Science Saru x MBS Original Short Anime Daisakusen

Here's another set of four 90-second anime from Japanese TV. Titled Science Saru x MBS Original Short Anime Daisakusen - the title takes longer to read than the episodes take to watch - these shorts feature four different directors.

1. Okuninushi and Sukunabikona - The titular characters compete to see who can hold it the longest.
2. Moon (part 1) - A Moon creature's picnic is interrupted by a friendly dog (?) in a space suit.
3. Moon (part 2) - The dog returns to interrupt the Moon creature's camping trip.
4. The Bird in the Pantheon - A mood piece about a woman, a painting, and a bird.

Only the first has any dialog, and the seiyuu are quite well known for such small roles:

• Kobayashi Chiaki (Okuninushi) starred as Asakase in Sonny Boy, Yuiichi in Tomodachi Game, the title roles in Moriarty the Patriot and Ragna Crimson, Hayate in Cool Doji Danshi, Gabimaru in Jigokuraku, Stark in Sousou no Frieren, and many other roles.
• Izawa Shiori (Sukunabikon) played Piyo-chan in Dragon Goes House Hunting, Nanachi in the Made in Abyss franchise, Noriko in Kuzu no Honkai, and numerous other roles.
• Satou Rina (narrator) starred as Negi in the Negima franchise. She played Rina in the Natsume Yuujinchou franchise, Misaka Mikoto in the Toaru Railgun/Index franchise, Nagi in Eve no Jikan, Rinko in the Yondemsasu-yo, Azazel-san franchise (a favorite), and Saki in Genshiken Nidaime. She appeared in Shirokuma Cafe, an Orphan release.
  

The directors have worked on several recent series.

1. Yokoyama Akitoshi also directed Cutie Honey Universe, Tsuki to Laika to Nosferatu, and Photokano.
2. Kinoshita Eri was the animation director for Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!
3. Choi Eun-Yeong directed the "Akakiri" segment of Star Wars: Visions and produced Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!
4. Murakoshi Makai was the key animator for Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!

As with Fruit Brains, Skr saw these shorts, captured them, encoded them, translated them, and typeset. I QCed. Another timely venture! You can get these shorts from the usual torrent site or from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net.

 

Heart Cocktail Again

Twenty years after the original Heart Cocktail manga, Watase Seizou released another anime collection, Heart Cocktail Again. Unlike the original series, which languished on the wrong side of the Digital Divide, Heart Cocktail Again was released on DVD, with an English dub and English subtitles. Although the DVD sells for exorbitant prices in Japan, it has been available as a DVD remux for a while.

The Heart Cocktail team was not happy with the timing or accuracy of the English subtitles, so we decided to do a new version with a new translation. The result is this release: eight new stories, a prologue, an epilogue, and a dialog-free special. It's good to be back in the Heart Cocktail universe again.

The format hasn't changed. The stories are four or five minutes long, typically involving a nameless man and nameless woman exploring the contours of romance - found, lost, or regained. If this set seems a bit more wistful and melancholy - with more emphasis on the lost than the found - that's only an impression. I still find the stories immensely appealing. The last story, "The Station I Passed in Two Seconds," is a particular favorite.

Chapters 1, 6, and 8 use the leads from the original Heart Cocktail volume 3:

• Okuda Tamiyoshi is primarily a narrator. He also appeared in the recent reboot of the series, Heart Cocktail: Colorful.
• Shimamoto Sumi debuted as Clarisse in The Castle of Cagliostro. She starred as Sara in Princess Sara, Nausicaa in Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, Otonashi Kyouko in Maison Ikkoku, and Dayan in Neko no Dayan. She also played Shokupanman in the Soreike! Anpanman franchise, Tinkerbell in Peter Pan no Bouken, Antoinette in Reporter Blues, Big Mama in Bakuretsu Hunter, Sue in Maris the Choujo, Elice in Fire Emblem, Miss Akiko in The Girl with Blue Eyes, Suzuko and Suzu in Fire Tripper, the female lead in volume 3 of the original Heart Cocktail, and the mother in Kiku and the Wolf. The last six are Orphan releases.

In the other chapters, the unnamed male and female leads are played by new actors:

• Yamadera Kouichi (man) played many leading roles, including Spike Spiegel in Cowboy Bebop, Sukeroku in Shouwa Ginroku Rakugo Shinju, Ryouga in all the Ranma 1/2 properties, and the nameless hero of Otaku no Seiza. He plaued the title role in Hashire! Melos, Almarick Aswaer in Nana Toshi Monogatari, Benten in Oedo ga Nemurenai!, Happyaku in Wild 7, and Ryouan in Hidamari no Ki, all Orphan releases.
• Tanaka Atsuko (woman) played Mauve in ACCA, Nena Hargen in Aika, Cassandra in Alexander: Reign the Conqueror, Caster in the Fate franchise, Motoko Kusanagi in the GITS franchise, Bynas in Ozma, Claudette in Queen's Blade, and Jagara in Wolf's Rain. She also played Yuri in Nemure Omoigo, Sora no Shitone ni, new Mamamega in Megami Paradise, and Dana in AWOL Compression Remix, all Orphan releases.

The nameless extras are played by well-known seiyuu too:

• Imai Yuka starred as Jinto in the Crest/Banner of the Stars franchise. She also played Ranchiki in Maze, Otani in the Saber Marionette franchise, Shibuya in the Uta no Prince-sama franchise, and Sugimoto in Doukyuusei 2, an Orphan release.
• Koyama Takehiro had featured roles in Cowboy Bebop, Demon Lord Dante, Project Blue Earth SOS, and Robotics; Notes. He appeared in Nagasaki 1945: The Angelus Bell, an Orphan release.
• Ueda Yuuji played Johannes Krauser II in Detroit Metal City (OVA), Fuuma Yousuke in Wedding Peach, Sagara Sonosuke in Rurouni Kenshin, Tenkata Akito in Kidou Senkan Nadeseico, Keitarou in Love Hina, Makoto in Futari Ecchi, and Takeshi in Pokemon. He also voiced Shuichi in Arisa Good Luck, Takagi-kun in Let's Nupu Nupu, and Nanbara in Hand Maid May, all Orphan releases.
• Yasamura Makoto played Fumihiko in REC, Johnny Beppu in the Aikatsu franchise, Shouji in Ookiku Furikabutte, the father in Chii's Sweet Adventure, Shouzou in the Rinne no Lagrange franchise, Gasteau in the Galaxy Angel franchise, and Will Davis in Heroman.
• Okuda Tamiyoshi is primarily a narrator. He is listed as a 友情出演 (friendship performance). This usually indicates that the director, original creator, or the actor himself requested the performance, and that it was probably done at a "friendship price".

The director, Nishikubo Mizuho, also directed the Miyuki TV series, as well as some of my favorite Orphan OVAs - Karuizawa Syndrome, Purple Eyes in the Dark, and Ourorane the Cat Player.

The release has a plethora of tracks to choose from:

• Japanese 5.1 surround audio (default)
• Japanese 2.0 audio
• English 5.1 surround audio
• Music-only 5.1 surround audio
• Styled subtitles (default)
• Official English subtitles (VOBsub)
• Official Japanese subtitles (VOBsub)

So you can "pick a path" to create your own experience; for example, music-only plus subtitles, for a "silent movie" experience; or English dub, for a subtitle-free viewing.

The credits are basically the same as Heart Cocktail. This is a joint project from Orphan Fansubs, DarkWispers, and LonelyChaser Fansubs. Darkonius translated. ninjacloud cleaned up the timing. I edited and typeset. Nemesis and Uchuu QCed. Darkonius (for DarkWispers), Collectr (for Orphan) and MartyMcflies (for LonelyChaser) did the planning and coordination. Rezo encoded the raw from the aforementioned DVD remux. There are no animated credits - quite a departure from the lengthy (5 minute+) credit sequences in the original Heart Cocktail. Instead, the credits are displayed interactively in a special section of the DVD menu; the extracted frames can be found here.

This is not the end of the team's exploration of Watase Seizou's work. He released three dialog-free OVAs, Chalk-iro no People, Boku wa Oldies na All-Color, and Two on the Road. The stories are similar to Heart Cocktail, but the dialog is presented as signs rather than spoken aloud. We'll be getting to them in due course, if we find sources.

Meanwhile, here is Heart Cocktail Again, for your enjoyment. You can get the release from the usual torrent site or from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net.

 

Satsujin Kippu wa Heart-iro v2

Satsujin Kippu wa Heart-iro (The Murder Ticket Is Heart-Colored) is a 1990 standalone OVA based on a series of young adult novels for women by Yamaura Hiroyasu. Orphan released the show in 2016. We're happy to release an updated version with improved video.

Satsujin Kippu tells the story of Nagare Seiko, a teenage girl who has been temporarily suspended from her private high school in Tokyo for defending a friend from bullies. She decides to take advantage of this involuntary vacation by taking a trip to Nagasaki with her black-and-white cat, Gonbei. On the train down, she meets a handsome young man, a guitarist name Takano Kyouichirou, only to learn that he had apparently been murdered days earlier. 

 

She also encounters Misora Chuuta, a brash youngster who is clearly interested in her – an interest she doesn't reciprocate – and an older man, unnamed, who helps her when she's in trouble. Seiko repeatedly crosses paths with Chuuta as she tours Nagasaki, despite repeated attempts to give him the brush off. Eventually, Seiko gets involved in a murder mystery concerning a prominent local family, the Totsugawas. Reluctantly accepting Chuuta's help, she works to unravel the twin mysteries of the ghostly guitarist and the Totsugawa family. 

Satsujin Kippu is not a particularly deep mystery, and the solution comes out of left field, but it observes the rules of classical mystery fiction. (This allows the viewer to guess who the criminal is long before the main characters do.) Seiko makes a spunky heroine, never falling into tropes such as the maiden in distress or the tsundere. Chuuta is sufficiently eccentric to make him both interesting and suspicious. There's a lot more comedy and ghostly doings than clues and gore, so the result is a pleasant diversion for all ages (one brief nude scene aside). And besides, it has Gonbei, a cat that's rather talented: at one point, he gives Chuuta the traditional Japanese raspberry, the akanbe (pulling down one's lower eyelid and sticking out one's tongue).

 

The voice cast includes:

• Seki Toshihiko (Chuuta) played the title role in Izumo, Riki in Ai no Kusabi, Raiel in Hameln no Violin Hiki, the hero Seitarou in Hoshi Neko Full House, the gang leader Hiba in Wild 7, Miroku in Yuukan Club, the fighter Nagase Jun in Akai Hayate, Hayata in Call Me Tonight, Ootsuki in Milky Passion: Dougenzaka - Ai no Shiro, Junichiro in Kasei Yakyoku, Shouji, the guitar player, in To-Y, Bijomaru in Ai to Ken no Camelot, and the unnamed protagonist of Oruorane the Cat Player, all Orphan releases. He also played Matsuda in the Yawara! properties, Sanzo in the Saiyuuki TV series, Mousse in Ranma 1/2, and the title roles in Alexander (Reign the Conqueror) and Kaiketsu Zorro.
• Matsuoka Miyori (Seiko) has a thin resume. She is best known for playing Fa Yuiry in the Gundam franchise.
• Shimada Bin (Kyouchirou) played Ken Nakajima in the You're Under Arrest franchise and numerous other roles, as well as played Konaki Jijii and Wally Wall in the most recent version of GeGeGe no Kitarou. He appeared in Okama Report, Dokushin Apartment Dokudami-sou, Fukyukayama Gekijou, Tomoe's Run, and Sangokushi, all Orphan releases.
• Doi Mika (Totsugawa Misako) played the title roles in Angel Cop and Explorer Woman Ray, Hayase Misa in the Macross franchise, the empress (Lafiel's grandmother) in the Crest of the Stars saga, Tabitha in the Zero no Tsukaima properties, Eclipse in Kiddy Grade, the narrator in Mushishi, and Nanase in Natsume Yuujinchou. She appeared as Yukari in Mikeneko Holmes no Yuurei Joushu, Rosa in Seikima II Humane Society, Captain Deladrier in Starship Troopers, Hagar and Elizabeth in Tezuka Osamu's Tales of the Old Testament, and multiple roles in Kage, all Orphan releases.
• Sawaki Ikuya (Gonbei) 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, Itakura Shirouemon in Sanada 10, and the Kaiser in Apfelland Monogatari, as well as bit parts in Dallos, Heart Cocktail, and Chameleon, all Orphan releases.

The director, Sugiyama Taku, started at Tezuka Osamu's Mushi Productions, where he was Art Director for Sen'ya Ichiya Monogatari. He directed a number of other movies and TV series, including Hi no Tori 2772 and Bosco Daibouken.

Some translation notes:

 

• Japanese Blue Trains were long-distance sleeper trains, nicknamed for the color of their cars. They were replaced by the Shinkansen (bullet trains).
  
• 3-kyu in Aikido. Aikido has two basic skill levels, kyu and dan. Within each level are grades, expressed by numbers. Kyu and dan are sometimes referred to as white belt and black belt, but other colors are used as well.
• Urakami Cathedral (St. Mary's Cathedral in Urakami) was built in 1895, when the long-standing ban against Christianity in Japan was lifted. It was completely destroyed in the atomic bombing of Nagasaki in 1945 and rebuilt in 1959 on its original site.
• The Nagasaki Peace Park abuts Urakami Cathedral. It contains a 10-meter tall sculpture, pictured in the anime, by local sculptor Seito Kitamura.
• The Dutch Slope (oranda-zaka) is a hillside residential area of Nagasaki where Dutch merchants settled in the second half of the 19^th century.
• Hinoki cypress bath. Hinoki cypress is a slow-growing Japanese tree. Its high quality wood is lemon-scented, light pinkish-brown, with a rich, straight grain, and is highly rot-resistant.
• Amakusa Shirou. He led an uprising of Japanese Roman Catholics against the Tokugawa shogunate in 1637. He also featured in two other Orphan releases, Samurai Spirits and Sei Michaela Gakuen Hyouryuuki
  
• Sannomaru means "third enclosure."

The original version used an anonymous Internet raw. Iri translated the show and did the initial timing. Yogicat did the detailed timing, I edited and typeset, and Redac and Xenath3297 did QC.This version stemmed from WOWmd's kind offer to rip his Japanese laserdisc on the Domesday Duplicator and then encode the result. It has many fewer blended frames as well as improved detail. This allowed for a bit more typesetting. I also took the opportunity to clean up some CPS issue in the original. Nemesis RCed this version. It has Opus audio, whatever that is. I thought Opus was a penguin in Bloom County.

Satsujin Kippu wa Heart-iro is a lighthearted mystery caper, with more comedy and romance than thrills and chills. I thoroughly enjoyed it both the first time and this time, and I hope you will too. 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.