Sanada 10 - If SIx Turned Out to Be Nine... (Ep 7-9)

At long last, Sanada 10 stops setting the stage and moves into telling a story. However, it promptly runs into a prime difficulty of historical fiction: how can you insert fictional characters into historical events as principals and let them have real impact, when the course of events, and who was involved, is already known? For example, in one of the episodes, Sasuke and his pals try to assassinate Tokugawa Ieyasu. However,  Sasuke's attempt can't succeed, because we know that Tokugawa was not assassinated. So fictional character must ultimately work around the edges of history, playing minor roles in the grand tapestry of events.

Thus, these three episodes are more about adding members to the Sanada Six than about major events. In episode seven, Sasuke and Sekai are dispatched to Kyoto to deliver a letter to the Minister of the Right. He asks them to investigate a series of burglaries at daimyo residences. This introduces Kirikagure Saizo, another ninja more interested in fame than in service.

In episode eight, Sasuke, Sekai, and Saizo return to Mount Kudo and meet Kiyohime, the daughter of former regent Higetsugu, along the way. She is escorted, from the shadows, by a mysterious Shinto priest, Kakei Juzo.

In episode nine, Sasuke, Sekai, and Saizo decide to take advantage of a tactical opportunity and assassinate Ieyasu. However, they are preempted by a masterless samurai, Anayama Kosuke, who has his own grudge against Tokugawa. Anayama's improvised attack derails Sasuke's and Saizo's more intricate plan, and Tokugawa escapes.

So not much has been accomplished, except to add three more recruits to Sanada Yokimura's ragtag band.

The new cast members include:

• Mitsuishi Kotono (Kiyohime) played the title roles in Excel Saga, Birdy the Mighty, and the Maze TV and OVAs, Mink in Dragon Half, Katsuragi Misato in the Evangelion properties, Rosalia in the Angelique franchise, Kagura in the original Fruits Basket, Eri in Love Get Chu, and of course, Sailor Moon in the Sailor Moon franchise. She played the lead in Mother Saigo no Shoujo Eve and Oshare Kozou wa Hanamaru, Oshina in Hidamari no Ki, and appeared in Blazing Transfer Student, Nagasarete Airantou, and Yamato 2520, all Orphan releases.
• Koyasu Takehito (Kirikagure Saizo) is reputed to be the most prolific voice actor currently active, with more than 365 roles under his belt. He played Doujima Gin in Shokugeki no Souma, Thirteen in Grimoire of Zero, Dio in Jojo's Bizarre Adventures, the title role in Master of Mosquitron, and Fool in Elegant Yokai Apartment Life. He starred as Izumi in Zetsuai and Bronze and appeared in Kiss wa Me ni Shite, Yamato 2520, and Yuukan Club, all Orphan releases.
• Hayami Shou (Kakei Juzo) starred as Nanjou in Zetsuai: 1989 and Bronze: Zetsuai since 1989, Aju in Hayou no Tsurugi, and Kushinige Hodaka in Oshare Kozou wa Hanamaru. He also played an angel in Tezuka Osamu's Tales of the Old Testament, Exper Kain in Exper Zenon, Iason's friend Raoul in Ai no Kusabi, Hojo in Sanctuary, Pat Leivy in Starship Troopers, Junoichi in Blazing Transfer Student, Shargan in Gude Crest, and Seichii in Mikoneko Holmes. All of these shows are Orphan releases. 
• Ookawa Tooru (Anayama Kosuke) played Sasaki Tadajirou, the Shogunate's demon hunter, in Amatsuki and Hoya Hyougo in Hidamari no Ki, both Orphan releases, Roy Mustang in Fullmetal Alchemist, Saito in the GITS SAC franchise, Noda Tatsuo (Nodame's father) in Nodame Cantabile, Gedächtnis in the Fireball series, and Jason in Ai no Kusabi (2012).
• Saka Osamu (Kikutei, the Minister of the Right) played Daisuke Aramaki in the Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex franchise and Oohara in the Oishinbo properties. He appeared in Tales from the Old Testament, Aoki Honoo, Next Senki Ehrgeiz, Fire Emblem, Kasei Yakyoku, Oz, and the third Sangokushi movie, all Orphan releases, as well as numerous other anime. 
• Sawaki Ikuya (Itakura Shirouemon, Tokugawa's enforcer in Kyoto) played Gooley in the Dirty Pair franchise. He also played Samuel Hunter in Wolf Guy, Masayoshi Hotta in Hidamari no Ki, Barry in Joker: Marginal City, Alan in Mother Saigo no Shoujo Eve, and the Kaiser in Apfelland Monogatari, as well as bit parts in Dallos and Chameleon, all Orphan releases.

The distinguished voice cast in seemingly minor roles again points at the second season that was never made.

Some translation notes: 

• Miyoshi Sekai, the pugnacious monk, is frequently referred to as "Benkei", who was  a legendary fighting monk during the Genpei War in early Heian times. In folk tales, Sasuke, Saizo, and Sekai are the most popular of the Sanada Ten and tend to get the most airtime. That's true in this show as well.
• The mysterious burglar in Kyoto is referred to as the ghost of Ishikawa Goemon. Goemon was a legendary ninja executed for trying to assassinate Toyotomi Hideyoshi. 
• During their first battle, Saizo calls Sasuke a "Kouga," meaning a Kouga ninja.
  

Also, I must mention the opening theme, a shamisen instrumental composed and played by Agatsuma Hiromitsu. His Tsugaru-shamisenI, an oversided instrument accompanied only by drum, provides an propulsive and compelling opening to the show. The ending theme is a tranquil (and rather boring) ballad extolling the nobility of the Sanada 10.

This set of episodes was translated by AonE, although the filename credits DigitalPanic as well, and the conventions changed in subtle ways. For example, the AonE team assumed (incorrectly) that the dates were Western calendar dates and changed "10th month" to October, etc. I've tried to bring these three episodes in line with the first six. The translation of episodes seven and eight is credited to cazoo; I don't know who translated episode nine. I retimed to the new raws, edited, and typeset. Nemesis and Uchuu QCed. The raws were encoded from R2J DVDs by an anonymous friend.

This is the last of the reworked episodes. The concluding episodes will have new translations. You can get these episodes from the usual torrent site or from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net.

Late breaking news: Humbug. Fumble fingered the file names, so please change {DVD} to (DVD) in all three episodes.

Dallos (Blu-ray)

It's been more than ten years since Orphan first released Dallos. After release posts for the DVD version, the HD web version, and the laserdisc summary version, is there anything new left to say about this Blu-ray version? Probably not. But I have to say something. So I'll record some of my impressions after watching this show for the fourth, or eighth, or tenth time.

• Alex Riger has to be the dumbest police chief in the known universe. Did he get his training at the Bull Connor School of Pointless Brutality? As his subordinates point out, increasing repression will just draw more settlers to the guerillas' side. That's just what happens. And by the end of the show, Riger has learned exactly nothing, even after almost being fragged by his own side, except that he's not competent to be a military commander.
  
• Melinda Hearst is not a character, she's (in Hitchockian terms) the Macguffin. She even looks like a Hitchcock heroine - blonde, cool, and aloof.
• Shun's journey from apolitical youth to committed revolutionary is supposed to be the core of the plot, but he's colorless.and not very compelling. His wannabe squeeze, Rachel, is a better character, more alive and passionate. Shun manages to miss or ignore that passion, among many other things.
• The music is as bombastic and annoying as ever. Nanba Hiroyuki has done much better scores, including Space Dandy.
• The concluding sequence, when Shun takes his dying grandfather to the light side of the Moon to see Earth for one final time, is unexpectedly moving. The concluding shot of the Earth hanging in the black sky, overlooking the sea of graves, is iconic.

• Dallos remains an uneasy mixture of hard sci-fi, societal allegory, and character drama. The tensions in the show - between action and story - can be traced to the presence of two directors on the show: Mamoru Ishii, at the time a wunderkind in his early 30s; and Toriumi Hisayuki, an industry veteran and Mamoru's mentor. (Toriumi is usually only credited with the story, but the interview in the Discotek release makes it clear that he was co-director.) They had different ideas about what was interesting and what was practical, and the tensions show. 

So I like the show, but I really don't want to work on it again..

A few notes on this release:

• First, I again used Orphan's fansubs, not the R1 DVD release subtitles. If you want the DVD subtitles, then buy Discotek's excellent release. It's very affordable, and it includes a highly informative interview with Mamoru Ishii and others who worked on the original show.
• Second, the subs have hardly been touched. I've put in a lot more line breaks, because of problems with different subtitle renderers, and added a few exclamation marks, but that's it. The subs have been edited and checked three times already. Further changes are unnecessary.
• Third, the release is 720p rather than 1080p. Both the encoder and I agree that the image quality isn't good enough for a 1080p release. If you think otherwise, feel free to encode your own version. These subs should be frame exact for any competent Blu-ray encode.

The voice cast includes:

• Sasaki Hideki (Shun) played the lead role in Gauche the Cellist; otherwise, his resume is very short.
• Ikeda Shuichi (Riger) played Char in Mobile Suit Gundam, Gilbert Durandal in Gundam Seed, Ulrich Kessler in Legend of the Galactic Heroes, and Azuma in Starship Troopers, an Orphan release.
• Genda Tesshou (Dog McCoy) played Colonel Muto in Joker Game, Moloch in Yondemasu Azazel-san, Rei in the Urusei Yatsura franchise, Moguro Fukuzou in New Laughing Salesman,  and "Oyaji" in Mitsuboshi Colors. He also played Miyoshi Harumi Nyudo in Sanada 10, Akauma in Fire Tripper, Jin Kiryu in Blue Sonnet, Zigong in Eiyuu Banka Koushi-den, Paul Rusch in Yume Kakeru Kougen, Jim Hyatt in AWOL Compression Remix, the loyal lieutenant Galbreath in Next Senki Ehrgeiz, the dragonman Baguda in Greed, the narrator in Akai Hayate and Meisou-ou Border, Dog McCoy in Dallos, Hebopi in Wild 7, rebel leader Oosukune in Izumo, and Rikiishi's trainer Kuroki and Kirishima in Eguchi Hisashi no Kotobuki Gorou Show, all Orphan releases.
• Sakakibara Yoshiko (Melinda) played Sybil in Black Magic M-66, Sylvia Stingray in Bubblegum Crisis/Crash, Sir Integra Hellsing in both versions of Hellsing, Paula in Condition Green, Kaoru in Karuizawa Syndrome, and Mimau in Greed. The last three are Orphan releases.
• Ukai Rumiko (Rachel) played Fraw Bow in the original Mobile Suit Gundam, Rose in the Godmars franchise, and Kiyomi in Miyuki. She played Nohara Maki in Call Me Tonight and Michelle in Ginga Tansa 2100-nen: Border Planet, and she appeared in What's Michael? 2, all Orphan releases.
• Suzuki Mizuho (Shun's grandfather) played Dr. Mo in A Penguin's Memories, an Orphan release.
• Tanaka Hideyuki (Max, Dog's second-in-command) played Terryman in the Kinnikuman franchise and Rayearth in Magic Knight Rayearth. He also played Unno Rokurou in Sanada 10, Harmer in Al Caral no Isan, Sammy in Bavi Stock, Sawamura in Nozomi Witches, Ronron in Greed, Aoto in Oedo ga Nemurenai!, Katze in Ai no Kusabi, Minowa Takanari in Karuizawa Syndrome, Kazuhiko, Chiko's father in Ohoshi-sama no Rail, and Ma Su, Fengji's lover, in Sangokushi movie 3, all Orphan releases.

The credited director, Mamoru Oshii, rose to prominence with Urusei Yatsura and went on to direct many famous anime works, including Ghost in the Shell, Gosenzosama Banbanzai, and Sky Crawlers.

The project flow was straightforward. The subs from the HD web release required a one-frame timing tweak for the new encode, plus new typesetting for the color differences. I did the timing shift and typesetting. Topper3000 did a release check. bananadoyouwanna encoded from a Japanese Blu-ray. The encode includes FLAC audio. The pilot film subs came from the laserdisc summary special and required no more than a linear shift and the 720p styles.

So here is Orphan's last word (or so I sincerely hope) on Dallos.The new encode looks great, and the FLAC audio reproduces every thump, blast, and musical crescendo. You can get this version from the usual torrent site or from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net.

Sanada 10 - The Sanada Six (Ep 4-6)

Although the series title (and the folk-tales on which it is based) refer to ten brave Sanada warriors, at this point, we've only met six, all of them retainers of Sanada Yukimura:

• Sarutobi Sasuke, a ninja, possibly of extra-terrestrial origin
• Miyoshi Sekai, a warrior monk
• Miyoshi Isa, his brother, also a warrior monk
• Mochizuri Rokuro, a martial arts specialist
• Unno Rokuro, a strategist
  
• Nezu Shinbachi, a sailor

They are the nucleus of a force that Sanada Nobushige, soon given the name that history remembers him by, Sanada Yukimura, intends to use to thwart Tokugawa Ieyesu's seemingly inevitable takeover of Japan. But to understand events, we need to take a brief detour into the years preceding Sekigahara.

As the Sengoku (Warring States) period drew to a close, the famous warlord Oda Nobunaga came very close to unifying Japan under his person rule. When Nobunaga was trapped by an opponent and committed suicide in 1582, his place was taken by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who succeeded where Nobunaga had failed and unified Japan under his rule. He was a ruthless man. To avoid a succession fight between his designated heir, his nephew Hidetsugu, and his young son, Hideyori, Hideyoshi exiled Hidetsugu to Mount Koya, ordered him to commit suicide, and then murdered 31 of Hidetsugu's family members. However, Hideyoshi died in 1598, when his son was only seven. Control passed to a Council of Elders who acted as regents for Hideyori. This fell apart quickly, and at Sekigahara, Tokugawa vanquished the Elders who sided against him. Yet he was nominally acting on behalf of the young Hideyori, and the power of the Toyotami clan remained intact.

These three episodes pick up the story after the Battle of Sekigahara. In the aftermath of the battle, the prospects for the rebel Sanada clan look bleak. But thanks to the intervention of his elder brother Nobuyuki, who had fought for Tokugawa, Yukimura and his father are spared execution. However, they are stripped of their lands and exiled to the monastery at Mount Koya. There, Sanada Yukimura forms a plan to fight the Tokugawas when the power struggle with the Toyotamis resumes. Starting with his six retainers, he forms a secret team of agents, who will recruit allies, look for new weapons, and keep the flame of resistance alive. Yukimura must also attend to the demands of daily life, including the birth of his first son, but he always puts the demands of resistance first. Sasuke has doubts and might prefer to enjoy the ways of peace and his newfound domestic comforts:

but he is loyal to his lord and sets out on his next mission. But meanwhile, where are the remaining four braves?

As I've worked through the DigitalPanic scripts (and the three AonE scripts that follow), I've been making changes to the conventions used in the early episodes. This means, unfortunately, that there will be script revisions to the first three episodes and the special when the series is complete. Fear not, though: patches will be provided to update initial release to final. And better still, the series is now completely translated, so it will get finished provided (as used to be said) the corn don't die and the creek don't run dry.

There are a few new characters, notably Yukimura's wife:

• Ohara Sayaka (Akihime) placed Titania in The Ancient Magus' Bride, Alicia in the Aria franchise, Milly Ashford in the Lelouch franchise, Elsie in Edens Zero, Scarlet in the Fairy Tail franchise, Ozen in Made in Abyss, Kaede in Please Teacher and Please Twins, Yuuko in xxxHOLiC, and numerous other roles.

Although I continue to be surprised at the leisurely pace (kids, be sure and get your second season commitment in writing before setting out at a 24-episode pace), Sanada 10 is moving the story along, albeit slowly. You can get this mini-batch from the usual torrent site or from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news.

Heart Cocktail Vol 1

Heart Cocktail, based on a manga series by Watase Seizou, has been on my wish list for a long time. Our media maven in Japan acquired the six laserdisc volumes through several years of patient surveillance of Japanese second-hand media websites. He then ripped them on a Domesday Duplicator and encoded them. Unfortunately, no translator could be found, and they were released as raws two years ago. Then, enter Discord.

As readers may remember, a year or two ago, younger team members dragged me, if not exactly kicking and screaming, then grumbling and rumbling, over to Discord, because they regarded IRC as ancient history (it is). I found Discord, like most social media, to be a significant time-waster. However, I made new contacts in the fansubbing world, particularly with other back-catalog groups. The result of those contacts in this project, a subtitled version of Heart Cocktail, at long last.

The principal organizers of this project are Darkonius (of DarkWispers), MartyMcflies (of LonelyChaser fansubs), and me (from Orphan). I met Darkonius because of his interest in World Masterpiece Theater projects; I provided the C1 script archives for Perrine and Peter Pan. I met Marty through a shared interest in anime music; he has found and uploaded the music from numerous obscure shows, including some of Orphan's. We all liked Heart Cocktail and wanted to see if subbed. Marty got the ball rolling by finding the manga raws and getting them scanned. Darkonius translated the show, using the manga as a reference, as well as some prior partial scripts. Marty arranged for Yume to translation check the script. I then put the script through Orphan's normal back-end process: fine timing (ninjacloud), editing and typesetting (me), and QC (Rezo and Moelancholy). We'll be releasing one volume at a time.

Heart Cocktail is difficult to describe. It's a series of vignettes, three minutes or less, each telling a short story of love found or lost, or sometimes both. The characters are mostly unnamed: a man, a woman, and the people in their environments. (One exception is a cafe owner named Jessy, who appears several times.) The animation is simple, with many still frames. There's a lot of music, most of it upbeat and jazzy. Each vignette is followed by some live-action footage that comments on the settings or the props of the previous story. The live-action sequences have sound but no music, so they act as breaks between stories.

Some of the voice actors include:

• Shimazu Saeko (woman) 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, Chocola in Don Dracula, Sanae in Izumi (1991), Kyouko in Hiatari Ryouko, and Scanny in Techno Police 21C, all Orphan releases. 
• Shiozawa Kaneto (man) played the title role in To-Y, Orochimaru in Tengai Makyou, Shin in Hiatari Ryoukou, Iason in Ai no Kusabi, Rock Holmes in Fumoon, Shiina in Chameleon, Sanzou in I am Son Goku, Kouhei in Karuizawa Syndrome, and Kurahashi Eiji in Nine, all Orphan releases. He also played Joe in Tokimeki Tonight, Yoshio in Miyuki, Takeshi in Touch, D in Vampire Hunter D, Narsus in the Arslan Senki OVA, Rosario in Dragon Half, and Abriel senior in Crest of the Stars.

The voice credits in the show and in anime databases don't agree, so it's difficult to know who actually voiced some of the characters. One of the directors, Morita Hiromitsu, mostly did storyboards and animation, but he also directed Oyayubi Hime Monogatari, Kobo-chan, and World of Narue. The other credited director, Shinpei Wada, is not in the public anime databases. The music is by Matsuoka Naoya, a jazz pianist. There are also a few well-known songs, such as instrumental versions of California Dreamin', Donna the Prima Donna, and Let It Be.

In addition to the named staff, I want to thank some other contributors. 6/10 and Makoto-kun both provided initial or partial translations to the project. VigorousJammer scanned the manga volumes that provided the underlying references for the translation. Marty and I both underwrote the project financially, including media acquisition and other services. This is very much a team effort, rooted in the Discord community. I guess social media isn't so bad, after all.

Heart Cocktail is very different from today's plot-driven, slam-bang anime. It's a mood, an atmosphere, a lingering aftertaste. I really like it, and I hope you will too. You can get this volume from the usual torrent site or from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha (yeah, I'm still loyal to IRC) in channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net.