Shibuya Honky-Tonk

Orphan started on the 1988 OVA Abe George Kattobi Seishun Ki: Shibuya Honky Tonk, or Tales from Abe George's Stormy Youth: Shibuya Honky Tonk (for brevity, Shibuya Honky Tonk), almost a year ago. However, after preparing scripts, the translator pronounced anathema on the project: "I found this very hard to even watch, let alone work with, and hated every second of it." That seemed sufficiently damning to me. I shelved the project and released the encodes in raw form. Well, Translator's Remorse (a cousin of Editor's Remorse) soon made its appearance. It seemed the scripts weren't so bad, after all. With a little more work, a usable release was possible. Accordingly, the project was restarted.

Shibuya Honky Tonk purports to be the autobiography of young Abe George, an author and TV personality, who died in 2017. As he himself admitted, "About 10% of it is true, and the rest is exaggerated and dramatized." The anime claims that he joined a yakuza gang as a teenager and then had various scrapes and adventures, as dramatized in the OVA's four episodes. Each episode is introduced by the author himself.

1. "Young Yakuza Wannabe." Naoya is an oversized, precocious, and crooked high-school student. He wants to join a yakuza gang, because it looks exciting, and he'll have a better chance at hooking up with girls.
   
   
   
   
   He manages to impress an underboss named Kingo at the Todo Group, and he meets a pretty (and willing) girl named Yuko.
   
   
   
   
   But when she is threatened by a rival gang, he draws a weapon and wounds one of his antagonists. This makes him a liability, and he's sent to the UK (he has rich and influential parents) until the affair blows over.
   
   
2. "Digression: Studying in the UK." Enrolled in a public (that is, private) school, Naoya blows off his studies and spends his time fleecing his fellow students and screwing his teacher.
   
   
   
   
   Expelled for his antics, he winds up as a gofer at a Japanese news bureau. He's promoted to assistant photographer and shows real zeal to get scoops. This allows a senior reporter to entice Naoya into infiltrating a secret British air force base as an unwitting spy.
   
   
   
   
   Naoya wreaks havoc and ends up getting expelled from the country.
   
   
3. "First Fight Back Home." Naoya is now a full-fledged underling (goon) for the Todo Group. Reunited with Yuko, he nonetheless finds time to bed other girls and get into scrapes. He undertakes various enforcement missions in the company of other young Todo hoods, eventually attempting to coerce a rival group's profitable poker game.
   
   
   
   
   This almost ends in a shootout, but Naoya bluffs his way out.
   
   
4. "Introduction to Yakuza Economics." Naoya starts specializing in cons and scams.
   
   
   
   
   He forges and sells counterfeit tickets to a popular event. He shakes down courting couples in the park. He organizes a fake recruiting event for a non-existing host club, pocketing the application fees. Eventually, he organizes a truly large-scale fraud, but the scheme falls apart.
   
   
   
   
   As the show closes, he's sent to a juvenile detention facility.

It's not in the least believable, but there's plenty of violence, nudity, and sex to keep the audience diverted from the implausibility of the plot. In addition, the show exudes a sort of smugness, from the live-action introductions by Abe George himself, to the glamorization of yakuza life. Still, Abe George wasn't all piss and wind. Based on his experiences as a young prisoner, he wrote the manga Rainbow: Nisha Rokubo no Shichinin, which won the 51st Shogakukan Manga Award and was made into a first-rate anime. (Full disclosure: I edited the show for Frostii.)

A few translation notes.

• Ep 1, "176cm." Naoya was 5' 9" tall at age 14. The average Japanese man in the early postwar period was 161cm tall.
• Ep 1, "Like the Toyama novels?" A series of historical novels by Jinde Tatsurou about a legendary Robin Hood-type character. 
• Ep 2, "...a game of See-Low?" A gambling game played with a set of three dice.
• Ep 2, marks at the head of the bed. The kanji 正 is used for tally marks, with each stroke representing one. There's a prescribed order for the strokes, allowing representation from one to five.
• Ep 3, "Don't forget the pride of Sakura Sogoro, you dunce." Sakura Sogoro was a legendary Japanese farmer. 
• Ep 4, "First, we had Seven Faces, then Thirteen Eyes, and now they follow up Twenty-one Fingerprints with Twenty-four Eyes?!" The first three are crime dramas about detective Tarao Bannai, played by Kataoka Chiezo. The fourth is an anti-war film based on a novel by Tsuboi Sakae, which was also made into an anime.
• Ep 4, "Boss Kingo is a sadist!" "So Boss Kingo is from Niigata?" Nao calls Kingo sado, which the other underlings think is an island in Niigata prefecture.
• Ep 4, ""I wish I could enjoy the rest of Spring..."  Death poem of Asano Nagori, feudal lord of the forty-seven ronin.

The core cast included:

• Ishimaru Hiroya (Abe George/Naoya) played Sabu, another yakuza, in Koiko no Mainichi and gave a bravura performance as the "interpreter" dog Allegro in Bremen 4, an Orphan release. He also played Rodimus Prime in the various Transformer TV shows, Sengoku Shunsuke in Cyber City Oedo 808, and Kabuto Kouji in the Mazinger Z franchise.
• Aomori Shin (Kingo Tanaka) played Solomon in Tezuka Osamu's Tales of the Old Testament, Kurokawa in Meisou-ou Border, and Wailing Man in Cat-Eyed Boy episode 5, all Orphan releases. He played Basque Grand in both versions of Full Metal Alchemist and Gonzo in the currently airing Oi! Tonbo. He appeared in Perrine, Oishinbo, Sousei no Aquarion, the Dragon Ball franchise, and numerous other roles in a career that has spanned almost 50 years.
• Sasaki Yuko (Yuko) played the title role in Desert Rose and Gilbert in Kaze to Ki no Uta SANCTUS. She played Sayoko in Aoki Honoo, Akiko/Keiko in Wolf Guy, Yuki in Sei Michaela Gakuen Hyouryuuki, and Exper Jiff in Exper Zenon, and she appeared in OL Kaizou Kouza, Amaama to Inazuma, Dokushin Apartment Dokudami-sou, and Yousei-ou, all Orphan releases.
• Nishimura Tomomichi (Todo boss) appeared as the narrator in YuYu Hakusho, Anzai-sensei in Slam Dunk, Shibaraku Tsurugibe in Mashin Eiyuuden Wataru, and Jamitov Hymem in Mobile Suit Z Gundam. He played Ryuuichi's father in Aoki Honoo, had a cameo as Don Dracula in Bremen 4, and appeared in Eguchi Hisashi no Kotobuki Goro Show, Eguchi Hisashi no Nantoka Naru Desho!, Fire Tripper, Fumoon, Hi-Speed Jecy, A Time Slip of 10,000 Years: Prime Rose, Tezuka Osasmu's Tales from the Old Testament, Wild 7, Wolf Guy, and Yamataro Comes Back, all Orphan releases.

Others appeared in episode-specific roles: 

• Sawaki Ikuya (Naoya's father, ep 1; male teacher, ep 2; Yajima, ep 3) played Gooley in the Dirty Pair franchise. He also played Kentaro in Ushiro no Hyakutaro, Samuel Hunter in Wolf Guy, Masayoshi Hotta in Hidamari no Ki, Barry in Joker: Marginal City, Alan in Mother: Saigo no Shoujo Eve, Itakura Shirouemon in Sanada 10, the Kaiser in Apfelland Monogatari, and Gonbei the cat in Satsujin Kippu wa Heart-iro, as well as bit parts in Dallos, Heart Cocktail, and Chameleon, all Orphan releases.
• Hirose Masashi (Morio, ep 1; Okamoto, ep 4) appeared in Tengai Makyou, Al Caral no Isan, Dallos, Nora, Kage, Wolf Guy, Junkers Come Here: Memories of You, and Kageyama Tamio's Double Fantasy, all Orphan releases.
• Arima Mizuka (Naoya's mother, ep 1) played Grandma Setsu in Oi! Tonbo, Zara in Bio Armor Ryger, Miriam in Tezuka Osamu's Tales from the Old Testament, Mary in Starship Troopers, and a dentist in Don Dracula. The last three are Orphan releases.
• Ono Kenichi (Naoya's friend, ep 1) played Toujirou in Mikan Enikki, Shiro Shirota in Dai-Guard, Asurada in the Future GPX Cyber Formula franchise, and Touma in Dirty Pair Flash. He played Abe no Yasuna in Akuemon and Sugawara in Kindaichi movie 2, and he appeared in AWOL Compression Remix, Bavi Stock, Seikima II Humane Society, Wolf Guy, and Ziggy Sore Yuke! R&R Band, all Orphan releases.
• Akimoto Yousuke (bartender, ep 1) played Principal Ikebe in Mellow, Nalerov in Plastic Little, Ookubo Sagaminokami Tadachika in Sanada 10, and appeared in Apfelland Monogatari, Genji, Part 1, Wild 7, and Dokushin Apartment Dokidami-sou, all Orphan releases. He also appeared in Stratos 4, Sisters of Wellber, Princess Lover, The Sacred Blacksmith, and Black Summoner.
• Takada Yumi (Susan, female teacher, ep 2) played Yoshinaga-sensei in many of the Crayon Shin-chan movies and Ayeka in the Tenchi Muyo franchise. She played Saya and Monmo in Cosmic Fantasy, Purinpurin in Hoshi Neko Full House, Atover in Exper Zenon, Yumi the barkeep in Dokushin Apartment Dokudami-sou, Kumaba in Body Jack,(Kurokawa Satomi in Doukyuusei: Climax, and bit parts in Cool Cool Bye and Nora, all Orphan releases. She appeared in many classic h-anime, including Adventure Kid, Angels in the Court, Balthus: Tia's Radiance, Bizarre Cage, Black Widow, La Blue Girl, Countdown, the Demon Beast and Darkness series, Dragon Knight, F3, Fencer of Minerva, Lyon Flare, Trouble Evocation, Twin Dolls, and Venus 5.
• Oikawa Hitomi (Nishina Kurumi) played Ami in the Cream Lemon franchise, Katri in Katri the Cow Girl, and Yasuko in Miyuki.
• Ishimori Takkou (principal, ep 2) played Jodu in Murder Princess, Yoshimune in Buzzer Beater, and Master Luo Wu in Cooking Master Boy. He had small parts in Fire Tripper, Akai Hayate, Aoki Honoo, Nagasaki 1945: The Angelus Bell, Hoshizora no Violin, and Wild 7, all Orphan releases.
• Arimoto Kinryuu (bureau manager, ep 2) had featured roles in numerous shows, including Psycho-Pass, Tokyo Ravens, Joshiraku, Chihayafuru, Un-Go, and Moonlight Mile. He played Kenji's father in Aoi Kioku, Ichijo Yuji in Princess Army and Ogata Kouan in Hidimari no Ki, all Orphan releases.
• Ootaki Shinya (Aoki, reporter/spy, ep 2) played Beat in Scoopers. He appeared in Aoki Honoo, Wolf Guy, Elf ,17, Hoshizora no Violin, Gakkou no Yuurei volume 1, and Hi-Speed Jecy, all Orphan releases.
• Amano Yuri (Chinese girl, ep 2) played the title role in The Legend of Snow White, Julia in Daddy Long Legs, Kiyone in the Tenchi Muyo franchise, and Moemi in Video Girl Ai. She appeared as Lady Freeze in Bakuen Campus Guardress, Catherine in Okama Hakusho, Kuzunoha in Akuemon, Angie in Condition Green, Elthena in Eien no Filena, Kitagawa in Nozomi Witches, Noriko in Singles, the teacher in Tanjou: Debut, Tonto in the Blue Knight segment of Tezuka Osamu: Kyoto Animation Works, and Yuko in St. Michaela Gakuen Hyouryuuki, as well as multiple roles in Fukuyama Gekijou and Gakkou no Yuurei, volume 1, all Orphan releases.
• Nakamura Daiki (Otake)  (Honda Kozukenosuke Masazumi) playedthe title roles in Dangerous Jii-san Ja and Demon Beast Resurrection, Dayakka in Gurren Lagann, Seiji Date in Ronin Warriors, and Liu Bei in Yokoyama Mitsuteru Sangokushi. He also appeared in Mikeneko Holmes, Condition Green, AWOL Compression Remix, and Sanada 10, all Orphan releases. 
• Yamadera Kouichi  (Ushiji) played many leading roles, including Spike Spiegel in Cowboy Bebop, Sukeroku in Shouwa Ginroku Rakugo Shinju, Ryouga in all the Ranma 1/2 properties, and the nameless hero of Otaku no Seiza. He played the title role in Hashire! Melos, Benten in Oedo ga Nemurenai!, Almarick Aswaer in Nana Toshi Monogatari, Happyaku in Wild 7, Chiryuu in Bakuen Campus Guardress, Matsu in Koiko no Mainichi, Tsuri in Utsu no Miko, and Ryouan in Hidamari no Ki, all Orphan releases.
• Shinohara Emi (Yoshie) played B-Ko in the A-ko properties and Sailor Jupiter in the Sailor Moon franchise. She appeared as the goddess in the Unico segment of Tezuka Osamu: Kyoto Animation Works, 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, a newscaster in Junk Boy, and Android 1025 in Oz, all Orphan releases.
• Tobita Nobuo (Akiyama, printer, ep 4) played Lumial in the Angelique franchise, Ken Wakashimazu in the Captain Tsubasa franchise, Randy in Fake, Sinistra in Kiddy Grade, the title role in Locke the Superman, and Dayon in Osomatsu-san. He starred as Kenichi in Houkago no Tinker Bell and appeared in Princess Army, Genji, Part 1, Ziggy Sore Yuke! R&R Band, Condition Green, Eien no Filena, Choujikuu Romanesque Samy: MISSING 99, and Ore no Sora, all Orphan releases.
• Yamaguchi Ken (detective #1, ep 4) appeared in Asatte Dance, Dokushin Apartment Dokudami-sou, Yamato 2520, Hoshi Neko Full House, Shiratori Reiko de Gozaimasu!, and Condition Green, all Orphan releases.
• Umezu Hideyuki (detective #2, ep 4)(Kobayakawa-sensei) played Akadama-sensei in Uchouten Kazoku and Uranos Corsica in Gangsta. He had featured roles in Asatte Dance, Star Dust, Apfelland Monogatari, Blue Sonnet, Hashire Melos, Hi-Speed Jecy, Hidamari no Ki, Nana Toshi Monogatari, Neko Neko Fantasia, Singles, the What's Michael? OVAs, Yamato 2520, Genji, Part 1, Mellow, Ushiro no Hyakutaro, and Ziggy Sore Yuke! R&R Band, all Orphan releases.  

The director, Ochiai Masamune, also directed Don Dracula, Asatte Dance, Bouken Shite mo Ii Goro, and the Naniwa Yuukyouden OVA series. The OP and ED are by a group called BORO and are suitably downbeat and melancholy. There's an insert song, with the only lyric apparently being, "Do it, do it, lucky boy." If there's more to the song, no one found it.

Perevodildo translated and timed; he went over the scripts multiple times, trying to parse the gangster argot. Paul Geromini edited. I typeset. Uchuu and I QCed. ImAWasteOfHair also QCed episode 1 but then dropped out. An anonymous friend encoded from R2J DVD ISOs. The encode turned out well, with VFR used to accommodate the live-action prologues.

I'm not all that fond of Shibuya Honky Tonk, but it may be some viewers' bowl of rice. (They probably like Chameleon too.) There's plenty of eye candy, it has some good comedy, and it's definitely NSFW. You can get the show from the usual torrent site and from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net.