and did the rough timing. ninjacloud fine timed. I edited and typeset (no signs!). Nemesis and Topper3000 QCed. tipota encoded the raw from a DVD, and it looks terrific.

Waza no Tabibito won't make you want to claw your eyes out (unlike Twinkle Nora Rock Me!), but it's an waste of art design and computing power on an unoriginal story. Still, if you have an idle half hour, you can admire the pretty pictures (and Iri's excellent translation). You can get the show from the usual torrent site or from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net.

Eiyuu Banka Koushi-den

In these disastrous times since the 2016 US election, I've taken solace in watching (and endlessly rewatching) The Great British Baking Show. One highlight that sticks in my memory is when Mary Berry, the "Queen of British Baking," was viewing a squat loaf made out of all kinds of healthy ingredients. She made a little frown of distaste and said, in an upper-crust British accent of disappointment, "It looks like it's going to be rather good for me." That's a bit how I feel about Eiyuu Banka Koushi-den (The Heroic Elegy of Confucius). It's serious, informative, and intellectually nourishing, but sometimes, I would kind of prefer a trifling bon-bon. Well, we've already released Elf 17, and in the end, Koushi-den is very moving.

Confucius was one of the great philosophers of human history. He lived in the chaotic Spring and Autumn period in China, more than 2500 years ago, when endless warfare among numerous warring states was the norm. His thinking emphasized personal and governmental morality, correctness of social relationships, justice, kindness, and sincerity: departures from the norm so radical in their day (or even today, for that matter) that his philosophy was suppressed until the victory of the Han Dynasty more than 300 years later. His beliefs continue to be influential to the present day, and his descendants constitute the longest recorded pedigree in the world today.

Confucius is a westernization of Kong Fuzi (Master Kong). He was born in the state of Lu as plain Kong Qiu, the illegitimate son of Shuliang He, then aged 60, and a younger woman, Yan Zhengai. His father died when Kong Qui was three, and his mother when he was 15. He wanted to pursue a career in academics, but his birth was considered too lowly. He then took all sorts of jobs to survive - shepherd, trumpeter, babysitter, funeral assistant, bookkeeper - and married at 19. Yet despite these unpromising beginnings, Kong Qiu learned not only to read and write but to understand the complex rites and rituals that already governed Chinese life. By the age of 27, he was already teaching and gaining recognition as a scholar. From then on, he combined a life of scholarship and active political work, attempting not merely to teach but to demonstrate by example how government should work. His insistence on proper actions often got him into trouble with local nobles, and he migrated from state to state throughout his life. However, he also gathered an increasing number of disciples, who eventually codified his teachings in The Analects. He never succeeded in convincing the rulers of his day to abide by principles, but his thoughts influenced rulers through most of the history of Imperial China.

The anime is a straightforward biography. Confucius himself is portrayed as a thoroughly good man whose intentions are repeatedly frustrated by the foolish rulers he attempts to serve. Beyond the main subject, the anime has an enormous number of characters, places, incidents, and ideas, crammed into 90 minutes. You can't tell the players without a program. Except for the seductive Lady Nanzi and the supremely loyal Zigong, there isn't enough time to develop any of the subordinate characters or make them very memorable. So here are some references:

• Zigond, a disciple
• Zengzi, a disciple
• Shuliang He, his father
• Yang Hu, a vassal of the Jisun clan in Lu
• Viscount of Tan, a formative influence
• Yang Yin, a ruler
• Zixia, a disciple

(There will be a short quiz at the end of this review.)

The voice cast includes:

• Kazama Morio (Confucius) played Genji in the Genji Monogatari movie, Susanoo in Wanpaku Ouji no Orochi Taiji, and the elder Satomi in The Wind Rises.
• Genda Tesshou (Zigong) played Colonel Muto in Joker Game, Moloch in Yondemasu Azazel-san, Rei in the Urusei Yatsura franchise, Moguro Fukuzou in New Laughing Salesman,  and "Oyaji" in Mitsuboshi Colors. He also played Paul Rusch in Yume Kakeru Kougen, Jim Hyatt in AWOL Compression Remix, the loyal lieutenant Galbreath in Next Senki Ehrgeiz, the dragonman Baguda in Greed, the narrator in Akai Hayate and Meisou-ou Border, Dog McCoy in Dallos, Hebopi in Wild 7, rebel leader Oosukune in Izumo, and Rikiishi's trainer Kuroki and Kirishima in Eguchi Hisashi no Kotobuki Gorou Show, all Orphan releases.
• Ebara Mahashi (Zengzi) played Might Guy in Naruto, Bolt Crank in Eat-Man, Alastor in Shakugan no Shana, Sebastian Viera in Nodame Cantabile, and Hamegg in Metropolis. He also played the referee in Blazing Transfer Student, Tanzou in Akai Hayate, and Ishizu in Mikeneko Holmes, all Orphan releases.
• Ootsuka Akio (Zilu) played the title roles in all of the Black Jack properties, Ambassador Magma, Blade, and Montana Jones. He also played Gozo in the Aika franchise, Batou in the Ghost in the Shell franchise, the villain All for One in Boku no Hero Academia, and Nyanko Big in one memorable episode of Tada Never Falls in Love. He played George in Condition Green, the narrator in Fire Emblem, Nobunaga the boss crow in Ultra Nyan 2, and Black Jack in Tezuka Osamu Disappears, all Orphan releases. He is still active and appeared in the recently completed Vinland Saga.
• Ikeda Masako (Nanzi) starred as Maetel in the Galaxy Express 999 franchise. She played Perrine's mother in Perrine Monogatari, the phoenix in the Hi no Tori movies, sister Nadoka in Ranma 1/2, and Reiko in Ace wo Nerae.

The movie was directed by the late Dezaki Osamu, who should need no introduction. He directed many famous anime, including Ashita no Joe and its sequel, Ace wo Nerae and its sequel, the Black Jack OVAs and movie, half a dozen Lupin III TV specials, and Kasei Yakyoku, an Orphan release. His visual trademarks - split-screen scenes, stark lighting, and detailed freeze frames that he called "Postcard Memories"- are on full display in this movie.

The project started when Iri saw a used LD of the anime on a Japanese second-hand site. He had not heard of it before, and indeed, at the time, it didn't appear in most the western anime databases. He bought it and sent it to Erik of Piyo Piyo Productions. Erik ripped and released a raw, which enabled Iri to translate and rough time the show. Yogicat fine timed, I edited and typeset, and BeeBee and Nemesis QCed. All this took time, and in the interim, Erik acquired a Domesday Duplicator. I asked him to rerip the show, which he graciously agreed to do, but then the press of other projects prevented him from finishing the work. He sent the raw Duplicator rip to our Intrepid Media Maven™ in Japan, who completed the decoding and encoding to produce the final raw.

Eiyuu Banka Koushi-den sheds a warm and positive light on one of the great thinkers in human history, one much less well known in the west than his near contemporary, the Buddha. You can get the movie from the usual torrent site or from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net

Ten Years Ago on a Cold Dark Night...

It sort of slipped my mind with everything else that's going on these days, but this month is the tenth anniversary of Orphan Fansubs' first formal release.

As I described in this blog post, the name dates back to 2007, when I used it as a one-and-done cover for finishing the h-anime Kage. I came back to the name in the summer of 2010, when I started resubbing shows that suffered from truly horrific defects in their subtitles, like Hand Maid Mai and Nagasarete Airantou, or that had been abandoned in incomplete form. It took a couple of years to find a staff of like-minded enthusiasts, and to shift the focus from resubs to original projects, and from Internet raws to original source material. Now, ten years have passed. The world has gone to hell in a handbasket, but Orphan keeps on truckin' through the anime back catalog.

Throughout the decade, I have been blessed with talented collaborators - translators, timers, typesetters, QCs, encoders, raw providers. They made it possible to tackle more projects as well as larger scale projects. Orphan is a small team but quite harmonious - no "dorama" allowed. It's also geographically diverse, with team members in Europe, South Asia, and North America, plus a sizable contingent in Japan. After hundreds of projects, the team is still going strong.

None of this was planned. The group's focus changed over time, driven by the interests of the team members and by happenstance. Many of us, including most of the translators, are Tezuka Osamu fan(atic)s, and that drove a lot of projects: Cleopatra, Senya Ichiya Monogatari, the Lion Book OVAs, the "Love Will Save the World" TV specials, and of course, Hidamari no Ki. Erik of Piyo Piyo Productions has an amazing collection of anime laserdiscs and the ability to encode them, and that led to a focus on anime titles stranded on the wrong side of the Digital Divide. Our Intrepid Media Maven's curiosity about analog transcription systems brought the Domesday Duplicator and the All-in-Wonder uncompressed VHS capture system to bear on old sources, with outstanding results. Video streaming provided access to sources that seemed lost or out of reach. An anonymous benefactor financed some of the costliest purchases. And so on.

So after ten years, what are my favorites among Orphan's numerous projects? I was tempted to give myself more rope, by allowing groupings (e.g., all the Lion Book OVAs as one selection), but I decided to be disciplined and select my ten favorite individual titles.

1. Hidamari no Ki. This historical seinen series, based on a manga by Tezuka Osamu, tops the list. It hits all my sweet spots. It is dramatic and entertaining, with excellent characters, an exciting plot, and a bittersweet ending. The Orphan series to watch, if you haven't already.
2. Ginga Tansa 2100-nen: Border Planet. This is my favorite among Tezuka Osamu's "Love Will Save the World" specials. It is by turns romantic, scary, funny, and poignant. It exemplifies everything that's good in Tezuka's "entertainments".
3. Sanctuary. A dark, violent, and at times sexy one-shot that epitomizes what I expect in a 1990's OVA: drama, relevance, sex, and violence. It is an unstintingly harsh look at Japanese society in general and Japanese political corruption in particular. It seems just as relevant today.
4. Grim Douwa: Kin no Tori. This exuberant children's tale features amazing animation and outstanding voice acting.
5. Shirokuma Cafe. This show occupied a special place in my heart and weekly schedule for a year. It's funny, charming, and gentle. Give yourself a respite from these troubled times and drop in for an excellent cafe au lait or cafe mocha, while you savor the interplay between the characters and the never-ending puns.
6. Oruorane the Cat Player. You knew there would be a show about cats in my top ten, didn't you? Orphan's done quite a few, and this is my personal favorite. It's mysterious and playful, rather like cats themselves, and casts a spell from its opening frames to the ending.
7. Al Caral no Isan. "Hard" sci-fi about first contact with aliens. Human arrogance meets hidden alien powers with near disastrous results, but the show avoids the usual cliches and moves to an interesting and unexpected conclusion.
8. A Penguin's Memories. Cute penguins act out a serious drama about PTSD following a prolonged and meaningless war. The contrast between form and story is startling and keeps the viewer focused on the content.
9. Amatsuki. Another historical series, although more of a shounen than a seinen. A happy-go-lucky teenager is trapped in a virtual alternate Edo and finds that he is the inadvertent pivot for the entire alternate reality. Based on a long-running manga that has just finished.
10. Yume Tsukai. This show about "Dream Masters" is a deceptively deep study about the traumas of mental illness and the consequences they can have in the real world.

And what's my least favorite among Orphan's projects? That's easy:

1. Twinkle Nora Rock Me! Worst Anime of All Time™, bar none.
2. Bavi Stock II. The runner-up, but it's not really close.

Orphan has spawned a sub-label, Okizari, for h-anime. In addition, some releases (like the Happy Science movies, done for reasons now lost in the past) were left unlabeled.

Orphan will continue to evolve, driven, as much as anything, by demographics. As I get older (and I've been a senior citizen for quite a while), I've become increasingly reluctant to commit to or get involved with long projects. I feel I should leave the lengthy anime series to younger folks with longer time horizons. Meanwhile, there are enough movies, OVAs, and TV specials needing help to keep me entertained. I hope they'll entertain you, our faithful audience, as well.

Elf 17

Orphan's projects get started for all sorts of reasons. Sometimes, a raw intrigues one of the translators. Sometimes, an orphaned series gets resuscitated by fortuitous circumstances. And sometimes, one of the team members has a favorite that they want to do (or redo), and the right source material shows up. That's what happened with Nemesis and Jikuu Bouken Nuumamonjaa. That's what happened with Skr and the forthcoming Makoto-chan movie. That's what happened with me and Yume Tsukai. And that's what happened with our Intrepid Media Maven™ and Elf 17.

Elf 17 is based on a six volume manga (not available in English) by Yamamoto Atsuji. It chronicles the adventures of Prince Masukato Taira (or Muskat Tylor) as he travels around the Galactic Empire, accompanied by Ruu, a winged elf and the strongest creature in the universe, and K.K., a walking arsenal in an armored suit. The 1987 OVA recounts the start of their adventures. The prince stages a no-holds-barred martial arts tournament to find a companion for his travels. The contest is proceeding to a lethal climax when Ruu suddenly flies in and crushes all the competitors. The prince is delighted by the prospect of such a beautiful companion, but K.K. refuses to concede and proceeds to demolish the arena in his attempts to corral Ruu. The prince eventually decides to take both of them along.

Their first (and only) adventure occurs when their spaceship crash-lands on Planet Asaharu, home to a mysterious shrine containing the wine of Bacchus. Although the wine is stored in a supposedly impenetrable sarcophagus, Ruu and K.K. easily remove the lid. However, it's all a dastardly plot by the spaceship's driver, who brought them there deliberately in order to steal the wine. After suitable amounts of comic mayhem, Ruu and K.K. save the day, and everyone heads off for more fun - and trouble - in the galaxy. Well, the OVA is really just a teaser for the manga, a common practice in the 1980s (cf. Sanctuary and Meisou ou Border).

The voice cast is like a rogue's gallery of 1980's OVA seiyuu:

• Honda Chieko (Ruu) played Kurumi in Kimagure Orange Road, Marybell in Hana no Mahou Tsukai Marybell, Amy in the Gall Force OVAs, Rullishia in Dragon Century, Meroko in Full Moon o Sagashite, Marie in Soul Eater, and Lea in the Ancient Book of Ys OVAs.
• Yao Kazuki (K.K.) is best known as Franky in One Piece, but he also played the lead in Makyou Gaiden Le Deus, the title role in Rance, Dark Schneider in Bastard!!, Chivas in Sorcerer on the Rocks, Yoki in Fullmetal Alchemist (both versions), and Hamel in Violinist of Hamelin. He appeared as Date Ikkaku in Akai Hayate, Ryougaku in Wild 7, and Sofue Akira in Boyfriend, all Orphan releases.
• Kamiya Akira (Masukato Taira) is best known for the title roles in the City Hunter properties and the Kinnikuman franchise. He played Kazamatsuri in Yawara!, Roy Focker in Macross, and Mendou in Urusei Yatsura. He also played Sergent Zim in Starship Troopers and stole the show as the lecherous robot Chiraku in Hoshi Neko Full House, both Orphan releases.
• Yara Yuusaku (Driver) played the destroyer captain in Zipang. He had many featured roles, appearing in Next Senki Ehrgeiz, Eien no Filena, Hidamari no Ki, Nozomi Witches, both Sangokushi OVAs, Prime Rose, Eguchi Hisashi no Kotobuki Gorou Show, and both What's Michael? OVAs, all Orphan releases.

The director, Sakata Junichi, directed DNA^2, Kaze no Stigma, the To Heart OVAs, and the wonderfully goofy High School Agent.

Intrepid got the ball rolling by inveigling me into buying a used VHS tape of the show. He then ripped it on his uncompressed All-in-Wonder setup and encoded it. The original subs are by Box Subs (the BakaBT fansubbing group); Intrepid translated the ending song and quite a few additional signs. ninjacloud timed. I edited and typeset. BeeBee and Nemesis QCed. The typesetting was a PITA: hand-drawn signs that move, rotate, scale, and mostly won't track.

Elf 17 is the embodiment of light entertainment. It hasn't a serious thought in its head. The violence is all for comic effect, and there's no nudity or sex. However, it fails to answer a basic question: Is Ruu the 17th elf? Or is she 17 years old? The world waits for a definitive answer. While it waits, you can get the show from the usual torrent site or from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net.

Amon Saga

This one is a bit odd: a new release of the 1986 sword-and-sorcery movie Amon Saga, based on a laserdisc rip. Amon Saga has already been released, based on the R1 DVD. So why go back to the laserdisc? Erik of Piyo Piyo Productions wrote, "[The DVD licensor] just took the VHS master, (badly) upscaled it, and dumped it onto a DVD." A Domesday Duplicator rip of the laserdisc ought to look better. Does it? You'll have to be the judge of that. It still has a lot of blended frames, to my eye, but the interlacing artifacts are gone.

Amon Saga traverses well-worn fantasy-genre territory. Amon is a young warrior, seeking to avenge the death of his mother at the hands of the Emperor Valhiss. He decides to join the Imperial army to bore from within. Once inside the Emperor's fortified city, Amon unexpectedly encounters the beautiful daughter of King Darai Sem, Princess Lichia, whom Valhiss is holding as a hostage. The Emperor says he'll exchange the princess for a map in the King's possession, but he'd rather like to possess the princess too. Will Amon succeed in saving the princess (and her virtue) while achieving his revenge? That's a question I'm sure you can answer without any hints from me. Still, it's a good ride, with lots of colorful characters, including Amon's fellow "volunteers" in the Imperial Army, Gaius (the combative one), Alcan (the wily one), Vikin (the comic one), and Ho (the mysterious one), and the Emperor's evil henchman, the ambitious swordsman Denon and the scheming sorcerer Mabo.

The voice cast includes a host of familiar names from the 1980s:

• Horiuchi Kenyuu (Amon) played the title role in Guin Saga and Oscar in the Angelique franchise. He also played Ryuuichi in Aoko Honoo, Nest in Eien no Filena, Kubota in Meisou Ou Border, Jin Akira in Wolf Guy, Lid in Greed, and the refined son in Eguchi Hisashi no Kotobuki Gorou Show, all Orphan releases. He recently appeared in Sirius the Jaeger.
• Takamori Yoshino (Lichia) played the arch oujo-sama Sayaka in Yawara! and the twin roles of Juliet Douglas and Sloth in Full Metal Alchemist. She also appeared as the romantic rival Shouko in POPS, and in Yousei Ou and the What's Michael? OVAs, all Orphan releases.
• Kobiyashi Kihosti (Valhiss) is best known as Jigen in the Lupin III franchise. He played Sekai in Wild 7, an Orphan release.
• Mugihito Amachi (Gaius) played the alien wombat in Cute Defense Club, Matsumoto in The Great Passage, Keiichiro in Princess Jellyfish, and Abe no Seimei (senior) in Shounen Onmyouji. He also appeared as Lin Shilong in Wolf Guy and Lu Su in the two Sangokushi specials, all Orphan releases.
• Wakamoto Norio (Denon) played the title role in The Gargoyle of the Yoshinagas, Vicious in Cowboy Bebop, Cell in the Dragonball franchise, Katakuriko in the Gintama franchise, Oda NObunaga in Sengoku Basara franchise, Sakakibara in Sanada 10, Guren in Ushio to Tora TV, Shining Saotome in the Uta no Prince-sama franchise, and Oskar von Reuenthal in Legend of the Galactic Heroes. He also appeared as Major Thrauza in Yamato 2520 and the Narrator in Joker: Marginal City,both Orphan releases.
• Totani Kouji (Ho) has played hundreds of roles. He appeared in Bavi Stock, Haguregumo, Nora, Fukiyama Gekijou, and Akuma Tou no Prince: Mitsume ga Tooru, all Orphan releases.
• Ginga Banjou (Ekuna) is a veteran voice actor. He played the title role in 80 Days Around the World with Willy Fog, Baloo in The Jungle Book, and Tohtsuki chairman Nakiri Senzaemon in the Shokugeki no Souma franchise. He played the title role in Oruorane the Cat Player and appeared in the two What's Michael? OVAs, all Orphan releases.
• Nagai Ichiro (Mabo) starred in numerous shows, playing grandfather Jigoro in Yawara!, the off-the-wall narrator in Gosenzosama Banbanzai!, Professor Hajime in Queen Millennia, and Happosai in the Ranma 1/2 franchise. He appeared in Manxmouse, Nora, Hidamari no Ki, Yuukan Club, and Yamato 2520, all Orphan releases.
• Tatsuta Naoki (Vikin) played Oolong in the Dragonball franchise, the Cat Bus in My Neighbor Totoro, and Beta in New Dream Hunter Rem. He appeared in every GeGeGe no Kitarou series since 1985 and also in Wolf Guy, an Orphan release.
• Ooki Tamio (Darai Sem) played Dr. Tenma in Tezuka Osamu Disappears, an Orphan release, as well as the 1980 version of Astro Boy, Ibuya in Hidamari no Ki (also an Orphan release), Aramaki in the GITS movies, and the title role in Planetarian: Hoshi no Hito.
• Katsuji Mori (Alcan) played Tanguin in Cool Cool Bye, Atlas in the 1980 Astro Boy, Seiji Hayama in Cutie Honey, Wolfgang Mittermeyer in Legend of the Galactic Heroes, Haru in Real Drive, and Robespierre in The Rose of Versailles. He also played Shiina in Stop!! Hibari-kun and Cemen Bond in Bagi, both Orphan releases. 
• Ginga Banjou (Ekuna, Amon's mentor) played Souther in the Hokuto no Ken franchise, the chief in Peter Pan no Bouken, Sascher Torte in Bakuretsu Hunter, Babbo in MAR, Nakiri in the Shokugeki no Souma franchise, and quite recently,  Nanashi in GeGeGe no Kitarou (2018).

The director, Ooga Shunji, has many other credits to his name, including Majuu Sensen, Bounty Hunter: The Hard, several Sore Ike! Anpanman movies, and the Golgo 13 TV series.

I originally OCRed the subs from an R1 DVD release. The subs have been extensively corrected by tenkenX6 and Nemesis. ninjacloud timed, I edited and typeset, and BeeBee and Nemesis QCed. Erik encoded from a Domesday Duplicator rip of his own laserdisc.

Amon Saga doesn't break any new ground, but it's a competent fantasy flick, and it will keep you  entertained for its modest 74 minute running time. You can get this release from the usual torrent site or from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net

Late breaking news: there's a busted frame at 62934. Some sort of data dropout caused a problem in the Domesday Duplicator decoding software, ld-decode, and by now, the intermediate files have been discarded. If anyone knows how to patch an H.265 file without re-encoding it, 62934 should be the same as 62933. Otherwise, we'll have to wait until Erik can rip the laserdisc again.

 

Even later breaking news (November, 2022). A dual-audio version is available, for those who prefer dubs. niki provided the audio track, which is taken from the R1 DVD release. This version also includes a song-signs track. A ginormous patch to covert the single-audio release to dual-audio is available in the torrent description.

 

Sensou Douwa: The Boy and the Sea Turtle

Sensou Douwa (War Tales or War Fables) was a series of TV specials by Shin-Ei Animation that ran annually from 2002 to 2009. In chronological order:

• 2002    Umigame to Shounen (The Boy and The Sea Turtle)
• 2003    Tako ni Natta Okaasan (The Mother Who Became a Kite)
• 2004    Chiisai Sensuikau ni Koi wo Shita Dekasugira Kojira no Hanashi (The Tale of the Ginormous Whale That Fell in Love with a Little Submarine)
• 2005    Boku no Boukuugou (My Air Raid Shelter)
• 2006    Yakeato no, Okashi no Ki (The Cake Tree in the Ruins)
• 2007    Futatsu no Kurumi (Two Walnuts)
• 2008    Kiku-chan to Ookami  (Kiku and the Wolf)
• 2009    Aoi Hitomi no Onnako no Ohanashu (The Tale of the Blue-Eyed Girl)

Except for Two Walnuts, which has been subbed by Saizen, the series has not been translated into English before.

Umigame to Shounen (The Boy and the Sea Turtle) is set during the Battle of Okinawa, the most horrific battle between Japan and the United States in World War II. Almost the entire Japanese garrison of 77,000 men perished. American forces suffered more than 75,000 killed, wounded, or missing. Up to 30% (or more) of the civilian population of 300,000 were also killed - by bombardment, by starvation, by the retreating Japanese army, or - influenced by Japanese propaganda about the likelihood of American atrocities - by mass suicide.

The Boy and the Sea Turtle shows the war from the point of view of children.The central character is Tetsuo, a boy who escapes from the firebombing of Naha and goes to live in the countryside with his grandmother. He puts up a brave front with the other children and joins in their patriotic war bluster, but inside, he is lonely and terrified. A boy in his new class, Norio, sees him as an instinctive rival, but eventually their faux-macho competitiveness yields to friendship. Tetsuo also makes friends with a girl in his class, Hanako.

 

Norio show Tetsuo a beach where sea turtles return annually to lay their eggs. The three friends roam the countryside, scrounge for food, and help with the harvest. And then the invasion begins.

Like The Cake Tree in the Ruins, The Boy and the Sea Turtle is based on a short story by Nosaka Akiyuki. And like The Cake Tree in the Ruins, this special shows the ruinous effects that war has on children - physically and mentally. Ultimately, Tetsuo must make a terrible choice, between honoring his friends' beliefs and starving, or abandoning those beliefs and surviving. The ending is ambiguous and poetic... and deeply, deeply sad.

 

The artwork is simple and beautiful, with Okinawa depicted as almost a fairy-tale setting of quaint houses, lush fields, and beautiful beaches. The show makes effective use of child-like drawings to portray the horrors of war and the deep terror it causes for children.

 

As the first special in the series, The Boy and the Sea Turtle has a fairly modest voice cast, mostly consisting of veterans from Shin-Ei's "repertory company" who appeared in Shuukan Storyland:

• Tokiwa Yuuki (Tetsuo) appeared in Shuukan Storyland and dubbed Ron Weasley in the Harry Potter movies.
• Satou Ai (narrator) has played many maternal roles, including Light's mother in Death Note, Masami's mother in Wedding Peach, Misaki's mother in Dear Brother, Ban's mother in Getbackers, Shigeru's mother in Noramimi, and the unnamed mothers in Cinderella Express, Ai Monogatari, Guyver: Out of Control, and Kristin Adams in Yawara. Other roles include the refined mother in Eguchi Hisashi no Kotobuki Gorou Show, Ibuki's mother in Kiss wa Me ni Shite, Taichi in The Cake Tree in the Ruins, and the unnamed girlfriend in Lunn Flies into the Wind, all Orphan releases.
• Mitsuhara Rin (Tetsuo's aunt) played Irma in Birdy the Mighty, Yaobikuni in Blade of the Immortal (2019), and Torogai in Seirei no Moribito. She also played Miki in Wolf Guy, an Orphan release.
• Hisamatsu Yuuko (Tetsuo's grandmother) has just two other credits.
• Namatame Kento (Norio) and Takuya Ishihara (Haruo) only appeared in this show.
• Mimura Yuuno (Hanako) appeared in Hanebado, Kemurikusa, Hachi-nantte, and Aikatsu.

The director is again Yasumi Tetsuo.

kokujin-kun translated, Yogicat timed, and I edited and typeset. Nemesis and BeeBee did QC. The raw is a 480p webrip from UNEXT and looks pretty good. This show was broadcast in standard definition, and no attempt has been made to upscale it, fortunately.

The Boy and the Sea Turtle is again rather upsetting, but I recommend it strongly, for the simplicity of its storytelling and the impact of its message. You can find the show at the usual torrent site or download it from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net.