Practice Makes Perfect (A-Girl v3)

You were probably not expecting (or needing) this: a fourth version of the 1993 shoujo OVA A-Girl. Well, practice makes perfect.

In 1992, Madhouse and Margaret Comics collaborated on an OVA of the shounen-ai romance Zetsuai 1989. This was successful, and in 1993, Madhouse issued six additional OVAs based on Margaret Comics properties:

• Oshare Kozou wa Hanamaru
• Singles
• Pops
• Oeda wa Nemurenai!
• Kiss wa Hitomi ni Shite
• A-Girl

Unfortunately, these additional OVAs were not successful and quickly sank into obscurity. None of them made it to laserdisc, let alone DVD.

A-Girl is based on a 1984 shoujo romance manga by Fusako Kuramochi. It tells a very simple story: girl meets boy, girl loses boy, girl gets boy. High-school student Mariko and her elder sister Mayu are forced out of their apartment by a fire and move in with their landlord. Mariko meets the landlord's handsome son, Natsume, who is also a model. They fall in love but break up when Mariko discovers that Natsume is seeing other girls. Eventually, they are reunited, and the end credits roll.

A-Girl has had a fairly twisted release history. The first raw we found, back in September 2016, was defective: small (512 x 384) and missing the end credits. Apparently, it was stitched together from three pieces on YouTube. It was released as v0. The second raw, from 2017, was based on a used VHS tape purchased in Japan. It wasn't perfect either. Tape stretch caused noticeable audio distortion in three places, but at least it was complete. It formed the basis of v1. In late 2017, Intrepid realized that the audio distortion could be overcome. He made a new audio track, and I spliced the new track over the old one in the three chapters that were broken, creating v2.

Subsequently, Intrepid made significant improvements in his VHS ripping capability, setting up an uncompressed capture system based on antique computing equipment. This worked well and allowed for significant improvements in video quality. However, the audio issues in A-Girl made me shy away from ripping it again. Then, the entire capture setup was felled by hardware issues.

Recently, Intrepid bought another antique computer and a new VHS deck. He decided to revisit A-Girl, because his earlier rip suffered from color distortion. Happily, the new rip is free from both color distortion and audio issues. The encode looks distinctly better. Finally, here is a release that is complete (v1), free of audio distortion (v2), with proper colors (v3).

Here's a frame from v3, and below it, the same frame from v2:

A-Girl was the directorial debut of Kousaka Kitarou. (He also did the character designs.) He later worked for many years as an animation director and key animator on Ghibli films before achieving prominence as the director of the award-winning Nasu: Anadalusia no Natsu. For A-Girl, he chose a novel approach: he made a "silent movie." A-Girl has minimal dialog and is performed against a background of Japanese pop songs composed by Okada Tooru and sung (in English!) by SEIKA. (I think she does Mariko's six lines of dialog, too.) Dialog placards provide continuity, as in old silent films. It works pretty well and doesn't interrupt the flow of the story.

Iri bought the VHS tape for this release.He also translated and timed. I edited and typeset, Nemesis and Eternal_Blizzard did QC, and Intrepid ripped and encoded. For this release, Iri corrected a couple of signs, I tweaked line breaks for more consistent display across video players, and Uchuu and Topper3000 release checked.
 
You can get this latest, and I sincerely hope the last, version of A-Girl from the usual torrent sites or from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net. If you like the music, the soundtrack is available as well, in glorious FLAC audio.

Oedo wa Nemurenai! v2

The uncompressed VHS ripping setup that Orphan's Intrepid Raw Hunter™ uses has been down for a couple of months. A couple of capacitors on the vintage 2004 motherboard went up in smoke (literally), and the unit wouldn't boot. He finally got a soldering iron and some replacement capacitors, and after board-level surgery, the setup is operational again. So Intrepid is now systematically revisiting Orphan's early VHS encodes with the repaired setup and improved encoding techniques. And there are few shows we've released that I'm as happy to revisit as the 1992 shoujo OVA Oedo wa Nemurenai! (Edo Never Sleeps!).

Oedo wa Nemurenai! was the last of the Margaret shoujo OVAs to be finished, and the only one that wasn't a routine modern shoujo romance. Oedo is set in 18th century Edo (old Tokyo), during the prime years of the Tokugawa Shogunate. The story focuses on three principal characters: Usugumo, the "number one girl" at Miura-ya, a Yoshiwara brothel, and still a virgin at 14; Aoto Touichirou, nominally a western doctor but really a secret agent; and Bentenkozou Kikunosuke, a chivalrous thief. Usugumo is actually the daughter of the Shogun and a Christian courtesan; Aoto has been assigned to protect her. Usugomo attracts the unwanted attention of the heir to the Kaga clan, who wants to ravish her, and of court assassins, who want to bury the Shogun's secret forever. The two men in her life must protect her life and future. For more information on the show and the cast, as well as translation notes, see the original blog entry.

For the original release, Sunachan translated, ninjacloud timed, I edited and typeset, and Nemesis and Topper3000 QCed. For this release, Intrepid ripped and encoded the VHS tape and time-shifted the script. The original rip was done on a D-VHS deck; that produced a compressed result. This rip used a vintage All-in-Wonder card to capture the video without compression. Uncompressed capture allows for better software post-processing. The resulting encode was many fewer blended frames, so I was able to add a bit more typesetting. I also cleaned up the timing and a few lines and did a release check.

If you watched the original release of Oedo wa Nemurenai!, then you'll want to archive this version for its improved video. If you missed it the first time around, you're in for a treat. And after you watch the OVA, you can read the complete manga, in English, to get the rest of the story. Oedo wa Nemurenai! is available from the usual torrent site or on IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net.

Singles v2

Here's a revised version of the 1993 Margaret OVA Singles. You can read all about the plot and the voice actors in my original blog post.

This first version used an Internet raw that was very blurry and lacked one of the audio channels. This new version was captured from a second-hand VHS tape using a non-compressing system and then encoded. The improvement in video quality is dramatic:

And of course, having both audio channels is a plus too.

For the first version, Sunachan translated, M74 timed, I edited and typeset, bananadoyouwanna styled the songs, and BeeBee and Nemesis QCed. For this release, the timing was "sushi'd" and then tweaked. I redid the signs, but the dialog and songs were left almost unchanged. Suzaku encoded from a VHS tape acquired and ripped by our Intrepid Raw Hunter™. There is a little bit of fuzz at the bottom of the frame, but I don't think it detracts from the overall result.

With this release, all of the Margaret OVAs now use Orphan's own encodes rather than random Internet raws. We might refresh other VHS releases with new ones using uncompressed captures, but the encoding backlog is already enormous, so don't hold your breath. You can get this new version of Singles from the usual torrent sites or from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net.

Oedo wa Nemurenai!

The Margaret video series was a set of six shoujo OVAs released at monthly intervals in 1993. They were based on manga published in Margaret magazine and animated by Madhouse. In chronological order, they were:

• Oshare Kozou wa Hanamaru (April)
• Singles (May)
• POPS (June)
• Oedo wa Nemurenai! (July)
• Kiss wa Me ni Shite (August)
• A-Girl (September)

Orphan has released A-Girl, Kisa wa Me ni Shite, POPS, Singles, and Oshare Kozou wa Hanamaru. We're pleased to bring you the last of the six, Oedo wa Nemurenai! (Oedo Never Sleeps!). It's based on Honda Keiko's five-volume manga, which has been completely scanlated into English.

All the Margaret OVAs until now have focused on the romantic tribulations of young women in modern settings. Oedo wa Nemurenai! is a departure. It's set in historical Edo (old Tokyo) during the 18th century. It borrows a character and some of its style from a famous kabuki play. It contains supernatural elements. And finally, the heroine is a young courtesan in the Yoshiwara red-light district. It's shoujo, for sure, but not the routine shoujo of the other five OVAs.

The story focuses on three principal characters: Usugumo, the "number one girl" at Miura-ya, a Yoshiwara brothel, and still a virgin at 14; Aoto Touichirou, nominally a western doctor but really a secret agent; and Bentenkozou Kikunosuke, a chivalrous thief. Usugumo is actually the daughter of the Shogun and a Christian courtesan; Aoto has been assigned to protect her. Usugomo attracts the unwanted attention of the heir to the Kaga clan, who wants to ravish her, and of court assassins, who want to bury the Shogun's secret forever. The two men in her life must protect her life and future.

The voice cast has many well-known seiyuu of the era:

• Hidaka Noriko (Usugumo) played Satsuke in My Neighbor Totoro, Akane (the female lead) in Ranma 1/2, Peter in Peter Pan no Bouken, Mrs. Yamada (the mother) in the first two Chi anime series, Near in Death Note, and Kikyo in the Inuyasha franchise. She played Yuuki in Boyfriend and Noriko in Yuukan Club, both Orphan releases. She is still active and recently appeared in Little Witch Academia.
• Tanaka Hideyuki (Aoto) has had a long career, including featured roles as Terryman in the Kinnikuman franchise and Rayearth in Magic Knight Rayearth, as well as Harmer in Al Caral no Isan, Sammy in Bavi Stock, Sawamura in Nozomi Witches, Ronron in Greed, and Katze in Ai no Kusabi, all Orphan releases. 
• Yamadera Kouichi (Benten) played many leading roles, including Spike Spiegel in Cowboy Bebop, Sukeroku in Shouwa Ginroku Rakugo Shinju, Ryouga in all the Ranma 1/2 properties, the nameless hero of Otaku no Seiza, Melos in Hashire Melos!, Happyaku in Wild 7, and of course, Ryouan in Hidamari no Ki. The last three are Orphan releases.
• Kobayashi Yuuko (Benten in female guise) played Washu in the Tenchi Muyo franchise, Rapier in the Maze properties, and Rin in Otaku no Seiza.
• Fujita Toshiko (Takao, Usugumo's friendly rival) played the title role in Ikkyu-san, Rui in Cat's Eye, and Yawara's mother in Yawara! She also starred as Sharaku in Akuma Tou no Prince: Mitsume ga Tooru and played Cyborg 1019 in Oz, both Orphan releases.
• Miyuki Sanae (Usugumo's cat Kotetsu) starred as Lynn in Lady Lady! and played the Star Cat in Hoshi Neko Full House, an Orphan release. She had a recurring role as Botan in the Yu Yu Hakusho franchise.
• The peerless Ogata Kenichi (lord of Kaga, narrator) played the put-upon father in Gosenzosama Banbanzai! and Maroko, as well as Smee in Peter Pan no Bouken and, most recently, Gran Torino in Boku no Hero Academia. He played the governor in Akuemon, the crooked casino boss in Okane ga Nai!, the Hong Kong chef in Yuukan Club, and the ruthless rival cyborg in Kigyou Senshi Yamazaki: Long Distance Call, all Orphan releases. However, he's best known to me as the voice of Ranma 1/2's Sataome Gemna, whose alter ego - the grumpy panda - is my avatar on most anime forums. He recently appeared in Radiant.

The director, Chigira Koichi, is an industry veteran who has worked as director, key animator, and storyboarder on numerous shows.

Because of its historical setting, Oedo wa Nemurenai! actually requires a few context and translation notes:

• Bentenkozou Kikunosuke is one of five thieves in the nineteenth century Kabuki play 白浪五人男. Here, he is portrayed as a chivalrous thief, robbing the rich to give to the poor. In the play, he's a devious villain, who kills without compunction. The opening scene, in which the three main characters remove their masks and reveal their identities, is styled after Act IV of the play.
• Usugumo is a tayuu, the highest official rank for a courtesan. A tayuu was more of an entertainer than a prostitute, and she had the right to refuse to serve clients, as Usugumo does at the Kaga mansion.  The rank was retired in 1761.
• Usugumo describes herself as "strong against evil but weak about emotions." These were said to be the traits of the typical Edokko or citizen of old Edo.
• Usugumo's outburst at the Kaga heir is reminiscent of a stage performance, and the spectators respond with Nipponchi! (Best in Japan!), as they would for a good show.
• Yoshiwara was the official red-light district of Edo. When Benten disguises himself as a courtesan, he says he is from Shimabara, the official red-light district of Kyoto. 
• The Shogun was usually referred to as "the Lord of Edo Castle" or just "the Lord."
• The closing remarks by the narrator do not, alas, point to a sequel but are typical of the conventions of a stage play.

Sunachan translated the show, finally giving in to my persistent whining about finishing the Margaret OVAs. M74 timed. I edited and typeset. BeeBee and Nemesis QCed. M74 encoded from a VHS rip. There are a lot of interlacing problems, but this version has better detail (and both audio channels) compared to the other available raw. Note that ordered chapters are used to chop off nine seconds of initial black leader. If your player doesn't support ordered chapters, just be a little bit patient at the start.

This completes Orphan's work on the Margaret video series. If our media guru can improve the VHS ripping setup, we'll probably re-release some of them, but unless or until, we're done. We hope you've enjoyed them.

You can get Oedo wa Nemurenai! from the usual torrent site or from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net.

Oshare Kozou wa Hanamaru

The Margaret video series was a set of six shoujo OVAs released at monthly intervals in 1993. They were based on manga published in Margaret magazine and animated by Madhouse. In chronological order, they were:

• Oshare Kozou wa Hanamaru (April)
• Singles (May)
• POPS (June)
• Oedo wa Nemurenai! (July)
• Kiss wa Me ni Shite (August)
• A-Girl (September)

Orphan has released A-Girl, Kisa wa Me ni Shite, POPS, and Singles. After a pause for station identification, we now bring you the first OVA, Oshare Kozou wa Hanamaru.

Oshare Kozou wa Hanamaru (The Fashion Boy Is Cool) tells the story of Fujiya Kotobuki, a precocious 14-year-old girl with a strong sense of fashion and an equally strong crush on Kushinige Hodaka, the owner and chief designer of a chic boutique, Galopin et Galopine. By creatively exaggerating her age, she wangles her way into the shop and into Hodaka's heart. However, she also comes to the attention of Hodaka's younger assistant (and, as it turns out, younger half-brother) Kujou Kazuomi. When Hodaka finds out Kotobuki's true age, he firmly rejects her, and Kazuomi tries to take his place in Kotobuki's affections. Will the complications and misunderstandings be straightened out? Will Kotobuki find the path to true love? Well, this is a shoujo romance, after all.

For an American audience, there's a certain "ick" factor in showing a relationship between an older man - Hodaka is 26 - and a middle school girl, but Japan is, or was, more tolerant of it. The age of consent is 13 in many parts of the country, although it's higher in Tokyo. That's the lowest age of consent in the developed world.

The voice cast includes:

• Mitsuishi Kotono (Fujiya Kotobuki) has had a fabulous career, including star turns as Excel in Excel Saga, female Maze in Maze TV and OVAs, Mink in Dragon Half, Birdy in Birdy the Mighty, Katsuragi Misato in the Evangelion properties, and of course, Sailor Moon in the Sailor Moon franchise. She also appeared in Blazing Transfer Student, Nagasarete Airantou, and Yamato 2520, all Orphan releases. She is still active, appearing in 2018's Zombieland Saga.
• Hayami Shou (Kushinige Hodaka) starred as Nanjou in Zetsuai: 1989 and Bronze: Zetsuai since 1989, both Orphan releases. He has had many featured roles, including Iason's friend Raoul in Ai no Kusabi, Hojo in Sanctuary, Pat Leivy in Starship Troopers, and Junoichi in Blazing Transfer Student, all Orphan releases.  He is still active, recently playing Popuko in Pop Team Epic. 
• Nanba Keiichi (Kujou Kazuomi), starred as Eizawa in Chameleon and Hongou in Nozomi Witches, and gave an over-the-top performance as Roll the vengeful wizard in Girl from Fantasia, all Orphan releases. He also starred as Koujiro in the Fuma no Koujiro OVA series and as Momonari Junta in DNA^2.

The show was directed by the late Endou Takuji, who also helmed Zetsuai: 1989.

Oshare Kozou wa Hanamaru was first translated by Tomodachi back in the VHS fansub era. Moho Kareshi did an independent translation for Orphan. I cross-correlated the two translations, and laalg corrected the result. M74 timed, and I edited and typeset (very few signs). BeeBee and Nemesis QCed. M74 encoded based on a VHS rip. The tape itself was purchased second-hand and turned out to be reasonably good.

So if you're in the mood for a little May-December romance, you can get Oshare Kozou wa Hanamaru from the usual torrent site or from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net. The last Margaret OVA, Oedo wa Nemurai!, is "on the slipways" but is still a ways from launch. Stay tuned.

Singles

The Margaret video series was a set of six shoujo OVAs released at monthly intervals in 1993. They were based on manga published in Margaret magazine and animated by Madhouse. In chronological order, they were:

• Oshare Kozou wa Hanamaru (April)
• Singles (May)
• POPS (June)
• Oedo wa Nemurenai! (July)
• Kiss wa Me ni Shite (August)
• A-Girl (September)

Orphan has released A-Girl, Kisa wa Me ni Shite, and POPS. Now, our October shoujo spree comes to a temporary end with Singles.

Singles varies the Margaret OVA template a little, by moving the setting from high school to college, but the structure is pretty much the same. Graduating senior Sakisaka Saki is secretly in love with her older sister Noriko's boyfriend, Kazame Kaname, unaware that Noriko and Kaname have broken up. Saki hopes to escape her dilemma when she goes to college, but she ends up attending the same college as Kaname. During orientation, she is recruited to Kaname's video club. He wants to film her, but so does another boy, Tachibana Daichi, who is secretly in love with her. Can the knots be untangled and true love find its true course? Well, duh...

The voice cast includes several familiar seiyuu.

• Minaguchi Yuko (Saki) is best known for Yawara!, her breakout and defining role. She debuted as Kii in Greed, an Orphan release, and appeared in numerous other shows, including Dragon Ball Z and GT, Sailor Moon, and One Piece. She played Roxanne in Alexander (Reign: The Conqueror) and Felicia in Oz (another Orphan release).
• Matsumoto Yasunori (Kaname) starred as Johnny in Starship Troopers and Tooru in Every Day Is Sunday, both Orphan releases. He was in numerous OVAs in the 1990s, including Seikimatsu: Humane Society and Al Caral no Isan, both Orphan releases. Among his notable roles were Wataru Akiyama in Initial D, Jean Havoc in Fullmetal Alchemist, Gourry Gabriev in Slayers, Ryou in Sonic Soldier Borgman, and a personal favorite, Dick Saucer in Dragon Half. He is still active, appearing in Violet Evergarden in 2018.
• Kusao Takeshi (Daichi) played the lead roles in Junk Boy and Fujilog, the title role in Babel II, Trunks in the Dragon Ball Z franchise, the teenaged Tezuka Osamu in Tezuka Osamu Monogatari, and the icy director Kurume Kenjirou in Smash Hit!; the last two are Orphan releases. He is still active, appearing in the recently concluded Major 2nd.
• Amano Yuri (Noriko) played the title role in The Legend of Snow White, Julia in Daddy Long Legs, Kiyone in the Tenchi Muyo franchise, and Moemi in Video Girl Ai. She appeared as Kuzunoha in Akuemon, Angie in Condition Green, Elthena in Eien no Filena, Kitagawa in Nozomi Witches, and Yuko in St. Michaela Gakuen Hyouryuuki, all Orphan releases.

The director, Abe Tsukasa, is better known as an animator.

Credits are pretty much the same as the other Margaret OVAs. Sunachan translated, M74 timed, I edited and typeset, bananadoyouwanna styled the songs, and BeeBee and Nemesis QCed. The raw is a VHS tape rip from ARR. It is missing one of the stereo audio tracks; I've remixed the audio to mono. Orphan bought a video tape of our own, but it has problems; if the encoders can extract a usable raw, we'll do another release.

So at the two-thirds point in the Margaret OVAs, we'll pause for a while. Sunachan has moved on to more interesting projects (sports anime!), and the team is a bit shoujo-ed out. Meanwhile, you can get Singles from the usual torrent site or from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net.

POPS

The Margaret video series was a set of six shoujo OVAs released at monthly intervals in 1993. They were based on manga published in Margaret magazine and animated by Madhouse. In chronological order, they were:

• Oshare Kozou wa Hanamaru (April)
• Singles (May)
• POPS (June)
• Oedo wa Nemurenai! (July)
• Kiss wa Me ni Shite (August)
• A-Girl (September)

Orphan has released A-Girl and Kisa wa Me ni Shite. Now, our shoujo spree continues with POPS.

As with the others in the series, POPS has a rather standard shoujo plot. Harada Kusuko is a high school girl with a secret crush on the class playboy, Mishima Takeshi.

After breaking up with his most recent girlfriend, Mishima asks Kusuko to be his date for the class trip to Kyoto. She's over the moon, but in fact, Mishima is hung up on Shouko, his middle school teacher. Despite the age gap (and general inappropriateness of the relationship), Mishima still sees Shouko, whose marriage is disintegrating. His friend and loyal wingman, Kotaro, openly disapproves of this connection. As the emotional tensions mount, Mishima becomes involved in fights with other boys, and eventually, he's expelled from school. Feeling like he's been a complete jerk, Mishima breaks up with Kusuko and drops out of her life. Will true love find a way?

If the plot sounds familiar, it should - it has almost the same structure as Kiss wa Me ni Shite: the besotted heroine, the handsome protagonist guarding his secrets, his older love interest, and the other boy, perhaps secretly in love with the heroine. Come to think of it, A-Girl had a similar story. Once is happenstance, twice is coincidence, three times is... enemy action? rote storytelling? You be the judge.

The seiyuu in POPS are less well known that the ones in Kiss wa Me ni Shite.

• Yuuki Nae (Kusuko) has only one other anime credit besides POPS.
• Miyazaki Issei (Mishima) made his debut as Gen in the Barefoot Gen movies. He had featured roles in Azuki-chan, Bomber Man & Bidaman Bakugaiden, and X the Movie.
• Kobayashi Hidetoshi (Kotaro) only appeared in POPS.
• Takamori Yoshino (Shouko) played the arch oujo-sama Sayaka in Yawara! and
  the twin roles of Juliet Douglas and Sloth in Full Metal Alchemist. She also appeared in the What's Michael? OVAs and Yousei Ou, all Orphan releases.

The director, Asaka Morio, has done many famous shows, including Cardcaptor Sakura and its recent reboot, Galaxy Angel, Gunslinger Girl, Yawara! Atlanta Special, Nana, Chihayafuru and its sequel, and Ore Monogatari.

The staff credits for POPS are the same as for Kiss wa Me ni Shite. Sunachan translated, M74 timed, I edited and typeset, BeeBee and Nemesis QCed, and M74 encoded from a VHS tape rip.

As usual, you can get POPS from the usual torrent site or IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net. We have at least one more Margaret OVA in the works, so you're not out of the woods yet.

Kiss wa Me ni Shite

The Margaret video series was a set of six shoujo OVAs released at monthly intervals in 1993. They were based on manga published in Margaret magazine and animated by Madhouse. In chronological order, they were:

• Oshare Kozou wa Hanamaru (April)
• Singles (May)
• POPS (June)
• Oedo wa Nemurenai! (July)
• Kiss wa Me ni Shite (August)
• A-Girl (September)

Orphan released a finished version of A-Girl in December, 2017, after three tries.

As I noted in my blog on A-Girl, the Margaret OVAs were not very successful from a commercial viewpoint, and none of the OVAs were released on laserdisc, let alone in digital form. Nonetheless, after the problems finding a decent raw for A-Girl, the team began trying to collect raws for all the other OVAs. ARR had done some of them, but their encodes were often missing one channel of audio. After establishing a VHS ripping capability in Japan, we were able to obtain used tapes from the series.  We'll be releasing more of the OVAs, starting with Kiss wa Me ni Shite (Kiss Me on My Eye).

Perhaps one reason for the series lack of success is that the OVAs are very standard shoujo fare, even for the time. In Kiss wa Me ni Shite, high school student Morisato Ibuki has a startling dream about kissing a prince on a white horse.

The next day, the prince from her dream, Ebisu Naoto, shows up as a transfer student at her school and a guest at her house. He had indeed kissed her, in an attempt to wake her up in the morning, although he claims that she kissed him. Ibuki is smitten with Naoto, but he seems to have other commitments, to American football and to a mysterious girl called Kawahara Izumi. Meanwhile, Nitta, a shy boy in Ibuki's class, has a crush on her. Will true love eventually find a way?

The voice cast includes some very distinguished seiyuu:

• Hayashibara Megumi (Ibuki) was arguably the most famous seiyuu of the 1990s. She's starred as Faye Valentine in Cowboy Bebop, Ayanami Rei in Evangelion, Rune Balot in the Mardock Scramble movies, Rebecca in One Piece, Lina in the Slayers franchise, female Ranma in Ranma 1/2, and Miyokichi in Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju. She also played a number of feline roles, including including the title roles in the All Purpose Cultural Cat Girl Nuku Nuku and Hello Kitty franchises, as well as "lead cat" Iruinedo in Oruorane the Cat Player, an Orphan release.
• Seki Toshihiko (Naoto) was one of the leading male seiyuu in this period. He played Riki in Ai no Kusabi, the hero Seitarou in Hoshi Neko Full House, the gang leader Hiba in Wild 7, Miroku in Yuukan Club, Chuuta in Satsujin Kippu wa Heart-iro, the fighter Nagase Jun in Akai Hayate, and the unnamed protagonist of Oruorane the Cat Player, all Orphan releases. He also played Matsuda in the Yawara! properties, Sanzo in the Saiyuuki TV series, and the title roles in Alexander (Reign the Conqueror) and Kaiketsu Zorro.
• Ootani Ikue (Ibuki's friend Sumire) stars as Pikachu in the Japanese, English, Spanish, and German versions of the Pokemon shows. She also plays Mitsuhiko in the Detective Conan franchise and Tony Tony Chopper in the One Piece franchise. She appeared as Ann in Next Senki Ehrgeiz and Misono in Harukanaru Toki no Naka de 2, both Orphan releases.
• Koyasu Takehito (Nitta) is reputed to be the most prolific voice actor currently active, with more than 365 roles under his belt. He played Doujima Gin in Shokugeki no Souma, Thirteen in Grimoire of Zero, Dio in Jojo's Bizarre Adventures, the title role in Master of Mosquitron, and Fool in Elegant Yokai Apartment Life. He starred as Izumi in Zetsuai and Bronze and appeared in Yamato 2520 and Yuukan Club, all Orphan releases.
• Satou Ai (Ibuki's mother) has played many maternal roles, including Light's mother in Death Note, Masami's mother in Wedding Peach, Misaki's mother in Dear Brother, Ban's mother in Getbackers, Shigeru's mother in Noramimi, and the unnamed mothers in Cinderella Express, Ai Monogatari, and Guyver: Out of Control. Other roles include Kristin Adams in Yawara! and the unnamed girlfriend in Lunn Flies into the Wind, an Orphan release.

The two leads also also starred in the 1991 OVA Izumo, an Orphan release. The director, Ookubo Tomihiko, has mostly done storyboarding and key animation. The songs, by a group called The 5 TEARDROPS, are bouncy, idiosyncratic, and fun.

One translation note. The show is sometimes referred to as Kiss wa Hitomi ni Shite, because the kanji 瞳 (eye) in the title is usually rendered as hitomi, and 目 is used for me. However, me is an alternate, somewhat rare reading for 瞳. The manga cover includes the furigana め (me), indicating that Kiss wa Me ni Shite is the correct reading.

Sunachan translated the show as part of a break between more serious assignments. (She noted, "Shoujo is not complicated.") M74 timed and encoded the raw. I edited and typeset, and bananadoyouwanna styled the songs. BeeBee and Nemesis QCed. The VHS tape was purchased second-hand in Japan.

There's nothing groundbreaking about Kiss wa Me ni Shite, even for its day, but it's not a disgrace either. If you like shoujo, you should give it a try. You can find it at the usual torrent site or on IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net. And stay tuned for more shoujo releases.

A-Girl v2

It's taken three tries, and fifteen months, but here at last is a complete and listenable version of the 1993 OVA A-Girl.

In 1992, Madhouse and Margaret Comics collaborated on an OVA of the shounen-ai romance Zetsuai 1989. This was successful, and in 1993, Madhouse issued six additional OVAs based on Margaret Comic properties:

• Oshare Kozou wa Hanamaru
• Singles
• Pops
• Oeda wa Nemurenai!
• Kiss wa Hitomi ni Shite
• A-Girl

Unfortunately, these additional OVAs were not successful and quickly sank into obscurity. None of them made it to Laserdisc, let alone DVD.

A-Girl is based on a 1984 shoujo romance manga by Fusako Kuramochi. It tells a very simple story: girl meets boy, girl loses boy, girl gets boy. High-school student Mariko and her elder sister Mayu are forced out of their apartment by a fire and move in with their landlord. Mariko meets the landlord's handsome son, Natsume, who is also a model. They fall in love but break up when Mariko discovers that Natsume is seeing other girls. Eventually, they are reunited, and the end credits roll.

The story of this release, however, is far from simple.

The first raw we found, back in September 2016, was defective: small (512 x 384) and missing the end credits. Apparently, it was stitched together from three pieces on YouTube. The second raw was based on a used VHS tape purchased in Japan.  It wasn't perfect either: tape stretch caused noticeable audio distortion in three places - but at least it was complete. This month, the VHS ripper realized that the audio distortion could be overcome. He made a new audio track, and I spliced the new track over the old one in the three chapters that were broken. That brings us, at long last, to this "VHS v2" release.
 
A-Girl was the directorial debut of Kousaka Kitarou. (He also did the character designs.) He later worked for many years as an animation director and key animator on Ghibli films before achieving prominence as the director of the award-winning Nasu: Anadalusia no Natsu. For A-Girl, he chose a novel approach: he made a "silent movie." A-Girl has no dialog and is performed against a background of Japanese pop songs composed by Okada Tooru and sung (in English!) by SEIKA. Dialog placards provide continuity, like in old silent films. It works pretty well and doesn't interrupt the flow of the story.

Iri bought the VHS tape for this release in Japan.He also translated and timed. I edited and typeset, Nemesis and Eternal_Blizzard did QC, our media guy ripped the VHS tape (and the replacement audio track), and M74 encoded it (and the replacement audio track).
 
As usual, you can get this version of A-Girl from the usual torrent sites or from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net. If you like the music, the soundtrack is available on BakaBT. If you already downloaded the previous version, you can get a patch to v2 here. It's rather large; the entire audio track gets replaced.

A-Girl v1

When I wrote the blog post about the original, incomplete release of A-Girl in September, 2016, I said that if we ever found a complete raw, we'd release a new version. We did, and we have.

A-Girl is one of six shoujo OVAs based on properties from Margaret Magazine and animated by Madhouse. The others are POPS, Singles, Kiss wa Me ni Shite, Oeda wa Nemurenai, and Oshare Kozou wa Hanamaru. None of them was very successful apparently, because none were ever released on Laserdisc, let alone DVD. Orphan's previous version of A-Girl used a web 384p encode derived from a YouTube rip. It stopped after 25 minutes. Because the story seemed wrapped up, I assumed that only the end credits were missing. I was wrong.

The last segment of A-Girl, which lasts six minutes and is based on the song The Magic of Your Sight, brings the story of Mariko (the A-Girl of the title) and Natsume (the playboy brought low by her charms) to a real conclusion. It includes the end credits too, but it also includes actual dialog, a whopping six lines of it. (It also includes an additional 250 lines of typesetting just for a "Whipped Cream" label, but who's counting?) With the last segment, the OVA is now 31 minutes long and makes more sense.

Iri obtained the new raw by buying a used VHS tape in Japan. Our media guy transcribed it, and M74 encoded it. It's still not perfect - tape stretch causes noticeable audio distortion in three places - but at least it's complete. Iri translated and timed the additional signs and dialog, I did the additional editing and typesetting, and Nemesis and Eternal_Blizzard did QC. This tape, imperfect though it was, was quite expensive, so I don't think Orphan will invest further in A-Girl media. Perhaps it will show up on DVD someday, in some sort of Madhouse retrospective.

As usual, you can get the complete version of A-Girl from the usual torrent sites or from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net.

A-Girl v0

Here's a bluebird that happened by and flew through the release process in a flash: A-Girl, an OVA from 1993.

In 1992, Madhouse and Margaret Comics collaborated on an OVA of the shounen-ai romance Zetsuai 1989. This was successful, and in 1993, Madhouse issued six additional OVAs based on Margaret Comic properties:

• Oshare Kozou wa Hanamaru
• Singles
• Pops
• Oeda wa Nemurenai!
• Kiss wa Hitomi ni Shite
• A-Girl

Unfortunately, these additional OVAs were not successful and quickly sank into obscurity. None of them made it to Laserdisc, let alone DVD.

A-Girl is based on a 1984 shoujo romance manga by Fusako Kuramochi. It tells a very simple story: girl meets boy, girl loses boy, girl gets boy. High-school student Mariko and her elder sister Mayu are forced out of their apartment by a fire and move in with their landlord. Mariko meets the landlord's handsome son, Natsume, who is also a model. They fall in love but break up when Mariko discovers that Natsume is seeing other girls. Eventually, they are reunited, and the end credits roll, except...

The raw we have - and the only one available - is defective: it is small (512 x 384) and is missing the end credits. Apparently, it was stitched together from three pieces on YouTube. Accordingly, we've labeled this release a "v0". If a better raw turns up - complete, and hopefully at 480p - we'll reissue the show.

A-Girl was the directorial debut of Kousaka Kitarou. (He also did the character designs.) He later worked for many years as an animation director and key animator on Ghibli films before achieving prominence as the director of the award-winning Nasu: Anadalusia no Natsu. For A-Girl, he chose a novel approach: he made a "silent movie." A-Girl has no dialog and is performed against a background of Japanese pop songs composed by Okada Tooru and sung (in English!) by SEIKA. Dialog placards provide continuity, like in old silent films. It works pretty well and doesn't interrupt the flow of the story.

Iri found the raw (after sitting on a dead torrent for a year) and then translated and timed it. I edited and typeset the captions, and Nemesis QCed.

So enjoy A-Girl in its truncated form. This will have to do, until a better source turns up. If you like the music, the soundtrack is available on BakaBT.