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.