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.

Noel's Fantastic Trip

Iruka (which means "dolphin" in Japanese) is a Japanese folk singer and children's book author. In 1983, she wrote the songs and story for a children's movie called Noel no Fushigi no Bouken (Noel's Fantastic Trip). It was released first on VHS and laserdisc and eventually on DVD. For the 40th anniversary of the movie's release, Orphan and LonelyChaser are pleased to bring you the first English subtitled version of this show.

Noel's Fantastic Trip is part adventure story and part environmental fable. A young girl named Noel lives on an idyllic small planet, also called Noel, with her dog Kinnosuke. One day, she decides to take some ice cream to Mr. Sun, to thank him for his work. Taking off in a small airplane, they encounter other spacecraft and stop at Planet Gaudy (where, as might be expected, everything is very gaudy indeed) before reaching their destination. Mr. Sun is quite grateful but complains about smog arising from an unknown planet. Noel and Kinnosuke fly off to investigate and run into the smog. They escape underwater, but during their explorations, they find that the ocean is horribly polluted. The pollution comes to life and chases them. They're saved by Su(per) the flying whale, who eats the pollution and purifies the ocean. Noel and Kinnosuke then fly to the city producing all the smog. There, they meet a sickly fox-child named Konkichi, who has never seen a blue sky. Once again, Noel calls on Su to combat the pollution, and there is a happy ending, at least for the moment.

Noel's Fantastic Trip is done in the bright, basic colors of a children's book.

The songs are generally soothing or upbeat. The movie is filled with Easter eggs. In space, Noel and Kinnosuke run into the Space Shuttle:

then the space station from 2001: A Space Odyssey:

and then space battleship Yamato:

(The rear turret is the giveaway.) When they approach Planet Gaudy, its control tower plays the five note "aliens" theme from Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and Noel responds in kind. Their ocean adventure is a tribute to the Beatles and features the Yellow Submarine itself:

as well as a stylized version of the Fab Four. Su is clearly meant to be Superman and is accompanied by John Williams' famous theme from the first movie.

The voice cast was made up of singers and other non-professionals:

• Iruka (Noel) was a singer and author. Her only other voice acting credit was The Fantastic Adventures of Unico, for which she also wrote and performed the insert song.
• Touma (Kinnosuke) had no other voice acting credits.
• Kamekichi (Advisor) had no other voice acting credits.
• Hachirou Azuma (Cabinet Minister) had no other voice acting credits.
• Yamada Panda (Host 1) was a fellow member of Iruka's folk group, Shrieks.
• Yamamoto Koutaro (Host 2) was a composer and performance. He had no other voice acting credits.
  
• Kobayashi Asei (Mr. Sun) was a composer and performer. His only other voice acting credit was A Journey through Fairyland.
• Nishioka Takashi (elderly Superman) was an anime director.
• Ninuma Kenji (Su the Whale) had no other anime credits.
  
• Shoufukutei Tsurube (Smog boss) was the voice of Felonius Gru in the Japanese versions of the Despicable Me franchise.His only other anime credit was My Neighbor the Yamadas.
  
• Ooba Kumiko (Konkichi) was a singer. Her only other voice acting credit was Cosmic Baton Girl Comet-san.

The director, Maeda Tsuneo, did chief animation direction on Eleven Hungry Cats, the first Nine OVA, and the Touch movies. He directed the Tama-chan TV series and the Hashire! Shiroi Ookami movie, an Orphan release.

MartyMcflies, proprietor of LonelyChaser subs and anime music maven, got the ball rolling. He sponsored a translator, Yume, and found translation checkers, squidlin and Japanese Hoarder. ninjacloud timed. I edited and typeset. Nemesis, Rezo, and Uchuu did QC. Rezo encoded from Iri's R2J DVD.

So here is Noel's Fantastic Trip. It is indeed a fantastic trip, like the voyage in Yellow Submarine, to which Noel is clearly indebted. I found it innocent and charming, and I hope you will too. You can download the movie from the usual torrent site or from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net

Sanada 10 Special

Once upon a time, in the ancient days of the mid-oughts, there was a TV series with the rather long title of Shinshaku Sengoku Eiyuu Densetsu Sanada Juu Yuushi (New Legend of the Warring States Heroes: The Ten Warriors of Sanada), mercifully abbreviated to Sanada 10. A group called DigitalPanic, well known back in the day, picked it up and began subbing it, but they ran out of steam and stopped in 2008. Another well-known group, AonE, picked up the project in 2011, but they disbanded in 2013. The show has been an orphan ever since.

Sanada 10 has been on my Orphan's Dashboard since I started keeping a list, for a very simple reason: I was the last editor on the project, brought in by Daemon404 of AonE to help finish episode 9 before everyone involved turned into pumpkins. That experience left me not only with a strong desire to finish the show but also with the script archive for the first nine episodes - an invaluable asset. In the following decade, I kept trying to get a project off the ground. I even bought the Sanada 10 R2J DVDs. But there were Problems™. 

First, the source was a mess. It had interlacing at fades, 29.97 fps and 23.976 fps material intermixed, and other issues. Daemon404 had overcome the obstacles, but he had retired, and no other encoder would touch it. Second, I had no translator for the last three episodes, and no one was really interested. It's not some lost gem. Rather, it's a routine Sengoku-era drama, with the Sanada clan as the good guys and the Tokugawa as the bad guys. And if you remember your history, the Tokugawa win.

Last fall, the stars finally aligned. Through BakaBT, I found an encoder willing to try his hand at encoding the show. The results aren't perfect, but they're more than good enough. And through Discord, I found a translator willing to do the last three episodes. I was in business.

But how deep in business? Should Orphan just finish the last three episodes? Should the team redo the hardsubbed episodes (1-4 and the special)? Or everything? To get a sense of what was needed, I decided to redo the introductory special. This release is the result.

The nominal hero of the show is Sarutobi Sasuke. He's a foundling, rescued (apparently) from a crashed spaceship and raised by the Sanada clan as one of their ninja.

But he's just one character in an enormous sea of names, places, and events. The show reminds me of the Sangokushi movies, right down to the frequent signs for identifying the "cast of thousands" and the complex maps for the geography.

The special takes place in the days leading up to the Battle of Sekigahara, which secured Tokugawa Ieyasu's mastery over feudal Japan. Tokugawa's son, Hidetada, is charged with securing Ueda Castle before joining his father for the decisive battle. Opposing Hidetada are the much smaller army of the Sanada clan, led by master strategist Sanada Masayuki, prefect of Awa province, and his son, Sanada Nobushige. Can father and son outwit the Tokugawas, save their castle, and delay the opposing army long enough to keep them out of the forthcoming battle? It's a game of cat and mouse, a battle of numbers versus wits, with the fate of Japan riding on the outcome... perhaps.

(By the way, the beige blobs are boiling-hot porridge, in case you were having other thoughts.)

DigitalPanic's subtitles are typical mid-oughts fansubbing: most Japanese terms untranslated, a plethora of translation notes, and inadequate margins on the dialog. I've translated some (but not all) of the terms and excised the on-screen notes, except for the ones representing actual on-screen signs. Some notes on terminology:

• Tozama Daimyo: Non-hereditary feudal lord in Japan during the Tokugawa period. Often regarded as external elements. Translated as "non-hereditary daimyo."
• Awanokami: Prefect of Awa. The "-nokami" suffix denotes that the person holds a rank of Prefect.
• Nyudo: Suffix denoting a Buddhist priest.
• Chunagon: An intermediary official who acts as a bridge between the high court and the other ranks.
• Jibushoyu: An official from the Ministry of Administration, which handles diplomatic affairs, matters relating to the Imperial Tomb, and the refined musical arts.
• Zushu: A shortened form of address for Izunokami.
• Takasago: A Noh-related festive dance of longevity and blessings.
• Shikibutaifu: A senior official from the Ministry of Ceremony, which handles ceremonial rites, court examinations, and the appointment of officials.
• Karita Obiki: Cutting the grain as a goad.
• Hatabugyo: Bearer of the flag. Translated as "flag bearer."
  
• Itto-ryu: A sword style founded by Ito Ittosai Kagehisa.
  

DigitalPanic truncated long vowels to their underlying short vowel, e.g., hatabugyo instead of hatabugyou. This hasn't been changed.

The cast is enormous:

• Takase Akimitsu (Sanada Izunokami Nobuyuki/Genzaburou) appeared in Next Senki Ehrgeiz, AWOL Compression Remix, Shirokuma Cafe, and Hidamari no Ki, all Orphan releases, as well as Natsume Yuujinchou and Hikaru no Go.
• Gouda Hozumi (Sanada Saemonnosuke Nobushige/Genjirou) played Cuvie in the Votoms franchise, Gouza in Hunter x Hunter (1999), and Satomi in Akai Hayate, an Orphan release.
• Hiyama Nobuyuki (Tokugawa Chuunagon Hidetada) played Madarame in the Genshiken franchise, Viral in Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, Date in Lime-iro Senkitan, Murata in the Gundam Seed series, Kouyuu Li in Saiunkoku Monogatari, Shin in Cowboy Bebop, and Kiei in the Yu Yu Hakusho franchise. He also played Kain in Fire Emblem, Roddy in Next Senki Ehrgeiz, and King Penguin in Shirokuma Cafe, all Orphan releases.
• Hoshi Souichirou (Sarutobi Sasuke) played Kira Yamato in the Gundam Seed series, Sanada Yukimura in the Sengoku Basara franchise, Eisen in Haruka Naru Toki no Nake de: Hachiyoushou, Kei in Onegai Teacher, Maebera in the Higurashi franchise, Tomoki in the Soro no Otoshimoto franchise, Son Goku in the Saiyuki franchise, Shinji in the Symphogear franchise, Nagi in Tenjou Tenge, Minamoto no Motomi in Haruka Naru Toki no Nake de 2, and Taira no Atsumori in Haruka Naru Toki no Nake de 3. The last two are Orphan releases.
• Taniguchi Takashi (Sanada Awano-kami Masayuki) played God in the Yondemasu Yo, Azazel-san series and Kouchin, the final boss, in Ninku. He appeared in The Green Cat, an Orphan release.
• Genda Tesshou (Miyoshi Harumi Nyudo) 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 Akauma in Fire Tripper, Jin Kiryu in Blue Sonnet, Zigong in Eiyuu Banka Koushi-den, 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.
• Chafurin (Yazawa Tajimano-kami Yoriyuki) played the title role in Barbapapa Around the World, Inspector Megure in the Detective Conan franchise, Scotch Jii-san in the Hello Kitty franchise, Isono in Sazae-san (since 2014), and Kamoda in Yawara! He also appeared in B.B. Fish, Coluboccoro (2019), Jikuu Bouken Nuumamonjaa, Yamato 2520, Ohoshi-sama no Rail, and Izumo (1991), all Orphan releases.
• Orikasa Fumiko (Kaede) played Oseki in Hidamari no Ki and the narrator in Sensou Douwa: Chiisai Sensuikau ni Koi wo Shita Dekasugira Kojira no Hanashi, both Orphan releases, Kuchiki Rukia in all the Bleach properties, Mikan in Atashinchi, Yuzuki in Chobits, Karin in the Stratos 4 properties, Ikuku in the Massagu ni Ikou OVAs, Aoba in Jinki Extend, Seras Victoria in both versions of Hellsing, Nicoletta in Restaurant Paradisio, Riza Hawkeye in the original Full Metal Alchemist, Lotte Yanson in Little Witch Academia, and the heroine Okonogi Yuuko in Dennou Coil.
• Tanaka Hideyuki (Unno Rokurou) played Terryman in the Kinnikuman franchise and Rayearth in Magic Knight Rayearth. He also played Harmer in Al Caral no Isan, Sammy in Bavi Stock, Sawamura in Nozomi Witches, Ronron in Greed, Aoto in Oedo ga Nemurenai!, Katze in Ai no Kusabi, Minowa Takanari in Karuizawa Syndrome, Kazuhiko, Chiko's father in Ohoshi-sama no Rail, and Ma Su, Fengji's lover, in Sangokushi movie 3, all Orphan releases.
• Kosugi Jurouta (Mochizuki Rokurou) played Utsubushi in Amatsuki, Aizman in Bavi Stock, Takanesawa in Hiatari Ryouko, Daisuke in Sei Michaela Gakuen Hyouryuuki, Gisuke in Shadow, Dr. Bayfam in Joker, and a bit part in Hi-Speed Jecy, all Orphan releases, as well as Krest in Ariel, Fernand in Gankuutsou, Hertz in Marie and Gali, and Touji in Ninku.
• Inoue Kazuhiko (Jinpachi Nezu) starred as Yamaoka Shirou in Oishinbo, Yuki Eiri in Gravitation, the title role in Cyborg 009, Tachibana no Tomomasa in Haruka Naru Toki no Nake de: Hachyoushou, and my favorite role, the irascible, sake-swilling Nyanko-sensei in the Natsume Yuujichou franchise. He also played Saiki Haruka in Tobira o Akate, Iori in Tomoe's Run!, Kanuma Hayate in Akai Hayate, Ryousuke in Daishizen no Majuu Bagi, Kitten Smith in Starship Troopers, Liu Bei Xuande in both Sangokushi TV specials, Ayako in Lunn Flies into the Wind, Nakatsugawa in Boyfriend, Hisui in Haruka Naru Toki no Nake de 2, and Kajiwara Kagetoki in Haruka Naru Toki no Nake de 3, all Orphan releases.
• Kitamura Koichi (Honda Sadonokami Masanobu) played Paolon, the intelligent spaceship in Hi-Speed Jecy, Professor, the wise old cat in the Ultra Nyan OVAs, and Coach Naoko in Nine and its sequels, and he appeared in Hidamari no Ki and Dokushin Apartment Dokudami-sou, all Orphan releases. 
• Ishii Kouji (Miyoshi Isannyudo) played Fujisawa in the El Hazard franchise, Taiga in the GaoGaiGar franchise, Mitsukake in the Fushigi Yuugi franchise, John Blade in Sin: The Movie, Tanaka in Kachou Ouji: Hard Rock Save the Space, and Garterbelt in Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt. He also appeared as Henry Hellgate in Alice in Cyberland, Hyman in Fire Emblem, and Minamoto no Tokitomo in Haruka Naru Toki no Nake de 2, all Orphan release.
• Wakamoto Norio (Sakakibara Shikibu-naifu Yasumasa) 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 the Sengoku Basara franchise, 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 Noa in Choujikuu Romanesque Samy: MISSING 99, York Denman in Apfelland Monogatari, Major Thrauza in Yamato 2520, Denon in Amon Saga, and the Narrator in Joker: Marginal City, all Orphan releases.
• Tarusuke Shingaki (Honda Minonokami Tadamasa) played Abraham Fran in Big Order, Nathaniel H in the Bungo Stray Dogs franchise, Kariya Matou in Fate/Zero, Togusa in the Ghost in the Shell franchise, Shinichi in Love All Play, Mirio in Boku no Hero Academia, Eishiro in the Prince of Tennis franchise, and Raymond Hardy in AMAIM: Warrior at the Borderline.
• Akimoto Yousuke (Ookubo Sagaminokami Tadachika) appeared in Apfelland Monogatari and Wild 7, both Orphan releases, as well as Stratos 4, Sisters of Wellber, Princess Lover, The Sacred Blacksmith, and Black Summoner.
• Kenji Utsumi (Narrator) is best known for his roles as Roah in Fist of the North Star, Kaioh in Fist of the North Star 2, and Senbei Norimaki in the Dr. Slump and Arale-chan franchise. He appeared as the village chief in Watt Poe and Alex Louis Armstrong in both versions of Full Metal Alchemist. He played the title role in Don Dracula and appeared in Nora, Bavi Stock, Stop!! Hibari-kun!, Techno Police 21C, and 15 Shounen Hyouruuki, all Orphan releases.

The voice cast for the series is even larger. The director, Simizu Keizou, mostly did character design, but he also directed Cobra the Animation.

The original translation was by CelesAurivern of DigitalPanic. Yogicat transcribed the hardsubs, and ninjacloud timed them. Iri translated all the maps. I edited and typeset. Like Sangokushi, it's very sign-heavy, but the signs are straightforward except for the damned maps. Nemesis, Topper3000, and Uchuu did QC. An anonymous friend encoded from R2J DVDs.

The Sanada 10 special is a necessary introduction to the series. (Whether the series itself is necessary is tbd.) It provides background on the main non-historical characters, namely Sasuke. This version has better video, softsubs, more typesetting, new styling - in short, everything one would expect of an update to a 18-year old fansub release. If you liked Sangokushi, you might like this, but if you didn't, you definitely won't. You can get the release from the usual torrent site for from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #new on irc.rizon.net.

Late breaking news. Wrong script muxed; fixed in v2 with this patch. Sorry.

Junkers Come Here v2 (Laserdisc)

In my original blog post for the 1994 OVA Junkers Come Here:Memories of You, I wrote, "The show was never released on laserdisc, let alone DVD." Well, I was wrong. The OVA was released on laserdisc and, thanks to the generosity of a colleague, WOWmd, Orphan is releasing a new version with much better visuals.

This fortuitous event is entirely due to my involuntary presence on Discord. As a technology Luddite and a social media-phobe, I refused to use Discord for a long time, preferring to stay with tried-and-true (that is, ancient and obsolete) Internet Relay Chat (IRC). Discord has voice chat, group meetings, graphics, and other features that I dislike; IRC is text only, which is as it should be. (I stopped playing computer games when text adventures like Zork went out of fashion in the 1980s.) But one of Orphan's newer team members refused to use IRC. He said he'd be on Discord and sent me an invite, so I could get in touch with him. And Inka Subs, with which we did several joint projects, only works on Discord. So now I'm in both worlds.

Discord has allowed me to meet a new generation of fansubbers interested in the back catalog, not just from Inka but from other teams as well (DarkWisper, LonelyChaser, etc.) Some of them have their own Domesday Duplicators and rip their own laserdiscs. They're happy to share, and this project is the result.

Junkers Comes Here: Memories of You centers around the four sisters of the Arimura family. Their mother disappeared on a trip to Paris, and their father died of a broken heart soon afterward. Now, eldest sister Haruka, 30, is the head of the household, having put her own hopes and plans on hold to raise her sisters. Next in line is Natsuno, an office lady in her 20s, obsessed with romance. Third is the nominal protagonist, Akimi, in middle school, undergoing the trials and tribulations of adolescence. Youngest is Fuyuko, 10, an elementary school student with no memories of her mother at all.

Akimi is trying to escape the constant teasing she gets at school when she encounters Junkers on a riverbank. When the dog starts a conversation, Akimi is gobsmacked. She takes the dog home to her sisters, who are skeptical or disinterested, until Junkers miraculously fixes a broken tree and swing. Natsuno wastes one of Junkers' miracles on her love life, and the family starts squabbling about the last one. Then, a TV news program reports about a "mysterious Asian fashion designer" in Paris. It's clearly their mother Misako, and the girls set off to France, Junkers in tow, to find her. There will indeed be one more miracle, although not the obvious one.

The improvement in visual quality is significant and obvious. New:

Old:

The original blog post includes the voice credits, so I won't repeat them here. For the original release, Iri translated, ninjacloud timed, I edited and typeset, and Nemesis, Topper3000, and Uchuu QCed. For this release, WOWmd ripped his own laserdisc on the Domesday Duplicator, as well as the digital audio track, and Orphan's media maven encoded.(in honor of the digital origin, the audio track is FLAC.) I shifted the subs and release-checked. Almost nothing had to be changed. Even the typesetting simply worked.

Junkers Come Here: Memories of You is straightforward and heartfelt. It's a welcome dose of positive feelings in the midst of our daily horror show. Dogs are good for the soul, Junkers especially. The new version has substantially better video than the original release, so whether you've seen Junkers Come Here: Memories of You already or are new to the show, you should download this version. You can get the it from the usual torrent site or from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net. No, Orphan doesn't have Discord-based distribution.

One Small Step for VHS Tapes (Hayou Tsurugi v2)

When Orphan released Hayou Tsurugi last year, I noted that "the tape had copy protection, which caused problems during the ripping process and may have contributed to audio sync issues in the encode." In another small step for improved analog ripping, that issue has been overcome, and Orphan is releasing a new, improved, and properly synced version of the show.

Since the Domesday Duplicator became available for ripping laserdiscs, and uncompressed capture was shown to be the best way to rip VHS tapes, progress on improving analog media capture has been slow. The Duplicator software (ld-decode) has continued to improve. A VHS analog, called VHS-decode, is making progress, but it's not ready for prime time. AI-based image cleanup has not panned out; AI can't cope (yet) with blended frames and other imperfections in source material.

However, one option for improving VHS tape capture has been available for quite a while - the time-base corrector (TBC). A TBC eliminates the timing stuttering and playback artifacts introduced by the mechanical instability of the VHS playback hardware or by copy protection. It's not essential with many tapes, but it's absolutely necessary to accurately capture tapes protected by Macrovision's analog copy protection (ACP). Although not common in anime, Hayou Tsurugi used Macrovision ACP. As a result, Orphan's original capture had both video errors (washout) and audio sync problems.

Recently, our media guru in Japan was able to acquire a working TBC at a reasonable price. When he tried it on the Hayou Tsurugi tapes, he got a capture with proper audio sync and without the awful washout that had afflicted certain scenes. Old version:

New version:

While the audio sync issues were fairly consistent (around five frames), they were not constant, particularly in the second episode. This is fixed in the new release.

I won't repeat my description of the show from the previous blog entry. It's still a routine sword-and-sorcery fest. For the original release, Iri translated, ninjacloud timed, I edited and typeset (very little), and Topper3000, Uchuu, VigorousJammer, and ImAWasteOfHair QCed. For this release, I tweaked the timing, and Nemesis did a release check. If you downloaded the first version, you should replace it with this one. 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.

The TBC won't set off a flood of new versions, because unlike previous improvements - the Domesday Duplicator and uncompressed tape capture - it applies to only a small amount of source material. Bakumatsu no Spasibo was also Macrovision protected, but it has other issues, so a new release isn't immanent. VHS-decode will be the next big milestone in the pursuit of analog perfection.

Rehab Assignment (Grimm Douwa: Kin no Tori Full HD)

When it came to Covid, I was pretty lucky, considering my age. No hospitalization required, no lingering after-effects. Still, it knocked me flat on my back for almost a month and created a mental fog that lasted longer than that. Working my way back into fansubbing has been a slow process. Mostly, I've done editing and typesetting on other groups' projects (Yawara! and the Laughing Salesman specials). I'd lost the instincts and processes for galvanizing the Orphan team into action.

When a baseball player is injured, they're often sent to the minor leagues to retrain their skills: a rehab assignment. I figured that's what I needed to regain my release reflexes. Fortuitously, a series of full HD (1080p) rips has recently been posted, including several titles than Orphan released at lower resolution. So I've selected one of my absolutely favorite Orphan shows - Grimm Douwa: Kin no Tori (Grimm's Fairy Tales: The Golden Bird) - as my "rehab assignment." It didn't require much at all to scale the subs; this is all about release mechanics.

Kin no Tori is based on a fairy tale (number 57) collected by the Brothers Grimm. As is often the case, the original tale includes grim elements - such as attempted fratricide - not considered suitable for modern audiences, so the anime is considerably toned down. In this version, a wicked witch sends out her tame golden bird to steal the golden apples of the king of Kaiser Castle. He sets this three sons to watch for the thief, but only the youngest, Hans, stays awake and sees the bird. He tries to shoot it and succeeds in dislodging a golden feather. The three brothers are sent to pursue the bird, but only Hans really takes the task seriously. After many adventures and hazards, Hans reaps his reward. And they all lived happily ever after... sort of.

The summary can't convey the movie's humor, its imaginative visuals, and its outstanding voice cast. Madhouse not only did the animation, but the head of the studio, Maruyama Masao, did the layout.

Is it "worth" 1080p? I have no idea. It's clearly hand-drawn, and it looks gorgeous on my monitor. It will look even better on a big-screen TV.

The voice cast ranges from very good to amazing.

• Miwa Katsue (Hans) played the title roles in the Unico movies, Asari-chan Ai, the Perman franchise, and Wonder-kun no Hatsu Yume Uchuu Ryokou, as well as Olga in Hi no Tori 2772 and Hirami in Jarinko Chie TV.
• Fujita Toshiko (Lulu) played the title roles in the Dragon Quest: Dai no Daibouken properties, Fujiko Fujio no Kiteretsu Daihyakka, Ikkyuu-san, Tomcat's Big Adventure, and Ganbare Genki. She starred as Rui in Cat's Eye and Ryoko in Goku: Midnight Eye. She also played Takao in Oedo wa Nemurenai!, Cyborg 1019 in Oz, Gordon in Hitomi no Naka no Shounen: 15 Shounen Hyouryuuki, Sharaku in Akuma Tou no Prince: Mitsume ga Tooru, and Princess Iron Fan in Tezuka Osamu Monogatari: I Am Son Goku, all Orphan releases.
• Legendary seiyuu Tomiyama Kei gave a bravura (and cross-gender) performance as the wicked witch. He played the title roles in Sabu to Ichi Torimono Hikae, Roppou Yabure, and the original Tiger Mask, as well as Lingham in Genmu Senki Leda, Sir Jogo  in SF Saiyuuki Starzinger, Susumu in the Yamato franchise, and Wen Li in Legend of the Galactic Heroes. He also played leading roles in Ginga Tansa 2100-nen: Border Planet, Bremen 4, Sugata Sanshiro, the Sangokushi TV specials, and Yousei Ou, all Orphan releases. He won a posthumous Special Achievement Award in 2007.
• Yanami Jouji, the wine-loving Big Bird, played Ozora Ibari in Stop!! Hibari-kun!,  Akahatsu (Red Shirt) in Bocchan, Lump in Ginga Tansa 2100-nen: Border Planet, Murphy in Maris the Choujo, and the cart vendor in Akuma Tou no Prince: Mitsume ga Tooru, all Orphan releases. He narrated most of the Dragon Ball Z properties. He played Ittan Momen in several of the GeGeGe no Kitaro series and movies and Chuta Ban in all the Kyojin no Hoshi TV series.

Takiguchi Junpei, who played the villainous king of Kanemacchi Castle, and Miyauchi Kohei, who played the more virtuous king of Kaiser Castle, also each appeared in one episode of Stop!! Hibari-kun. The music, by Kawachi Kuni, is mostly lighthearted and fits the mood well, and the songs are a lot of fun, particularly the witch's insert song. The director, Hirata Toshio, directed numerous other movies and TV shows.

Iri translated the movie. M74 did the pre-timing before translation, and ninjacloud did fine timing after translation. I edited and typeset (there are only two signs, although one of them accounts for 80% of the script). Nemesis and konnakude QCed. The raw is a web rip from Ioroid.

Whether you watched this show when Orphan first released it in 2017, or you've never seen it before, this full HD release is the perfect excuse to dip into this marvelous and lighthearted fantasy. You can get the show at the usual torrent sites or bot Orphan|Arutha in IRC channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net

Hiatus, Involuntary

Orphan's seven fans must be wondering what is going on. It's been a month since the last blog post, and even longer since the last release. The answer is simple: I caught Covid, and it knocked me offline for most of February.

I'm hardly unique in catching Covid, and it wasn't a desperately bad case. However, it lasted a long time (3+ weeks), and the resulting fatigue and mental fog persisted after that. I'm slowly working my way back into fansubbing, catching up on my backlog. There's still a lot to do.

Part of the problem is that just as I got sick, two external projects suddenly picked up steam. It's been a running joke in my end-of-year summaries to complain about how slowly Yawara! and the Laughing Salesman specials have been moving. My complaints lit a bit of a fire under the teams, and now I'm behind in both. I'm working on those series as well as Orphan's shows and some other "freelance" assignments.

So stay tuned. Orphan Fansubs will return with new releases. I just can't predict when.