Even the Good Homer Nods (Don Dracula)

The Roman poet Horace noticed that in the Iliad, Homer reintroduced a character that he had previously killed off. Horace's comment was "Quandoque bonus dormitat Homerus" or, loosely translated, "Even the good Homer nods." Nowadays, the expression is used to express the idea that even a master can make a mistake or have an off day. That applies to the anime of Tezuka Osamu; in particular, to Don Dracula.

Don Dracula started as a manga, published in 1979. He first appeared as an anime character in the early "Love Will Save the World" TV specials, including Bander Book, Marine Express, and Fumoon, all Orphan releases. (Chocola also appeared in Marine Express.) In 1982, Tezuka Productions produced Don Dracula as a TV series. Scripts were written through episode 21; however, the sponsor went bankrupt. Only eight episodes were finished, and only four were aired. The four "lost" episodes were included in the DVD release. Various fansubs, with indifferent encodes and translations, have floated around the Internet for years. Orphan's Tezuka Osamu fan(atic)s decided to do a new version. Whether the results are better is for the viewer to decide.

The premise of Don Dracula is that the count's castle has been brought to Japan, along with the count, his daughter, Chocola, and his servant, Igor.

Dracula still dreams of sucking the blood of beautiful women, but he is repeatedly thwarted in his ambitions. There is no through plot. The episodes are standalone, involving recurring characters such as Blonda, an overweight woman who is besotted with Dracula; Rip van Helsing, a descendant of the famous vampire hunter, who has come to Japan in pursuit of the count; Murai, a trigger-happy local policeman; and Nobuhiko, Chocola's crush at school.

The problem with the show is that it's only intermittently funny. There are some good gags, but too much of the humor revolves around physical handicaps. For example, van Helsing has hemorrhoids and must frequently break off pursuit of Dracula to find a bathroom; hilarious. Blonda has gained weight from stress at not getting Dracula's love and is now physically unattractive; ho ho. The episodes dredge other shows for plots. For example, episode 3 riffs on The Picture of Dorian Gray, episode 4 on Creature from the Black Lagoon. A Japanese vampire bat, Yasu, shows up randomly to comment on the action, often with disparaging remarks about Dracula as an "immigrant" or "foreigner." There are continuity errors: Nobuhiko's hair is red in episode 4 but black in episode 6. In short, it's very hit-or-miss, and when the gags miss, the show is tedious. But even middling (as Nemesis characterized it) Tezuka Osamu is better than none.

Like any Tezuka show, it has a lot of local references.

• In episode 3, Dracula says, "Compared to that, my face is beautiful, just like Tomokazu Miura's." Tomokazu was a Japanese actor.
• In episode 4, Murai complains about not being able to eat youkan, a confection made of red bean paste, agar, and sugar.
• In episode 5, Helsing boasts of his knowledge of Japanese history. "I know Ushiwakamaru {Minamoto no Yushistune} was Kurama Tengu's pupil." Actually, this famous Heian-era warrior was educated at Kurama Temple. "When he grew up, he became Nezumi Kozou." Nezumi Kozou was a notorious Edo-era thief.
  

Some of the references elude me. For example, who is the pre-1982 samurai hero referenced here?

The voice cast includes:

• Utsumi Kenji (Dracula) is best known for his roles as Roah in Fist of the North Star, Kaioh in Fist of the North Star 2, and Senbei Norimaki in the Dr. Slump and Arale-chan franchise. He appeared as the village chief in Watt Poe and Alex Louis Armstrong in both versions of Full Metal Alchemist, as well as in Nora, Bavi Stock, Stop!! Hibari-kun!, Techno Police 21C, and 15 Shounen Hyouruuki, all Orphan releases.
• Shimazu Saeko (Chocola) played Shinobu in Urusei Yatsura, Madoka in Kimagure Orange Road, Miz Mishtal in El Hazard, and Yuri in Dirty Pair. She had featured roles Ranma 1/2, Maison Ikkoku, and Inuyasha. She also played the titles role in Bagi and Lunn Flies into the Wind, Sanae in Izumi (1991), Kyouko in Hiatari Ryouko, and Scanny in Techno Police 21C, all Orphan releases. 
• Ooyama Takao (Igor) appeared in Bakumatsu no Spasibo, The Green Cat, and Techno Police 21C, all Orphan releases.
• Kataoka Tomie (Blonda) played Tomako in Meisou Ou Border and Auntie in Bagi, both Orphan releases. She appeared in several World Masterpiece Theater series, including Daddy Long Legs, Katry the Cow Girl, and The Alps Story: My Annette.
  
• Takiguchi Junpei (Van Helsing) brought his distinctive voice to the roles of the Professor in The Green Cat, Dr. Yamanado in Fumoon, Scratch in Techno Police 21C, the villainous king of Kanemacchi Castle in Grim Douwa: Kin no Tori, the Mouse Thief in Stop!! Hibari-kun!, the colonel in Maris the Choujo, and Dong Zhung in the first Sangokushi movie, all Orphan releases. He also played the Millennium Earl in D.grayman, John Trelawney in Treasure Island, and Dr. Laughton in Metropolis.
• Kita Michie (Nobuhiko) appeared in the original Astro Boy, Ribbon no Kishi, and others 60s and 70s animes, before taking a long break. In this century, she appeared in the first Natsume Yuujinchou series.
  
• Kimotsuki Kaneta (Yasu the bat) played Sharaku in Marine Express and Bander Book, both Orphan releases. She also had recurring roles in the Doraemon, Soreike! Anpanman, and the Galaxy Express 999 franchises. 
• Ikeda Masaru (Murai) had major roles in Yatterman and Sakura Taisen. He appeared in Bagi, Greed, Kasei Yakyoku, Every Day Is Sunday, Bakumatsu no Spasibo, Techno Police 21C, Tobira o Akete, and the first Sangokushi TV special, all Orphan releases.

Other familiar seiyuu have smaller roles. For example, Mitsuya Yuji, who starred as Jecy in Hi-Speed Jecy and Yusaku in Hiatari Ryouko (both Orphan releases), played the chairman of the Vampire Appreciation Society in episode 2. Ootake Hirosh, who played Michael in the What's Michael? OVAs and Vailly in Greed (both Orphan releases), appeared as the principal in episodes 1 and 5.

The chief director, Ochiai Masamune, also helmed Asatte Dance, Korogashi Ryouta, and other ecchi-themed shows.

bananadoyouwanna got the ball rolling on the show by encoding the shows from the Japanese DVDs. The subtitles originated with ARR and passed through several hands before reaching Orphan; various team members contributed numerous corrections and changes. ninjacloud timed. I edited and typeset. Moelancholy contributed a valuable critique about making the dialog, particularly Dracula's, less bland and more stylized. Nemesis and Uchuu QCed.

So Don Dracula is mid-tier Tezuka Osamu, at best, but it's still the Master's work. While I wish the show had been more consistently funny, it is, like the curate's egg, good in spots. You can get the series from the usual torrent site or from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #new on irc.rizon.net.