Tezuka Osamu's Tales from the Old Testament, Ep10-12

In my blog post on the third set of episodes, I piously hoped that there wouldn't be a year gap again, as there had been between the second and third sets. In fact, it's been more than 18 months. The delay wasn't related to the pandemic. Rather, key staff members had been sidelined by personal issues. Now, with new staffing, the project has resumed, and Orphan is releasing the next DVD's worth of episodes.

Episode 10 ("Jacob's Family Reunited") brings Joseph's story (and the book of Genesis) to a close. The episode hews fairly closely to the Bible, with only a brief appearance by Rocco as another victim of the terrible famine sweeping Egypt and the rest of the Near East. All ends well. Joseph and his brothers are reunited, and Jacob moves the family to Goshen in Egypt. When he is near death, Jacob asks his sons to bury him in the family crypt in Canaan, but he allows them to remain in Egypt, where they will prosper... for a while.

Episode 11 ("The Birth of Moses") tells the story of Moses' birth and then attempts to fill out the Bible's bare-bones story of his upbringing. In this version, Moses' Hebrew origins are not a secret. However, his adoptive grandfather, the pharaoh, insists that Moses must choose between his ancestral roots as a Hebrew and his adoptive identity as an Egyptian. Rocco has a prominent role as Moses' pampered pet.

Episode 12 ("Fire in the Desert") recounts Moses' fateful journey to the slave cities of Pithom and Rameses. There, he is so overcome with anger at the treatment of a Hebrew slave that he kills an Egyptian overseer. He is forced to flee into the desert, where he marries Zipporah, the daughter of a shepherding family. After many years, he is drawn to the upper reaches of Mt. Sinai, where he encounters God in the form of a burning bush and is directed to free the Israelites from bondage. Rocco has a cameo during Moses' initial encounter with Zipporah.

New cast members include:

• Genda Tesshou (Moses as an adult) 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 Jin Kiryu in Blue Sonnet, Zigong in Eiyuu Banka Koushi-den, 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, Momo, the drummer in To-Y, and Rikiishi's trainer Kuroki and Kirishima in Eguchi Hisashi no Kotobuki Gorou Show, all Orphan releases.
• Ino Manabu (Moses as a youth) appeared in Arc the Lad and Case Closed.
• Okabe Masaaki (Pharoah during Moses' childhood) had featured roles in Legend of the Galactic Heroes and Sanctuary, an Orphan release.
• Miyata Hikaru (Jethro) had featured roles in Naruto, Kyojin no Hoshi, and Heat Guy J, as well as a lead role in the notorious h-anime The Maiden Diaries. 
• Takeguchi Akiko (Zipporah) appeared in The Alps Story: My Annette, The Book of Bantorra, and other shows.
  

Because the series is intended as a G-rated children's show, much of the tension of the Bible is lost. Exodus opens with a chilling and understated line: "Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, who knew not Joseph." The new ruler says, "Come, let us deal wisely with them," i.e., enslave and kill them. The biological son of Pharaoh is never named. He doesn't appear in the story of Moses' youth, and there is no rivalry between the two boys. I guess even Rocco didn't provide enough padding for the episode. Once the story reaches Mt. Sinai, it adheres more closely to the Biblical text.

New translator Nutella joined the team for these episodes; Skr translation checked episode 10 but then had to drop out. Yogicat timed. I edited and transposed Skr's original typesetting to these episodes. Nemesis, Topper3000, and Uchuu QCed. Skr encoded from Japanese DVDs.

A word on translation process and text. There are four possible sources: Nutella's translation; the Japanese closed captions; the English dub; and the Bible itself. When the episodes are inventing freely, the translation, cross-checked with the closed captions, has been used. However, when the episodes are adhering to the Bible, I have tended to interpolate from the Biblical text where appropriate. For example, when God calls to Moses from the burning bush, Moses responds in Japanese with a simple "Hai" (yes, okay, I will). I've transposed that to the Biblical response, "Here I am." You can consider either the Japanese line or my edit as another case of "lost in translation."

While I hope Orphan can finish the Exodus story (which runs through episode 17) in a timely fashion, there are no guarantees. Meanwhile, you can pick up this batch of episodes from the usual torrent site or from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net.

Practice Makes Perfect (A-Girl v3)

You were probably not expecting (or needing) this: a fourth version of the 1993 shoujo OVA A-Girl. Well, practice makes perfect.

In 1992, Madhouse and Margaret Comics collaborated on an OVA of the shounen-ai romance Zetsuai 1989. This was successful, and in 1993, Madhouse issued six additional OVAs based on Margaret Comics properties:

• Oshare Kozou wa Hanamaru
• Singles
• Pops
• Oeda wa Nemurenai!
• Kiss wa Hitomi ni Shite
• A-Girl

Unfortunately, these additional OVAs were not successful and quickly sank into obscurity. None of them made it to laserdisc, let alone DVD.

A-Girl is based on a 1984 shoujo romance manga by Fusako Kuramochi. It tells a very simple story: girl meets boy, girl loses boy, girl gets boy. High-school student Mariko and her elder sister Mayu are forced out of their apartment by a fire and move in with their landlord. Mariko meets the landlord's handsome son, Natsume, who is also a model. They fall in love but break up when Mariko discovers that Natsume is seeing other girls. Eventually, they are reunited, and the end credits roll.

A-Girl has had a fairly twisted release history. The first raw we found, back in September 2016, was defective: small (512 x 384) and missing the end credits. Apparently, it was stitched together from three pieces on YouTube. It was released as v0. The second raw, from 2017, was based on a used VHS tape purchased in Japan. It wasn't perfect either. Tape stretch caused noticeable audio distortion in three places, but at least it was complete. It formed the basis of v1. In late 2017, Intrepid realized that the audio distortion could be overcome. He made a new audio track, and I spliced the new track over the old one in the three chapters that were broken, creating v2.

Subsequently, Intrepid made significant improvements in his VHS ripping capability, setting up an uncompressed capture system based on antique computing equipment. This worked well and allowed for significant improvements in video quality. However, the audio issues in A-Girl made me shy away from ripping it again. Then, the entire capture setup was felled by hardware issues.

Recently, Intrepid bought another antique computer and a new VHS deck. He decided to revisit A-Girl, because his earlier rip suffered from color distortion. Happily, the new rip is free from both color distortion and audio issues. The encode looks distinctly better. Finally, here is a release that is complete (v1), free of audio distortion (v2), with proper colors (v3).

Here's a frame from v3, and below it, the same frame from v2:

A-Girl was the directorial debut of Kousaka Kitarou. (He also did the character designs.) He later worked for many years as an animation director and key animator on Ghibli films before achieving prominence as the director of the award-winning Nasu: Anadalusia no Natsu. For A-Girl, he chose a novel approach: he made a "silent movie." A-Girl has minimal dialog and is performed against a background of Japanese pop songs composed by Okada Tooru and sung (in English!) by SEIKA. (I think she does Mariko's six lines of dialog, too.) Dialog placards provide continuity, as in old silent films. It works pretty well and doesn't interrupt the flow of the story.

Iri bought the VHS tape for this release.He also translated and timed. I edited and typeset, Nemesis and Eternal_Blizzard did QC, and Intrepid ripped and encoded. For this release, Iri corrected a couple of signs, I tweaked line breaks for more consistent display across video players, and Uchuu and Topper3000 release checked.
 
You can get this latest, and I sincerely hope the last, version of A-Girl from the usual torrent sites or from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net. If you like the music, the soundtrack is available as well, in glorious FLAC audio.

2021 in Review

The world continues to go to hell in a handbasket. The pandemic continues to rage. The world supply chain is borked. Inflation is rampant. Windows 11 is out. In spite of all these disasters, Orphan Fansubs has soldiered on, and a lot of projects got done. This was almost a record year in terms of number of projects, although not in terms of released files, because there were no series at all, only OVAs, movies, and TV specials. Well, variety is the spice of life.

In addition, there has been a deliberate effort to clean out accumulated cruft. As a result, Orphan released a fair number of raws that are unlikely to be translated and restarted a few projects that seemed hopelessly stalled.

Orphan Fansubs

Orphan's projects for 2021 were:  

1. Milky Passion: Dougenzaka - Ai no Shiro. A quirky rom-com set in a love hotel.
2. Nine: Original-ban HD. Adachi Mitsuru's early baseball series, in high-definition.. 
3. NIne 2: Koibito Sengen HD. Second episode.
4. Nine: Kanketsuhen HD. Third episode.. 
5. Chiisai Sensuikau ni Koi wo Shita Dekasugira Kojira no Hanashi (The Tale of the Ginormous Whale That Loved a Little Submarine). A Sensou Douwa special, about an oversized sardine whale that mistakes a small sub for a potential mate, with results that are first comic and then tragic..
6. Coluboccoro 2019. An expanded version of a rather standard eco-fantasy tale..
7. Ohoshi-sama no Rail. A story about Japanese colonists in Korea and their flight to safety at the end of World War II.
   
8. Megami Paradise. Valiant shrine maidens battle dark goddesses to save Paradise. Most notable for its frequent pantsu shots..
9. The Green Cat (Midori no Neko) v2. The first Lion Book OVA, based on a sci-fi tale by Tezuka Osamu, about a lonely boy's dangerous companion: a green cat.
   
10. Rain Boy (Amefuri Kozou) v2. The second Lion Book OVA, about a lonely boy's imaginary companion: an animate umbrella.
11. Lunn Flies into the Wind v2 (Lunn was Kaze no Naka). The third Lion Book OVA, about a lonely boy's imaginary companion: a pretty girl on a coffee poster.
    
12. Yamatarou Comes Back v2 (Yamatarou Kaeru). The fourth Lion Book OVA, about a lonely bear cub's unusual companion: a steam locomotive..
13. MAPS: Densetsu no Samayoeru Seijin-tachi. A "wide-screen baroque" sci-fi yarn about a boy who is supposedly a living map to an enormous treasure.
    
14. Call Me Tonight. The first Pink Noise OVA, a sci-fi yarn about a young man who becomes a literal monster when he's sexually aroused.
15. Tabi Suru Tobi Neko. Live action segments about cats playing, sleeping, eating, and generally ruling the roost..
16. Boku no Boukuugou (My Bomb Shelter). A Sensou Douwa special, about the long-term trauma war can impose on children..
17. Gude Crest. A sword-and-sorcery flick feature two powerful women warriors.
18. B.B. Fish. Set in the world of diving, both free and scuba, this beautiful short OVA is better appreciated for its images than its plot.
19. Hashire! Shiroi Ookami. A young boy tries to guide his pet wolf to safety in the wilds of rural Wisconsin in the 1950s.
20. Sangokushi Daiichibu Eiyuu-tachi no Yoake HD. The first movie covers the period from the start of the Yellow Turban rebellion to the death of Lu Bu.
21. Maris the Choujo. This sci-fi OVA, about the perils of being a Girl of Steel in a Kleenex world, is a hoot from start to finish.
22. Blue Sonnet. ESPers with strong psychic powers battle for supremacy and survival.
    
23. Kaitei 3-man Mile HD. A Toei "all ages" movie about conflict between the underground and undersea kingdoms.
24. Kasei Yakyoku v2. A melodrama for adults, about life and love in Taishou Japan.
25. Kiku-chan to Ookami. A Sensou Douwa special. A Japanese girl and her family, fleeing after the fall of Machuria, become separated. The girl is succored by an elderly she-wolf.
26. King Fang. The offspring of an escaped European wolf and a Japanese hunting dog must fight for survival and supremacy in the wilds of Hokkaido..
    
27. Tobira o Akete. Three Japanese ESPers are mysteriously transported to a fantasy world, where they campaign to liberate an oppressed people.
28. Chameleon ep3. More adventures of pint-sized wannabe hood Yazawa Eisaku.
    
29. Kageyama Tamio no Double Fantasy. A "double feature" of fantasy tales, one comedic, one horrific..
30. Sangokushi Dai Ni Bu Choukou Moyu! HD. The second movie covers the period from the falling out between Cao Cao and Liu Bei to the Battle of Red Cliffs..
31. To-Y HD. A story about the lead singer in an indie band, who is trying to balance girlfriends, his career, and life in general.
    
32. Cat-Eyed Boy (1976) ep 1. The first episode of Umezz Kazuo's horror series. This is a "one-off"; Orphan is not subbing the rest of the series.
    
33. Shin Takarajima. A very early Tezuka Osamu anime, retelling Treasure Island with animal characters..
34. Sangokushi Dai San Bu Harukanaru Taichi HD. The third movie covers the period from Liu Bei's expedition to Shu to the death of Kongming..
35. Mother: Saigo no Shoujo Eve. A sci-fi movie about the extraterrestrial origins of humanity..
36. Alice in Cyberland 2. The second episode of what I thought to be a one-and-done OVA..
37. Bakumatsu no Spasibo. The story of the first Russian expedition to modern Japan..
38. Yuki 1080p and 720p. A fantasy about a young snow goddess' visit to an impoverished village in rural Japan and her efforts to better the lot of the villagers. 
39. Aoi Hitomi no Onnanoko no Ohanashi (The Tale of the Blue-Eyed Girl). A Sensou Douwa special. A young girl, offspring of a Japanese woman and an American man, relocates to the countryside during the closing months of World War II, where she encounters both prejudice and friendship.
40. Chameleon ep4. Yazawa Eisaku marches on, to no great effect.
    

One personal highlight was finishing the Sensou Douwa series; the specials are an important body of work, expressing anti-war sentiment that is increasingly rare in Japanese political circles. Another was subbing Shin Takarajima, the earliest Tezuka Osamu show that Orphan has done. Other personal favorites included Maps, Double Fantasy, and Yuki, and among the resubs, Call Me Tonight, B.B. Fish, Maris the Choujo, To-Y, and the Lion Book OVAs.

A big shout-out to Intrepid for his ongoing work in media acquisition, transcription, and encoding. I also want to thank the Arutha foundation, which has hosted all of Orphan's releases on IRC. On a sadder note, Erik of Piyo Piyo Productions has dropped out of the fansub scene. He is sorely missed.

The Audio Side

Orphan released some additional music this year. The sources were CDs and were ripped by Intrepid.

1. Haruka Naru Toki no Naka de 3 - Owarinaki Unmei OST (FLAC)
2. B.B. Fish OST (FLAC) 
3. Bakuen Campus Guardress Music Collection (FLAC)
   

Work for Other Groups

Much the same.

• Frozen-EviL. I continued to edit the Blu-Ray version of Yawara! The project reached a significant milestone by getting to episode 59, where the FroZen-EviL DVD project began.
  
• Saizen. I continued to edit and typeset Laughing Salesman. It too reached a significant milestone, with the entire TV series released in HD and batched. Many (too many) specials remain.
  
• Soldado. All the Ninku TV shows are released, but there are some bits-and-bobs still to be done.
  
• Inka. I typeset a few shows, to thank that team for their help on our joint projects.
  
• CPP. I edited a few episodes of Manga Sekai Mukashi Nanashi.
  

 At the pace some of these series are going, I wonder if I'll be around to see the end...

Favorites of 2021

I'm not an anime critic, so I don't try to compile a "best of" list for the anime year. Instead, I'm listing my favorites of the year and why they kept me interested all the way through.

In alphabetical order:

• Blue Period. Great drama, marred only by Netflix' delayed English release schedule.
  
• Godzilla S.P. - great hardcore sci-fi, and the first NetFlix anime series I've actually been able to watch all the way through.
  
• Horimiya - a wonderful modern rom-com, with terrific chemistry between the leads. Too many side characters; it needed more ruthless pruning or a longer run-time.
  
• Kai Byou Ramune - a quirky supernatural tale. The stresses of modern life express themselves as mystery diseases, which the equally mysterious Dr. Ramune treats.
  
• Kemono Jihan - an intense supernatural tale, which held me enthralled throughout, despite the high amount of violence.
  
• Kobayashi-san no Maid Dragon S2 - a feel-good comedy and a welcome antidote to the real world. There was more emphasis this time on Kobayashi-san's entourage as a family.
  
• Mairimashita! Iruma-kun S2 - another feel-good comedy with some serious thoughts on its mind. A shounen in disguise, but the disguise is more than good enough for me.
  
• Non Non Biyori Nonstop (S4) - yet another feel-good comedy. The comedy is gentle and character-driven. Is it different from the previous seasons? No, but it doesn't need to be.
  
• Shinigami Bocchan to Kuro Maid - another romantic comedy, with somber overtones. The CGI is off-putting, but the story is gripping. Continued next year.
  
• Super Cub - a coming-of-age story that's an homage to motor scooters. There's not much drama (when it happens, it seems forced), but the heroine's growth and development are presented well.
  

Ousama Ranking would have been my number one choice, if it had actually finished this year. Regardless, Bojje and Kage win Couple of the Year.

The year included more than its fair share of guilty pleasures and over-the-top ecchi-fests, but I'm not going to admit to watching any of them, now am I?

Looking Ahead

More than half of Orphan's 2021 releases are resubs, either of our own shows or of other groups' work. Three factors account for this. First, Orphan is short of translators and, in particular, translation checkers. That hampers the team's ability to do original projects. Second, new, higher quality source material keeps appearing. That makes it tempting to revisit past projects that suffered from second-rate (or just lower resolution) video sources. Finally, the analog ripping technology continues to improve. This provides better encodes from seemingly hopeless source material.

Another driving factor is time. I'll be ransacking the back catalog - and Orphan's backlog - to find shows that the team can bring to a conclusion in a timely fashion. After all, I'm turning 75 in 2022, and I need to get a move on.

So Orphan Fansubs will continue to work on The Shows That Time Forgot™, with a focus on movies, OVAs, and short series. There's no shortage of good material, and interesting raws are more abundant than ever; but qualified staff is in short supply. If you're a translator, encoder, editor, typesetter, or QC with an interest in the back catalog, please get in touch with me on irc.rizon.net. I even show up on Discord occasionally, under duress.

Thanks, everyone - both team members and fans. Have a happy and safe 2022.