Shiratori Reiko de Gozaimasu!

Shiratori Reiko de Gozaimasu! (I Am Shiratori Reiko!) is a one episode shoujo romantic comedy from 1990. It is based on a 7-volume manga by Suzuki Yumiko. The manga won the Kodansha Award for shoujo in 1989 and was adapted multiple times for live action, including a 1989 TV series, a 1993 TV series, a 1995 film, a 2016 TV series, and a 2016 film. Despite its popularity, the anime was only released on VHS tape.

Shiratori Reiko tells the story of a "material girl," daughter of a wealthy family. She has been in love since high school with her classmate, Akimoto Tetsuya, but her pride as an "oujo-sama" won't let her admit her feelings. Following graduation from high school, she follows Tetsuya to Tokyo and enrolls in his university, but she continues to pursue him and push him away with equal fervor.

Naturally confused, Tetsuya starts other relationships, including one with Kyouko, a friend of Reiko's from high school. Meanwhile, another college classmate, Takada Haruo, seeks Reiko's help in winning Kyouko's love. It all proves too much for Reiko. Eventually, she decides to return home and accept an arranged marriage, but Tetsuya sees through her smokescreen and asserts his claim to her love.

While Shiratori Reiko is nominally a rom-com, it also plays as a satire on the tsundere and oujo-sama tropes. In one scene, Shiratori dreams that she is the poor little match girl. All the young men flock to buy her matches, but she turns them away, wanting only Tetsuya to buy her matches Personally, I found the show quite exasperating, and I had trouble watching it all the way through, both during editing and RC. The show should not be taken seriously; if it is, it's unwatchable, as Nemesis concluded.

The voice cast includes:

• Kawamura Maria (Shiratori Reiko) played Naga the Serpent in the Slayers franchise, the title roles in Fujiko Fujio A no Mumako and Cleopatra D.C., Lachesis in Five Star Stories, Eluza in the Gall Force OVAs, Interpreter in the Compiler OVAs, Luna and Tiger Lily in Peter Pan no Bouken, Shirin the dancer in Haruka Naru Toki no Nake de 2, and Kate in Hitomi no Naka no Shounen: 15 Shounen Hyouryuuki. The last two are Orphan releases.
• Horiuchi Kenyuu (Akimoto Tetsuya) played the title role in Guin Saga and Oscar in the Angelique franchise. He also played the title role in Amon Saga, Ryuuichi in Aoko Honoo, Nest in Eien no Filena, Kubota in Meisou Ou Border, Jin Akira in Wolf Guy, Lid in Greed, Romus, the green-haired hero, in Choujikuu Romanesque Samy: MISSING 99, and the refined son in Eguchi Hisashi no Kotobuki Gorou Show, all Orphan releases.
• Takamori Yoshino (Andou Kyouko, her best friend) played the arch oujo-sama Sayaka in Yawara! and the twin roles of Juliet Douglas and Sloth in Full Metal Alchemist. She starred as Chika in Ohoshi-sama no Rail and appeared as Shouko in POPS, Princess Lichia in Amon Saga, and in Yousei Ou and the What's Michael? OVAs, all Orphan releases.
• Yamaguchi Ken (Takada Haruo, Kyouko's suitor) appeared in Dokushin Apartment Dokudami-sou, Yamato 2520, Hoshi Neko Full House, and Condition Green, all Orphan releases.

The director, Hongou Mitsuru, has many other directing credits, including the first 148 episodes of Crayon Shin-Chan and several Shin-chan movies, Shamanic Princess, Outlaw Star, Megami Kouhosei (Pilot Candidate), Tenkai Knight, the first 48 episodes of World Trigger, and all three seasons of Honzuki no Gekokujou (Ascendance of a Bookworm).

Iri translated, and ninjacloud timed. I edited and typeset. ImAWasteOfHair, Nemesis, and Uchuu QCed. Intrepid encoded from a Japanese VHS tape ripped on his non-compressing All-in-Wonder setup.

Shiratori Reiko can be watchable or irritating or both, depending on your tolerance for oujo-sama and tsundere cliches. You can get the show from the usual torrent site or from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net.