Kingdom of Chaos: Born to Kill

At long last, another orphan project completed! In this case, it's a four-part OVA from 2003-2004, Kingdom of Chaos: Born to Kill. It is based on an online browser game, Kingdom of Chaos: Spectral Force the Universe. The first two episodes were subbed by Anime-Blitz twenty years ago; then nothing. Orphan is pleased to bring you the complete series.

Reactions to the show have been mixed. The author of The Land of Obscusion blog quite liked it and called it the best of the Idea Factory shows. On the other hand, the translation checker/translator wrote, "I don't think I've ever seen a show whose ambitions were so disparate with its budget. It fits the bill of 'too big for its boots' perfectly." YMMV.

Kingdom of Chaos is set in the mythical continent of Neverland. Fract, the Generalissimo/Leader of the Nazi-like nation of Bjor, has conquered more than half the continent. He now has his eyes set on the agricultural nation of Orthozes, which had resisted conquest once before. Opposing Fract are an outnumbered army of knights and a ragtag band of mercenaries. The latter include an enigmatic stranger, Aide, who has lost his memory; a former Crimson Knight, Mara, who is disillusioned with her regiment; and an immensely strong beast-man, Dino, who is fighting to protect what remains of his family.

The mercenaries discover that Aide bears an uncanny resemblance to Fract. They formulate an audacious plan to utilize Aide's appearance in order to slip into Fract's camp and assassinate him. However, they do not realize that all of them are caught up in the even more outrageous plan of a powerful demon, Mugen (Infinite), to punish Fract for his misdeeds in this life, and the next... forever.

When I first edited the show, I found the visuals very off-putting. The palate is drear, the lighting is dark. A lot of CGI is used, and it's pretty obvious. The DVDs are letterboxed, so a lot of screen real estate is lost. But the lack of budget forces the show to concentrate on the mercenaries, their backstories, and their interactions. I found that quite interesting, and I liked the show better when I watched it during release checking..

A few notes:

• The lengthy prologue, repeated in all four episodes, states that Fract had tried to conquer Orthozes at the start of his career but had failed. As the story makes clear, it was Fract's father who tried and failed. Fract was strongly motivated by a desire to succeed where his father did not.
• Fract's title in Japanese is soutou, which can be translated as leader, supreme commander, generalissimo, or fuhrer. I've used generalissimo throughout.
• In the fourth episode, the demon introduces himself by saying "I am infinite." Mugen means infinite in Japanese, so it may be his name, his attribute, or both.
• The website for the game, shown in the title sequence, has vanished. Not even the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine has any of it.

The voice cast is small; the show is basically a three-hander (Mara, Dino, Aide/Fract).

• Suwabe Junichi (Aide/Fract) played Bonten in Amatsuki and Jae-ha in Akatsuki no Yona, both Orphan releases. He also played the titles roles in Cuticle Detective Inaba and Space Dandy, Fuuma in the later X properties, Archer in the Fate Stay/Night franchise, Ren in the Uta no Prince-sama franchise, Yaichirou in Uchouten Kazoku, Worick in Gangsta, and Hayama in the Shokugeki no Souma franchise.
• Nakai Kazuya (Dino) played Zapp Renfro in Kekkai Sensen, Ryuuji in the Ao no Exorcist franchise, Date Masamune in the Sengoku Basara franchise, Shizuki in the xxxHoLiC franchise, Zoro in One Piece, Hijikata in Gintama, Mugen in Samurai Champloo, and Moses Sandor in Tales of Legendia.
• Matsuoka Yuki (Mara) played Senoo Aoki in the Ojamajo Doremi franchise, Ayumu in Azumanga Daioh, Kanaka in Shigofumi, Evangeline in the Mahou Sensei Negima franchise, Lisa in Girls Bravo, Nana in Elfen Lied, and Inoue in the Bleach franchise.
• Shimomura Tomoharu (Mugen) appeared in Air Master and Sakura Taisen.
• Shindou Naomi (Leo, a ragamuffin who recruits Aide) had featured roles in Mai Hime, No Game, No Life, Appleseed XIII, Asobi ni Ikuyo, Driland, and Gaiking. She played Rappi in Minna Atsumare! Falcom Gakuen SC and Hiroki's Grandmother in Chuck Shimezou, both Orphan releases.
• Mannaka Yukiko (Kanon, Fract's squeeze) appeared in Scrapped Princess and Green Green.
• Hirotsu Yukiko (Dino's daughter) appeared in Air Master and Blue Drop.
  
• Ryuutani Osamu (narrator) appeared in Air Master and Persona 4.
• Saitou Kimiko (Cerona, Mara's former commander) played the title role in Snack Basue, Rem in Death Note, Marie in Dimension W, Sofia in Golden Kamuy, Muugi in Made in Abyss, Micchan in Migi & Dali, and Chieko in Princess Jellyfish.
  

The director, Katou Taisuke, also directed RUN=DIM, Generation of Chaos Next, and Kingdom of Chaos The Universe.

This project actually started as a result of a comment in the blog post for Nayuta. (Yes, boys and girls, I do read your comments, but don't expect any more requests to be filled.) I thought that finding a good set of raws might encourage someone (else) to finish the project. An anonymous friend found the ISOs, and a different anonymous friend encoded them. The result was published as an Orphan-raw. Then, Perevodildo took an interest in the show. techdamage transcribed the old fansubs for the first two episodes. Perevodildo checked them and translated the last two. He timed all four episodes. I edited and typeset (not much). Topper3000 and Uchuu QCed. The release includes 16 (!) untranslated extras and promos, all of them about the game rather than the OVA itself.

So Orphan has finished another orphan series, and it feels pretty... pretty good! Whether Kingdom of Chaos itself deserves that label is up to you, Dear Reader. You can get the show from the usual torrent site or from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #new on irc.rizon.net.

Hiatari Ryoukou

Every now and then, I remember that Orphan Fansubs was started to complete series  abandoned (orphaned) by other groups. Simultaneous streaming has reduced the likelihood of abandoned series, so the original mission has been complemented, or perhaps overtaken, by a focus on shows stranded on the wrong side of the analog-digital divide. However, I do keep an eye on my "orphan series list," and occasionally an opportunity arises to check one off. Here, without further ado, is Hiatari Ryoukou. 

Hiatari Ryoukou (48 episodes, 1987-1988) was the fourth of Adachi Mitsuru's manga to be adapted for anime, and his fourth baseball rom-com, following Miyuki, the much shorter Nine, and the much longer Touch. It took over Touch's TV slot, thereby providing Japanese audiences with three continuous years of Adachi Mitsuru.  It bears more of a resemblance to Nine than to Touch, but it has many of the same stock Adachi character types and plot situations.

The Hiatari Ryoukou project began in ray=out in 2012. I was asked to edit on a freelance basis. The project struggled to maintain a consistent release cadence: an initial set of releases in 2012, almost nothing in 2013, a burst up to episode 24 in 2014, and since then, nothing, even though the basic script work - translation, timing, editing, encoding - was finished in early 2014. (I documented my frustrations with the project in this blog post.) Well, the wait is now over. Starting just after Labor Day, I went back to the Hiatari Ryoukou scripts, revisited the editing, typeset where necessary, and asked the Orphan team to help with additional translation and QC. It took just about three months to get everything in reasonable shape. So here, at long last, are the final 24 episodes of Hiatari Ryoukou. I have not revisited the first 24 episodes, nor do I intend to, but they are included in the batch for convenience.

Hiatari Ryoukou is as standard an Adachi Mitsuru story as you can imagine. Kishimoto Kasumi lives in her aunt's boarding house with four (male) students from Meijou, her high school: Takasugi Yuusaku (the good-natured one), Ariyama Takashi (the heavy one), Mikimoto Shin (the conceited one), and Aido Makoto (the invisible one). She has an older boyfriend, Muraki Katsuhiko, who is often off the scene, in college in America. Yuusaku, Ariyama, and Shin all end up playing for Meijou's fairly pathetic high-school baseball team, which is managed by Kasumi's friend Seki Keiko. Shin and Ariyama have a yen for Keiko. Yuusaku, although attracted to Kasumi, believes that he should defer to Katsuhiko, particularly when the latter returns to coach the Meijou team. The messy romantic relationships overlap with the baseball team's quest to become contenders and reach Koshien. Stir and repeat for 48 episodes. It's lighthearted fun. However, the ending is very rushed and abrupt, and the baseball side of the story is never resolved.

The voice cast includes many veterans of Adachi Mitsuru world, as well as some newcomers.

• Morio Yumi (Kasumi) played Akimoto Reiko in the long-running Kochikame franchise.
• Mitsuya Yuuji (Yuusaku) played Tatsuya (the lead, a Yuusaku clone) in Touch, Pen Pen in Mr. Penpen, Kouji in Kiteretsu Daihyakka, Irabu in Kuuchuu Buranko, Jecy in Hi-Speed Jecy, Seki in Majo demo Steady, and Daisuke in Stop!! Hibari-kun. The last three are Orphan releases.
• Shiozawa Kaneto (Shin) played Iason in Ai no Kusabi, Rock Holmes in Fumoon, Shiina in Chameleon, Sanzou in I am Son Goku, and Kurahashi Eiji, the ace pitcher, in Nine, all Orphan releases. He also played Joe in Tokimeki Tonight, Yoshio in Miyuki, Takeshi in Touch, D in Vampire Hunter D, Narsus in Arslan Senki OVA, Rosario in Dragon Half, and Abriel senior in Crest of the Stars.
• Hayashiya Kobuhei (Ariyama) is a Humanities professor and rakugo artist. His anime credits include Koutarou (the Ariyama clone) in Touch and Yoichi in the Kochikame franchise.
• Tsuru Hiromi (Keiko) 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, UFO-chan in Dokushin Apartment Dokudami-sou, and big sister Shizuka in Tomoe's Run!, all Orphan releases.

The chief director, Sugii Gisaburou, needs no introduction to readers of this blog. His many credits include other Adachi Mitsuru series (Touch and Nine); Nozomi Witches and Hidamari no Ki (both Orphan projects); and several recent movies. The songs are by various artists, including Serizawa Hiraoki, who did many of the songs for Nine. Just to emphasize the continuity, the last insert song in Hiatari Ryoukou is a variation on Midsummer Runner, the ending song for Nine.

This completion of Hiatari Ryoukou retains the styling decisions (dialog and song styles, the use of honorifics, the inconsistent romanization of long vowels) from the ray=out episodes. Compared to the state of the scripts in 2014, the main changes are:

• Translation of missing lines and more signs.
• Translation checking on the insert songs.
• An additional editing pass.
• Timing cleanup.
• Additional QC. 
• Wider horizontal margins and more frequent line breaks.
• Typesetting with motion capture to compensate for image instability.

The credits for these 24 episodes are a bit complicated. Athanor provided the DVD raws. For ray=out, AgitoAkito encoded, tacokichi translated, nollarg timed, alchemist11 styled, and first Saji and then Samika did QC through episode 38. For Orphan, I edited, checked, and typeset, Nemesis did QC, and Skr, Iri, and convexity translated missing lines and signs. convexity translation checked the insert songs.

With the success of Mix, Adachi Mitsuru is experiencing another revival, and several of his properties have shown up in high-definition on Japanese streaming sites. Mostly, they look like upscales - sometimes laserdisc upscales - but we can always hope for remastered versions done from original sources. In the meantime, here's Hiatari Ryoukou. You can get the episodes from the usual torrent site or from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net.

Orphans Dashboard

Except for short-runtime shows, few current series are left orphaned, because almost everything gets streamed and captured. Thus, orphaned series are mostly a matter of the back catalog.

Orphans rescued since I started this blog (aka, the Honors List):

• 3000 Leagues in Search of Mother (Marco) (neo1024)
• Aim for the Ace! (Bluefixer)
• Akai Hayate (Orphan)
• Alps Stories: My Annette (Licca)
• Amuri Star Ocean (mixed groups)
• Before Green Gables (ARR)
• Black Jack: the last OVAs (Bluefixer)
• Blue Dragon (Takeo84)
• Busou Chuugakusei - Basket Army  (Migoto/anon)
• Captain Tsubasa (Frenchies/Saizen)
• Code Breaker OVAs (Orphan) 
• Corrector Yui (OldCastle)
  
• Cutie Honey (TSHS)
• D4 Princess (tipota & Orphan) 
• Daa! Daa! Daa! (Aozora & TMUsubs) 
• Dash Kappei (Shindoi) - although it's a bit of a "do it yourself" project
  
• Dream Dimension Hunter Fandora (OnDeed)
• Gallery Fake (Muji) 
• Gyagu Manga Biyori S2 (sulez_raz) 
• Haita Nanafa second series (Omen then Glitch)
• Hakugai: The Legend of Moby Dick (tipota)
• Hakuouki - Otogisoushi (YouTube)
• Hal & Bons - last episode found subtitled on YouTube
• Hell Teacher Nube (ARR)
• Hiatari Ryoukou (ray=out-Orphan)
• Hidamari no Ki (Orphan)
• Hi-Speed Jecy (Orphan)
• Hyouge Mono (Doremi)
• Idol Densetsu Eriko (Kiteseekers & Licca) 
  
• Kakyuusei (1995) (Orphan) 
• Kakyuusei (1999) (C1) 
• Kiss Dum (Doutei)
• Kyou Kara Ore Wa!! (Saizen & Yabai)
• Jang Geum's Dream (ARR)
• Les Miserables Shoujo Cosette (Licca & Wasurenai) 
• Lime-iro Ryuukitan X Cross (Kiteseekers) 
• Little Women II (Licca)
• Love Get Chu (Oyatsu, Yoroshiku)
• Maicching Machiko-sensei (streaming on CR)
• Maple Story (Linguistic) - Korean audio
• Marginal Prince  (aarinfantasy)
  
• Marie & Gali S1 (Wasurenai)
• Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch (KiteSeekers) 
• Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch Pure (Licca & Wasurenai) 
• Miyuki (FroZen-EviL)
• Mizu Iro Jidai (Kiteseekers)
• Neon the Animation (Migoto & ray=out)
  
• Ninku (SolZen), using the new Blu-Ray release 
  
• Onara Garou (Kaitou, Double, and anon)
• Perrine Monogatari (Licca & KiteSeekers & Wasurenai)
• Porphy no Nagai Tabi (Licca)
• Rakugo Tennyo Oyui (ARR)
• Saint October (ReDone)
• Shinshaku Sengoku Eiyuu Densetsu Sanada Juu Yuushi (Sanada 10) - Orphan
  
• Showa Monogatari (GotWoot)
• Sonic Soldier Borgman TV (Mushin) - based on HK subs
• Sonic Soldier Borgman: New Century 2058 (Orphan)
• Souten Kouro (Gotwoot & Doutei) 
• Stop!! Hibari-kun! (Orphan)
• Tetsuko no Tabi (m.3.3.w) 
• Tokimeki Tonight (Orphan-Saitei)
• Tono to Issho S2 (anonymous)
• Ultraviolet Code 44 (KiteSeekers)
• Yamato 2520 (Orphan)
• Yawara (FroZen-EviL)
• Yoshimune (ARR)

Note that the list only includes series that were started by one group and abandoned and then picked up and redone or finished by a different group. Subbing old series that were never done before doesn't count; nor does resuming a series after a long pause. ARR's subs are often derived from Hong Kong or Malaysian DVDs.

Orphan rescues in progress (aka, the Fingers-Crossed List):

• Patalliro (aarinfantasy) 
• The Kobocha Wine (Flapsubs)
  

The note from the previous list applies here as well.

Orphans stuck in limbo (aka, the Series Broiler list):

• 3-Choume no Tama: Uchi no Tama Shirimasenka? 
  
• BAR Kiraware Yasai
• Chikkun Takkun
  
• Dibetagurashi
• Gene Diver
• Kuruneko
  
• Lady Georgie 
• Magnerobo Ga-Keen
  
• Oh! Family
  
• Onegai My Melody S3
• Piroppo
  
• Puu-neko
• Robin Hood no Daibouken 
• Romance of the Three Kingdoms (2010)
• SuzakiNishi
  
• Tanoshi Moomin Ikka
  

(Updated 10-Sep-2023)

Orphan Fansubs Labor Day Clearance!

Yes, our inventory is overflowing here at Orphan Fansubs, so it's time for a big back-to-school sale to clear the backlog. We're literally giving things away here, folks, so don't hesitate to pick something up for your PC or Mac. Everything must go!

Seriously, the team has been accumulating materials far beyond its limited bandwidth for translation and translation checking. Accordingly, we'll be doing two things:

1. Torrenting unique raws for which there is no translator, in hopes of inspiring a Japanese translator to help. (Erik of Piyo Piyo Productions has always torrented his raws, so those are already available.)
2. Releasing shows that need translation checking but have no resources as "works in progress," again in hopes of inspiring a translator.

So let's get the party rolling!

Our first release under this policy is the raws of Dokushin Apartment Dokudami-sou, a 1989 three-part ecchi OVA. (Finding translators for ecchi materials is even harder than normal shows.) It has languished in our raw archive for close to two years. M74 encoded these raws from a laserdisc rip provided by ics-. The only other raws available are VHS rips, so this is a noticeable improvement.

This release is available from the usual torrent sites or from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net.

Stay tuned for more bargains from Orphan Fansubs!

Back to the Shadows Again (Kage)

Compiling an official list of Orphan's releases made me realize that the name is older than I thought. It dates back to 2007, when I had been fansubbing only a little more than a year. I had already become obsessed with finishing series that had been abandoned (as documented in this blog entry); and one of the first series I focused on was a four-episode h-anime from 2004 called Kage (Shadow). Shinsen Subs, the 800-pound gorilla of fansub groups when I took up the hobby in 2006, subbed the first two episodes, and then they stopped. I was quite chagrined that Kage had been abandoned and was determined to see the series completed. Somehow, I found a translator for the last two episodes and timed them myself to random Internet raws. With no typesetting or translation checking, and very little QC, they were released in late 2007 and early 2008 under the label "Orphan Fansubs." Orphan was basically intended as a one-shot; no further releases were planned.

That began to change in late 2010. I began experimenting with resubbing shows that had serious defects in editing, timing, styling, or typesetting. The second release under the Orphan label (and the first one with a real process behind it) was Harukanaru Toki no Naka de 3: Owarinaki Unmei, which had been hardsubbed by a group called EPIC. I transcribed, retimed, re-edited, and restyled, and used a much better raw from HQR to create a softsubbed release. The next project was Hand Maid Mai, an ecchi comedy with the usual terrible R1 DVD subs. Here the focus was on getting at least passable timing and typesetting. And with a couple of projects under my belt, my thoughts returned to Kage.

Kage is an unusual h-anime in several respects. First, the artwork is gorgeous - the character designs, the backgrounds, the fluidity of the action and sex scenes. Second, the characters are well-defined and not merely cliches. Third, the plot is dense and complicated, particularly for an h-anime. Set in the late Bakumatsu, it tells the story of female ninjas who use their sexual and fighting skills to seduce and assassinate men in various factions. The protagonist is Karyu, a reluctant assassin who has known no other life. At times, she is aided by Gisuke, a samurai who has his own secrets. Her antagonist is Uzume, a violet-eyed beauty who revels in blood and murder. Their frequent encounters and ultimate confrontation are the core of the story. Only one can survive.

I felt that Kage deserved better treatment than the cursory subs and random Internet raws I had used in 2007. Fortunately, some of my colleagues at the time agreed, and we decided to redo the whole show - revised translations, new encodes, etc. The encoder imported the R2J DVDs from Japan (at exorbitant cost) and encoded them at high bit rates to preserve the details. The translator went over not only the original Orphan scripts but the Shinsen Subs scripts and made significant corrections. The episodes received several rounds of QC from team members. (I'm being vague about the names because some fansubbers don't want credit for working on h-anime.) And there was actual typesetting. The typesetting caused a major delay, though. The logo was hardsubbed, and the typesetter who created it was dyslexic and misspelled Orphan.

Natsuki Rio (Karyu) has had an active voice-acting career, mostly outside of h-anime. She has had featured roles in the El Hazard and Macross 7 shows, as well as in Tactical Roar, Techni Muyo, To Heart 2, and Tokko, to mention just the Ts. Adachi Mari (Uzume) is less well known; she appeared in both Doukyuusei 2 and Sotsugyusei. The director, Abe Masashi, was an industry veteran; he did the seminal sci-fi series Blue Gender. The animation director and character designer, Takahashi Shinya, had done designs for Photon and Kurogane Communication.

Kage looks as good now as it did when it was released it almost six years ago. It is, not surprisingly, the most frequently downloaded Orphan show on BakaBT, by a very wide margin. Well, we all know what anime viewers really like.

Tokimeki Tonight, Take 2

Eight months ago, I wrote:

Tokimeki Tonight has been on my list of orphan series for a long time, but I didn't think there was much chance to do anything about it. Then, in fairly short order, I found raws, a translator, and best of all, a member of the original Saitei team who had access to the scripts, karas, styles, etc. konnakude made it possible to revive this show, and Orphan is proud to present the next episode. It's an Orphan-Saitei joint project and has the approval of the Saitei group leader, who had to give up fansubbing due to real life issues.

Well, I was premature in thinking that Tokimeki Tonight would be finished quickly. It has taken far longer than I expected to complete the series. The tragic death of our colleague CP blew an irreparable hole in the QC team; Tokimeki is the last Orphan series he worked on. Then the project leader, konnakude, was out for several months between family vacation and real-life issues. Finally, the availability of new raws from the Animax rebroadcast led us to delay further work until September.

The new raws are a significant improvement on the Internet raws we had been using. They have more vibrant colors, better detail definition, and improved image stability. (Perhaps they presage a future remastered DVD or even Blu-Ray release? That certainly proved true for Yawara!) That in turn has led to some changes in the scripts. Eternal_Blizzard redid the karaokes for improved legibility and more accurate timing. The typesetting has been redone to match the colors and stability of the new raws. And of course, the additional time has allowed for further QC. The styling remains unchanged, to match the Saitei releases, although vertical and horizontal margins have been increased.

Tokimeki Tonight is a harmless early 80s comedy series about a high school girl, Ranze Eto, who happens to be the daughter of a vampire and a werewolf. She really just wants to be just a normal girl, pursue her high-school crush, Makabe-kun, and fend off her rival, Kamiya, who's from a yakuza family, but she has these powers - which are sometimes great to have and sometimes not so great. There's not much plot continuity, so each episode can be taken on its own, once you understand the basic premise.

This is the first Orphan project for which I was not the project leader and the editor. konnakude fulfilled both roles admirably. Moho Kareshi translated the scripts, and kokujin-kun graciously agreed to check them. Ephemere timed the first episode, ninjacloud the other seven. I did the typesetting and shared QC with CP, pheon18, and Eternal_Blizzard. Eternal_Blizzard redid the karaokes; Juggen timed the additional ending verses in episode 34. bananadoyouwanna encoded the raws from the Animax transport streams.

So at last Tokimeki Tonight is no longer an orphan series and can be appreciated in its complete and unadulterated silliness. Sit back, relax, and don't let the vampires bite.

Bavi Stock

With some OVAs, like Oz, Hi-Speed Jecy, and Sanctuary, I'm baffled about why they were left behind on Laserdisc or VHS and never released on DVD. For others, though, the reasons are kind of obvious. Bavi Stock falls into the latter category.

Bavi Stock I and II are mid 80s sci-fi OVAs. They have the same characters and universe but were done by different studios. As a result, they are qualitatively very different, with different character designs and stories. Bavi Stock I is barely passable, if you're feeling generous. Bavi Stock II is utterly lame. Bavi Stock I never made it past Laserdisc. Bavi Stock II didn't even get that far and languished on VHS. I don't propose to rehearse all the deficits of these two shows; there's a very complete and utterly damning analysis here. 

Bavi Stock I is set in a group of floating islands known as the Bentika Empire. The only opposition comes from the GPP (Global Police Patrol?), whose symbol is a friendly-looking turtle in a police uniform. The story begins with GPP officer Kate freeing Princess Mooma and convicted murderer Bavi Stock, both of whom hold information vital to defeating the Empire. By accident, she also rescues another prisoner, Bavi's scheming cellmate Sammy. However, the whole "defeat the Empire" Macguffin is promptly lost in an incoherent chase plot, as the Empire's psychokinetic villainess Lus Mila and her android assassin Eyesman pursue the good guys through and around a high-stakes hovercraft race. Bavi's crime, Sammy's scheme, and Mooma's power are never explained or even explored.

Perhaps the loose plot threads were supposed to be resolved in Bavi Stock II, but it was done by a different studio and went off in a totally different direction. The good guys are now galactic treasure hunters, and beyond the floating islands of the Bentika Empire is a normal-looking universe. The episode starts out on a comic note. Then Our Heroes fly to a heavily forested planet that is stolen from Return of the Jedi, right down to a goofy-but-competent R2D2 ripoff and forest-loving pseudo-Ewoks. There they again encounter Lus Mila and Eyesman and, in scenes inspired perhaps by Raiders of the Lost Ark, unlock the secrets of Mooma, Bavi, and the Sacred Vessel, whatever that is.

Then why did Orphan do these shows? Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time. Bavi Stock I has been on the BakaBT list of "old shows needing subtitles" for ages. Orphan has generally had good luck with 80s OVAs, so we went ahead with the project. But our luck ran out with this pair.

Moho Kareshi translated, macros74 timed, I edited and typeset, and Calyrica did QC. Bavi Stock I was encoded by macros74 from a Laserdisc rip by an anonymous collector. Bavi Stock II was encoded by Erik of Piyo Piyo Productions from a VHS rip by the same anonymous collector. There is some VHS tracking error at the bottom, but on the whole it looks fairly good.

So as Yogi Berra said, some days you win, some days you lose, and some days it rains. I'm still excited about OVAs from the 80s and the 90s. Sometimes even the bad ones, like Ear of the Golden Dragon, have enough laugh-out-loud value to make working on them worthwhile. Unfortunately, there aren't many yucks in the Bavi Stock OVAs, unless you give them the full Mystery Science Theater 3000 treatment, which they richly deserve.

Tokimeki Tonight

Tokimeki Tonight has been on my list of orphan series for a long time, but I didn't think there was much chance to do anything about it. Then, in fairly short order, I found raws, a translator, and best of all, a member of the original Saitei team who had access to the scripts, karas, styles, etc. konnakude made it possible to revive this show, and Orphan is proud to present the next episode. It's an Orphan-Saitei joint project and has the approval of the Saitei group leader, who had to give up fansubbing due to real life issues.

Tokimeki Tonight is a harmless early 80s comedy series about a high school girl, Ranze Eto, who happens to be the daughter of a vampire and a werewolf. She really just wants to be just a normal girl, pursue her high-school crush, Makabe-kun, and fend off her rival, Kamiya, who's from a Yakuza family, but she has these powers - which are sometimes great to have and sometimes not so great. There's not much plot continuity, so each episode can be taken on its own, once you understand the basic premise. Because of that, we'll be releasing each episode as it's ready, rather than waiting for all eight.

The Orphan releases will preserve continuity of phrasing, appearance, and styling with the Saitei releases. That means, frankly, that the fonts are too small. However, the vertical and horizontal margins have been increased for readability. Because these final episodes are softsubs, you can change the fonts and the styles if you so desire. In addition, these episodes are fully typeset; the jittery nature of the video makes motion tracking essential.

This is the first Orphan project for which I have not been the project leader and the editor. konnakude is fulfilling both roles admirably. Moho Kareshi translated the scripts, and kokujin-kun graciously agreed to check them. Ephemere timed the first episode, ninjacloud the rest. I've done the typesetting and shared QC with CP, pheon18, and Eternal_Blizzard. The raws were found on the Web and are of unknown provenance.

So let this article stand as an overall release note for the final eight episodes as they roll (slowly) off the production line. Sit back, relax, and don't let the vampires bite.

Kunoichi Bakumatsu Kitan

Kunoichi Bakumatsu Kitan (The Bakumatsu Ninja Mystery, but known in North America as The Last Kunoichi) is a 2003-2004 hentai anime. It was licensed by Adult Source Media, but only the first episode (of two) was released. The second episode has never been subtitled in English, until now.

Kunoichi Bakumatsu Kitan takes places during the late Bakumatsu, after the opening of Japan in the 1850s. The forces of the Tokugawa shogunate and its military bureaucracy, the bakafu, are struggling against a rising tide of revolt, triggered by the shogunate’s weak response to foreign intervention. To quell rebellion, they have formed an elite samurai police force, known as the Shinsengumi. On the other side are an assortment of rebels, including Imperial nationalists who want to expel the foreigners (known as the Ishin Shinshi), idealists, republicans, and others. It was a period of intrigue, bloodshed, assassinations, and the occasional pitched battle. It culminated in the defeat of the Shogunate and the restoration of Imperial power (the Meiji restoration).

The first volume of Kunoichi deals with events leading up to the Ikedeya incident, at which units of the Shinsengumi broke up a meeting of nationalists, killing several of them and driving others to suicide. The second volume deals with the assassination of Sakamoto Ryouma, which was never solved. Into these real events Kunoichi inserts a fictional female ninja team made up of Ayame, Kikyou, and Kaede. The series was meant to continue, but it breaks off abruptly at the end of the second volume.

Historical characters 

Masuya Yuasa Kiemon (aka Furutaka Shuntaro) was a samurai from Oumi. He was captured and brutally tortured by the Shinsengumi and revealed the location of the Ishin Shinshi meeting at Ikedaya.

Hijikata Toshizou was the Vice-Commander of the Shinsengumi.

Okita Souji was Captain of the First Unit of the Shinsengumi.

Yoshida Toshimaro of Choushu – Ayame’s lover in the anime – committed suicide in the aftermath of the Ikedaya incident.

Okada Izou was an assassin.

Shimado Sakon, regent in the Koujo clan, was killed during the Bakumatsu.

Sakamoto Ryouma – Kikyou’s lover in the anime – was a nationalist and an idealist. He hoped for a Japan without feudal distinctions. He was assassinated by unknown assailants.

Miyabe Tezou, a nationalist and an alleged ringleader of a plot to burn Kyoto, was killed in the Ikedaya incident.

Mochizuki Kameyata, a nationalist, committed suicide in the aftermath of the Ikedaya incident.

Yamanauchi Youda was daimyo of Tosa.

Goto Shoujirou was a nationalist in Tosa. He survived the Bakumatsu to become a prominent politician in post-restoration Japan.

Kondo Isami was the other Vice-Commander of the Shingengumi and the leader of the raid on Ikedaya.

Ito Kashitaro was a staff officer in the Shinsengumi.

Harada Sanosuke was Captain of the Tenth Unit of the Shinsengumi.

Yamazaki Susumu was an officer and spy in the Shinsengumi. 

Fictional characters 

Ayame, Kaede, Kikyou – female ninjas

Lime-iro Ryuukitan X Cross

So at long last, Lime-iro Ryuukitan X Cross is complete.

This sequel to Lime-iro Senkitan has had a checkered history, to say the least. Released in 2005, it was started, and dropped, by no less than three fansub groups. Despite the availability of decent DVD raws, it remained untranslated and unloved until KiteSeekers added it to the backlog about three years ago. I joined KiteSeekers specifically to finish this orphan series.

Even with my constant nagging, progress was slow. Although the episodes had been translated, the translations were a bit suspect. Fortunately, Zalis116, who in the guise of ReDone Subs created the excellent DVD version of Lime-Iro Senkitan, agreed to translation check the scripts. It still took a year to finish the series, as higher priority was usually given to the Pretty Rhythm Aurora Dream and Tantei Opera Milky Holmes franchises. Lolis trump historical mecha, I guess.

As a sequel, a drop in quality would not be unexpected, but it’s the shift in tone that’s more bothersome, at least to me. Lime-iro Senkitan was a guilty pleasure, gleefully mixing action, comedy, harem, and mecha with a healthy dose of eye candy to utterly subvert the tropes of the genres. The hero, Shintaro, far from being the usual ineffective harem lead, scores with almost every female who’s both of legal age and human. He never really takes the lead in the fighting; his role is coaching, mentoring, and sexual healing. It’s good, dumb, ecchi fun.

Lime-iro Ryuukitan, on the other hand, plays by all the rules of the shounen and harem genres. The lead is clueless about women, tongue-tied and embarrassed about emotions, and generally only good at charging head-first at the enemy. The girls are all in love with him, but none of them makes an impression on his heart of iron. Instead, he teaches them life lessons about believing in themselves as well as about wrestling wild animals and patching up scrapes and bruises. In the end, he is the HERO who defeats the enemy, and the girls are supporters. As a result, the show plays as a series of cliches, with only occasional flashes of humor to lighten the endless tropes. The villains, named Chiffon, Linen, and Cashmere (what are they, an 80s girl group?), have no personality to start with and don’t develop any along the way. It’s a big come down from the original.

I’m glad it’s finally subbed, and the Lime-iro series can be viewed in its entirety. Nonetheless, Lime-iro Ryuukitan serves to point up an important lesson about orphan series: when a show’s been dropped by lots of groups, it’s probably for a good reason.