Haruka Naru Toki no Nake de 3: Owarinaki Unmei

And now the other shoe drops; Orphan presents a new version of the 2010 TV special, Haruka Naru Toki no Nake de 3: Owarinaki Unmei (In a Distant Time 3: Endless Destiny), the sequel to Haruka Naru Toki no Nake de 3: Kurenai no Tsuki (In a Distant Time 3: Crimson Moon). Owarinake Unmei was Orphan's first official release, in 2010. It was in desperate need of an update, because I had no idea what I was doing back then (or now, I suppose), so when the limited edition DVD set showed up on a second-hand media site, I jumped at it. I got more than I bargained for.

The box set not only has extras and promotional videos, it also has a set of ten "omake" that provide alternate endings for the show, allowing viewers to pair the heroine off with the bishounen of their choice. But more than that, the main video is thirty minutes longer than any prior version, providing a third and concluding chapter to the show. (The ending credit song is twice as long too.) What was supposed to be a straightforward updating of an old release was suddenly a major project, requiring additional translation of both dialog and songs.

How did this happen? All subbed versions to date were based on captures of the original TV broadcast, which was sixty minutes long. Although it seemed to end conclusively, the last third of the show had been chopped off for broadcast; a rather critical piece, as it turned out. The TV broadcast ended with the heroine swearing that she would settle everything at Dan-no-Ura. The extra chapters are the battle of Dan-no-Ura and its aftermath.

Owarinaki Unmei is not a direct continuation of Kurenai no Tsuki. The latter ended with a "replay" of the battle at Ichi-no-Tani, as the heroine, Nozomi, struggled to change the disastrous fate that befell her friends. As Owarinaki Unmei opens, Ichi-no-Tani is in the rear view mirror, a Genji victory, although how that happened isn't specified. Nozomi and her supporters battle a fearsome, supernatural assassin seeking Kurou's life, as well as various demonic warriors unleashed by all sides. Nozomi is determined to bring the war to a swift and balanced conclusion, but leaders on both sides have very different ideas.

The principal voice cast is the same as the previous show. There are a few new roles:

• Matsuda Yuki (Taira no Koremori) had featured roles in Gintama, Gravitation, Kaleido Star, Mouse, and Soul Hunter.
• Toriumi Kousuke (Fujiwara no Yasuhira) played Akira in Togainu no Chi, Yuuji in the To Heart franchise, Rajendra in the Arslan Senki reboot, Shunsuke in the Yowamushi Pedal franchise, Kenshin in Sengoku Night Blood, Ren in Dies Irae, Cecil in the Uta no Prince-sama franchise, and Hajime in the Hakuouki franchise.

The director, Tsunaki Aki, also directed Haruka Naru Toki no Nake de 2 and Haruka Naru Toki no Nake de: Hachiyoushou. He did character design and animation direction as well.

The omake are mostly recaps of interactions from the main show, with a bit of original dialog and, in most, a background song. In each, one of the bishounen declares his undying admiration for Nozomi and his hopes that they can be together. Most culminate in a chaste embrace, although HInoe actually kisses her (he was always the lad).

In addition to an ending for each Hachiyou, there's an ending for Hakuryuu, the white dragon god, and even Tomomori, the rather sinister fighter for the Heike. The release also includes some untranslated extras - a live-action set of interviews and three promotional videos.

The original subtitles for the TV special were by EPIC. I revamped them for Orphan's release back in 2010. For this extended release, purpleparrotkin translated all the new dialog in the main show, as well as the new dialog in the ten omake and the additional ending song verse. He also identified the background songs in the omake, which was extraordinarily helpful. Yogicat timed the main show; I timed the omake, with help from ninjacloud. I edited and typeset; there was very little typesetting to do beyond the main title. Nemesis and Uchuu QCed. An anonymous friend encoded, using R2J DVD ISOs that Intrepid ripped. The audio tracks are all FLAC. Intrepid also ripped the OST and vocal collection for the show; they're FLAC too.

So here is a new version of Haruka Naru Toki no Nake de 3: Uwarinaki Unmei, "complete and unabridged," with all its extras. You can find the release on the usual torrent site or download all the piece parts from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net.