Wanpaku Ouji no Orochi Taiji

Wanpaku Ouji no Orochi Taiji (The Mischievous Prince and the Great Serpent) was Toei's 1963 feature-length cartoon. It tells the story of the young god Susanoo and his battle with the monstrous eight-headed serpent Yamato no Orochi. The staff included many future stars of Japanese anime: Isao Takahata, Yasuji Mori,Yasuo Ootsuka, Youichi Kotabe, and Kimio Yabuki. It is the best of the early Toei cartoons, and its influence extends far and wide.

The story requires some familiarity with Japanese mythology. The founding gods of creation (and Japan), Inazagi and Izanami, have multiple children, including Amaterasu, the sun goddess and ruler of the Plain of the High Heaven; Tsukoyomi, the moon god and ruler of the Dominion of the Night; and Susasnoo, portrayed here as a young, impetuous, and tempermental boy. Susasnoo lives an active and happy life, playing with numerous animal companions, including Akahana the rabbit and Taro the tiger. 

When his mother, Izanami, suddenly dies, he is distraught, throwing a tantrum like any bereft youngster. 

Eventually, the shade of his mother tries to console him by telling him she now resides in a beautiful and tranquil land. 

Susanoo's vows to find her and be with her; but he has no idea where she really is.

Undaunted, Susanoo builds a boat and sets out to find his mother. 

Of all his companions, only Akahana is willing to come with him. During the voyage, they run into and overcome a monstrous (and hungry) fish.

Susanoo first visits his brother Tsukoyomi in the Domain of the Night. 

Eventually, his impetuosity and angry tantrums get him tossed out. 

Next, he confronts the angry god of the Land of Fire and recruits a friendly giant,Titanbo.

Then, he goes to visit his sister Amaterasu in the Plain of the High Heaven.

His ill-considered attempts to create fields for Titanbo's people lead to chaos. 

Amaterasu retreats to a cave, plunging the world into darkness. 

Her subjects create a diversion - a highly stylized dance - and lure her out. 

The world is saved, but once again, Susanoo and his friends must leave.

The group pitches up in Izumo, where Susanoo meets Princess Kushinada. 

He is much taken with her (she resembles his mother). Unfortunately, her family is being terrorized by the monstrous eight-headed serpent Yamato no Orochi. 

It has already killed Kushinada's seven sisters and is coming for her next. Susanoo vows to kill the serpent and rescue his newly found love. With the help of a conveniently nearby flying horse, he confronts the monster in an epic battle.

The plot summary doesn't convey the full charm of the movie. The character designs are stylized and varied, with strong modernist influences. The backgrounds are gorgeous. The action scenes are beautifully animated. The comedy is well done and seems organic to the story. The songs are not intrusive, mostly lullabies from mother to son. The score is by famed composer Akira Ifukube and is very good, with echoes of Holst's The Planets and Stravisky's Rite of Spring. As has been Orphan's practice, the audio from the US dub (entitled The Little Prince and the Eight-Headed Dragon) is not included.

Beyond the main characters, the film is chock-a-block with references to Japanese mythology. 

• Izanagi and Izanami are created (called forth) by Ame-no-Minekanushi, the Lord of the Heavens.
• Izanagi tells Susanoo that Izami has gone to Yomi, the Land of the Dead.
• At sea, Susanoo battles a monstrous fish called Akuru. This story is appropriated from the legend of Yamato Takeru.
• After defeating Akuru, Susasnoo and Akahana receive help from the water deity Wadatsumi, who shows them how to reach the Dominion of the Night.
• The Heavenly Bird Boat (Amenotorifune-no-kami) that Susanoo and his party ride to reach the Plain of the High Heaven from the Land of Fire is a god in its own right. It also appears in Utsu no Miko. 
• The dancer who helps lure Amaterasu from her retreat is Ame-no-Uzume, the goddess of mirth, revelry, and the arts. 
• The Sacred Horse Pond is where the horses of the gods (shinme) gather. The Swift Heavenly Horse is not named but seems to be Ama-no-Fuchigoma. 

Kudos to the translation checkers for finding these (and other) references.

The voice cast includes:

• Sumita Tomohito (Susasnoo), stage name of Kazama Morio, was primarily a film actor. He played the title roles in Eiyuu Banka Koushi Den (an Orphan release) and the Genji movies, Urage in Akagi, Zushio in Anju to Zushiomaru, and Satomi in The Wind Rises.
• Kuri Chiharu (Akahana, the rabbit) appeared in several Toei anime movies, including Andersen Monogatari, Shounen Jack to Mahou Tsukai (an Orphan release), and Chibikko Remi to Meiken Kapi.
• Kinoshita Hideo (Taro the tiger/Tsukuyomi) played the title role in Arabian Nights: Sindbad no Bouken, Cho Hokkai in Saiyuuki, and adult Rock in Wan Wan Chuushingura, all Orphan releases.
• Shinoda Setsuo (Inazagi, Susanoo's father) played Sa Gojou in Saiyuuki, an Orphan release.
• Tomobe Mitsuko (Inazami, Susanoo's mother) played Maru Maru in Wanpaku Omukashi Kumu Kumu and Glinda in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. 
• Shindou Noriko (Amaterasu) played Rin Rin in Saiyuuki and Queen Amina in Arabian Nights: Sindbad no Bouken, both Orphan releases.
• Iwao Kinshirou (Hinokami, the fire god) played Vufran in Perrine Monogatari, Gyuumaou in Saiyuuki, and Kaneto in King Fang. The last two are Orphan releases.
• Kawakubo Kiyoshi (Titanbo) played King Torta in Arabian Nights: Sindbad no Bouken, Beagle in Cyborg 009 (1966), Youichirou in King Fang, Wan Raimin in Tezuka Osamu Monogatari: Boku wa Son Bokuu, Dr. Mead in Cosmic Fantasy, Mouta as an old man in Rain Boy, all Orphan releases. He also played Kevin Yeegar in D.Grayman, Quincy in Bubblegum Crisis, Pietro in Marco: 3000 Leagues In Search of Mother, Grospoliner in Silent Mobius, and numerous other roles.
• Okada Yukiko (Princess Kushinada) played Ruriko in Flying Phantom Ship and Cupid, the Messenger of Dreams, in Gulliver no Uchuu Ryouko, an Orphan release.

The director, Serikawa Yuugo, also helmed Saiyuuki, Cyborg 009 (1966), and Akuma Tou no Prince: Mitsume ga Tooru, all Orphan releases.

The project started with the script by animestudz and neo1024. Both Perevodildo and justj22 checked the translation. I edited and typeset. VigorousJammer and Paul Geromini QCed. The encode is from the Japanese Blu-ray, by an anonymous friend.

So here is the best of the early Toei cartoons, Wanpaku Ouji no Orochi Taiji. I liked it quite a lot. (It helps that the designs strongly influenced Cartoon Saloon's Irish Folklore Trilogy, some of the best modern animated films.) You can get the movie from the usual torrent site or from the Orphan XDCC bot on irc.rizon.net.