Kigyou Senshi Yamazaki: Long Distance Call v2

Here's another VHS release that needed a new encode: the 1997 OVA Kigyou Senshi Yamazaki: Long Distance Call (Business Fighter Yamazaki: Long Distance Call). Kigyou Senshi Yamazaki was a successful manga by Tomizaki Jun. It ran from 1992 to 2000 and was collected in twelve tankoban volumes

Kigyou Senshi Yamazaki: Long Distance Call is based on volume 3 of the manga. It tells the story of Yamazaki Takurou, a workaholic salesman whose job eventually kills him. A temp staffing agency (!) rebuilds him as a cyborg business consultant. At the start of the OVA, Yamazaki meets a runaway delinquent teenage girl, Kashima Rinko, and saves her from trouble with the police. Despite his determination to have no human connections, Rinko attaches herself to him as sidekick and observer. Yamazaki's assignment is to help Itsutsuba Electrics develop a new telephone product. The market is already crowded with cell phones, cordless handsets, answering machines, and so on; the planners at Itsutsuba despair of finding a new and compelling product concept. Yamazaki, of course, finds a niche and proposes a wall-mounted LCD panel that acts as a voice-operated telephone. This seems remarkably silly in today's age of smartphones, but then again... hello, Alexa? Before he can finish his work, Rinko runs afoul of another cyborg named Suzuki. Yamazaki then finds that his studiously cultivated emotional detachment is not quite as ironclad as he thought.

I'm not sure quite what to make of Kigyou Senshi Yamazaki. It feels like a satire at times, but I rather suspect it isn't. Yamazaki is portrayed as a hero (and a rather tragic one at that), not as an object of ridicule. Japan's insane workaholic culture is held up as something to emulate, not as a crippling burden on the young leading the country to demographic disaster. And these days, Yamazaki's aphorisms are quoted by business motivational speakers in Japan.

The voice cast includes:

• Chiba Shigeru (Yamazaki) played Megane in the Urusei Yatsura franchise and Nezumi in later GeGeGe no Kitarou movies. He appeared in Ai no Kusabi, Akai Hayate, Bagi, Condition Green, and Yamato 2520, all Orphan releases. He is still active, appearing in the recent Overlord series.
• Kawakami Tomoko (Rinko) starred as Akane in the Harukanaru Toki no Naka de: Hachiyou properties and as the title roles in Hikaru no Go and Revolutionary Girl Utena. She also did a marvelous comic turn as Elise, the hard-as-nails assistant to the lecherous ojii-san Stresemann in Nodame Cantabile.
• The peerless Ogata Kenichi (Suzuki) played the put-upon father in Gosenzosama Banbanzai and Maroko, as well as Smee in Peter Pan no Bouken, the crooked casino boss in Okane ga Nai! (an Orphan release), the Hong Kong chef in Yuukan Club (also an Orphan release), and, most recently, Gran Torino in Boku no Hero Academia. However, he's best known to me as the voice of Ranma 1/2's Sataome Gemna, whose alter ego - the grumpy panda - is my avatar on most anime forums.
• Katsuki Masako (Kirika, Yamazaki's maintenance engineer) played Maroko in Gosenzosama Banbanzai and its movie version, Maroko, Mira in Ginga Tansa 2100-nen: Border Planet, Queen Bee in Golgo 13: Queen Bee, and Tsunade (Fifth Hokage) in the Naruto franchise. She also played Kenbishi Yuuri in Yuukan Club and Hojo's lover in Sanctuary, both Orphan releases.

Iri picked up a VHS tape of Kigyou Senshi Yamazaki as part of his regular survey of secondhand media sources in Japan. Sunachan translated the dialog, signs, and songs. M74 timed. I edited and typeset (the repeated shots of the wall phone account for the bulk of the script). VigorousJammer and banandoyouwanna QCed; bananadoyouwanna also styled the songs. The original encode, based on a compressed D-VHS tape rip, had lots of blended frames. For this release, our Intrepid Raw Hunter™ made an uncompressed rip with his vintage All-in-Wonder card and then encoded it. It looks considerably better, although the colors are more muted, and the lines haven't been sharpened. For this release, I redid all the typesetting and reparsed a few awkward lines. Nemesis did a release check.

Kigyou Senshi Yamazaki is an interesting show with interesting characters. If you watched it before, you will want to archive this version. If you haven't, I recommend it. You can download the show from the usual torrent site or from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channel #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net.

Oedo wa Nemurenai! v2

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

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

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

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

Tezuka Osamu's Tales from the Old Testament, Ep 7-9

It's been more than a year since the previous release, but here at last are the next three episodes of Tezuka Osamu's Tales from the Old Testament. These episodes tell the stories of the descendants of Abraham.

Episode 7 ("Isaac and Ishmael") touches on one of the important themes of the Patriarchal era - the question of succession. Do the father's land, goods, and spiritual inheritance go to the eldest son or the most deserving son? (It was always a son; this was called the Patriarchal era for a reason.) Was the succession determined by God or by more human factors, like schemes and plans? Isaac succeeds Abraham because Isaac's mother Sarah arranges for older brother Ishmael and Ishmael's mother Hagar to be banished. Jacob succeeds Isaac because his mother Rebecca arranges for Isaac to steal his father's blessing from Esau. And Joseph is set on his path to glory because his jealous brothers sell him into slavery.

Although this episode relates the facts of Ishmael's banishment, there's not much tension about or insight into the events. Ishmael's a good and dutiful son; Isaac is still an infant. Sarah is jealous of the younger and prettier Hagar and wants her gone. Abraham agrees because God tells him that everything will work out. Ishmael and Hagar agree to leave for the same reason. Hagar and Ishmael almost perish in the desert but are saved by God' intervention. Ishmael becomes the legendary founder of the Arabs. Rocco the fox puts in his usual cameo. It's all rather anodyne; Bible stories for children.

Episode 8 ("The Sacrifice of Isaac") retells one of the most profound and confounding stories in Genesis, the Binding of Isaac. God commands Abraham to sacrifice his only son Isaac as a burnt offering. Abraham submits. Father and son set off to a distant mountain. When Isaac asks, "Where is the lamb for the burnt offering?", Abraham only replies, "God himself will provide the lamb." Abraham binds his son and prepares to kill him. At the last minute, God stays Abraham's hand and provides a ram to be sacrificed in place of the boy.

The account in Genesis is terse, ambiguous, and terrifying. Isaac's feelings about the matter can be surmised from the fact that he never speaks directly to his father again. Here, Isaac is shown as submitting to God's will. In fact, Genesis says nothing about Isaac submitting; that's a later interpolation in Christian and Islamic traditions. Rocco again makes multiple appearances for comic relief. They feel more out of place than usual.

The Binding of Isaac has inspired great art, including some of the greatest paintings of the Renaissance:

In contrast, the artwork here is anime-standard; Isaac seems asleep:

The story has inspired poets and singers, such as Leonard Cohen's haunting Story of Isaac. Here there is pathos, but no poetry.

Scholars of all the western religions have argued about the Binding of Isaac for centuries: Was it a sham? Was it real? Was it a test of Abraham's faith? Of Isaac's submission to God? Here, it's just another anecdote, on par with Rocco's pursuit of a rabbit. One translation note: the episode title is literally "Abraham Sacrifices/Offers/Dedicates Isaac," but I've used the more familiar Western name for the story.

Episode 9 ("Joseph's Dreams") seems more comfortable terrain for the series. Joseph and his brothers has been a staple children's story for years (for example, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat), and the series is very comfortable telling it at that level. All the discordant details, such as Potiphar's wife and her attempted seduction, are omitted. Joseph is sold into slavery, becomes known for his dream interpretations, shows Pharoah what the future holds in store for Egypt, and is rewarded with a position of prominence. The stage is set for the story of Moses, the Exodus from Egypt, and the giving of the Ten Commandments, which will occupy the next six episodes.

New voice actors include:

• Toriumi Katsumi (Ishmael) played the male lead, Wakamatsu, in Miyuki. He appeared as Shigeru in Yume Kakeru Kougen, an Orphan release.
• Doi Mika (Hagar) played the title roles in Angel Cop and Explorer Woman Ray, Hayase Misa in the Macross franchise, the empress (Lafiel's grandmother) in the Crest of the Stars saga, Tabitha in the Zero no Tsukaima properties, Eclipse in Kiddy Grade, the narrator in Mushishi, and Nanase in Natsume Yuujinchou. She appeared as Yukari in Mikeneko Holmes no Yuurei Joushu, Rosa in Seikima II Humane Society, Captain Deladrier in Starship Troopers, and multiple roles in Kage, all Orphan releases.
• Iwanaga Tetsuya (Isaac) played the male lead, Mizuhara, in the El Hazard franchise, as well as Aida in the Evangelion franchise. He appeared in Yamato 2520, an Orphan release.
• Yanaka Hiroshi (Joseph) played Shiba in the recent revival of Piano and Gorou in the Free! franchise. He played Yuurakutei in Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinji and appeared in Noragami, Nanbaka, Terraformars, Wild 7, and Hidamari no Ki. The last two are Orphan releases.
• Okabe Masaaki (Pharoah) had featured roles in Legend of the Galactic Heroes and Sanctuary, an Orphan release.

The Orphan staff credits are the much the same. Skr did the heavy lifting: translation, timing, and encoding. I edited and also tweaked the typesetting. Nemesis and BeeBee QCed.

I hope it won't be a year until the next set of episodes, but I can understand why Skr is more motivated to work on Crayon Shin-chan than this series: Shin-chan has a lot more laughs. In any case, you can get these three episodes from the usual torrent site or IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net.

Exper Zenon

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

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

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

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

The voice actors include:

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

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

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

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

Watt Poe

I've mentioned in the past that the fansub groups working on back catalog shows aren't all that distinct. They're more like an interlocking keiretsu than distinct teams. Orphan, Saizen, Soldado, Live-eviL, and others all share staff. Nowhere is this better illustrated than in Saizen's recent release of the 1988 OVA Watt Poe to Bokura no Ohanashi (The Legend of Watt Poe). The project leader, Ayanami-, is part of Saizen, so it's a Saizen release, but the staff comes from across the keiretsu:

• Translation - Ayanami- (Saizen)
• Timing - ninjacloud (Orphan and Saizen)
• Editing - Collectr (Orphan)
• QC - Kuro Nemesis (Orphan), BeeBee (Orphan and Saizen), sangofe (Saizen)
• Encoding - tyroz (Anime Fanrips)
• Raw Acquisition and ripping - Intrepid raw hunter (Orphan)

Yawara! and Laughing Salesman also have staff from Saizen, Live-eviL, Soldado, and Orphan. I guess you could say we're group-fluid.

Watt Poe is a very old-school fantasy set in a post-apocalyptic world. Struggling villagers at the base of a mountain live in fear of the "Birdos", flying armored creatures that live at the top of the mountain. The Birdos have kidnapped a magical narwhal named Watt Poe, whom the villagers worship as a god, and now the villagers' sources of food are drying up. Intrepid youngster Jam decides to climb the mountain and release Watt Poe. He finds the Birdos are actually technologically advanced humans, but their society is dying out. He teams up with the only Birdos child born in the last twenty years, a girl named Selene, to free Watt Poe and prevent a war between the villagers and the Birdos. As Ayanami- wrote, "This is what happens when Free Willy and Lassie join forces in a Japanese anime." And as every old-school Hollywood actor knew, the dog steals the show.

The voice cast includes:

• Fujita Toshiko (Jam) 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 Lulu in Grimm Douwa: Kin no Tori, 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.
• Hara Eriko (Selene) played Patty in the Gall Force properties, Fana in Gldeen, Hiyami Hikaru in the Kimagure Orange Road properties, and Pyonkichi in the Soreike! Anpanman franchise. She starred as Ranze in Tokimeki Tonight and appeared in Fukuyama Gekijou - Natsu no Himitsu, both Orphan releases.
• Kawashima Chiyoko (Eva, a villager) played Okiyo in Haguregumo, Fujiko (Yawara's best friend in college) in Yawara!, and Ikou in Greed, an Orphan release.
• Yara Yuusaku (Regio, a villager) played the destroyer captain in Zipang. He had many featured roles, appearing in Eguchi Hisashi no Kotobuki Gorou Show, Next Senki Ehrgeiz, Eien no Filena, Hidamari no Ki, Nozomi Witches, both Sangokushi OVAs, Prime Rose, and both What's Michael? OVAs, all Orphan releases.
• Utsumi Kenji (Village chief) 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 in Bavi Stock and 15 Shounen Hyouruuki, both Orphan releases.
• Miyauchi Kouhei (Birdos mayor) usually played elderly men or authority figures. He appeared in many Orphan releases, including the first two Sangokushi movies, Condition Green (Jack Goldman), Grimm Douwa: Kin no Tori (King Kaiser), Nozomi Witches (Eddie), Stop!! Hibari-kun (Kogorou Shirachi), Tsuki ga Noboru made ni (Grandfather), A Penguin's Memories (the judge), and Techno Police 21C (Brigadier Hamilton). He had a recurring role as Kame Sennin in the Dragon Ball franchise.

The director,  Kageyama Shigenori, also directed Bavi Stock I, Hi-Speed Jecy, and Yamato 2520, all Orphan releases, as well as the Himawari! series. Under the pseudonym Morino Yousei, he directed numerous h-anime shows, including Doukyuusei 2 (an Orphan release), the BL classic Boku no Sexual Harassment, and recent Queen's Blade releases.

It was fun, and not too demanding, to work on an "all ages" OVA, and I always like to build up chits I can call in later (heh heh). If you haven't watched Watt Poe yet, then you can find it on the usual torrent site or on IRC bot Saizen|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net

Mikeneko Holmes no Yuurei Joushu

Another purrfect adventure from Orphan Fansubs, the 1992 OVA Mikeneko Holmes no Yuurei Joushu (Calico Cat Holmes and the Lord of the Haunted Castle). It has mystery, adventure, hints of perverse doings, and, of course, a problem-solving calico cat. What more could you want?

Mikeneko Holmes is based on Akagawa Jirou's popular book series about a hapless detective named Katayama Yoshitarou. He lives with his sister Harumi, an aspiring actress, and their cat Holmes, which has a sixth sense when it comes to solving mysteries. Harumi has just appeared in a lurid melodrama about an incestuous brother and sister who come to a tragic end. At the after party, the acting troupe's vamp, Minako, turns up dead. Whodunit? Was it the director, Yasaka Yukari, or her imperious brother and troupe underwriter, Yasaka Seiichi? Was it the lead actor, Udagawa Kazuto, or the seemingly naive friend, Mizuta Mako? Could it even have been Yoshitarou's colleague (and Harumi's wannabe boyfriend), Ishizu? No one seems to be able to unravel the mystery until Holmes takes matters into his own paws and leads Yoshitarou and Harumi to the solution.

Like most mystery short stories, characterization takes a back seat to plot mechanics. The major players are briefly sketched, but there's no serious character development or exploration. Overly devoted brothers and sisters are a recurring theme, but that's mostly for atmospherics. The explanation doesn't hold water, but then again, neither can Holmes.

The voice cast includes:

• Seki Toshihiko (Yoshitarou) was one of the leading male seiyuu in this period. He played the title role in Izumo, Riki in Ai no Kusabi, the hero Seitarou in Hoshi Neko Full House, the gang leader Hiba in Wild 7, Miroku in Yuukan Club, Chuuta in Satsujin Kippu wa Heart-iro, the fighter Nagase Jun in Akai Hayate, the unnamed protagonist of Oruorane the Cat Player, and Sara's younger brother Junichiro in Kasei Yakyoku, all Orphan releases. He also played Matsuda in the Yawara! properties, Sanzo in the Saiyuuki TV series, and the title roles in Alexander (Reign the Conqueror) and Kaiketsu Zorro.
• Hidaka Noriko (Harumi) played Satsuke in My Neighbor Totoro, Akane (the female lead) in Ranma 1/2, Peter in Peter Pan no Bouken, Mrs. Yamada (the mother) in the first two Chi anime series, Near in Death Note, and Kikyo in the Inuyasha franchise. She also played Yuuki in Boyfriend and Noriko in Yuukan Club, both Orphan releases.
• Nakamura Daiki (Udagawa) played Keith Winter in Condition Green and Chris Sheldon in AWOL Compression Remix, both Orphan releases. He also played the title roles in Dangerous Jii-san Ja and Demon Beast Resurrection, Dayakka in Gurren Lagann, Seiji Date in Ronin Warriors, and Liu Bei in Yokoyama Mitsuteru Sangokushi.
• Ebara Masashi (Ishizu) played Might Guy in Naruto, Bolt Crank in Eat-Man, Alastor in Shakugan no Shana, Sebastian Viera in Nodame Cantabile, and Hamegg in Metropolis. He also played the referee in Blazing Transfer Student and Tanzou in Akai Hayate, both Orphan releases.
• Hayami Shou (Seiichi) starred as Nanjou in Zetsuai: 1989 and Bronze: Zetsuai since 1989, and Kushinige Hodaka in Oshare Kozou wa Hanamaru. He also played an angel in Tezuka Osamu's Tales of the Old Testament, Iason's friend Raoul in Ai no Kusabi, Hojo in Sanctuary, Pat Leivy in Starship Troopers, and Junoichi in Blazing Transfer Student. All these shows are Orphan releases.
• Doi Mika (Yukari) played the title roles in Angel Cop and Explorer Woman Ray, Hayase Misa in the Macross franchise, the empress (Lafiel's grandmother) in the Crest of the Stars saga, Tabitha in the Zero no Tsukaima properties, Eclipse in Kiddy Grade, the narrator in Mushishi, and Nanase in Natsume Yuujinchou. She appeared as Rosa in Seikima II Humane Society, Captain Deladrier in Starship Troopers, and multiple roles in Kage, all Orphan releases. 
• Adachi Shinobu (Mako) played Rabi in Madou King Granzort, the title roles in Calimero and Jagainu, Tom (Sawyer) in Huckleberry Finn, Kayra Su in Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack, and Chou of Benten in Usagi-chan de Cue. She also played Amanda Kessler in AWOL Compression Remix, an Orphan release.

The director, Kitajima Noboyuki, had a long career at AIC as a character designer and animation director.

Once again, Mikeneko Holmes is Iri's brainchild. He found a VHS tape on the second-hand market and translated the show. Yogicat (of course) did the timing. I edited and typeset. Nemesis and BeeBee QCed. Our intrepid raw hunter make an uncompressed rip of the tape and encoded the result. It looks quite decent. Special thanks to Puto, who translated the last verse of the ending song, which was in Brazilian Portuguese. I took a bit of editorial license with his wording, to make it fit the Japanese verses better, but I hope he'll forgive m.

So here's a diversion for all you ailurophiles in these dark times, Mikeneko Holmes no Yuurei Joushu. You can find it on the usual torrent source or download it from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net.

Update: I missed an obvious typo during release checking. There will be a v2 release, but in the meantime, you can get a patch here.

Ziggy Sore Yuke! R&R Band

Anime offerings involving real rock-and-roll bands are pretty rare; and when they're made, the plots always seem to be slightly batshit. Perhaps it's the influence of Yellow Submarine, which placed the Beatles in a psychedelic fantasy world with a flower-people-versus-Blue-Meanies plot. In Seikimatsu: Humane Society, the titular band was portrayed as demons from another plane trying to conquer the world. And in 1991's Ziggy Sore Yuke! R&R Band (Go Ziggy! R&R Band), the real-life Japanese band Ziggy is portrayed as falling afoul of evil neo-Nazis who want to yet again Conquer The World™, this time through rock music.

I'm not sure who dreams up these plots, or who pays them to do it, but in greater detail: The Japanese band Ziggy, consisting or Morishige, Sounin, Oichan, and Ooyama, are in London for a recording session. Their producer, Bernie, is suddenly killed, and the band is framed for the crime. Pursued by both Scotland Yard and the true villains, the band members flee into the backstreets of London and take refuge in the local rock scene, led by Carrie and Sonia. The villains, directed by a right-wing big shot named Stronburg, track them down and steal a guitar Bernie left behind. But the real prize is in the guitar case: a mysterious song score that has the power to brainwash audiences. The bad guys kidnap Carrie and demand the score in exchange for her life. The trade is going badly when Scotland Yard intervenes and gives chase. It all ends at a rock concert in Liverpool, where Ziggy must decide whether to play the brainwashing song to save Carrie, or to stay true to the spirit of rock music. You can guess how it ends.

Ziggy Sore Yuke feels like a bizarre cross between Hellsing, with neo-Nazis in a Zeppelin, and a rock music video. There are plenty of songs, but there's also plenty of plot, including murder, kidnapping, foot chases, car chases, and aerial chases, all leading to a climactic battle in which a bunch of punk rockers defeat gun-toting villains by using drumsticks and bare fists. It makes for a pretty strange experience. Maybe it all depends whether you like the music, or what mushrooms you've eaten lately.

As in Yellow Submarine, the band members in Ziggy Sore Yuke! R&R Band are played by professional voice actors; only the songs feature the voices of the band itself. The cast includes:

• Tsujitani Kouji (Morishige) played the title role in the Captain Tylor franchise and the lead role in the 3x3 Eyes OVAs. He also played Takuto in Boyfriend, Guy in Ai no Kusabi, Shou in Condition Green, and Seishirou in Yuukan Club, all Orphan releases.
• Matsumoto Yasunori (Sounin) starred as Johnny in Starship Troopers, Kaname in Singles, and Tooru in Every Day Is Sunday, all Orphan releases. He was in numerous OVAs in the 1990s, including Seikimatsu: Humane Society, Fukuyama Gekijou - Natsu no Himitsu, and Al Caral no Isan, also Orphan releases. Among his notable roles were Wataru Akiyama in Initial D, Jean Havoc in Fullmetal Alchemist, Gourry Gabriev in Slayers, Ryou in Sonic Soldier Borgman, and a personal favorite, Dick Saucer in Dragon Half.
• Nakahara Shigeru (Oichin) played the title role in Arion and Fujiwara no Takamichi in Haruka Naru Toki no Nake de 3. He had featured roles in Ai no Kusabi, Dragon Fist, Dokushin Apartment Doukudami-sou, and Neko Neko Fantasia, all Orphan releases.
• Tobita Nobuo (Ooyama) played Lumial in the Angelique franchise, Ken Wakashimazu in the Captain Tsubasa franchise, Randy in Fake, Sinistra in Kiddy Grade, the title role in Locke the Superman, and Dayon in Osomatsu-san. He appeared in Condition Green and Eien no Filena, both Orphan releases.
• Osamu Kobayashi (Stronburg) played the title role in Ogon Bat and Ulysses 31. He also appeared in Miyuki.
• Orikasa Ai (Carrie) made her debut in Shoukoushi Cedie. She played the title role in Romeo no Aoi Sora, Fee in Planetes, Seguchi Touma (the record company president) in Gravitation, Quatre in Gundam Wing, and Ryouko in the Tenchi Muyo franchise. She also played Sara in Eien no Filena, Toryune in Al Caral no Isan, and young Mars in Fire Emblem, all Orphan releases.
• Hisakawa Aya (Sonia) has had a prolific career. She played the title roles in Mamono Hunter Youko, Voogie's Angel, and Iria: Zeiram, Skuld in the Ah! My Goddess franchise, Cerberus in Card Captor Sakura, Sailor Mercury in the Sailor Moon franchise, Yuki in Fruits Basket, Haruka in RahXephon, Youko in The Twelve Kingdoms, and Storm in X-Men. She starred as Mishima Misako in Yume Tsukai, Shana in Al Caral no Isan, and Koneko in Ear of the Golden Dragon, all Orphan projects.

The OVA was directed by Mori Kazuhiro, who did storyboards and episode direction for Idol Densetsu Eriko and Yawara!, among other credits.

One translation note: the credits at the end are in English and reflect the usual problems with transliterating, in both directions. I've chosen to use actual English names for the western characters and modern romanization for the Japanese ones:

• Bernie instead of Burny
• Carrie instead of Carry
• Sounin instead of Sownin
• Ooyama instead of Ohyama

Of course, some of the western names can't be untangled. Inspector Nerigun? No idea what that was supposed to mean.

This project is Iri's brainchild. He bought the DVD and did the translation. tenkenX6 and Sunachan filled in a couple of difficult-to-hear lines. ninjacloud timed, I edited and typeset, and Nemesis and Topper3000 QCed. The encode is by M74. The source is a mess, unfortunately: badly interlaced, with plenty of blended frames.

So if you'd like to rock out, late 80s style, and watch some rockers versus villains shenanigans, you can get Ziggy Sore Yuke! R&R Band from the usual torrent site or from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net. Party on, dudes!