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.