Heart Cocktail Colorful: Winter Stories

DarkOrphanChaser is back with its final set of Watase Seizou's Heart Cocktail Colorful episodes. These five are set in Winter (actually, Fall and Winter); hence, "Winter Stories". Despite the season, these stories are a bit more optimistic, a bit more hopeful.

1. "Mr. Frog." Takuto Yoshimura has fallen in love with his co-worker, Mei Shimamoto, but she wants to focus on her career. As Takuto is folding an origami frog for children in foster care and brooding over his misfired romance, he remembers an older man making an origami frog for him to "jump over his shadow." At Jessy's Bar, Takuto recovers his determination and makes his own origami frog jump.
   
   
   
   
   
2. "Button." When he was younger, Souta Misumi shared a house with a would-be poet, Ito, and an older woman, Kanna, an accomplished seamstress he had a crush on. When a button she sewed on for him pops off, Souta reaches out to Kanna for the first time in years. At a poetry reading, he discovers that she is married, with children, and now she sews for them.
   
   
   
   
   
3. "Nandina." A divorced man has not seen his daughter, Yuri, for a decade, to avoid disrupting her relationship with her stepfather. One day, she tracks him down and invites him to her wedding. Despite misgivings, he attends, bringing a branch of the Nandina he had planted to commemorate her birth.
   
   
   
   
   
4. "A Town Where Snow Falls." Whenever he visits a strange town, Kunikata Shirakawa always visits a hostess bar and asks for "Midori," the work name his single mother used to earn money when raising him. On a snowy night in a strange town, he finds a "Midori" who is also a singe mother, and he vows, to himself, that he will return to see her again.
   
   
   
   
   
5. "A Christmas Miracle." A long time ago, an older man donated blood that saved the life of a young girl. In the present, he is facing a lonely Christmas when they meet again. Although they are complete strangers to one another, there is an instant connection: a Christmas miracle. 

I liked all the stories in this set, particularly "Nandina," with its possibility of reunion and reconciliation, and "A Town Where Snow Falls," where romance surfaces in the most unlikely of circumstances. "A Christmas Miracle" is completely far-fetched, but the Japanese do believe in blood-type astrology.

One translation note: Nandina or sacred bamboo is not a bamboo but an erect evergreen shrub that grows up to two meters tall. 

As in the other Heart Cocktail series, the animation is minimal, but the shots aren't completely static, as they are in Chalk-iro no People or the other "animated manga". But this lack of movement, and the much larger full HD canvas, created a problem: the scenes look empty and are visually boring. So this series adapts a trick out of the statically animated shows: it puts some (but not all) of the dialog into signs. There's no point in having the same English line as both dialog and sign, so the dialog signs are not typeset. Rest assured, real signs (there's only a few in these episodes) are typeset.

The voice cast is unchanged, as is the fansub staff. Darkonius translated and timed. Yume translation-checked. I edited and typeset; the biggest typesetting challenge was the rainbow in the title. Nemesis and Uchuu QCed. Skr snarfed the raws off Japanese TV, and an anonymous friend encoded. MartyMcflies provided support and coordination. Like previous Watase Seizou projects, this is a joint DarkWispers, Orphan, and LonelyChaser release. 

You can get this final mini-batch of "Winter Stories" from the usual torrent site or from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news. Final batch soon.

 

Heart Cocktail Colorful: Summer Stories

DarkOrphanChaser is back with a second set of Watase Seizou's Heart Cocktail Colorful episodes. These five are set in Summer; hence, "Summer Stories". Despite the season, these stories seems a shade more wistful, even melancholic at times, than before.

1. "Perfect Girlfriend." Shuujirou Nishina and Keiichi Hayama are hanging out together, enjoying time at the beach. She's his "perfect girlfriend," but he's marrying someone else, for reasons going back all the way to their shared childhood.
   
   
   
   
   
2. "Otoha and Tatsuya." On a business trip, Tatsuya has an unexpected encounter with his childhood friend, Shiho Hamanshi. She's achieved her long-held dream of becoming a geisha, stage name Otoha, but his dream of becoming a novelist has faded away.
   
   
   
   
   
3. "Beyond the Tube." Young Junya discovers that his father, a famous painter, had had a long-term relationship with his beautiful model. She wants to return a kimono that his father treasured, but Junya can't bring himself to show it to his mother.
   
   
   
   
   
4. "Hidden Behind the Rain." The backstory of Jessy, owner of Jessy's bar. When he was young, he fell in love with Marie, a cruise ship singer. They were supposed to be together, but he ended up alone... until a warm summer's evening decades later.
   
   
   
   
   
5. "Two Paper Planes." Hiroyuki Tsuyama and his wife Miho are getting a civilized divorce. When he visits her to deliver the divorce papers, he discovers that she's become an accomplished ceramics artist... and he's brought the wrong documents.

"Beyond the Tube" is bittersweet, as a son attempts to grasp a side of his father's life he had never known. (It's also recycled from the first story in Boku no Oldies wa All-Color.)  "Hidden Behind the Rain" has a nicely melancholic atmosphere, although the gimmick explaining Marie's current situation is strictly an anime contrivance; but all the stories are good.

As in the other Heart Cocktail series, the animation is minimal, but the shots aren't completely static, as they are in Chalk-iro no People or the other "animated manga". But this lack of movement, and the much larger full HD canvas, created a problem: the scenes look empty and are visually boring. So this series adapts a trick out of the statically animated shows: it puts some (but not all) of the dialog into signs. There's no point in having the same English line as both dialog and sign, so the dialog signs are not typeset. Rest assured, real signs (there's only a few in these episodes) are typeset.

The voice cast is unchanged, as is the fansub staff. Darkonius translated and timed. Yume translation-checked. I edited and typeset; the biggest typesetting challenge was the rainbow in the title. Nemesis and Uchuu QCed. Skr snarfed the raws off Japanese TV, and an anonymous friend encoded. MartyMcflies provided support and coordination. Like previous Watase Seizou projects, this is a joint DarkWispers, Orphan, and LonelyChaser release. 

You can get this mini-batch of the "Summer Stories" from the usual torrent site or from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news. The remaining five episodes will follow soon.

Junk Boy

When I was "breaking into" fansubbing, if such a thing can be said to happen, I edited anything that was offered to me. That's how I ended up working on shows that were way outside my wheelhouse, like The Prince of Tennis OVAs. During that phase, I edited more than 80 shows for Erobeat, an h-anime fansubbing group, now defunct. (There's no point in denying it. The shows have credits, and my handle is in there.) As usual, I had an ulterior motive: I was willing to edit modern h-anime trash in order to get a few back catalog shows done. I managed to get two older shows subtitled: Junk Boy (1987), which had only been available dubbed, and Bouken Shite mo Ii Koro (1989), aka Junk Boy II.

Erobeat was a skeleton operation, with few staffers. Most h-anime don't require much in the way of translation or editing skills. ("Mouto! Mouto!" is pretty easy to render.) But Junk Boy wasn't an h-anime. It was an R-rated boob-fest comedy, with an actual plot and lots of dialog. Accordingly, I always wondered about the script. In addition, it was hardsubbed, with little or no typesetting. I had the original edited script, and WOWmd had the laserdisc, so a new version got added to the project rota. All other released versions use an R2E French DVD at the wrong frame rate; the OVA was never released on digital media in Japan.

The Junk Boy of the title is Yamazaki Ryohei, a 23-year-old whose hobby is looking at naked women and jerking off. 

He thinks he's the cat's meow, and his dream job is to work at Potato Boy, a men's magazine that's basically a disguised version of Playboy. He flubs the interview, hitting on the beautiful editor-in-chief, Oda Yuki. 

Nonetheless, he gets a job there, because his schlong is an infallible indicator of whether a model will appeal to Potato Boy's target audience, i.e., young men like Ryohei. (Perhaps the Junk in the title refers to his junk, after all?)

He then has a series of encounters, comical and amorous, that demonstrate he's way out of his league. He acts as a gofer on a photoshoot with fading idol Kanda Mika, where he inadvertently coaxes her into an extremely erotic posing session. 

He is sent to report on a soapland (a brothel), only to find out that his lady of the evening is undercover reporter, Sawamoto Aki.

Fortunately, luck, naivety, and overwhelming horniness see him through.

Those of my (ten) readers who remember my outraged reaction to the sexual harassment of the heroine in Smash Hit! may wonder why I'm so indulgent of this show, where Ryohei harasses every woman he meets. One reason is that he frequently gets his comeuppance. Female staffer Arizono Miru uses his belief in his infallible attractiveness to trick him into a night of overtime proofreading. Sawamoto Aki debunks his sexual prowess in front of the Potato Boy editorial staff. Editor Oda Yuki intercepts his lecherous moves with judo throws worthy of Yawara herself. He's a threat, all right, but mostly to himself.

Some translation notes.

• "Illustrator Peter Ito", whom editor Oda Yuki made famous, is a parody of Pater Sato. 
• "Copywriter Otoi Shigemo" is a parody of Itoi Shigesato.
• The fine print on Sawamoto Aki's book about strippers, Melancholic Butterflies, says: "A special documentary!!! Sawamoto Aki enters the world of stripping and creates a novel filled with the perspectives and challenges of real-life strippers!!"
• The fine print on her book about pachinko, Lucky 7, says: "Even the pachinko nail adjuster Samuyan is shocked!!! (A parody of Nail Master Sabuyan.) Even Gyutaro is in awe!!!! (A parody of Gyu Jiro, a pachinko author.) At last it's here!!! The much-talked-about female writer Sawamoto Aki's Life of a Pachinko Professional.

The voice cast is outstanding. It includes many well-known seiyuu from the 1980s and 1990s, all of whom, not surprisingly, have had leading roles in other Orphan releases.:

• Kusao Takeshi (Ryohei) played the lead role in Fujilog, the title role in Babel II, Trunks in the Dragon Ball Z franchise, Sakuragi in Slam Dunk, and Lamune in NG Knight Lamume & 40. He also played the teenaged Tezuka Osamu in Tezuka Osamu Monogatari: I Am Son Goku, Daichi in Singles, the fast talking orca in Sensou Douwa: Chiisai Sensuikau ni Koi wo Shita Dekasugira Kojira no Hanashi, Leedyle/Ranka in Hayou no Tsurugi, Hisamatsu in Bride of Deimos, and the icy director Kurume Kenjirou in Smash Hit!, all Orphan releases.
• Fujita Toshiko (Oda Yuki) played the title roles in the Dragon Quest: Dai no Daibouken properties, Fujiko Fujio no Kiteretsu Daihyakka, Ikkyuu-san, Tomcat's Big Adventure, and Ganbare Genki. She starred as Rui in Cat's Eye and Ryoko in Goku: Midnight Eye. She also played Venus in Bride of Deimos, the bunny in Heart Cocktail, Kiro as a boy in Nayuta, Lulu in Grimm Douwa: Kin no Tori, Takao in Oedo wa Nemurenai!, Cyborg 1019 in Oz, Gordon in Hitomi no Naka no Shounen: 15 Shounen Hyouryuuki, Sharaku in Akuma Tou no Prince: Mitsume ga Tooru, and Princess Iron Fan in Tezuka Osamu Monogatari: I Am Son Goku, all Orphan releases.
• Minaguchi Yuki (Arizono Miru) is best known for Yawara!, her breakout and defining role. She starred in numerous other shows, including Bosco Adventure, Dragon Ball Z and GT, Sailor Moon, One Piece, and Alexander (Reign: The Conqueror). She debuted as Kii in Greed and played Frieda in Apfelland Monogatari, Saki in Singles, Hoshimi in Maps, Yumi in Blue Sonnet, and Felicia in Oz, all Orphan releases.
• Sakuma Rei (Kanda Mika) played Batako in Soreike! Appanman, April in Sol Bianca, Peorth in Ah! My Goddess, the title role in Aika, Shampoo in Ranma 1/2, Vena in Dragon Half, Kitty White in Hello Kitty, and Mii in Muumin. She also played Yukihime in Tengai Makyou, Naru in Blue Sonnet, Carmencita in Starship Troopers, Lady Aoi in Bakuen Campus Guardress, and Belga the pirate in Cosmic Fantasy, all Orphan releases.
• Tsuru Hiromi (Sawamoto Aki) debuted as Perrine in Perrine Monogatari. She went on to play Kashima Miyuki in Miyuki, Madoka in Kimagure Orange Road, and Mikami Reiko in Ghost Sweeper Mikami. She also played Sara in Mother: Saigo no Shoujo Eve, Sonnet Barge in Blue Sonnet, Fengji in the third Sangokushi movie, Keiko in Hiatari Ryoukou, Nozomi in Nozomi Witches, Jill in A Penguin's Memories, UFO-chan in Dokushin Apartment Dokudami-sou, Milk in Karuizawa Syndrome, Kiyomi, the motorcycle rider, in Sotsugyou: Graduation, Asuza in Laughing Target, Sister Angela in One Pound Gospel, and big sister Shizuka in Tomoe's Run!, all Orphan releases.
  
• Inoue Kazuhiko (Manai Satoshi, a skeptical staffer with a large afro) starred as Yamaoka Shirou in Oishinbo, Yuki Eiri in Gravitation, the title role in Cyborg 009, Gorou in Moonlight Mile, Tachibana no Tomomasa in Haruka Naru Toki no Nake de: Hachyoushou, and my favorite role, the irascible, sake-swilling Nyanko-sensei in the Natsume Yuujichou franchise. He also played Ando Shiro in Dioxin no Natsu, Saiki Haruka in Tobira o Akete, Iori in Tomoe's Run!, Kanuma Hayate in Akai Hayate, Ryousuke in Daishizen no Majuu Bagi, Kitten Smith in Starship Troopers, Liu Bei Xuande in both Sangokushi TV specials, Ayako in Lunn Flies into the Wind, Nakatsugawa in Boyfriend, Jinpachi Nezu in Sanada 10, Katsuhiko in Hiatari Ryouko, Minamoto no Yoshitsune in Genji, Part One, Hisui in Haruka Naru Toki no Nake de 2, Arthur in Ai to Ken no Camelot, and Kajiwara Kagetoki in Haruka Naru Toki no Nake de 3, all Orphan releases.
• Nanba Keiichi (Shiroyama Tsugunobu, the photographer on the Kanda Miki shoot) played the title role in Choujin Locke, Lundi in Honoo no Alpenrose: Jeudi & Lund, Uesugi in Touch, Schneider in Captain Tsubasa, and Junta in DNA2. He also played Eizawa in Chameleon, Kujou Kazuomi in Oshare Kozou wa Hanamaru, Hongou in Nozomi Witches, Kirk in Ai to Ken no Camelot, and gave an over-the-top performance as Roll the vengeful wizard in Girl from Fantasia, all Orphan releases.
• Shinohara Emi (newscaster) played B-Ko in the A-ko properties and Sailor Jupiter in the Sailor Moon franchise. She appeared as Yuri Onagara in Blue Sonnet, vulgar daughter Stephanie in Eguchi Hisashi no Kotobuki Gorou Show, Reiko in Akai Hayate, Lady Manthrum in Hayou no Tsurugi, and Android 1025 in Oz, all Orphan releases.

In addition, members of the production staff voiced bit parts. For example, Maruyama Masao, president of Madhouse and producer of the show, voiced a dad, and the manga author, Kunitomo Yasuyuki, narrated the fake ads that appear from time to time. The director, Yamada Katsuhisa, also directed Oz and Yousei Ou, both Orphan releases, as well as Kentauros no Densetsu, Outlanders, Record of Lodoss War OVA, and episodes of Cream Lemon.

The original subtitles and timing were from the edited (not final) Erobeat script; the translation is credited to Voldemort. Perevodildo translation checked and did much of the typesetting; I filled in some additional signs. Paul Geromini edited. darkcart and Topper3000 QCed. I did a detailed release check. WOWmd ripped and encoded a Japanese laserdisc on the Domesday Duplicator. The source has frame blending, but it's good enough.

Junk Boy is not high-class entertainment, but it's a lot of fun, and fun to look at; the animation staff is outstanding (see Japanese Wikipedia for more details). It's full of nudity and sex and definitely NSFW; this will put off exactly none of my readers. You can get the show from the usual torrent site or from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news on irc.irzon.net.

Gakkou no Yuurei (School Ghosts), Volume 5

No, Orphan didn't forget about this series. Real Life™ events sidelined the encoder, the timer, and others during the first quarter of 2025, but everyone's back now. So here are more ghostly doings in Japanese schools: Gakkou no Yuurei (School Ghosts), volume five, with five segments, both animated and live action.

The segments in this volume are:

1. "Transfer Student" (animated). The new transfer student is very pretty but more than a bit odd...
   
   
   
   
   
2. "Ghost on the Railroad Tracks" (animated). A train crossing gate haunted by multiple fatal accidents exerts an inexplicable pull on a girl in a nearby house.
   
   
   
   
   
3. "False Psychic Abilities" (live action). A schoolgirl lies about possessing psychic abilities in order to impress her friends, but during a test of courage, she suddenly discovers her true capabilities.
   
   
   
   
   
4. "Cat's Grudge" (animated). Never, ever treat a cat disrespectfully or cruelly.
   
   
   
   
   
5. "Print Fantasy" (live action). A broken photo printing arcade game suddenly comes to life, fulfilling a schoolgirl's romantic dreams.

The last segment, "Print Fantasy," reminds me of the 1988 movie Big, where a broken fortune-telling machine makes a small boy's wish come true.

The voice actors in the animated segments include:

• Fukami Rika played Spoor in the Crest of the Stars franchise, Myung Fang in Macross Plus, and Sailor Venus in the Sailor Moon franchise. She appeared in Raiyantsuuri no Uta, Tobira o Akete, Majo demo Steady, and Ear of the Golden Dragon, all Orphan releases.
• Kida Ayumi played Julian in Cybersix, Kiriomi in Yamato Takeru, and Mamoru in Ultra Nyan: Hoshizora kara Maiorita Fushigi Neko, an Orphan release.
• Takimoto Fujiko played the title role in Bad Badtz-Maru, Hideyoshi in Buzzer Beater, Fujisaki Suguru in Gravitation, Chihiro in Kujibiki Unbalance, Seiko in Lovely Complex, Misato Suguru in Mahoromatic, Yuu in Noein, and Million in Sorcerer on the Rocks.
• Araki Kae played lead roles in all the Sailor Moon properties, Yuki Miaka in the Fushigi Yuugi franchise, and Ann, the female lead, in Juliet. She alsoplayed Marceau, Yawara's unexpected challenger, in Yawara! The Atlanta Special, and Rena in Alice in Cyberland, episode 2, an Orphan release.
• Furusawa Tooru played the title role in Brave Police J-Decker, Nakago in Fushigi Yuugi, and Michale Howard in Speed Racer. He also appeared in Bronze: Zetsuai Since 1989, an Orphan release.
• Uchikawa Ai played D in Dual Parallel Trouble Adventure, Kana in Hamtaro, Mahoko in Kakyuusei 1999, Elanore in Madlax, and Marimo in Hi no Tori TV.
• Kikuchi Izumi played Azumi in Dokyuusei 2 Special: Sotsugyousei, an Orphan release.
• Nagashima Yuko appeared in Kiss wa Me ni Shita, Megami Paradise, Pops (all Orphan releases), Rizelmine, S-CRY-ed, and Saint Tail.
• Chafurin played the title role in Barbapapa Around the World, Inspector Megure in the Detective Conan franchise, Scotch Jii-san in the Hello Kitty franchise, Isono in Sazae-san (since 2014), and Kamoda in Yawara! He also appeared in B.B. Fish, Coluboccoro (2019), Jikuu Bouken Nuumamonjaa, Yamato 2520, Ohoshi-sama no Rail, the Sanada 10 Special, and Izumo (1991), all Orphan releases.

The director, Koizumi Kenzou, also directed Yamato series 2 and 3, Choujin Locke, and Eien no Filena, an Orphan release.

The staff is the same as for volume 4. Perevodildo translated and did initial timing. ninjacloud fine-timed. I edited and typeset. Nemesis and Topper3000 QCed. Our caffeinated encoder went under the pseudonym of "Latte Macchiatto" this time.

So here's volume 5 of Gakkou no Yuurei. Nothing really new or groundbreaking, but that's to be expected in an established franchise. You can get this release from the usual torrent site or from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news in irc.rizon.net.

 

Tooyamazakura Uchuuchou: Yatsu no Na wa Gold (Samurai Gold)

To paraphrase the great Jimmy Buffet, I think this one might be my fault; but darkcart also accepts some responsibility, so this is a joint Inka-Orphan clusterfuck.

The awkwardly named Tooyamazakura Uchuuchou: Yatsu no Na wa Gold (Toyama Sakura Space Chronicles: His Name is Gold), commonly known as Samurai Gold, is a 1988 OVA based on a science fiction novel by Yuuki Kyousuke. It is an homage to the period novel Maragoshi-Bugyo by Jinde Tatsurou, if that helps. It tells the story of a young man named Gold Disasmount (can't make this up), who lives in a peaceful world ruled by a giant computer named EDO. 

Gold is dissatisfied and bored and spends his time gambling (and losing) and pursuing a barroom singer named Midi.

Gold's existence is suddenly upended when his estranged father, Retklaad, is attacked and nearly killed by a "ghost." Gold himself has a narrow escape from an oversized, effeminate assassin and several androids. 

He believes the answer to these sudden attacks lies in the tourist space colony of Fedvar, from which his father had just returned. 

Gold travels to Fedvar, with Midi as an uninvited guest, to meet his snoopy cousin Ritt.

In an endless infodump, Ritt explains that the King of Fedvar, Tonomono Plenmatz, his wife, and their son Prince Ion, had been killed in a spaceship accident. The spaceship had been delivered by none other than Gold's father Retklaad. There are many more twists and turns, most of them pulled out of places where the sun don't shine.

I don't want to spoil the story further. Besides, I'm not sure I understand it.

One translation note. Gold has tattoos on his back that only appear when his blood is circulating vigorously, e.g., after exercise or under stress. They're called 白粉彫り or "white powder engravings." They don't actually exist, but they make for a really convenient plot device.

The voice cast includes:

• Yao Kazuki (Gold Disasmount) played Franky in One Piece, the lead in Makyou Gaiden Le Deus, the title role in Rance, Dark Schneider in Bastard!!, Chivas in Sorcerer on the Rocks, and Yoki in Fullmetal Alchemist (both versions). He also played the title role in Hameln no Violin Hiki,  Morbridge Jr in Nana Toshi Monogatari, K.K. in Elf 17, Date Ikkaku in Akai Hayate, Ryougaku in Wild 7, Ryan in Star Dust, and Sofue Akira in Boyfriend, all Orphan releases.
• Fujii Ichiko (Midi) was an idol. She has no other anmie credits.
• Tsuboi Akiko (EDO) had featured roles in numerous shows, incuding Perrine Monogatari, Heidi Girl of the Alps, Lucy of the Southern Rainbow, Galaxy Express 999, Miyuki, Saint Seiya, and Nausicaa. She played Mensuran in Hayou no Tsurugi, an Orphan release.
• Mori Katsuji (Ion Plenmatz) played Atlas in the 1980 Astro Boy, Seiji Hayama in Cutie Honey, Wolfgang Mittermeyer in LOGH, Haru in Real Drive, Robespierre in Rose of Versailles, Alcan in Amon Saga, Cemen Bond in Bagi, Tanguin in Cool Cool Bye, Ii Hyobushoyu Naomasa in Sanada 10, and Shiina in Stop!! Hibari-kun! The last five are Orphan releases.
• Shioya Yoku (Ritt) played the title roles in Kariage-kun and the Umi no Triton TV series and movies, Ryouta in Slam Dunk, Jinpei the Swallow in Gatchaman, and Cosmo Yuki in Space Runaway Ideon. He played Tsuri in Tenjou Hen: Utsu no Miko, Yuzuru in Laughing Target, Mickey in Milky Passion: Dougenzaka - Ai no Shiro, Mizuki in Nayuta, and Zhuge Jun in the first Sangokushi movie, all Orphan releases.
• Saka Osamu (Retklaad Disasmount) played Daisuke Aramaki in the Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex franchise and Oohara in the Oishinbo properties. He appeared in Toraemon, 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.
• Ikemizu Michihiro (Ebota, Retklaad's brother) had numerous featured roles, including the boy in Tsuki ga Noboru made ni, Zhuge Jin in the second Sangokushi movie, Hanezawa in Double Fantasy, Zhuge Jin in the second Sangokushi movie, and Lu Xun in the third Sangokushi movie, all Orphan releases.
• Yara Yuusaku (oversized effeminate man) played the destroyer captain in Zipang. He had many featured roles, appearing in Kimu no Juujika, Kimama ni Idol, Hayou no Tsurugi, Eguchi Hisashi no Kotobuki Gorou Show, Eguchi Hisashi no Nantoko Narudesho, Next Senki Ehrgeiz, Eien no Filena, Hidamari no Ki, Nozomi Witches, both Sangokushi OVAs, Prime Rose, the second Sangokushi movie, and both What's Michael? OVAs, all Orphan releases.
  

The director, Umezawa Atsutoshi, also directed some of the Tenjou Hen: Utsu no Miko OVA series, Ghost Sweeper Mikami, and Gokinjo Monogatari, among others. At the beginning of this century, he switched over to planning and producing.

This project started in the fall of 2023, when WOWmd captured a laserdisc of Samurai Gold on the Domesday Duplicator. About a year later, Rezo had made a finished encode. I thought this offered an opportunity to supersede the hardsubbed VHS rip of the ancient R1 release. I advertised on Discord for someone to transcribe the hardsubs. darkcart, Fearless Leader™ of Inka-Subs volunteered, but by the time he finished, I forgot all about the idea. Reminded of my request, I asked Perevodildo to look at the subs. He concluded that were useless and translated the show from scratch. TougeWolf then checked the result, and darkcart did a first edit. However, by the time they had finished, I was having back surgery and forgot all about it again. Reminded (rather more bluntly) for a second time, I edited and typeset. ImAWasteOfHair, timx, and Muzussawa QCed. TougeWolf did a release check. The result is a joint Inka-Subs and Orphan Fansubs release; Inka's final word on the subject is here. You may ask, "Why does Inka use a hyphen in its name and Orphan doesn't?" I'll tell you, "I don't know. It's a tradition!"

Samurai Gold isn't all that bad. It has many lively sequences, and Gold makes a good protagonist in his initial goofball mode. But there are too many infodumps and too many improbable twists, and the prolonged courtroom sequence at the climax is simply unbelievable. It ought to be a stark lesson to me not to initiate a project without at least watching a raw; but because I don't understand Japanese, what good would that do? Anyway, you can get Samurai Gold from the usual torrent site or from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net. And for extra punishment, be sure to check out the YouTube video on the Samurai Gold game. (A tip of the hat, I guess, to darkcart for pointing this out to me.)

Magma Taishi! (Ep 1-4)

Orphan is delighted to release the first installment of Tezuka Osamu's 1993 OVAs, Magma Taishi (Ambassador Magma). We'll be doing a second mini-batch of four, and a final mini-batch of five, episodes to complete the series. Magma Taishi is more an homage than an actual Tezuka Osamu show; he had passed away by 1993. It uses his md-1960s manga and tokustatsu (live-action special effects) TV show as jumping off points for a new story, utilizing more or less the same characters. It preserves the "boys adventure" flavor of the original while adding more modern and cynical elements, such as government conspiracies. This is Orphan's first new Tezuka Osamu project since finishing Tales from the Old Testament more than two years ago.

Magma Taishi posits an ancient conflict between Goa, evil Emperor of the Cosmos, and the spirit of the Earth (confusingly called Earth), over the fate of our planet. 

To defeat Goa, Earth-the-spirit creates a giant robot/rocket man called Magma. 

After a titanic struggle, Magma shatters Goa's body, and the precursors of the Atsuka clan seal way both Goa's soul and Magma's body. Fast forward a few zillion years.

In the present, Goa's minions have collected the  scattered fragments of his former body, and they intend to retrieve his soul from where it was sealed away.  Asuka Fumiaki, descendant of the clan of sealers, calls a journalist friend, Murakami Atsushi, to warn that Goa's return is imminent. Atsushi rushes to his friend's aid, only to find Fumiaki killed by aliens and his daughter, Miki, nearly unconscious. Goa's spirit reunites with his former body and revives, appearing as an apparition to Miki and to Atsushi's son Mamoru. 

He sends an alien disguised as Fumiaki (a "pseudo-human"; they're really tentacled monsters) to kidnap Miki. She escapes, and her deceased father's spirit informs her of her purpose: to awaken Magma. Miki sacrifices herself to revive Magma, and the burden of fighting Goa falls on Mamoru (whose name means "protect" in Japanese). But with Goa's minions lurking everywhere, 

and elements of Japanese Intelligence in league with the aliens (thereby bringing about the Japanese economic miracle), how can Mamoru hope to fight back, even with Magma's help?

The voice cast includes:

• Ohtsuka Akio (Magma) played the title roles in most of the Black Jack properties, Magma Taishi, Blade, and Montana Jones. He also played Gozo in the Aika franchise, Batou in the Ghost in the Shell franchise, the villain All for One in Boku no Hero Academia, and Nyanko Big in one memorable episode of Tada Never Falls in Love. He played Gale in Dragon Slayer Eiyuu Densetsu, Kenneth Guildford in Nana Toshi Monogatari, George in Condition Green, the narrator in Fire Emblem, Nobunaga the boss crow in Ultra Nyan 2, Zilu in Eiyuu Banka Koushi-den, and Black Jack in Tezuka Osamu Disappears, all Orphan releases.
• Kikuchi Masami (Murakami Mamoru) starred as the male leads in the Tenchi Muyo, Aa! Megami-sama!, and Comic Party franchises. He played Iwayma Genzaburo in Princess Army, Terayama Suekichi in Asatte Dance, Makoto in Doukyuusei 2, Yukino Hiro in Houkago no Tinker Bell, and Taira no Kiyomori the younger in Genji, Part 1, and he appeared in Fukuyama Gekijou, all Orphan releases. His "Magma Taishiiiii!" at the end of each preview is unmistakable.
• Fukami Rika (Murakami Tomoko, Mol) played Spoor in the Crest of the Stars franchise, Myung Fang in Macross Plus, and Sailor Venus in the Sailor Moon franchise. She played Kuni in Tobira no Akete and Miss Toshiko in Raiyantsuuri no Uta and appeared in Majo demo Stead, and Ear of the Golden Dragon, all Orphan releases.
• Kosugi Jurouta (Murakami Atsushi) played Mochizuki Rokurou in the Sanada 10 special, Utsubushi in Amatsuki, Aizman in Bavi Stock, Takanesawa in Hiatari Ryouko, Daisuke in Sei Michaela Gakuen Hyouryuuki, Gisuke in Shadow, Dr. Bayfam in Joker, and a bit part in Hi-Speed Jecy, all Orphan releases, as well as Krest in Ariel, Fernand in Gankuutsou, Hertz in Marie and Gali, and Touji in Ninku.
• Ishida Akira (Gam, son of Magma and Mol) starred as Sasuke in Samurai Deeper Kyou, Chrno in Chrno Crusade, Howard in Uninhabited Planet Survive, Rion in Galerians: Rion, Komugi in Hen Zemi, and Arima in Princess Lover. He played Abe no Yasuaki in Haruka Naru Toki no Nake de: Hachyoushou, Gaara in the Naruto franchise, Shinichi in Nana, Athrun Zala in the Gundam Seed Destiny properties, Cho Hokkai in the Saiyuki franchise, Xellos in the Slayers franchise, Natori in the Natsume Yuujinchou franchise, Tsukasa in the Shokugei no Souma franchise, and Kuchiki in the Genshiken series. He played brother Oomori in Let's Nupu Nupu, Gordon in Fire Emblem, Takumi in Bakuen Campus Guardress, Abe no Yasutsugu in Haruka Naru Toki no Nake de 2, and Ridvan in Haruka Naru Toki no Nake de 3, all Orphan releases.
• Miyauchi Kouhei (Earth) played Aaron in Dragon Slayer Eiyuu Densetu, Jack Goldman in Condition Green, King Kaiser in Grimm Douwa: Kin no Tori, Eddie in Nozomi Witches, Kogorou Shirachi in Stop!! Hibari-kun, the grandfather in Tsuki ga Noboru made ni, the judge in A Penguin's Memories, and Brigadier Hamilton in Techno Police 21C, and he appeared in the first two Sangokushi movies, all Orphan releases. He had a recurring role as Kame Sennin in the Dragon Ball franchise and played the mayor of Birdos in Watt Poe.
• Oohira Tooru (Goa) starred as Moguro Fuzuko in The Laughing Salesman! 'Nuff said!
• Sasaoka Shigezou (Jakov, Goa's sidekick) played the title role in God Mazinger, King Aleph in Magical Hat, and the villain Mr. X in Scoopers. He appeared in Dragon Slayer Eiyuu Densetsu, Sanctuary, Sugata Sanshiro, and Tezuka Osamu's Tales of the Old Testament, all Orphan releases.
• Takagi Wataru (Sekita Junya, Atsushi's assistant) played the title role in Great Teacher Onizuka, Nezumi in the 1996 and 2007 versions of GeGeGe no Kitarou, his namesake, as well as other recurring roles, in the Detective Conan franchise, old man Gorou in the recent Godzilla S.P., and Takeshi in Kakyuusei (1995), an Orphan release.
• Nakamura Hidetoshi (Asuka Fumiaki) appeared in Star Dust, Ai no Kusabi, Nana Toshi Monogatari, and Exper Zenon, all Orphan releases. 
• Itou Miki (Asuka Miki) played Annie in Adachigahara, young Yamataro in Yamataro Comes Back, Rie in Chameleon, Colon in Cool Cool Bye, Yuumi in Every Day Is Sunday, and an Innocent in Greed, all Orphan releases. She also played Fujimura Taiga in the Fate franchise, Eiko "A-ko" Magami in the Project A-ko franchise, and appeared in most of the Happy Science movies.
• Kanao Tetsuo (Kunisaki, Deputy Director of National Intelligence) played Daishi in Concrete Revolutio, Kokuyo in Dr. Stone, Chad in Gangsta., Kouhei in The Great Passage, and Yamazaki in Ghost Talker's Daydream.
• Inaba Minoru (Kuwabara, an intelligence agent) appeared in Izumo, Hiatari Ryouko, Majo demo Steady, Adachigahara, and Sangokushi 2, all Orphan releases. He played Bart Bagley in The Faraway Paladin, Tatsuma in The Morose Mononokean, Dr Garaki in My Hero Academia, and Ootsuka in Tetsujin 28.

Oohira Tooru's villainous posturing as Goa is worth the price of admission alone. I can imagine him as Captain Hook in Peter Pan, twirling his mustache and uttering his final line: "Pan, words cannot express me utter contempt for you."

The director, Uedo Hidehito, also directed Every Day Is Sunday, H2, A.D. Police, and the Fuuma no Kojirou OVAs. The OP is a typical overwrought ballad, but the ED is a throwback march, song by a massed male chorus and illustrated with shots from the original manga.

This series has been on my wish list basically forever, but Orphan's translators were unable to help. Eventually, I got purpleparrotkin to translate the first four episode (Yume did the rest of the series). ImAWasteOfHair timed. I edited and typeset; the typesetting is minimal. ImAWasteOfHair and Uchuu QCed. The raws were encoded from R2J DVDs by an anonymous friend. This is a dual-audio release; there's a signs only track to accompany the English dub. In the dub, the OP and ED are wordless.

Magma Taishi is definitely a shounen adventure. Normally, it would be outside my wheelhouse, but... it's Tezuka Osamu. So I'm prepared to forgive its trespasses and to enjoy its often preposterous antics. You can get these four episodes from the usual torrent site or from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net.

Heart Cocktail: Spring Stories

As hoped/promised/threatened, DarkOrphanChaser is back with more Watase Seizou; in this case, his latest spin on the Heart Cocktail formula: Heart Cocktail Colorful. This series of 15 shorts is organized around three seasons: spring, summer, and winter. (No fall, I guess.) We're bringing you the series in seasonal bursts, starting with the "Spring Stories."

Colorful doesn't break any new ground. It follows the familiar Heart Cocktail formula of romance found, lost, or regained, in five-minute stories usually focused on one man and one woman. The five stories in this group are:

1. "Stone Letter." A separated couple, Shinju and Emi, keep in touch by snail mail. One day, Emi sends Shinju a single pebble as a message. What could it mean?
   
   
   
   
   
2. "The Planet Beneath Our Feet." A single mother named Kaede is supported, at a distance, by her former high-school classmate Yuusuke, who still remembers their encounter in the Astronomy Club.
   
   
   
   
   
3. "Tandem Venus". Yuwaka is interested in both his junior, Natsuki Noda, and his boss, section chief, Saya Tokitou, only to discover that the two women are romantically involved with each other.
   
   
   
   
   
4. "Gentle Rain." Karen, the daughter of Takeshi from the original series, comes to Jessy's Bar to leave a letter for her estranged father. She is getting married and wants her father to know, because she and her husband are going to Africa to work for an NGO. But Takeshi has been watching over her all along...
   
   
   
   
   
5. "The Beauty Who Turned Around." At a company event, an unnamed man falls in love with Shizuka, but she is still entangled with another. They promise to meet in a year, but she takes another job. He returns the next year anyway, but is she there?

My personal favorite is "Gentle Rain," because of the callback to the original series and the use of Jessy's Bar, but they're all decent stories.

As in the other Heart Cocktail series, the animation is minimal, but the shots aren't completely static, as they are in Chalk-iro no People or the other "animated manga". But this lack of movement, and the much larger full HD canvas, created a problem: the scenes look empty and are visually boring. (A lot of blossoms blow through to fill the frame.) So this series adapts a trick out of the statically animated shows: it puts some (but not all) of the dialog into signs. There's no point in having the same English line as both dialog and sign, so the dialog signs are not typeset. Rest assured, real signs (there's only one in these episodes) are typeset.

The voice cast is also minimal:

• Mitsushima Hikari played Carina in One Piece Film Gold and Mayu in cocoon Aru Natsu no Shoujo-tachi Yori.
• Kamenashi Kazuya played Odagiri Ryuu in Gokusen live action and Shizuku Kanzaki in Kami no Shizuku live action.
• Okuda Tamiyoshi is primarily a narrator. He appeared in Heart Cocktail and Heart Cocktail Again.
  

This is director Yagi Junichirou's first anime project. 

The fansub staff is the same as before. Darkonius translated and timed. Yume translation-checked. I edited and typeset; the biggest typesetting challenge was the rainbow in the title. Nemesis and Uchuu QCed. Skr snarfed the raws off Japanese TV, and an anonymous friend encoded. MartyMcflies provided support and coordination. Like previous Watase Seizou projects, this is a joint DarkWispers, Orphan, and LonelyChaser release. 

I remain quite fond of the Heart Cocktail concept; its slow pace and lack of melodrama suits me. Admittedly, the author is ringing changes on plots he has used before, but there's still room for new ideas. You can get this mini-batch from the usual torrent site or from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news. The remaining ten episodes will follow, although the exact timing is unpredictable.