Galaxy Apartment Cosmo Hills

We'll conclude this spate of Young Animator Training Project shows with a relatively recent offering, Galaxy Apartment Cosmo Hills, from the 2025 edition of Anime no Tane; the other shows are:

• Dive-In!, no dialog
• Sora and the Big Tree, subtitled by DmonHiro
• Trust, raw only from a web source

Galaxy Apartment is a joint Inka-Orphan release. Like all the Anime no Tane shows since 2021, it is short - under ten minutes - but it packs a lot into its runtime. It opens with an unknown man dying in a raid of some kind; but before he kicks the bucket, he launches an object into space with the words, "I'm counting on you, Cass." Cut to an apartment house on a small planetoid, where slacker Cass is the only tenant of Galaxy Apartment Cosmo Hills. 

He's desperately trying to make money as a "Nyantuber," but his page, about cute multi-tentacled creatures called Takochu, is getting no views at all. 

His landlord Chami stops by to demand the rent, and his mother calls to nag him about his slacker lifestyle.

Then he receives a package from "Mamazon." He's expecting meat buns from his mom, but instead, it's a baby in a prison uniform, with a spiked iron pacifier, whose sole word is "Da!"

Before Cass can figure out where the baby came from, the apartment house is surrounded by villainous shark aliens sent by the evil Captain Cigar (and the even more sinister Mother Shark):

Cass has no idea what to do, but Da uses his pacifier as a flail and trounces all the sharks (Captain Cigar too). Da is seriously OP.

Chami contributes as well, using her transforming broom against the enemy.

She then transports the apartment house, via warp drive, to Neptune. Cass has recorded all the events. When he uploads his video to Nyantube, he gets millions of views:

He's promptly banned, of course. And then the show ends, with an ominous cliffhanger. Wow!

Galaxy Apartment Cosmo Hills is visually inventive and narratively dense. Nothing is ever explained; for example, I only found out the identity of the unknown man in the opening sequence from the end credits. Unanswered questions abound. Who, or perhaps what, is Da? What are the villains after? Will Cass ever make any money? We'll never know.

The voice cast is first-rate:

• Kobayashi Chiaki (Cass) starred as Asakase in Sonny Boy, Yuiichi in Tomodachi Game, the title roles in Moriarty the Patriot and Ragna Crimson, Hayate in Cool Doji Danshi, Gabimaru in Jigokuraku, Stark in Sousou no Frieren, and many other roles. He played Okuninushi in the first Science Saru x MBS Original Short Anime Daisakusen short, an Orphan release.
• Kuno Misaki (Chami) starred in the title role in Aharen-san wa Hakarenai and as Touko in Hikari no Ou. She played Xialon in Kusuriya no Hitorigoto, Shiori in the Non Non Biyori franchise, Hawk in the Nanatsu no Taizai franchise, and Chie in Chuck Shimezu, an Orphan release.
• Sakamoto Chika (Da) played Campanella in Night on the Galactic Railway, the title role in Tsuruhime, Nonoko in Tobira wo Akete, Tendonman in the Soreike! Anpanman franchise, and Agumon in the Digimon franchise. She appeared as Kijimuna in the Utsu no Miko movie, Miko in Ohoshi-sama no Rail, Yasuda Yumiki in Nine, Kometora in Charapno Land no Bouken, and Suzume's erstwhile love interest, Katagiri-kun, in Stop!! Hibari-kun!, all Orphan releases.
• Ohtsuka Mizue (Cass' mother) played Butaro Tomita in more than 400 episodes of Chibi Maruko-chan, among other roles.
• Iwata Mitsuo (Cass' Father) starred as Tetsuya in Outlanders, Shoutarou in Akira, Kintarou in Golden Boy, Jay in Next Senki Ehrgeiz, and Wataru in Doukyuusei: Climax. The last two are Orphan releases.
• Touchi Hiroki (Captain Cigar) played Takumi in Zipang, Abel Nightroad in Trinity Blood, Ovan in .hack//roots, Baldroy in the Kuroshitsuji franchise, and Heiter in Sousei no Frieren.
•  Kujira (Mother Shark) was best-known roles as Otose in Gintama and Orochimaru in Naruto. She also plays Matsuyo in the Osomatsu-san franchise. 

This was director Aoki Kane's first directing assignment; previously, she had done animation and storyboards.

Inka did the front-end work, and Orphan the back-end. Perry Dimes translated and did initial timing. Darkonius translation checked and fine-timed. darkcart edited. I typeset; the typesetting is ten times longer than the dialog. Nemesis and Uchuu QCed. The raw is from Gecko and had major flaws in its timecodes. It took a lot of experimentation to get the subbed version to play properly. There was no place to put fansub credits, so this blog post will have to do, commemorating another smooth Inka-Orphan joint project.

I liked Galaxy Apartment Cosmo Hills quite a lot. It's unpredictable, with interesting animation and stand-out characters. It leaves the viewer - at least this viewer - wanting more. You can get the show from the usual torrent site or from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news in irc.rizon.net.

Charanpo Land no Bouken

Here's the last untranslated OVA from the Anime Tamago class of 2017: Charanpo Land no Bouken (Adventure in Charanpo Land). The other three from that year have already been subtitled in English:

• Red Ash: Gearworld, released on Blu-ray with official subs
• Zunda Horizon, subbed by multiple groups
• Genbanojou, subbed by Moving Lines

In his relentless drive to collect all the Young Animator Training Project films, DmonHiro found a raw for Charanpo. The raw is not great. It was been reframed from 23.976 (24) fps to 29.97 (30) fps. This makes all motion shots, whether horizontal or vertical, look jerky. Still, this is the only raw available, so Orphan has used it for this release.

Charanpo Land no Bouken is an "all ages" fantasy about a group on anthropomorphic animals living on an isolated island in the South Seas. At the center of the island is an enormous baobab tree that drops "lotto eggs" (the plastic eggs found in Japanese vending machines).

These eggs contain food, clothes, and other necessities of daily life. As a result, the inhabitants don't have to do anything except laze around. Then one day, the tree ejects a golden egg, but after that, all further lotto eggs are empty. 

Three children - Kometora the tiger, a wannabe hero; Pyon the rabbit, his best friend; and Gunma the bear - set out to find the golden egg and return it to the baobob tree, which (they hope) will solve the problem.

However, they are not alone in the search. Foxy Dr. Akan wants the egg for his "research." 

Tanuki mayor Poncho wants the egg because it will grant any wish. 

Even Kometora's parents want the egg, just because. Kometora and his friends, aided by Kaba the hippo and Ojigihibi the "bowing snake", must outwit Akan and Poncho and outrun the other townspeople. 

There are slapstick adventures and minor perils before the children are able to accomplish their mission. But life on the island will never be the same...

As you might surmise, the plot is slight, an excuse for (mostly) comic incidents. Dr. Akan and his machines, and Mayor Poncho and his hench-animals, are no match for the faster and more nimble young ones. The main draw is the animation, which is beautifully colorful.

However, the frame rate screw-up makes the video annoying to watch, at least for me.

The voice cast includes: 

• Sakamoto Chika (Kometora) played Campanella in Night on the Galactic Railway, the title role in Tsuruhime, Nonoko in Tobira wo Akete, Tendonman in the Soreike! Anpanman franchise, and Agumon in the Digimon franchise. She appeared as Kijimuna in the Utsu no Miko movie, Miko in Ohoshi-sama no Rail, Yasuda Yumiki in Nine, and Suzume's erstwhile love interest, Katagiri-kun, in Stop!! Hibari-kun!, all Orphan releases.
• Oowada Hitomi (Pyon) played Midori in Shirobako, Ayano in Hanebado, and Charlotte in Tonikaku Kawaii.
• Ochiai Fukushi (Gunma) played Bonda in Gurazeni, Kimura in Karakai Jouzu no Takagi-san, Bou in Bucchigire!,  and Louis XVI in the Versaille no Bara remake.
• Nose Ikuji (Dr. Akan) had had numerous featured roles.
• Taketora (Poncho) has also had numerous featured roles.
• Oohara Sayaka (Baobab Tree Spirit) played Aki in Colorful, Layla Hamilton in the Kaleido Star franchise, Raquel in Scrapped Princess, Ezra Scarlet in the Fairy Tail franchise, Yuuko in the xxxHoLic franchise, Ridget in Suisei no Gargantia, Irisviel in Fate/Zero franchise, Titania in Mahou Tsukai no Yome, and Priscillaria Shamaran (Sari Rayer) in Love Love?, Cosprayers, and Smash Hit. The last two are Orphan releases.
• Gotou Hiroki (Kaba-san) played Kakisuke the monkey in the Hoozuki no Reitetsu franchise.

The show, from Studio Cometm was directed by Misawa Shin, who also directed Tsuyoshi Shikkari Shinasai and Gingitsune.

After the raw surfaced, Perevodildo, with the greatest reluctance, translated and timed it. I edited and typeset. Nemesis and Uchuu QCed. The raw is from DmonHiro. If a better (i.e., properly encoded) raw surfaces, Orphan will release a v2.

Charanpo Land no Bouken reminds me a bit of Parol no Miraijima, an OVA from Anime Tamago 2015. It has non-human characters, an exotic island setting, and colorful, kinetic animation. However, Parol has a more compelling story, and of course, the raw (a full HD Blu-ray encode from Commie) is much better. Still, if you can ignore all the juddering, Charanpo is a decent watch. I'm glad that the Anime Tamago class of 2017 is now complete in English. You can get the show from the usual torrent site or from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net.

Midnight Crazy Trail

Completing a triptych of Young Animator Training Project releases, Orphan presents Midnight Crazy Trail, from the Anime Tamago class of 2017. The other shows that year were:

• Red Ash: Gearworld, subtitled by multiple groups from a Blu-ray source
• Zunda Horizon, subtitled by multiple groups from a web source
• Charanpoland no Bouken, raw only from a web source

Midnight Crazy Trail is okay to watch, but it feels derivative, like a cross between Kiki's Delivery Service and Get Backers. And i'ts CGI, of the CGI-pretending-to-be-2D-animation school.

The story focuses on a young witch named Makina. She hates being a witch and having magic powers; she wants to throw away her grimoire and be a normal girl.  

On the night of the first full moon after she turns 16, she must go to the human world to be trained in magic and to prepare for marriage. She repeatedly attempts to destroy her grimoire, but it always resists. Then, she sees a vision of a special team destroying an arms shipment.

The team, Shout and Crunch, claim not to be thieves but garbage collectors: the Midnight Trash Throw Away-ers. Their garbage truck, the "Crazy Trail," has a massive incinerator, a crusher, and other tools for disposing of unwanted objects.

Once she's in the human world, Makina's placed under the tutelage of a senior witch named Dorothy.

Makina is supposed to learn clairvoyance and other skills, but instead she focuses on getting the Throw Away-ers to destroy her grimoire. They agree to try, provided she helps them on their next mission.

The mission succeeds, barely, thanks to Makina's help. However, the grimoire still resists destruction, so Makina insists that Crunch and Shout take her along for further adventures.

As I said, derivative. Makina is a Kiki clone, even having a cute familiar, a mole. The Throw Away-ers are the Get Backers turned upside down. It's engaging in places. Makina's attempts to "blend in" provide comedy, and the mission's action sequence is well done. However, in the end, it's just empty calories.

The voice cast include: 

• Uesaka Sumire (Makina) played the title role in Ijiranaide, Nagatoro-san, the lead in Tearmoon Empire, Alisa in Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian, Lum in the Urusei Yatsura reboot, Akira in Bucchigire!, Rika in Genshiken Nidaime, Sora in Papa no Iu Koto o Kikinasai!, Fubuki in Kantai Collection, Peach Maki in the Hoozuki no Reitetsu franchise, Aya in Tonikaku Kawaii, and Chuchu in Show by Rock!.
• Matsuda Kenichirou (Crunch) played Mink in Dramatical Murder, Shuuji in Bakuten!, the narrator and Bond Forger in Spy x Family, and the narrator and Thors in Vinland Saga.
• Matsuda Toshiki (Shout) played Kazuki in the Pretty Rhythm franchise, Chikara in the Haikyuu!! franchise, Ryuu in the Binan Koukou Chikyuu Bouei Bu franchise, Eijirou/Red Riot in the Boku no Hero Academia franchise, Mikado in the B-Project properties, Iori in the Idolish Seven franchise, Rei in the Ensemble Stars properties, and Kiyomitsu in the Touken Ranbu franchise.
• Fujita Masayo (Dorothy) appeared as Nene in Hyakko and K-344 in Star Wars: Visions.
• Hachisuke Tomotaka (Dorothy's husband) appeared in Donten ni Warau, Moyashimon Returns, Eldive, and Kokkoku. 

The director, Yusa Kazushige, later directed a series of shorts called Odoru Mowai-kun, which have not been subbed in English.

Once again, Perevodildo translated and timed; the show did nothing to alter his negative view of the Young Animator OVAs. I edited and typeset. Nemesis and Uchuu QCed. The raw is a web rip from Ioroid. There's a fair amount of aliasing, to add to the video annoyance of the CGI.

So here's another Anime Tamago OVA: Midnight Crazy Trail from 2017. I can't recommend it wholeheartedly, but it's not bottom tier. You can get the show from the usual torrent site or from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net.

 

 

 

Kicks and Punk

Post-COVID, the Young Animator Training Project was renamed from Anime Tamago ("Anime Egg") to Anime no Tane ("Anime's Seed"), and the length of the shows was reduced from  22-24 minutes to 7-10 minutes. No explanation was given. Perhaps the cost of producing a "throwaway" full-length anime episode had become too high.

In any case, the reduced length makes it more difficult to create a fleshed-out story. This is exemplified in Kicks and Punk, from the 2024 edition of Anime no Tane. It's set in a future in which advances in transportation have made walking unnecessary. (Nonetheless, people still look lean and fit.)

A sneaker fan(atic) named Nike(!) still runs everywhere, to the consternation of the robot traffic police.

Her goal is to get a new edition of sneakers from the legendary manufacturer "Dynamelos," which can only be obtained on the black market. She is saved from the police by a woman named Shelly Walter, daughter of the head of Fractal Walter, which created the current transportation system. 

Nike and Shelly over their shared love of sneakers. 

By unbelievable coincidence, Shelly is actually the head of Dynamelos and has the sneakers Nike craves.

And that's it.

As befitting a short about the joys of running in sneakers, the animation is very dynamic, with simplified character designs and vibrant colors. On the other hand, Nike's relentless genki enthusiasm wears out its welcome pretty quickly, and Shelly is more a plot contrivance than a character. Still, it's all over pretty quickly.

The voice cast is small and not well known.

• Ikuta Teru (Nike) played Futaba in the Shoujo Kageki Revue Starlight properties, Natalia in Idolmaster Cinderella Girls Gekijou: Extra Stage, and Himawari in Edomae Elf. She has also appeared in film and stage productions. 
• Kimura Akiko (Shelly Walter) played the title role in the Rockman EXE franchise, Kisaragi in the Happy Lesson franchise, and Fey Rune in Inuzama Eleven Go: Chrono Stone, among many other roles.
• Matsumoto Kohei (Cyber Police) appeared in Bleach, Ergo Proxy, Valkyria Chronicles, and other shows.
• Masuda Kento (Clerk / Narration) has no other anime credits. 

The short was produced by Nippon Animation. The "chief" director was Kamiya Jun, who directed Blue Seed, The Third, Penguin no Mondai, Seikimatsu II: Humane Society, and The Girl from Phantasia; the last two are Orphan releases. The director was Ichimura Jinya, in his first directing role. He also did the storyboards.

Perevodildo translated and timed. He doesn't like the Young Animator shows. Frankly, Kicks and Punks illustrates why he has reservations. I edited and typeset; the hardest part was finding a font to match the opening title. Nemesis and Uchuu QCed. The raw is from someone named jireh, about whom I know less than nothing.

Kicks and Punk is the last of the 2024 Anime no Tane shows to be subtitled. The others are:

• Pop Pop City, released with English subs and encoded by Toonshub
• Bridge: My Little Friends, subtitled by gugugaga
• Ephemere (Salteel, according to Wikipedia), subtitled by gugugaga

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

Hello WeGo!

I've always had a soft spot for the Young Animator Training Project, which, over the years, has been known as Project A, Anime Mirai, Anime Tamago, and most recently, Anime no Tane. Each year's releases are a mixed bag, but I've usually found something to like. Anime Tamago 2019 had four shorts, three of which have already been translated:

• Chuck Shimezu (Orphan) 
• Captain Bal (Orphan)
• Toe! Space Attendant Aoi (Leon-Subs)

Thanks to the efforts of Darkonius and Perevodildo, Orphan is now pleased to release the last show from the 2019 crop, Hello WeGo!

Hello WeGo! is set against the backdrop of Japan's aging population and rural decline. To offset the diminished population outside the big cities, children use personal robots, called Mechatronics WeGo's, to get to and from school safely, perform chores, and of course, compete with each other. 

Satoru is an orphaned elementary school student living with his grandmother. His WeGo is old and beat up.

It compares unfavorably with the shiny new models owned by his rival Akira and others in his class.

Despite support and encouragement from his friend Nanami, Satoru gets increasingly depressed, ultimately refusing to compete in WeGo competitions. 

Then, mechanic Domon Genkichi, a friend of Satoru's grandmother, fixes up the battered robot (and maybe removes the safety stops).

Satoru realizes that he's surrounded by people who love and support him.

He faces up to his fears and the biggest challenge of all: jumping the Crevasse of Dread.

If this all sounds a bit generic, it is. There's none of the sly humor in Chuck Shimezu or the satire in Captain Bal. It's a straightforward story of a child facing his fears and overcoming them. The other children are not villains or bullies; even Akira is basically a good kid. As a result, the show has an obvious plot line and lacks tension. But the visuals are impressive, and the show leaves a pleasant aftertaste.

The voice cast includes several distinguished seiyuu:

• Tanezaki Atsumi (Satoru) starred as the title role in Sousei no Frieren, Asako in Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun, Chise in Mahou Tsukai no Yome, Anya in Spy x Family, Atsumi in Liz to Aoi Tori, and Tinasha in Untamed Memory. She also played Karash, the ferocious-tempered rabbit, in the Hoozuki no Reitetsu franchise, a particular favorite.
• Yuuki Aoi (Nanami) starred as the title role in the Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica franchise, Maomao in Kusuriya no Hitorigoto, Mina Tepes in Dance in the Vampire Bund, Jubee in the Hyakka Ryouran franchise, Tooru in A-Channel, Victorique in Gosick, Pastillage in the Dog Days franchise, Iris in recent releases in the Pokemon reboot, Hibiki in the Symphogear franchise, Tanya in the Yuujo Senki and Isekai Quartet franchises, Lotta in ACCA, Tsuyu/Froppy in the Boku no Hero Academia franchise, Diane in the Nanatsu no Taizai franchise, and the nameless lead in Kumo Desu ga, Nanika?
• Tamura Mutsumi (Akira) played the title roles in the Kobayashi-san no Maidragon franchise and Captain Bal (an Orphan release), Yuuki in the Ef properties, Inomata Ken in Anyamal Tantei Kiruminzoo, Kiyo in Asobi ni Iku yo!, Sonya in Kill Me Baby, Sayaka the maid in the Seitokai Yakuindomo franchise, Lux Arcadia in Saijaku Muhai no Bahamut, Lutz in Honzuki no Gekokujou, Beelzebub in Sand Land, and Yukiya in Karasu wa Aruji o Erabanai.
• Sawada Toshiko (Satoru's grandmother Michiyo) has played teachers, mothers, or grandmothers in numerous shows, including Maison Ikkoku,The Big O, Usagi Drop, the Magi franchise, Hinako Note, Laughing Target, and The Girl from Phantasia. The last two are Orphan releases.
• Shiba Chigeru (Domon Genkichi) played the narrator of Fist of the North Star, Shigeo in the Patlabor franchise, Megane in the Urusei Yatsura franchise, Ichidou Rei in High School! Kimengumi, Kuwabara Kazuma in YuYu Hakusho, Pilaf in the Dragon Ball franchise, and Buggy the Clown in One Piece. He played the title role in Kigyou Senshi Yamazaki: Long Distance Call and appeared in Tsuyoshi Shikkari Shinasai: Tsuyoshi no Time Machine de Shikkari Shinasai, Ai no Kusabi, Akai Hayate, Bagi, Condition Green, and Yamato 2520, all Orphan releases.
• Kitou Akari (Yuuki, a classmate) played Adachi in Adachi and Shimamura, Tsukasa in the Tonikaku Kawai properties, Nene in Jibaku Shounen Hanako-kun, Erika in Cuckoo no Iinazuke, Nezuko in the Kimetsu no Yaiba franchise, Mio in the Tsuki ga Michibiku properties, Kate in Shadows House, Eve in Birdie Wing, Kotoko in Kyokou Suiri, the title role in Mamekichi Mameko NEET, Hina in Okinawa de Suki ni Natta, and Suzune in Youkoso Jitsuryoku Shijou.
• Mano Ayumi (Maru, another classmate) played Natsune in Ballpark de Tsukamaeta, Alice in Shinigami Bocchan to Kuro Maid, and Isabelle in Bara Ou no Souretsu.
• Tomita Miyu (Haruto, another classmate) played Otako in Oshiete! Galko-chan, Crimvael the Angel in Ishuzoku Reviewers, Rizu in the Bokutachi wa Benkyou ga Dekinai properties, Riko in Made in Abyss, and Mickbell in Dungeon Meshi.

The show was produced by Wit Studio and directed by Masuyama Ryouji, who has since gone on to direct Blend S and Nier: Automata V1.1a.

Darkonius translated and timed the show, and Perevodildo translation checked. Both were baffled by the rural dialect used by the adults (either Yamagata or Shounai dialect), so there may be issues with those lines. I edited and typeset. The signs were extensive, and repetitions of some complex signs have been omitted. Nemesis and Uchuu QCed. The raw is from Ioroid and is full HD.

The show exposed another incompatibility in the media tools world. If you are using madvr for rendering, instead of standard renderers, the signs won't appear to be the right colors. In addition, some "smoothing" of quick brightness shifts causes sign colors to change at a scene boundary. In short, if you are using madvr, disable it. With their default renderers, MPC-HC, mpv, and VLC all look correct. 

Hello WeGo! is middling, no denying that. Still, it's a wholesome take on how young children grow, and I'm glad the Anime Tamago "class of 2019" is now completely translated. You can get the show from the usual torrent site or from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net.

Chuck Shimezou

I'm really fond of the Young Animator Training Project (which has had various name, according to the Wikipedia article) and its OVAs. The shows vary widely in themes, art style, writing, etc.; they're rarely routine and never repetitious. Orphan has done a few, and I'm always hoping to do more. A few months ago, the team released Captain Bal, from the 2019 edition, known as Anime Tamago. Now, here is Chuck Shimezou, one of two unsubtitled episodes from that year. (Toe! Space Attendant Aoi has been subbed by another group.)

Chuck Shimezou posits the existence of small mythical creatures called Zipper Yokai. Their purpose is to close open zippers, thereby sparing humans from loss or embarrassment. Shimezou is a young Zipper Yokai, still in training. While his mother and father are skilled professionals, he has yet to close a zipper successfully. 

Worse yet, he is seen (and captured) by a human child, Hiroki; a terrible fate for creatures that are supposed to be, and stay, invisible. 

He and Hiroki have several small adventures together, along with Hiroki's little sister Chie. Eventually, Shimezou achieves a milestone: his first successful zipper closing.

If the premise sounds crazy, the show itself is utterly charming. The opening sequence shows Mama Yokai daringly closing zippers in a crowded train, transporting herself from zipper to zipper with Mission: Impossible style moves, before triumphantly exiting the train car in the morning rush. 

The parallels between Shimezou, nagged by his mother to learn his craft, and Hiroki, nagged by his mother to watch his little sister, are drawn clearly but not overbearingly. 

Shimezou and Hiroki rescue each other from a few predicaments, as buddies should. 

And the ending, in which both receive long-sought praise from their mothers, is suitably heart-warming.

The voice cast include, some notable names, including Kugimiya Rie as the main human character.

• Kaneda Tomoko (Shimezou) played Chiyo in Azumanga Daioh, Fuku in Techni Muyou! GXP, Cynthia/Grace in the Hanaukyo Maid Tai properties, Aoito in the Lime-iro Senkaiten series, Miss Badger in Shirokuma Cafe, and the twins In and You in Cosprayers. The last two are Orphan releases.
• Kuno Misaki (Chie) starred in the title role in Aharen-san wa Hakarenai and as Touko in Hikari no Ou. She played Xialon in Kusuriya no Hitorigoto, Shiori in the Non Non Biyori franchise, and Hawk in the Nanatsu no Taizai franchise.
• Kugimiya Rie (Hiroki), the lengenday KugiRie, starred in the title roles for Lotte no Omocha, Sahkugan no Shana, Rizel in Rizelmine, and the Hidan no Aria franchise. She also starred as Koto in Kyousougiga, Nagi in Hayate no Gotoku!, Aisaka Taiga in Toradora! and Louise in the Zero no Tsukaima franchise. She played Alphonse Elric in Fullmetal Alchemist (both versions), Hina in Guardian Hearts, Daisuke in Major, Rose in Dragon Crisis, Momo in the Shokugeki no Souma franchise, Atsumi in Recorder to Ransel, Yukimura in Hyakka Ryouran, Cure Ace in the Precure franchise, Happy in Fairy Tail, and Kagura in Gintama. She also appeared as Techni in Waza no Tabibito and Rena in Hand Maid May, both Orphan releases.
• Horikoshi Mami (Kobayashi-san,the next-door neighbor) had featured roles in Fortune Dogs, From North Field, Hero Hero-kun, and Weiss Kruez. She played Onaka in Hidamari no Ki and appeared in Aoi Hitomi no Onna no Ko no Ohanashi and Wild 7, all Orphan releases.
• Shouji Umeka (Hiroki's Mother) played Camilla in the Spy x Family franchise, Sara in Bihada Ichizoku, and Neko Musume in GeGeGe no Kitarou (2018). She had featured roles in Reikenzan, World Trigger, and Kusuriya no Hitorigoto.
• Hirano Fumi (Shimezou's Mama) starred as Lum in the Urusei Yatsura franchise, Koiko in Koiko no Mainichi, and Princess Kahm in Outlanders. She also played the title role in Choujikuu Romanesque Samy: MISSING 99,La Midin Dimida in Tobira o Akete, Lihua in the two Sangokushi TV specials and Tsugumi in Stop!! Hibari-kun!, all Orphan releases.
• Uoken (Shimezou's Papa) had featured roles in the Ultraman OVAs, Ayakashi Triangle, Bullbuster, and Basilisk.
• Shindou Naomi (Hiroki's Grandmother) had featured roles in Mai Hime, No Game, No Life, Appleseed XIII, Asobi ni Ikuyo, Driland, Gaiking, and Kingdom of Chaos. She played Rappi in Minna Atsumare! Falcom Gakuen, an Orphan release.

This show is Nishiyama Eiichirou's only directing credit to date.

Perevodildo translated and timed. I edited and typeset. Nemesis and Uchuu QCed. Skr captured the show from HDTV, and an anonymous friend encoded it. A few notes:

1. Perevodildo transliterates long Japanese vowels as their English counterparts; so yokai rather than youkai. However, Shimezou has its trailing 'u' in all major databases, so it has been included. Consistency, hobgoblin, etc.
2. "Chakku" (Chuck) is the Japanese word for zipper. "Shime" means closer or closing. Chuck frequently adds "zou" to the end of his sentences. So Chuck Shimezou is his name and his function.
   
3. Many of the signs are repeated in the ending credits. However, they are often under the scrolling credits. I have no way of masking them for the credits, so they have not been typeset.

If you can't tell, I really liked Chuck Shimezou. It has some wonderful animation sequences, notably the opening, and a heart-warming story. You can get the show from the usual torrent site or from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net

Captain Bal

The Young Animator Training Project, variously known as Anime Mirai, Anime Tamago, and now, Anime no Tane, is an annual project sponsored by the Japanese government to train new animators. Except in the worst years of Covid, it has produced four OVAs; in 2020, there were only three; in 2021, the OVAs were only 7-10 minutes line. The OVAs may be mainstream, experimental, dramatic, or comedic, but they are always interesting.

For the first two years, gg fansubbed the OVAs, but they stopped in 2013. After that, fansubbing was done by other groups. Starting in 2017, translations were hit-or-miss, and even raws became hard to find. DmonHiro did the fansub community a great service by collecting all the available subs and raws in a single torrent; it shows how many gaps exist in recent years. Orphan translated one show from Anime Mirai 2014, Parol no Miraijima, and two shows from Anime Tamago 2016, Utopa and Kaze no Matasaburou. We always hoped to do more and now, thanks to Skr, we have.

Captain Bal is from Anime Tamago 2019. It is only the second show from that year to be translated. It comes from a studio called Flying Ship Production, which is mostly a 3D CGI house. It's quite wonderful. A gang of poor kids, led by the hopelessly inept "Call me Captain!" Bal, dream of escaping poverty by becoming pirates. Unfortunately, their ship is a leaky rowboat, and they only have the vaguest idea of what pirates do. Despite the odds, Bal, who always wears a wolf's pelt left to him by his dad, his sidekick Puu (a pig, apparently), his sister Muge, and a large green salamander named Cuuna, take to the seas in hopes of finding adventure and treasure.

This OVA seems to be a pilot for a children's show that hasn't been made yet. In the first part, Bal and company board what they think is a plush cruise ship. It's actually run by a nefarious group of crooks who have kidnapped (toynapped?) a bunch of vintage toys to sell to collectors. Bal thinks he can defeat them single-handedly, but he trips over his own pelt, and it's actually Muge who kicks the baddies into a corner. They free the toys, but Bal refuses to make "clean money" by selling the toys to collectors. After all, pirates only take "dirty money."

In the second part, Bal and company board a floating city. It is populated by wealthy business goats who are too busy holding meetings and talking on their cell phones to interact with mere people. The gang runs into the daughter of a wealthy goat named Gordon. He has told her to sit still and wait for him while he goes to his "important" meetings. The gang "kidnaps" her and holds her for ransom. (Actually, Muge and Cuuna play with her while Bal tries to figure out what a pirate does in this situation.) When Gordon shows up, frantic with worry, only to find that his daughter is playing happily with friends, he realizes that he needs to stop and smell the roses. He gives Bal a substantial reward, but it doesn't stick around long.

The voice cast for the principal roles is pretty stellar for an obscure OVA:

• Tamura Mutsumi (Bal) played the title role in the Kobayashi-san no Maidragon franchise, Yuuki in the Ef properties, Inomata Ken in Anyamal Tantei Kiruminzoo, Kiyo in Asobi ni Iku yo!, Sonya in Kill Me Baby, Sayaka the maid in the Seitokai Yakuindomo franchise, Lux Arcadia in Saijaku Muhai no Bahamut, Lutz in Honzuki no Gekokujou, Beelzebub in Sand Land, and Yukiya in Karasu wa Aruji o Erabanai.
• Nakao Ryuusei (Puu) played the lead in Igano Kabamaru, King Falke in ACCA, Hephaestion in Alexander's Decision, and Freeza/Cooler in Dragon Ball. He also played Akio in Chameleon and Peat Cullen in AWOL Compression remix, both Orphan releases.
• Hayami Saori (Muge) played the title roles in Zettai Bouei Leviathan and Akagami no Shirayuki-hime, Musubi in the Sekirei franchise, Saki in the Higashi no Eden properties, Yuuno Arashiko in MM!, Wako in Star Driver, Ikaros in the Sora no Otoshimono franchise, Chiriko in Ano Hi Mita Hana..., Yukino in the Yahara Ore no Seishun Lovecom franchise, Hina in Buddy Complex, Finne in Shuumatsu no Izetta, Miyuki in the Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei franchise, and a personal favorite, Amelia the lovestruck student council president in Mairimashita! Iruma-kun.

The director, Namaguchi Masanori, also directed Anzu-chan and Oochi no Oochopus.

This is mostly Skr's show. He translated, timed, typeset, and encoded. I edited. Nemesis and Rezo QCed. The raw is taken from a TV broadcast. We have raws for the other shows in Anime Tamago 2019, if any translators are interested.

Captain Bal is funny, charming, and good-humored - suitable for children, funny enough for adults. I really hope that Flying Ship Production finds some funding and makes it into a series. Meanwhile, you can download the OVA from the usual torrent site or from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net.

UTOPA (Full HD)

Recently, a fellow who goes by the handle Ioroid has been uploading high-quality 1080p webstreams of a number of Orphan's releases. We've already re-released Grimm Douwa: Kin no Tori in full HD. Now, it's the turn of another gorgeous show, UTOPA, one of the OVAs from the 2016 edition of Anime Tamago. It's a sci-fi offering from STUDIO4°C, a veteran company known for adventurous fare like Tekkon Kinkreet and Ani*Kuri 15 as well as utter sellouts like PES: Peace Eco Smile. (Gotta earn a living, I guess.)

Utopa is set in the far future, as a longish voice-over at the beginning explains. After ruining the Earth's surface with biological and nuclear war, mankind has retreated to cities in the sky. There, for no particularly compelling reason, they have crossbred with the surviving animals to produce intelligent hybrid species. When a seed drifts into the sky city, three youngsters - Kui, a dog boy, Hiruma, a cat girl, and Ruto, a lizard boy - venture down to the Earth's surface in search of more seeds and new adventures. The biosphere has indeed regenerated, in a new, almost alien way:

Giant jellyfish float through the air, zapping potential prey with bolts of electricity. And nothing seems to be edible (except for the three of them). Hiruma befriends or adopts an oversized caterpillar, which is promptly seized as food by a giant talking bird. The three friends challenge the bird to a contest, with the caterpillar as the prize. All's well that ends well, as you might expect.

The voice cast has just five actors:

• Ueda Reina (Hiruma) played Mikan Akemi in Jitsu wa Watashi wa, Ayumi in Bakuten!, Hane in Bakuon, Melfina in Black Summoner, Mira in Dimension W, Ruri in the Dr. Stone franchise, Kisa in the updated version of Fruits Basket, Julia Doma in How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom, Karen in No Guins Life, Peta in Null & Peta, Akane in SSSS.Gridman, and many other recent roles.
• Tanaka Aimi (Kui) played the titular little sister in Himouto! Umaru-chan, Kagami in Mononogatari, Yuri in So I'm a Spider, So What? and Hiyori in the Wasimo franchise.
• Fukaya Yuu (Ruto) was only 12 when UTOPA was made. He also appeared in PriPara and Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso.
• Hoshino Takinori (giant eagle) played Shibuya in Gurazeni, Nobuyuki Kai in the Haiykuu! franchise, Serizawa in the Mob Psycho 100 series, and numerous other roles.
• Maeda Toshiko (narration) had small roles in the original Astro Boy, Ninku, Pollyana, Nobody's Boy Remi, Treasure Island, and other shows.

The director, Tanaka Takahiro, has been a key animator on many projects and animation director on a few; this is his directorial debut, and it's gorgeous.

Iri translated and ninjacloud timed. I edited, and Calyrica and Xenath3297 did QC. For this release, I retimed and Uchuu did a release check. The script is mostly the same, but I did clean up a few lines that were too long. The raw is a webrip from Ioroid.

UTOPA is cliched in a many ways, including the "Everything's better if we work together!" conclusion, but it's very pretty too. 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.

Utopa

Another show from Anime Tamago 2016, and probably Orphan's last. Utopa is a sci-fi offering from STUDIO4°C, a veteran company known for adventurous fare like Tekkon Kinkreet and Ani*Kuri 15 as well as utter sellouts like PES: Peace Eco Smile. (Gotta earn a living, I guess.)

Utopa is set in the far future, as a longish voice-over at the beginning explains. After ruining the Earth's surface with biological and nuclear war, mankind has retreated to cities in the sky. There, for no particularly compelling reason, they have crossbred with the surviving animals to produce intelligent hybrid species. When a seed drifts into the sky city, three youngsters - Kui, a dog boy, Hiruma, a cat girl, and Ruto, a lizard boy - venture down to the Earth's surface in search of more seeds and new adventures. The biosphere has indeed regenerated, in a new, almost alien way:

Giant jellyfish float through the air, zapping potential prey with bolts of electricity. And nothing seems to be edible (except for the three of them). Hiruma befriends or adopts an oversized caterpillar, which is promptly seized by a giant talking bird as food. The three friends challenge the bird to a contest, with the caterpillar as the prize. All's well that ends well, as you might expect.

Utopa reminds me a lot of last year's Parol no Miraijima. In that show too, three not-quite-human friends - two male, one female - set out on a voyage of discovery from a protected world into the great unknown, encounter many hazards, and eventually win out. I like Parol rather better than Utopa, I think - the characters are more engaging, and the animation more inventive and fluid. Utopa has an odd mix of character designs, as this shot of the bird with the three human hybrids shows:

Kui is played by rising voice actress Tanaka Aimi, probably best known as the titular little sister in Himouto! Umaru-chan. Hiruma is voiced by Ueda Reina, who has appeared in many recent series, including Bakuon and Dimension W. (Ruto is played by an actual child.) The unnamed bird is voiced by an industry veteran, Hoshino Takanori. The director, Tanaka Takahiro, has been a key animator on many projects and animation director on a few; this is his directorial debut.

Iri translated and ninjacloud timed. I edited, and Calyrica and Xenath3297 did QC. The raw is from Ohys and is an HDTV capture, not a Blu-Ray.

Enjoy another egg from Anime Tamago 2016!

Kaze no Matasaburou (2016)

Kaze no Matasaburou (2016) (Matasaburou of the Wind) is one of this year's Anime Tamago (formerly Anime Mirai, formerly Young Animator's Training Project) OVAs. It is based on Miyazawa Kenji's story of the same name and was already made into an experimental OVA back in 1988.

The plot is slight. A young girl from the city named Takada has to relocate to the country for a while, because her father is supervising a power project there, and her mother is away on a business trip. Her new home is so remote and rural that her school class is made up of a boy, a bear, a pig, a frog, a turtle, a cat, a deer, and a worm. Strong winds blow frequently, and all the students believe that this is due to Matasaburou of the Wind, a child of the wind god. Takada gets to experience the tranquil wonders of country life, make a new friend, and find out the truth about Matasaburou for herself. Then she goes back home to be with her mother in the city.

Matasaburou is quietly humorous slice-of-life comedy, but the animation is the real draw. The art style is simple and beautiful, employing watercolor-style fills on starkly drawn outlines. The country backgrounds are reminiscent of Miyazaki but are more impressionistic, like this waterfall:

There are frequent wonderful and whimsical touches too, like this shot of a cricket making his music as the clouds roll in.

Matasaburou is the product of a relatively new studio, Buemon, which has mostly done CGI work. This is their first venture in conventional (looking) animation.

The elementary school students are all voiced by children, a recent trend in Japanese anime that contributes to more realistic performances. The adult parts are voiced by veterans of the industry. For example, the deep-voiced Matasaburou is played by Tanaka Masahiko, who has worked in the industry since the second Astro Boy series in 1980. The music is spare and quiet, befitting the mood.

Iri translated and did initial timing; Yogicat did the detailed timing; I edited and typeset; and Calyrica and Xenath3297 did QC. The raw is from Ohys Raws.

Please enjoy this beautiful anime.