Growing Up

Seishun Anime Zenshuu (translated as Animated Classics of Japanese Literature for its English release) is a 1986 anthology series that retold well-known stories from modern Japanese literature. It's very much in the mold of its contemporaries, the World Masterpiece Theater series. Most of the 34 episodes were standalone, although there were a few two- and three-parters. The show was licensed by Central Park Media, but the English version was left incomplete when CPM went bankrupt. Only twelve episodes were released on DVD:

• Episode 1: The Izu Dancer by Kawabata Yasunari. 
• Episodes 2,3: The Sound of Waves by Mishima Yukio.
• Episodes 7,8: Botchan by Souseki Natsume.
• Episode 10: The Dancing Girl by Ougai Mori.
• Episode 14: Growing Up by Higuchi Ichiyou.
• Episode 16: A Ghost Story by Lafcadio Hearn.
• Episode 20: Season of the Sun by Ishihara Shintarou.
• Episodes 25,26: The Harp of Burma by Takeyama Michio.
• Episode S1 (33): Student Days by Kume Masao.

This episode, Growing Up, is based on the novella Takekurabe (Comparing Heights) by Higuchi Ichiyou. It has been adapted for film twice and for TV twice.

The story revolves around four young teenagers growing up in Meij-era Yoshiwara, the red light district. Midori is a playful 14-year-old girl, whose family lives in the Daikoku brothel.

Her older sister is a courtesan there, and Midori is supposed to become one was well. Shin is a 15-year-old boy, the son of the Ryuge temple's head priest.

He is training to be a Buddhist priest himself. Chokichi is the leader of the "back-street" gang. 

He is a hot-tempered and violent bully. Finally, Shotaro is the leader of the "main-street" gang. He is the son of a local pawnbroker, well-educated but naive.

On the eve of the Senzoku Shrine summer festival, Shota and Midori are planning a magic lantern show for the festival, with Sangoro,the "class clown" of the back-street gang, as narrator. 

However, Chokichi intends to ambush Shota at Midori's home. The latter is summoned away by his mother before Chokichi shows up. In the ensuing fracas, Chokichi beats up Sangoro, hits Midori in the head with a sandal, and calls her a whore. 

He even claims (incorrectly) that Shin supports these actions. Midori resolves never to speak to Shin again and resigns herself to being a courtesan. 

Shin, overwhelmed with guilt about what happened and too shy to speak to Midori, decides to become a priest. 

Despite several opportunities to speak and reconcile, they go their separate ways. All four are now on their paths to adulthood - paths over which they had little say and no control.

The art work in Growing Up is interesting and often beautiful, portraying Yoshiwara as an Edo-era throwback. 

Still, the show is very downbeat in portraying the realities of late Meiji hierarchical society. Children had little agency and no freedom. Their life choices were almost preordained by their positions in society. Parental pressures in traditional societies were overwhelming, and the aspirations of childhood were ground underfoot.

One note: when Shota visits Midori for the last time, she's is a bad mood and exclaims that she doesn't want to grow up. Her mother says, with a smirk, that she has "to start steaming the rice now." This is the red bean rice traditionally made for a girl's first period. For Midori, it means she is now old enough to become a courtesan:

 

The voice cast includes:

• Yamamoto Yuriko (Midori) played the title roles in Lady Georgie, Hello! Sandybell, Mahou Tsukai Sally 2, and the Iczer OVAs. She also played the title roles in Nora, Twinkle Nora Rock Me, and Tomoe's Run!, Rihabi and Sayuri in Stop!! Hibari-kun!, Maki in Choujikuu Romanesque Samy: MISSING 99, and Telenne in High Speed Jecy, all Orphan releases. 
• Nanba Keiichi (Shin) 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 Shiroyama Tsugunobu in Junk Boy, 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. 
• Shioya Yoku (Shotaro) 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 Ritt in Samurai Gold, 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.
• Chiba Shigeru (Chokichi) played Megane in the Urusei Yatsura franchise and Nezumi in later GeGeGe no Kitarou movies. He played the title role in Kigyou Senshi Yamazaki: Long Distance Call and Watanabe Tsukasa in Tsuyoshi Shikkari Shinasai: Tsuyoshi no Time Machine de Shikkari Shinasai, and he and appeared in Ai no Kusabi, Akai Hayate, Bagi, Condition Green, and Yamato 2520, all Orphan releases.
• Tatsuta Naoki (Sangoro, a member of Chokichi's gang) played Oolong in the Dragonball franchise, the Cat Bus in My Neighbor Totoro, and Beta in New Dream Hunter Rem. He appeared in every GeGeGe no Kitarou series since 1985 and in One Pound Gospel, Amon Saga and Wolf Guy, all Orphan releases. 
• Kikuchi Masami (Bunji, a member of Chokichi's gang) starred as the male leads in the Tenchi Muyo, Aa! Megami-sama!, and Comic Party franchises. He played Murakami Mamoru in Magma Taishi, 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.
• Suzuki Kiyonobu (Ushimatsu, a member of Chokichi's gang) appeared in Akai Hayate, Bagi, Exper Zenon, and the Hiatari Ryoukou movie, all Orphan releases. He played Festa in Fang of the Sun Dougram, Dalph in Gordion the Warrior, Kotaro in The Kabocha Wine, and Reese in Sylvanian Families: Mini Stories.
• Mine Atsuko (Midori's mother) played Tarou in Sensou Douwa: Aoi Hitomi no Onnako no Ohanashu, Miwa, the artist's wife, in Lunn Flies into the Wind, and Maris' mother in Maris the Choujo, all Orphan release, as well as Tohdoh Yuki in Yawara
• Sakamoto Chika (Oyoshi) played Campanella in Night on the Galactic Railway, the title role in Tsuruhime, Nonoko in Tobira wo Akete, Tendonman in the Soreike! Anpanman franchise, and Agumon in the Digimon franchise. She appeared as Da in Galaxy Apartment Cosmo Hills, Kijimuna in the Utsu no Miko movie, Miko in Ohoshi-sama no Rail, Yasuda Yumiki in Nine, Kometora in Charapno Land no Bouken, and Suzume's erstwhile love interest, Katagiri-kun, in Stop!! Hibari-kun!, all Orphan releases.
• Suzuki Reiko (Yone) usually played elderly women. She appeared as Matsuda's mother in Yawara!, Megabaa in Dennou Coil, Jakotsu-baba in the 2007 version of GeGeGe no Kitarou, Kyousuke's grandmother in the Kimagure Orange Road franchise, and old lady Honke in My Neighbor Totoro. She also appeared in Ohoshi-sama no Rail, Tsuki ga Noboru made ni, and Eguchi Hisashi no Nantoko Narudesho!, all Orphan releases.
• Sawaki Ikuya (rickshaw man/Akio) played Gooley in the Dirty Pair franchise. He also played Captain Marco in Tottoi, Gonbei the cat in Satsujin Kippu wa Heart-iro, 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, and the Kaiser in Apfelland Monogatari, as well as bit parts in Dallos, Heart Cocktail, and Chameleon, all Orphan releases.
• Kanemoto Shingo (Shin's father) played Takezo Inukai in Dokaben, Ryuu the Owl in Gatchaman, Housaku in Kyojin no Hoshi, Ishii in It Rained Fire, and Pang Tong in Sangokushi 2. The last two are Orphan releases.

The director, Kumada Isamu, also directed A Ghost Story.

The original subtitles are from CPM's R1 release. Perevodildo translation checked, and Muzussawa filled in some missing lines. (This episode probably has the most changes to the R1 script of any so far.) ninjacloud fixed the original timing. I edited and typeset. Paul Geromini and Nemesis QCed. The encoder for the series wishes to remain anonymous. CPM's mastering includes hardsubbed translations for some of the Japanese credits. They are incorrectly timed and don't line up with the Japanese credits, but as hardsubs, they can't be fixed.

Growing Up is not my favorite episode of this series, but it's an earnest look at social conditions in late 19th century Japan, with interesting and rather tragic characters. You can get the show from the usual torrent site.

Shounen Jack to Mahou Tsukai

As promised (or threatened), Orphan is releasing more of the early Toei Douga anime movies; in this case, the 1967 tenth anniversary release, Shounen Jack to Mahou Tsukai (translated for its US release as Jack and the Witch). This is a lively comedy adventure, loosely (very loosely) inspired by the Old English saga Beowulf, read and despised by generations of put-upon English literature students.

The movie opens with a brief nod to its source: a portentous voice talks of a hero's valorous defeat of Grendel and the great feast that followed.

This is promptly forgotten, and action cuts to Jack, a young boy of indeterminate age, maybe a teenager, maybe a bit younger. Stocky and pimpled, he lives in a rambling house with his animal companions: a mouse named Squeaky, a bear named Pooh, a fox (unnamed), and a dog (also unnamed). 

Cruising around one day in his steam-driven car, which he also rides inside the house, Jack encounters a mysterious girl named Kiki, who is piloting a sort-of helicopter. She offers him a ride. 

He accepts, and she whisks him and Sqeuaky off to the castle of the evil witch Grendel and her crow familiar. 

Kiki, it turns out, is a demon and Grendel's servant. She and the other demons, including her brother Shibari, a rope master, are tasked with kidnapping humans and animals and bringing them to the castle to be turned into demons. 

Squeaky is caught, but Jack manages to escape and return to his house.

The next day, to avenge the humiliation of Jack's escape, Kiki comes back in her copter and kidnaps Jack's house, with Jack and his companions inside. They cut themselves loose, bring down Kiki's copter, and are about to finish her off when Jack has second thoughts (she's a girl, after all). 

He hesitates long enough for Kiki to escape. Jack and his friends return to the demon castle to liberate Squeaky, but Kiki, who claims she now wants to help, has set a trap for them. Slapstick mayhem, preposterous adventures, and narrow escapes ensue,

until the villainous witch is defeated, and Kiki, Shibari, and the other demons are returned to their human form. 

This summary can't convey how loose and funny the movie is. Toei's animation style had evolved substantially since the rounded, smooth, Disney-esque days of Hakujaden and Saiyuuki. Shounen Jack is more angular, abrupt, and, well cartoonish. Jack doesn't look like a typical shounen hero; he looks like a young adolescent, bad complexion and all. The movie is visually inventive, fast paced, and very engaging. Except for the saccharine ending song to accompany the happy-ever-after ending, the songs are bright, comical, and functionally integrated with the slapstick story. It even has a sly wink for the adults seeing the movie: Kiki's brother's name, Shibari, means rope bondage.

The voice cast is from another era:

• Yamaoka Hisano (Witch Grendel) was an actress. She had no other anime credits.
• Nakamura Meiko (Kiki, Young Jack) played the title roles in Henbe and Uchuujin Pipi. She voiced all the roles in Koneko no Studio, an Orphan release.
• Kuri Chiharu (Kiki's brother Shibari) appeared in several Toei anime movies, including Wanpaku Ouji no Orochi Taiji, Andersen Monogatari, and Chibikko Remi to Meiken Kapi.
• Ootake Hiroshi (Fox) played Tezuka-sensei in Fushigi na Melmo, Michael in the What's Michael? OVAs, Hamegg in Tezuka Osamu Ga Kieta?! 20 Seiki Saigo no Kaijiken, and the principal in Don Dracula. The last three are Orphan releases.
• Kumakura Kazuo (Pooh) appeared in both the 1963 and 1980 versions of Astro Boy. He played Papa Panda in Panda Gopanda, Oz in The Wizard of Oz movie, Thomas R. Manx Cat in Manxmouse, Sima Hui in Sangokushi, Pew in Shin Takarajima, and Inspector Unmei in Akuma Tou no Prince: Mitsume ga Tooru. The last four are Orphan releases.
• Kuroyanagi Tetsuko (Squeaky) is the daughter of Kuroyanagi Cho. She was a prominent character in Chocchan Monogatari and the main character in Totto-chan: The Little Girl at the Window. She played Petronella van Daan in The Diary of Ann Frank, an Orphan release.
• Mizugaki Youko (Dog) played Uran in the original Astro Boy, Touch in Hustle Punch, and Mauni in Taiyou no Ouji: Horus no Daibouken, an Orphan release.

The director, Yabushita Taiji, also directed Hyokkori Hyoutanjima, Hito no Kurashi no Hyakumannen: Mani Mani March, and Nihon Manga Eiga Hattatsushi: Anime Shingajou. None of them have available raws.

Perevodildo translated and timed. Yume translation checked. I edited and typeset. Nemesis and Uchuu QCed. The raw is a web rip from heponeko. It is the best available; the movie has never been released on Blu-ray or broadcast in high-definition.

Shounen Jack to Mahou Tsukai was licensed in the US by American International Pictures (AIP), best known for the Roger Corman horror films and the Frankie Avalon/Annette Funicello beach party pictures, and released as Jack and the Witch. Unlike 1960's Saiyuuki, which was butchered for its American release as Alakazam the Great, the video of Shounen Jack to Mahou Tsukai  was left more or less intact. This would allow the dub, taken from ARR's release, to be used. However, the dub is a completely rewritten script and is not even remotely a translation of the Japanese. Accordingly, I've left it out. You can download a patch to create a dual audio version, with an additional signs-only subtitle track, from here.

Shounen Jack to Mahou Tsukai is a rollicking good time, one of the better Toei Douga anime movies from the 1960s. It has laughs, thrills, and chills for audiences of all ages, and the mandatory happy ending seems properly earned. You can get the movie from the usual torrent site.

A Ghost Story (Hoichi the Earless)

Seishun Anime Zenshuu (translated as Animated Classics of Japanese Literature for its English release) is a 1986 anthology series that retold well-known stories from modern Japanese literature. It's very much in the mold of its contemporaries, the World Masterpiece Theater series. Most of the 34 episodes were standalone, although there were a few two- and three-parters. The show was licensed by Central Park Media, but the English version was left incomplete when CPM went bankrupt. Only twelve episodes were released on DVD:

• Episode 1: The Izu Dancer by Kawabata Yasunari. 
• Episodes 2,3: The Sound of Waves by Mishima Yukio.
• Episodes 7,8: Botchan by Souseki Natsume.
• Episode 10: The Dancing Girl by Ougai Mori.
• Episode 14: Growing Up by Higuchi Ichiyou.
• Episode 16: A Ghost Story by Lafcadio Hearn.
• Episode 20: Season of the Sun by Ishihara Shintarou.
• Episodes 25,26: The Harp of Burma by Takeyama Michio.
• Episode S1 (33): Student Days by Kume Masao.

Once again, going out of order for Reasons™ to present A Ghost Story: The Story of Hoichi. It's based on a story in the collection Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things by Lafcadio Hearn. He's a fascinating character: a Greek-Irish orphan who emigrated first to the United States and then to Japan, where he settled down, married, and wrote the first widely-read English-language books on Japan. A Ghost Story is based on a well-known Japanese legend and has been included in two movies.

Hoichi is a blind biwa (Japanese lute) player at the Amidaji Temple. 

His specialty is The Tale of the Heike, an epic account of the Genpei War between the Minamoto (Genji) clan and  Taira (Heike) clans, which ended with a decisive Genji victory at the naval battle of Dan-no-Ura. One evening, a gruff samurai asks Hoichi to play for a noblewoman, who is supposedly visiting incognito.

His playing overwhelms his audience, and they are moved to tears. 

He is asked to play again the next night. On the third night, his friends, concerned about his deteriorating appearance, follow him and find him playing in the temple graveyard, where the Taira dead are buried. He has been playing for ghosts. 

The head priest tells Hoichi that he is in danger of being possessed and consumed by the spirits. The priest covers Hoichi in sutras to protect him. 

When the ghost samurai returns, he cannot see most of Hoichi because of the sutras; only the musician's ears are visible. 

The samurai rips off Hoichi's ears as proof that he had tried to bring the musician again, but the spell on Hoichi is broken. He survives, earless, and becomes a living legend.

A Ghost Story is quite good: atmospheric, moody, and foreboding. Unlike most animated ghost stories, it doesn't rely on jump cuts or copious bloodshed to build a sense of dread. Hoichi's biwa playing and singing, heavy on prolonged phrases and minor keys, provide an aural tapestry that matches the plot and the visuals. This is the strongest of the Animated Classics series so far.

The voice cast includes:

• Etou Jun (Hoichi) is an actor. He has only one other anime credit.
• Utsumi Kenji (Samurai Ghost) 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 played Ishikawa in Mahjong Hishouden: Naki no Ryuu and appeared in Nora, Bavi Stock, Stop!! Hibari-kun!, Techno Police 21C, Don Dracula (title role), 15 Shounen Hyouruuki, and Sanada 10, all Orphan releases. appeared in Nora, Bavi Stock, Stop!! Hibari-kun!, Techno Police 21C, Don Dracula (title role), 15 Shounen Hyouruuki, and Sanada 10, all Orphan releases.
• Takizawa Kumiko (Lady Attendant) played Glinda the Good Witch in The Wizard of Oz (movie). She  played Madonna in Botchan (1986), Elena in Techno Police 21C, Kanako's mother in Boyfriend, Susan the gangster in The Green Cat, and appeared in Raiyantsuuri no Uta, Fumoon, Makoto-chan, and Scoopers, all Orphan releases.
• Kinomiya Ryouko (Taira no Tokiko - Nii no Ama) played Mozu in Fumoon, an Orphan release, Promethium in the Galaxy Express 999 franchise, the narrator in Queen Millennia, and Madame du Barry in The Rose of Versailles.
• Kitagawa Takurou (Yasuke) played Green Dragon in Dragon Knight and Private Baba in The Harp of Burma. He played Hosoki in Meisou-Ou Border and appeared in Utsu no Miko, both Orphan releases.
• Shioya Yoku (Young Priest) 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 Shotaro in Growing Up, Ritt in Samurai Gold, 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.
• Fujimoto Yuzuru (Chief Priest) played Hiyoshi in both reasons of Moyashimon. He voiced the nameless Aoba gang boss in Kasei Yakyoku, the nameless police chief in Twinkle Nora Rock Me, Miyata Terukichi in The Sound of Waves, and Noah in Tezuka Osamu's Tales from the Old Testament, all Orphan releases.

The director, Kumada Isamu, also directed Growing Up. 

The original subtitles are from CPM's R1 release. Perevodildo translation checked. kokujin-kun filled in song lines omitted from the R1 subs. ninjacloud fixed the original timing. I edited and typeset. Paul Geromini and Nemesis QCed. The encoder for the series wishes to remain anonymous. CPM's mastering includes hardsubbed translations for some of the Japanese credits. They are incorrectly timed and don't line up with the Japanese credits, but as hardsubs, they can't be fixed.

A Ghost Story doesn't go for easy shocks and cheap effects. It builds slowly and steadily to an effective climax, and it makes the tragedy of the Taira clan's disastrous end manifest. You can get the show from the usual torrent site.