Chameleon 6 (Series End)

After more than seven years, it's done.

Orphan started in on Chameleon in the spring of 2015, because it had been left unfinished - only the first episode was released in the US. It didn't take me long to realize that I'd made a big mistake. Nonetheless, I soldiered on, and the first episode was released in 2015. (These days, I'd give up.) Orphan released a second episode in 2017, but then there was a gap of more than three years, reflecting my distaste for the series. In 2021 and 2022, Orphan released three more episodes. And here, at last, is the sixth and final episode. During the opening credits, Yazawa exclaims, "I can't believe we made it this far!" Neither can I.

This episode ("Yazawa vs Matsuoka Bros: Fight to the Death at Dawn!") begins with a party for Junna-chan, Aizawa Naoki's younger sister, celebrating her entrance into high school, and coincidentally, Yazawa Eisaku's entrance into 11th grade (by cheating, natch). Junna-chan meets and falls for Matsuoki Eiji, a violent delinquent and Yazawa's arch-rival. But Matsuoka's real concern in this episode is his younger half-brother, Hachiya Miki, the natural son of his father's mistress. Hachiya wants his elder sibling's acknowledgement and respect, but Matsuoka will have none of it. The result is a series of increasingly violent encounters, with Yazawa playing the role of faux-mediator in the hope of winning Junna-chan's love.

Of course, it all comes to nothing, and Yazawa's only love interest remains Yu, Shiina's cross-dressing older brother.

I'm not the person to provide a serious critique of this episode (or indeed, of any of them), but this one, like the previous one, feels like filler. The last two episodes followed the first four after a gap of 15 months and featured a new director and a new character designer. Perhaps they were a late cash grab to exploit the insane popularity of the manga. (It ran to 47 tankoubon volumes and won the 1999 Kodansha award for shounen manga, beating out One Piece!)

As usual, the episode contains a lot of untranslatable puns:

• "A chocolate cheat sheet." Anchoko is "cheat sheet," but choko is a shorter way to refer to "chocolate."
• "Popular" / "Pubic hair." jinbou is "popular," while inmou is "pubic hair."
• When Yazawa tells Hachiya that he understands the relationship between the brothers is rough, he uses the term 肉体関係, meaning "sexual relationship."
  

This episode features some new voice actors:

• Konishi Hiroko (Junna) played Aida Rion in Agent Aika, Miho in Yume de Aetera, Nene Romanova in Bubblegum Crisis 2040, and Gaou Nejiri in D4 Princess, an Orphan release.
• Matsuno Taiki (Hachiya) played the lead role in the second Kindaichi movie (an Orphan release) and every subsequent show in the franchise. He starred in Exper Zenon and appeared in Fukuyama Gekijou, both Orphan releases. He played Kouga in Inuyasha and the title role in The Adventures of the Little Prince.

It features the best song in the series, Bad Timing, as the opening. (The other really good song is Smokin' Boogie, the opening for episode 2.) The ending is the same as episode 5. I have not found any EP or OST for the series, either online or on physical media.

Moho Kareshi did the original translation, and laalg provided translation checking. VigorusJammer integrated laalg's translation check into the script. convexity and Sunachan translated the songs. ninjacloud timed. I edited and typeset. Nemesis and Uchuu QCed. The raw is from the Internet and is a VHS rip. (All of the Chameleon raws are from VHS tapes; there never was a laserdisc or digital release in Japan.) I get the occasional inquiry about whether Orphan would redo the series if better sources surfaced. The answer is "no".

So that's it; my long anime nightmare is over. You can get this final episode from the usual torrent site or from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net.

Chameleon 5

We're seven months into a catastrophic 2022. War ranges unchecked in Ukraine. Inflation is at a forty-year high. Drought is killing the rivers in the southwestern US. The Supreme Court has taken a jackhammer to separation of church and state and to women's rights. And another episode of Chameleon is out.

Not much has changed. Pint-sized wannabe delinquent Yazawa Eisaku still tries to lord it over the hoods and girls of Narita High School. By now, his entourage accepts his pretensions either at face value or with amusement. His friend Shiina's cross-dressing brother Yu still has the hots for him. The highly dangerous Kyuu is still trying to go straight. His external rival, Matsuoka Eichi, is out of action with serious injuries received in episode 4. So the writers have to come up with new challenges, namely, younger (but still bigger) hoods from Narita Fifth Public Middle School.

The plot is predictable. The middle school students see challenging and/or killing Yazawa (who is shorter than they are) as a way of burnishing their reputations as tough guys. Yazawa tries to avoid getting sliced and diced by arranging for his friends to do the actual fighting. Even though Yazawa's plans always go awry, he gets out of dangerous situations by sheer luck or cowardly cunning and emerges with his reputation as "a man among men" intact or even enhanced. Rinse and repeat.

Chameleon reminds me of The Flashman Papers, a series of historical novels by George MacDonald Frasier. It chronicles the purported adventures of Harry Flashman (the bullying villain of Tom Brown's School Days), rake, gambler, and coward. Flashman flounders his way through Victorian England, achieving a totally undeserved reputation for bravery and dash. The series was fun at first, but the shtick quickly became repetitious and then boring. Chameleon has the same problem. Yazawa doesn't wear well as a central character. But readers know how I feel about the series by now.

I summarized the main voice cast in the blog post for Chameleon 3. Episode 5 introduces some new characters, namely, the gang leaders in Fifth Narita Middle School:

• Miki Shinichiro (Niiya) played Kojiro in Pokemon, Fujiwara Takumi in Initial D, Urahara Kisuke in Bleach, Minamoto no Yorihisa in Haruka Naru Toki no Nake de, Shintarou in Lime-iro Senkitan, Bruce Wayne in Batman: Gotham Knight, Roy Mustang in Full Metal Alchemist (2009), Katze in Ai no Kusabi (2012), and Gintarou in Gingitstune. He also played Johnny in Jikuu Bouken Nuumamonjaa, John Bishop (the sharpshooter) in AWOL Compression Remix, Minamoto no Yoritada in Haruka Naru Toki no Naka de 2, and Cyber-X in Hand Maid May, all Orphan releases.
• Horikawa Ryou (Kaoru) 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, Shinya in Okama Report, and Andromeda in Saint Seiya. He also appeared in Hi-Speed Jecy, Lunn no Kaze, and the first two Sangokushi movies, all Orphan releases

The director, Yotsuji Takao, also wrote the script. He was involved with many other anime series, most of them obscure.

Moho Kareshi did the initial translation. laalg and later tenkenX6 translation checked. convexity and Sunachan both tried their hands at the OP/ED song. ninjacloud timed. I edited and typeset; VigorousJammer provided valuable assistance by applying laalg's translation check. Nemesis and Uchuu did QC. The raw is an ancient Internet rip (DivX505!), but there are no signs of original media on the second-hand market in Japan. 

One note: the preview contains rapidly flashing signs, which can affect some people adversely. There's a warning in the subtitles, but it doesn't hurt to mention it again.

Chameleon was wildly popular in Japan. (I have no idea why.) The manga sold more than 30 million copies and spawned sequels, a live-action movie, and a pachinko game. You can get this penultimate episode of the OVA series from the usual torrent site or from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net.

Chameleon 4

What's this? Two episodes of Chameleon in the same calendar year? Is Satan gliding around his domain on ice skates?

In the blog post for episode 3, I opined hopefully that the series would be stalled indefinitely, because the songs for the last three episodes hadn't been translated and were unlikely to be. However, ninjacloud, the timer, refused to give up. He nudged and pleaded with various translators to get the songs done. Further, VigorousJammer did the detailed work of applying laalg's complex translation checks to Moho's scripts. So now, I'm out of excuses.

Episode 4 ("The Worst One-on-One Hell Ever!!") continues the saga of pint-sized wannabe hood Yazawa Eisaku. Having survived three near-death encounters, first with the Shadow Dance gang, then with psychotic thug Kyuu Akio, and finally with the ultra-violent Matsudo gang and its murderous leader, Matsuoka Eiji, the story continues with further interactions among Yawaza and his gang, Matsuoka and his gang, the ultra-powerful fighter Mishima Jun, and even Kyuu, who had been consigned to Juvenile Detention at the end of episode 2. The episode doesn't break new ground or introduce new characters. It's an extension of the previous episode and ends pretty much like episode 3 did. In short, it's filler.

Episode 3 ended with both Matsuoka and Mishima badly injured and recuperating. Matsuoka baits a trap by offering Yawaza "compensation money" for Mishima's injuries. Yawaza knows it's a trap but, opportunistic lowlife that he is, he's still unable to resist the lure of cash. When Mishima finds out (as Matsuoka intended), he's convinced that Yawaza has betrayed him (as Matsuoka also intended), Mishima comes after our "hero" with murder on his mind. Then Matsuoka comes after both of them. Only Kyuu's last minute intervention saves everyone from a fiery - and permanent - conclusion.

Moho Kareshi did the initial translation; laalg translation checked. convexity translated the songs and thus unjammed the project. kokujin-kun filled in a few blanks. ninjacloud timed. I edited and typeset; VigorousJammer provided valuable assistance by applying the translation check. Nemesis and Uchuu did QC. The raw is an ancient Internet rip (DivX505!), but there are no signs of original media on the second-hand market in Japan.

I still find Chameleon tedious in every respect - to edit, to typeset, or even to watch. Nonetheless, the team has put in a lot of hard work to get to this point. I owe it to them, and to the series' devoted fans (are there any?), to finish it... next year. Maybe. On the other hand, the next two episodes have many missing lines and NO TRANSLATOR. Mwahahaha...

So I'll refrain from further comments; you could guess what they'd be. You can get Chameleon 4 from the usual torrent site or from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net.

 

Chameleon 3

I bet you weren't expecting another episode of Chameleon. Frankly, neither was I. Even though laalg translation-checked all the remaining episodes years ago, I found the series so distasteful that I couldn't bring myself to work on it. Every couple of months, I'd plug away on a couple of minutes worth of dialog, rediscover why I loathed the series, and put it away. And then, without quite realizing it, I had finished editing episode 3. After that, it was only a matter of (the painful) mechanics to do the typesetting, QC, and release checks. So here we are.

Episode 3 ("The Hitman's Bonds of Brotherhood") continues the saga of pint-sized wannabe hood Yazawa Eisaku. Having survived two near-death encounters, first with the Shadow Dance gang and then with psychotic thug Kyuu Akio, Yazawa stumbles into deep yogurt yet again by attracting the attention of the ultra-violent Matsudo gang and its murderous leader, Matsuoka Eiji. Fortunately, he also attracts the attention of Mishima Jun, an even stronger fighter who is grateful to Yazawa for saving Kyuu in episode 2 (entirely inadvertently, I might add). 

Aided by former rival Shiina Yuji and pursed by Yuji's cross-dressing brother Yu, Yazawa dodges, weaves, lies, and flees to try and save himself from getting pounded into the pavement for the third time in three episodes. Laughs galore.

The voice cast includes some pretty famous names, although their fame comes from other roles:

• Nanba Keiichi (Yazawa) played Locke in Choujin Locke, Lundi in Honoo no Alpenrose: Jeudi & Lund, Uesugi in Touch, Schneider in Captain Tsubasa, and Junta in DNA2. He also played Hongou in Nozomi Witches, an Orphan release.
• Shiozawa Kaneto (Shiina Yuji) played Rock Holmes in Fumoon, Iason in Ai no Kusabi and the egotistic comic relief Shin in Hiatari Ryouko, all Orphan releases. 
• Yamada Eiko (Shiina Yu) played the title roles in Anne of Green Gables, Ginga Nagareboshi Gin, Aramis no Bouken, and Legend of Lemnear, as well as Jo in Little Women, Misaki in Captain Tsubasa, and Gozu in Hoozuki no Reitetsu. She appeared in Nora, the Sangokushi specials,  and the What's Michael? OVAs, all Orphan releases.
• Hirata Hiroaki (Mishima Jun). This was one of his very first roles. He went on to play Itsuki in the Kindaichi movies, Sa Gojou in Saiyuki and its sequels, Zaki in DearS, Jack in Moonlight Mile, Nantoka in Rita to Nantoka, Benny in Black Lagoon, Tiger in Tiger & Bunny, Vinsmoke in One Piece, Fujimoto in Ao no Exorcist, Kondou in Koi wa Ameagari no You ni, and Max Lobo in Bananafish.
• Yamaguchi Kappei (Matsuoka Eiji) played the lead character in the Detective Conan franchise, Ranma in the Ranma 1/2 franchise, Inuyasha in all the Inuyasha properties, Usopp in the One Piece franchise, Sakuma Ryuichi in Gravitation, Arslan in the first OVA series, and the title role in Mouse, among many others. He played Shibuya in Zetsuai 1989 and Bronze: Zetsuai Since 1989, and Tooru in Boyfriend, all Orphan releases.
• Tominaga Miina (Yazawa's crush, Hikaru) played Ritsu in Fruits Basket (2002), Persia in Magical Fairy Persia, Rollpanna in the Anpanman franchise, Misaki in Tsuritama, Muuma in Bavi Stock, Kamiya in Tokimeki Tonight, Karen in Yuukan Club, and Eri in Karuizawa Syndrome. The last four are Orphan releases.

The director for this episode, Matano Hiromichi, helmed other obscure works, including the Konpeki no Kantai franchise and Super Submarine 99.

Moho Kareshi did the initial translation; both laalg and Sunachan did translation check passes. (There are still unresolved issues, because the dialog is full of 80s slang and bad puns.) ninjacloud timed. I edited and typeset, with the greatest reluctance. TougeWolf, Uchuu, and VigorousJammer did QC. The raw is an ancient Internet rip (DivX505!), but there are no signs of original media on the second-hand market in Japan. I wouldn't spend the money to buy them anyway.

Some translation notes:

• Thank you, Turtle God! A perverted pun. The usual saying is "kami-sama hotoke-sama" (O God! O Buddha!). Yazawa says "kami-tama kitou-tama," literally "Turtle-balls! Turtle-head (glans)-balls!" Localize as you will.
• You're a blockhead! "Ishiatama" is literally "stone head," i.e., hard-headed.
• For stiff shoulders, try Pip. Pip is a brand of magnetic therapy medicine.

Admittedly, I'm very jaundiced about this series. I'm not in its target demographic. Many members of the staff find it hilarious and hope to do more "yankee" genre shows. So when will episode 4 be out? Will episode 4 ever be out? Don't hold your breath. The last three episodes still need their songs translated, and so far, no translator has volunteered for the job. So if you want to see the last three episodes, find a song translator for this show.

However, in the meantime, after a mere 3+ year delay, here is Chameleon 3. You can get it from the usual torrent site or from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net.

Chameleon 2

Well, he's back.

Yes, Yazawa Eisaku, pint-sized wannabe delinquent, returns in the second episode of Chameleon for another round of hi-jinks, braggadocio, and narrow escapes from doom and his cross-dressing would-be girl(boy)friend. Having won the reluctant admiration of the hoods at Narita Minami High, he becomes the target of gangs at Kasu High, who hope to establish their reputation as "bad hombres" by taking down the formidable (and did they but know, cowardly) Yazawa. Fortunately or unfortunately, he's rescued by Kyuuko Akio, a bullied student turned psychopathic fighter. Kyuu, as he's known, "adopts" Yazawa as his brother and defends him against all comers - including Yazawa's friends. While Yazawa likes having protection, he's increasingly uneasy about the ferocity of Kyuu's temper and the over-the-top aggressiveness of Kyuu's responses. He tries to reign his protector in, but that makes Kyuu suspicious. They end up in a confrontation, and Yazawa ends up back in the hospital.

I liked this episode of Chameleon considerably better than the first. There's far less gross-out gags and toilet jokes. The humor seems to flow more organically from the story, and there's an actual plot. The songs are good, particularly the doo-wop pastiche used as the OP and ED. And the voice actor for Kyuu (Nakao Ryuusei) is outstanding, with an idiosyncratic delivery that can change from comic to menacing in a heartbeat. Nakao has been a voice actor for more than fifty years, starting in 1965. He's had recurring roles in Dragonball and One Piece. His most recent role was King Falke II in this year's ACCA: 13-ku Kansatsu-ka.

As before, Moho Kareshi did the initial translation. convexity checked the dialog translation and translated the songs, which are just great. ninjacloud timed, I edited and typeset, and Vigorousjammer and konnakude did QC. The raw is from the Internet.

A few translation notes:

• When Yazawa is released from the hospital, he says, "It's so bright out here in the free world." He's trying to act like a yakuza released from jail.
• "Stop multiplying like Matsudaira Ken in a Konaka ad!" The ad is online here.
• Short Peace in the OP/ED refers to the 70mm length version of Peace cigarettes.

When will episode 3 be ready? I don't know. Because the episodes are double length, each one requires a substantial block of the translation checker's time, which is at a premium right now. So enjoy this dose of Chameleon. Maybe there will be more, someday. Meanwhile, get it from Orphan|Arutha in #news or #nibl on irc.rizon.net or from your friendly local torrent site.

Karma (Chameleon)

A long time ago, in a fansubbing scene far, far away, I was happily collecting rarities and uploading them, often without viewing, to BakaBT (or as it was known back then, BoxTorrents). One of the shows I stumbled across was an anonymous rip of an OVA known in English as Bite Me! Chameleon. Only after I had done that did I find out that (a) it was actually the first of six OVAs, only one of which had been released in North America and (b) it was a gross-out comedy about delinquents and wannabe delinquents in 80s Japan. Even then, I didn't bother to watch it but simply added it to Orphan's growing orphans list.

In early 2015, ninjacloud, raw-hunter supremo, found the raws of all six episodes on the Internet. I inveigled Moho Kareshi into translating them and formally launched a project to sub them. But first I read a review of the series on AnimeNewsNetwork. It was not flattering. And then I watched the first episode...

Chameleon, as it is known in Japan (the Bite Me! was added by ADV Films), tells the story of a pint-sized wannabe hood named Yazawa Eisaku. Terrorized by real delinquents throughout middle school, he's determined to be the baddest (but not the biggest) baddie in Narita Minami High School. However, he often lets his big mouth lead him into situations which could well prove fatal if he can't extricate himself; as a devout coward, he must do that by his wits or by sacrificing his friends. The show is, in effect, an endlessly repeated gag about Yazawa's braggadocio putting him in lethal jeopardy and his escapes from near-impossible situations. ( "Run away!" is one of his key strategies.)

In the first episode, Yazawa crosses Aizawa Naoki, another first-year and leader of the Shadow Dance Gang. He attempts to woo the beautiful coed Asaoka Hikaru while he in turn is pursued by the cross-dressing brother, Yu, of a rival Shadow Dance member, Shiina Yuji. When Yazawa inadvertently destroys the Shadow Dance gang flag, Aizawa and Shiina put aside their differences to pound Yazawa into the pavent. He ends up in the hospital, where both friends and adversaries gather out of grudging respect for his chutzpah. But before then, the viewers get to experience toilet humor, fart jokes, violence, bad behavior, and outright stupidity of every possible variety. It's a comedy, right?

As you might sense, I'm kind of appalled by the show, but I seem to be in the minority about it. Most of the rest of the staff enjoyed it. On the torrent site, the release garnered more positive comments and more "fans" than any other recent Orphan offering. I'm guessing I'm not its target demographic.

The ADV R1 release of episode 1 took the usual liberties with the script as well as the title. Chameleon refers to Yazawa's ability to take on protective "coloration" in whatever situation he finds himself; Bite Me! Chameleon means nothing. Moho Kareshi translated all the episodes from scratch. For episode 1, convexity checked the dialog and translated the songs, M74 rough timed and ninjacloud fine-timed, I edited and typeset, and konnakude and VigorousJammer (a new staff member) did QC. The raws are from the Internet and purport to be Laserdisc rips. They're rather old and barely adequate.

Orphan will be releasing this show an episode at a time, because I'm frankly not sure how long it will take to complete it. Episode 2 is in hand and will be released Real Soon Now™, but after that... who knows?