Tezuka Osamu's Tales from the Old Testament Ep 13-15

Here is volume 5 of Tezuka Osamu's Tales of the Old Testament: In the Beginning, which continues the Exodus story through the giving of the Ten Commandments.

Episode 13 ("Moses and Pharaoh") retells the fated confrontation between Moses and the current Pharaoh, his stepbrother (at least, according to the apocryphal legends). Moses demands that Pharaoh let the Israelitesgo. When Pharaoh refuses, God brings ten plagues upon Egypt, culminating in the death of all male firstborn Egyptians - a deadly echo of a previous Pharaoh's orders to drown newborn male Hebrew children.  Rocco witness Moses first meeting with the Hebrew slaves and follows him throughout the episode.

Episode 14 ("Escape from Egypt") recounts the departure of the people of Israel, the pursuit by Pharaoh, and the ultimate demonstration of God's power at the shores of the Red Sea. On the far side of the sea, the Israelites suffer from hunger and thirst until God again demonstrates his power by providing mana from the sky. This episode includes a flashback montage of Joseph's life, done with director Dezaki Osamu's famous "postcard memories." Rocco continues as the audience's point-of-view character, mostly accompanying one young boy, and has one of the best sight gags in this mostly serious - not to say solemn - series.

Episode 15 ("The Ten Commandments") brings the story to Mount Sinai. The Hebrews continue to suffer from hunger and thirst, and God again provides miraculous sustenance. Quarrels among the people fester, and Moses, on advice from his father-in-law Jethro, appoints judges to lead subsections of the population. God instructs Moses to climb Mount Sinai to receive the ten commandments. These are greeted with joy and amazement. Moses continues to receive instructions on Mount Sinai. However, after one trip, he fails to return, and the people lose faith in the Lord. Rocco continues to act as a witness and, occasionally, get into foxy mishaps..

Episode 15 has a video glitch at 6:17; it's in the sources, both DVDs and TV broadcasts.

New cast members include:

• Takeshi Watabe (Pharaoh) had featured roles in numerous shows, including Condition Green, Twinkle Nora Rock Me!, and Sanctuary (all Orphan releases), as well as Gunparade Orchestra, Maze, Ninku, Oishinbo, Wrath of the Ninja, and You're Under Arrest.
• Saka Osamu (Aaron) played Daisuke Aramaki in the Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex franchise and Oohara in the Oishinbo properties. He appeared in Aoki Honoo, Next Senki Ehrgeiz, Fire Emblem, Kasei Yakyoku, Oz, and the third Sangokushi movie, all Orphan releases, as well as numerous other anime.
• Aizawa Keiko (Miriam) appeared in Emma, Saiyuki, and Sakura Taisen, among other shows.
• Nakata Jouji (Joshua) is best known as Alucard in Hellsing and Hellsing Ultimate and as the Count of Monte Christo in Gankuutsuou. He also played Ashen Eye in The Ancient Magus Bride, Bandou in Elfen Lied, Hijikata in Golden Kamuy, Vladimir Putin (!) in Mudazumo Naki Kaikaku, Jin Kunugi in Rahxephon, Otou in Working!, and Diethard Ried in Code Geass. He played Nelson the Bomb, Hyatt's criminal bomber, in AWOL Compression Remix and Shamon, the priest, in Amatsuki, both Orphan releases.

One of the oddities of this set of episodes is the music that accompanies the miracle at the Red Sea. The Bible has an entire chapter devoted to Moses' (and Miriam's) song of praise and wonder. This is discarded in favor of a ponderous and pretentious hymn, sung in English by a massed chorus. I can't find any references for this hymn, so it may have been composed for the series. In any case, I'm offering a prize (of some sort) to anyone who can trace down this piece of music. Don't expect anything great, though.

Nutella translated these episodes. Yogicat timed. I edited and transposed Skr's original typesetting to these episodes. Nemesis and Uchuu QCed. Skr encoded from Japanese DVDs. The team continues to shrink.

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.