Kikansha Yaemon: D51 no Daibouken

Orphan presents the first English-subtitled release of Toei's 1974 feature cartoon, Kikansha Yaemon: D51 no Daibouken (Yaemon the Locomotive: D51's Great Adventure). Based on a popular storybook series by Agawa Hiroyuki, it tells the story of a tired but game D51 steam locomotive and the boy who loves him... You see my problem. This movie is aimed at a niche market, namely steam locomotive otaku with children. That leaves me out.

I've never understood the "romance" of the steam locomotive. Ah, the smoke! The sparks! The noise! The pollution! 

I was baffled by Tezuka Osamu's Lion book OVA Yamatarou Comes Back, about the friendship between a D62 locomotive and a captive bear cup. This is a further step down the rabbit hole: a friendship between a D51 locomotive (run by mice) and a lonely boy. Apparently, Toei was trying to capitalize on a contemporary craze for steam locomotives.

A full third of the movie is just live-action shots of steam locomotives in operation in various locales. In between is a barely passable animated story. Tadashi is a lonely boy, bullied by his classmates and scorned for his love of steam engines. 

His only friends are his dog, King, and a pre-war, rather tired D51 locomotive named Yaemon. A family of mice, aided by Tadashi and King and hindered by a hungry cat named Dora, try valiantly to keep the locomotive running. 

However, it keeps breaking down - a bucket-brigade of mice can't provide enough coal for the boiler. The four other locomotives in Yaemon's roundhouse:

• Gonta, a blue E58 electric engine, the leader of the pack
• Haihai, a tricolor DD51 diesel engine that always says "Hai, hai" (Yes, yes) to Gonta
• Hanauta, a red passenger engine and a prima donna
• Mach, a Shinkansen engine 

vote him off the island - well, out of the roundhouse.

(I hate to inject a note of reality in a fantasy meant for children, but the roundhouse is nonsense. The bulk of Japanese railroads are narrow or Cape gauge (1067mm). The Shinkansen runs on standard gauge (1435mm). Most Japanese electrified rail lines use 1500V or 20KV DC. The Shinkansen runs on 25KV AC. But what does reality matter in a cartoon?)

Yaemon is exiled to the boonies, to haul bulk freight, and is towed away by Haihai. Tadashi, King, and the youngest mice (Tantan and Rinrin) chase after him, singing a cheery song to keep their spirits up.

When they reach Yaemon, more cheery songs and a dream sequence follow. Yaemon now rushes back to the roundhouse in order to bring Tadashi home to his family, racing past Haihai and inadvertently burning the other locomotive with sparks. 

Back at the roundhouse, Haihai's piteous state leads the other locomotives to demand that Yaemon be scrapped. The railway company officials reluctantly agree. 

Then a gang of nitwit thieves show up and rob the railway company of all its tickets.

They hijack Haihai as an getaway vehicle and escape to the mountains. Only Yaemon, aided by Tadashi and the mice (shades of Josie and the Pussycats), is willing to scale the steep grades in pursuit.

After a comic chase, the baddies are caught, Haihai is rescued, and Tadashi is hailed as a hero. Yaemon is restored to a place of honor, serving in the railway park.

Cue the ending credits. 

In short, the story is insipid, following the shopworn conventions of the Well Made Play, and the songs are worse. Not my jam at all. (In fairness, I have to admit that the live action shots of a steam locomotive sitting on a roundhouse turntable and then getting towed away by a diesel locomotive, as well as shots of the scrapping of a steam locomotive, are quite interesting.) The release includes two trailers, both translated.

Because this movie was made more than 15 years after Toei's first feature-length cartoon, the voice cast is more familiar than the early films:

• Kumakura Kazuo (Yaemon) 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, Pooh in Shounen Jack to Mahou Tsukai, 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 five are Orphan releases.
• Satomi Kyouko (Tadashi)  played the title role in Rainbow Sentai Robin and Rune in Jungle Taitei Susume Leo and Tsutomu in Maken Liner 0011 Henshin Seyo!, an Orphan release.
• Yamamoto Keiko (Isamu) - title role in Akado Suzunosuke, Eagle Sam, Flight Osper, Ganbare Gonbe, (Ganso) Tensai Bakoban, Mouretsu Atarou, Sunakake Baba in many interations of Gegege no Kitarou, Queen in Panda no Daibouken, Kaoru in Attack No. 1, Dan-Jack in Bikkuriman franchsie, Kensaku in Devilman, Baba in Meisou-ou Border
• Yamada Junji (Entotsu) has no other voice acting credits.
• Tanonaka Isamu (Kid) was best known for voicing the character Medama Oyaji (Daddy Eyeball) in the first five GeGeGe no Kitarou anime, as well as Sindbook in the original Magical Princess Minky Momo and Igor in the Persona franchise.Kitarou. He played Nodaiko in Botchan (1980), an Orphan release.
• Takiguchi Junpei (King, the dog) brought his distinctive voice to the roles of Dr. Yamanado in Fumoon, Scratch in Techno Police 21C, the villainous king of Kanemacchi Castle in Grim Douwa: Kin no Tori, the Mouse Thief in Stop!! Hibari-kun!, the Professor in The Green Cat, and Dong Zhung in the first Sangokushi movie, all Orphan releases. He also played the Millennium Earl in D.grayman, John Trelawney in Treasure Island, and Dr. Laughton in Metropolis.
• Tomita Kousei (Chuubei, father mouse) played the same role (Higeoyaj/Ban Shunsaku) in Fumoon, Marine Express, Ginga Tansa 2100: Border Planet, Tezuka Osamu Monogatari: Boku wa Son Gokuu, and Tezuka Osamu Ga Kieta?! 20 Seiki Saigo no Kaijiken, the OVA The Green Cat, all Orphan releases, the movies Jungle Tatei and Metropolis, and in several Astro Boy properties. He also played Watson in Sherlock Hound.
• Takahashi Kazue (Chuuko, mother mouse) played the title role in Kujira no Josefina, Katsuo in Sazae-san (until 1998), Sayuri Komori in F, the tanuki in Gauche the Cellist, and Obaba in Maco the Mermaid.
• Hirai Michiko (Rinrin, the youngest girl mouse) played title role in Mahoutsukai Sally, Dragon Queen in Maco the Mermaid, Fifi in Panda no Daibouken, Ran in Ryu the Cave Boy, Starsha in early Yamato movies, and Anna in Swiss Family Robinson.
• Maruyama Hiroko (Tantan, Rinrin's brother) played Peter in Alps no Shoujo Heidi, Mokku in Kashi no Ki Mokku, Kenta's mother in My Neighbor Totoro, and Baby Panda in Panda! Gopanda, as well as the title role in Robotan. She played Tesu in Kimu no Juujika and Moko in Hitomi no Naka no Shounen: 15 Shounen Hyouryuuki, both Orphan releases.
• Yanami Jouji (Jumbo) played Ozora Ibari in Stop!! Hibari-kun!, Akahatsu (Red Shirt) in Bocchan, Lump in Ginga Tansa 2100-nen: Border Planet, Murphy in Maris the Choujo, the wine-loving Big Bird in Grimm Douwa: Kin no Tori, Gen-san in Yukiguni no Oujisama, and the cart vendor in Akuma Tou no Prince: Mitsume ga Tooru, all Orphan releases. He narrated most of the Dragon Ball Z properties. He played Ittan Momen in several of the GeGeGe no Kitaro series and movies and Chuta Ban in all the Kyojin no Hoshi TV series.
• Mine Eken (Dora, the cat) played dozens of characters in Sabu to Ichi Torimono Hikae and appeared in everything from Ariel to Zou no Inai Doubutsen, including Gude Crest, Fumoon, Perrine, and the second Sangokushi special, all Orphan releases.
• Shibata Hidekatsu (Gonta, the blue electric engine) - see Tenjou Hen: Utsu no Miko
• Yamashita Keisuke (Haihai, the DD51 diesel) played Dan Araiso in Reideen the Brave and Goro in UFO Senshi Daiapolon, and had featured roles in Dirty Pair Flash, Gegege no Kitaro movie, Maco the Mermaid, and Marvelous Melmo.
• Tsukase Noriko (Hanauta, female red passenger engine) played the title role in Hello! Spank, Ango in Haguregumo, Santarou in Ganbare Gonbe, Natalie in Mon Cheri CoCo, Shouta Yamaguchi in Plawres Sanshirou, Gaku in Mu no Hakugei, and Sumega in Tobiro o Akete, an Orphan release.
• Chijimatsu Sachiko (Mach, the Shinkansen) played Bub in Animal Treasure Island, Nobito's mom in the Doraemon franchise, Haruna in Great Mazinger, Kabu in Mahoutsukai Sally, Matsuo in UFO Sensei Paiapolon, and Reina in Mu no Hakugei and appeared in Maken Liner 0011, an Orphan release.

The director, Tamiya Takeshi, moved into planning and production shortly after this movie.

Perevodildo translated and timed the movie and the trailers. Yume translation checked. I edited and typeset. Nemesis and Uchuu QCed. The encoder was an anonymous friend. He wrote:

The source footage was very good for an SD master. Post-letterbox removal left a native video resolution of 716x380, which was then slightly upscaled to 860x380 to preserve the 2.39:1 DAR while avoiding anamorphic scaling. The two theatrical trailers included as DVD Extras have a smaller picture of 648x348 post-crop, which were again slightly increased to 832x348 to preserve the original aspect ratio.

This film contained some really gorgeous wide-angle cinematography of the Japanese countryside, along with historical footage of Japan's older lines of mid-20th century locomotion as well as the appearance of the first commissioned Bullet Train, the Tokaido Shinkansen, whose arrival in 1964 was not far removed from this feature's production. It seems like a movie both general audiences and railroad enthusiasts alike could enjoy.

The QCs thought it was okay as well. I prefer my steam locomotives to be O-gauge.

Kikansha Yaemon: D51 no Daibouken is, chronologically, the last of the movies in Orphan's Toei Douga project, but there are still several more in the list to do. For that reason, I'll defer a discussion of how the Toei that made the kinetic Shounen Jack to Mahou Tsukai, the engaging Horus no Daibouken, and the riotous Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, could become the timid creator of this movie. I didn't like Kikansha Yaemon, but most of the project staff gave it a passing grade. You can get the show from the usual torrent site.