Captain Bal

The Young Animator Training Project, variously known as Anime Mirai, Anime Tamago, and now, Anime no Tane, is an annual project sponsored by the Japanese government to train new animators. Except in the worst years of Covid, it has produced four OVAs; in 2020, there were only three; in 2021, the OVAs were only 7-10 minutes line. The OVAs may be mainstream, experimental, dramatic, or comedic, but they are always interesting.

For the first two years, gg fansubbed the OVAs, but they stopped in 2013. After that, fansubbing was done by other groups. Starting in 2017, translations were hit-or-miss, and even raws became hard to find. DmonHiro did the fansub community a great service by collecting all the available subs and raws in a single torrent; it shows how many gaps exist in recent years. Orphan translated one show from Anime Mirai 2014, Parol no Miraijima, and two shows from Anime Tamago 2016, Utopa and Kaze no Matasaburou. We always hoped to do more and now, thanks to Skr, we have.

Captain Bal is from Anime Tamago 2019. It is only the second show from that year to be translated. It comes from a studio called Flying Ship Production, which is mostly a 3D CGI house. It's quite wonderful. A gang of poor kids, led by the hopelessly inept "Call me Captain!" Bal, dream of escaping poverty by becoming pirates. Unfortunately, their ship is a leaky rowboat, and they only have the vaguest idea of what pirates do. Despite the odds, Bal, who always wears a wolf's pelt left to him by his dad, his sidekick Puu (a pig, apparently), his sister Muge, and a large green salamander named Cuuna, take to the seas in hopes of finding adventure and treasure.

This OVA seems to be a pilot for a children's show that hasn't been made yet. In the first part, Bal and company board what they think is a plush cruise ship. It's actually run by a nefarious group of crooks who have kidnapped (toynapped?) a bunch of vintage toys to sell to collectors. Bal thinks he can defeat them single-handedly, but he trips over his own pelt, and it's actually Muge who kicks the baddies into a corner. They free the toys, but Bal refuses to make "clean money" by selling the toys to collectors. After all, pirates only take "dirty money."

In the second part, Bal and company board a floating city. It is populated by wealthy businessgoats who are too busy holding meetings and talking on their cell phones to interact with mere people. The gang runs into the daughter of a wealthy goat named Gordon. He has told her to sit still and wait for him while he goes to his "important" meetings. The gang "kidnaps" her and holds her for ransom. (Actually, Muge and Cuuna play with her while Bal tries to figure out what a pirate does in this situation.) When Gordon shows up, frantic with worry, only to find that his daughter is playing happily with friends, he realizes that he needs to stop and smell the roses. He gives Bal a substantial reward, but it doesn't stick around long.

The voice cast for the principal roles is pretty stellar for an obscure OVA:

• Tamara Mutsumi (Bal) played the title role in the Kobayashi-san no Maidragon franchise, Yuuki in the Ef properties, Inomata Ken in Anyamal Tantei Kiruminzoo, Kiyo in Asobi ni Iku yo!, Sonya in Kill Me Baby, Sayaka the maid in the Seitokai Yakuindomo franchise, Lux Arcadia in Saijaku Muhai no Bahamut, Lutz in Honzuki no Gekokujou, Beelzebub in Sand Land, and Yukiya in Karasu wa Aruji o Erabanai.
• Nakao Ryuusei (Puu) played the lead in Igano Kabamaru, King Falke in ACCA, Hephaestion in Alexander's Decision, and Freeza/Cooler in Dragon Ball. He also played Akio in Chameleon and Peat Cullen in AWOL Compression remix, both Orphan releases.
• Hayami Saori (Muge) played the title roles in Zettai Bouei Leviathan and Akagami no Shirayuki-hime, Musubi in the Sekirei franchise, Saki in the Higashi no Eden properties, Yuuno Arashiko in MM!, Wako in Star Driver, Ikaros in the Sora no Otoshimono franchise, Chiriko in Ano Hi Mita Hana..., Yukino in the Yahara Ore no Seishun Lovecom franchise, Hina in Buddy Complex, Finne in Shuumatsu no Izetta, Miyuki in the Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei franchise, and a personal favorite, Amelia the lovestruck student council president in Mairimashita! Iruma-kun.

The director, Namaguchi Masanori, also directed Anzu-chan and Oochi no Oochopus.

This is mostly Skr's show. He translated, timed, typeset, and encoded. I edited. Nemesis and Rezo QCed. The raw is taken from a TV broadcast. We have raws for the other shows in Anime Tamago 2019, if any translators are interested.

Captain Bal is funny, charming, and good-humored - suitable for children, funny enough for adults. I really hope that Flying Ship Production finds some funding and makes it into a series. Meanwhile, you can download the OVA from the usual torrent site or from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net.