Hidamari no Ki (Batch)

So here's Orphan's last word on Hidamari no Ki - the batch torrent. There are minor fixes in eleven episodes, for nomenclature inconsistencies and typos. If you don't want to download the v2 files or can't apply the patches, you won't be missing anything.

Hidamari no Ki is brilliant TV anime. If I hesitate to use the word "masterpiece," it's only because I'm aware of the gap between an excellent TV anime and the works of auteurs like Miyazaki and Takahata. Tezuka Osamu was a popular entertainer, and Hidamari no Ki is among the finest examples of his work. I think it will stand comparison with the TV series viewers have loved the most.

That begs two questions, of course:

1. Why do I think it's so good?
2. If it is so good, why was it never fansubbed or licensed before this?

Now, I must admit to certain biases that work in favor of Hidamari no Ki. It's a seinen show, about and for adults. As a (fairly senior) adult, I like series that show people I might recognize, rather than the endlessly popular high-school students. It's a historical show, set against real events. As a historian by training, and a lover of historical fiction, it definitely hits my sweet spot. The artwork is distinctive and interesting. Tezuka Osamu's characters have real features and rarely resemble anime archetypes. And it's complex. The characters have multiple facets and are rarely black-and-white. Good things and bad things happen, and happy endings are rare - just as in real life.

So if Hidamari no Ki is so good, why has it remained untranslated (or more properly, an orphan) for so many years? First, it aired just before the flowering of fansubbing. By the time the first group looked at it, it had been off the air for four years. Most shows released from DVDs used R1 subs. Second, it's rather technical. There's a lot of medical lingo and historical Japanese terms. The translator needs a thorough grounding in medicine, Japanese history, and old terminology, or the show will prove impenetrable.

That leads me to an appreciation of the improbable series of events that made it possible for Orphan to do Hidamari no Ki. Sunachan, the translator, simply showed up one day. She's a professional interpreter with a background in medical translation. It would be hard to imagine a better fit to the task. Then, after years of futile quests for decent raws, Skr found a reasonable set of streaming raws in Japan. That permitted the translation and timing work to get underway. And finally, an anonymous benefactor wrote to ask if he could help purchase any rare materials for Orphan's work. That allowed us to buy the Japanese DVDs and to create definitive encodes. Everything followed from those three events.

In closing, I'll recapitulate the staff credits for the show:

• Translation - Sunachan
• Timing - Eternal_Blizzard and Yogicat
• Editing and Typesetting - Collectr
• Karaokes - Juggen
• QC - bananadoyouwanna, Nemesis, VigorousJammer
• Workraws - Skr
• Encoding - M74
• DVD provider - anonymous

It's been almost a year's work, but I think everyone on the staff would agree that it's been worth it.

Could there be a high-definition release someday? Eternal_Blizzard points out that Madhouse (the animators) were among the last holdouts for cel-based drawing and didn't move to digital animation until 2002, after Hidamari no Ki was released, so it's possible. Could there be an R1 release someday? Smaller DVD outfits have been reviving items from the back catalog, so it's possible. So this "last word" may not be the "final word." I certainly hope so.

In closing, I'll repeat what I've said in every release post: this show is a masterwork. Please, put aside all the trope-y junk that makes up most of modern anime and give Hidamari no Ki a chance to cast its spell. You won't regret it. Meanwhile, you can get the batch from the usual torrent site or from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net. A direct download link for the patch and for the DVD booklets is included in the batch torrent release.

Hidamari no Ki, Part 4

Here is the final installment of Hidamari no Ki: episodes 20 to 25. The chaos of the Bakumatsu reaches its climax with the overthrow of the Shogunate, an event that has decisive consequences for Manjirou, Ryouan, and the men and women in their lives. In particular, Manjirou confronts the ronin who have dogged his steps throughout the series: the assassins Toubei and Otojirou. If the first half of the series belonged to Ryouan, the second half, and the last five episodes in particular, are Manjirou's.

If these concluding episodes seem rushed, it's partly due to the headlong pace of events that take place in the background. By the early 1860s, the relationship between the Shogunate bureaucracy and the Imperial Court was openly antagonistic. Various clans used the banner of Sonnou Joui to further their interests at the expense of the ruling Tokugawa. In the Kimon incident, the Choushuu clan raised the banner of revolt in Kyoto. This led the Shogunate to dispatch punitive expeditions against Choushuu. The first, in 1864, ended inconclusively. By the time a second expedition was dispatched two years later, the Choushuu forces had modernized with Western weapons. The Shogunate army was decisively defeated, fatally weakening its prestige. Shortly thereafter, the Shogunate regime fell, without much of a fight.

Hidamari no Ki is, of course, the story of Ryouan and Manjirou, and they are the only two characters whose fate the show spells out. The historical characters mentioned in these last five episodes met various ends:

• Katsu Kaishuu remained loyal to the Shogunate but survived to serve the new Imperial regime. He eventually became a count.
• Saigo Takamori led the Imperial forces in the war against the last rebellious remnants of the Shogunate. In 1873, he left the Imperial government and later ended up leading a rebellion of disaffected samurai against the new regime, during which he was killed.
• Sakamoto Ryouma was assassinated in 1867 by members of the Mimawarigumi, another of the special samurai squads formed by the Shogunate.
• Tokugawa Yoshinobu, the last Shogun, disassociated himself from any efforts to restore the Shogunate regime and lived a quiet life in retirement. In 1902, he was named a prince of the empire.

This group of episodes introduces one last significant character, Aya, sister of the ronin Otojirou. She was played by Neya Michiko, who has had featured roles in many shows. She's probably best known for Melissa Mayo in the Full Metal Panic franchise and Riza Hawkeye in the original Fullmetal Alchemist. She also played Lena in Fire Emblem, an Orphan release.

In preparing this last group of episodes, certain aspects of the show have really stood out. The opening credit sequence, which I've seen perhaps a hundred times now, is a masterpiece of music and composition. It starts out tranquilly, as a solo piano piece, surveying the massive camphor tree that stands as a symbol for the Shogunate. It takes an ominous turn, as images of Ryouan's battle against the cholera epidemic, and Manjirou's numerous sword fights, are played over the tree. Then, the three principal women characters - Oseki with a serious expression, Oshina with a melancholy look, and Okon with her enigmatic smile - are shown against the trunk. They give way to the banners of armies, which fall over and fade away to foreshadow to ultimate fate of the Shogunate. This sequence never gets stale.

Another noteworthy aspect is the different way Ryouan and Manjirou interact with the women in the show. Superficially, Manjirou seems the better man. He treats women with respect and reserve, putting them on a pedestal, while Ryouan is a womanizer, a patron of geishas, and an unfaithful husband. Yet Manjirou's stubborn honesty inflicts unhappiness on all the women with whom he becomes involved (Oseki, Oshina, and Aya). Ryouan may be a playboy, but he genuinely likes women, and he helps the nighthawk Okon achieve the only truly happy outcome in the series.

As a bonus, this set of episodes also includes a short special on the real locations used in the first two episodes.

The staff for the show remains the same. Sunachan translated the dialog, songs, and signs. Yogicat did the timing. I edited and typeset. banandoyouwanna, Nemesis, and VigorousJammer did QC. Skr encoded the workraws, and M74 the final raws. An anonymous benefactor bought the R2J DVDs, an essential foundation for making the project feasible.

We're not quite done yet. There's a batch torrent in the works. It will incorporate minor fixes in the first handful of episodes, mostly terminology that needs to be made consistent. I doubt there will ever be a Blu-ray release. Hidamari no Ki was made with digital animation long before HDTV. It's simply not that popular in Japan, and of course, it is virtually unknown in the English-speaking world.

You can get the fourth installment of Hidamari no Ki from the usual torrent sites or from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net. Watch it, please, and then tell your friends about it. This show is not to be missed.

Hidamari no Ki, Part 3

Here is the next installment of Hidamari no Ki: episodes 14 through 19. We're in the third quarter now, and the pace picks up accordingly. From natural catastrophes like a great cholera epidemic, to man-made disasters like the Ansei Purge, momentous events overtake Manjirou, Ryouan, and many others, threatening to sweep them away.

By the late 1850s, the struggle between the relentless expansionism of the Western powers on one side, and the feudal isolationism of the Emperor and the Sonnou Joui movement on the other, was pulling the Tokugawa Shogunate apart. The Shogunate tacked back and forth, trying to avoid either a foreign war or a civil war. First, it opposed the Western initiatives for open trade. Then, overmatched militarily, it signed trade treaties with the Western powers and began importing Western technology. When internal opponents took up Sonnou Joui as a rallying cry, the Shogunate tried first compromise and then brutal repression (the Ansei Purge). Neither worked, and the chaos inside the country only increased.

Although Ryouan is a doctor, and Manjirou is studiously apolitical, both are caught up in the press of events. Manjirou is arrested, tortured, and nearly executed simply for talking to the wrong people.

Ryouan must again use his devious skills - demonstrated during the Shogun's meeting with American envoy - to rescue Manjirou from a dangerous situation. Ryouan also confronts, treats, and outsmarts a group of wounded ronin assassins, garnering favorable attention from the Shogunate.

By the end of this batch of episodes, both men have experienced deep personal losses, and both have become involved (in Ryouan's case, reluctantly) with the Shogunate's efforts to reform itself before it's too late. Never has the future looked more uncertain. Kind of like current times, huh?

Some notes:

• Ep 14. The great cholera epidemic of 1859 killed an estimated 100,000 to 200,000 Japanese. It was part of a world-wide cholera pandemic that impacted Russia and much of southeast Asia.
• Ep 18. The marching song sung by the peasant soldiers is フジの白雪ャノーエ, from Shizuoka prefecture. While the song is famous, its meaning is obscure. In the episode, it is translated to fit the rhythm of the Japanese syllables.
• Ep 19. The Roushigumi was the first of numerous squads of ronin formed by the Shogunate and its opponents to further their aims by violence. It was founded by Kiyokawa Hachirou, a swordsman and dedicated opponent of the Shogunate. Although the ostensible purpose of the Roushigumi was to protect the Shogun, Kiyokawa in fact offered its services to the Imperial court. Two years after the events shown in the episode, Kiyokawa was killed by a Shogunate assassin.

The staff for the show remains pretty much the same. Sunachan translated the dialog, songs, and signs. Eternal_Blizzard did fine timing on episode 14; starting with episode 15, Yogicat took over all the timing. I edited and typeset. banandoyouwanna, Nemesis, and VigorousJammer did QC. Skr encoded the workraws, and M74 the final raws. As a bonus, this set of episodes also includes the DVD booklets for all nine volumes. They were provided by the anonymous benefactor who purchased the DVDs.

You can get the third installment of Hidamari no Ki from the usual torrent site or from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net. What are you waiting for? Go download it and watch it now!

Hidamari no Ki, Part 2

Here is the second installment of Hidmari no Ki, episodes 7 to 13, bringing us to just past the halfway mark in the series. This seemed like a logical breaking point, because the ending song changes in episode 14 from Hikari no Mouko e to High Dive, both by the rock group Charcoal.

This batch of episodes sees significant developments for all the major characters. Ryouan is summoned back to Edo from his studies in Osaka to help his father in the western doctors' struggle to establish a smallpox vaccination clinic in Tokyo, which is vehemently opposed by the official Shogunate physicians. Manjirou is assigned to guard the newly arrived American envoy, Townsend Harris, against the threats of the Joui movement. Both Ryouan and Manjirou experience life-changing events in their families, to comic and tragic effect, respectively. And both are drawn inexorably into the increasing chaos of the Bakumatsu, as the Shogunate's attempt to deal with foreign intrusion creates violent counter-reactions. For more information on the complex politics and numerous historical characters, the show's translator, Sunachan, has prepared a selection of links and summaries from Wikipedia. It is available here.

Three new female characters are introduced in this segment of the show. The first is Oshina, the daughter of a shop owner in Osaka.

She actually appeared in an earlier episode but wasn't named. The second is Okon, a "nighthawk" (boat-based prostitute) in Osaka.

The third is Otsune, the daughter of a distant relative of Ryouan. 

(The character designs are much less distinct than for the male characters.) All three women are drawn to Ryouan, for very different reasons. All get to experience first-hand the ups-and-downs of a woman's life during the Bakumatsu. Ultimately, their trajectories diverge, one propelled by the demands of love, one by the imperatives of survival, and one by the customs of family life.

Some translation notes:

• "ri" (里) is translated as "miles," signifying "Japanese miles." One Japanese mile is about 4 kilometers. This should not be confused with "Chinese miles," or "lǐ" (里), which use the same character. One Chinese mile is about 0.5 kilometers. 
• It's no coincidence that all the women's names begin with "O." In the Bakumatsu and later Meiji eras, it was common to prefix women's names with the polite honorific "O." Thus, all the men (even the ruffians) call the Ninaya shop owner's daughter "Oshina," while she refers to herself as "Shina." Okon, interestingly, calls herself Okon rather than Kon, as part of her self-given title, "Okon of the Seven Ghosts."
• Ep07. A "nighthawk" was a prostitute who lived on a boat. 
• Ep07. "Joui" was one half of the slogan of the neo-Confucian Sonnou Joui ("Revere the Emperor, expel the foreigners) movement. It was particularly popular with the samurai class and became the rationale for violent attacks on foreigners and revolts against the Shogunate.
• Ep08. Christoph Wilhelm Hufeland was considered the most eminent practical physician in the Germany of his day.
• Ep09. Bousshuu is the old term for the Awa region of Japan.
• Ep12. Satsuma-age are deep fried fish-paste balls. Shochu is liquor distilled from rice, barley, or sweet potatoes. It is typically around 50 proof - more than sake but less than whiskey.
• Ep13. Hougan is an old word for doctor.
• Ep13. Manjirou's removal from his post as bodyguard to American envoy Townsend Harris reflected the chaotic politics inside the Shogunate following the ascension of Ii Naosuke as chief minister.
• Ep13. Korori is an old name for cholera.

The retention of old words and terms, instead of using their modern equivalents, is the translator's choice.

One minor change to the project staffing: starting in episode 10, Yogicat did the preliminary timing by shifting the workraw-based scripts to the final encode. Eternal_Blizzard did fine timing of each episode. As before, Sunachan translated; I edited and typeset; bananadoyouwana, Nemesis, and VigorousJammer did QC; Skr encoded the workraws; and M74 encoded the final video and audio.

Before closing, I have to rant a bit about the chickenshit disclaimer that appears at the end of each DVD:

Whom, exactly, were the producers afraid this "biased" show would offend? Ultra-nationalist defenders of the Shogunate? Chinese medical practitioners? Any remaining samurai? The show portrays the Bakumatsu as a turbulent and corrupt era. It was. The show portrays the samurai class as having both honorable and lawless elements. It did. The show portrays the role of women in the era as subservient and limited. That was true. If Hidamari no Ki leans more to the western-oriented views of Ryouan than the traditional samurai outlook of Manjirou, that reflects Tezuka Osamu's optimistic and pacifistic outlook on life. Does that constitute bias in the eyes of certain authorities in Japan?

Hidamari no Ki is a gripping, complex, and suspenseful series - Tezuka Osamu at his best, IMHO. If you aren't watching it, you should. You can get this batch of episodes, and the previous batch too, from the usual torrent sites or from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net. 

Hidamari no Ki, Part 1

In my look back at 2017, I said that Orphan would be undertaking two larger series this year. The first is the continuation of Stop!! Hibari-kun!, from 1983. And now, here is the second, Hidamari no Ki (A Tree in the Sun), from 2000. This historical drama has been on my wish list since I started pursuing orphaned shows. A fortunate chain of circumstances has allowed Orphan to bring it to you, at last.

First, the series appeared on streaming sites in Japan. This provided translation raws with reasonable video and audio fidelity. Second, the eleven volume manga became available online, both in Japanese and in (scanlated) English. Third, and most importantly, a new translator, Sunachan, joined Orphan. Sunachan had the stamina - and the experience with medical terminology - to undertake such a large project. And finally, an anonymous donor offered to purchase the Hidamari no Ki DVDs. This provided pristine material for generating final video and audio. Orphan will be presenting Hidamari no Ki in four "mini-batches" of six, seven, six, and six episodes respectively, with a full series batch at the end.

Hidamari no Ki is based on a manga by the legendary Tezuka Osamu. It tells the story of two young men during the Bakumatsu - the waning days of the Tokugawa Shogunate that followed the "opening" of Japan by Western countries. One is Manjirou Ibuya, a samurai raised in the strictest traditions of bushido. The other is Tezuka Ryouan, a doctor-in-training equally interested in women and the latest scientific discoveries. (Ryouan's last name is no coincidence; he is Tezuka Osamu's great-grandfather) Both have a penchant for getting into trouble. Ibuya inadvertently crosses an experienced samurai and is wounded in a duel. Ryousan ends up treating him. Then, Ryouan deliberately crosses the powerful official physicians of the Shogunate, who want to prevent Ryouan and his father from opening a smallpox vaccination facility. Ibuya ends up saving Ryouan from an attack by anonymous assassins. Ryouan goes to Osaka for further training and encounters both opportunity and tragedy. Ibuya exhibits exemplary leadership skills during the great Ansei-era Edo earthquake and is assigned to guard the new US consul to Japan. And that's just the first six episodes!

As the screencap shows, the male character designs are vintage Tezuka Osamu - large eyes paired with real noses, chins, Adam's apples, facial blemishes, and so on. The female character designs run more to type - either classic Japanese beauties, like Oseki, Oshina, and Okon, or dumpy matrons, like Ryouan's mother. This demonstrates Eguchi Marisuke's versatility as a character designer. The designs look nothing like his Adachi-inspired characters in Hiatari Ryouko and Nozomi Witches.

The Bakumatsu was a remarkably complex period, with factions promoting all kinds of views. The three most prominent were the bakufu - the military bureaucracy of the Shogunate, who wanted to defend their prerogatives; the neo-Confucians (Joui), who wanted to restore power to the Emperor as a prerequisite to expelling all foreigners; and the Westernizers, who wanted to embrace western scientific and political thought and modernize Japan along Western lines. Dividing lines were not clear-cut; for example, all factions wanted to embrace some aspects of Western military technology, for their own reasons. The eventual solution - the Meiji restoration - was a sort of "none of the above" answer and allowed Japan to avoid the fate of China.

The voice cast is stellar. Yamadera Kouichi (Ryouan) has had a spectacular career. Among his many roles are Spike Spiegel in Cowboy Bebop, Sukeroku in Shouwa Ginroku Rakugo Shinju, Ryouga in all the Ranma 1/2 properties, Melos in Hashire Melos! (an Orphan project), and the nameless hero of Otaku no Seiza. He also dubbed all the Mike Myers characters in the Japanese versions of the Austin Powers movies. Miyamoto Mitsuru (Ibuya) has appeared in numerous series, from H2 to this year's Kekkai Sensen sequel. Orikasa Fumiko, who voiced their mutual love interest, Oseki, played Rukia Kuchiki in all the Bleach properties as well as the heroine Okonogi Yuuko in Dennou Coil. The late Nagai Ichirou (Ryouan's father Ryousan) appeared in numerous shows, including Nora and Gosenzosama Banbanzai! He also dubbed Albus Dumbledore in the Japanese versions of the Harry Potter movies. Matsumoto Rica (Okon, a prostitute in Osaka) played Jim Hawking in Outlaw Star, the hero Fuusuke in the Ninku properties, and Satoshi in the Pokemon franchise. The director, Sugii Gisaburou, has done many outstanding shows, including the Mitsuru Adachi shows Nine, Touch, and Hiatari Ryouko; Nozomi Witches (an Orphan project); and several recent movies. The music is by the jazz/fusion composer and keyboardist Matsui Keiko and works well to underscore the series subtly.

Sunachan translated the episodes. Beyond that, she re-checked the episodes through editing and QC to ensure that the nuances of the translation were not lost. Eternal_Blizzard timed the episodes. Juggen provided a subtle karaoke for the ending theme, Hikari no Mukou e by Charcoal. I edited and typeset (not many signs). bananadoyouwanna, Nemesis, and VigorousJammer did QC. Skr encoded the original workraws that allowed translation to get started, and M74 encoded the final versions from the DVDs. The DVDs themselves were purchased by an anonymous benefactor. The entire team is intensely grateful to him for investing in this show.

Hidamari no Ki is a dense series, and there are lots of people, places, and things that need explanation. I've tried to keep on-screen translation notes to a minimum, but there are a few. Here are some additional notes for this batch of episodes:

• Ep01. "Countless districts of Edo." Literally, the 808 districts of Edo. The number 808 is purely symbolic.
• Ep01. "...with its pay of 15 bales for two people..." The combination of bales and people provides the measurement of a samurai's rank; in this case, not very high.
• Ep01. "300 mon." An old unit of currency, not directly translatable to yen because of devaluation and inflation.
• Ep01. "Hokushin Ittouryuu" is a school of martial arts, founded in 1820, focused on sword fighting.
• Ep04. Ogata Kouan was a physician and scholar. His academy, the Tekijuku, taught medicine and Western learning. It was one of the foundations for Osaka University.
• Ep04. Ryousen twirls his pinky when talking indirectly about a beautiful courtesan. The pinky signifies love affairs or sexual liaisons.

Because of the long delays in releasing more of Stop!! Hibari-kun, some viewers may wonder whether Hidamari no Ki will suffer the same fate. I expect this show to go faster because it doesn't require translation checking. We've restarted Stop!! Hibari-kun, of course, but an experienced, dedicated translation checker is needed for the show to progress more quickly.

Meanwhile, dig into Hidamari no Ki. It's a treat, a true overlooked gem. You can get this mini-batch from the usual torrent sites or from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net.