Uchuu Neko: Mardock no Bouken

So here's Orphan's holiday release, the 2016 short series Uchuu Neko: Mardock no Bouken (The Adventures of Mardock the Space Cat). This set of four shorts appeared on YouTube but remained sadly untranslated... until now.

The show is very simple. Mardock the cat and his mouse friend, Lt. Chuui ("Squeak"), are drowsing in the sun when they suddenly find themselves flying through space in a rocket.

In each episode, they land on a strange planet:

1. The Planet of Sweets - A queen bee is sick of the sugary treats that are the only food available on her planet.
2. The Planet of Canyons - An overly protective mama eagle refuses to let her children fly because the canyon walls are too narrow.
3. The Planet of Anthills - Ants mindlessly follow the worker in front of them, with no respite.
4. The Planet of Fireflies - A firefly thinks she is all alone because she sees no other lights on her dark world.

Mardock and Chuui solve the major problem, make sure the inhabitants will be okay, and fly off to the next planet. Stir and repeat.

The primary voice cast is famous:

• Fujiwara Keiji (Mardock) played the dad in Crayon Shin-chan, Maes Hughes in Fullmetal Alchemist, Kenchirou in Antique Bakery, Hannes in Shingeki no Kyojin, Shirou in Blue Exorcist, Nue in Karas, Hinahono in Magi, and Shigure in Ushio to Tora TV. He played Hattori Hanzo Masanari in Sanada 10, Gentaku in Hidamari no Ki, and Yoshitoki in Genji, Part 1, all Orphan releases.
• Yamashita Daiki (Chuui) starred as Deku in Boku no Hero Academia. Tetsurou in No Guns Life, and Naoto in Ijiranaide, Nagatoro-san, among many recent leading roles.

The bit parts in the episodes also have distinguished seiyuu:

• Asakura Azumi (queen bee, ep 1) played Asia in the High School DxD franchise, Emerada in The Devil is a Part-Timer franchise, and Kumin in the Chunibyou demo Koi ga Shita! franchise.
• Kaida Yuko (mother bird, ep 2) played Angelica in The Ancient Magus' Bride, Consort Ah Duo in The Apothecary Diaries, Ryoumou Shimei in the Ikkitousen franchise, Isabella in Yakusoku no Neverland, and Tsukuya in Gintama.
• Uchiyama Yumi (fledgling, ep 2) starred as Rudeus in the Mushoku Tensei franchise and played Takashima Rei in the Ace of the Diamond franchise, Mare Bello Fiore in the Overlord franchise, and Kazami Shun in the Bakugan franchise. She also had cameos in Shirokuma Cafe, an Orphan release.
• Mizuhashi Kaori (fledgling, ep 2) played Ai Aino in the Aria franchise, Minami in the Baka to Test to Shoukanuu franchise, Sara in the Futakoi series, Miyako in the Hidamari Sketch franchise, and Ogiue in Genshiken.
• Umehara Yuichiro (worker ant, ep 3) starred in the title roles of Goblin Slayer and Young Black Jack. He also played Yufuin En in the Binan Koukou Chikyuu Bouei-bu Love! series, Usui in Revenger, Horikita in the Classroom of the Elite series, and Siegried in The Legend of the Galactic Heroes reboot.
• Nakajima Yoshiki (worker ant, ep 3) played Seimei in Bakumatsu, Uei You in the Dr. Stone franchise, Serge Tova in Fairy Gone, and Suzuru in Mononogatari.
• Nakamura Shugo (worker ant, ep 3) appeared in Blue Lock, Eternal Boys, OPUS COLORs, and TsukiPro the Animation.
• Tomita Miyu (firefly, ep 4) starred as Riko in Made in Abyss and Crim the fallen angel in Interspecies Reviewers. She played Nijino Yume in the Aikatsu franchise, Flora in Isekai Nonbiri Nouka, Iino Miko in the Kaguya-sama: Love is War franchise, and Ogata Rizu in Boku-tachi wa Benkyou ga Dekinai.

The director, Inabi Daiki, was in charge of the Fuusen Inu Tinny shorts as well.

I started the project by timing the four episodes; that's about my limit as a timer. Skr translated and decoded the voice credits. I edited and typeset. Nemesis and Uchuu QCed. Everyone liked the series; the only real criticism was that there weren't enough episodes. The official trailer has been included for completeness; it is not translated.

So from all the cat fanciers at Orphan Fansubs, happy holidays. You can pick up Uchuu Neko: Mardock no Bouken from the usual torrent site or from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net.