2023 in Review

A year of retreads and repeats, none of them good: War in Ukraine. War in the Middle East. Covid, flu, and RSV. Donald Trump and Joe Biden running for President. I want my year back.

Orphan Fansubs

Orphan's output this year was lower and included lots of reissues, continuing a trend that started with the pandemic. Joint projects with the back catalog kairetsu flourished. One lengthy series, Tezuka Osamu's Tales from the Old Testament, was finished, and an orphan series, Shinshaku Sengoku Eiyuu Densetsu Sanada Juu Yuushi The Animation (aka Sanada 10), was redone and completed.

1. Tengai Makyou: Ziria Oboro Hen. A delightful fantasy OVA set in an alternate Japan. Interesting characters, plus lots of comedy and action.
   
2. Doukyuusei: Climax v2. A new version of the ecchi OVA. ProxyMan bought the DVDs, so...
   
3. Sotsugyousei v2. A new version of the ecchi OVA. ProxyMan again.
4. Tezuka Osamu's Tales from the Old Testament, the last five episodes and the batch torrent. The series strayed into New Testament territory at the end, to please its sponsor, the Vatican.
   
5. Grimm Douwa: Kin no Tori full HD. This reissue was my "rehab" assignment after being down and out with Covid for a month. It is absolutely delightful. Go watch it.
   
6. Shinshaku Sengoku Eiyuu Densetsu Sanada Juu Yuushi special. This release was a test to see if it would be possible to finish the Sanada 10 TV series. It is a stand-alone tale and, because it's complete, better than the TV show.
   
7. Noel's Fantastic Trip, DVD (wide-screen) version. A wonderful children's environmental fable, full of color, songs by Iruka, and Easter eggs for adults. A joint project with LonelyChaser.
   
8. UTOPA full HD. Another reissue in full HD. I liked this sci-fi OVA more the second time around. 
9. Noel's Fantastic Trip, LD (full-frame) version. Requested by MartyMcflies because of its unretouched soundtrack and somewhat larger video frame. A joint project with LonelyChaser.
   
10. Wan Wan Chuushingura full HD. A third full HD reissue. This 60s Toei cartoon is delightfully goofy, entertaining for children without talking down to them.
    
11. Shinshaku Sengoku Eiyuu Densetsu Sanada Juu Yuushi. This was Orphan's major series for the year. The first nine episodes were reworked DigitalPanic/AonE subs. The last three were original. When completed, the show was still an orphan: there was supposed to be a second season, but it was never made.
    
12. Heart Cocktail. This six-episode OVA was a joint project with DarkWispers and LonelyChaser. It consisted of short vignettes about love - started, stopped, lost, found. It suited me down the ground: a show about adults, clear-eyed and not overtly sentimental, yet profoundly optimistic.
    
13. Dallos Blu-ray. Why not? Fourth time's the charm.
    
14. Maken Liner 0011 Henshin Seyo! This reissue used a full HD web rip and BlueFixer's (Iri's) subs. One of the more awkward of the early Toei cartoons, with too much narrated exposition and too little character development.
    
15. Genji, Part One. An absolute mind-fuck, based on a sci-fi manga that was never (and never will be) completed. Part romance, part samurai flick, part sci-fi, with a little bit of BL thrown in.
    
16. Cat-Eyed Boy (1976) ep3. This was the last episode released on DVD, so it was supposed to be the end of the project. Afterward, Skr and I bought the laserdisc box set, so perhaps there will be more "gekimation" in the future.
    
17. Inochi no Chikyuu: Dioxin no Natsu. This docu-drama about the dioxin spill in Seveso, Italy, was appropriately alarming but not altogether dramatically compelling.
    
18. Raiyantsuuri no Uta. A wonderful movie about trauma, isolation, and the redeeming power of human interaction.
19. Okama Hakusho. A comedy about gender confusion and the gay scene in Japan. NSFW but not (quite) hentai.
20. Ai to Ken no Camelot: Mangaka Marina Time Slip Jiken. A time-travel adventure in which a young mangaka, Ikeda Marina, and her bishie friends travel to Camelot to save it from civil war.
21. Uchuu Neko: Mardock no Bouken.  Four short episodes about Mardock the space-going cat and his pal, Lt. Chuui. Charming, with cats. 'nuff said.
    

My personal favorites included Tengai Makyou, Heart Cocktail, and Noel's Fantastic Trip. Plus, I was really pleased to have finished Tezuka Osamu's Tales from the Old Testament, as well as Sanada 10, orphaned more than a decade ago..

A big shout-out to new translator Perevodildo, who helped drive several long-stalled projects to completion. Skr, tenkenX6, Iri, and purpleparrotkin also made major translation contributions. I want to thank the Arutha foundation, which has hosted all of Orphan's releases on IRC. The timing regulars, ninjacloud and Yogicat, and the QC regulars, Nemesis, Uchuu, Rezo, and Topper3000, continue to carry the bulk of the group's projects in their respective fields. Rezo and Intrepid run media acquisition and encoding and are very active. But whether mentioned or not, every staff member has contributed to the work this year.

The Audio Side

Orphan released one additional soundtrack this year, the Genji, Part One music collection.

 
Work for Other Groups

Some old, some new.

• Frozen-EviL. I continued to edit the slow-moving Blu-Ray version of Yawara!
  
• Saizen. In a sudden burst of energy, Saizen finished the Laughing Salesman specials. I QCed the Sand Land promo. I also finished editing Baby and Me, although the episodes have only just started to trickle out.
  
• Inka kairetsu. I typeset the Danguard Ace movies, all of the Tekkaman TV series, the "hard" signs in Shounan Bakusouzoku, and the first eight episodes of Starship Girl Yamamto Yohko. I will be calling in favors next year...
  

I will miss Moguro Fukuzo. I strongly suspect he's going to have the last laugh.

Favorites of 2023

I'm not an anime critic, so I don't try to compile a "best of" list for the anime year. Instead, I'm listing my favorites of the year and why they kept me interested all the way through.

In alphabetical order:

• AI no Idenshi. A thought-provoking look at AI and robotics, done with great integrity and without sensationalism. I really want more, because the underlying mangas have not been translated.
• Boku no Kokoro no Yabai Yatsu. This was a great year for romcoms, and none delved more deeply than this examination of the unlikely friendship (or perhaps more) between a popular girl and a deeply introverted boy. Second season starting soon. Yay!
• Jijou wo Shiranai Tenkousei ga Guigui Kuru. This comedy about a relentlessly genki elementary school boy and the ultra-shy object of his attention could be considered a romcom too. No second season, alas.
  
• Kimi wa Houkago Insomnia. Another terrific romcom about a mismatched pair of lovers. Second season in 2024. Yay!
  
• Koori Zokusei Danshi to Cool na Douryou Joshi. More romcom hi-jinks, with characters supposedly descended from Japanese mythological creatures.
• Mairimashita! Iruma-kun S3. Thank goodness this isn't a "top ten list." This comedy was the salvation of my Saturday mornings.
  
• Pluto. Tezuka Osamu and Urasawa Naoki and Maruyama Masao, oh, my. Sky high expectations met and exceeded.
  
• Revenger. This violent show ought to be quite outside my wheelhouse, but it made compelling, and ultimately tragic, viewing, with its violence in service to the underlying message.
• Rurouni Kenshin. The grand-daddy of battle shounen returns in a new, faithful, altogether excellent adaption. While I prefer the sort-of goofy early Kenshin to the later, more serious version, I will continue to watch, that I will. And be sure to check out the Takarazuka Review's Rurouni Kenshin the Musical...
  
• Tomo-chan Is a Girl! More romcom, very well made, with sharply delineated characters, great gags, and a conclusive ending.
• Undead Girl Murder Farce. Another mystery series, with terrific kinetic energy. It needs a follow-on, through, and probably won't get it.
  

Sousou no Frieren and Kusuriya no Hitorigoto would both have made the list, but they continue into next year.

 

It was a toss-up between it and Tomo-chan. I watched Dekiru Neko wa Kyou mo Yuuutsu. Yes, it's a trifle, but it has a human-sized talking cat. Of course I'd like it. I also really enjoyed the second tranche of Nights with a Cat. I recognize my own cantankerous critter in its devious dark eyes.

Looking Ahead

Orphan ended 2023 by clearing its backlog of active projects, but several new ones are getting started. Translation remains the key bottleneck, but every sort of skill is in short supply. Volunteers are always welcome.

Meanwhile, thanks, everyone - both team members and fans. Have a happy and safe 2024.