Kasei Yakyoku v2

When Orphan released Kasei Yakyoku in late 2018, we had to use a VHS tape for the first two episodes. At the time, I said we'd redo those episodes if a laserdisc source became available. It did, and we have.

Released in 1989, Kasei Yakyoku (Nightsong of Spendor) is a four-part OVA based on a nine-volume manga by Hirata Makiko; the manga is not available in English. It is set in late Taisho Japan (1923), a period of political and social ferment. It focuses on a quartet of star-crossed lovers: Hasho Akiko, a daughter of a noble family; Uchida Sara, her maid since childhood; Saionji Kiyokuni, heir to a major banking family; and Ito Taka, a strongman in the Aoba yakuza group. Akiko is betrothed to Kiyokuni but chafes at the constraints of an arranged marriage based on financial considerations. Then Taka rescues her and Sara when their car breaks down in a bad part of Tokyo. As a result, Akiko decides to have an affair with Taka and tries to give Sara to Kiyokuni as a "consolation" gift. Taka sees through Akiko and will have nothing to do with her, and Kiyokuni turns down Sara, albeit with regret. Sara quits her maid's job and tries to make it on her own. However, she is not equipped to face the dangers of the Tokyo demimondaine. Taka rescues her, they fall in love, and then suddenly, it's September 1, 1923...

The summary makes Kasei Yakyoku sound melodramatic, if not downright soap operatic, and to some extent it is. But it's also a fascinating look at a time in Japan when society was undergoing rapid change, and new and old rubbed elbows uneasily. The characters are well fleshed out; there's not a one-dimensional stereotype in the bunch. There's nudity, sex, violence, raw emotion, wonderful animation, and an excellent score. What's not to like?

The voice cast includes many well-known names of 20th century anime:

• Nozawa Nachi (Taka) debuted in 1967. He played Lupin in the original Lupin III pilot film, Axel von Fersen in Rose of Versailles, Cobra in the Space Cobra franchise, and Deimos in Bride of Deimos, as well as Black Jack in Marine Express and Bremen 4 and Takeru in Izumo (1991), all Orphan releases..
• Mutou Reiko (Akiko) played the title role in Marvelous Melmo and Uran (Astro Girl) in the original Astro Boy. She played Countess Polignac in Rose of Versailles, and Queen Tasuka in One Million Year Trip: Bander Book (an Orphan release).
• Suzuki Hiroko (Sara) played the title role in The Adventures of Pepero and appeared in Peter Pan no Bouken and several other World Masterpiece Theater series.
• Ogawa Shinji (Kiyokuni) played Johnny's father in Starship Troopers and Douglas MacArthur in Junod, both Orphan releases, but I remember him best as the lecherous ojii-san, Maestro Stresemann, in Nodame Cantabile
• Seki Toshihiko (Sara's younger brother Junichiro) was one of the leading male seiyuu in this period. He played the title role in Izumo, 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, Hayata in Call Me Tonight, Ootsuki in Milky Passion: Dougenzaka - Ai no Shiro, 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, Mousse in Ranma 1/2, and the title roles in Alexander (Reign the Conqueror) and Kaiketsu Zorro.
• Tsujitani Kouji (Taka's colleague Saburou) played the title role in the Captain Tylor franchise and the lead role in the 3x3 Eyes OVAs. He also played Guy in Ai no Kusabi, Homare in Okane ga Nai, Shou in Condition Green, and Seishirou in Yuukan Club, all Orphan releases.

The show was directed by the the late Dezaki Osamu, younger brother of Dezaki Satoshi. Fittingly enough, Osamu got his start at Tezuka Osamu's Mushi productions and went on to direct many famous shows, including Ashita no Joe and its sequel, Ace wo Nerae and its sequel, the Black Jack OVAs and movie, and half a dozen Lupin III TV specials. Quoting AniDB, "He was known for his distinct visual style, which made use of split-screen, stark lighting, and pastel freeze frames that he called 'Postcard Memories.' The latter was perhaps his most famous trademark and featured a process where the screen faded into a detailed 'painting' of the simpler original animation. Many of techniques that he used became popular afterwards."

The show poses a number of interesting translation problems.

• The title, Kasei Yakyoku, is rather ambiguous. The translator, weleaveshadows, used the English title suggested by TechnoGirls, Nightsong of Splendor, but Starlight Nocturne is equally valid.
• Some characters are referred to strictly by title rather than by name. The Aoba group boss is oyabun, rendered as "Boss" or "the boss." The proprietress of the Cafe Bistro is okami, rendered as "Ma'am" or "Madam."
• Taka's coterie use terms of familial respect. Junichiro and Sabu refer to Taka as aniki, respected elder brother, rendered by the anachronistic but locally appropriate "Bro." Taka calls Junichiro his ototobun, meaning a friend treated like a little brother.
• Akiko calls herself atarashii onna or "new woman." This was a feminist movement in Taisho Japan, seeking greater freedom and rights for women.

There are many historical references throughout the series. For example, the magazines that Junichiro is seen reading (Nihon Shonen and Shonen Club) are real boys' magazines of the time.The product advertising billboards also show actual 1920s products; for example, Sakura Beer. weleaveshadows has more notes on the show on her website.

Kasei Yakyoku had a tortuous path to release. Close to three years ago, Iri found some sub-par Internet raws and started to translate, but the awful raws and other opportunities caused the project to be shelved in 2016. While Iri searched for better raws, weleaveshadows of Iquix released her own version of episode 1. I reached out to her and suggested that Iquix and Orphan collaborate to finish the series. She agreed and translated the rest of the OVAs, but the project stalled again on availability of both raws and a translation checker. Finally, Iri located a VHS tape of the first two episodes and a laserdisc of the last two. After delays for encoding, these raws were ready. Then in 2021, a laserdisc of the first two episodes became available.

weleaveshadows of Iquix translated all four episodes. Iri translation-checked episode 1 and part of 2; laalg translation-checked all four. Yogicat timed. I edited and typeset. BeeBee and Topper3000 QCed the original release. Nemesis RCed the two revised episodes. Intrepid encoded the first two episodes from a Domesday Duplicator laserdisc rip, and Erik of Piyo Piyo productions encoded the last two episodes from a regular laserdisc rip. I had hoped to redo the last two episodes with the Domesday Duplicator, but Erik is offline right now. So episodes 3 and 4 are unchanged from the first release, although the file names have been corrected.

I quite liked Kasei Yakyoku. The OVAs tell a complete story, although clearly not the whole story that's in the manga. The ending feels like a good stopping point, with the central relationships and tensions defined but unresolved. And it's gorgeous to look at; Dezaki Osamu's style is a perfect fit to the material. If you previously downloaded Kasei Yakyoku, I recommend getting this version for the improved video in the first two episodes. You can find it on the usual torrent site or download it from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net.

Sweet Spot

Here's an almost totally unknown work from director Sugii Gisaburou, the 1991 OVA Sweet Spot. Based on a manga by Chuusonji Yutsuko, it tells the story of OL (office lady) extraordinaire and golf fanatic Oyamada Non. She is 23 and works at Major Products in Tokyo's commercial district, Marunouchi. Between bossing her bosses and managing her managers, she finds time to golf, shop, party, and pursue the important things in life, i.e., marriageable men. In short, it's a comedy.

Sweet Spot doesn't have much of a through plot; rather, it's a series of vignettes. First, Oyamada organizes a "50th anniversary golf competition," even though the company is only 42.5 years old. Next, her drive to succeed convinces her boss that she can entertain an important client at a golf resort; the client turns out to be a lush. She then confronts the different attitudes of the younger generation - her sister and some college students - who regard golf more as a fashion accessory than as a serious game. Finally, she tries her hand at socializing, first at a mixer with colleagues, and then with her manager. Throughout, she runs rings around everyone. The laughs are frequent, unexpected, and not in the least mean-spirited. Even though I concur that "golf is a good walk spoiled," I quite enjoyed the show.

Sweet Spot has unusual character designs, very flat and cartoonish. It was the first project for character designer Eguchi Marisuke, who would collaborate with Sugii Gisaburou on many other projects, including Nozomi Witches and Hidamari no Ki (both Orphan releases), Arashi no Yoru ni, Lupin III: The Secret of Twilight Gemini, and Cinnamon the Movie. Sugii was at the height of his fame, having just finished his Adachi Mitsuru trilogy - Nine, Touch, and Hiatari Ryouko (the first and last are also Orphan releases). The OVA was made in collaboration with Fuji TV. In an unusual move, there's only one real seiyuu - Morio Yumi (Oyamada Non), who starred as Kasumi in Hiatari Ryouko. All the other roles were played by announcers from Fuji TV, most of whom never appeared in any other anime. The ending credits feature live action of the dubbing session, and there's a short promo at the end that showcases more of Fuji TV's announcing talent.

Sweet Spot is another goodie from Erik's pile of Laserdisc Goodness. He ripped it on his Domesday Duplicator and encoded it. There's some video and audio glitches, but as Erik noted in his release blurb, the disc is rotted, and there's only so much software can do. Iri translated and rough timed, Yogicat fine timed, I edited and typeset, and Nemesis and BeeBee QCed. The show has a ton of location signs, and they're all rather jittery, but they're not motion-tracked. Life is too short. Both the digital and analog audio tracks are included. The digital sounds better, but the analog has fewer glitches.

The show is heavy with 1990s slang. For example, Oyamada is referred to as an "oyaji" (old man) gal, because she likes activities associated with older men - golf, table massages, etc. The "kogal" dialog of the college girls is almost incomprehensible, perhaps in order to set up Oyamada's "I can't understand what you people are saying!" outburst. The absurdist humor is evident in this exchange between Oyamada and her section head:

Boss: Oyamada-kun,can you stop wearing spikes and making noise as you walk around the office?
Oyamada: I cannot.
Boss: Huh?
Oyamada: Section Head, even as I'm making tea, I'm walking on the fairway called life.

Well, perhaps you need to be there.

So if you're ready for a break from the heavy stuff Orphan's been releasing lately, you can find Sweet Spot on the usual torrent site or download it from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net. As Oyamada says, "Shot!"

Eiyuu Banka Koushi-den

In these disastrous times since the 2016 US election, I've taken solace in watching (and endlessly rewatching) The Great British Baking Show. One highlight that sticks in my memory is when Mary Berry, the "Queen of British Baking," was viewing a squat loaf made out of all kinds of healthy ingredients. She made a little frown of distaste and said, in an upper-crust British accent of disappointment, "It looks like it's going to be rather good for me." That's a bit how I feel about Eiyuu Banka Koushi-den (The Heroic Elegy of Confucius). It's serious, informative, and intellectually nourishing, but sometimes, I would kind of prefer a trifling bon-bon. Well, we've already released Elf 17, and in the end, Koushi-den is very moving.

Confucius was one of the great philosophers of human history. He lived in the chaotic Spring and Autumn period in China, more than 2500 years ago, when endless warfare among numerous warring states was the norm. His thinking emphasized personal and governmental morality, correctness of social relationships, justice, kindness, and sincerity: departures from the norm so radical in their day (or even today, for that matter) that his philosophy was suppressed until the victory of the Han Dynasty more than 300 years later. His beliefs continue to be influential to the present day, and his descendants constitute the longest recorded pedigree in the world today.

Confucius is a westernization of Kong Fuzi (Master Kong). He was born in the state of Lu as plain Kong Qiu, the illegitimate son of Shuliang He, then aged 60, and a younger woman, Yan Zhengai. His father died when Kong Qui was three, and his mother when he was 15. He wanted to pursue a career in academics, but his birth was considered too lowly. He then took all sorts of jobs to survive - shepherd, trumpeter, babysitter, funeral assistant, bookkeeper - and married at 19. Yet despite these unpromising beginnings, Kong Qiu learned not only to read and write but to understand the complex rites and rituals that already governed Chinese life. By the age of 27, he was already teaching and gaining recognition as a scholar. From then on, he combined a life of scholarship and active political work, attempting not merely to teach but to demonstrate by example how government should work. His insistence on proper actions often got him into trouble with local nobles, and he migrated from state to state throughout his life. However, he also gathered an increasing number of disciples, who eventually codified his teachings in The Analects. He never succeeded in convincing the rulers of his day to abide by principles, but his thoughts influenced rulers through most of the history of Imperial China.

The anime is a straightforward biography. Confucius himself is portrayed as a thoroughly good man whose intentions are repeatedly frustrated by the foolish rulers he attempts to serve. Beyond the main subject, the anime has an enormous number of characters, places, incidents, and ideas, crammed into 90 minutes. You can't tell the players without a program. Except for the seductive Lady Nanzi and the supremely loyal Zigong, there isn't enough time to develop any of the subordinate characters or make them very memorable. So here are some references:

• Zigond, a disciple
• Zengzi, a disciple
• Shuliang He, his father
• Yang Hu, a vassal of the Jisun clan in Lu
• Viscount of Tan, a formative influence
• Yang Yin, a ruler
• Zixia, a disciple

(There will be a short quiz at the end of this review.)

The voice cast includes:

• Kazama Morio (Confucius) played Genji in the Genji Monogatari movie, Susanoo in Wanpaku Ouji no Orochi Taiji, and the elder Satomi in The Wind Rises.
• Genda Tesshou (Zigong) played Colonel Muto in Joker Game, Moloch in Yondemasu Azazel-san, Rei in the Urusei Yatsura franchise, Moguro Fukuzou in New Laughing Salesman,  and "Oyaji" in Mitsuboshi Colors. He also played Paul Rusch in Yume Kakeru Kougen, Jim Hyatt in AWOL Compression Remix, the loyal lieutenant Galbreath in Next Senki Ehrgeiz, the dragonman Baguda in Greed, the narrator in Akai Hayate and Meisou-ou Border, Dog McCoy in Dallos, Hebopi in Wild 7, rebel leader Oosukune in Izumo, and Rikiishi's trainer Kuroki and Kirishima in Eguchi Hisashi no Kotobuki Gorou Show, all Orphan releases.
• Ebara Mahashi (Zengzi) played Might Guy in Naruto, Bolt Crank in Eat-Man, Alastor in Shakugan no Shana, Sebastian Viera in Nodame Cantabile, and Hamegg in Metropolis. He also played the referee in Blazing Transfer Student, Tanzou in Akai Hayate, and Ishizu in Mikeneko Holmes, all Orphan releases.
• Ootsuka Akio (Zilu) played the title roles in all of the Black Jack properties, Ambassador Magma, Blade, and Montana Jones. He also played Gozo in the Aika franchise, Batou in the Ghost in the Shell franchise, the villain All for One in Boku no Hero Academia, and Nyanko Big in one memorable episode of Tada Never Falls in Love. He played George in Condition Green, the narrator in Fire Emblem, Nobunaga the boss crow in Ultra Nyan 2, and Black Jack in Tezuka Osamu Disappears, all Orphan releases. He is still active and appeared in the recently completed Vinland Saga.
• Ikeda Masako (Nanzi) starred as Maetel in the Galaxy Express 999 franchise. She played Perrine's mother in Perrine Monogatari, the phoenix in the Hi no Tori movies, sister Nadoka in Ranma 1/2, and Reiko in Ace wo Nerae.

The movie was directed by the late Dezaki Osamu, who should need no introduction. He directed many famous anime, including Ashita no Joe and its sequel, Ace wo Nerae and its sequel, the Black Jack OVAs and movie, half a dozen Lupin III TV specials, and Kasei Yakyoku, an Orphan release. His visual trademarks - split-screen scenes, stark lighting, and detailed freeze frames that he called "Postcard Memories"- are on full display in this movie.

The project started when Iri saw a used LD of the anime on a Japanese second-hand site. He had not heard of it before, and indeed, at the time, it didn't appear in most the western anime databases. He bought it and sent it to Erik of Piyo Piyo Productions. Erik ripped and released a raw, which enabled Iri to translate and rough time the show. Yogicat fine timed, I edited and typeset, and BeeBee and Nemesis QCed. All this took time, and in the interim, Erik acquired a Domesday Duplicator. I asked him to rerip the show, which he graciously agreed to do, but then the press of other projects prevented him from finishing the work. He sent the raw Duplicator rip to our Intrepid Media Maven™ in Japan, who completed the decoding and encoding to produce the final raw.

Eiyuu Banka Koushi-den sheds a warm and positive light on one of the great thinkers in human history, one much less well known in the west than his near contemporary, the Buddha. You can get the movie from the usual torrent site or from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net

Amon Saga

This one is a bit odd: a new release of the 1986 sword-and-sorcery movie Amon Saga, based on a laserdisc rip. Amon Saga has already been released, based on the R1 DVD. So why go back to the laserdisc? Erik of Piyo Piyo Productions wrote, "[The DVD licensor] just took the VHS master, (badly) upscaled it, and dumped it onto a DVD." A Domesday Duplicator rip of the laserdisc ought to look better. Does it? You'll have to be the judge of that. It still has a lot of blended frames, to my eye, but the interlacing artifacts are gone.

Amon Saga traverses well-worn fantasy-genre territory. Amon is a young warrior, seeking to avenge the death of his mother at the hands of the Emperor Valhiss. He decides to join the Imperial army to bore from within. Once inside the Emperor's fortified city, Amon unexpectedly encounters the beautiful daughter of King Darai Sem, Princess Lichia, whom Valhiss is holding as a hostage. The Emperor says he'll exchange the princess for a map in the King's possession, but he'd rather like to possess the princess too. Will Amon succeed in saving the princess (and her virtue) while achieving his revenge? That's a question I'm sure you can answer without any hints from me. Still, it's a good ride, with lots of colorful characters, including Amon's fellow "volunteers" in the Imperial Army, Gaius (the combative one), Alcan (the wily one), Vikin (the comic one), and Ho (the mysterious one), and the Emperor's evil henchman, the ambitious swordsman Denon and the scheming sorcerer Mabo.

The voice cast includes a host of familiar names from the 1980s:

• Horiuchi Kenyuu (Amon) played the title role in Guin Saga and Oscar in the Angelique franchise. He also played Ryuuichi in Aoko Honoo, Nest in Eien no Filena, Kubota in Meisou Ou Border, Jin Akira in Wolf Guy, Lid in Greed, and the refined son in Eguchi Hisashi no Kotobuki Gorou Show, all Orphan releases. He recently appeared in Sirius the Jaeger.
• Takamori Yoshino (Lichia) played the arch oujo-sama Sayaka in Yawara! and the twin roles of Juliet Douglas and Sloth in Full Metal Alchemist. She also appeared as the romantic rival Shouko in POPS, and in Yousei Ou and the What's Michael? OVAs, all Orphan releases.
• Kobiyashi Kihosti (Valhiss) is best known as Jigen in the Lupin III franchise. He played Sekai in Wild 7, an Orphan release.
• Mugihito Amachi (Gaius) played the alien wombat in Cute Defense Club, Matsumoto in The Great Passage, Keiichiro in Princess Jellyfish, and Abe no Seimei (senior) in Shounen Onmyouji. He also appeared as Lin Shilong in Wolf Guy and Lu Su in the two Sangokushi specials, all Orphan releases.
• Wakamoto Norio (Denon) played the title role in The Gargoyle of the Yoshinagas, Vicious in Cowboy Bebop, Cell in the Dragonball franchise, Katakuriko in the Gintama franchise, Oda NObunaga in Sengoku Basara franchise, Sakakibara in Sanada 10, Guren in Ushio to Tora TV, Shining Saotome in the Uta no Prince-sama franchise, and Oskar von Reuenthal in Legend of the Galactic Heroes. He also appeared as Major Thrauza in Yamato 2520 and the Narrator in Joker: Marginal City,both Orphan releases.
• Totani Kouji (Ho) has played hundreds of roles. He appeared in Bavi Stock, Haguregumo, Nora, Fukiyama Gekijou, and Akuma Tou no Prince: Mitsume ga Tooru, all Orphan releases.
• Ginga Banjou (Ekuna) is a veteran voice actor. He played the title role in 80 Days Around the World with Willy Fog, Baloo in The Jungle Book, and Tohtsuki chairman Nakiri Senzaemon in the Shokugeki no Souma franchise. He played the title role in Oruorane the Cat Player and appeared in the two What's Michael? OVAs, all Orphan releases.
• Nagai Ichiro (Mabo) 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, and Yamato 2520, all Orphan releases.
• Tatsuta Naoki (Vikin) played Oolong in the Dragonball franchise, the Cat Bus in My Neighbor Totoro, and Beta in New Dream Hunter Rem. He appeared in every GeGeGe no Kitarou series since 1985 and also in Wolf Guy, an Orphan release.
• Ooki Tamio (Darai Sem) played Dr. Tenma in Tezuka Osamu Disappears, an Orphan release, as well as the 1980 version of Astro Boy, Ibuya in Hidamari no Ki (also an Orphan release), Aramaki in the GITS movies, and the title role in Planetarian: Hoshi no Hito.
• Katsuji Mori (Alcan) played Tanguin in Cool Cool Bye, Atlas in the 1980 Astro Boy, Seiji Hayama in Cutie Honey, Wolfgang Mittermeyer in Legend of the Galactic Heroes, Haru in Real Drive, and Robespierre in The Rose of Versailles. He also played Shiina in Stop!! Hibari-kun and Cemen Bond in Bagi, both Orphan releases. 
• Ginga Banjou (Ekuna, Amon's mentor) played Souther in the Hokuto no Ken franchise, the chief in Peter Pan no Bouken, Sascher Torte in Bakuretsu Hunter, Babbo in MAR, Nakiri in the Shokugeki no Souma franchise, and quite recently,  Nanashi in GeGeGe no Kitarou (2018).

The director, Ooga Shunji, has many other credits to his name, including Majuu Sensen, Bounty Hunter: The Hard, several Sore Ike! Anpanman movies, and the Golgo 13 TV series.

I originally OCRed the subs from an R1 DVD release. The subs have been extensively corrected by tenkenX6 and Nemesis. ninjacloud timed, I edited and typeset, and BeeBee and Nemesis QCed. Erik encoded from a Domesday Duplicator rip of his own laserdisc.

Amon Saga doesn't break any new ground, but it's a competent fantasy flick, and it will keep you  entertained for its modest 74 minute running time. You can get this release from the usual torrent site or from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net

Late breaking news: there's a busted frame at 62934. Some sort of data dropout caused a problem in the Domesday Duplicator decoding software, ld-decode, and by now, the intermediate files have been discarded. If anyone knows how to patch an H.265 file without re-encoding it, 62934 should be the same as 62933. Otherwise, we'll have to wait until Erik can rip the laserdisc again.

 

Even later breaking news (November, 2022). A dual-audio version is available, for those who prefer dubs. niki provided the audio track, which is taken from the R1 DVD release. This version also includes a song-signs track. A ginormous patch to covert the single-audio release to dual-audio is available in the torrent description.

 

Exper Zenon

Does the world really need another version of Exper Zenon, a 1991 one-shot science fiction OVA? Probably not, but here it is anyway.

Piyo Piyo Productions did a first version in 2011 - one of Erik's relatively few ventures into subtitled anime. DOMO modified the script and release its own version, basically uncommenting the interjections. Now, Erik has revisited the show with the Domesday Duplicator and modern encoding techniques. Orphan's version is based on PPP-Raw's new encode and a modified version of the original PPP-Sub scripts.

Exper Zenon tells the story of high school game whiz Zenno Hiroshi. One day, he receives a mysterious offer on his PC to participate in a 3D virtual simulation game, EXPERS. Thanks to a Cat on Keyboard incident, he inadvertently order an Exper suit, which shows up at his school along with a beautiful naked girl named Atover. Before he can be beaten to a pulp by his jealous male friends and outraged female classmates, a kaiju appears outside the school. Atover tells Zenno, now known as Exper Zenon, that he is inside a game and, as the main character, must fight the kaiju. With Atover by his side, Zenon confronts and fights an increasingly strong set of opponents, until he finally faces off with the time-traveling Final Boss who set the whole game in motion.

Exper Zenon seems to lie squarely within the "trapped inside a virtual reality game" genre, but it has other sources as well. For example, the time travelers who use the past for their own selfish ends and cut off any timelines that don't suit them is straight out of Isaac Asimov's The End of Eternity. Still, it's an entertaining 90s blend, with lots of action, some shiny explosions, and the occasional glimpse of Atover's bare bod.

The voice actors include:

• Matsuno Taiki (Zenno Hiroshi) played the lead role in the second Kindaichi movie (an Orphan release) and every subsequent show in the franchise. He appeared in Fukuyama Gekijou, also an Orphan release. He played Kouga in Inuyasha and the title role in The Adventures of the Little Prince.
• Takada Yumi (Atover) played Yoshinaga-sensei in many of the Crayon Shin-chan movies and Ayeka in the Tenchi Muyo franchise. She appeared as Saya and Monmo in Cosmic Fantasy, Purinpurin in Hoshi Neko Full House, and Yumi the barkeep in Dokushin Apartment Dokudami-sou, all Orphan releases.
• Hayami Shou (Exper Kain) starred as Nanjou in Zetsuai: 1989 and Bronze: Zetsuai since 1989, and 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, and Seichii in Mikoneko Holmes. All of these shows are Orphan releases.
• Sasaki Yuko (Exper Shiff) played Sayoko in Aoko Honoo, Yuki in Sei Michaela Gakuen Hyouryuuki, and Akiko in Wolf Guy, all Orphan releases. She also played Gilbert in Kaze to Ki no Uta SANTCUS and Hitomi Nomura in Piano.
• Yanada Kiyoyuki (Exper Venom) played Kuroda in Akai Hayate and Ooniwa in Nozomi Witches, both Orphan releases. He also played Black Bear Cat in Chii's Sweet Home.

The director, Moriyami Yuuji, did the character design as well. He filled the same two roles on Project A-ko 2, 3, and 4 and the first All Purpose Cultural Cat Girl Nuku Nuku OVAs. He has done animation direction on numerous shows.

For this release, the original PPP-sub script was retimed, given some modest amount of checking, and augmented with signs and the ending song. Iri translated the signs; convexity translated the ending song. Yogicat did the fine timing. I edited and typeset. (There's substantial frame-blending, which throws off the motion tracking in spots.) Nemesis and Topper3000 did QC. The encode, like the translation, is from Piyo Piyo Productions. This is a joint release.

So fasten your seat belts, sit back, and enjoy the ride. You can find Exper Zenon at the usual torrent site or on IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net

Hashire Melos (1992) v2

I was a bit unhappy with Orphan's original release of the 1992 movie Hashire Melos (Run, Melos). First, it was very big - 2.3GB for a movie that wasn't even full SD. Second, the encode was in two parts, because of differences between the framing on the first and second side of the laserdisc source. Third, I wasn't sure about the ratio. The rip came from a letterboxed laserdisc, but it was packaged in a DVD ISO container. The encoder assumed it was anamorphic at 1.85:1 after the top and bottom black margins were cut off. I don't think is. Laserdiscs are 640 x 480 (NTSC resolution). Even if the top and bottom letterboxing is removed, the horizontal width is still 640.

Earlier this year, a copy of the Hashire Melos laserdisc was offered on Ebay. I bought it and sent it to Erik of Piyo Piyo Productions for ripping and encoding. Erik was able to handle the changes in framing between the two sides, as that's a common problem with laserdiscs, and created a new raw. Orphan is releasing a new version of Hashire Melos using his new encode The principal changes are:

1. All in one file.
2. Laserdisc aspect ratio (borders included).
3. Smaller file size.
4. Better color balance.
5. Short extra (a promo for the film) at the end.

As is his usual practice, Erik left the letterboxing in place. This allowed the karaoke and subtitles to be moved out of the video area. If that doesn't float your boat, you should stick with the previous version.

Hashire Melos is based on a beloved short story by Japanese author Osamu Dazai and has been made into an anime multiple times. It tells the story of Melos, a shepherd who crosses (either deliberately or inadvertently) the tyrant of Syracuse, Dionysius the Younger (called Dionysius II in the movie), and is condemned to death. He requests time to return home and settle his affairs, but the king refuses, believing that Melos will run off and never return. Melos' friend Selinuntius volunteers to take Melos' place. The king agrees but warns Melos that Selinuntius will be executed if Melos fails to return in three days. After numerous trials, Melos returns in the nick of time. The king is so astonished by this display of true friendship that he releases both men.

I find this version of Hashire Melos overstretched. There isn't enough content in the original short story to justify 100+ minutes of screen time. (For a different view, see Mike O'Toole's column in AnimeNewsNetwork.) There's a lot of padding throughout. On the other hand, I like the look of the film, as well as its character designs. The main characters have distinctive faces and body types, with real noses and realistic eyes. Melos looks like an overgrown lunk of a shepherd, Dionysius has the "lean and hungry" demeanor of a habitual schemer, and Selinuntius has the balanced appearance befitting a classical sculptor. The animation is fluid, set against very detailed backdrops of the city of Syracuse and the Sicilian countryside.

The voice cast is excellent.

• Yamadera Kouichi (Melos) 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, Benten in Oedo ga Nemurenai!, Happyaku in Wild 7, and of course, Ryouan in Hidamari no Ki. The last three are Orphan releases.
• Ogawa Shinji (Selinuntius) played Johnny's father in Starship Troopers and Douglas MacArthur in Junod, both Orphan releases, as well as Hyou in Hokuto no Ken. However, I remember him best as the lecherous ojii-san, Maestro Stresemann, in Nodame Cantabile.
• Kobayashi Akiji (Dionysius) played Tachibana throughout the Kamen Rider franchise.
• Hayashibara Megumi (Clair, Melos' sister) was arguably the most famous seiyuu of the 1990s. She 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. She played Navi in Izumo (1991), another Orphan release.
• Nakamori Aina (Raisa, a prostitute who helps Melos) is primarily a singer. Hashire Melos is her only anime role.
• Aono Takeshi (Calippus, a garrulous old man who helps Melos) was an industry veteran. He 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, Amefuri Kozou (Rain Boy), the three Sangokushi movies (as Guan Yu), and Tezuka Osamu's Tales from the Old Testament, all Orphan releases.

Osami Misaki directed and also did the storyboards and the screenplay. His use of dark interiors and shadows is striking. (Satoshi Kon was an animator on this movie.) Oda Kazumasa composed all the music, including the excellent ending ballad. The background music is subtle and used sparingly.

For the original release, M74 transcribed the ACR subtitles and did the initial timing; ninjacloud did timing cleanup. Iri translation checked, I edited and typeset, Juggen created the wonderful ending karaoke, and Calyrica, konnakude, and Xenath3297 did QC. For this release, Iri translated the extra dialog, signs, and song verse in the promo. ninjacloud retimed the script. I cleaned up the script and redid the typesetting for the new raw and the added promo. Juggen redid his karaoke to fit the narrower width. BeeBee and Nemesis checked the release. Erik of Piyo Piyo Productions encoded from a laserdisc I bought on Ebay.

Hashire Melos is still too padded for my taste, but it's excellent artwork and music make it quite watchable. You can get this new version from the usual torrent site or from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net.




 

AWOL Compression Remix

The 1998 series AWOL is infamous in anime history because of its lethargic pacing. It was so poorly regarded that the original TV series was never released on home media in Japan. Instead, the series was re-edited, compressed by a third, and released as four double-length OVAs under the title AWOL Compression Remix. Even that version never made it past VHS tapes and laserdiscs.

The series would have languished in obscurity except for a fortuitous chain of events. First, the original TV series was licensed and released in the United States on VHS tape, with English subtitles; it is now rather hard to find. Second, the author of the Land of Obfuscation blog wrote two detailed reviews, the first on the original TV series and the second on AWOL Compression Remix. These provided a guidebook to how the two were related. Third, a rip of the subtitled VHS tapes came Orphan's way. Last, Erik of Piyo Piyo Productions had most of AWOL Compression Remix in his collection, and I was able to buy the missing volume for him. All the pieces for subtitling the show were in place.

That was almost two years ago. The project languished, for a variety of reasons. To me, the script assembly process looked rather daunting. Most movie specials or "compressions" - like the Dallos Special - are done by assembling all the scripts in order and then knocking out lines corresponding to deleted scenes. AWOL Compression Remix, on the other hand, jumped around. The Land of Obfuscation guidebook provided a general outline, but like the Technical Challenge in The Great British Baking Show, a few important details were missing. With lots of new and complete scripts available from the Orphan translators, AWOL Compression Remix was a challenge I could cheerfully duck, and no one else in the team was interested in playing script detective.

As I've mentioned in other blogs, starting a year ago, Real Life carried off Orphan's translators, and the backlog of new scripts ran out. I continued to procrastinate by doing revised versions of several shows with new raws, but then the backlog of encodes ran out too. I had to tackle AWOL Compression Remix, at long last. The first episode was very difficult. I couldn't find the cold open. Quite a lot of the first two episodes had been cut (the third episode was cut entirely). The subs and the audio on our copy of the TV series were badly out of sync. Gradually, I was able to develop a rhythm and put a script together. It became easier as the series progressed and I stumbled across missing pieces. (For example, the cold open of Remix episode 1 came from TV episode 6.) There were some additional challenges. Remix added signs to keep the viewer grounded about scene changes; they were not in the TV series. Each volume of Remix had a promo video at the end; they were not in the TV series either. But with a little help from my friends, the scripts came together.

AWOL (and Compression Remix) was a follow-on project from the team that did Next Senki Ehrgeiz, and it was also intended to be an action-oriented sci-fi thriller. Vicious terrorists calling themselves Solomon attack the Allied Planets, stealing weapons of mass destruction called Planet Destroying Bombs (PDB) and gaining control of a network of satellite-based laser weapons called the Planet Link Plan (PLP). The lasers render the Allies' space navies useless. The terrorists proceed to blow up one planet after another and to destroy fleet after Allied fleet. In desperation, the Allies put together a small counterstrike team under Major Jim Hyatt. He recruits not only capable pilots and soldiers but also criminals with special skills, like computer hacking and bomb making. Hyatt's team must find and take out the terrorists before the terrorists blow up the Earth. The show plays a bit like a cross between Condition Green and The Dirty Dozen.

The plot will not withstand scrutiny, of course. Solomon is run by a former military officer, Duran Gash. His motives are never spelled out; he behaves like a comic book villain who likes really big explosions. His ally is Peat Culten (yes, that's how it's spelled), the operator of the laser satellite network. The Allied Planets' military built the network secretly, without informing the civilian government. Further, they gave Culten total control, with no oversight and no backups. (What would happen if he was asleep or on vacation during an emergency is not specified.) Culten has control not only of the satellite network but of every one of the military's computers. Early in the show, an Allied anti-terrorist team successfully boards Gash's ship, but instead of blowing it and all of Solomon up, they try to recapture the PDB missiles. When it's Jim Hyatt's turn, he has recruited exactly the right people to meet every emergency and unforeseen problem that arises during his mission. And so on.

The science is a bit dicey too. The speed of light limit is sort of honored - it requires "hyper-drive" to get around space - except when it gets in the way of the plot. Communications are instantaneous, so that Pete Culten can control the PLP satellites in real time from light-years away. Hyatt's pilot can see laser beams coming, so she can dodge them. Well, consistency is the hobgoblin of small minds anyway.

AWOL Compression Remix is nowhere near as slack as the original TV series, but it still has some pacing problems. In particular, the endless bickering between the representatives of the civilian government and the military leaders brings the show almost to a dead stop whenever it happens. Much of this was cut, but even more should have been. In addition, the show ends very abruptly; there's no epilogue to show what happens after. Mission accomplished, followed immediately by THE END. Do the criminals get pardoned? Is the military punished for its stupidity? Do the civilian and military officials who wrangled pointlessly all through the show finally strangle each other? We'll never know.

The voice cast includes many notable names:

• The redoutable Genda Tesshou (Jim Hyatt) played Colonel Muto in Joker Game, Moloch in Yondemasu Azazel-san, Rei in the Urusei Yatsura franchise, Moguro Fukuzou in New Laughing Salesman,  and "Oyaji" in Mitsuboshi Colors. He also played Paul Rusch in Yume Kakeru Kougen, the loyal lieutenant Galbreath in Next Senki Ehrgeiz, the dragonman Baguda in Greed, the narrator in Akai Hayate and Meisou-ou Border, Dog McCoy in Dallos, Hebopi in Wild 7, rebel leader Oosukune in Izumo, and Rikiishi's trainer Kuroki and Kirishima in Eguchi Hisashi no Kotobuki Gorou Show, all Orphan releases.
• Nakamura Daiki (Chris Sheldon, Hyatt's criminal hacker) played Keith Winter in Condition Green (an Orphan release), the title roles in Dangerous Jii-san Ja and Demon Beast Resurrection, Dayakka in Gurren Lagann, Seiji Date in Ronin Warriors, and Liu Bei in Yokoyama Mitsuteru Sangokushi.
• Nakata Jouji (Nelson the Bomb, Hyatt's criminal bomber) is best known as Alucard in Hellsing and Hellsing Ultimate and as the Count of Monte Christo in Gankuutsuou. He also played Shamon in Amatsuki (an Orphan release), Ashen Eye in The Ancient Magus Bride, Bandou in Elfen Lied, Hijikata in Golden Kamuy, Vladimir Putin (!) in Mudazumo Naki Kaikaku, Jin Kunugi in Rahxephon, Otou in Working!, and Diethard Ried in Code Geass.
• Nakata Kouji (Duran Gash, the terrorist leader) played the title roles in Kamui Gaiden, Ninpu Kamui Gaiden, and Seton Doubutsuki, the narrator in Dallos, and Admiral Maskanen in Yamato 2520. The last two are Orphan releases.
• Nakao Ryuusei, who gives a virtuoso performance as the cackling terrorist hacker Peat Culten, played the lead in Igano Kabamaru, King Falke in ACCA, Hephaestion in Alexander's Decision, Freeza/Cooler in Dragon Ball, and Akio in Chameleon, an Orphan release.
• Adachi Shinobu (Amanda Kessler, Gash's second in command) played Rabi in Madou King Granzort, the title roles in Calimero and Jagainu, Tom (Sawyer) in Huckleberry Finn, Kayra Su in Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack, and Chou of Benten in Usagi-chan de Cue.
• Miki Shinichirou (John Bishop, Hyatt's sharpshooter) 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), Gintarou in Gingitstune, and Cyber-X in Hand Maid May, an Orphan release.
• Tanaka Atsuko (Dana McLaren, Hyatt's ace pilot) played Motoko Kusanagi in Ghost in the Shell and Lisa Lisa in the JoJo's Bizarre Adventures TV series.
• Ootomo Ryuuzaburou (Zack Landis, Dana's trusted mechanic and copilot) played Crocodile in One Piece and Bear Walken in Gungrave.
• Kazuki Yayoi (Rachel Hurst, Hyatt's communications expert) was a stage actress and had no other significant anime roles.

The director, Kawase Toshifumi, also directed Next Senki Ehrgeiz. The music is by prolific anime composer Hamaguchi Shirou, who is best known for his work on One Piece, Girls und Panzer, and Ah! My Goddess; it's quite good. As with Next Senki Ehrgeiz, the opening song is a driving rocker, and the ending song a more soulful ballad.

Because of the origin of the shows, the staff credits are a bit unusual. Yogicat transcribed the VHS subtitles. convexity translated the songs, Sunachan translated the signs, and Iri filled in a couple of lines that were simply missing. I assembled the scripts and did very rough timing. ninjacloud did the fine dialog timing and the song timing. I edited and typeset; the signs are not difficult. BeeBee, Nemesis, and Topper3000 QCed. Erik of Piyo Piyo Productions encoded from his own Japanese laserdiscs. So lots of people had their hands, or at least their fingers, in this one.

In the end, is AWOL Compression Remix an improvement on the original AWOL? Yes, definitely. Is it enough of an improvement to be considered good? Not so sure. The old adage about silk purses and sow's ears applies. The creators of Remix were constrained by the original AWOL scripts. No new animation was added, only a few signs. The motives of the terrorists are never explained. The characters remain one-dimensional and functional. And the boring and pointless bickering among the Allies remains boring and pointless. On the other hand, there are lots of explosions, good action scenes, and some standout vocal performances. If you watch AWOL Compression Remix, it may not leave a lasting impression, but you won't tear your hair out either: Twinkle Nora Rock Me or Bavi Stock II it's not (thank the stars).

So unless someone wants to clean up and rip the rather rare VHS tapes of the complete series, this is as much of AWOL as we're likely to get. You can get AWOL Compression Remix from the usual torrent sites or from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net.

Tomoe's Run! - A New Version

Orphan has already released two versions of the 1991 OVA Tomoe's Run! (Tomoe ga Yuku!) - the original and a patch to fix a timing problem - so this is technically v3, but who's counting? Erik at Piyo Piyo Productions and I have both wanted to redo the show, because the original encode was done at 29.97 fps rather than 23.976 fps, and its color correction wasn't all that great. The availability of the Domesday Duplicator provided the perfect excuse to revisit Tomoe, so here's a new version, at the proper frame rate and with improved color. The show is a hoot, and I recommend it highly, despite a plot that will not withstand even the slightest scrutiny.

Our heroine, Tomoe Ojima, is a seventeen-year-old roller-skating j.d. She liked to play peek-a-boo and tag with speeding trucks on Tokyo's crowded highways, until her best friend was run over and killed during an outing. On the rebound, Tomoe joins a training school for stuntmen called Green Day. There she launches a torrid love affair with Kazusa Himuro, one of the "managers". Little Does She Know, however, that Green Day is actually the Tojo yakuza group's assassin training school, and Kazusa is the group's chief enforcer. Informed of the truth by an undercover policewoman whom Kazusa then ruthlessly executes, Tomoe makes her escape on skates and flees to the arms of Iori Tojo, the alienated son of Tojo's leader. Together, they fight to foil Kazusa's nefarious plots, take down Green Day, and restore Iori to his rightful position as heir to the group. Tomoe and Iori fall in love, but they realize that Their Love Is Not To Be.

Along the way, many parallels are drawn between Tomoe Ojima and Tomoe Gozen, the legendary twelfth century female samurai. Tomoe Gozen fought in the Genpei War at the side of her liege lord and lover Minamoto no Yoshinaka (identified in the anime by his original clan name, Kiso Yoshinaka), surviving both the war and him. Tomoe's Run! hypothesizes that Yoshinaka did not marry Tomoe because their difference in rank was too great. Iori cannot marry Tomoe Oujima for the same reason. At the end, They Must Part for their different destinies, he to rule a prominent Japanese corporation/yakuza group, she to roam the roads on her roller skates...

Even if the plot follows well-worn tracks, the show's a treat. Tomoe is a spunky heroine who makes her own decisions in life and love; for example, it's clear that her relationship with Kazusa is an adult's love affair, both emotionally and physically. The supporting characters are interesting and not just the usual wingmen (and women). And the ending is bittersweet.

The voice cast includes:

• Yamamoto Yuriko (Tomoe) played Iczer 1 in the Iczer OVAs, Rumy in the Gall Force OVAs, Sally in Mahou Tsukai Sally 2, Sandybell in Hello! Sandybell, Georgie in Lady Georgie, Nora Scholar in Nora, Rihabi and Sayuri in Stop!! Hibari-kun!, and Telenne in High Speed Jecy. The last three are Orphan releases.
• Hironaka Masashi (Kazusa) played Siegfried in Legend of the Galactic Heroes and Ihika in Yousei-ou, an Orphan release.
• Inoue Kazuhiko (Iori) starred as Yamaoka Shirou in Oishinbo, Yuki Eiri in Gravitation, and the title role in Cyborg 009, but I know and love him best as the irascible, sake-swilling Nyanko-sensei in the Natsume Yuujichou properties. He also played Kanuma Hayate in Akai Hayate, Ryousuke in Daishizen no Majuu Bagi, Kitten Smith in Starship Troopers, Liu Bei Xuande in both Sangokushi OVAs, and Nakatsugawa in Boyfriend, all Orphan releases.
• Shimada Bin (Kuro) appeared in Dokushin Apartment Dokudami-sou, Fukyukayama Theater, and Sangokushi, all Orphan releases. He played Ken Nakajima in the You're Under Arrest franchise and numerous other roles. He is currently appearing as Konaki Jijii and Wally Wall in GeGeGe no Kitarou.
• Tsuru Hiromi (Shizuka, Tomoe's older sister) debuted as Perrine in Perrine Monogatari. She went on to play Kashima Miyuki in Miyuki, Madoka in Kimagure Orange Road, Barge in Blue Sonnet, and Mikami Reiko in Ghost Sweeper Mikami. She also played Nozomi in Nozomi Witches, Jill in A Penguin's Memories, and UFO-chan in Dokushin Apartment Dokudami-sou, all Orphan releases.

The director, Ishiyama Takaaki, also directed Viewtiful Joe, MapleStory, 18if, and a couple of Happy Science movies. (Well, a guy's gotta earn a living.) The camera work is visually interesting, featuring lots of shadow and angle shots, as well as clever use of both foreground and background within a scene. The show features a number of good songs, particular the second ending, Sixteen's Revolution, and the soundtrack is now available online.

Moho Kareshi did the original translation (he prefers to convert long vowels to their English counterparts directly). convexity translation checked the dialog and translated the songs. ninjacloud timed the scripts, and Juggen supplied nice karaokes for the two ending songs. I edited and typeset, and Calyrica, konnakude, and Saji did the original QC. For this version, ninjacloud tweaked the timing, I reset the signs and did some minor cleanup on the dialog, and VigorousJammer did a release check. The new raws are from Piyo Piyo Productions and were ripped with Erik's Domesday Duplicator. Audio decoding is still a work in progress, so the audio is an analog capture.

So join our heroine for some high adventure and doomed romance in this new version of Tomoe's Run! You can get the show from the usual torrent sites or from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net.

Boyfriend OVA (Boyfriend v2)

As I mentioned in my original release post, the 1992 OVA/TV special Boyfriend had a complicated release history. It was released as a 110-minute OVA on two VHS tapes or one laserdisc. It was also released as an abridged, 94-minute TV special, on one VHS tape.

TOVA-1117 - TV special version 94 minutes
TOVA-1118 - OVA first half "The Encounter" 59 minutes
TOVA-1119 - OVA second half "The Promise" 51 minutes
TOLA-1131 - OVA first and second half, 110 minutes (laserdisc) 

Orphan's original release used the abridged TV version, as encoded from VHS tape by ARR. After a long delay, a team member was able to buy the laserdisc version. Accordingly, we're rereleasing Boyfriend, now a two-part OVA: The Encounter and The Promise.

As I wrote last year, Boyfriend is a fairly routine shoujo romance crossed with a sports anime. Yuuki, a girl with a weak heart, falls for Takatou, a rebellious but talented basketball player. Complicating matters, her childhood friend and quasi-fiancee, Nakatsugawa, is the coach of Takatou's basketball team. A player on the girls' basketball team, Mami, has a crush on Takatou. A rival from another basketball team, Akira, wants to best Takatou in both basketball and love. As the climactic championship game between Takatou's and Akira's teams approaches, Yuuki must undergo risky heart surgery to save her life. Will she survive her ordeal? Will the lovers be united? No points for guessing the right answers. 

The OVA version has a bit of additional content - a cold open and an additional scene between Yuuki and Takatou in each episode, as well as an additional verse for the ending song. They help with the continuity, particularly the added scene in the second episode, but their removal wasn't a deal-breaker. The real problem with the ARR VHS rip was the video and audio. The tape was stretched, or the player had wobble; in any case, the video occasionally lost tracking, and the audio had terrible pitch issues. The laserdisc is an enormous improvement. The video is a direct capture with the Domesday duplicator; the audio in an AAC encoding of the digital audio output.

The voice cast consists of well-known seiyuu of the era:

• Tsujitani Kouji (Takatou) played the title role in the Captain Tylor franchise and the lead role in the 3x3 Eyes OVAs. He also played Guy in Ai no Kusabi, Shou in Condition Green, and Seishirou in Yuukan Club, all Orphan releases. His most recent role was in Kokkoku, which just finished.
• Hidaka Noriko (Yuuki) 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, Kikyo in the Inuyasha franchise, and Noriko in Yuukan Club, an Orphan release. She is still active and recently appeared in Little Witch Academia.
• Inoue Kazuhiko (Nakatsugawa) played Yamaoka Shirou in Oishinbo and Yuki Eiri in Gravitation, but I know and love him best as the irascible, sake-swilling Nyanko-sensei in the Natsume Yuujichou properties. He also played Ryousuke in Daishizen no Majuu Bagi, Kitten Smith in Starship Troopers, and Liu Bei Xuande in both Sangokushi OVAs, all Orphan releases.
• Yao Kazuki (Sofue) is best known for his lead role as Dark Schneider in Bastard!! and his recurring role as Franky in One Piece. He also played Date Ikkaku in Akai Hayate, an Orphan release.
• Mizutani Yuuko (Yuuki's friend Aki) has many credits, including Pinoko in all the Black Jack properties, as well as Rika in Sei Michaela Gakuen Hyouryuuki, Lila in Eien no Filena, and Dr. Uematsu Kikue in Yume Kakeru Kougen, all Orphan projects.
• Yamaguchi Kappei (Takatou's teammate Ougi) has played the lead character in the Detective Conan franchise, Ranma in the Ranma 1/2 franchise, Inuyasha in all the Inuyasha properties, Kudou Shinichi in the Conan franchise, Usopp in the One Piece franchise, Sakuma Ryuichi in Gravitation, Arslan in the first OVA series, the title role in Mouse, and Shibuya in Zetsuai 1989 and Bronze: Zetsuai Since 1989 (both Orphan releases), among many others.
• Yokoyama Chisa (Mami) played the title roles in Galaxy Fraulein Yuna, Iron Virgin Jun, and the Sakura Taisen franchise, as well as Sasami/Pretty Sammy in the Tenchi Muyo franchise. She played Hu Si, the were-tiger, in Wolf Guy, an Orphan release.
• Touma Yumi (Hanyuu, the captain of the girls' basketball team) played the title roles in Emma: A Victorian Romance and Baby Felix. She has appeared in numerous shows, including Condition Green, Fukuyama Gekijou, and Eguchi Hisashi no Nantoko Nareudesho, all Orphan releases. 

Moho did the original translation, and laalg the original translation check. For the new version, Sunachan translated the additional dialog, ending verse, and signs. ninjacloud did the original timing and the fine timing on the new version. I edited and typeset throughout; the improved stability of the laserdisc version allowed for additional typesetting. BeeBee and VigorousJammer QCed the original release. Topper3000 checked the new version. Our intrepid raw hunter captured the laserdisc RF output with the Domesday Duplicator and decoded it. He also captured the digital audio as FLAC, because the audio decoding software is still a work in progress. Erik of Piyo Piyo Productions encoded the video, and I transcoded the FLAC audio to AAC. (No, we're not releasing FLAC audio for laserdiscs. Get real, dude.) This version is probably not definitive. The decoding software and encoding process has improved over the last few months, and it will continue to improve in the future.

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

Manxmouse

Paul Gallico was an American-born author who lived in England (and other parts of the world) and wrote popular fiction for both adults and children. His best known works include Mrs. 'arris Goes to Paris and its sequels, The Snow Goose, Love of Seven Dolls, and The Poseidon Adventure. The last two were adapted into smash movies, namely, Lili (1953) and The Poseidon Adventure (1972). He wrote several very popular stories about cats, including The Silent Miaow and Thomasina, The Cat Who Thought She Was God, which was also made into a a movie. His 1968 children's novel, Manxmouse, was a childhood favorite of J. K. Rowling. It was adapted in 1979 as a Nippon Animation TV special with the title Tondemo Nezumi Daikatsuyaku (The Great Adventures of an Outlandish Mouse), or more simply, Manxmouse. It was dubbed into English, with different songs and a somewhat altered script. This is the first subtitled version in English.

Manxmouse tells the story of a ceramic mouse created by a tipsy potter. The mouse has no tail, long ears, and powerful hindquarters. Hence, its creator calls it a Manx Mouse, by analogy with a Manx Cat. At some point, the mouse comes to life. Because it was created rather than born, it has no mouse-like instincts; in particular, it has no fear. During its travels, the mouse meets many creatures and people, including a shape-shifting ghost that is baffled by a creature without fear; a hawk that thinks it's an airplane pilot; a young schoolgirl, who gives the mouse a formal name (Harrison G. Manxmouse); a runaway circus tiger named Burra Khan; an unscrupulous pet shop owner, who wants to sell Manxmouse for a fortune; and finally the legendary Manx Cat himself, which, according to the Book of Doom, is destined to eat Manxmouse in a single bite.

Needless to say, all ends happily, as is only proper in a G-rated children's cartoon.

Manxmouse presented unusual translation issues, most of which can be summed up in a single question: where the Japanese dialog and the original English text differ, which should be followed? For better or worse, most of the Japanese dialog is translated as is, with one significant exception: the name of the main character. In Japanese, the mouse is called Tondemo Nezumi (Outrageous Mouse). I've stuck with Manxmouse; the Japanese localization obscures the main joke (a tailless mouse is a Manx Mouse). Otherwise, the Japanese dialog prevails.

• In the book, the mouse starts life in the village of Buntingdowndale. In the movie, this became Tanizoko-don, translated as Gorgebottom. (The dub uses Dondowndale.)
• In the book, the shape-shifting ghost is called a Clutterbumph. In the movie, it has a name, Dororon, simply transliterated.
• In the book, neither the potter nor Burra Khan's trainer have names, and the greedy pet shop proprietor is Smeaton rather than Benten.

When the mouse is being referenced as an instance of the mythical breed or species of tailless mice, it is called a Manx Mouse. When it is addressed by name, it is Manxmouse. On the other hand, a Manx Cat is always Manx Cat, whether general or the specific individual Thomas R. Manx Cat. That's how the book does it; go figure.

The voice actors mostly predate current anime.

• Masako Nozawa (Manxmouse) 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 original 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 current version of GeGeGe no Kitarou. She won a lifetime achievement award in 1997.
• Ryuji Saikachi (Meyer the tipsy potter) played Nurarihyon in the 1968 and 1971 versions of GeGeGe no Kitarou. He also appeared in Sangokushi 2 (1986), an Orphan release.
• Nagai Ichirou (Dororon) 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 Nora, Hidamari no Ki, Yuukan Club, and Yamato 2520, all Orphan releases.
• Kazuko Sugiyama (the school girl, Wendy H. Troy) played Heidi in Heidi, Girl of the Alps, Akane in the Dr. Slump franchise, Maria in The Royal Tutor, and Ten in Urusei Yatsura.
• Teiji Oomiya (the tiger, Burra Khan) appeared in both Speed Racer and the original Doraemon.
• Kihara Shoujirou (Captain Hawk) had featured roles in Perrine, Space Runaway Ideon, and the City Hunter franchise.
• Kumakura Kazuo (Thomas R. Manx Cat) appeared in both the 1963 and 1980 versions of Astro Boy. He played Papa Panda in Panda Gopanda, Oz in The Wizard of Oz movie, Sima Hui in Sangokushi, and Inspector Unmei in Akuma Tou no Prince: Mitsume ga Tooru; the last two are Orphan releases.
• Ishizaka Kouji (Narrator) also provided the narration for Gallery Fake.

The director, Saitou Hiroshi, directed many World Masterpiece Theater series, including Heidi, Girls of the Alps, Katry, the Cow Girl, Lucy-May of the Southern Rainbow, and the first half of Perrine. The music and songs are forgettable faux-Disney.

Moho Kareshi did the original translation. laalg checked the dialog and translated the songs. ninjacloud timed. I edited and typeset (very little to do there). BeeBee and Nemesis QCed. Erik of Piyo Piyo Productions encoded from a Japanese laserdisc that Iri purchased in Japan. The source isn't great, but it seems fairly unlikely that Manxmouse will get a digital release.

Manxmouse is episodic and doesn't have much in the way of dramatic tension, but it is competently made and far less twee than the original book. You can pass a pleasant afternoon with Harrison G. Manxmouse and his friends, knowing that there will be lots of good company as well as tea and cookies. You can get Manxmouse from the usual torrent site or from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net.

This is the last of our "creature features" for a while; no dogs, cats, or other critters in the backlog at the moment. You'll just have to make do with people.