The atomic bombing of Nagasaki on August 9, 1945, is less well known that the bombing of Hiroshima three days earlier, for several reasons. Because it was first, Hiroshima has become synonymous with the terror of atomic warfare. The casualties at Hiroshima were higher. And Hiroshima has received most of the long-term media and historical coverage, whether in print (John Hersey's Hiroshima), anime (Barefoot Gen, Kuroi Ame ni Utarete, Kuro ga Ita Natsu), or movies. The 2005 anime movie Nagasaki 1945: Angelus no Kane (Nagasaki 1945: The Angelus Bell) seeks to tell the less well known story of Nagasaki's ordeal.

Like most accounts of historic horrors, Nagasaki 1945: Angelus no Kane is told from the viewpoint of a survivor. The main character, Dr. Akizuki Tatsuichirou, is the lead medico at St. Francis Hospital, a converted Christian religious institution. The hospital is just far enough (1.4 km) from ground zero to be spared immediate destruction, although it catches fire and becomes unusable. Akizuki and his staff are able to get the patients out of the burning building and to relative safety. However, in the aftermath, many patients, as well as survivors who reached the hospital from the city, die of burns or from massive doses of radiation. Shortages of medications, and lack of treatments for radiation poisoning, lead to steadily mounting casualties and declining morale. Finally, a massive typhoon on September 16 washes much of the radioactive fallout out of the air and the radioactive ash off the ruins, bringing some relief to the devastated city.

The cast of characters is huge, and as is sometimes the case, the voice cast is only identified by name, without their roles. Here are some of the better known seiyuu:

• Itou Kentarou (Dr. Akizuki) played Doll Isamu in Super-doll Licca-chan, Tetsuo in Hikaru no Go, Akimichi in Naruto, Abarai in Bleach, Tsuchiura in Kiniro no Chord, Riki in Ai no Kusabi (2012), and Tadokoro in Yowamushi Pedal.
• Ogata Ken'ichi played the put-upon father in Maroko, Suzuki in Kigyou Senshi Yamazaki: Long Distance Call, the crooked casino boss in Okane ga Nai!, the Hong Kong chef in Yuukan Club, Chichi's dad in Chiisana Koi no Monogatari, and the Narrator/Lord of Kaga in Oedo wa Nemurenai!, all Orphan releases. He also played Smee in Peter Pan no Bouken and 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. 
• Doi Mika 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 Hagar in Tales of the Old Testament, 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.
• Yamaguchi Kappei (Hayashi, a child with a throat wound) played the lead character in the Detective Conan franchise, Ranma in the Ranma 1/2 franchise, Inuyasha in all the Inuyasha properties, Usopp in the One Piece franchise, Sakuma Ryuichi in Gravitation, Arslan in the Arslan Senki OVA series, the title role in Mouse, Ougi in Boyfriend, and Shibuya in Zetsuai 1989 and Bronze: Zetsuai Since 1989, among many others. The last three are Orphan releases.
  
• Ishimori Takkou played Cesar in Perrine Monogatari and appeared in Akai Hayate, Mikan Enniki, and Usagi Drop.

The director, Arihara Seiji, has helmed several other anime movies set in World War II, including Hi no Ame ga Furu, Ushiro no Shoumen Daare, and Tsuru ni Notte. All of them, including Nagasaki 1945, were made by Mushi Productions, the descendant of Tezuka Osamu's original anime production company. The spare background music is by Koroku Reiijirou, who composed the scores for all the Lion Book OVAs as well as Izumo (1991), all Orphan releases.

I found a raw for the movie on the web. It interested a translator, who wishes to remain anonymous. ninjacloud timed. I edited and typeset. BeeBee and Nemesis did QC. The raw is from R-Raws and is pretty good.

Nagasaki 1945: Angelus no Kane is earnest and straightforward, but it packs an emotional wallop nonetheless. I recommend it strongly. You can get the movie from the usual torrent site or from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net.

What, another v2? Yup... and for a problem that's happened before: timecodes. Several of the raws Orphan has used have had timecode problems. For example, a discrepancy between Aegisub and MPC-HC throws off some 29.97 fps raws. Some H.265 raws that we've used have "mid-frame" timecodes that get interpreted one way by Aegisub and another by MPC-HC. There have been other issues too. Typically, a timecode problem throws the signs and the dialog off by one (or more) frames. The solution in all cases is simple: generate timecodes in Aegisub and mux them into the final release in place of the original timecodes.

The problem usually surfaces during QC or RC, when a muxed version is reviewed. That happened with Amon Saga and others. But sometimes, the problem is not noticed until the release is public. That's what happened with the Orphan-PPP joint project, Exper Zenon. So here, alas, is v2.

Because the fix is a timecode swap, the problem is easily patched. You can get the patch here. For reference, I'm posting a new torrent and updating the file on Orphan|Arutha for downloading.

Again, I'm sorry for the inconvenience. And I'll be checking timecodes for every release from now on.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Well, perhaps you need to be there.

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

Some western anime audiences are familiar with Crayon Shin-chan, a very long running Japanese anime series about a five-year-old boy with lecherous proclivities and a tendency to run around without his pants. The humor tends to be broad, ecchi, and sometimes gross. The first 52 episodes were given a US dub release, with scripts that were totally rewritten to emphasize "adult" humor. BuriBuri (Orphan's very own Skr) has been doing yeoman's work providing accurate, and just as funny, translations of the show.

Far fewer people know about Makoto-chan, a manga by Umezz Kazuo. Sawada Makoto is a kindergartner who gets into all sorts of trouble, often involving toilet and adult humor. He sometimes dresses in his mother's and sister's clothing. He usually has a long strand of green mucus dangling from his nose. He uses nonsense catchphrases like "Sabara!" and "Gwashi!" If Crayon Shin-chan is ecchi, Makoto-chan is sketchy. It was animated only once, in 1980, as a feature length movie. Now, on its fortieth anniversary, it is at last available to an (aghast) English-speaking audience. Don't all rush to thank us at once.

The movie has an interesting release history. For a long time, it was only available on VHS tape and laserdisc. At Skr's request, Erik of Piyo Piyo Productions ripped the laserdisc. While Skr was working on translations, a Blu-ray of the movie was released. The Blu-ray had some additional material, like the movie trailer and a promotional teaser, but it lacked the live action intro and outro, featuring Umezz Kazuo himself, from the laserdisc. So this release is a hybrid. The movie itself, the teaser, and the trailer are in glorious high definition, from the Blu-ray; the intro and outro sequences are in measly standard definition, from the laserdisc.

Makoto-chan doesn't have a through plot. Instead, it consists of five sketches of about 15 minutes each:

1. "My Little Lover." Makoto-chan, dumped by his kindergarten girlfriend, develops a crush on an older woman named Tomoko, who has broken up with her boyfriend.
2. "A Present for Mother's Day." To win the Best Child Award in his kindergarten class, Makoto-chan and his sister Mika-neesan develop a set of skits so unintentionally gross that the neighbors invited in to watch pee their pants (and worse).
3. "The Sparrow Egg." Makoto-chan rescues a sparrow egg from a demolition site and devotedly guards it until it hatches, only to find that the baby bird has imprinted on him as its mother.
4. "The Lunch of Love." When Makoto-chan's mother mixes up his and his father's lunches, he finds a series of lovey-dovey messages in his bento. This convinces him that his mother is harboring very inappropriate feelings toward him.
5. "The Best Child Award." In another attempt to win the Best Child Award, Makoto-chan helps a salaryman look for a lost paycheck, with disastrous results.

The voice cast includes:

• Sugiyama Kazuko (Makoto-chan) played Heidi in Alps no Shoujo Heidi, Akane in the Dr. Slump franchise, Maria in The Royal Tutor, Ten in Urusei Yatsura, and Wendy H. Troy in Manxmouse (an Orphan release). She appeared in Sangokushi movies 2 and 3, also Orphan releases.
• Okamoto Mari (Tomoko,) played the title role in Hana no Ko Lunlun and Ai-chan in Time Bokan Series: Yatterman.
• Yoshida Rihoko (Mika, Makoto-chan's sister) played Megu-chan in Majokko Megu-chan, Monsley in Future Boy Conan, Maria Grace Fleed in UFO Robo Grendizer, Michiru in Getter Robo, Clara Sesemann in Alps no Shoujo Heidi, Rosalie Lamorliere in The Rose of Versailles, Kurama in Urusei Yatsura, and Machiko in Maicchingu Machiko-sensei. She played Tonko in Chiisana Koi no Monogatari, an Orphan release.
• Ohara Noriko (Makoto-chan's mom) had a long career starting in the 1960s. She played the title roles in Future Boy Conan and Arabian Nights: Sindbad no Bouken, Nobita in the Doraemon franchise (through 2004), and Oyuki in the Urusei Yatsura properties. She played the mother bear in Katte ni Shirokuma, an Orphan release.
• Mizusawa Yumi (Makoto-chan kindergarten teacher) appeared in City Hunter and Space Adventure Cobra.
• Umezz Kazuo appears as himself in a few spots and acts as the guide for the intro and outro segments.
  

The director, Shibayama Tsutomu, was an industry veteran who started at Toei. His directing credits include Ganbare!! Tabuchi-kun!!, the first 18 episodes of Ranma 1/2, the Chibi Maruko-chan TV series and movie,  many of the Doraemon series and movies, and the long-running TV series Nintama Rintarou.

Skr was the principal propulsive force throughout the project. He translated, timed, typeset the movie logo (which is half the movie script), and encoded the movie, teaser, and trailer. Erik did all the translation raws; gamnark reripped the intro and outro on the Domesday Duplicator and encoded them. Sunachan helped with translation issues in the intro and outro. I edited and did the rest of the typesetting. BeeBee alone QCed; perhaps the other QCs were put off by the dangling strands of mucus. Skr and I have also checked everything as best we can, but I'm sure some errors got through. Please be merciful.

Makoto-chan is definitely an acquired taste. It is gross, bizarre, and in spots, wickedly funny. If this sounds like your cup of... well, whatever, you can find the movie on the usual torrent site or on IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net. Gwashi!

Sensou Douwa (War Tales or War Fables) was a series of TV specials by Shin-Ei Animation that ran annually from 2002 to 2009. In chronological order:

• 2002    Umigame to Shounen (The Boy and The Sea Turtle)
• 2003    Tako ni Natta Okaasan (The Mother Who Became a Kite)
• 2004    Chiisai Sensuikau ni Koi wo Shita Dekasugira Kojira no Hanashi (The Story of a Whale That Fell in Love with a Small Submarine)
• 2005    Boku no Boukuugou (My Bomb Shelter)
• 2006    Yakeato no, Okashi no Ki (The Cake Tree in the Ruins)
• 2007    Futatsu no Kurumi (Two Walnuts)
• 2008    Kiku-chan to Ookami  (Kiku-chan and the Wolf)
• 2009    Aoi Hitomi no Onnako no Ohanashu (The Girl with Blue Eyes)

Orphan has already released The Boy and the Sea Turtle and The Cake Tree in the Ruins and is now proud to present the third in the series, Tako ni Natta Okaasan (The Mother Who Became a Kite).

By now, you know the drill. It's late in World War II, in a smaller city in Japan. Food is scarce, but the war hasn't otherwise impinged on the world of small children. They still go to school, play games, and parrot the mindless patriotism of the Japanese propaganda machine. This time, the focus is on a young boy, Katchan, and his best bud, Itchan. They live at home with their mothers; their fathers are dead or at the front. Katchan passes the days dodging air raids, reading manga, longing for food, and dreaming anxiously about his father, while his mother tries to hold her family together. She raises vegetables in the back yard. She ventures out into the countryside to trade her good kimonos for rice and vegetables. She is about to cook her harvested eggplants when one last bombing raid incinerates the area, with tragic and poignant results. The war ends, but it is too late for this family.

Like The Cake Tree in the Ruins and The Boy and the Sea Turtle, The Mother Who Became a Kite is based on a short story by Nosaka Akiyuki. And like other stories from this author, this special shows the ruinous effects that war has on children. It is suffused with melancholy. The artwork matches the tone - dun colors and sepia tones, except for the scenes set when the war has ended. Then, the sky is blue, and the colors are bright; but it's too late.

The voice cast includes familiar names as well as newcomers:

• Orikasa Ai (Katchan's mother) 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 Carrie in Ziggy Sore Yuke! R&R Band, Sara in Eien no Filena, Toryune in Al Caral no Isan, and young Mars in Fire Emblem, all Orphan releases.
• Ookubo Shoutarou (Katchan) was 8 years old when he played Katchan. He also appeared in Sensou Douwa: My Bomb Shelter and Lupin III: Kiri no Elusive.
• Kamon Ryou (Katchan's father) appeared in Shin Sekai Yori and Ghost in the Shell: Standalone Complex.
• Satou Ai (narrator) played many maternal roles, including Light's mother in Death Note, Masami's mother in Wedding Peach, Misaki's mother in Dear Brother, Ban's mother in Getbackers, Shigeru's mother in Noramimi, the unnamed mothers in Cinderella Express, Ai Monogatari, Guyver: Out of Control, and Kristin Adams in Yawara!. Other roles include the refined mother in Eguchi Hisashi no Kotobuki Gorou Show, Ibuki's mother in Kiss wa Me ni Shite, Taichi in The Cake Tree in the Ruins, the narrator in The Boy and the Sea Turtle, and the unnamed girlfriend in Lunn Flies into the Wind, all Orphan releases.
• Futama Issei (Kappa) is best known for his roles as Godai Yuusaku in Maison Ikkoku, Akira (Chibi) in Urusei Yatsura, and Saburo in Sazae-san. He played the main character, Yoshio, in Dokushin Apartment Dokudami-sou and the psychopathic brother, Cross, in Hi-Speed Jecy, and he appeared in Fukuyama Gekijou. All three are Orphan releases.
• Miyamoto Seiya (Itchan) has no other credited roles.
• Katsuki Masako (Itchan's mother) 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, Hojo's lover in Sanctuary, and Yamazaki's maintenance engineer Kiriko in Kigyou Senshi Yamazaki: Long Distance Call, all Orphan releases.
• Koorogi Satomi (Keiko, Itchan's baby sister) played Chi in all versions of Chii's Sweet Home, Himawari (the baby sister) in Crayon Shin-chan, Menchi (the food pooch) in Excel Saga, and Kuki-sama in the Limeiro properties. She also played Yahoi in Sei Michaela Gakuen Hyouryuuki and Misa in Doukyuusei Climax and Doukyuusei 2, allOrphan releases.
• Kamei Saburou (neighborhood chief Kato) had featured roles is many shows, including Akuma-kun, Armored Trooper Votoms, Guyver: The Bioboosted Armor, One Outs, Planetes, Rainbow, and Techno Police 21C, an Orphan release.

The director, Takeuchi Yoshio, also helmed the Oishinbo TV series and specials, as well as Ipponbouchou Mantarou, Gorillaman, Harlock Saga, Shin Megami Tensai: Devil Children, and Night Head Genesis.

Staff credits are basically the same as the other Sensou Douwa specials. kokujin-kun translated. Yogicat timed. I edited and typeset. BeeBee and Nemesis QCed. The raw is a 480p webrip from UNEXT and looks pretty good

Like the other specials in this series, Tako ni Natta Okaasan is a difficult watch. In particular, the final dialog between mother and son is devastating. With all the stressful events happening right now, I put off doing the final run-through far longer than I should have. Between Covid and the US elections, we could all use some happiness; but there are no happy endings in war.

You can find Tako ni Natta Okaasan on the usual torrent site, or download it from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net.

When a laserdisc of the 1986 fantasy OVA Cool Cool Bye turned up in a pile of discs the team bought in Japan, I thought it would be nice to redo the show. Up until now, all releases have been based on VHS tapes; a Domesday Duplicator (DdD) rip ought to be considerably better. Simple, right? Not so fast.

The laserdisc itself had the usual (and some not so usual) issues, and this exposed problems in both the DdD decoding software (ld-decode) and the encoding process. In one moving pan, a glitch on the disc caused ld-decode to mangle a frame entirely. This was patched over with a freeze frame; it's barely detectable. At another point, a one-frame video emphasis to highlight a crash - a negative frame accompanied on the soundtrack by an audible accent - was removed by a filter in the encoding process, which thought the negative frame was an IVTC error. Ultimately, it required seven tries to get an acceptable encode, and the laserdisc's improved fidelity highlights the film burn, burn through, and scratches of the original film source.

The OVA itself is nothing special. Our heroes are two Han warriors, Lek and Flene, who ride around on hoverbikes and have seemingly insatiable appetites. They're accompanied by a miniature strategist named Gege (species unspecified), who lives in Flene's hair and isn't much use. A local village commissions them to fight a monstrous mobile fortress called Tanguin, which has been kidnapping all of the tribe's women. Aided by two tribesmen, Syril and Corola, and a mysterious fairy named Klee, who can transform into a mecha warrior, and motivated by the promise of a feast if they succeed, Lek and Flene set out to confront Tanguin in its lair. After a suitable action sequence, the impregnable fortress is impregnated, and everyone lives happily ever after, sort of.

Cool Cool Bye is sort of an appendage to the previous year's fantasy OVA Greed - same creator, same staff, same animation studio. Greed was in many ways incomprehensible, but at least it had something on its mind: the power of human greed to warp reality. Cool Cool Bye omits all the philosophical and moral agony in favor of a simpler quest story. Still, the plot arc and character designs are very similar to its longer predecessor.

• Nozawa Masako (Lek) is a legend. She played the leads in 30000 Miles Under the Sea, The Adventures of Gamba, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry no Bouken, Billy Inu nan demo Shoukai, and Hey! Bumboo. She was Enma-kun in the original Dororon Enma-kun, Son Goku in the original Dragonball, and Kitarou in the 1968 and 1971 versions of GeGeGe no Kitarou, as well as Hakaba Kitarou. Even though her first role was in 1965, she is still active, appearing as Obaba in Ping Pong the Animation, Madame Curie in Marie & Gali, and of course, Medama Oyaji in the most recent version of GeGeGe no Kitarou. She won a lifetime achievement award in 1997. She played the title role in Manxmouse and Costar in 15 Shounen Hyouruuki, both Orphan releases.
• Tanaka Mayumi (Flene) made her debut at age 10 in Kimba the White Lion. She's probably best known for her roles as Pazu in Castle in the Sky, Giovanni in Night on the Galactic Railway, Kuririn in the original Dragonball, and of course, Monkey D. Luffy in every incarnation of One Piece. She also played Mit-sah in White Fang, Rocco the fox in Tezuka Osamu's Tales from the Old Testament, and Son Gokuu in Tezuka Osamu Monogatari, all Orphan projects.
• Akiyama Runa (Klee) played Dole in 15 Shounen Hyouruuki and the young Yuno in Midori no Neko, both Orphan releases, as well as Kuniko in Yawara! and Ignasia in The Humanoid.
  
• Hori Hideyuki (Corola) played Zach Isedo in Al Caral no Isan, Sid in Ai no Kusabi, Falk Green in yHi-Speed Jecy, and Baraba in Eien no Filena, all Orphan projects. He played the title role in Baoh, Phoenix in the Saint Seiya franchise, and Tezuka Osamu himself in the Black Jack TV series.
• Yamada Eiko (Syril) played Vee in Al Caral no Isan, an Orphan release, Tarou in the Captain Tsubasa franchise, as well as numerous other featured roles.
• Mori Katsuji (Tanguin) played Atlas in the 1980 Astro Boy, Seiji Hayama in Cutie Honey, Wolfgang Mittermeyer in LOGH, Haru in Real Drive, Robespierre in Rose of Versailles, Alcan in Amon Saga, Cemen Bond in Bagi, and Shiina in Stop!! Hibari-kun! The last three are Orphan releases.
• Anzai Masahiro (Gege) debuted in White Fang. He played Ryuunosuke's father in Urusei Yatsura, Mutsuda in Dokushin Apartment Doukudami-sou, Cherenkov in Starship Troopers, and Chaashu in Wild 7. The last three are Orphan releases.
• Yada Minoru (village chief) played Tamaranch (the IOC President) in Yawara!, the elder in Bavi Stock II (an Orphan release), and Hemulen in Tanoshi Moomin Ikka.
  

The auteur, Kogawa Tomonori, was mostly an animation director. Cool Cool Bye and Greed are his only directing and writing credits.

The original script is from Random Masters via GutsySubs. tenkenX6 did a full translation check. Yogicat timed, I edited and typeset (very little to do), and Nemesis and new staff member Rezo QCed. Intrepid encoded, and as I described, it turned out to be a lot more arduous that expected. I fear that after 30 to 35 years, we're fast approaching end-of-life for laserdisc media; more and more of Orphan's purchases have bit rot issues.

So here's Cool Cool Bye, in a somewhat better-looking and somewhat more accurately translated version (YMMV). Orphan has a host of resubbing opportunities based on DdD laserdisc rips of earlier fansubs, including Love Position: The Legend of Halley, Who's Left Behind, Stardust Paradise (encoded by Erik of Piyo Piyo Productions), Laughing Target, Fire Tripper, and The Choujo (encoded by Intrepid), but the source issues in Cool Cool Bye and other discs, as well as the need to translation check the original fansub scripts, has caused me to hit the "pause" button for now. In the meantime, you can get this show from the usual torrent site or from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net.

At some point, Orphan might release the documentary bonus that came with Cool Cool Bye, but don't hold your breath.

It's has taken more than six years, but Evil-Saizen has finally finished the main sequence of Laughing Salesman. After 103 episodes, Moguro Fukuzou has satisfied (ensnared) his last customer (victim) and toddled off into the distance with a jaunty, "So long, folks! I know we'll meet again." I fear he's right.

I wrote about Laughing Salesman more than two years ago, when all I had to depress me was the nightly news. Now, with a pandemic raging and my country ripped in half by political passions, I find Laughing Salesman more apropos - and more scary - than ever. The world is indeed filled with lonely men and women looking to have the gaps in their souls filled by someone, anyone, who will promise them their heart's desire. And as in the anime, the results are uniformly disastrous.

With the reworking of episodes 1-9 in HD, I've now edited all the episodes and specials and typeset most of them. kokujin-kun translation checked the early episodes and translated all the others; thus, he's put his translation imprint on the entire series. Eternal_Blizzard was the first timer; sangofe picked up the gauntlet for a long time; and ninjacloud timed the final group. QC has varied a lot but has included Calyrica, Skr, konnakude, Eternal_Blizzard, sangofe, pheon18, Mamo-chan, and at the start, our late colleague CP. BeeBee joined for the later episodes. Eternal_Blizzard encoded the initial DVD episodes; BakaProxy has encoded all the high-definition episodes.

Are we there yet? Not quite. Episodes 9-25 need to be redone in HD; the project could use an additional timer for that. And then there are around 19 more specials, which need the full treatment. The specials pose unique problems. They are typically double length, the typesetting of the opening tends to differ in each special, and the plots are even more intricate and wicked. Well, sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. I'll burn that bridge when I come to it.

I'd like to thank all my colleagues on the project, who come not just from Live-eviL and Saizen but from across the "back-catalog kairetsu." They're a congenial and talented bunch to work with, and they have every reason to be proud of their efforts. Laughing Salesman is a long series; it's formulaic and best taken in small doses; but it is never, ever dull.

Orphan is proud to present the first English version of the 1980 TV special Botchan. (It should not be confused with the shorter version that was included in 1986's Animated Classics of Japanese Literature.) The show is based on Natsume Souseki's beloved 1906 autobiographical novel, which remains one of most popular novels in Japan.

The hero is a rambunctious youth known only by the nickname his nurse/servant Kiyo gave him, Botchan (Young Master). He's a rowdy Tokyo boy who doesn't get along with his family. After completing a degree in physics, Botchan takes a job in Matsuyama in Shikoku. There, his naivete, his tendency to jump to conclusions, and his gargantuan appetite embroil him in conflicts, mostly comic, with his students and his fellow teachers. Eventually, he sorts out who is in the right and earns the affection of his pupils. However, the conflicts have become irreversible, and he leaves to return to Tokyo, and Kiyo, and start his life anew.

In Matsuyama, Botchan is surrounded by a colorful cast of eccentrics and schemers; he refers to them all by nicknames. For example, the principal is unctuous and slippery, so he's called Tanuki. The head math teacher, Hotta, is bluff and forthright, so he's Yamaarashi (mountain storm or porcupine). The vice-principal dresses in Western clothes to show his advanced thinking and is nicknamed Red Shirt. The art teacher, Yoshikawa, is Red Shirt's cravenly follower and becomes Nodaiko (field radish). The quiet, beaten down English teacher, Koga, is Uranari (unripe gourd). The local beauty is Madonna. And so on.

 

The visuals, by TMS and Madhouse, reinforce the comedic tone, with a bright palette and distinctive character designs.The original character designs were by Monkey Punch, famous for Lupin III, and were cleaned up by animator Sugino Akio. The voice cast is from an earlier era in anime:

• Saijou Hideki (Botchan) was best known as a singer. His only two anime roles were the title roles in Botchan and Sugata Sanshiro.
• Naya Gorou (Yamaarashi, the head math teacher) played Koichi Zenigata in Lupin III, Juzo Okita in Space Battleship Yamato, and Shocker in Kamen Rider. His deep voice provided the narration in Shinzou Ningen Casshern, Vampire Miyu, Golden Boy, and other shows.
• Nagai Ichiro (Tanuki, the principal) starred in numerous shows, playing grandfather Jigoro in Yawara!, the off-the-wall narrator in Gosenzosama Banbanzai!, Professor Hajime in Queen Millennia, and Happosai in the Ranma 1/2 franchise. He appeared in Manxmouse, Nora, Hidamari no Ki, Yuukan Club, Amon Saga, and Yamato 2520, all Orphan releases.
• Yanami Jouji (Red Shirt, the vice principal) 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. He appeared as Lump in Ginga Tansa 2100-nen: Border Planet, Big Bird in Grim Douwa: Kin no Tori, the cart vendor in Akuma Tou no Prince: Mitsume ga Tooru, and of course, Ibari in Stop!! Hibari-kun, all Orphan releases.
• Tanonaka Isamu (Nodaiko, the art teacher) was best known for voicing the character Medama Oyaji (Daddy Eyeball) in the first five GeGeGe no Kitarou anime, as well as Sindbook in the original Magical Princess Minky Momo and Igor in the Persona franchise.
• Yamada Yasuo (Uranari, the English teacher) played Lupin III starting in Part III and continuing to his death.
• Asou Miyoki (Kiyo) has played Isone Funo in Sazae-san, more or less forever. She played Cologne in Ranma 1/2 and appeared in numerous World Masterpiece Theater series.

The director, Taeuchi Yoshio, also helmed the Oishinbo TV series and specials, as well as Ipponbouchou Mantarou, Gorillaman, Harlock Saga, Shin Megami Tensai: Devil Children,  Night Head Genesis, and several of the Sensou Douwa specials.

Iri did the translation and rough timing, and ninjacloud did the fine timing. I edited and typeset; there are a lot of signs. Nemesis and BeeBee QCed. The raw is a 720p web rip by YES and looks very nice. There are also good 480p raws out there, if anyone wants to do a standard definition version. YES released an excellent raw of Sugato Sanshiro too; all we need is a translator (hint, hint).

Botchan is a terrific coming-of-age story, blending comedy, drama, and even a little bit of (unrequited) romance. I highly recommend it. You can get the show from the usual torrent site or from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net.

Stop me if you've heard this one before. The son of a local grub shop is goaded by his father into seeking his fortune as a chef. He attracts the attention of powerful culinary forces as well as rivalry (and potential love interest) from the female descendant of a legendary cooking family. He engages in competitions to prove his prowess and improve his skills, finding unique and novel solutions to the problems that face him. And the manga goes on (and on), for more than thirty volumes.

No, I'm not talking about Shokugeki no Souma, but the much earlier Ipponbouchou Mantarou (One Knife Mantarou) by Big Joe, which ran in "Business Jump Comics" from 1986 to 1996, eventually accumulating 33 volumes. In 1991, at the halfway point, it got a two episode OVA, which never made it across the Digital Divide. Orphan is happy to present the first English version of the anime. The manga has never been translated.

The OVAs tell the story of Kazami Mantarou, the son of a local eatery that only serves katsudon (pork cutlet rice bowl). Disgusted by his father's stick-in-the-mud attitude, Mantarou storms out and rides around the country on his motorbike, taking temporary jobs as a substitute cook when he needs money. Eventually, he returns home to find that his father's business has been ruined by the opening of a glitzy family restaurant, Bongo, run by the Seishou Group. Mantarou ends up challenging the head chef at Bongo to a taste competition. The chairman of the Seishou Group sets them the task of making 50 hamburg steaks in just 30 minutes. Later, the chairman makes Mantarou compete with Shijou Mimi, surviving daughter and heir of the prestigious Shijou culinary clan, over bonito. Mantarou wins the popular vote, but the only vote that counts is the chairman's, and he prefers Mimi's.

Disappointed and angry, Mantarou sets out to tour the country and improve his cooking skills. Equipped with only his father's favorite kitchen knife (hence, "One Knife Mantarou"), he goes to Osaka to sample its diverse culinary traditions. He meets Matsunosuke, a rakugo performer whose father runs a traditional soumen (wheat noodle) restaurant. That shop, Shiraito Soumen, is about to fold, because of competition from more up-to-date restaurants and mass-produced soumen. Mantarou, perhaps thinking of his own father, is determined to prevent Shiraito from going out of business. Once again, he must bring his ingenuity and drive to solving a culinary and a business problem. And there the OVAs stop. They're just an appetizer, not the main course.

Incomplete OVAs of long-running manga are a perpetual problem. Sanctuary got one OVA for ten volumes. Meisou ou Border got one OVA for 14 volumes. And Ipponbouchou Mantarou got two OVAs for 33 volumes. Sanctuary is completely available in English, but neither Meisou nor Ipponboucho have been translated. So the viewer is left hanging. How does it all turn out? Wikipedia Japan provides a few clues. Mantarou and Mimi become sweethearts as well as rivals. Another male chef appears to challenge Mantarou at cooking and romance. The rest sort of writes itself.

The voice cast includes many familiar names to fans of 80s and 90s anime:

• Matsumoto Yasuno (Mantarou) starred as Johnny in Starship Troopers, Kaname in Singles, Muto in Oz, and Tooru in Every Day Is Sunday, all Orphan releases. He was in numerous OVAs in the 1990s, including Hi-Speed Jecy, Seikimatsu II: Humane Society, Fukuyama Gekijou: Natsu no Himitsu, Al Caral no Isan, Joker: Marginal City, Jikuu Bouken Nuumamonjaa, Yamato 2520, Kakyuusei (1995), and Sei Michaela Gakuen Hyouryuuki, 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.
• Nagai Ichirou (Chairman Gouhara) starred in numerous shows, playing grandfather Jigoro in Yawara!, the off-the-wall narrator in Gosenzosama Banbanzai!, Professor Hajime in Queen Millennia, and Happosai in the Ranma 1/2 franchise. He appeared in Manxmouse, Nora, Hidamari no Ki, Yuukan Club, Amon Saga, Botchan, and Yamato 2520, all Orphan releases.
• Ginga Banjou (head chef at Bongo) is a veteran voice actor. He played the title role in 80 Days Around the World with Willy Fog, Baloo in The Jungle Book, and Tohtsuki chairman Nakiri Senzaemon in the Shokugeki no Souma franchise. He played the title role in Oruorane the Cat Player and Ekunain Amon Saga, and he appeared in the two What's Michael? OVAs, all Orphan releases.
• Orikasa Ai (Shijou Mimi) 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 Carrie in Ziggy Sore Yuke! R&R Band, Sara in Eien no Filena, Toryune in Al Caral no Isan, young Mars in Fire Emblem, and Katchan's mother in Tako ni Natta Okaasan, all Orphan releases.
• Yokoo Mari (Mantarou's mother, Kayo) played Battia in Outlanders, Fumio (the dorm mother) in the Shokugeki no Souma franchise, and Yuriko in Yuukan Club, an Orphan release.
• Imanishi Masao (Mantarou's father, Kinpara) had featured roles in The Sensualist, Teppei, Senbon Matsubara, Marco Polo no Bouken, and other shows.
• Kawachiya Kikusuimaru (Matsunosuke) only appeared in Ipponbouchou Mantarou.
• Ogata Kenichi (Matsunosuke's father) played Chitchi's father in Chiisana Koi no Monogatari, the put-upon father in Maroko, Suzuki in Kigyou Senshi Yamazaki: Long Distance call, the crooked casino boss in Okane ga Nai!, the Hong Kong chef in Yuukan Club, and the Narrator/Lord of Kaga in Oedo wa Nemurenai!, all Orphan releases. He also played Smee in Peter Pan no Bouken and 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.
  
• Ono Kenichi (Shimomura, former chef at Shiraito Soumen) appeared in Akuemon, Bavi Stock, Botchan, Elf 17, Wolf Guy, Ziggy Sore Yuke! R&R Band, and Sei Michaela Gakuen Hyouryuuki, all Orphan releases.
  

The director, Takeuchi Yoshio, also helmed the Oishinbo TV series and specials, as well as Botchan,Gorillaman, Harlock Saga, Shin Megami Tensai: Devil Children,  Night Head Genesis, and several of the Sensou Douwa specials. His distinctive style - and the use of more detailed still frames to end scene, a la Dezaki Osamu - permeates the show.

Iri translated and did initial timing; Yogicat did the fine timing. I edited and typeset; there were an absurd number of signs in both episodes. Rezo and Nemesis QCed. Intrepid ripped the source VHS tapes on his uncompressed All-in-Wonder setup and then encoded. The results are excellent, considering the source.

Ipponbouchou Mantarou is recognizably in the line of shounen cooking anime, but it is closer to the straightforward cuisine of Oishinbo than the foodgasms of Shokugeki no Souma. Still, it will probably make you hungry, particularly if you're fond of Japanese food. Between snacks, you can download the show from the usual torrent site or from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net.

Ever since Orphan released Majo demo Steady (My Steady Is a Witch) two years ago, I've wanted to do a version with better video (the original raw isn't cropped properly) and audio (only one channel is actually present). The road to a new version has been paved with frustration. Orphan and its friends bought three copies of the laserdisc, and all were rotted. By the time a good copy surfaced in California, we'd lost our US-based Domesday Duplicator capability. However, thanks to outstanding work by Intrepid and Rezo, Orphan has now released a new version, with much improved video and actual stereo audio.

The key to the present release is a feature of ld-decode, the Domesday Duplicator software, called stacking. The software uses an odd number of releases to do dropout correction, based on majority vote. or median values, or something like that. This allowed Intrepid to get quite a good encode from the three rotted discs.

Unfortunately, stacking doesn't work for audio, and ld-decode's handling of CX-compressed analog audio is still pretty poor. There's no digital audio track on the discs; the digital tracks contain the original soundtrack. Rezo captured the analog audio from the best of the discs on a laserdic player and then filtered it to get rid of some of the artifacts. That track (in FLAC!) is used in the release.

Majo demo Steady is a 1986 ecchi sci-fi comedy. It begins with a classic anime plot hook: Hisashi Seki, ordinary working guy, wakes up one morning to find a naked, and very amorous, girl in his bed. (This is carrying the Sudden Girlfriend Appearance trope to a whole 'nother level.) Because he's a grownup, and not an anime harem lead, he's happy to take advantage of the situation, to their mutual satisfaction. However, the girl's appearance leads to all sorts of increasingly strange phenomenon. 

The cause lies, sort of, in Jungian psychology. The girl, whom he has named Asami, is from a parallel dimension where people's ideal partners - the anima to their animus, or vice versa - reside. Asami's longing has allowed her to cross dimensions to be with Seki, but her presence in his world upsets the natural order. She goes back, and Seki must venture to her world to save her. The lovers are reunited. However, matters don't turn out quite as they hoped.

I should mention a couple of points. First, there is a lot of nudity. (All those who object, please raise your hands. Yeah, I thought so.) Asami spends most of her time without clothes, and Seki joins her in that state whenever he can. Second, there is a lot of under-the-covers sex, never shown; this is ecchi, not hentai. And third, there's a subplot about Seki's boss, Sugiyama, who is gay and lusts after his subordinate. This part starts to look a lot like typical anime gay-bashing, but it takes an unexpected turn. Sugiyama too has an ideal partner in the parallel world, and he is allowed an unexpectedly upbeat ending to his quest for love.

The voice cast includes:

• Mitsuya Yuji (Seki) played the leads in Yousei-Ou, Hi-Speed Jecy, and Hiatari Ryoukou, all Orphan releases, as well as Touch. He has  appeared in many other shows, including Oz, Ranma 1/2, and the Stitch! franchise.
• Takahashi Miki (Asami) is best known as a singer (she sang all the songs in the show). She had featured roles in MAPS (1994) and Tenamonyo Voyagers. She appeared in Doukyuusei: Climax, an Orphan release.
• Kokontei Shinsuke (Sugiyama) has only one other anime credit.

Kobayashi Osamu, the director, is not well known. There are a lot of songs in the show, all of them sung by Takahashi Miki. The OP, ED, and one of the insert songs appear on the image album. Most of the rest are on Takahashi Miki's album Dress Up. We've only subtitled the insert songs that are more or less complete.

Moho Kareshi translated, and laalg checked the dialog, added more signs, and translated the songs. ninjacloud timed the original and retimed this release. I edited and typeset. BeeBee and Nemesis QCed the original release, and Rezo did a release check on this one. Intrepid did the video encode, and Rezo created the audio track.

Majo demo Steady is not a world-shaker, but its heart is in the right place. If you'd like a light ecchi comedy with sci-fi overtones, it will do quite well. This release is a substantial improvement on the previous one. You can get the show from the usual torrent site or from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net.

For some time, BlueFixer has been looking for a better source to redo the 1992 movie Apfelland Monogatari (The Tale of Apfelland). When a used laserdisc turned up on a Japanese auction site, we bought it, and it now forms the basis of Orphan's release of the movie.

Apfelland (German for Apple Land) is counterfactual history. It's set in the early 20th century in a small, independent country nestled between the German, Austrian, and Russian empires, corresponding roughly to what is now the Czech Republic.It is a peaceful, agrarian country, but it becomes a center of intrigue following the discovery of "metallic radium" in an abandoned mine. Polish revolutionaries (from America)!, led by the beautiful Arianna Wyszynka and her ferocious black panther Attilla, and German militarists, abetted by the turncoat Minister of the Army, are both plotting to seize control of the radium in order to make a super-weapon.

Into this intrigue stumbles a street ruffian, Vergille Strauss, who picks the pocket of a one of the revolutionaries. This leads him to a young girl, Frieda Lenbach, who has been kidnapped because she is the heir to the abandoned mine. With the help of the sympathetic Inspector Fleischer, Vergille rescues Frieda and takes her to see the Queen of Apfelland. However, unbeknownst to al of them, the former Minister of the Army, Count Norbert, is plotting a coup to seize the mine and present its radium to the Germans. Unbeknownst to him, the Germans intend to use his coup as an excuse to invade and annex Apfelland. Vergille, Frieda, and their friends go through many thrilling adventures, helped by a "mad scientist," Professor Lenholm, to try and save Apfelland from its avaricious neighbor.

The voice cast includes many familiar names:

• Mingaguchi Yuuko (Frieda Lenbach) starred as the lead in Yawara!, her breakout and defining role. She debuted as Kii in Greed and played Saki in Singles and Felicia in Oz, all Orphan releases. She played Roxanne in Alexander (Reign: The Conquerer) and appeared in numerous other shows, including Dragon Ball Z and GT, Sailor Moon, and One Piece.
• Yamaguchi Kappei (Vergille Strauss) starred as the lead in the Detective Conan franchise, the Ranma 1/2 franchise, and the Inuyasha franchise. He played Usopp in the One Piece franchise, Sakuma Ryuichi in Gravitation, Arslan in the Arslan Senki OVA series, the title role in Mouse, Ougi in Boyfriend, Hayashi in Nagasaki 1945: Angelus no Kane, and Shibuya in Zetsuai 1989 and Bronze: Zetsuai Since 1989, among many others. The last four are Orphan releases.
• Ebara Masashi (Inspector Alfred Fleischer) played Might Guy in Naruto, Bolt Crank in Eat-Man, Alastor in Shakugan no Shana, Sebastian Viera in Nodame Cantabile, and Hamegg in Metropolis. He also played the referee in Blazing Transfer Student, Tanzou in Akai Hayate, Zengzi in Eiyuu Banka Koushi-den, and Ishizu in Mikeneko Holmes, all Orphan releases.
• Katsuki Masako (Arianna Wyszynska) 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, Hojo's lover in Sanctuary, Itchan's mother in Sensou Douwa: Tako ni Natta Okaasan, and Yamazaki's maintenance engineer Kiriko in Kigyou Senshi Yamazaki: Long Distance Call, all Orphan releases.
• Saitou Shou (Queen Carolina) appeared as Noah's wife in Tezuka Osamu's Tales from the Old Testament, an Orphan release, and Dora in Kiki's Delivery Service.
• Katou Seizou (Count Norbert) appeared as Jeigan in Fire Emblem, Ii Naosuke in Hidamari no Ki, the Chief of Staff in AWOL Compression Remix, and Sushi Neko's mentor in Let's Nupu Nupu, all Orphan releases. He played Inspector Zenigata in Lupin III: The Fuuma Conspiracy, Aran in Freedom, and Kaa-san in Tokyo Godfathers, among many other roles in a career that spanned nearly 50 years.
• Kitamura Kouichi (Professor Lenholm) played Coach Nakao in the Nine OVAs, Paolon, the intelligent spaceship, in Hi-Speed Jecy, Professor, the wise old cat in the Ultra Nyan OVAs, and appeared in Hidamari no Ki and Dokushin Apartment Dokudami-sou, all Orphan releases. 
• Wakamoto Norio (York Denman, a sinister associate of Arianna Wyszynska) played the title role in The Gargoyle of the Yoshinagas, Vicious in Cowboy Bebop, Cell in the Dragonball franchise, Katakuriko in the Gintama franchise, Oda NObunaga in Sengoku Basara franchise, Sakakibara in Sanada 10, Guren in Ushio to Tora TV, Shining Saotome in the Uta no Prince-sama franchise, and Oskar von Reuenthal in Legend of the Galactic Heroes. He also appeared as Major Thrauza in Yamato 2520, Denon in Amon Saga, and the Narrator in Joker: Marginal City, all Orphan releases.
• Miyata Hikaru (Colonel Zehlendorf) appeared in The Maiden Diaries, Detective Conan, Serial Experiments Lain, Noir, Monster, and Trinity Blood.

The director, Yuyama Kunihiko, directed the Magic Princess Minky Momo TV series and OVAs, The Three Musketeers TV series and movie, Plawres Sanshiro, the original Ushio to Tora OVAs, Wedding Peach, and of course, most of the Pokemon TV series, OVAs, and movies, up to and including the current one. He also directed Ear of the Golden Dragon, an Orphan release.

BlueFixer reviewed his original script and touched up a few lines for this release. M74 fine-timed the new raw. I edited and typeset (very few signs), and BeeBee, Nemesis, and Topper3000 QCed. Intrepid ripped the laserdisc on his Domesday Duplicator and then encoded. It looks pretty good.

Apfelland Monogatari is right in the sweet spot of the "historical romance" genre. The budding friendship between Vergille and Frieda is matched by the growing fascination Inspector Fleischer feels for Arianne Wyszynska. There are lots of exciting adventures, and all's well that ends well, mostly. You can get the show from the usual torrent site or from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net

You might wonder, with good reason, why Orphan is releasing a new version of Amatsuki, six years after our first release. That release is quite watchable. Why are we bothering? First, the previous release used another group's DVD encode; it was at the wrong frame rate (29.97 fps instead of 23.976 fps). Second, the previous release retained Ureshii's original styling: colored subtitles, fake italics. Third, the manga is now completely scanlated, so it's possible to understand how the TV series fits in the overall plot. Fourth, I love this show, and I was itching for an excuse to take another pass at it. So there: we have Reasons.

Amatsuki is set in a parallel Bakumatsu-era world where gods and spirits are real. The hero, Rikugou Tokidoki, stumbles into this world, called Amatsuki ("a rainy night's moon"), when he crosses a bridge inside a virtual reality historical exhibit. There he is attacked by a demon known as the Nue and saved by a fierce swordswoman named Kuchiha. He loses the sight in his left eye but gains the ability to see demons in return.

How Toki (and his high-school acquaintance, Kon) end up in another world is never explained; it's simply assumed. Toki starts out as a "get along, go along" type of anonymous teenager, but he slowly finds the skills not only to cope with his new environment but to influence events and indeed the fate of the parallel world. He is the Blank Page, the only creature in all of Amatsuki whose fate is not inscribed in heaven's net. He can alter the course of destiny.

Toki is surrounded by a cast of colorful characters. Some seek to help him, others to use him. Toki's rescuer Kuchiha is actually an inugami-tsukai, a person possessed by a dog spirit. He is also helped by Shamon, a hard-drinking monk who fights demons, and Heihachi, a local townsman with more curiosity than is good for him. The potential exploiters include Bonten, a tengu who is one of the high dieties of Amatsuki; Ginshu, an asexual priestess who leads the demon-fighters; and Sasaki Tadajirou, a sinister blind agent of the Shogunate, and his equally sinister subordinate, Kurotobi. And then there is Yakou, the enigmatic being (god? ayakashi?) whose needling questions and subtle mockery drive men and demons alike mad.

The TV series covers the first four volumes of the manga. There is no resolution to the plot, and no explanation for events. The manga does eventually come up with an explanation, but it's very convoluted and, like most explanations of magic, rather disappointing. [Spoilers ahead.] The Amatsuki world is a sinister VR experiment gone wrong, with real people being used as adjuncts to a massive supercomputer, a la The Matrix. Toki is special because he has a personal relationship with both Amatsuki's creator and its current overseer. Personally, I would have preferred it if the manga had adopted the same course as The Worm Ouroboros: the fantasy world is self-contained, and once events shift there, our dreary everyday world is forgotten.

Because this third revision required relatively little in the way of editing and typesetting, I've been able to take a more dispassionate look at Amatsuki and see more of its flaws. First, it relies too heavily on infodumps. Admittedly, the premise is complicated, and the series only had 13 episodes to work with. However, the long-winded explanations, sometimes with diagrams, frequently bring the show to a dead stop. The unraveling of the fox spirit's story in the penultimate episode is like a parody of a bad golden-age mystery, with multiple narrators retelling events. Second, the visuals are less than stellar. The show seems slightly out of focus throughout. This isn't a stylistic choice to convey the unreality of the Amatsuki world; even the"real world" looks blurry. And third, the climax is poorly weighted. The fox spirit's story is given four or five episodes and amounts to very little; one of the characters says, "The mountain labored and brought forth a fox." Ginshu's galvanic confrontation with the controlling god of Amatsuki is disposed of in seven minutes.

On the other hand, I now have a better appreciation of the backstory episode, "Silk Flower Sleeps." In my original blog post, I criticized the episode for diverting the plot for a precious episode. Now, though, I regard it as the philosophical linchpin of the story. Shamon's meeting with the child Kuchiha (and her ferocious inugami) alters his black-and-white view of humans and demons, and his new-found humility and humanity in turn influences others, including Toki when he arrives from the "other shore." I've come to like this episode more than the "action-packed" fox-spirit story that surrounds it.

Anyway, the voice cast is amazing:

• Fukuyama Jun (Toki) needs no introduction. He has starred in numerous shows, playing Lelouch in the Code Geass franchise, Koro-sensei in the Assassination Classroom properties, Kimihiro in the the xxxHoLiC franchise, Keita in the Inukami series, Lawrence in the Spice and Wolf series, Tarou in MM!, Souta in the Working! franchise, Yuko in the Ao no Exorcist franchise, and Ichimatsu in the Osomatsu-san series. He also starred as Panda in Shirokuma Cafe and Ayase in Okane ga nai!, both Orphan releases.
• Yusa Kouji (Kon) played Lau in Kuroshitsuji, Renzo in the Ao no Exorcist franchise, Vincent Law in Ergo Proxy, Sanosuke in the Hakuoki franchise, Hakutaku in Hoozuki no Reitetsu, Heki in Kingdom, Reiji in Mayonaka no Occult Koumuin, Kyousuke in Zettai Karen Children, Hyouga in the Uta no Prince-sama franchise, and Akira in Yowamushi Pedal.
• Paku Romi (Kuchiha) starred as Nana the singer in Nana and Edward Elric in both versions of Fullmetal Alchemist. She played Reiji in Dragon Drive, Maki in Air Master, Katsushihiro in Samurai 7, Hitsugaya Toushirou in the Bleach franchise, Alita Fortland in Murder Princess, 044 in Ultraviolet: Code 44, Popo in Kaiba, Irabu in Kuuchuu Buranko,Taiga in the Major franchise, the title role in Higepiyo, Noboru in Rainbow, Omasa in Onihei, Zoe in Shingeki no Kyoujin, and Alma in Radiant.
• Kitamuri Eri (Yakou) played Saya in Blood+, Alleyne in Queen's Blade, Hinata in Kanamemo, Rin in Kodomo no Jikan, Mahiro in Haiyoru! Nyaruani, Izumo in the Ao no Exorcist franchise, Megumi in High Score Girl, Mikagi in Arve Rezzle, Yachiyo in the Working! franchise, Araragi Karen in the *monogatari franchise, Okou in Hoozuki no Reitetsu, and Homura in Senran Kagura.
• Suwabe Junichi (Bonten) played Jae-ha in Akatsuki no Yona, Fuuma in the later X properties, Archer in the Fate Stay/Night franchise, Ren in the Uta no Prince-sama franchise, the titles roles in Cuticle Detective Inaba and Space Dandy, Yaichirou in Uchouten Kazoku, Worick in Gangsta, and Hayama in the Shokugeki no Souma franchise. 
• Nakata Jouji (Shamon) is best known as Alucard in Hellsing and Hellsing Ultimate and as the Count of Monte Christo in Gankuutsuou. He also played Ashen Eye in The Ancient Magus Bride, Bandou in Elfen Lied, Hijikata in Golden Kamuy, Vladimir Putin (!) in Mudazumo Naki Kaikaku, Jin Kunugi in Rahxephon, Otou in Working!, and Diethard Ried in Code Geass. He played Nelson the Bomb, Hyatt's criminal bomber, in AWOL Compression Remix, an Orphan release.
• Suzumura Kenichi (Ginshu) played Lavi in D.grayman, Kyouchi in Boys Be..., Kamui in the later X properties, Haru in Usagichan de Cue!, Nenji in Nanaka 6/17, Hideo in Hand Maid Mai OVA, Eiji in Gravion, Junpei in Ichigo 100%, Kazuto in UFO Princess Valkyrie, Toki in Code: Breaker, Hajime in Danna ga Nani..., Shingo in Prison School, Masato in the Uta no Prince-sama franchise, Iyami in the Osomatsu-san franchise, and Hinawa in Enen no Shoubitai.
• Morikubo Shoutarou (Tsuyukusa, Bonten's human-looking sidekick) played the title role in Majutsushi Orphen, Ichiro in Nerima Daikon Brothers, Tajima in 11 Eyes, Kazama in Freedom, adult Goro in Major and Major 2nd, Shikamaru Nara in Naruto, Bartolomeo in One Piece, Yuusuke in Yowamushi Pedal, Souji in Hakuoki, and Reiji in the Uta no Prince-sama franchise.
• Kosugi Juurouta (Utsubushi, Bonten's bird-like sidekick) played Touji in Ninku and de Morcerf in Gankuutsuou. He also played Eyesman in Bavi Stock, Oguma in Fire Emblem, Dr. Bayfarm in Joker: Marginal City, and Gisuke in Kage, all Orphan releases. 
• Ookawa Tooru (Sasaki Tadajirou, the Shogunate's demon hunter) played Hoya Hyougo in Hidamari no Ki, an Orphan release, Roy Mustang in Fullmetal Alchemist, Saito in the GITS SAC franchise, Noda Tatsuo (Nodame's father) in Nodame Cantabile, Gedächtnis in the Fireball series, and Jason in Ai no Kusabi (2012).
• Tanaka Atsuko (the dog-spirit inside Kuchiha) starred as Kusunagi Motoko in the Ghost in the Shell franchise. Her deep and instantly recognizable voice has been heard in numerous roles, including Konan in the Naruto franchise, Caster in the Fate/Stay franchise, and Jaguara in Wolf's Rain.
  
• Kirii Daisuke (Kurotobi) has appeared in Utawarerumono, Ouran High School Host Club, Bakuman, and Giant Killing, among many other featured roles.
  

The only quibble I have about the voice cast is that Suwabi Junichi (Bonten), Ookawa Tooru (Tadajirou), and Kirii Daisuke (Kurotobi) are all tonally similar when they're trying to convey suave menace and thereby frighten Toki. That's quite effective separately, but the effect is odd when two of them appear in the same scene.

The director, Furuhashi Kazuhiro, has numerous series to his credit, including Rurouni Kenshin, the first Hunter x Hunter, Getbackers, Zipang, Le Chevalier d'Eon, RD Sennou Chousashitsu, and last year's wonderful Dororo. The music is by Fukuhari Mari; Amatsuki is her only anime credit.

For this version, I've excised most of Ureshii's on-screen notes. Although they are cleverly animated, they're distracting and, for the most part, unnecessary. For the curious, I'm including the notes here.

Episode 1.

• (2:45) The Bakumatsu (1853-1867) refers to the final years of the Tokugawa Shogunate, when Japan's 250 years of isolation ended.
• (15:47) In this period, a Tokugawa ruled Japan as shogun, or military dictator. The Emperor was a religious figurehead.

Episode 2.

• (9:27) An inugami-tsuki is a person possessed by a dog spirit.
• (13:45) Japanese folklore interprets the markings on the moon as a rabbit making rice cakes. 
• (15:08) A kemono-tsuki is a person possessed by a beast.

Episode 3. The first three notes are about Yakou's speech to Toki.

• (5:37) In Buddhist legend, demons ride in a flaming chariot, looking for sinners.
• (5:42) Momotarou is a legendary demon slayer.
• (5:55) Shuten Douji is an ogre, 20 feet tall with flaming red hair. 
• (8:42) Aizu is just north of Edo (Tokyo). 
• (9:37) Sakamoto Ryouma was an anti-Shogunate nationalist and played an important role in modernizing Japan.

Episode 4.

• (9:10) Tengu (天狗, "heavenly dogs") are spirits that have both human and avian characteristics. 
• (20:03) The hakutaku (白澤 or 白沢) is a mythical, spiritual beast said to advise only virtuous rulers.

Episode 5.

• (4:44) Onmyoudo is a traditional Japanese esoteric cosmology. 

Episode 6.

• (6:59) Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) was a major philosopher and writer of the Enlightenment. The quote is from Emile. 
• (7:54) Kuchiha is spelling Rousseau phonetically with the kanji 流僧, meaning flowing priest.

Episode 7.

• (1:33) A song from "Ise Monogatari," a Japanese poetry anthology of the tenth century.

Episode 8.

• (1:31) A song from Oita Prefecture, in Kyushu.
• (5:49) Sannou is a god in the Chiyoda area of Tokyo, and the dog is his familiar.
• (7:26) The opening lines of the Heart Sutra, a Buddhist scripture renowned for its brevity and depth.
• (14:42) A metaphor for the ability to distinguish good and evil.

Episode 9.

• (5:39) Dentsuin Temple in Koishikawa is the burial place of Tokugawa Ieyasu's mother.
• (5:56) Two officials in the Shogunate.
• (6:03) Mito Tengu-ren was a nationalist group, Shieikan a famous dojo.
• (9:22) In modern Japan, Suharaya is a bookstore chain, and Mitsui is a bank.

Episode 10.

• (4:33) A pun on Toki's nickname, which means ibis in Japanese.

Episode 12.

• (2:05) In Japanese flower language, the konotegashiwa (or arborvitae) symbolizes eternal friendship.

Episode 13.

• (13:13) An inari is a small shrine for a good harvest, usually with a guardian fox. 

I've simplified the credits, removing the Ureshii contributors except for translation and translation checking: Lanithro and Phenie for the first half; laalg and Sylf for the second half. The Orphan credits include several contributors who are no longer with the team: archdeco, Saji, and of course, our departed friend CP. For this release, Nemesis and Iri filled in a few missing lines, ninjacloud redid the timing, I redid the editing and typesetting, and Topper3000 and Rezo QCed. The encode, from the R2J DVDs, is by guest encoder Iznjie Biznjie. He asked if he could make the encodes a little bigger, and when I agreed, he slipped in FLAC audio. So it goes.

So here's my third (after Ureshii and Ureshii-Orphan) and, I promise you, final take on Amatsuki. You can get it from the usual torrent site or from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net. Unlike Orphan's usual practice, I'm not taking down the previous version. It's half the size, perfectly watchable, and features those moving on-screen notes. Ya pays your money (or not), and ya takes yer choice.

And here's Orphan last release for 2020: Yume kara Samenai (Can't Stop Dreaming). An OVA from 1987, it practically screams "young adult title." It's aimed squarely at the teenage demographic, and its portrayal of first love in high school might appeal to boys or to girls; or it might appeal to neither. And it's very serious, not to say solemn, in its approach to Teenage Romance and Problems™.

Fujii Takaki is a typical high school boy (for this sort of story) - athletic, good-looking, and friendly. He ends up sitting next to a mysterious beauty, Kawahara Sunao, who helped him when his bicycle broke down. Takaki is more or less instantly smitten, but his best friend, Kawamura, warns him off. Sunao, it seems, has a bad reputation; supposedly, she appeared in an adult video. Takaki doesn't believe it, but his affections are scrambled by his childhood friend, Amasa Koyuki, who rather fancies Takaki for herself. Takaki's fumbling overtures eventually cause Sunao to challenge him: will he accept her as she is? To test him, she takes him to where she works:

 

Takaki must decide whether his love is stronger than societal prejudice. You can guess how it turns out.

It's hard to know what to make of this show. The plot is very thin. There are lots of meaningful closeups of the leads and slo-mo shots of the heroine tossing her hair. The running time is padded out with a music video montage of high school life. The "adult video" seems to consist of Sunao posing in a slip and pretending she's a cat. According to the promo at the end of OVA, the story is by Shirakura Yumi, a mangaka whose works include Aganai no Seija, Gretel no Kioku, and the Sailor Fuku series; none of them are available in English. The script is by Kawanishi Ran of "the new wave of young adult literature", who has no other anime credits. Equal prominence is given to the "ultimate uniform design" by the "school uniform critic" Mori Nuboyuki. Just what, exactly, is this show trying to sell?

Anyway, a couple of translation notes:

• "She looks like Reiko from Shoujotai." Shoujotai was an idol group of the time.
• "Meanwhile, I'm going on YuuNyan's Search for an Idol!" YuuNyan is short for Yuuyake Nyannyan, a variety program that ran on Fuji TV from 1985-87.
• "Kawahara Sunao's rendition of The Mirror of Janus."The Mirror of Janus was a manga/drama series about a girl with an alternate personality.
  

The cast is small, just Takaki, Sunao, and Takaki's two friends:

• Sasaki Nozomu (Takaki) played Tetsuo in Akira, Yuusuke in Yuu Yuu Hakusho, Shinohara in Be-Boy Kidnapping Idol, Chihaya in Earthian, Ebata in Genji Part 1, Ushio in the original Ushio to Tora, and Mello in Death Note. He played Ling Fei-long in Dragon Fist, Dekiru in Izumo, Taiga in Nagasarete Airantou, and Hal in Next Senki Ehrgeiz, all Orphan releases.
• Sano Ryouko (Sunao) is primarily a singer. She starred in Like the Clouds, Like the Wind, in which she also sang the main theme song.
• Ohashi Mayuki (Amase) starred as Youko in Scoopers, an Orphan release, but has few other credits.
• Yamazaki Tetsuya (Kawamura) appeared in TO-Y, Night on the Galactic Railway, and Lunn Flies into the Wind, an Orphan release.

The director, Inoue Osamu, was primarily a storyboard artist and episode director. His other directing credits were Hidari no O'Clock!! and Sailor Senshi Venus Five (which is hentai).

Iri had wanted to do this show for quite a while. When a decent raw became available, he translated and did the initial timing. Yogicat fine-timed. I edited and typeset. The image is jittery, so almost every sign had to be motion-traced. Nemesis and Uchuu QCed. Intrepid encoded a DdD rip that was started by Erik of Piyo Piyo Productions but left incomplete. ("Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio? Our nation turns its lonely eyes to you...") The audio has the usual DdD problems with an analog track. If you don't like it, the audio track from Erik's non-DdD release, available on nyaa, syncs up more or less exactly.

Boy, am I happy to see 2020 in the rear-view mirror. Pandemic, protests, political polarization... Millions dead world-wide... It can't end soon enough. Despite that, Orphan Fansubs had a pretty good year. Some new staffers joined, and some old friends came back. As a result, the team released a lot of projects in 2020.

In preparing this retrospective, I've changed the way I count releases. I'm no longer distinguishing between new versions of prior projects and totally new projects. They each take the same amount of time, and I've revised the project roll call accordingly.