2025 in Review

2025 turned out to be even more calamitous than I had feared. I couldn't bear to watch the news, as one horror followed another.

Orphan Fansubs

Despite the adverse conditions in real life, Orphan released a near-record number of projects, primarily thanks to prolific translator Perevodildo and the many staffers and helpers from across IRC and Discord. The team subbed several outstanding movies, crushed the backlog of untranslated Young Animator OVAs, revisited some old favorites, and laid the groundwork for interesting new and ongoing projects in 2026.

1. Gakkou no Yuurei volume 3. More ghost stories, mixed animation and live action.
2. Seirei Tsukai. Gods versus superpowered humans. Most of the planet ends up as collateral damage, and no one seems to care much.
3. Gakkou no Yuurei volume 4. Even more ghost stories, mixed animation and live action.
4. Tsuyoshi Shikkari Shinasai: Tsuyoshi no Time Machine de Shikkari Shinasai. A side OVA from long-running (112 episodes), totally forgotten sitcom. Put-upon elder brother Tsuyoshi and a pal travel back in time and discover, accidentally, why his family life in the present is so broken.
5. Mikosuri Han Gekijou. A collection of dirty jokes, strung together around themes. You'll like it, or you won't.
6. Sakyou Komatsu's Animation Theater. Outstanding science fiction and satire from a noted Japanese author. This show is always interesting, often thought provoking, and sometimes spooky.
7. Toraemon. A paean to the 1985 championship baseball team, the Henshin Tigers. Filled with topical references and satires on real characters, it is impossible to understand without a decoder ring.
8. Zetsuai 1989 v2. The grand-daddy of BL OVAs, in a new, shinier encode.
9. Tistou Midori no Oyayubi. A wondrous full-length movie about the power of goodness and beauty to alter lives for the better. Its fairy-tale like artwork and story soothe the soul.
10. Utsu no Miko (1989). This rarity is the prequel to the better-known OVA series of the same name. Utsu no Miko and his friends battle greed and perfidy on Earth, ultimately concluding they must take their battle to the heavens.
11. Tenjou Hen: Utsu no Miko (1990). A summary movie for the OVA series, covering the first five chapters.
12. Tanjou Debut. This OVA showcases four wannabe idols/actresses performing in unrelated TV dramas.
13. Cello Hiki no Gauche 1998. A highly abbreviated version of the classic, made to be shown in school classrooms. Faithful to the original but nowhere near as good as the Takahata Isao version.
14. Hashire Melos 1979. Another abbreviated version of a classic for the educational market. It is much shorter than the (later) movie but again, not as good.
15. Mahjong Hishouden: Naki no Ryuu 1988. An enigmatic mahjong player, known only as the Calling Dragon, tangles with various yakuza factions, all of whom want him for his legendary luck. An expanded version of the OVA that was subbed in 2024.
16. Kimu no Juujika. An excellent movie about the kidnapping of Korean workers for forced labor on the Japanese mainland during World War II. A religious overlay does not mask the brutality of the Japanese regime.  
17. Heart Cocktail Colorful episodes 1-5. A modern version of Watase Seizou's classic short tales of love found, lost, or regained. This set of five stories is set in spring. Joint with DarkWispers and LonelyChaser.
18. Magma Taishi, episodes 1-4. A Tezuka Osamu series that had been on my radar for a long time. Aliens led by the evil Lord Goa intend to seize Earth and destroy humanity. Only a handful of people, aided by a giant golden robot named Magma, stand in his way.
19. Tooyamazakura Uchuuchou: Yatsu no Na wa Gold. A complete clusterfuck of a sci-fi show, in which samurai themes are transplanted into an interplanetary future. Joint with Inka.
20. Gakkou no Yuurei volume 5. Still more ghost stories, mixed animation and live action.
21. Junk Boy. An ecchi, not to mention sketchy, story about a young boy who lands his dream job at men's magazine Potato Boy, only to find that life surrounded by beautiful (and sometimes naked) women is not quite what he expected. I originally edited this show for Erobeat. The new translation and encode are a significant improvement.
22. Heart Cocktail Colorful episodes 6-10. Five summer stories from Watase Seizou. Joint with DarkWispers and LonelyChaser.
23. Heart Cocktail Colorful episodes 11-15 and batch. The final set of five stories, set in late fall and winter. Joint with DarkWispers and LonelyChaser. 
24. Gakkou no Yuurei volume 6 and batch. The last of the original series.
25. The First Line. A recent web short, showing the tribulations of a young animator trying to find his own style. The anime plays with framing as a way of showing the young man breaking out of his constraints.
26. Usagi-chan de Cue!!. This very funny and very ecchi sci-fi caper posits a fusion between a schoolboy's pet rabbit and curvaceous girl delinquent. The resulting hybrid is very affectionate toward her keeper, and more than combative enough to fend off the various baddies. The third episode was my first attempt at rescuing an orphan, as part of C1. This version has a better translation and new encode.
27. Magma Taishi, episodes 5-7. The plot thickens. The aliens infiltrate by posing as humans, protected by various shady government agencies more interested in alien technology than saving humanity. 
28. Shin Gakkou no Yuurei. A sequel to the original series, fully animated for the first time since volume 1. 
29. Magma Taishi, episodes 8-10. The good guys' attempts to fend off Lord Goa seem increasingly futile. 
30. Magma Taishi, episodes 11-13 and batch. The Slough of Despond™ and the eventual victory of humanity. However, the outcome is not as clear-cut as one might expect in a shounen sci-fi series. 
31. Tezuka Osamu Works: Kyoto Animation Theater. A collection of short films that were shown in the Tezuka Osamu Kyoto Animation Theater, now closed. Shorts about familiar Tezuka characters - Astro Boy, Unico, Princess Knight, Leo the white lion, Black Jack, the Phoenix - alternate with humorous looks at key episodes in Kyoto's history.
32. Aoi Kioku. An excellent movie about Japan's attempts to colonize Manchuria during World War II. Teenage boys are lured to Manchuria with the promise of free land, only to find themselves unprotected and at the mercy of Russian soldiers when the Soviets invade in August, 1945.
33. Hello WeGo! A Young Animator's OVA. The protagonist is a lonely boy whose only companion is his mobile robot, named WeGo. A fairly routine coming-of-age story, but not offensive.
34. Kicks and Punk. Another Young Animator's OVA. The main character is a girl who loves to run in an age when everyone else uses automated propulsion. She discovers a shared mania for sneakers with an unlikely older woman.
35. Midnight Crazy Trail. A Young Animator's OVA. A young witch is sent to our world for training, but all she wants to do is get rid of her magic and be ordinary. Sort of a cross between Kiki's Delivery Service and Getbackers and not very original.
36. Hoshizora no Violin. A movie about a young boy whose quest to become Japan's Stradivarius is interrupted by World War II. Moving, but it whitewashes the Japanese regime in Manchuria; Aoi Kioku is more realistic.
37. Charanpo Land no Bouken. A Young Animator's OVA. Animals live in a fantasy world where a magic baobab tree provides all the necessities of daily life. When the tree suddenly becomes barren, three youngsters must race against time and other interests to restore the tree's essence.
38. Galaxy Apartment Cosmo Hills. A Young Animator's OVA. A fast-moving and subversive sci-fi story, in which a wannabe "Vtuber" slacker suddenly receives an overpowered baby as a present.
39. Shibuya Honky Tonk. The purported autobiography of George Akayama, ex-yakuza, author, and raconteur. Exaggerated and more than a bit smug, it's an entertaining comedy in spots.
40. Adesugata Mahou no Sannin Musume. Princess Persia, Minky Momo, and Creamy Mami hang out at a hot springs, make prank calls to their boyfriends, and review highlights from their TV series.
41. The Fullmoon Tradition: Indra (Pilot). A short promotional film for an Oshii Mamoru series that was never made. An intriguing premise.
42. Cat-Eyed Boy episodes 9 - 12. Once again, more Cat-Eyed Boy for Halloween. Subsequently, we've learned that the complete series will be released on DVD in 2026. 
43. Shin Takarajima DVD. An early Tezuka Osamu TV special, retelling Treasure Island with animal characters. It features a new, improved encode.
44. Heavy. A movie about a karate fighter who is recruited by a dying sports doctor to contend for the heavyweight title.
45. Animated Classics of Japanese Literature: The Izu Dancer. This collection of stories based on classic Japanese literature has been on my radar for a long time. The first is an oblique tale of a student's encounter with, and unfulfilled love for, an itinerant entertainer.
46. Ashita Genki ni Naare! This movie starts with the firebombing of Tokyo in March, 1945, but it mostly focuses on the plight of Japanese orphans immediately after the war.
47. It Rained Fire. This outstanding movie is tightly focused on the firebombing of Fukuoka in June, 1945. It's juxtaposition of children's carefree lives prior to the air raid, and the horrors they went through during it, is very effective. 
48. Animated Classics of Japanese Literature: The Sound of Waves. This second story in Animated Classics is a coming of age story about a young fisherman's romance with a local girl, and the obstacles both must overcome to reach their mutual happiness.
49. Animated Classics of Japanese Literature: The Dancing Girl. Episode ten of Animated Classics is another star-crossed romance, this time with tragic results.

Okizari, Orphan's h-anime label, was also active this year.

1. Bouken Shite mo Ii Koro. A reworking of a show first released by Erobeat, with improved encode and translation. It's about the (mis)adventures of a young man whose desire to be in films leads him to work as an AV actor for a porn video company.
2. Angel. A new translation of an OVA first released by Erobeat. This release uses the first edition Japanese laserdisc, which includes a smidgen of content cut from later home-video versions.

My personal favorites included Tistou Midori, Sakyou Komatsu's Animation Theater, Kimu no Juujika, Aoi Kioku, It Rained Fire, and Galaxy Apartment Cosmo Hills. The ultra-short The Fullmoon Tradition: Indra was very intriguing. Mikosuri Han Gekijou and Junk Boy were guilty pleasures.

A big "thank you" to all the team members, including translators Perevodildo, Skr, and Yume (who also time), editor and QC Paul Geromini, timer ninjacloud, QCs Nemesis, Uchuu, Topper3000, VigorousJammer, Eternal_Blizzard, bananadoyouwanna, MartyMcflies, Muzussawa, and True Noobow Gamer, and encoders anonymous1, anonymous2, "coffee," and WOWmd. I must also thank the Arutha foundation, which hosts all of Orphan's releases on IRC and reseeded all of our past releases. Finally, I'd like to thank our joint-project collaborators: Inka, DarkWispers, and LonelyChaser. But whether mentioned or not, every staff member has contributed to the work this year.

The Audio Side

Nothing this year.

 
Work for Other Groups

Some old, some new.

• Frozen-EviL. Yawara! reached a major milestone with the completion of the Blu-ray version of the show and the release of the batch torrent. I also edited the live-action movie. Sayona, Yawara-chan!
• Blasphemboys. I QCed more of Ningen Kakumei. I edited or QCed several other shows as well.
• Darkonius. I finished editing and typesetting a new version of Damekko Doubutsu (Useless Animals). This is one of my favorite short series, and I look forward to its release.

Favorites of 2025

I'm not an anime critic, so I don't try to compile a "best of" list for the anime year. Instead, I'm listing my favorites of the year and why they kept me watching all the way through. As usual, shows with lots of "action" (i.e., violence) mostly don't make the cut.

In alphabetical order:

• Ame to Kimi to. This low-key comedy about an introverted young woman who adopts a smarter-than-the-average-bear tanuki was very soothing. As is often the case with pets, the tanuki helps his(?) "owner" grow and come out of her shell.
• Apocalypse Hotel. An absurdist comedy about a high-end Tokyo hotel staffed completely by robots after the human race disappears. The humor gets very "out there" at times, but it worked for me.
• Ballpark de Tsukamaete! A feel-good comedy about the fans and staff at a mid-tier baseball team's stadium.
• Dandadan S2. It doesn't get more over-the-top than this show, and the the second season amped up the shenanigans to eleven. 
• Dekin no Mokura. An oddball show about college students awakening to the world of spirits after interacting with a generous, and perhaps immortal, recluse.
• Kowloon Generic Romance. An intriguing sci-fi/slice-of-life show, with an underlying premise that wasn't clear even after it ended.
• Kuroshitsuji: Midori no Majo Hen. This is the first Kuroshitsuji series I was able to watch all the way through. Although totally absurd in its science (tanks in the 1880s?), the human drama seemed more compelling and grounded.
• Kusuriya no Hitorigoto S2. The further adventures of Xiomao and Maomao and company. Although showing signs of "light novel syndrome" (i.e., spinning events out for the sake of more volumes), it still hits my historical shoujo sweet spot.
• Okinawa de Suki ni Natta Ko ga Hougen Sugite Tsura Sugiru. This lightweight, likeable comedy about a Tokyo boy smitten with an Okinawan girl but unable to understand her dialect never set a foot wrong.
• Shabake. Youkai and mysteries. For me, an unbeatable combination. The self-effacing, quiet protagonist proved much stronger than he appeared. 

Quirky personal favorites:

• Me and the Alien MuMu. Alien cats obsessed with consumer appliances trying to save Earth from destruction? What's not to like?

I continue to enjoy the Ranma 1/2 reboot, rather more than original. And I watched the extended epilogue of Boku no Hero Academia, which is a masterclass on how to conclude a long-running battle shounen.

 

Looking Ahead

Orphan ends 2025 with a significant backlog of projects. We intend to finish the DVD episodes of Animated Classics of Japanese Literature and continue to search for other sources for the rest. There will be more Cat-Eyed Boy, hopefully from the DVD remasters. And we're starting a new project to revisit the early Toei Douga movies, using the best sources available.

 

On the down side, the Arutha foundation is closing down early next year. Orphan is collaborating with Saizen for a new torrent seeding and archiving solution, but the IRC XDCC capability will disappear. If you use IRC XDCC, please get your files before January 31, 2026.

 

Meanwhile, thanks, everyone, both team members and fans. Have a happy and safe 2026.