Zetsuai 1989 v2

Redoing Zetsuai 1989 was not in this year's plan (or any year's, for that matter), but when WOWmd did a new Domesday Duplicator rip of the laserdisc, that set the ball rolling. A few timing adjustments to the old script, new typesetting, some quick QCs, and here we are: a new, visually improved version of the BL classic. 

Zetsuai is a compound word, meaning "desperate love," although the author preferred "everlasting love" as the translation. It tells the story of two teenagers, womanizing superstar singer Nanjou Kouji and soccer prodigy Izumi Takuto.

Both come from damaged backgrounds. Nanjou is a running away from a loveless but highly successful family; he was a gang leader before he became a singer. Izumi is hiding from early abuse; his mother killed his father and attacked him as well.

The two meet by coincidence (or fate). After a night of barhopping, Nanjou passes out in the street.

Izumi takes him home and nurses him back to health. Nanjou realizes that Izumi is the soccer player he saw and fell in love with six years earlier, although at the time, Nanjou thought the player was a girl. Nanjou becomes obsessed with Izumi and inserts himself into Izumi's life, eventually confessing his love. 

All this is accompanied by numerous melodramatic incidents, including life-threatening illnesses, near-fatal accidents, and stabbings and self-mutilation. (To be fair, both protagonists are sixteen, when wild emotional swings and hormone-driven desperation are the norm.) Despite the operatic tone, the fat lady never sings; that had to wait for the sequel, Bronze: Zetsuai ~ Since 1989.

The voice cast is quite famous:

• Hayami Shou (Nanjou) played Ichijo Hajime in Princess Army, Kushinige Hodaka in Oshare Kozou wa Hanamaru, an angel in Tezuka Osamu's Tales of the Old Testament, Charles in Ai to Ken no Camelot, Kuya in Genji, Part 1, Aju in Hayou no Tsurugi, 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 are Orphan releases.
• Koyasu Takehito (Izumi) 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 also appeared in Yamato 2520 and Yuukan Club, both Orphan releases.
• Yamaguchi Kappei (Shibuya, Nanjou's "minder") played the title roles in the Detective Conan, Ranma 1/2, and Inuyasha franchises, Usopp in the One Piece franchise, Sakuma Ryuichi in Gravitation, and the title roles in the Arslan no Senki OVA series and Mouse, among many others. He played Billia in Tottoi, Matsuoka Eiji in Chameleon, Nichol Hawking in Plastic Little, and Tooru in Boyfriend, all Orphan releases.
• Nishihara Kumiko (Serika, Izumi's sister) played Iris in the Sakura Wars franchise and Renko in Kujibiki Unbalance, both OVAs and TV series. She played Fhalei Rue in Ryokunohara Labyrinth and appeared in Kakyuusei (1995), Kosuke-sama Rikimaru-sama: Konpeitou no Ryuu, Zetsuai 1989, Dragon Fist, Gakuu no Yuurei, Tenkousei, and Blazing Transfer Student, all Orphan releases.
• Munakata Tomoko (Izumi's mother) played maternal figures in Bremen 4, Yamatarou Comes Back, and Hashire! Shiroi Ookami, all Orphan releases. 
  

The score, including the instrumental opening and ending, is by the peerless Kenji Kawai and is very effective. I don't think the songs are as good; they're very similar to the ones in Cathexis.

For the original release, Erik of Piyo Piyo Productions provided the Lupin Gang Anime subtitle scripts, which formed the basis for Orphan's script. Yogicat transcribed the aarinfantasy release, and a few lines from that script were interpolated in the LGA script. Sunachan translation-checked the dialog and the songs and made extensive changes. M74 timed. I edited and typeset. Calyrica and M74 did QC. For this release, WOWmd provided a new raw. I shifted the original script, tweaked the timing, and redid the typesetting. ImAWasteOfHair and Perevodildo QCed.

Perevodildo pointed out that the script uses double vowels to represent long vowels (Nanjou Kouji rather than Nanjo Koji), even though English signs in the show use the latter spelling. Orphan is inconsistent about transcribing long vowels; individual shows follow their translator's preference. For Zetsuai, I didn't want to make any major changes to the script, and I've let sleeping double vowels lie.

So here's a revised version of Zetsuai 1989, featuring a new encode that wrings every last detail possible out of an analog laserdisc source. You can get this release from the usual torrent site or from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net.

 

Toraemon

In 1985, the victory of the Hanshin Tigers in the Japan Championship, the equivalent of the US World Series, occasioned a one-shot OVA, Toraemon (Tiger Man), celebrating/lampooning the team's success. 

It was based on a manga by Haruo Takahashi that satirized celebrities and current events. Today, it is almost indecipherable to Western audiences and probably to Japanese audiences under 50.

The show is filled with references to real people. To start, the Hanshin Tigers are one of the oldest professional baseball clubs in Japan; they were founded before World War II. Their home field is Hanshin Koshien Stadium, beloved of anime baseball fans as the home of the Japanese high school baseball championships. After Hanshin won the championship in 1985, almost 40 years elapsed before they won again, supposedly because of a curse incurred during the victory celebrations.

The championship team consisted of

• Kafeku Masayuki, third baseman
• Okada Akinobu, second baseman
• Mayumi Akinobu, right fielder
• Kido Katsuhiko, catcher
• Hirata Katsuo, shortstop
• Rich Gale, pitcher (a former US professional baseball player)
• Senko Sano, left fielder
• Kitamura Terufumi, center fielder
• Randy Bass, first baseman (a former US professional baseball player)

The manager was Yoshida Yoshio. Kawato Kozo was a pinch hitter.

Other real-life characters showed up in the story too.

• Happou Tsukite was a rakugo artist and comedian
• Nakano Hajime was the former Hanshin CEO, who died in a plane crash
• Hideyoshi Toyotomi, the Osaka-based warlord defeated by Tokugawa Ieyasu
• Kanbi Fujiyami, a Japanese comedian who resembled Okada
• Egawa Takashi, losing pitcher for the Seibu Lions; his financial difficulties were well known 

Much of the humor stems from Osakans' pride in being the best in Japan (for once).

With so many characters, there's little time for depth or characterization.  The manager, Yoshido Yoshio, is satirized as stingy and money-grubbing. 

The first baseman, Randy Bass, is portrayed as a rich American with more cash than he knows what to do with.

The second baseman, Okada Akinobu, is lampooned as dim-witted, with questionable personal hygiene. 

There's also no through plot, just a series of comic sketches.

1. The climactic game of the Championship.
2. The delirious post-victory celebrations.
3. A New Years' party thrown by Manager Yoshida.
4. Training for the new season, including "joint training" with the JSDF.
5. Final arrangements for 1986.

None of it makes much sense. Some of it could be considered libelous. However, the humor is fairly universal, even if the local and topical references don't register.

The voice cast includes:

• Junko Hori was best known as the voice of the protagonists in three Fujiko Fujio works, Obake no Q-tarou, Ninja Hattori-kun, and Chinpui. She played the title role in Cat-Eyed Boy and appeared in Wan Wan Chuushingura, Taiyou no Ouji: Horus no Daibouken, Rain Boy, Time Slip Ichimannen Prime Rose, and Makoto-chan, all Orphan releases, as well as Moomin, Akage no Anne, Cinderella Boy, and Unico.
• Nagai Ichirou  starred in numerous shows, playing grandfather Jigoro in Yawara!, the off-the-wall narrator in Gosenzosama Banbanzai!, Professor Hajime in Queen Millennia, and Happosai in the Ranma 1/2 franchise. He appeared in Nijuushi ni Hitomi, Ore no Sora, Nayuta, One Pound Gospel, Rain Boy, Manxmouse, Nora, Hidamari no Ki, Yuukan Club, Amon Saga, Botchan, Ipponbouchou Mantaraou, Tengai Makyou, and Yamato 2520, all Orphan releases
• Aono Takeshi played Nurarihyon in every incarnation of GeGeGe no Kitarou through 2007, Billy Bones in Treasure Island, Bookman in D.grayman, Dracule in One Piece, Katsuhiko Masaki in the Tenchi Muyo franchise, and Shiro Sanada in the Yamato franchise. He also appeared in Gakuu no Yuurei, Bride of Deimos, A Penguin's Memories, Ginga Tansa 2100: Border-nen, Fire Emblem, Grimm Douwa: Kin no Tori, Hashire Melos!, the three Sangokushi movies (as Guan Yu), Tezuka Osamu's Tales from the Old Testament, and Rain Boy, all Orphan releases.
• Saka Osamu played Daisuke Aramaki in the Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex franchise and Oohara in the Oishinbo properties. He appeared in Aoki Honoo, Tezuka Osamu's Tales from the Old Testament, Sanada 10, Next Senki Ehrgeiz, Fire Emblem, Kasei Yakyoku, Oz, and the third Sangokushi movie, all Orphan releases.
• Utsumi Kenji was best known for his roles as Roah in Fist of the North Star, Kaioh in Fist of the North Star 2, and Senbei Norimaki in the Dr. Slump and Arale-chan franchise. He appeared as the village chief in Watt Poe and Alex Louis Armstrong in both versions of Full Metal Alchemist. He played the title role in Don Dracula and appeared in OL Kaizou Kouza, Nora, Bavi Stock, Stop!! Hibari-kun!, Techno Police 21C, Sanada 10, and 15 Shounen Hyouruuki, all Orphan releases.
• Sogabe Kazuyuki played Oda Nobunaga in Black Lion, Rei Ginsei in Vampire Hunter D, Kaei in To-Y, Madison in Nana Toshi Monogatari, and Meyer in Hi-Speed Jecy. The last three are Orphan releases.
  
• Futamata Issei was best known for his roles as Godai Yuusaku in Maison Ikkoku, Akira (Chibi) in Urusei Yatsura, and Saburo in Sazae-san. He starred as Ippei in Ore no Sora and Yoshio in Dokushin Apartment Dokudami-sou, and he played Bouya in Ichigatsu ni wa Christmas, Kouji Tanaka in Okama Hakusho, Ishida, coach's assistant, in One Pound Gospel, the psychopathic brother, Cross, in Hi-Speed Jecy, and mutliple characters in Fukuyama Gekijou, all Orphan releases.
• Hamura Kyouko played John in Peter Pan no Bouken and appeared in Starship Troopers and Hitomi no Naka no Shounen: 15 Shounen Hyouryuuki, both Orphan releases.
• Irokawa Kyouko played Tsubame in Stop!! Hibari-kun, an Orphan release.
• Ikemoto Sayuri played Mari in Project A-ko and Barbara in Robin Hood no Daibouken.

The director, Shibayama Tsutomu, is best known for the Doraemon franchise. He also directed Makoto-chan, an Orphan release, and well-known series including Ranma 1/2 and Chibi Maruko-chan.

I have no idea when or how Orphan acquired the laserdisc for this show, but it was one of the first rips on the Domesday Duplicator. After that, it languished, eventually being released as a raw. Then Perevodildo picked it up, translated it, and timed it. ninjacloud fine-timed. I edited and typeset. (There were too many signs in street scenes, and they were left untranslated.) WOWmd and bananadoyouwanna QCed. The raw was encoded by an anonymous friend.

Toraemon can't be fully understood outside of its time and place, but if you're prepared to let the details slide, along with the players, it's a fun watch, with plenty of weird characters, bizarre situations, and good gags. You can get the OVA from the usual torrent site or from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net.

 

Sakyou Komatsu's Animation Theater

Another anthology show, far better than the last one...

Sakyou Komatsu (1931-2011) was a Japanese science fiction author and screenwriter, best known in the West for his novels Japan Sinks and Sayonara Jupiter. He wrote numerous short stories, spanning not just science fiction but satire, political commentary, and even erotica. In 1989 and 1990, MBS aired 24 five-minute episodes (plus three specials) based on Komatsu's short stories. These were collected as Komatsu Sakyou Anime Gekijou (Sakyou Komatsu's Animation Theater). Orphan is proud to present the first English translation of this show.

Anthologies, particularly those with short episodes, are difficult to summarize. There is no through plot, no consistent set of characters, no set styles. If these episodes seem to reflect a skepticism about mankind and its technology, that's probably just my interpretation. Many of the stories include space travel and encounters with aliens; they rarely turn out to be either edifying (like Contact) or horrifying (like Alien).

Still, the stories are consistently entertaining. If I were to select a few personal favorites, they might be:

• Joining the Club, which demonstrates that what's truly universal about the universe.
  
  
  
  
  
• Construction Work, a pointed example of how city government (mal)functions.
  
  
  
  
  
• Lost Spaceship. Maybe those monoliths in 2001 were something other than they seemed?
  
  
  
  
  
• Summer Event. Humanity's traditions outlast us.
  
  
  
  
  
• Forgotten Land. What did happen to all of humanity's gods?
  

A few, like Sample #1 and Too Late, play like short segments of The Twilight Zone. I mustn't say more.

Some translation notes:

• Moon Viewing. The Tsukimi festival is held to view the autumn full moon. Decorations traditionally include displays of susuki, Japanese pampas grass, and mounds of tsukimi dango, moon dumplings.
• First Dream. The "Seven Luckies" is a play on the Seven Lucky Gods (七福神). Hotei, the disgruntled leader, is the god of fortune. Benzaiten plays the lute and is the only goddess. Ebisu, who performs with a fish, is the patron of fishermen. During the first three days of the New Year, the Seven Lucky Gods are said to pilot the Takarabune or Treasure Ship through the heavens..
• The Man Who Returned. In the legend of Urashima Tarou, a fisherman rescues a sea turtle. As his reward, he is taken to the Dragon Palace under the sea and entertained by Princess Otohime. He thinks only a few days pass, but in fact, it's a century before he returns. The princess gives him a forbidden jeweled box as a parting gift. When he opens it, he turns into an old man.
  

All of the many characters were played by just two people, who primarily appeared in films and TV rather than anime:

• Tomita Yasuko is an actress who has appeared in numerous films and TV shows. She narrated the original Time Patrol Bon and had a small role in My Neighbor the Yamadas.
• Nagoka Akira was an actor and comedian. He appeared in several early anime movies, including Senya Ichiya Monogatari and Flying Phantom Ship, and he had a small role in Princess Mononoke.

The director, Nishimora Akira, also helmed A.D. Police and Urban Square. This was Gainax' first ever TV production. All the episodes were written by Yamaga Hiroyuki, a famous director in his own right. (Thanks to Darkonius for this research.)

The raw, which includes Japanese closed captions, had been floating around Orphan's archives for more than four years when Darkonius decided to translate it. Perevodildo translation checked. I edited and typeset (lots of signs). ImAWasteOfHair and Rezo QCed. Skr found the raw, but after all this time, he doesn't remember the source or whether he encoded it. The Japanese closed captions have been left in place as an alternate subtitles track.

Sakyou Komatsu's Animation Theater is really good, and I strongly encourage you to download it and watch it. Because of its structure, you can dip in and out, or jump around from story to story, with no loss of continuity. Some of it is funny, some of it is sad, much of it is ironic, and all of it is thought-provoking. You can get the show from the usual torrent site or from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net.

Mikosuri Han Gekijou

Mikosuri Han Gekijou dates from 2013. It's basically a collection of short (30-40 second) dirty jokes grouped together by setting. It's based on a 4-panel comic strip of the same name by Iwatani Tenho. You may find it funny, or you may find it offensive; I found it juvenile. It reminded me of what passed for risque humor when I was a boy: books like Over Sexteen and collections of the Playboy jokes columns. In today's age of PornHub and OnlyFans, it feels positive quaint.

Still, Mikosuri Han Gekijou posed interesting problems for translation, because humor is very local, and sex slang even more so. Let's start with the title. Gekijou means "theater"; easy enough. But Mikosuri is not a real word, and Han means "half." So is the title Mikosuri Half-Theater? Not even close. Mikosuri han is Japanese slang for premature ejaculation; it's apparently a pun on mikudarihan, meaning divorce papers. (I guess the former could lead to the latter.) But "Premature Ejaculation Theater" doesn't exactly strike the right note in English. The team did extensive research on US and UK slang equivalents, but they all tended to be too long or too explicit. Finally, someone suggestion "quickshot," so the English title is Quickshot Theater.

Some other examples:

• In two cartoons with a doctor examining (ogling) a naked woman, she says, "Please examine me already," and he replies, "I'm already looking." This is a pun on 診る, medical exam, pronounced miru, and 見る, looking, also pronounced miru.
• In a cartoon where a samurai-era policeman admonishes a woman with a vibrator, it's a visual pun on jitte, a blunt melee instrument carried by Edo-era police.
• In the credits, a girl skipping rope has dialog balloons saying "106," "107," "Shakuhachi". It's a pun on how the sequence, including 108, would be pronounced in Japanese: hyaku roku, hyaku shichi, hyaku hachi. A shakuhachi is a Japanese flute played by blowing in the end; it's also slang for "blowjob."
  

There are probably more than the team missed.

The show has eight sections, with a common setting or theme, and four to six jokes per section:

• Family
• Police
• Third Street (meaning a generic suburban street)
• Company
• Hospital
• Couple
• Train
• Historical Drama

In addition, there's a short extra with four more jokes, illustrated statically.

As in other anthologies, the plethora of characters are played by a small number of voice actors:

• Tanaka Kazunari played Nyuudo in Brave 10, Dorowa in Freedom, Ijuin in Green Green, Ukai in Haikyuu!!, Hoshino in Planetes, and Matsukane in Chameleon, an Orphan release.
• Saitou Kimiko played the title role in Snack Basue, Rem in Death Note, Marie in Dimension W, Sofia in Golden Kamuy, Muugi in Made in Abyss, Micchan in Migi & Dali, Chieko in Princess Jellyfish, and Cerona in Kingdom of Chaos, an Orphan release.
  
• Okiayu Ryoutarou starred as the title roles in Gambler Densetsu Tetsuya, Toriko, and Keppeki Danshi! Aoyama-kun, Mitsui Hisashi in Slam Dunk, Matsura Yuu in Marmalade Boy, Jinnai Katsuhiko in the El-Hazard franchise, Nueno Meisuke in the Hell Teacher Nube series,Samejima Ranmaru in Kizuna, Souma Shigure in Fruits Basket (2003), Berserker in Fate/Zero, Hideyoshi in Sengoku Basara, and Atsushi in Recorder to Ransel. He also played Takao-san in Let's Nupu Nupu, Yamazaki in Mellow, Abel in Fire Emblem, Gion in Okane ga nai!, Akram in Haruka Naru Toki no Nake de 2 (a repeat of his role in Haruka Naru Toki no Nake de: Hachyoushou), and Hakuryuu in Haruka Naru Toki no Nake de 3, all Orphan releases.
• Komatsu Yuka played Deunan in Appleseed Alpha, Dorothy in The Great Pretender, Saeko Tanaka in Haikyuu!!, Setsuna in the Precure franchise, and Minako in Yuri!!! on Ice.

The director, Magari Hiroaki, is a mangaka by profession, most well known for Majokko Tsukune-chan. He has since directed another gag anime, Enomoto the Animation, and done some minor animation work here and there, including the first ending for Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. (A tip of the hat to Darkonius for this research.)

I saw a FHD webrip of this show and thought it looked terrible, so I found the R2J DVD ISO and asked a friend to encode it. Perevodildo translated and timed. I edited and typeset. (There were too many signs, a sure sign of cheap animation.) ImAWasteOfHair and Uchuu QCed. Paul Geromini released checked, and his interactive suggestions with Perevodildo helped point up (so to speak) some of the jokes. The encoder asked to remain anonymous, and who can blame them? The crude, digipainted animation allowed for high levels of compression with no loss of video quality; the encode is very small.

Finally, a diatribe, yet again, about why encodes should never, never, NEVER be anamorphic. Here is a sign from the police segment, as seen on (my) Aegisub, VLC, and MPC-HC with xyvsfilter:

And here's the same sign as seen on MPC-HC with its default renderer, libass:

The angle of "MORGUE" is whacked. This is a straight up bug, caused by applying anamorphic stretch before or after the sign is rendered. The blame may lie with MPC-HC or libass or God knows what, but the simple point is: if the encode wasn't anamorphic, this wouldn't happen. Remember that, encoders.

Mikosuri Han Gekijou defies recommendations. It's either the sort of thing you'll laugh at, or it isn't. If you want to sample it, you can get the show from the usual torrent site or from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net