Let's Nupu Nupu

I have a secret (well, maybe not so secret) weakness for ecchi gag shows; for example, Hanaukyo Maid Tai. Here's one of the ecchiest and sketchiest, 1998's Let's Nupu Nupu. This is the first release based on a laserdisc source; previous releases used VHS sources.

Let's Nupu Nupu is a series of short sketches gathered into short episodes, with very little continuity and no through plot. The vignettes are organized around characters and situations:

• Takagi-kun and Shitara-sensei. Lustful school nurse Shitara Yuri repeatedly attempts to get into the (literal) shorts of uninterested and disgusted sixth-grader Takagi Fumio. In the US, this would be an episode of Law & Order: SVU. In Japan, it's a comedy.

• The Adventures of Sushi Neko. A mangy cat tries (and fails) at a series of jobs, including sushi chef, convenience store clerk, superhero, English teacher, hard-boiled detective, and office boss.

• The communications problems of a pet hamster in a family where every person calls it by a different name.

• Takao-san and Kobato-chan. Two high school students turn collecting the garbage into a trashy mess of double entendres.

• The Omori Family Drama Series. Brocon and siscon siblings exchange charged utterances about home media electronics.

• Happy Family Center. Kitamura Kumi, 26-year-old single kindergarten teacher, is brought to the edge of despair by a precociously insightful brat, Asami.

Because the episodes are only five minutes long, even the longest sketch goes by in a flash. If it's not funny, there's another one right behind it that may be better... or worse. There's some nudity, because Shitara-sensei strips at the slightest excuse, and lots of suggestive dialog, but no sex.

The voice cast includes quite a few distinguished seiyuu:

• Tomizawa Michie (Shitara Yuri) 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 female Joker in Joker: Marginal City, an Orphan release.
• Ueda Yuuji (Takagi-kun) played Johannes Krauser II in Detroit Metal City (OVA), Fuuma Yousuke in Wedding Peach, Sagara Sonosuke in Rurouni Kenshin, Tenkata Akito in Kidou Senkan Nadeseico, Keitarou in Love Hina, Makoto in Futari Ecchi, and Takeshi in Pokemon. He also voiced Nanbara in Hand Maid May, an Orphan release.
• Takana Urara (Sushi Neko) played Mowgli in Jungle Book Shonen Mowgli, Tiger in Saber Marionette, and Maria Tachibana in Sakura Wars. She also voiced Sister Yumiko in Sei Michaela Gakuen Hyouryuuki and Ken in Next Senki Ehrgeiz, both Orphan releases.
• Okiayu Ryoutarou (Takao-san) starred as Aoyama-kun in Keppeki Danshi! Aoyama-kun, Mitsui Hisashi in Slam Dunk, Matsura Yuu in Marmalade Boy, Jinnai Katsuhiko in the El-Hazard franchise, Nueno Meisuke in the Hell Teacher Nube series, the title roles in Gambler Densetsu Tetsuya and Toriko, Samejima Ranmaru in Kizuna, Souma Shigure in Fruits Basket (2003), Berserker in Fate/Zero, Hideyoshi in Sengoku Basara, and Atsushi in Recorder to Ransel. He also played Abel in Fire Emblem, Akram in Harukanaru Toki and 2, and Gion in Okane ga Nai!, all Orphan releases.
• Araki Kae (hamster, Marimo) played Yuuki Miagi in Fushigi Yugi, Minnie Mae Hopkins in Gunsmith Cats, Ann in Juliet, and chibi Sailor Moon in the Sailor Moon franchise.
• Ishida Akira (brother Omori) played Makoto in Boys Be, Cho Hakkai in the Saiyuuki franchise, Sasuke in Samurai Deeper Kyou, Gaara in Naruto, Chrono in Chrno Cursade, Judas in Saint Beast, Ahrun in the Gundam Seed franchise, Kuchiki in the Genshiken franchise, Komugi in Hen Zemi, Natori in the Natsume Yuujinchou franchise, and of course, Yakumo in Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu.
• Himomi (sister Omori) has done numerous eroge. In anime, she appeared in Shuffle, Happiness, Koihime Mushou, Carnival Phantasm, and several h-anime.
• Katou Seizo (Sushi Neko's sushi mentor) played Putyatin in Bakumatsu no Spasibo, Oz in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz TV series, Okaa-san in Tokyo Godfathers, and Aran in Freedom. He played Abraham in Tezuka Osamu's Tales of the Old Testament and appeared in Kage, an Orphan release.

Multiple directors were involved, each scripting his own skits. The original manga is by Mitsumori Akira.

The original subtitles were by RiP. They did a good job bringing out the lewd jokes in the dialog and the titles, but a few errors have been corrected.  ics- transcribed the subtitles, originally for use with his own laserdisc. Iri translated the opening song, and Sunachan translated some additional signs. ninjacloud timed. I edited and typeset. Nemesis and VigorousJammer QCed. ics- ripped the show from his own Japanese laserdisc. The encoding is by Urotsuki of Beatrice-Raws, and it looks great. This is a conventional rip, not a Domesday Duplicator rip, so massive props for making the show look so good. (It's been upscaled to 768 x 576, but I don't think that's noticeable.) So this is an Orphan-Beatrice joint release. I hope there will more in the future; Orphan needs all the encoding help it can get.

On TV, each episode had an opening and ending song. For the home video releases, these were chopped off. The laserdisc includes an opening song for all sixteen episodes; it is probably the original ending. The laserdisc ending is an instrumental that includes credits for all the episodes. There is no sign of the TV opening (Maybe True by Fanatic Crisis). The torrent includes a "play all" option. On a player that supports ordered chapters, this will play the OP, the sixteen episodes, and the ED, in laserdisc order.

So here's Let's Nupu Nupu with significantly improved video, which allows Shitara-sensei's, ah, lessons to be admired in greater detail. As usual, you can pick up Let's Nupu Nupu from the usual torrent sites or from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net.

Techno Police 21C (Blu-ray)

There's a saying: "Once in happenstance; twice is coincidence; three times is enemy action". If that's true, then Something's Going On, because the Blu-ray release of Techno Police 21C is the third time a high-definition source has appeared just after Orphan released a version based on laserdiscs (the other two were the Kindaichi movies).

Of course, I'm actually thrilled when one of our analog projects gets a digital release, whether it's a web stream, a DVD, or a Blu-ray. VHS tapes and laserdiscs both have finite lifetimes. Physically copying a VHS tape, if even possible these days, always results in degradation. Physically copying a laserdisc is impossible. A digital source, on the other hand, can be dispersed and preserved in multiple locations, providing better guarantees of longevity.

In past blogs, I've speculated on why anime properties are allowed to rot on analog media. Tangled intellectual property rights are one reason; loss of film masters is another. But the biggest reason, of course, is that remastering old anime costs money, and there is little prospect for most of the analog projects that Orphan has worked on making money in digital form. When a digital release happens, there's usually a fairly obvious reason. Kindaichi is a beloved detective series; Blazing Transfer Student is considered a classic of its kind; etc.

And that brings me to Techno Police 21C. I'm was a bit baffled that a Japanese company went to the expense of creating a Blu-ray release, complete with Blader action figure:

Techno Police 21C is not exactly well known, and it's certainly not considered a classic. The director's resume is very thin. There doesn't appear to be a compelling reason for a Blu-ray release, but then I saw it was from Bandai, the toy (and media) company. So here's a new one: a Blu-ray release to promote an action figure.

I won't go over the specifics of Techno Police 21C here; see the blog entry about the laserdisc release for details. It's a fun ride, and the Blu-ray certainly looks better than the laserdisc. The script is little changed from the previous version. The timing has been shifted and adjusted, the signs have been tweaked to match the Blu-ray's colors and dimensions, and a few lines have been fixed because of the wider screen. Jarly, a new team member, bought the Blu-ray and did the encode, which is an all-singing, all-dancing 1080p FLAC extravaganza. After I did the initial shifting, ninjacloud did the fine timing. I did all the typesetting and dialog adjustments, as well as the release check, so you can blame me for any errors.

You can get the Blu-ray release of Techno Police 21C from the usual torrent site or from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net.