Yamatarou Comes Back v2

One of Orphan's earliest Tezuka Osamu projects was the set of six OVAs known as the Lion Books:

1	The Green Cat	1983
2	Rain Boy	1983
3	Lunn Flies into the Wind	1985
4	Yamatarou Comes Back	1986
5	Adachigahara	1991
6	Akuemon	1993

The project took 18 months, from the middle of 2013 to the end of 2014. Except for Adachigahara and Akuemon, Orphan used existing raws from other teams. I've always been less than happy about the quality of those raws. Last month, I was able to purchase a complete set of the Lion Books R2J DVDs, and Orphan will be redoing the OVAs with new encodes. This is the fourth episode, Yamatarou Comes Back (Yamatarou Kaeru).

Yamatarou is a sentimental and slightly strange take on friendship, in this case between a brown bear cub and a class C62 steam locomotive. Yamatarou and his mother become stranded on floating ice when the ice pack they are on breaks up. The crew of a passing fishing vessel rescues them, but the mother bear does not survive. Yamatarou is sold to the owner of a rural sundries store, who chains him up and uses him to sell his "food" (fish) to the locals. Yamatarou is growing fat and despondent, his only companion a snarky local cat, when he is befriended by a passing steam engine. The engine, which Yamatarou calls C6, teaches the cub how to be strong and break free from his chain and then returns the cub to the wild. They have another, fateful encounter when Yamatarou has become an adult.

Moho Kareshi translated, and convexity did translation checking. Eternal_Blizzard timed the original; Yogicat timed this version. I edited and typeset both versions. CP, Calyrica, and konnakude QCed the original; Nemesis and Uchuu QCed this version. Skr encoded from an R2J DVD. The encode includes an English dub audio track. In this release, I've changed one of Moho's translation quirks (rendering short and long Japanese vowels the same way), so Yamataro in the original is Yamatarou in this version. That aligns the title with standard sources like AniDB.

The voice cast is small, although three different seiyuu were used for Yamatarou, as a baby, a cub, and an adult:

• Yamada Eiko (Yamatarou) 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 played the cross-dressing sister Shiina Yu in Chameleon, Vee in Al Caral no Isan, and appeared in Nora, the Sangokushi specials,  and the What's Michael? OVAs, all Orphan releases
• Takemura Hiroshi (Yamatarou as an adult) played the title role in Crusher Joe and Barts in Gina Hyouryuu Vifam,
• Itou Miki (Yamatarou as a baby) played Eiko in Project A-Ko, Reimi in Burn-Up, Sachiko in Maria-sama ga Miteru, Lind in Ah! My Goddess, Touko (Natsume's foster mother) in Natsume Yuujinchou, Taiga in the Fate franchise, Colon in Cool Cool Bye, and Anny in Adachigahara. The last two are Orphan releases.
  
• Takagi Hitoshi (C6) played Totoro in My Neighbor Totoro, and he narrated Galaxy Express 999.
• Ogata Kenichi (Kuro the cat) played the put-upon father in Gosenzosama Banbanzai and Maroko, Smee in Peter Pan no Bouken, and, most recently, Gran Torino in Boku no Hero Academia. He played the grandfather in Ohoshi-sama no Rail, Suzuki in Kigyou Senshi Yamazaki: Long Distance call, the crooked casino boss in Okane ga Nai!, the poster expert in Lunn Flies into the Wind, and the Hong Kong chef in Yuukan Club, all Orphan releases. He's also the voice of Ranma 1/2's Sataome Gemna, whose alter ego - the grumpy panda - is my avatar on most anime forums. 
• Asou Miyoko (store owner) played Pinako Rockbell in Fullmetal Alchemist (both series), Machiko's aunt in Miss Machiko, Cologne in Ranma 1/2, and Fune Isono in Sazae-san through 2015.

Yamatarou Comes Back was the last of the Lion Books to be directed by Tezuka Osamu. 

This release concludes the project to redo the four Lion Books originally done with encodes from other teams. Skr may want to redo the last two, because he is now using AI to improve the image quality on cel-based sources. (He trained the AI on Crayon Shin-chan!) Meanwhile, you can get Yamatarou Comes Back from the usual torrent site or from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net

Lunn Flies into the Wind v2

One of Orphan's earliest Tezuka Osamu projects was the set of six OVAs known as the Lion Books:

1	The Green Cat	1983
2	Rain Boy	1983
3	Lunn Flies into the Wind	1985
4	Yamatarou Comes Back	1986
5	Adachigahara	1991
6	Akuemon	1993

The project took 18 months, from the middle of 2013 to the end of 2014. Except for Adachigahara and Akuemon, Orphan used existing raws from other teams. I've always been less than happy about the quality of those raws. Last month, I was able to purchase a complete set of the Lion Books R2J DVDs, and Orphan will be redoing the OVAs with new encodes. This is the third episode, Lunn Flies into the Wind (Lunn wa Kaze no Naka).

Lunn is sometimes described as a "low-key" look at adolescent first love. While it certainly lies on the sentimental end of the Lion Book spectrum, there's more to the show than teen romance. The hero, Akira, is a middle-school loner and underachiever, bullied at school by both his fellow students and his teacher. He finds an imaginary friend in the picture of a beautiful girl on a coffee advertising poster. He names her Lunn. She becomes his companion and consolation, but he regards his situation as so desperate that he almost kills himself twice - hardly "low-key" children's fare. Eventually, he becomes strong enough to formulate a goal and a dream for himself. By the end of the show, he is on his way to his first real friendship.

 

The voice cast includes:

• Inoue Kazuhiko (Akira Toyoda) starred as Yamaoka Shirou in Oishinbo, Yuki Eiri in Gravitation, the title role in Cyborg 009, and my favorite role, the irascible, sake-swilling Nyanko-sensei in the Natsume Yuujichou franchise. He also played Iori in Tomoe's Run!, Kanuma Hayate in Akai Hayate, Ryousuke in Daishizen no Majuu Bagi, Kitten Smith in Starship Troopers, Liu Bei Xuande in both Sangokushi TV specials, and Nakatsugawa in Boyfriend, all Orphan releases.
  
• Shimazu Saeko (Lunn)  played Shinobu in Urusei Yatsura, Madoka in Kimagure Orange Road, Yuri in the Dirty Pair franchise, and Chocola in Don Dracula. She played Sanae in Izumi (1991), the title role in Bagi, and Kyouko in Hiatari Ryouko, all Orphan releases. She also had featured roles in the other Rumiko Takahashi series of the era, Ranma 1/2, Maison Ikkoku, and Inuyasha.
• Tomiyama Kei (Miwa Minamidaira) played leading roles in Ginga Tansa 2100-nen: Border Planet, Bremen 4, Grimm Douwa: Kin no Tori, the Sangokushi TV specials, and Yousei Ou, all Orphan releases.
• Ogata Kenichi (poster expert) played the put-upon father in Gosenzosama Banbanzai and Maroko, Smee in Peter Pan no Bouken, and, most recently, Gran Torino in Boku no Hero Academia. He played the grandfather in Ohoshi-sama no Rail, Suzuki in Kigyou Senshi Yamazaki: Long Distance call, the crooked casino boss in Okane ga Nai!, and the Hong Kong chef in Yuukan Club, all Orphan releases. He's also the voice of Ranma 1/2's Sataome Gemna, whose alter ego - the grumpy panda - is my avatar on most anime forums.
• Kitamura Kouichi (language teacher) played Coach Nakao in the Nine OVAs, Paolon, the intelligent spaceship, in Hi-Speed Jecy, Professor, the wise old cat, in the Ultra Nyan OVAs, Professor Lenholm in Apfelland Monogatari, and appeared in Hidamari no Ki and Dokushin Apartment Dokudami-sou. All are Orphan releases.
• Izuka Shouzou (math teacher) played "K" in the What's Michael? OVAs and appeared in The Green Cat, Hidamari no Ki, and Fire Emblem. All are Orphan releases.

Tezuka Osamu directed.

convexity redid the original Viki translation, and the changes were extensive. Eternal_Blizzard timed the original release, and Yogicat retimed this one. I edited and typeset both releases. CP, Calyrica, and konnakude QCed the original release, and Nemesis and Uchuu QCed this release. Skr encoded the raw from an R2J DVD. Because of the improved image stability over the image release, I was able to typeset a few more of the coffee posters.

All six Lion Books begin with a credit sequence featuring some Tezuka Osamu's best-loved characters. Today's trivia quiz: can you name all the characters in the closing shot?

This release brings Orphan to the halfway point in the Lion Book series. You can download Lunn Flies into the Wind from the usual torrent site or from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net.

Rain Boy v2

One of Orphan's earliest Tezuka Osamu projects was the set of six OVAs known as the Lion Books:

1	The Green Cat	1983
2	Rain Boy	1983
3	Lunn Flies into the Wind	1985
4	Yamatarou Comes Back	1986
5	Adachigahara	1991
6	Akuemon	1993

The project took 18 months, from the middle of 2013 to the end of 2014. Except for Adachigahara and Akuemon, Orphan used existing raws from other teams. I've always been less than happy about the quality of those raws. Last month, I was able to purchase a complete set of the Lion Books R2J DVDs, and Orphan will be redoing the OVAs with new encodes. Here is the second episode, Rain Boy (Amefuri Kozou).

The first four Lion Books have a similar theme - the quest of a lonely boy for companionship and friends. While The Green Cat is mainstream science fiction, Rain Boy is more of a whimsical fantasy. Mouta lives in the mountains, the son of a teacher in a rural school. Once a month, he goes to a school in the "big city," where he is bullied by the locals as a country bumpkin. Wishing that he had a friend, he stumbles across a strange boy shaped like an umbrella, Rain Boy, who walks around under a personal rain cloud. Only Mouta can see Rain Boy, and the latter becomes Mouta's first friend.

Rain Boy is more than an imaginary companion, because he can act physically in the real world; perhaps he's a tsukomogami. He helps Mouta get a measure of revenge on the bullies, and he saves the local school from a fire. However, their adventures together are cut short when Mouta's family moves to the city. Only much later, when Mouta is a grown man with a child of his own, does he remember Rain Boy and a promise made but not fulfilled. The ending is bittersweet.

I want to mention the art direction, by Kobayashi Shichirou and Miyamoto Seiji. Rain Boy looks very different from The Green Cat, with cartoonish landscape, blocky designs for the human characters, and watercolor-like backdrops:

It's very effective.

The voice cast includes:

• Hayami Shou (young Mouto) starred as Nanjou in Zetsuai: 1989 and Bronze: Zetsuai since 1989, and  as Kushinige Hodaka in Oshare Kozou wa Hanamaru. He also played an angel in Tezuka Osamu's Tales of the Old Testament, Iason's friend Raoul in Ai no Kusabi, Hojo in Sanctuary, Pat Leivy in Starship Troopers, Junoichi in Blazing Transfer Student, Exper Kain in Exper Zenon, and Seichii in Mikoneko Holmes. All of these shows are Orphan releases. 
• Hori Junko (Rain Boy) played the title roles in Shin Obake no Q-taro, Cat Eyed Boy, Chinpui, and Ninja Hattori-kun, young Rock in Wan Wan Chuushingura, and Bunrestu in Time Slip Ichimannen Prime Rose. The last two are Orphan releases.
• Aono Takeshi (Moutou's father) played Nurarihyon in every incarnation of GeGeGe no Kitarou through 2007, Billy Bones in Treasure Island, Bookman in D.grayman, Dracule in One Piece, Katsuhiko Masaki in the Tenchi Muyo franchise, and Shiro Sanada in the Yamato franchise. He also appeared in A Penguin's Memories, Ginga Tansa 2100: Border-nen, Fire Emblem, Grimm Douwa: Kin no Tori, Hashire Melos!, the three Sangokushi movies (as Guan Yu), and Tezuka Osamu's Tales from the Old Testament, all Orphan releases.
• Gouri Daisuke (Bancho) played Hiromi in the Patlabor franchise. His made numerous featured appearances, including Fireball, Peter Pan no Bouken, Dragonball, and Kinnikuman, as well as Bavi Stock, Wolf Boy, Hi-Speed Jecy, Hidamari no Ki, and the three Sangokushi movies. The last five are Orphan releases.
• Nagai Ichirou (Azuki-arai) 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 Manxmouse, Nora, Hidamari no Ki, Yuukan Club, Amon Saga, Botchan, Ipponbouchou Mantaraou, and Yamato 2520, all Orphan releases.
• Mita Yuuko (one of the bullies) played the title role in Pokonyan, Posi in the Creamy Mami franchise, Kazuya in the Kimagura Orange Road franchise, Neko Musume in the 1985 iteration of GeGeGe no Kitarou, and Will in Robin Hood no Daibouken.
• Akiyama Runa (another of the bullies) played Pench Eliza in the Ginga Hyouryuu Vifam franchise.
  

Rain Boy was directed by Tezuka Osamu. It is one of two Lion Book episodes with an English dub tract; the other is Yamatarou Comes Back.

Moho Kareshi did the original translation, and convexity checked. Eternal_Blizzard timed. I edited and typeset; the typesetting is slightly revised for this release. CP and Calyrica did the original QC; Nemesis and Uchuu QCed this release. Skr encoded from an R2J DVD.

Rain Boy is another fine episode in the Lion Book series. You can download it from the usual torrent site or from IRC bot Orphan|Arurtha in channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net.

 

The Green Cat v2

One of Orphan's earliest Tezuka Osamu projects was the set of six OVAs known as the Lion Books:

1	The Green Cat	1983
2	Rain Boy	1983
3	Lunn Flies into the Wind	1985
4	Yamatarou Comes Back	1986
5	Adachigahara	1991
6	Akuemon	1993

The project took 18 months, from the middle of 2013 to the end of 2014. Except for Adachigahara and Akuemon, Orphan used existing raws from other teams. I've always been less than happy about the quality of those raws. Last month, I was able to purchase a complete set of the Lion Books R2J DVDs, and Orphan will be redoing the OVAs with new encodes.

Tezuka Productions started the Lion Books as a speculative project for a 26-episode TV series. When there were no takers, the project was shelved, and individual episodes were eventually released as OVAs. The Green Cat was actually completed before Dallos, but because there's no proof of its release date, Dallos (also a speculative TV project) is generally regarded as the first OVA.

The Green Cat (Midori no Neko) is one of two Lion Book OVAs based on a Tezuka Osamu manga. (The other is Adachigahara.) It tells a fanciful science fiction tale (tail?) about green cat-like creatures from outer space. As the story opens, Ban Shunsaku is a partner in a dry cleaning business with his friend Yuno. Their mundane existence is shattered when Susan the Gangster and her thugs burst in and take hostages. Susan is toting a green cat and seems to believe it makes her immune from capture. In the ensuing mayhem, Yuno is killed. With his dying wish, he asks Ban to care of his son, Sanbo. Then, the green cat deserts Susan, and so does her luck; she is killed in a shootout with police.

Intending to return to Japan, Ban drives across the country with Sanbo. He is spooked by an encounter with a UFO. In the aftermath, he finds that little Sanbo has acquired a green cat. On the trip to Japan, Sanbo and the cat disappear. Ban dedicates his life to tracking down Sanbo, a task which will take decades. He finds Sanbo, still with the green cat, racking up a fortune through increasingly shady means, while a mysterious Professor observes the pair. Ban must now rescue Sanbo from the cat and from his descent into outright criminality.

The Green Cat is the only Lion Book OVA that uses Tezuka Osamu's star system extensively. Ban Shunsaku is Higeoyaji, who appeared in many of the Love Will Save the World TV specials and the movie Metropolis. Sanbo is Rock Holmes, who was often used as a villain. Ben Heck, a criminal rival of Sanbo, is a minor character in the system. The voice cast reflects the recurring appearances of some of the characters:

• Tomita Kousei (Ban Shunsaku) played the same role (Higeoyaj) in the TV specials Fumoon, Marine Express, Ginga Tansa 2100: Border Planet, Tezuka Osamu Monogatari: Boku wa Son Gokuu, and Tezuka Osamu Ga Kieta?! 20 Seiki Saigo no Kaijiken (all Orphan releases), the movies Jungle Tatei and Metropolis, and in several Astro Boy properties. He also played Watson in Sherlock Hound.
• Shiozawa Kaneto (Yuno Sanbo) played Takuma in Milky Passion: Dougenzaka - The Castle of Love, Kohei in Karuizawa Syndrome, Shin in Hiatari Ryoukou, Iason in Ai no Kusabi, Rock Holmes in Fumoon, Shiina in Chameleon, Sanzou in I am Son Goku, and Kurahashi Eiji in Nine, all Orphan releases. He also played Joe in Tokimeki Tonight, Yoshio in Miyuki, Takeshi in Touch, D in Vampire Hunter D, Narsus in the Arslan Senki OVAs, Rosario in Dragon Half, and Abriel senior in Crest of the Stars.
• Nozawa Masako (Green) is a legend. She played the leads in 30000 Miles Under the Sea, The Adventures of Gamba, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry no Bouken, Billy Inu nan demo Shoukai, and Hey! Bumboo. She was Enma-kun in the original Dororon Enma-kun, Son Goku in the original Dragonball, and Kitarou in the 1968 and 1971 versions of GeGeGe no Kitarou, as well as Hakaba Kitarou. Even though her first role was in 1965, she is still active, appearing as Obaba in Ping Pong the Animation, Madame Curie in Marie & Gali, and of course, Medama Oyaji in the most recent version of GeGeGe no Kitarou. She won a lifetime achievement award in 1997. She played the title role in Manxmouse, Lek in Cool Cool Bye, and Costar in 15 Shounen Hyouruuki, all Orphan releases.
• Takiguchi Junpei (Professor) brought his distinctive voice to the roles of Dr. Yamanado in Fumoon, Scratch in Techno Police 21C, the villainous king of Kanemacchi Castle in Grim Douwa: Kin no Tori, the Mouse Thief in Stop!! Hibari-kun!, 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.
• Shima Shinsuke (Sanbo's father) played the Messenger in Amon Saga, an Orphan release, and Director Tanimura in the Oishinbo TV series and movies.
• Takizawa Kumiko (Susan the gangster) played Glinda the Good Witch in The Wizard of Oz (movie). She  was in several prior Orphan releases, playing Elena in Techno Police 21C and Kanako's mother in Boyfriend, and appearing in Fumoon, Makoto-chan, and Scoopers.
• Yada Kouji (Ben Heck) is best known as Dr. Gero in the Dragonball franchise. He appeared in A Penguin's Memories and the three Sangokushi movies, all Orphan releases.
  

The Green Cat was directed by the master himself, Tezuka Osamu.

The original subtitles were from Viki but needed additional work. convexity did the translation check. archdeco timed the original version; the new one required only minor tweaks. I edited and typeset both versions. CP and Saji QCed the original version; Nemesis and Uchuu QCed this version. Skr encoded from an R2J DVD.

It's a real pleasure to revisit the Lion Books after more than seven years. When I opened the new encode and watched the charming opening - when some of Tezuka Osamu's most beloved characters (Astro Boy, Unico, Princess Sapphire) jump out from the pages - I was once again swept up into the world of "the god of manga." The six Lion Book episodes show differing facets of his talent, but their short running time makes them more focused than the later, and longer, Love Will Save the World specials. Whether you downloaded the original release or not, I strongly urge you to get this one and rediscover the joys of Tezuka Osamu's shorter works. You can get The Green Cat from the usual torrent site or from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net.

P.S. This time around, the files use the English rather than the Japanese titles. Consistency is the hobgoblin of small minds, after all.