Swearing Off Yakuza Shows

As I said in my previous post, Orphan is done with Yakuza shows, at least for a while. That means we won't be subbing Abe George Kattobi Seishun Ki: Shibuya Honky Tonk (familiarly known as Shibuya Honky Tonk), even though we commissioned a shiny new set of encodes from the R2J DVDs.

This is an anime version of Abe George's troubled adolescence and his run-ins with  yakuza.

However, the gangster argot is almost impenetrable. The scripts we have, though workable, would require specialized checking. In addition, the translator thought that the portrait of 50s Japan was romanticized. In the 1950s, Japan was impoverished, still reeling from World War II, and wracked by social unrest. Here, it looks more like London in the swinging 80s, with plenty of sex and violence to spice up the story.

The encode is by an anonymous friend and looks very nice.

So if you have a team that would like to take a run at this, feel free. Or if you're a translator with the experience (hopefully not personal experience) to handle Yakuza argot, get in touch. In the spirit of "Never Say Never Again," it's always possible that Orphan will return to this.

 

Mahjong Hishouden: Naki no Ryuu

As I promised/threatened in my blog post about Naki no Ryuu '91, here is the predecessor three volume OVA, Mahjong Hishouden: Naki no Ryuu (Flying Legend of Mahjong: The Calling Dragon), aka Naki no Ryuu '88. It tells the story of the nameless mahjong player and his numerous encounters with the Yakuza in greater detail than the '91 version.

The show centers around a mahjong player known as the Calling Dragon. He is phenomenally lucky and always wins. His specialty is "calling": announcing how he will win before he has acquired the discarded tile he needs. (I think that's right.) Actually, his mahjong play is nothing to write home about, according to people who actually play, and he mostly sits around, smoking and looking cool. 

He gets entangled with various Yakuza gangs, notably the Kai Group of the Kanto-based Oudou Syndicate. When the Oudou boss, Sakurada Michizo, is assassinated, the subgroups of the syndicate start fighting for supremacy, particularly the Kawachi group and two rivals within the Kai Group, underbosses Ishikawa and Motomiya.

Lurking in the wings is the Kyoto-based boss of western Japan, Kaitou Takeshi, who sees the infighting in the Oudou Syndicate as an opportunity to take control of the whole country.  

Somehow, the Dragon is the proxy or the prize for this gang warfare. Various gang chieftans want to "own" him for his luck or kill him to deny him to their opponents.

Episode 1 (no subtitle) covers the same territory as Naki no Ryuu '91: the assassination of Oudou Syndicate boss Sakurado Michizo and Kai Group boss Kai Shouzo, and the rise to power of underboss Ishikawa Takashi. Episode 2 (Soaring Dragon Chapter) covers the struggle, covert and overt, between Kaitou and Ishikawa for control of the Kanto region. Episode 3 (Dragon Wolf Chapter) covers Ishikawa's downfall. At the end, the Dragon is yet again looking down the barrel of a yakuza's pistol, his ultimate fate ambiguous.

I quite disliked this show. It's disjointed. The timeline jumps back and forth, with frequent flashbacks and recaps; it's difficult to keep track of the plot. (Episode 2 at least uses color to clarify the timeline: black-and-white for the present, color for the past.) The mystical connection the yakuza feel with mahjong and the Dragon's luck is intended to make some kind of profound statement, I think, but it's just pretentious. And most of all, the characters are unappealing. The Dragon is a cipher. The yakuza are crude, violent, and detestable; their brief strutting upon the stage and sudden exits make no impression, except relief.

The leading voice actors also appeared in the '91 version.

• Ikeda Shuuichi (Dragon) played Char in Mobile Suit Gundam, Gilbert Durandal in Gundam Seed, Ulrich Kessler in Legend of the Galactic Heroes, Alex in Dallos, and Azuma in Starship Troopers. The last two are Orphan releases.
• Kobayashi Kiyoshi (Narrator) is best known for playing Jigen in the Lupin the Third TV shows and specials since the inception of the franchise. He also played Sekai in Wild 7, Keiko in Okama Report, and Valhiss in Amon Saga, all Orphan releases.
• Jinnai Tatsuyuki (Kai) played Principal Kuno in the original Ranma 1/2 and Hans Hakase in the original Rurouni Kenshin.
• Utsumi Kenji (Ishikawa, Kai's successor) played Roah in Fist of the North Star, Kaioh in Fist of the North Star 2, Senbei Norimaki in Dr. Slump and Arale-chan, the village chief in Watt Poe, and Alex Louis Armstrong in both versions of Fullmetal Alchemist. He appeared in Nora, Bavi Stock, Stop!! Hibari-kun!, Techno Police 21C, Don Dracula (title role), 15 Shounen Hyouruuki, and Sanada 10, all Orphan releases.
• Andou Arisa (Dragon's girl) starred in the title role of Eien no Filena, as Naoito Emi in Aoki Honoo, and as Mako in Doukyuusei: Climax, both Orphan releases. She played Rosa in Makyuu Senjou and appeared in a number of h-anime, including Cream Lemon. 
• Ebara Masashi (Motomiya Haruki) appeared in Shakugan no Shana, Nodame Cantabile, Metropolis. He also appeared in Sanada 10, Blazing Transfer Student, Akai Hayate, Eiyuu Banka Koushi-den, Mikeneko Holmes, and Apfelland Monogatari, all Orphan releases. 
• Katou Seizou (Kaitou Takeshi) played Doushi Houki in Utsu no Miko the movie, Nanni Spannu in Tottoi, Jashinsai in Tengai Makyou, Admiral Putyatin in Bakumatsu Spasibo, Ii Naosuke in Hidamari no Ki, Abraham in Tezuka Osamu's Tales from the Old Testament, Norbert in Apfelland Monogatari, Hatsutori Juuzou in Kage, Billy Bones in Shin Takarajima, the old stationmaster in Sotsugyou: Graduation, and Jeigan in Fire Emblem, all Orphan releases. 
• Yasuda Takashi (Kawachi Koichi, head of the Kawachi group) appeared in Belle and Sebastian, Pinnochio, and The Rose of Versailles, as well as Rain Boy, an Orphan release.
  
• Arase Nagahide (Murota Sakae, Kawachi's lieutenant) appeared in Tobira o Akete, an Orphan release.
• Inaba Minoru (Miyoshi Tatsuje) played Neptune in One Piece Log: Fish Man Island Saga, Dr. Garaki in Boku no Hero Academia, Bart Bagley in The Faraway Paladin, Tatsuma in The Morose Mononokean, Ham in Tezuka Osamu's In the Beginning: Stories from the Old Testament, and the High Priest in Izumo (1991), among numerous featured roles. The last two are Orphan releases.
• Sakurada Kazuko (Boss Sakurado's widow, ep2-3) appeared in Kasei Yakyoku, an Orphan release, and played Fujiko's mother in Yawara!

The director, Dezaki Satoshi, is the older brother of Dezaki Osamu and directed some of the Urusei Yatsura OVAs and movies, as well as Naki no Ryuu '91, Dioxin no Natsu, Yume Kakeru Kougan, Bakumatsu no Spasibo, Boyfriend, and Time Slip Ichimannen Prime Rose, all Orphan releases.

Perevodildo agreed to translate and time and soon regretted it. Muzussawa checked the mahjong terminology and play. Paul Geromini edited. Eternal Blizzard fine-timed, QCed, and double-checked the mahjong play. ImAWasteOfHair and Uchuu also QCed. I typeset and RCed. WOWmd ripped the raws. They're full of blended frames, so the tracking of moving signs doesn't work well in many places, but they're an improvement over previous rips, which were watermarked.

Perevodildo has now sworn off both mahjong and yakuza shows; I'm swearing off them too, at least for now. But if you'd like to see our last word (I sincerely hope) on those subjects, you can download  Mahjong Hishouden: Naki no Ryuu from the usual torrent site or from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net