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Aspect Ratios
In this blog entry, I am venturing into deep water without a life jacket, because I'm not an encoder, and I don't play one on TV. To keep things simple, I'm only going to discuss US standards (NTSC)....
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Gude Crest
Orphan's presents a new English release of the 1990 sword-and-sorcery OVA Onna Senshi Efe & Jira: Gude no Monshou (Woman Warriors Efe & Jira: The Emblem of Gude), more succinctly and familiarly...
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B.B. Fish
There just aren't enough anime about scuba diving. Yes, there was Grand Blue, but it was primarily a gross-out comedy. And there was Amanchu!, but it was more a slice-of-life show. RD Sennou...
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Cleaning Out The Attic
Everyone in Orphan is a fan of old anime, so it's not surprising that the team has collected a lot more raw anime than it can translate. (Think about my nick, duh.) Therefore, we need to "clean out the...
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Hashire! Shiroi Ookami
Orphan hasn't done a critter feature in a while, so we're quite chuffed to present the first English-subtitled version of the 1990 movie Hashire! Shiroi Ookami (Run! White Wolf). This is based on the...
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Body Jack (Laserdisc Version)
I wasn't planning on doing any more of the Pink Noise series after Call Me Tonight, but the laserdisc for the fourth and last show in the series, the 1987 OVA Body Jack: Tanoshii Yuutai Ridatsu (Body...
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Sangokushi Daiichibu Eiyuu-tachi no Yoake (HD)
This has been in the works for a while. High-definition versions of the Sangokushi movies appeared on Japanese streaming sites in the spring of 2019. It has taken more than two years to move Orphan's...
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More Raws from the Attic
Time to share a bit more buried treasure with the anime universe. Today's offering is Super Real Mahjong, a pair of OVAs from 1990 which share a theme (mahjong) and major characters (Kasumi, Miki, and...
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(Maris) The Choujo
I'm not as familiar with the works of Rumiko Takahashi as an anime fan ought to be. I've never watched Maison Ikkoku, Urusei Yatsura, Ranma 1/2, Inuyasha, or Rin-ne all the way through, and I've...
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Blue Sonnet
Akai Kiba Blue Sonnet (Crimson Fang Blue Sonnet), usually known as just Blue Sonnet, is a five-episode OVA series from 1989. It is based on a 19-volume manga by Shibata Masahiro that is unavailable in...
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Kaitei 3-man Mile
Toei Douga pioneered the feature-length theatrical cartoon in Japan, starting with 1958's Hakujaden. Orphan has released several Toei features:Saiyuuki (1960)Wan Wan Chuushingura (1963)Taiyou no Ouji:...
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Kasei Yakyoku v2
When Orphan released Kasei Yakyoku in late 2018, we had to use a VHS tape for the first two episodes. At the time, I said we'd redo those episodes if a laserdisc source became available. It did, and we...
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Sensou Douwa: Kiku-chan to Ookami
Sensou Douwa (War Fables or War Tales) was a series of TV specials by Shin-Ei Animation that ran annually from 2002 to 2009. In chronological order:2002Â Â Â Umigame to Shounen (The Boy and The Sea...
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A Long Time Coming: King Fang
About four years ago, a gentle Swede who goes by the handle Go no Ken found a rare VHS tape of the 1978 TV special Daisetsuzan no Yuusha Kibaou, known in the English-speaking world as King Fang. He...
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Tobira o Akete
Tobira o Akete is a sword-and-sorcery fest from 1986. It's based on a 1984 short story by the Japanese fantasy and science fiction writer Mokoto Arai. It was released by Toho on a twin bill with They...
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Kageyama Tamio no Double Fantasy
Kageyama Tamio was a Japanese actor and writer. He is probably best known to anime audiences for his book Coo: Tooi Umi Kara Kita Coo, which was adapted by Toei in 1993 as Coo of the Far Seas. He was...
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Sangokushi Dai Ni Bu Choukou Moyu!
Here, after an unconscionable delay, is the HD version of the second movie in the Sangokushi trilogy, 1993's Sangokushi Dai Ni Bu Choukou Moyu! (Sangokushi: The Yangtze Is Burning!). It covers roughly...
View ArticleThis Is Where I Came In...
I just had the pleasure of editing the Blu-ray version of episode 58 of Yawara! - the last one I had never touched (or seen) before - and then picking up the Blu-ray version of episode 59, where I...
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Laughing Salesman HD Completed
Today, another milestone: the last group of high-definition TV episodes for Laughing Salesman (Warau Salesman) has been released. The TV series is complete in HD, all 103 episodes. There will be a...
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To-Y Blu-ray
To-Y is a 1987 OVA about a Japanese indie rock band and its lead singer. It is based on a ten-volume manga by Kamijou Atsuji. To-Y was stranded on the wrong side of the Digital Divide for years, until...
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