Chameleon 3

I bet you weren't expecting another episode of Chameleon. Frankly, neither was I. Even though laalg translation-checked all the remaining episodes years ago, I found the series so distasteful that I couldn't bring myself to work on it. Every couple of months, I'd plug away on a couple of minutes worth of dialog, rediscover why I loathed the series, and put it away. And then, without quite realizing it, I had finished editing episode 3. After that, it was only a matter of (the painful) mechanics to do the typesetting, QC, and release checks. So here we are.

Episode 3 ("The Hitman's Bonds of Brotherhood") continues the saga of pint-sized wannabe hood Yazawa Eisaku. Having survived two near-death encounters, first with the Shadow Dance gang and then with psychotic thug Kyuu Akio, Yazawa stumbles into deep yogurt yet again by attracting the attention of the ultra-violent Matsudo gang and its murderous leader, Matsuoka Eiji. Fortunately, he also attracts the attention of Mishima Jun, an even stronger fighter who is grateful to Yazawa for saving Kyuu in episode 2 (entirely inadvertently, I might add). 

Aided by former rival Shiina Yuji and pursed by Yuji's cross-dressing brother Yu, Yazawa dodges, weaves, lies, and flees to try and save himself from getting pounded into the pavement for the third time in three episodes. Laughs galore.

The voice cast includes some pretty famous names, although their fame comes from other roles:

• Nanba Keiichi (Yazawa) played Locke in Choujin Locke, Lundi in Honoo no Alpenrose: Jeudi & Lund, Uesugi in Touch, Schneider in Captain Tsubasa, and Junta in DNA2. He also played Hongou in Nozomi Witches, an Orphan release.
• Shiozawa Kaneto (Shiina Yuji) played Rock Holmes in Fumoon, Iason in Ai no Kusabi and the egotistic comic relief Shin in Hiatari Ryouko, all Orphan releases. 
• Yamada Eiko (Shiina Yu) played the title roles in Anne of Green Gables, Ginga Nagareboshi Gin, Aramis no Bouken, and Legend of Lemnear, as well as Jo in Little Women, Misaki in Captain Tsubasa, and Gozu in Hoozuki no Reitetsu. She appeared in Nora, the Sangokushi specials,  and the What's Michael? OVAs, all Orphan releases.
• Hirata Hiroaki (Mishima Jun). This was one of his very first roles. He went on to play Itsuki in the Kindaichi movies, Sa Gojou in Saiyuki and its sequels, Zaki in DearS, Jack in Moonlight Mile, Nantoka in Rita to Nantoka, Benny in Black Lagoon, Tiger in Tiger & Bunny, Vinsmoke in One Piece, Fujimoto in Ao no Exorcist, Kondou in Koi wa Ameagari no You ni, and Max Lobo in Bananafish.
• Yamaguchi Kappei (Matsuoka Eiji) 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 first OVA series, and the title role in Mouse, among many others. He played Shibuya in Zetsuai 1989 and Bronze: Zetsuai Since 1989, and Tooru in Boyfriend, all Orphan releases.
• Tominaga Miina (Yazawa's crush, Hikaru) played Ritsu in Fruits Basket (2002), Persia in Magical Fairy Persia, Rollpanna in the Anpanman franchise, Misaki in Tsuritama, Muuma in Bavi Stock, Kamiya in Tokimeki Tonight, Karen in Yuukan Club, and Eri in Karuizawa Syndrome. The last four are Orphan releases.

The director for this episode, Matano Hiromichi, helmed other obscure works, including the Konpeki no Kantai franchise and Super Submarine 99.

Moho Kareshi did the initial translation; both laalg and Sunachan did translation check passes. (There are still unresolved issues, because the dialog is full of 80s slang and bad puns.) ninjacloud timed. I edited and typeset, with the greatest reluctance. TougeWolf, Uchuu, and VigorousJammer did QC. The raw is an ancient Internet rip (DivX505!), but there are no signs of original media on the second-hand market in Japan. I wouldn't spend the money to buy them anyway.

Some translation notes:

• Thank you, Turtle God! A perverted pun. The usual saying is "kami-sama hotoke-sama" (O God! O Buddha!). Yazawa says "kami-tama kitou-tama," literally "Turtle-balls! Turtle-head (glans)-balls!" Localize as you will.
• You're a blockhead! "Ishiatama" is literally "stone head," i.e., hard-headed.
• For stiff shoulders, try Pip. Pip is a brand of magnetic therapy medicine.

Admittedly, I'm very jaundiced about this series. I'm not in its target demographic. Many members of the staff find it hilarious and hope to do more "yankee" genre shows. So when will episode 4 be out? Will episode 4 ever be out? Don't hold your breath. The last three episodes still need their songs translated, and so far, no translator has volunteered for the job. So if you want to see the last three episodes, find a song translator for this show.

However, in the meantime, after a mere 3+ year delay, here is Chameleon 3. You can get it from the usual torrent site or from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net.