Wan Wan Chuushingura (Full HD)

Another re-release in full HD, courtesy of Ioroid's raws. Wan Wan Chuushingura is a 1963 feature-length cartoon from Toei Douga. It tells the story of Rock, an Akimi pup who lives in a mountain forest. His mother, Shiro, is a fierce defender of the local fauna from the depredations of Killer the tiger and his evil but clever sidekick, Akamimi the fox. (Never mind that tigers live in jungles, not on mountains, and are solitary except when mating.) When Akemimi lures Shiro into a fatal encounter with Killer, Rock vows revenge. However, he is too young and small to achieve much. He sets out for the city to recruit allies and falls in with a rough but lovable gang of street mutts. After many adventures, Rock eventually leads the city dogs into battle against Killer and Akamimi, with predictable results, if not exactly in a predictable way.

In the title, "wan wan" is Japanese onomatopoeta for a dog's bark, as "nyan nyan" is for a cat's meow. "Chuushingura"  (Treasury of Loyal Retainers) refers to a famous Japanese historical episode, the 47 Ronin, which is frequently dramatized in Japanese movies and plays. Except for the dogs seeking revenge against Killer, the anime doesn't draw on any part of the actual incident. But it's a good ride, fluidly animated, and with few of the saccharine interruptions that wrecked Toei's earlier Saiyuuki. It's also notable for its distinguished staff: original story and series composition by Tezuka Osamu, and the first anime assignment of Miyazaki Hayao, as an in-between animator.

The voice cast is from an earlier era of animation:

• Hori Junko (young Rock, girl at the lighthouse) played the protagonists in three Fujiko Fujio works, Obake no Q-tarou, Ninja Hattori-kun, and Chinpui. She also appeared in Taiyou no Ouji: Horus no Daibouken, Rain Boy, Time Slip Ichimannen Prime Rose, and Makoto-chan, all Orphan releases, as well as Moomin, Akage no Anne, Cinderella Boy, and Unico.
• Konshita Hideo (adult Rock) played Cho Hokkai in Saiyuuki and the title role in Sindbad the Sailor.
• Kamo Yoshihiro (Akemimi) appeared in Gigantor, Perman, and Planet Prince.
• Nishimura Kou (Killer) appeared in Jack and the Beanstalk, Lupin III: The Mystery of Momo, and Nutcracker Fantasy.

The director, Daikuhara Akira, worked on several Toei Douga features. He received a Lifetime Achievement Prize in 2006.

For the original release, Iri translated, M74 timed. I edited and typeset (not much to do there), and Nemesis and bananadoyouwanna did QC. For this release, Uchuu did a release check. Very little needed to be changed. The raw is a full HD web rip from Ioroid. The dimensions (1080 x 800) aren't quite right, but they're close enough. There's no visible distortion, and the images are noticeably less grainy.

Whether that's good or bad is for you to decide. And the opening and closing song ("The Doggie March")  is still an earworm.

I'm not sure Wan Wan Chuushingura needed a full HD release, but it's a fun "all ages" anime, one of the best of Toei's 1960s films. If you missed it before, you should watch it now. You can get the new version at the usual torrent site or from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net.