Gulliver no Uchuu Ryokou

Gulliver no Uchuu Ryokou (Gulliver's Space Travels) was Toei's eighth feature-length cartoon, released in 1965. It was dubbed in English and released in the US as Gulliver's Travels Beyond the Moon in 1966. Like all its predecessors, it was not financially successfu. Because of that, it was the last Japanese animated feature to be released in the United States for almost five year, according to Wikipedia. It's easy to see why. Despite its European setting and sci-fi trappings, Gulliver no Uchuu Ryokou still adheres to Toei's faux Disney model..

Ted is a street urchin in an unnamed European city sometime in the 20th century. (They have talking pictures, in color.) Sneaking into a movie theater to watch Gulliver's Travels, he is discovered by the usher and unceremoniously kicked out. 

Wandering depressed and aimless, he is hit by a truck and knocked unconscious. When he "wakes up", he meets a discarded toy soldier, the Colonel, and a stray dog, Mack, both of whom can talk. 

The dog suggests a trip to an amusement park that is closed for the night. Discovered by the guards, the trio escape on a fireworks rocket and crash-land in a forest. 

They're near the house of the now-elderly Gulliver, a professor who is building a rocket ship to reach the Green Planet of Hope.

Ted convinces the professor to take them all, plus the professor's pet crow Kuro, on the planned space trip.

After "rigorous" training, the quintet board the rocket and launch into space.

They travel the Milky Way, encountering various adventures, including the "Reverse Time Nebula" (a black hole) that makes the crew become younger. 

Saved by a mysterious spaceship, they are eventually forced to land on the Purple Planet. It is run by gentle, if perplexed, robots, who serve a robot king and princess.

However, this idyllic existence is menaced by giant, aggressive robots. 

Gulliver, Ted, and his friends fight the menace and defeat it, only to discover that the robots of the Purple Planet are actually the people of the Green Planet, forced to be machines by the giant robots they had originally built to serve them. 

With the natural order restored, Ted et al fly off to return to Earth... where Ted wakes up on the street, having dreamed the whole thing. He meets the now wordless Colonel and Mack and, with his optimism restored, sets off on new adventures.

Gulliver no Uchuu Ryokou has its moments, but it is overstuffed with songs and set pieces. A few, like the training sequence, are amusing,

but others, like Ted's dream and the Song of Earth, feel like padding. A young Hayao Miyazaki was an animator on the film, but he wasn't fond of it. According to Wikipedia, he was not satisfied with the original ending, in which the robots remained inhuman. He proposed the idea that the robots were actually human, and it was adopted. Miyazaki created the original drawings for the scene in which the princess wakes up. He also worked on the scenes in which the robots go on a rampage. He said later that children found the movie boring and ran around the theater. I sympathize.

Gulliver's failure in the US illustrated the diminishing returns of Toei's formula, just as Disney itself was experiencing lackluster returns on its animated movies like The Sword and the Stone. Toei's response was evident in its next two releases, Cyborg 009 and Shounen Jack to Mahou Tsukai. I've already noted that Shounen Jack introduced a more "cartoonish" art style and sensibility. I'll say more about the Cyborg 009 movies when we get to them.

Some translation notes about discrepancies with official sources (e.g., English Wikipedia):

• The spaceship's destination is the Green Planet, because it is clearly green. But official sources call it the Blue Planet. The Japanese word aoi can mean either color.
• Gulliver's faithful crow is Kuro, because it's a common Japanese pet name. But official sources call the bird Crow. The Japanese word kuro normally means black, but it can also mean crow, although the preferred word for crow is karasu.

The voice cast is from an earlier era.

• Sakamoto Kyuu (Ted) was an actor and singer. He had no other voice acting credits.
• Miyaguchi Seiji (Lemuel Gulliver) was an actor from Tokyo. He had no other voice acting credits.
• Hori Junko (Mack the Stray Dog)  was best known as the voice of the protagonists in three Fujiko Fujio works, Obake no Q-tarou, Ninja Hattori-kun, and Chinpui. She played the title role in Cat-Eyed Boy and also appeared in Wan Wan Chuushingura, Taiyou no Ouji: Horus no Daibouken, Rain Boy, and Makoto-chan, all Orphan release), as well as Moomin, Akage no Anne, Cinderella Boy, and Unico.
• Itou Makiko (Kuro) played the title role in Fight Da!! Pyuto, recently completed by Inka, and appeared in Shounen Jack to Mahou Shoujo and Wan Wan Chuushingura, both Orphan releases.
• Ozawa Shouichi (Colonel) was an actor, poet, singer, and researcher. He narrated Band of Ninja but had no other voice acting credits
• Ooizumi Akira (King of the Purple Planet) played Terayama Daikichi in Asatte Dance, Ichiji in Mellow, and Mama-rin in Okama Hakusho, and he appeared in Korogashi Ryota, all Orphan releases.
• Honma Chiyoko (Princess of the Purple Planet) was an actress and singer. She appeared in Wan Wan Chuushingura, an Orphan release.
• Iida Danny (Scientist of the Purple Planet) had no other voice acting credits.
• Imanishi Masao (Boss Robot) played Skipper in Giant Gorg, Franken in Kaibutsu-kun, Antares in Ginga Tetsudou 999, Kyoushi in Miyuki, Fefebvre in Legend of the Galactic Heroes, and Kanpei Fuumi in Ipponbouchou Mantarou, an Orphan release.
• Okada Yukiko (Cupid in Ted's dream) played Kunashida-hime in Wanpaku Ouji and Ruriko in Flying Phantom Ship.

The film was directed by Kuroda Yoshio, also directed many other anime movies and series, including Flander no Inu movie and TV, Peter Pan no Bouken, Pygmalio, and many Hello Kitty OVAs.

The original script was from neo1024. Perevodildo translation checked and timed it for the new raw. I edited and typeset. imatu and Uchuu QCed. The raw was encoded from an HDTV broadcast of the remastered film. As with Shounen Sarutobi Sasuke, the broadcast was too bit starved to support full HD, so it's standard HD, H.265 with 4:4:4 colorspace. If you didn't like that for Shounen Sarutobi Sasuke, you won't like it here either.

Gulliver no Uchuu Ryokou was not the end of the "Toei formula." It would surface again, for example, in The World of Hans Christian Andersen. But after this, Toei began to diversify its offerings, and rising young animators like Miyazaki made their impact felt. Better movies (for example, Shounen Jack) lay ahead. Meanwhile, you can get this one from the usual torrent site.

 

Jigokudou Reikai Tsuushin

I'm not sure how we got interested in Jigokudou Reikai Tsuushin (Hell Hall Spirit World Connection), a 1996 one-shot OVA. I had the R2J ISO in pile of raws and mentioned it to Perevodildo. He thought it looked interesting, particularly the artwork, and agreed it would make a good project. I sent the ISO to an encoder and got back a great-looking raw. This release is the result.

Jigokudou Reikai Tsuushin is based on a long-running supernatural novel series by Kouzuki Hinawa. The OVA recounts two adventures of three elementary school terrors - Kanamori Tetsuji, the hot-headed ringleader; Niijima Ryoji, soft-hearted but a fast runner; and Shiina Yusuke, the brains of the group.

Collectively, they are known as The Three Great Troublemakers, or just The Brats. They fight off older boys who try to shake down elementary school kids and explore all the forbidden areas around their town. They are guided, and sometimes helped, by the spooky pharmacist of run-down Gokurakudo (known to all as Jigokudo or Hell Hall), who keeps an equally spooky black cat as a familiar.

In the first part, their guide points them at a tree in the forest, where a body is supposedly buried. After several misfires, the boys indeed find a corpse and get more than they bargained for.

In the second part, their guide describes how yokai possess people and consume their sanity. The boys come to suspect that one of their classmates is possessed and have to fight to save him from a grisly fate.

The plots are okay, but the OVA really stands out in other ways. The first differentiator is the character designs and artwork. The boys are far from standard anime models, with enlarged heads, spindly necks, and misproportioned bodies.

The old pharmacist has a shark's smile full of mangled teeth. The backgrounds are drawn starkly, with cross-hatched shadows and curving lines.

The second is the writing, which is snappy and compelling. Both artwork and writing keep the viewer engaged, beyond the the twists of the supernatural storylines.

Some translation notes: 

• The spell that Tetsuji is given to uncover the buried corpse is The Mantra of Light, a Buddhist prayer.
• The spell that Tetsuji is given to test for youkai is a kuji-in, a system of mudras (hand gestures) and mantras, possibly of Daoist origin.
• The spell that Tetsuji uses to trap the youkai is a mantra of Acala Vidyârâja, a buddha that appears holding a sword while chanting.
• The "sweet potato candy" that the boys consume at the Jigokudo is a real product. 

The voice cast includes:

• Nagasawa Miki (Niijima Ryoji) played the title role in Vampire Princess Miyu, Cream Panda in the Soreike! Anpanman franchise, Ayako in Black Jack 21, Mutio in Blue Submarine No.6, Helen in Claymore, Judy in Cowboy Bebop, Lisa in eX-Driver, Ayumi in Geobreeders, Izumi Maki in Martian Successor Nadesico, Kizna in Pilot Candidate, Ryou in Princess Nine, Shion in Seraphim Call, and Ibuki Maya in the Evangelion franchise.
• Takayama Minami (Shiina Yuusuke) starred as the title roles in Kiki's Delivery Service and Space Girl Yamamoto Yohko, and, most famously, played Conan Edogawa in the more than 1000 episodes, OVAs, movies, and specials of the Detective Conan franchise. She played Kuroyanagi Meiji in Chocchan Monogatari, Yuu in Cosmic Fantasy, Emi in Genji, Part 1, and you Guy in Heavy, all Orphan releases.
• Takano Urara (Kanamori Tetsushi, the fighter) played Marler in the Aa! Megami-sama franchise, Maria in the Sakura Wars franchise, Cocktail in Knights of Ramume, and Gloria in PriPara. She played Sushi Neko in Let's Nupu Nupu, Ken in Next Senki Ehrgeiz, and Sister Yumiko in Sei Michaela Gakuen Hyouryuuki II, and she  appeared in Gakkou no Yuurei volume 6, all Orphan releases.
• Nishikawa Ikuo (proprietor of Jigokudo) played the title role in Casshan, Robert Hana in Irresponsible Captain Tylor, Great Grandmother in Itoshi no Betty Monogatari, Tarou in Reideen the Brave, Benn Gunn in Treasure Island (movie), and Hagaromo in Yawara!. He appeared in A Ghost Story, an Orphan release.
• Ishii Kouji (Office Mitamura, the town policeman) played Fujisawa in the El Hazard franchise, Taiga in the GaoGaiGar franchise, Mitsukake in the Fushigi Yuugi franchise, John Blade in Sin: The Movie, Tanaka in Kachou Ouji: Hard Rock Save the Space, and Garterbelt in Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt. He also appeared as Miyoshi Isannyudo in the Sanada 10 special, Henry Hellgate in Alice in Cyberland, Hyman in Fire Emblem, and Minamoto no Tokitomo in Haruka Naru Toki no Nake de 2, all Orphan release.
• Touma Yumi (Yoshimoto, the possessed punk) played the title roles in Emma: A Victorian Romance and Baby Felix, and Urd in the Aa! Megami-sama franchise. She appeared in numerous Orphan releases, including Tezuka Osamu Works: Kyoto Animation Theater, Sotsugyou: Graduation, Boyfriend, Condition Green, Fukuyama Gekijou, Tezuka Osamu ga Kieta?!, Gude Crest, and Eguchi Hisashi no Nantoko Nareudesho.
• Masuda Yuki (Hayase) played Yuki in the two Ultra Nyan OVAs and appeared in Gakkou no Yuurei, volume 2, all Orphan releases. She also played Yanagi in Flame of Recca, Yuri in the Sakura Wars shows, and Nami in La Corda d'Oro.
• Tomizawa Michie (Kisaragi-sensei, the school nurse) played Linna Yamazaki in Bubblegum Crisis/Crash, Matsuzaka-sensei in Crayon Shin-chan, the nameless Office Lady in Oruchuban Ebichu, Sailor Mars in Sailor Moon, Mihoshi in Tenchi Muyo, Airi Komiyama in Those Who Hunt Elves, and Emi Ogasawara in Ghost Sweeper Mikami. She also played Umeko in Korogashi Ryota, Shitara Yuri in Let's Nupu Nupu and female Joker in Joker: Marginal City, all Orphan releas
• Ebara Masashi (demon) appeared in Shakugan no Shana, Nodame Cantabile, Metropolis. He also appeared in Sanada 10, Blazing Transfer Student, Akai Hayate, Eiyuu Banka Koushi-den, Mikeneko Holmes,  Mahjong Hishouden: Naki no Ryuu, and Apfelland Monogatari, all Orphan releases. 

Satou Junichi (director) also directed Akuma-kun, Sailor Moon, Gatekeepers, Kaleido Star, Aria and its sequels, Phi Brain and its sequels, Kimama ni Idol, and many other renowned shows.

Perevodildo translated and timed the show. (He drops the additional vowels for long Japanese vowels; hence, Jigokudo in the script versus Jigokudou in the standard title.) Paul Geromini edited. I typeset and QCed. Nemesis also QCed. The raw was encoded by an anonymous friend from an R2J DVD ISO.

Jigokudou Reikai Tsuushin is stylish, suspenseful, and fun. The main characters are not the usual mass-produced models, either in their design or behavior. The artwork is striking and memorable. Everyone who worked on the project enjoyed the it, and you will too. You can get the OVA from the usual torrent site.

 

Shounen Sarutobi Sasuke

Toei's second feature-length cartoon was 1959's Shounen Sarutobi Sasuke (Young Sarutobi Sasuke). It was Toei's first wide-screen feature and the first Japanese animated film to be released in North America, under the title Magic Boy. Orphan is pleased to present a new version in high(er) definition, based on the Toei channel broadcast of the remastered film.

Sarutobi Sasuke is a legendary Japanese folk hero, a ninja who supposedly served the Sengoku warlord Sanada Yukimura in the latter's ultimately futile resistance to the rise of Tokugawa Ieyesu. (Sarutobi is a generic term for a ninja who servers a local lord.) Sasuke has appeared in many manga and anime, including Orphan's release of Shinshaku Sengoku Eiyuu Densetsu Sanada Juu Yuushi, better known as Sanada 10. Shounen Sarutobi Sasuke purports to be an origin story, telling how young Sasuke became a master of ninjutsu and met up with Sanada Yukimura.

In the movie, Sasuke is a boy living in a forest with his sister, Oyuu, and the usual collection (for Toei) of animal sidekicks - a monkey (Jiro), a sun bear (Kolo), a female deer, her fawn (Eri), and others. 

His idyllic existence is interrupted when a giant eagle snatches the fawn and eventually drops it into an evil-looking lake, home to a voracious giant salamander. The doe and Saskuke follow. The doe jumps in to save her fawn and is taken by the monster. Sasuke attempts to fight the salamander, 

but he is unable to save the doe from a grisly fate. The salamander transforms into a woman and easily defeats Sasuke's pursuit. 

Oyuu tells Sasuke that the salamander is a powerful witch, Princess Yasha, in disguise. Determined to become stronger, Sasuke leaves home to learn the secrets of ninjutsu (ninja techniques).

On his travels, Sasuke runs into and fights a bandit gang from Mt. Oyama, led by the villainous Gonkurou. 

They're allied with Princess Yasha, and her intervention proves almost fatal to the boy - but also fortuitous. The unconscious Sasuke is discovered by Tozawa Hakuunsai, a legendary hermit and ninjutsu master from Mt. Togakure. 

He agrees to teach Sasuke ninjutsu and puts the boy through a rigorous training regimen. Meanwhile, the bandits attack and sack a nearby village, escaping before the local lord, Sanada Yukimura, can arrive to fight them. A young village girl, Okei, refuses to be parted from her chest of belongings and ends up the "captive" of two comically inept bandits, Kinta and Sanji.

Three years pass. Yukimura meets Oyuu and is smitten by her. 

Sasuke masters all of Tozawa's teachings and prepares to leave. But when Princess Yasha learns of the budding romance, and Oyuu's connection to the boy who confronted her before, she is infuriated. She orders the bandits to capture Oyuu in order to lure both Yukimura and Sasuke into a fatal trap. 

Needless to say, the outcome is not what she intended.

In short, Shounen Sarutobi Sasuke resembles the other early Toei films, notably Saiyuuki, drawing its plot from Japanese legends, interspersing the action with physical comedy, providing lots of animal sidekicks, lightening the villains' villainy with comic ineptitude, and including a fair number of songs. Fortunately, the songs are not intrusive or long. and Oyuu is far less cloying than Saiyuuki's Rin Rin. The character designs for the human characters are still a bit off, and in medium and long shots, the characters appear to glide across surfaces rather than walk on them. 24fps animation is used to good effect where needed. So the movie's a decent albeit mixed ride, exciting and a bit scary for children, tolerable for adults.

The CVs of the voice cast are mostly lost in the mists of time. Many in the cast were stage or screen actors.

• Miyazaki Teruo (Sarutobi Sasuke) - no other information.
• Sakuramachi Hiroko (Oyuu) - no other anime credits.
• Nakamura Katsuo (Sanada Yukimura) played the title role in Kaitou Lupin: 813 no Nazo, Lloyd Steam in Steamboy, and Yagyuu Munemori in Samurai Resurrection.
• Sugiyama Tokuko (Princess Yasha) played the mother in Taiyou no Ouji: Horus no Daibouken, an Orphan release, and appeared in two Sekai Meisaku Douwa movies.
• Yoshida Yoshio (Gonkurou) - no other anime credits.
• Itou Ryouei ( Kinta) - no other anime credits.
• Sakai Shunji (Sanji) - no other anime credits.
• Matsushima Tomoko (Okei) played Annie Sullivan in Helen Keller Monogatari, Princess Aya in Anju to Zushio-maru, and Yumi in the original Mazinger Z.
• Kishii Akira (Miyoshi Seikai Nyudo, Yukimura's lead warrior) - no other information .
• Susukida Kenji (Tozawa Hakuunsai) - no other information.
• Kishido (Iwata?) Kazuo (Yukimura's gatekeeper) - no other information.
• Akagi Harue was a film and TV actress with no other anime credits.
• Asou Mitsuko played the title role in Donkikko and Matsuyo in Osamatsu-kun and appeared in Attack No. 1 and Sarutobi Ecchan,
• Kashii Kuniko played the title role in Ciscon Ouji, Maneko in Okawari-Boy Starzan S, and Shinpachi in Shin Dokonjo G.

Two directors are listed. One, Daikuhara Akira, was an early pioneer of Japanese animation, with his first credit dating from 1942. He worked on most of the early Toei movies before retiring in the 1980s. The other director, Yabushita Taiji, also worked on the early Toei movies.

Perevodildo translated and timed. Yume translation checked. I edited and typeset, with massive help from Perevodildo (more on that in a moment). Nemesis and imatu QCed. The encoder, as usual, wished to remain anonymous. The raw was encoded from a Toei channel HDTV broadcast of the remastered film. Although the web stream is too bit-starved to support FHD, it is sufficient for HD (720p equivalent), the same as Orphan's previous Toei channel encodes. The result looks better than the DVD, particularly for color fidelity. The encoder noted:

[An] x265-based encode this time as following testing, it achieved source transparency at a markedly lower file size than x264 (despite the descaled resolution over the native broadcast stream, it's actually the footage grain contained within and associated high bit rate required to preserve it that reduces compression efficiency). A clean progressive 23.976 fps film IVTC was extracted from the interlaced 29.970 fps NTSC video stream, and 4:4:4 10-bit to preserve color resolution.  Light chroma cleanup, deblocking, dehaloing, and grain-matching were also employed to take care of the transport stream's residual artifacts. 

There was only one sign of significance: Sasuke's note to Oyuu that he is leaving home to learn ninjutsu. It appeared to be a simple plan and zoom on a static painting, but it simply would not track. After banging my forehead on the screen for weeks, I realized that during the zoom, the aspect ratio of the sign was changing. (I have no idea how this happened.) Perevodildo discovered that the motion tracker's "shear" parameter allowed the sign to be tracked, and a different Aegisub script (perspective motion) allowed the sign to scale independently in the x and y axes. Props to him for figuring this out. Remember, kids, I'm not a typesetter; I only play one in this column.

Shounen Sarutobi Sasuke was the first Japanese anime to be dubbed and released in North America, under the title Magic Boy. Like the ones that followed, it was not financially successful, and the dub was unavailable on home media until 2014. As I've stated before, I don't think the dubs of the Toei films add anything, and it's not included in this release.

Shounen Sarutobi Sasuke showed that Toei's faux-Disney format could be made to work as entertainment, but it's still a hit-or-miss proposition. You can get the movie from the usual torrent site.

Kininaru Kimochi 04v2

Back in 2014, Orphan was trying to finish up orphan series of any kind. This included three hentai OVAs - Beast City, Lunatic Night, and Kininaru Kimochi - with unlicensed, untranslated final episodes. Orphan's h-anime arm, Okizari, released all three, using whatever random Internet raws were available. In 2022, thanks to ProxyMan's help, Beast City and Lunatic Night were redone from DVD sources. This year, I remembered that Kininaru Kimochi hadn't been touched. I asked ProxyMan for a DVD source, and this Okizari release is the result.

Why the long delay? Because Kininaru Kimochi 4 (Worrisome Feelings, subtitled "In the Kitchenette") is completely forgettable. It's a typical 21st century hentai, with the barest thread of a plot acting as an excuse for non-stop sex scenes. The scenario is that a company's sudden bankruptcy leads a buxom young office lady, Nishizaki, to confess to her manager. He takes advantage of her feelings and forces her to have sex with him in the kitchenette. Other men in the office jump in as well, mostly without her consent. End of story.

All the other screencaps are NSFW. 

The only credit of note is the voice actress playing Nishizaki, Nakase Hina, who appeared in several other h-animes between 2004 and 2014. The company that made the OVAs, Schoolzone, has disappeared, and their web site has as well. One can understand why. 

Moho Kareshi did the original translation. Perevodildo translation checked and found quite a lot to change. The original timer wanted to remain anonymous; I revised the timing for this release, edited, and typeset (one real sign). The late CP QCed the original, and Paul Geromini QCed this release, to his regret. ProxyMan provided the raw for the updated version.

That's it. Kininaru Kimochi 4 is by far the least distinguished of the shows Okizari has released. In fact, it's absolute garbage. The animation is cheap, with the same sequence of frames repeated to pad out the length. The "plot" is non-existent. Fortunately, it's short, and this version is better looking. You can get it from the X-rated side of the usual torrent site. 

Space Fantasia 2001 Nights

Sometimes, you find a project; other times, a project finds you.

Space Fantasia 2001 Nights in a one-episode "hard" sci-fi OVA from 1987. It's based on three stories out of 19 from Hoshino Yokinobu's manga 2001 Nights, published between 1984 and 1986. (Two more were adapted for the CGI anime TO, released in 2009.) The show was hardsubbed by Kanjisub and Shinsen-Subs (SHS) almost twenty years ago, and that version has not been updated... until now. The "Discord-Based Back Catalog Kairetsu", or more succinctly, Orphan Fansubs and friends, are pleased to release a new version.

The original manga contains many visual and story homages to classic "hard" science fiction, including the works of Robert Heinlein, Larry Niven, and Arthur C. Clarke. The OVA uses three chapters about the colonization of a planet orbiting Tau Ceti, 11.9 light years from Earth, in the constellation of Cetus (the whale).

Part One: Orphans of Space 

In 2058, Earth's authorities initiate plans to colonize other worlds. Without faster-than-light (FTL) propulsion, reaching a star will take millennia. The proposed solution is to explode a comet and use the blast to impel a spaceship at much higher speed. 

However, the acceleration would kill any living creature on board, so the ship will only contain frozen eggs and sperm and robots. It is, in short, a seed ship. Adam and Hannah Robinson agree to provide the genetic material.

Fast forward hundreds of years. The ship's computer has found a viable planet near Tau Ceti, and the adults caretakers on board are giving "birth" to the Robinson's children. 

They land the passenger compartment and send the children, ranging in age from young adults to toddlers, out to settle this brave new world. The caretakers do not join them: the world belongs to the children, no one else.

(The title is an homage to the 1943 Robert Heinlein novel Orphans of the Sky, which is set on a slower-than-light colony ship.)

Part Two: A Gift from Earth

Back on Earth, the discovery of a tenth planet, Lucifer, composed entirely of antimatter, creates vast new sources of energy. Theoretical breakthroughs about black holes lead to viable FTL propulsion systems. Adam Robinson Jr, son of Adam and Hannah, sets out for Tau Ceti with terraforming equipment. 

Finding only inhospitable planets, he and his team convert one into an Earth-like world, at costs that threaten to bankrupt him completely. When the mission is completed, he leaves a message for his still unborn "brothers and sisters" about this "gift from Earth."

(The title is a reference to the 1968 Larry Niven novel A Gift from Earth, which is set on a planetary colony orbiting Tau Ceti.)

Part Three: The Songs of Distant Earth

While the seed ship is slowly making its way to Tau Ceti, the era of space colonization ends. Most of the colonies succumb to war, famine, or natural disasters. Earth's authorities write off space exploration as a bad investment. Adam Jr accompanies a last group of colonists to Tau Ceti. There they find the Robinson children slowly building a hunter-gatherer/agrarian society. 

The children are suspicious of the newcomers, and Adam Jr cannot bring himself to coerce them into accepting the colonists. He dies in the children's midst. He is buried on the planet, home at last with his extended family, as the new colonists land on Ozma.

(The title is a reference to the 1958 Arthur C. Clarke story, later expanded to a novel, The Songs of Distant Earth, about a colony started by a seed ship coming into contact with later settlers from Earth.)

A show like this demands translation notes. Most of these are based on Uchuu's research.

• Ozma, the name of the comet used for transport and the Tau Ceti colony world, comes from Project Ozma, a search for extraterrestrial intelligence started in 1960. 
• Alpha Centauri is the star nearest our solar system, at a distance of 4.3 light years. It is now known to be a trinary star system, with twin Sun-like stars and a red dwarf. It has two confirmed planets, both inhospitable.
• Tau Ceti is a solitary G-type star, just under 12 light years from Earth. It is smaller and dimmer than our Sun and deficient in heavy metals. No planets have been confirmed.
• Terraforming is planetary-scale geo-engineering intended to reshape a hostile world for human habitation. It was coined by Jack Williamson in his 1942 story "Collision Orbit."
• A starship powered by a black hole in another science-fiction concept, first proposed in Arthur C. Clarke's 1975 novel Imperial Earth.
• The idea of colonizing stars using slower-than-light ships containing frozen embryo and seeds, or even just DNA sequences, has been the basis of many sci-fi novels, including all three referenced here. It is estimated that a colonist population with good genetic diversity can be as small as 2,000-5,000 people to start. However, a population of roughly 10,000–40,000 people is more in line with current thinking for long-term genetic stability. So sending the genetic material of one woman and one man to colonize a planet, landing just 22 inhabitants, mostly children, to start, is preposterous. The arrival of the additional colonists might avert disaster, genetic and otherwise.
• In the third part, Earth's population is given as 7.2 billion. Today, it is 8.3 billion.
• The homages to classic science fiction include visual riffs on the floating pen and the Star Child from 2001: A Space Odyssey. The musical opening of the first part echoes many space opera themes, including Star Trek and 2001.
  
  
  
   
• The caretakers for the Robinson children are humanoid robots and are switched off when their mission is complete. This is much clearer in the manga than in the OVA. 

The voice cast is well documented, but many of the characters are not referred to by name. For example, the Robinsons are Adam and Hannah, but the robot caretakers are not named. Based on the manga, they too are "Adam" and "Hannah" and are played by the same seiyuu. Conversely, the credits mention a "Leo" and a "Clarke" in part one, but these names do not occur in the script. I assume they are the functionaries in the space agency.

Orphans of Space

• Furukawa Toshio (Adam Robinson and robot father) played Kimball Kinnison in Galactic Patrol Lensman, Ataru in Urusei Yatsura, Kagege in Keroro Gunsou, Kai Shiden in Mobile Suit Gundam, Shin in Fist of the North Star, Shinohara Asuma in Mobile Police Patlabor, and Piccolo in Dragon Ball Z. He also played Inumaru in Maroko, Koganemaru in Maris the Choujo, Tree Kangaroo in Shirokuma Cafe, Prince Croyler in Grimm Douwa: Kin no Tori, Ryotaro in Nayuta, the Spartan Dragon in Stop!! Hibari-kun!, the policeman in Yukiguni no Oujisama, and Sally in Chiisana Koi no Monogatari, all Orphan releases
• Tsuru Hiromi (Hannah Robinson and robot mother) debuted as Perrine in Perrine Monogatari. She went on to play Kashima Miyuki in Miyuki, Madoka in Kimagure Orange Road, and Mikami Reiko in Ghost Sweeper Mikami. She also played Lily in Heavy, Sawamoto Aki in Junk Boy, Sara in Mother: Saigo no Shoujo Eve, Sonnet Barge in Blue Sonnet, Fengji in the third Sangokushi movie, Keiko in Hiatari Ryoukou, Nozomi in Nozomi Witches, Jill in A Penguin's Memories, UFO-chan in Dokushin Apartment Dokudami-sou, Milk in Karuizawa Syndrome, Kiyomi, the motorcycle rider, in Sotsugyou: Graduation, Asuza in Laughing Target, Sister Angela in One Pound Gospel, and big sister Shizuka in Tomoe's Run!, all Orphan releases.
• Noda Keiichi (Clarke) played Pete in Call of the Wild, Balga in Andromeda Stories, Otto in Captain Future, Worsel in Galactic Patrol Lensman, Tetsuya in Great Mazinger, Fritz Bittenfeld in the original Legend of the Galactic Heroes, and Slash in the Mahoromatic franchise. He appeared in Stop!! Hibari-kun!, an Orphan release.
• Ooki Tamio (Leo) played Aramaki in the GITS movies, the title role in Planetarian: Hoshi no Hito, Dr. Tenma in the 1980 version of Tetsuwan Atom and Tezuka Osamu Ga Kieta?! 20 Seiki Saigo no Kaijiken, Dr. Ross in Tetsuwan Atom: The Blue Knight, Darai Sem in Amon Saga, Captain Victor in Michite Kuru Toki no Mukou ni, Lensky in Hoshizora no Violin, and Ibuya in Hidamari no Ki. The last six are Orphan releases.
• Nakanishi Taeko (Narrator) - see Yuki 1080p

A Gift from Earth

• Naya Gorou (Adam Robinson Jr.) played Koichi Zenigata in Lupin III, Juzo Okita in Space Battleship Yamato, Shocker in Kamen Rider, Yupa in Nausicaa, Dr. Alex Gordon in Heavy, Schott in Hashire! Shiroi Ookami, King Magma VII in Kaitei 3-man Mile, Weedon Scott in White Fang, and Yamaarashi in Botchan; the last five are Orphan releases. His deep voice provided the narration in Shinzou Ningen Casshern, Vampire Miyu, Golden Boy, the original Dororo, and other shows.
• Tokumaru Kan (Miller, one of the workers terraforming Ozma) - David Ryan in Silent Service; appeared in AWOL, Bagi, Bavi Stock II, Eien no Filena, ACOJL: A Ghost Story, Sangokushi (1985), 
• Kitamura Kouichi (Gilford, financial advisor to the Robinson Foundation) played Henju in Kimu no Juujika, Honda Sadonokami Masanobu in the Sanada 10 special, Paolon, the intelligent spaceship in Hi-Speed Jecy, Professor, the wise old cat, in the Ultra Nyan OVAs, and Coach Naoko in Nine and its sequels, and he appeared in Hidamari no Ki and Dokushin Apartment Dokudami-sou, all Orphan releases.

The Songs of Distant Earth

• Tanaka Ryouichi (Asimov) appeared in Barefoot Gen, Chibi Maruko-chan, Devilman, Koi Kaze, Vandread, Nine, Yukiguni no Oujisama, and Dallos. The last three are Orphan releases.
• Yada Kouji (TV announcer) played Dr. Gero in the Dragon Ball franchise. He appeared in all the GeGeGe no Kitarou iterations through 2007, Haguregumo, Cat-Eyed Boy, Nine, and the Sangokushi movies. The last three are Orphan releases.

The Robinson Children

• Satou Chie (Girl) played the title role in Cutta-kun Monogatari, Bo-chan in the Crayon Shin-chan franchise, Sallie McBride in Daddy Long Legs, Jim in Huckleberry Finn Monogatari, Nobuko in Roujin Z, and Kanchi in the Yokai Watch franchise .
• Nakajima Chisato (Ellen Robinson)(played Mari in the Kinnikuman franchise and appeared in Kimu no Juujika, Nine, Nora, and Tenjou Hen: Utsu no Miko, all Orphan releases
• Fuchizaki Yuriko (Chris Robinson, Joachim Robinson) played Megumi in the Ah! My Goddess franchise, Kaori in Akira, the title role in Bit the Cupid, young Paul in The Dog of Flanders movie, Ibuki in Maison Ikkoku, Li Kohran in the Sakura Wars franchise, Lily in the Spirit of Wonder properties, and Rushe in Bastard!
• Murata Hiromi (Karen Robinson) played Sakumi in Bobby's Girl and Tetsuko in Toki no Tabibito: Time Stranger.
• Horikawa Ryou (Toby Robinson) played Shutendou in Shuten Douji, Vegeta in Dragon Ball, Naoto in Slow Step, Anthony Brown in Candy Candy, Reinhard in LOGH, Tadao in Ghost Sweeper Mikami, Kai in Kizuna, and Andromeda in Saint Seiya. He starred as Shinya in Okama Hakusho and appeared in Tenjou Hen: Utsu no Miko, Chameleon, Hi-Speed Jecy, Lunn no Kaze, and the first two Sangokushi movies, all Orphan releases.
• Shou Mayumi (Maureen Robinson) played Yoriko in It Rained Fire, Misao in Aoki Honoo, Minako in Bride of Deimos, Ayako in Kimami ni Idol, Gannet in Hoshi Neko Full House, Peggy in A Penguin's Memories, Yuko Kurita in the Oishinbo movie-length specials, and Baby Boar in Katte ni Shirokuma, all Orphan releases.
• Shioya Yoku (Harry Robinson) 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 Pvt. Abe in The Harp of Burma, the young priest in A Ghost Story, 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.

The director, Takeuchi Yoshio, also directed Space Cobra, Kizuoibito, Oishinbo TV and specials, Ipponbouchou Mantarou, Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Children, and Night Head Genesis.

The original subtitles were by Kanjisub and Shinsen-Subs. Perevodildo found a transcript of the hardsubs (I don't know where; I don't ask questions), translation checked, and typeset. Darkonius checked the results and undid many of Perevodildo's changes (I don't know which ones; I don't ask questions). I edited and redid the chapter titles and some signs (don't ask which ones; I don't answer questions). VigorousJammer and Uchuu QCed. Uchuu provided a lot of interesting references for translation notes. WOWmd encoded his own Domesday Duplicator rip of a Japanese laserdisc that Batty had bought and provided. The raw is way too big, 60fps, and anamorphic to boot, but who's keeping score these days? To paraphrase Blaise Pascal, the encode is large, because WOWmd didn't have time to make it smaller. VLC and mpv display the show at 738x554, but MPC-HC displays it as 640x480. YMMV.

I hope you can tell that I really liked Space Fantasia 2001 Nights. It reflects the glory days of "hard" science fiction, before the written genre was taken over by fantasy and the anime genre became mostly mecha. There's a tiny bit of nudity, but they're robots, so it doesn't count. You can get the show from the usual torrent site.

 

 

 

 

 

Arabian Nights: Sindbad no Bouken

Arabian Nights: Sindbad no Bouken (Arabian Nights: Sinbad's Adventures) is a 1962 Toei Douga full-length cartoon. It's part of Orphan's Toei Douga project to redo many of the pre-1975 Toei cartoons, in high-definition if possible.

Sindbad no Bouken is very much in the early Toei mold: rounded character designs, animal sidekicks, occasional use of full-rate (24 fps) animation, and (too many) sappy songs. (Toei's style began to evolve in the mid 60s toward more angular, comical character designs at the anime-standard 12 fps.)  The story bears no relation to any of the seven tales in the Sinbad the Sailor story cycle, itself a late addition to the Arabian Nights story collection.

In this version, Sinbad is a young man who yearns to go to sea, as does his young friend Ali. One day, an old man is washed ashore from a shipwreck.

Before dying, he tells Sinbad and Ali about a mysterious island in the southern seas, full of gemstones and wonders. Sinbad and Ali stow away (with their cat Peppi) on a trading vessel.

When they are discovered, the gruff but kindly captain lets them stay and puts them to work, under the tutelage of two comical and bumbling hands, Abdullah and Yasim.

Sinbad is a natural sailor, and Ali a hard worker, so the two fit right in.

At their port of call, the realm of a gentle king who likes to play with toys,

Abdullah sings a silly song about his guitar spouting gold and gems when played. This attracts the attention of the king's conniving vizier, Torfa, who covets both great wealth and the king's daughter, Princess Samir.

When the guitar turns out to be just an ordinary instrument, he throws Adbudllah, Yasim, and Sinbad in prison. But Ali, still at large, shows great ingenuity in finding Princess Samir - at one point, he literally pulls the turban over Torfa's eyes.

He convinces her to rescue his comrades. She'd like to get away from the vizier, so she uses her agile bird, Kuppi, to help everyone escape and goes with them on their ship.

The evil vizier has an animal sidekick of his own, the aptly named Hell Bat.

The vizier orders the bat to track the princess, and it overhears Sinbad convincing his captain to change course and seek the island of treasure. 

Torfa promptly sets out on his own ship, determined to usurp both the treasure and the princess. After many adventures and vicissitudes,

the inevitable happy ending is reached for all the good guys.

The voice cast belongs to an earlier era, but there are some familiar names:

• Konshita Hideo (Sinbad) appeared in other Toei films, playing Tarou the Tiger in Wanpaku Ouji no Orochi Taiji, Cho Hokkai in Saiyuuki, and adult Rock in Wan Wan Chuushingura. The last two are Orphan releases.
• Kuroyanagi Tetsuko (Ali) is the daughter of Kuronayagi Cho. She was a pro
  minent 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 and Squeeky in Jack and the Witch, both Orphan releases.
• Dazau Hisao (Abdullah) has no other anime credits.
• Tsujimura Mahito (Yasim) played General Hound in Manxmouse and appeared in Kaitei 3-man Mile, Yamatarou Comes Back, Hyakumannen Chikyuu no Tabi: Bander Book, and Bremen 4, all Orphan releases.
• Tagiguchi Junpei (Captain) brought his distinctive voice to the roles of the Professor in The Green Cat, Van Helsing in Don Dracula, Dr. Yamanado in Fumoon, Scratch in Techno Police 21C, the villainous king of Kanemacchi Castle in Grimm Douwa: Kin no Tori, the Mouse Thief in Stop!! Hibari-kun!, the colonel in Maris the Choujo, 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.
• Nagai Ichiro (King) starred in numerous shows, playing grandfather Jigoro in Yawara!, the off-the-wall narrator in Gosenzosama Banbanzai!, Professor Hajime in Queen Millennia, and Happosai in the Ranma 1/2 franchise. He appeared in Nijuushi ni Hitomi, Ore no Sora, Nayuta, One Pound Gospel, Rain Boy, Manxmouse, Nora, Hidamari no Ki, Yuukan Club, Amon Saga, Botchan, Ipponbouchou Mantaraou, Tengai Makyou, Toraemon, and Yamato 2520, all Orphan releases
• Shindo Noriko (Queen) appeared in Wanpaku Ouji, Saiiyuki, and Princess Knight.
• Kawabuko Kiyoshi (Vizier Torfa) played Mouta as an old man in Rain Boy, the Horned King in Saiyuuki, Hidaka in King Fang, Wan Laiming in Tezuka Osamu Mongatari: I Am Son Gokuu, and Dr. Mead in Cosmic Fantasy, all Orphan releases.
• Satomi Kyouko (Princess Samir) played Tsutomu in Maken Liner 0011 Henshin Seyo!!, an Orphan release, and appeared in other Toei releases, including Devilman, The Flying Phantom Ship, and Kikansha Yaemon D51 no Daibouken.
• Iwao Kingshirou (old Sailor) played the Bull Demon King in Saiyuuki and Kaneto Honma in King Fang, both Orphan releases. He also appeared in Wanpaku Ouji no Orochi Taiji and Perrine Monogatari.

The film had two directors. Kuroda Yoshio helmed Gulliver no Uchuu Ryokou, Flanders no Inu (TV and movie), Peter Pan no Bouken, Tobira o Akete (an Orphan release), and numerous Hello Kitty properties. Yabushita Taiji directed Anju to Zushio-sama. The screenplay was by Tezuka Osamu, working with novelist Kita Morio. Sindbad no Bouken was one of Tezuka's last contributions at Toei Douga. He founded Mushi Productions the following year, where he did his own version of 1001 Nights.

Arabian Nights: Sindbad no Bouken has many good sequences, but it suffers from bland characterization of the leads, Sinbad and Samir. Sinbad is more a poster boy than a real sailor, and Samir is saddled with the same sort of insipid song that cursed poor Rin Rin in Saiyuuki. As a result, the comic characters, Abdullah, Yasim, and Ali, and the hissably villainous vizier, run away with the movie. There's the usual surfeit of animal sidekicks: cat, bird, and bat. The baby whale that appears several times almost became a sidekick on the ship, but the Toei execs thought that was too preposterous.

The sailor's songs are funny and appropriate, but the first of them, The Song of Heavy Cargo, plays under too much dialog to be heard clearly and has been left untranslated. If anyone can find the OST, which is on the third CD of the rare ten-disc anthology Toei Douga Chouhen Anime Ongaku Daizenshuu, we'll update the subs.

Perevodildo translated and timed. Yume translation checked. I edited and typeset (very little). Nemesis and Paul Geromini QCed. The raw is a web rip from Ioroid. Names and terms have been localized to their Western versions, so Sinbad rather than Sindbad, Vizier rather than Minister, etc.

I liked Arabian Nights: Sindbad no Bouken better than Saiyuuki, but it would take more time for Toei to find a unique style and break out of the faux-Disney mode. The movie is "all ages" with some scary sections, like Disney cartoons of the era. You can get it from the usual torrent site.