Orphan brings you more 1970s thrills and chills: episodes four to six of Umezz Kazuo's 1976 horror series Youkaiden Nekome Kozou (Spirit Legend Cat-Eyed Boy, here just Cat-Eyed Boy).

When we last left our lonely but hopeful half-youkai, we had run out of source material. Only three episodes had been released on DVD. Skr and I got so frustrated about stopping that we chipped in to buy the laserdisc box set of Cat-Eyed Boy. These are the first episodes from that treasure trove.

Now, the laserdiscs are far from pristine. In fact, they look terrible - full of film blemishes and not stabilized. And they don't sound great either, with a lot of static on the audio track. But I think (and Skr agrees) that the roughness of the raws suits the material. After all, this is gekimation - hand-manipulated paper cutouts. A first-class video transfer based on remastered sources just brings out the primitiveness of the whole series. The laserdiscs make Cat-Eyed Boy look like a 50-year-old show, which is what it is, or rather, will be in 2026.

With more episodes to work from, the pattern of the show has become clear. At the start of each episode, Cat-Eyed Boy is continuing his lonely journey to find his mother. Often chased by ignorant country folk, he is befriended by a youngster or a motherly woman and offered kindness, even love. 

• Episode 4 - the Kodama tree spirit, an ancient oak with a black heart that sucks the life out of its victims.

• Episode 5 - the Tear Witch and the Wailing Man, an ancient malevolent witch who lives on her victims tears, and her son, who eats the victims after they've been wrung dry.
  

• Episode 6 - the Beach Skull, the ghost of a deceased person who haunts the one they loved.
  

After defeating the baddies, Cat-Eyed Boy bids a fond farewells to his friends, if they survived. He then sets out on the next leg of his journey. Cue the preview.

Because of its episodic nature, Cat-Eyed Boy's core cast is just two voice actors:

• Junko Hori (Cat-eyed Boy) is best known as the voice of the protagonists in three Fujiko Fujio works, Obake no Q-tarou, Ninja Hattori-kun, and Chinpui. She also appeared in Wan Wan Chuushingura, Taiyou no Ouji: Horus no Daibouken, Rain Boy, Time Slip Ichimannen Prime Rose, and Makoto-chan, all Orphan releases, as well as Moomin, Akage no Anne, Cinderella Boy, and Unico.
• Katsuhiko Ikeda (narrator) has no other voice-acting credits.

The rest of the voice cast varies from episode to episode. Episode 4:

• Koichi Kitamura (Kodama Tree Spirit) played Paolon, the intelligent spaceship in Hi-Speed Jecy, Professor, the wise old cat, in the Ultra Nyan OVAs, Honda Sadonokami Masanobu in the Sanada 10 special, and Coach Naoko in Nine and its sequels, and he appeared in Hidamari no Ki and Dokushin Apartment Dokudami-sou. All are Orphan releases.
• Mitsuyo Tobe (Yukio) appeared in Hoka Hora Kazoku, Teppei, and TheRose of Versailles, among others.
• Reiko Kimura (Yukio's Mother) appeared in several episodes of Cat-Eyed Boy, including episode 6, as Yoshie, and 7, as Katsuzo.
• Keiko Yokozawa (Yae) is probably best known for her starring role as Sheeta in Castle in the Sky. She played the title roles in Charlotte (1977), the Dorami-chan properties, and ESPer Mami, as well as leading roles in Plastic Little and Legend of Lemnear. She also played Pandora in Akuma-tou no Prince Mitsume ga Tooru and Yukari in Karuizawa Syndrome, both Orphan releases.

Episode 5:

• Hisako Kyouda (Tear Witch) played the witch in Adachigara and Minuet in Bremen Four, both Orphan releases. She played Taitsukun in Fushigi Yuugi, Magno Vivan in Vandread, Soukei in Inukami!, the father in Shouwa Monogatari, and numerous other roles in a career that has spanned more than 50 years.
• Reiko Katsura (Kasumi) appeared in Sazae-san and narrated Nichijou, in a career that has also spanned more than 50 years.
• Shin Aomori (Wailing Man) played Solomon in Tezuka Osamu's Tales of the Old Testament and Kurokawa in Meisou-ou Border, both Orphan releases. He played Basque Grand in both versions of Full Metal Alchemist and Gonzo in the currently airing Oi! Tonbo. He appeared in Perrine, Oishinbo, Sousei no Aquarion, the Dragon Ball franchise, and numerous other roles in a career that has spanned almost 50 years.

Episode 6:

• Toshihiko Utsumi (Beach Skull) appeared in Raccoon Rascal and Hit and Run.
• Michiro Okada (Rentaro) appeared in Manxmouse and Kuroi Ame ni Utarete, both Orphan releases. He also played Ru Shako in the Armored Trooper Votoms franchise, the chief in the You're Under Arrest franchise, and the narrator in the Transformers movies.
• Kaoru Ozawa (Noriko) appeared in Raccoon Rascal and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.

Once again, Skr was the driving force behind this release. He translated, timed, edited, typeset the credits, and encoded the show. kokujin-kun helped with translation checking. I did a little actual typesetting. (Skr thinks the signs should be done as \an8, because of how blurry the raws are, and he may be right.)  Nemesis, Rock_Lee-vk, and Skr QCed.

Cat-Eyed Boy is a long series for the current configuration of Orphan. Skr has a lot on his plate, so I don't know when more episodes will be available. Meanwhile, you can get this release from the usual torrent site or from channels #nibl or #news in irc.rizon.net.  

Aoki Honoo is a one-shot OVA from 1989, based on a six-volume manga by Yanagasawa Kimio, a prolific mangaka who is almost unknown in the West. It was translated by Random Masters and released by ACR (Anime Classics Review), but the encode was hardsubbed and subsized (240p), which made it difficult to watch. In 2017, Orphan released a sofsubbed, "full SD" version based on a VHS rip. As I noted as the time, "The show has been released on Laserdisc but not on DVD. If we can find the Laserdisc, we'll do a second version." Now, thanks to WOWmd, the laserdisc has been found and encoded. Accordingly, Orphan is releasing a revised version with better video.

Aoki Honoo makes for uncomfortable viewing, for me. It is the story of a heel (viewed kindly) or a psychopath (viewed clinically) who claws his way toward the top over the bodies of his girlfriends. The main character, Kaizu Ryuuichi, is a high-school senior determined to escape from his small-town upbringing, achieve independence from his family, and become a major success. He systematically seduces and extorts money from a series of women, starting with a local hostess, Sayoko, and then the local rich girl, Naito Emi. 

One translation note. Ryuuichi's little sister Kaizu addresses him as onii-chan. In the original, this was translated literally, as "brother." But in English, use of a sibling relationship in direct address is uncommon, unless meant sarcastically, so in this version, Kaizu calls him by his name.

The voice actors all appeared in other Orphan releases:

• Horuichi Kenyuu (Kaizu Ryuuichi) played the title role in Guin Saga and Oscar in the Angelique franchise. He also played the title role in Amon Saga, Inlen in Raiyantsuuri no Uta, Jin Akira in Wolf Guy, Nest in Eien no Filena, Kubota in Meisou-ou Border, Lid in Greed, Romus in Choujikuu Romanesque Samy: MISSING 99, Simon in Ai to Ken no Camelot, and the refined son in Eguchi Hisashi no Kotobuki Gorou Show, all Orphan releases.
• Andou Arisa (Naito Emi) starred in the title role of Eien no Filena and as Mako in Doukyuusei: Climax, both Orphan releases. She played Rosa in Makyuu Senjou and appeared in a number of h-anime, including Cream Lemon.
• Ikura Kazue (Kuroeda Keiko, a third-year conquest at university) is best known for the roles of Makimura Kaori in City Hunter, Toraou in Mashin Eiyuuden Wataru, Natsume Ryuunosuke in All Purpose Cultural Cat Girl Nuku Nuku, and Leni Milchstrasse in Sakura Wars. She played Jiliora in Gude Crest and Hojo Masako in Genji, Part 1, and she also appeared in Sei Michaela Gakuen Hyouryuuki and 15 Shounen Hyouryuuki, all Orphan releases.
• Shou Mayumi (Kaizu Misao, Ryuuichi's little sister) played Minako in Bride of Deimos, Ayako in Kimami ni Idol, Gannet in Hoshi Neko Full House, Peggy in A Penguin's Memories, Yuko Kurita in the Oishinbo movie-length specials, and Baby Boar in Katte ni Shirokuma, all Orphan releases.
• Yoshida Miho (Sumibishi Hisayo, a first-year conquest at university) played "D-cup" Hiroko in Meisou-ou Border and appeared in Kiss wa Me ni Shite and Zetsuai: 1989, all Orphan releases. Her best known role is Afura Mann in the El Hazard franchise. She also appeared in a number of h-anime.
• Sasaki Yuuko (Sayoko, a hostess and Ryuuchi's long-term mistress) played the title role in Desert Rose and Gilbert in Kaze to Ki no Uta SANCTUS. She played Akiko/Keiko in Wolf Guy, Yuki in Sei Michaela Gakuen Hyouryuuki, and Exper Jiff in Exper Zenon, and she appeared in Amaama to Inazuma, Dokushin Apartment Dokudami-sou, and Yousei-ou, all Orphan releases.
• Ono Kenichi (Yamada) appeared in Akuemon, Bavi Stock, Botchan, Elf 17, Houkago no Tinker Bell, Ipponbouchou Mantarou, Wolf Guy, Ziggy Sore Yuke! R&R Band, and Sei Michaela Gakuen Hyouryuuki, all Orphan releases.
• Yokoo Mari (Naitou Fumie) played Battia in Outlanders, Fumio (the dorm mother) in the Shokugeki no Souma franchise, Mantarou's mother, Kayo, in Ipponbouchou Mantarou, Queen Felicia in Dragon Slayer, and Yuriko in Yuukan Club. The last three are Orphan releases.
• Ichijou Miyuki (Kaizu Toshiko, Ryuuichi's mother) played Akane in Next Senki Ehrgeiz, Gizza in Tottoi (both Orphan releases), and Jody Rockwell in the Yawara! properties. She appeared in several Detective Conan movies.
• Nishimura Tomomichi (Ryuuichi's father) appeared as the narrator in YuYu Hakusho, Anzai-sensei in Slam Dunk, Shibaraku Tsurugibe in Mashin Eiyuuden Wataru, and Jamitov Hymem in Mobile Suit Z Gundam. He had a cameo as Don Dracula in Bremen 4 and appeared in Eguchi Hisashi no Kotobuki Goro Show, Eguchi Hisashi no Nantoka Naru Desho!, Fire Tripper, Fumoon, Hi-Speed Jecy, A Time Slip of 10,000 Years: Prime Rose, Tezuka Osasmu's Tales from the Old Testament, Wild 7, Wolf Guy, and Yamataro Comes Back, all Orphan releases.
• Saka Osamu (Emi's father) played Daisuke Aramaki in the Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex franchise and Oohara in the Oishinbo properties. He appeared in Tezuka Osamu's Tales from the Old Testament, Sanada 10, Next Senki Ehrgeiz, Fire Emblem, Kasei Yakyoku, Oz, and the third Sangokushi movie, all Orphan releases.
• Ohtaki Shinya (Emi's brother) played Beat in Scoopers and Chiefson in Wolf Guy, and he appeared in Elf 17 and Hi-Speed Jecy; the last three are Orphan releases. He also appeared in a number of h-anime.
• Nakahara Shigeru (Kirioka, a high school student with a crush on Emi) played the title role in Arion, Trowa Barton in Gundam Wing, Fujiwara no Takamichi in Haruka Naru Toki no Nake de: Hachyoushou, and Kurama in Kyousogiga. He also played Hyakutaro in Ushiro no Hyakutaro, Fujiwara no Yukitata in Haruka Naru Toki no Nake de 2, Arikawa Yuzuru in Haruka Naru Toki no Nake de 3, and had featured roles in Ziggy Sore Yuke! R&R Band, Ai no Kusabi, Dragon Fist, Dokushin Apartment Doukudami-sou, Chameleon, and Neko Neko Fantasia, all Orphan releases.

The director, Ishikuro Noboru, had an extensive resume with a focus on sci-fi. His projects included Legend of the Galactic Heroes, Megazone 23, and Tytania.

The original script was by Random Masters. M74 transcribed and timed the subtitles from the ACR release. For this release, Perevodildo translation checked, and ninjacloud retimed. I edited and typeset both versions. bananadoyouwanna and M74 QCed the original. ImAWasteOfHair QCed this version. WOWmd ripped the laserdisc on the Domesday Duplicator and encoded it. The result looks much better than the first version. I cannot say the same of Ryuuichi's actions.

Aoki Honoo is competently made and focuses on a character type that is rare in modern anime. There's a lot of nudity and sex, so it's definitely NSFW. If you're interested in spite of that, or because of that, you can get it from the usual torrent sites or from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net

Gakkou no Yuurei (School Ghosts) is an anthology of ghost stories, mostly set at schools. Seven volumes were released between 1995 and 1999. Each volume has multiple, independent stories. Because there's no continuity between volumes, or even stories, Orphan will be releasing this show one volume at a time. The series is technically an orphan, because Flapsubs released one episode and then stopped.

This first volume was supposed to be released for Halloween, but Stuff Happened™. We ended up changing raws twice, first from the KPMP raw to a bespoke raw, and then to a second version of that raw to deal with the need for different frame rates in different sections. As a result, I redid the typesetting twice. The timing was tweaked very late in the process. So, for those reasons, this episode is being released post-election, when horror seems to be the order of the day.

The first volume of Gakkou no Yuurei has six stories:

1. Forgotten Notebook. A late-staying schoolgirl issent home by the janitor, forgets her notebook, and is killed by a train when she turns back for it. She returns later to get it...
   
   
   
   
2. Batting Ghost. The ghost of a baseball coach who killed himself over an accident haunts the school baseball field.
   
   
   
   
3. Cursed Summer Camp. A girls' basketball camp stays overnight at a converted hospital, only to find that the ghosts of former patients still linger.
   
   
   
   
4. Night on a School Trip. Schoolgirls on a trip stay overnight an inn, where the seaside pavilion windows are nailed shut, for a reason.
   
   
   
   
5. Hanako-san. A ghost inhabits the furthermost stall of the girls' bathroom. You can summon her, but you shouldn't.
   
   
   
   
6. Red Eyes. The ghosts of dead warriors haunt the school chemistry lab. You really, really, REALLY mustn't look them in the eye.

Some translation notes:

• As Guardian Enzo points out in his informative essay, the Japanese have two words for ghosts: obake, the quasi-harmless spirits often found in Western popular media, and yuurei, the terrifying spirits of the restless dead. This show is most definitely about the latter.
• The song "You may pass, you may pass..." is from the Japanese children's game Touryanse. The song "Kagome, kagome" is from the Japanese children's game of the same name. Both are quite creepy, and both have appeared in other anime.

Starting with volume 2, Gakkou no Yuurei began including live-action segments. Why? No idea. Perhaps live-action is less expensive to make. However, I find it disconcerting, and the special-effects are unconvincing. 

Volume 2 includes quite a few short segments, both animated and live-action, and some longer stories.

1. Girl Scrambling Up a Wall (animated, short). A girl goes to the music room in a most unusual manner.
   
2. Teke Teke and Bun Bun (live action, short). Three boys investigate a basement that's off-limits for a good reason.
   
3. Hair Tangled in the Horizontal Bar (animated, short). The dangers of gymnastics.
   
4. The Wrath of Kokkuri-san (animated, short). Three girls try their hands at Kokkuri-san. They should have watched Ushiro no Hyakutaro first.
   
5. Sealed Spirits (live-action, short). A school toilet is off-limits, and not because Hanako-kun lives there.
   
6. A Sticky Girl Laughs (animated). Three girls discover a ghost who seemingly just wants to play.
   
   
7. A Sad Father's Love Story (live action). A piano teacher helps a deceased father who missed his daughter's ballet recital find peace.
   
   
   
   
8. Yellow Hand (animated, short). The severed hand of a girl killed in a traffic accident returns.
   
9. A Ghost Holding a Baby (animated, short). A girl is attacked by the ghost of a deceased mother.
10. Late Night Locker (live action, short). A schoolgirl is attacked by spirits while retrieving her homework.
    
11. Boy Drowned in the Pool (animated, short). A drowned boy tries to ensnare other swimmers.
    
12. The Eternal Staircase (live action, short). A teacher encounters a staircase that never ends.
    
13. A Ghost Kicking Its Own Head (animated). A boy killed in a sporting accident haunts the soccer field.
    
    
14. The Spirit of the Music Room (live action). The spirit of a suicidal pianist haunts the music room.

I liked "A Sad Father's Love Story" best, probably because it has a happy ending.

The show has separate casts for the live-action and animated segments. I didn't bother with the live-action actors. Some of the seiyuu in the animated segments include:

• Honma Yukari played Mikako in Kazu & Yasu Hero Tanjou, Ayu in Mermaid Forest, and Yugo in Project Arms.
  
• Yajima Akiko played the title role in Idol Densetu Eriko, Lemon in VS Knight Ramune & 40 Fresh, Takami in Geobreeders, Dorothy in The Big O, Pino in Ergo Proxy, Kogitsune in Natsume Yuujinchou, Mipple in the Futari wa Precure franchise, and the title roles in Shin-men and of course Crayon Shin-chan. She played Lesser Panda (Red Panda) in Shirokuma Cafe, Maijima Karen in Sotsugyousei, and Hikari in Kakyuusei (1995), all Orphan releases.
• Okamura Akemi played Nami in the One Piece franchise, Hinoe in the Natsume Yuujinchou franchise, Fio in Porco Rosso, Risa in Lovely Complex, Mayaya in Kuragehime, Shusui in Saiunkoku Monogatari, and Shiina in Tales of Symphonia, among many other roles.
  
• Hiramatsu Akiko played Nene Romanova in Bubblegum Crisis and Bubblegum Crash, Mekira in Ninku, Tom Kusanagi in Mikan Enikki, Konoe (the security maid) in Hanaukyo Maid Tai, and Miyuki in the You're Under Arrest franchise. She played Ninomiya, the police chief's reckless daughter, in Every Day Is Sunday, and Tano Keiko in Houkago no Tinker Bell, both Orphan releases.
• Hiyama Nobuyuki played Madarame in the Genshiken franchise, Viral in Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, Date in Lime-iro Senkitan, Murata in the Gundam Seed series, Kouyuu Li in Saiunkoku Monogatari, Shin in Cowboy Bebop, and Kiei in the Yu Yu Hakusho franchise. He also played Tokugawa Hidetada in the Sanada 10 special, Kain in Fire Emblem, Roddy in Next Senki Ehrgeiz, and King Penguin in Shirokuma Cafe, all Orphan releases.
• Watanabe Misa played Nefertiri in the One Piece franchise, Akeginu in Basilisk, Queen Beryl in Sailor Moon Crystal, and Nozomi in the World Trigger franchise.
  
• Takahashi Miki starred as Asami in Majo demo Steady (an Orphan release), but she 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 also appeared in Doukyuusei: Climax, an Orphan release.
• Masuda Yuki played Yuki in the two Ultra Nyan OVAs, both Orphan releases. She also played Yanagi in Flame of Recca, Yuri in the Sakura Wars shows, and Nami in La Corda d'Oro.
  
• Arakawa Tarou appeared in Blue Sonnet, Dokushin Apartment Dokudami-sou, and Tezuka Osamu's Tales from the Old Testament, all Orphan releases.
  
• Miura Tomoko appeared in Project Arms and Reideen the Superior.
  
• Kuramochi Ryouko appeared in Gilgamesh and Naruto.
  
• Okamoto Akiko had a few other minor roles.
  
• Nomura Kenji plays Gorou in the current Ao no Miburo and Jinun in Sengoku Youko. Past roles included Tatsuuma Ushiyama in Golden Kamuy, , Reystov in The Faraway Paladin, Sol in Isekai de Mofumofu, Kugayama in Genshiken, Sanosuke in Peace Maker Kurogane, and Kunio in Tactical Roar.
  
• Ogihara Hideki played Toshiya in the Mahoromatic franchise, Ryouta in Soul Link, Ma-kun in Gravitation, and Yamane in the Major franchise. He appeared in two stories in Gakkou no Yuurei volume 1.

The animated segment director, Awai Shigeki, mostly worked in h-anime.

Because the series had been abandoned after one episode, Perevodildo translated volume 2 from scratch. ninjacloud timed. I edited and typeset. Nemesis and ImAWasteOfHair QCed. The caffeinated encoder chose "cafe au lait" as his pseudonym for this episode.

Ghost stories are always going to be a mixed bag, and this volume is more mixed than most. I miss the lack of tonal variation; the stories are always serious and downbeat. But if you want more ghostly doings, you can get this volume of School Ghosts from the usual torrent site or from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net.

It's rare that I am totally baffled by an anime, but this one managed to do it. A one episode OVA from 1991, Mahjong Hishouden: Naki no Ryuu - Hiryuu no Shou (Flying Legend of Mahjong: The Calling Dragon Soaring Dragon Chapter) is half about mahjong and half about yakuza machinations. I found all of it impenetrable. I don't understand mahjong, and I had a hard time untangling the doings of the gangsters.

To make matters more confusing, Naki no Ryuu - Hiryuu no Shou (Mahjong Hishouden doesn't appear in the anime title, only on the box) is a remake of sorts of the second episode in the three volume 1988 OVA also called Mahjong Hishouden: Naki no Ryuu. Thus, it's missing the context that provided by the first episode, and the denouement provided by the third. Why was it remade? No idea. Different animation company, apparently. This one was done by Gainax, so at least it's stylish.

The show centers around a mahjong player known as the Calling Dragon. He is phenomenally lucky and always wins. His specialty is "calling": announcing how he will win before he has acquired the discarded tile he needs. (I think that's right.) Actually, his mahjong play is nothing to write home about, according to people who actually play), and he mostly sits around, smoking and looking cool:

He is so lucky that a yakuza named Kai Shouzou, head of a gang that's part of the Oudou Syndicate, wants to "acquire" the Dragon and his luck for the syndicate. 

Got that? All the Yakuza intrigues are interspersed with mahjong games where the Dragon trounces all comers from behind his cigarette (and sometimes his sunglasses too). There's some bloodshed, a bit of sex, and a whole lot of posturing and mahjong. As for the rest, read the manga or wait until we fansub the three-volume version. (Yeah, it's coming. Don't hold your breath.)

The voice cast includes:

• Ikeda Shuuichi (Dragon) played Char in Mobile Suit Gundam, Gilbert Durandal in Gundam Seed, Ulrich Kessler in Legend of the Galactic Heroes, Alex in Dallos, and Azuma in Starship Troopers. The last two are Orphan releases.
• Jinnai Tatsuyuki (Kai) played Principal Kuno in the original Ranma 1/2 and Hans Hakase in the original Rurouni Kenshin.
• Kobayashi Kiyoshi (Narrator) is best known for playing Jigen in the Lupin the Third TV shows and specials since the inception of the franchise. He also played Sekai in Wild 7, Keiko in Okama Report, and Valhiss in Amon Saga, all Orphan releases.
• Kiyokawa Motomu (Miyoshi, rival gang boss) played Fuyutsuki Kouzou in the recent Evangelion movies, Walter Dornez in Hellsing Ultimate, Charles Auclair in the Nodame Cantabile franchise,  and Gouza in Ars no Kyojuu. He played a prophet in Tezuka Osamu's Tales from The Old Testament and Kosuke as an adult in Sensou Douwa: Boku no Boukuugou, both Orphan releases.
• Ishimori Takkou (Maruko, an Oudou Syndicate underboss) played Cesar in Perrine Monogatari and appeared inMikan Enniki, Usagi Drop, Akai Hayate, and Nagasaki 1945: Angelus no Kane. The last two are Orphan releases.
  
• Hazumi Jun (Murota, an underboss) played Nerigun in Ziggy Soreyuke! R&R Band, an Orphan release. He also appeared in DNA^2, Kemonozume, and the Guyver properties.
• Hosoi Shigeyuki (Sakurada, the Oudou president) played Gopp in Mobile Suit Gundam (the original series).
• Utsumi Kenji (Ishikawa, Kai's successor) played Roah in Fist of the North Star, Kaioh in Fist of the North Star 2, Senbei Norimaki in Dr. Slump and Arale-chan, the village chief in Watt Poe, and Alex Louis Armstrong in both versions of Fullmetal Alchemist. He appeared in Nora, Bavi Stock, Stop!! Hibari-kun!, Techno Police 21C, Don Dracula (title role), 15 Shounen Hyouruuki, and Sanada 10, all Orphan releases.

The director, Dezaki Satoshi, is the older brother of Dezaki Osamu and directed some of the Urusei Yatsura OVAs and movies, as well as Dioxin no Natsu, Yume Kakeru Kougan, Bakumatsu no Spasibo, Boyfriend, and Time Slip Ichimannen Prime Rose, all Orphan releases.

Iri bought the laserdisc for this eons ago but never got around to it. Perevodildo picked it up from Orphan's infinite backlog and translated it. He also did initial timing. Muzussawa, a new contributor to Orphan, consulting on the Mahjong terms and play. Paul Geromini, another new contributor, edited. I typeset and QCed. Eternal_Blizzard fine-timed and QCed. The raw is from a Japanese laserdisc, ripped on the Domesday Duplicator and encoded by an anonymous friend.

As you can probably tell, I'm not enamored of Naki no Ryuu - Hiryuu no Shou. It prioritizes style over substance, and it's about a game I find incomprehensible. Still, it has great style, and that counts for something. You can get your dose of pons, kans, and riichis from the usual torrent site or from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net

Here's a ripe/overripe/rancid piece of Japanese misogyny from 1990, OL Kaizou Kouza (Office Lady Remodeling Course). The AniDB blurb attempts to cast it as a wacky comedy. It's not. At best, it's sarcastic. At worst, it's just bad. How offensive is it? Well, it's based on a monthly column from Weekly Gendai magazine called "Drop Dead! Stupid Office Ladies." The source gives the game away.

The premise of the OVA is that female office workers (derisively called "office ladies" or OL) don't know their place and don't act as subservient robots to the hardworking men who keep Japanese business humming. 

The ten chapters are somewhat topic-focused. Roughly:

1. New employment.
2. The reception desk.
3. Daily work.
4. Beauty.
5. Money.
6. Love.
7. Recreation.
8. Travel.
9. Marriage.
10. Interactions.

A lot of the skits are funny, but I found it a long slog. This was compounded by the vast number of signs, almost all of which had to be motion tracked.

Translation notes:

• "Long is the life, fall in love, office ladies!" This line in the OP/ED parodies an early 20th century song, "Short is the life, fall in love, maidens."
  
• FOB, FAS. These are incoterms, denoting the limits of a seller's responsibilities. FOB (free on board) means the seller's responsibility ends when the goods are loaded on a designated ship. FAS (free alongside ship) means the seller's responsibility ends when the goods are on the dock at the destination port. 
• "A ghost and a mutilated woman." The narrator uses the terms nobbera-bou, meaning faceless ghost, and kuchisaka-onna, meaning a female spirit with a slit mouth.
• "Tampon checker." He actually says "Anne checker." There is a Japanese brand of tampons named for Anne Frank.
  
  
  
  
• Book title "How to Marry an Elite Man." Literally, "a man of three highs," meaning high education, high income, tall.
• "You call me Tama, but my name is Tamamoshirosu." A parody of Tamamo Cross, a famous Japanese racehorse.
  
• "God bless consolation money!" In Japan, the spouse causing the divorce may have to pay consolation money to the other party for the breakdown in the relationship.
• Sakamoto Ryouma was a famous figure in the late Bakumatsu. A westernizer, he was assassinated by a pro-Shogun special force, the Mimawarigumi.

Thanks to Pervodildo and Uchuu for these notes.

As a sketch comedy, there are no named characters. The credited voice cast is quite small:

• Ishimaru Hiroya starred in Koiko Mainichi and gave a bravura performance as the "interpreter" dog Allegro in Bremen 4, both Orphan releases. He also played Rodimus Prime in the various Transformer TV shows, Sengoku Shunsuke in Cyber City Oedo 808, and Kabuto Kouji in the Mazinger Z franchise.
• Sasaki Yuuko played the title role in Desert Rose and Gilbert in Kaze to Ki no Uta SANCTUS. She played Sayoko in Aoki Honoo, Akiko/Keiko in Wolf Guy, Yuki in Sei Michaela Gakuen Hyouryuuki, and Exper Jiff in Exper Zenon, and she appeared in Amaama to Inazuma, Dokushin Apartment Dokudami-sou, and Yousei-ou, all Orphan releases.
• Ootsuka Houchu played Satou in the Ajin properties, Bookman in D.grayman: Hollow, Rob in Shinigami no Kuro Maid, Ziggy in Edens Zero, Tsurumi in Golden Kamuy, the announcer in Yawara!, and Ikezu Daisuke in Asatte Dance, an Orphan release.
• Utsumi Kenji is best known for his roles as Roah in Fist of the North Star, Kaioh in Fist of the North Star 2, and Senbei Norimaki in the Dr. Slump and Arale-chan franchise. He appeared as the village chief in Watt Poe and Alex Louis Armstrong in both versions of Full Metal Alchemist. He played the title role in Don Dracula and appeared in in Nora, Bavi Stock, Stop!! Hibari-kun!, Techno Police 21C, Sanada 10, and 15 Shounen Hyouruuki, all Orphan releases.
• Hoshino Mitsuaki played Carl in Next Senki Ehrgeiz, an Orphan release, and Ryuunosuke in Rescue Wings. He had featured roles in numerous other shows.
• Arikawa Tarou appeared in Blue Sonnet,Tezuka Osamu's Tales from the Old Testament, and Dokushin Apartment Dokudami-sou, all Orphan releases.
  

OL Kaizou Kouza was Kamegaki Hajime's first directing assignment. He went on to direct many other projects, including Fushigi Yuugi, Air Gear, Ayashi no Ceres, Hanasakeru Seishounen, and several Lupin III movies/TV specials.

Like many recent Orphan projects, this one has a long backstory. Iri (I think) bought the VHS tape aeons ago. After encoding, it sat around for a long time and was eventually released as a raw. Perevodildo picked it up, translated it, and rough-timed it. ninjacloud fine-timed. I edited and typeset. Rezo and Uchuu QCed. The encoder was an anonymous friend. The source is a second-hand video tape; it was never released on laserdisc or digital media. You can understand why. There's a sequel, of sorts, Oji-san Kaizou Kouza. WOWmd is threatening to buy and encode it.

I can't really recommend OL Kaizou Kouza, although I hope you'll admire the typesetting. It reflects attitudes that I wish had changed and probably haven't. There's a tiny amount of sex and nudity, not enough to condemn (or redeem) 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.

Well, it's that time of the year again. In the immortal words of Otis B. Driftwood, "Let joy be unconfined. Let there be dancing in the streets, drinking in the saloons, and necking in the parlor."

In the meantime, stay safe, stay warm, and stay happy. "Stay sober" is too much to ask for.

Between the Halloween release of Cat-Eyed Boy episodes 4, 5, and 6, and this Christmas release of episodes 7 and 8, the anime world lost two major contributors of particular relevance to this show: the author of the original manga, Kazuo Umezz, and the seiyuu who voiced Cat-Eyed Boy himself, Junko Hori; they were 88 and 89, respectively. Umezz Kazuo was best known as a horror mangaka, for works such as The Drifting Classroom and Cat-Eyed Boy, but his works span a far broader range: comedies such as Makoto-chan and science fiction such as My Name Is Shingo. Junko Hori voiced the title roles in the Ninja Hattori-san franchise, Rain Boy, Chinpui, and of course, Cat-Eyed Boy, and appeared in numerous other shows. They will both be missed.

These two episodes of Cat-Eyed Boy don't differ materially from the previous ones, except for the monster of the week. Cat-Eyed Boy is continuing his lonely journey to find his mother. He meets a kind woman or girl who befriends him and offers him comfort, reminding him of his mother. Then, the monster appears. Cat-Eyed Boy must fight and defeat the creature, often at great cost to himself and greater cost to his new-found friend(s).

• Episode 7 - The Nullface's Curse. Cat-Eyed boy saves a young woman named Misako from  a vicious dog. He also unknowingly unleashes a powerful spirit that had been locked in a tomb for centuries. The spirit looks like a stone soldier come to life

but is in fact the Nullface:

• Episode 8 - The Hellant. Cat-Eyed Boy meets Yae, a pilgrim visiting a spirit medium in hopes of talking to her deceased son. He goes along, to see if his mother is dead or alive. Both get what they want, but they must confront the resident spirit, the Hellant:

The credits, so carefully translated, only have room for five or six voice actors. Two are always Junko Hori (Cat-Eyed Boy) and Katsuhiko Ikeda (Narrator). The others in episode 7 are:

• Saiko Egawa (Misako) appeared in Mazinger Z, Reideen the Brave, and under her real name, The Masterful Cat Is Depressed Again Today.
• Kyoko Kano (Sumi) appeared in Yatterman.
• Seizo Katou (Nullface) played Jashinsai in Tengai Makyou, Admiral Putyatin in Bakumatsu Spasibo, Ii Naosuke in Hidamari no Ki, Abraham in Tezuka Osamu's Tales from the Old Testament, Norbert in Apfelland Monogatari, Hatsutori Juuzou in Kage, Billy Bones in Shin Takarajima, the old stationmaster in Sotsugyou: Graduation, Nanni Spannu in Tottoi, and Jeigan in Fire Emblem, all Orphan releases. He had many other featured roles in the span of a 50 year career.

In episode 8:

• Saiko Egawa (Yae) - see above
• Michirou Okada (Hellant) appeared in Manxmouse and Kuroi Ame ni Utarete, both Orphan releases. He also played Ru Shako in the Armored Trooper Votoms franchise, the chief in the You're Under Arrest franchise, and the narrator in the Transformers movies.
• Aso Miyoko (Medium) played Fune Isano, the main character in Sazae-san, for 45 years, Cologne in the original Ranma 1/2 franchise, Pinako Rockbell in the original Fullmetal Alchemist, Melmo's mother in Fushigi na Melmo, the grandmother in Lucy May of the Southern Rainbow and Maegami-Taro, and Machiko's aunt in Maicching Machiko-sensei. She appeared in Bocchan, Nine, Blue Sonnet, and Yamatarou Comes Back, all Orphan release.
• Toshiko Sawada (Pilgrim A) appeared in Akado Suzunosuke, Appleseed, Akane Sasu Shoujo, Hello WeGo!, Judo Santa, and Zillions. She played Asuza's mother in Laughing Target, an Orphan release.

Once again, Skr was the driving force behind this release. He translated, timed, edited, typeset the credits, and encoded the show. kokujin-kun helped with translation checking. I did a little actual typesetting. Nemesis and Skr QCed.

I'm glad the team was able to get more Cat-Eyed Boy episodes out this year, both to honor its now departed principals and to keep up the momentum on this long project. You can get these episodes of Cat-Eyed Boy from the usual torrent site or from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net. 

P.S. It's also CP Day, the anniversary of the passing our good friend and teammate, CP. He was a major contributor to many Orphan projects.

Orphan doesn't often do holiday releases and has never done a Christmas show, as best I can remember, so here's a first: the 1991 shoujo OVA Ichigatsu ni wa Christmas (A Christmas in January). This show has already been subbed, by OldCastle back in 2019. They used an "unknown Internet raw," so one of the team bought the Japanese laserdisc, and our media maven ripped it on the the Domesday Duplicator. The intent was to put the OldCastle script on a better raw, but the project never got any further than shifting the script to a raw... until recently. Perevodildo, in his relentless drive to clean out Orphan's translation backlog (and convert it to an editing/typesetting backlog stuck at me), translation checked the show and added the songs. After that, there were no more excuses for delay.

Ichigatsu ni wa Christmas started as a short story by Iwadate Mariko, published in Margeret magazine. However, it is not part of the Margaret video series, nor is it a typical girl-meets-boy, girl-loses-boy, girl-gets-boy shoujo. Instead, it's a character study of two rather damaged individuals who meet by chance, and after several misunderstandings, are able to help each other. It has a happy ending, sort of, but not the usual one. I wasn't very enamored of it on first viewing, but it grew on me when I checked it for release. It's a Christmas-season story that's not a Christmas story.

Fujioka Junsho is a college student and part-time shoe salesman, living at his father's temple. One day in December, a rather young-looking girl named Tateno Mizuki comes in, looking for boots. 

As it turns out, Mizuki lives next door, so other encounters follow, often heated. 

The voice cast includes:

• Hayashibara Megumi (Mizuki) was arguably the most famous seiyuu of the 1990s. She starred as Faye Valentine in Cowboy Bebop, Ayanami Rei in Evangelion, Rune Balot in the Mardock Scramble movies, Rebecca in One Piece, Lina in the Slayers franchise, female Ranma in Ranma 1/2, Rihoko in Ninku, and Miyokichi in Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju. She also played a number of feline roles, including the title roles in the All Purpose Cultural Cat Girl Nuku Nuku and Hello Kitty franchises, as well as "lead cat" Iruinedo in Oruorane the Cat Player, an Orphan release. She played Marina in Ai to Ken no Camelot, Navi in Izumo (1991), and Clair in Hashire Melos!, also Orphan releases.
• Koyasu Takehito (Junsho) is reputed to be the most prolific voice actor currently active, with more than 365 roles under his belt. He played Doujima Gin in Shokugeki no Souma, Thirteen in Grimoire of Zero, Dio in Jojo's Bizarre Adventures, the title role in Master of Mosquitron, and Fool in Elegant Yokai Apartment Life. He starred as Izumi in Zetsuai and Bronze and appeared in Sanada 10, Kiss wa Me ni Shite, Yamato 2520, and Yuukan Club, all Orphan releases.
• Hidaka Noriko (Seiko) played Satsuke in My Neighbor Totoro, Minami (the female lead) in Touch, Akane (the female lead) in Ranma 1/2, Peter in Peter Pan no Bouken, Mrs. Yamada (the mother) in the first two Chii anime series, Near in Death Note, and Kikyo in the Inuyasha franchise. She also played Haruo in Senso Douwa: Yakeato no, Okashi no Ki, Yuuki in Boyfriend, Noriko in Yuukan Club, and Harumi in Mikeneko Holmes, all Orphan releases.
• Futamata Issei (Bouya, Junsho's co-worker) is best known for his roles as Godai Yuusaku in Maison Ikkoku, Akira (Chibi) in Urusei Yatsura, and Saburo in Sazae-san. He starred as Ippei in Ore no Sora and Yoshio in Dokushin Apartment Dokudami-sou, and he played Kouji Tanaka in Okama Hakusho, Ishida, coach's assistant, in One Pound Gospel, the psychopathic brother, Cross, in Hi-Speed Jecy, and mutliple characters in Fukuyama Gekijou, all Orphan releases.
• Fujimoto Yuzuru (Junsho's father) played the sympathetic Professor Hanagi in Al Caral no Isan, an Orphan release, and numerous other featured roles in a career that spanned 50 years.
• Hori Katsunosuke (Mizuki's stepfather) played Gaou in Hi no Tori: Karma Chapter, Saruta in Hi no Tori: Space Chapter, Ibikari in Kizuoibito, and Professor Xavier in X-Men, the TV series.
  

The director, Dezaki Satoshi, is the older brother of Dezaki Osamu and directed some of the Urusei Yatsura OVAs and movies, as well as Yume Kakeru Kougan, Bakumatsu no Spasibo, Boyfriend, Inochi no Chikyuu: Dioxin no Natsu, and Time Slip Ichimannen Prime Rose, all Orphan releases.

Perevodildo translation checked the original OldCastle script; the revisions are extensive. ninjacloud fine timed. I edited and typeset. Nemesis and Uchuu QCed. The raw is a Japanese laserdisc, ripped and encoded by an anonymous friend.

Ichigatsu ni wa Christmas is a Christmas show for people who find most Christmas shows treacly, sappy, or both. There's nary a "ho ho ho" or a "Tis the season" in sight. The two main characters are prickly, angry, and hard to like, and their journey, neither revelatory nor complete, seems possible if not totally plausible. 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.

As I wrote in my blog post on Kuro ga Ita Natsu artists have grappled for more than a century with the problem of presenting massive tragedies, such as the atomic bombings or the Holocaust, in ways that are neither overwhelming nor overly distancing. Usually, the stories focus on survivors, for who else is left to tell the tale? The 1988 TV special Natsufuku no Shoujo-tachi: Hiroshima, Shouwa 20-nen 8-gatsu Muika (Girls in Summer Clothes: Hiroshima, August 6, 1945) takes a different approach to the bombing of Hiroshima: it lets the dead speak for themselves, through their diaries and journals and through the memories of their surviving relatives. It packs a punch all outsized to its 35 minute runtime.

Natsufuku no Shoujo-tachi focuses on the first-year girls of Hiroshima Prefectural First Girls' High School. The second- and third-year girls had been drafted to work in factories, so only the 220 first-year girls were still attending school. They were out clearing rubble when the bomb detonated. All of them died, in the explosion or the radioactive aftermath. The show alternates anime segments, set in 1945, with "present-day" (1988) remembrances of the lost by surviving relatives.

The show focuses particularly on three girls: Morikawa Yoko, who lived in Miyajima and had to commute to school by boat and train; 

Okutsu Hitomi's mother, who was 93 when the film was made, remembers her daughter by a class photograph. Oshita Nobuko's parents, 84 and 80, treasure the summer clothes that their daughter was wearing when the bomb hit. 

(Eventually, they donated the fragile outfit to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum.) And Morikawa Yoko's brother, who was away at the time, reads excerpts from Yoko's diary, which survived. This short document (published in English as Yoko's Diary) illuminates the girls' lives in the spring and summer before the bombing.

The seiyuu in the show have no other anime credits. For example, the narrator, Sugiura Keiko, was an announcer in Hiroshima. The children were voiced by actors from the Japan Children's Theater Company, and their song was sung by the Hiroshima Broadcasting Children's Choir. The animated segments were directed by Hirata Toshio, an industry veteran who started at Toei and then worked at Mushi Pro. Hirata directed two Unico movies, Barefoot Gen 2, Hi no Tori: Yamata Chapter, and Grimm Douwa: Kin no Tori, an Orphan release.

One translation note. The song the girls sing to celebrate the completion of their summer clothes is Natsu wa Kinu, a traditional song written in literary Japanese.

I stumbled across an earlier release of this show on BakaBT and was disturbed by the admission that 20% of the show wasn't subbed. I found the ISO, got a colleague to encode it, and asked Perevodildo to do a new translation. ninjacloud retimed. I edited and typeset. Nemesis and Uchuu QCed. The editing and typesetting were routine, except for the content, which tore me to pieces. The encode is only minimally cropped. The borders vary from segment to segment, so many segments have narrow black lines on both sides.

Does anyone need to watch Natsufuku no Shoujo-tachi, particularly in the holiday season? Actually, everyone does. To quote a song from my youth,

Let's face it: the world does not need another version of the 1994 OVA Plastic Little. kuraze spent years wrestling decent video from the DVD releases, and his version is unlikely to be surpassed unless or until a remastered source becomes available. But as Wesley so acutely remarks in The Princess Bride, "There's a shortage of perfect breasts in this world," and who draws them better than Urushihara Satoshi, the "Master of Breasts" as Wikipedia calls him? Plastic Little is one of only a handful of his anime works, and a chance to revisit it cannot be overlooked.

The origin of this release dates back to the early years of the Domesday Duplicator. Back then, enthusiasts noted that DdD captures of Japanese laserdiscs often looked better than the slipshod DVD releases of composite sources. (Amon Saga, Golden Boy, and Initial D are examples, as was Project A-Ko, until the original film masters were found.) So our intrepid encoder bought a laserdisc of Plastic Little, ripped it, and encoded it. I didn't think that another version was warranted, so the raw lay unused until Perevodildo found it. He did think that a new version was warranted, and here it is. The video probably needed more tweaking - LDs often have color balance or gamma correction issues - but with Urushihara's talents on unfettered display, who's paying attention? And this version is the first with a thorough translation check of the familiar R1 script (which is, to be fair, pretty good).

Plastic Little is set in the distant future on the gas giant Ietta. (The planet has little or no metal, so everything is made out of plastic; hence the title.) Tita Mu Koshigawa is captain of the Cha Cha Maru, which was once her father's. 

If the plot sounds a bit generic, it is. The story is a collection of set pieces: chases, explosions, interactions among the lively supporting characters, and of course, opportunities for Tita and Elysse to get naked.

• Fuchizaki Yuriko (Tita) played the title roles in Metantei Loki Ragnarok, Musashi no Ken, and Bit the Cupid, Ibuki in Maison Ikoku, Michael in Peter Pan no Bouken, June in Sol Bianca, Anthy in Revolutionary Girl Utena, Li Kouran in the Sakura Taisen franchise, and Sanosuke in the original Rurouni Kenshin TV series.
• Shiina Hekiru (Elysse) played Rurubell in Megami Paradise, an Orphan release, Hikaru in the Rayearth series, Asami in Seirei Tsukai, Fam in Hikyou Tanken Fam & Ihrlie, Rockman in the Rockman Hoshi ni Negai wo OVAs, Alpha in the Yokohama Country Cafe OVAs, and Nene (the protagonist's perverted younger sister) in the Seitokai Yakuindomo franchise.
• Yamaguchi Kappei (Nichol Hawking) played the title roles in the Detective Conan, Ranma 1/2, and Inuyasha franchises, Usopp in the One Piece franchise, Sakuma Ryuichi in Gravitation, Arslanin the Arslan no Senki OVA series, and the title role in Mouse, among many others. He played Billia in Tottoi, Matsuoka Eiji in Chameleon, Shibuya in Zetsuai 1989 and Bronze: Zetsuai Since 1989, and Tooru in Boyfriend, all Orphan releases.
• Wakamoto Norio (Joshua Balboa) played the title role in The Gargoyle of the Yoshinagas, Vicious in Cowboy Bebop, Cell in the Dragonball franchise, Katakuriko in the Gintama franchise, Oda Nobunaga in the Sengoku Basara franchise, Guren in Ushio to Tora TV, Shining Saotome in the Uta no Prince-sama franchise, and Oskar von Reuenthal in Legend of the Galactic Heroes. He also appeared as Sakakibara in Sanada 10, Noa in Choujikuu Romanesque Samy: MISSING 99, York Denman in Apfelland Monogatari, Major Thrauza in Yamato 2520, Denon in Amon Saga, the Tengenji underboss in Koiko no Mainichi, and the Narrator in Joker: Marginal City, all Orphan releases.
• Yokozawa Keiko (Mei Lin) is probably best known for her starring role as Sheeta in Castle in the Sky. She played the title roles in Charlotte (1977), the Dorami-chan properties, and ESPer Mami, as well as a leading role in Legend of Lemnear (another Usushihara Satoshi OVA). She also played Pandora in Akuma-tou no Prince Mitsume ga Tooru and Yukari in Karuizawa Syndrome, both Orphan releases.
• Ootsuka Chikao (Mikhail Diagilev) played Kaibara Yuuzan in the Oishinbo specials, Gennosuke in Sugata Sanshirou, Nikolai Rednov in Fumoon, and General Presto in Bremen 4, all Orphan releases. He played Tora in the original Ushio to Tora, Joseph Joestar in the original JoJo's Bizarre Adventures, Captain Hook in Peter Pan no Bouken, and Hades in Arion.
• Nakao Ryuusei (Roger Rogers) played the lead in Igano Kabamaru, King Falke in ACCA, Hephaestion in Alexander's Decision, and Freeza/Cooler in Dragon Ball. He also played Akio in Chameleon, Peat Cullen in AWOL Compression Remix, and Puu in Captain Bal, all Orphan releases.
• Yanaka Hiroshi (Guizel) played Shiba in the remake of Piano and Gorou in the Free! franchise. He played Yuurakutei in Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinji and appeared in Noragami, Nanbaka, Terraformars, Wild 7, Hidamari no Ki, and Tezuka Osamu's Tales from the Old Testament. The last three are Orphan releases.
• Akimoto Yousuke (Nalerov, Guizel's henchman) played Principal Ikebe in Mellow, Ookubo Sagaminokami Tadachika in Sanada 10, and appeared in Apfelland Monogatari, Genji, Part 1, Wild 7, and Dokushin Apartment Dokidami-sou, all Orphan releases. He also appeared in Stratos 4, Sisters of Wellber, Princess Lover, The Sacred Blacksmith, and Black Summoner.
  

The director, Yoshimoto Kinji, collaborated with Urushihara on several other projects, including Legend of Lemnear, two Queen's Blade series, and the h-anime Front Innocent. He also directed Genshiken 2 and Sin: Natatsu no Taizai.

As noted above, the project originated with an enthusiastic (anonymous) encoder. I shifted kuraze's subs to the LD raw. Perevodildo translation checked. ninjacloud fine timed. Topper3000 and ImAWasteOfHair QCed. I had no trouble finding volunteers for this show.

So... do I really have to give you a reason to watch Plastic Little again? The show is amazing fanservice and lively characters wrapped around a "little guys vs the big bad" sci-fi plot. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the stunning character designs of Urushihara Satoshi in one of his few anime outings. You can get the show from the usual torrent site or from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #new on irc.rizon.net.

A year of retreads and repeats, none of them good: War in Ukraine. War in the Middle East. Famine in Sudan. Famine in Gaza. Covid and flu and RSV, oh my. Donald Trump, the once-and-future president. It's all downhill now.

Let's start out 2025 on a scary note, 'cause it's gonna be a scary year. Gakkou no Yuurei (School Ghosts), volume 3, features more supernatural doings on Japanese school campuses. (How come the schools I attended never had any of this sort of thing?) The segments are all the same length, a format I like better than the mix of short and long segments in volume 2.

The six segments in volume 3 are:

1. The Hateful Rabbit (animated). Some school bullies seek revenge on another student by killing the rabbits he takes care of. They get much more than they bargained for.
   
   
   
   
2. Closed Room (live-action). Three bored schoolgirls decided to test their courage by visiting a forbidden basement room where ghosts supposedly reside. (They do.)
   
   
   
   
3. Kamaitachi (animated). Two boys taking a shortcut through an unused tunnel discover that it is inhabited by the battling ghosts of dead samurai. The ghost swords can't seem to hurt them, but perhaps that's not entirely true...
   
   
   
   
4. Filled-In Pond (live-action). The ghost of a drowned girl haunts a schoolteacher.
   
   
   
   
5. The Devil's Convex Mirror (animated). A corner mirror intended to show crossing traffic seems to show a schoolgirl the future instead. This is not the blessing it appears to be.
   
   
   
   
6. The Soldier Who Returned (live-action). The ghost of a soldier killed in World War II haunts a schoolyard. He was supposed to meet the girl he loved there, but he was called up and shipped out before the scheduled meeting.
   

One translation note: Kamaitachi usually means a weasel yokai, but it can also mean a cut administered by a whirlwind.

As with volume 2, I've only looked up the seiyuu from the animated segments, not the actors from the live-action segments.

• Orikasa Ai 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 Hanamura in Houkago no Tinker Bell, Hibino Aya in Asatte Dance, Enrico in Dioxin no Natsu, Carrie in Ziggy Sore Yuke! R&R Band, Sara in Eien no Filena, Toryune in Al Caral no Isan, Katchan's mother in Tako ni Natta Okaasan, the narrator in Boku no Boukuugou, Made, Ayuuru's sister, in B.B. Fish, and young Mars in Fire Emblem, all Orphan releases.
  
• Nishihara Kumiko played Iris in the Sakura Wars franchise and Renko in Kujibiki Unbalance, both OVAs and TV series. She played Fhalei Rue in Ryokunohara Labyrinth and appeared in Kakyuusei (1995), Kosuke-sama Rikimaru-sama: Konpeitou no Ryuu, Zetsuai 1989, Dragon Fist, Tenkousei, and Blazing Transfer Student, all Orphan releases.
• Tanaka Atsuko played Mauve in ACCA, Nena Hargen in Aika, Cassandra in Alexander: Reign the Conqueror, Caster in the Fate franchise, Motoko Kusanagi in the GITS franchise, Bynas in Ozma, Claudette in Queen's Blade, and Jagara in Wolf's Rain. She also played the nameless female lead in Heart Cocktail Again, Yuri in Nemure Omoigo, Sora no Shitone ni, new Mamamega in Megami Paradise, and Dana in AWOL Compression Remix, all Orphan releases
• Tomoko Miura played Katsumi in Project Arms and Miya in Mirage of Blaze.
• Morikawa Toshiyuki took over the role of dad Nohara Hiroshi in the Crayon Shin-chan franchise. He played lead roles in Gallery Fake, Yami no Matsui, Kyou Kara Maou, and numerous other shows. He's also a regular in Orphan's releases. He played the lead role in Ear of the Golden Dragon, Wolf Guy, and Nozomi Witches, as well as delinquent student Fuwa in Mellow, Kazuma in Bakuen Campus Guardress, and Inspector Kendo in the Kindaichi Shounen no Jikenbo series. He delivered a scene-stealing performance as Panda Mama in Shirokuma Cafe. He also appeared in Al Caral no Isan, Akai Hayate, Dragon Fist, Kiss wa Mi ni Shite, Blazing Transfer Student, and Wild 7.
• Murozono Takehiro played Antonio in Inochi no Chikyuu: Dioxin no Natsu, an Orphan release, and had featured roles in numerous shows, including the Macross 7 franchise, Vampire Miyu, Fullmetal Panic, Hanada Shounen-shi, Monster, and Tsurune.
• Yokoyama Chisa played the title roles in Galaxy Fraulein Yuna, Iron Virgin Jun, and the Sakura Taisen franchise, as well as Sasami/Pretty Sammy in the Tenchi Muyo franchise. She played Nonoka in Princess Army, Hu Ssu, the were-tiger, in Wolf Guy, Flute in Hameln no Violin Hiki, and Mami in Boyfriend, all Orphan releases. 
• Kamei Yoshiko played the title role inRerere no Tensai Bakabon, Gema in the Di Gi Charat franchise, and Nyan in Ultra Nyan: Hoshizora kara Maiorita Fushigi Neko, an Orphan release. She has had featured roles in Magical Meow Meow Taruto and Tiger and Bunny.
• Tano Megumi played Heigorou in the Inazuma Eleven franchise, Osamu in Mittsume ga Tooru, and Sanzo in Monkey Magic.
• Asano Mayumi played Chizuru Godai in Dance Dance Danseur, Hilda in Eureka Seven, Claus in Last Exile, Mai in Smile Down the Runway, Gascogne in Vandread, and Blue in Wolf's Rain. 
• Itou Kentarou 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), Tadokoro in Yowamushi Pedal, and Dr. Akizuki in Nagasaki 1945: Angelus no Kane, an Orphan release.
  

The director, Yazaki Shigeru, also directed Kyuuketsuki, an h-anime.

Most of the usual suspects were involved in this episode. Perevodildo translated and did the initial timing. ninjacloud fine-timed to the final encode. I edited and typeset. Nemesis and Topper3000 QCed. The encode is by our anonymous caffeinated friend, this time enjoying a salted caramel latte.

I've already said my piece on this series. The quality of the stories varies, and the live-action segments look a bit cheesy. Still, the multi-segment format means that the stories get their points across quickly, and the duds don't linger too long. You can get this volume of Gakkou no Yuurei from the usual torrent site or from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net.

Seirei Tsukai (Elementalors), not to be confused with Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance, is a one-shot OVA based on a manga by Okazaki Takeshi, who also wrote Explorer Woman Ray. Released in 1995, it was one of the first OVAs to be fansubbed, with the first version released in the VHS-fansub era. It has some resemblance to 1994's Bakuen Campus Guardress - epic battles among super-powered heroes and villains to determine the fate of the world - but Bakuen was a parody, while Seirei Tsukai takes itself completely seriously.

The story opens with a beautiful (and fetchingly unclothed) blonde woman, apparently some sort of ice spirit, getting subdued and imprisoned.

• Shiina Hekiru (Asami) played Rurubell in Megami Paradise and Elysse in Plastic Little, both Orphan releases, as well as Hikaru in the Rayearth series, Fam in Hikyou Tanken Fam & Ihrlie, Rockman in the Rockman Hoshi ni Negai wo OVAs,  Alpha in the Yokohama Country Cafe OVAs,and Nene (the protagonist's perverted younger sister) in the Seitokai Yakuindomo franchise.
• Midorikawa Hikaru (Kagura) played the title role in Sakamoto desu ga?, Softon in Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo, Heero Yuy in Gundam Wing, Tamahome in Fushigi Yuugi, Shi Seiran in Saiunkoku Monogatari, Kaede Rukawa in Slam Dunk, Zelgadis Greywords in Slayers, Gen in the OVA version of MAPS, and Ryuu Hou in s-CRY-ed. He played Muraoka in B.B. Fish and Mars in Fire Emblem, both Orphan releases
• Inoue Kazuhiko (Shiki) starred as Yamaoka Shirou in Oishinbo, Yuki Eiri in Gravitation, the title role in Cyborg 009, Gorou in Moonlight Mile, Tachibana no Tomomasa in Haruka Naru Toki no Nake de: Hachyoushou, and my favorite role, the irascible, sake-swilling Nyanko-sensei in the Natsume Yuujichou franchise. He also played Leslie Madoff in Michite Kuru Toki no Mukou ni, Arthur in Ai to Ken no Camelot, Ando Shiro in Dioxin no Natsu, Saiki Haruka in Tobira o Akete, Iori in Tomoe's Run!, Kanuma Hayate in Akai Hayate, Ryousuke in Daishizen no Majuu Bagi, Kitten Smith in Starship Troopers, Liu Bei Xuande in both Sangokushi TV specials, Ayako in Lunn Flies into the Wind, Nakatsugawa in Boyfriend, Jinpachi Nezu in Sanada 10, Katsuhiko in Hiatari Ryouko, Minamoto no Yoshitsune in Genji, Part 1, Hisui in Haruka Naru Toki no Nake de 2, and Kajiwara Kagetoki in Haruka Naru Toki no Nake de 3, all Orphan releases.
• Sakuma Rei (Tsuyuha) played Batako in Soreike! Appanman, April in Sol Bianca, Peorth in Ah! My Goddess, the title role in Aika, Shampoo in Ranma 1/2, Vena in Dragon Half, Kitty White in Hello Kitty, and Mii in Muumin. She also played Lady Aoi in Bakuen Campus Guardress, Yukihime in Tengai Makyou, Naru in Blue Sonnet, Carmencita in Starship Troopers, and Belga the pirate in Cosmic Fantasy, all Orphan releases.
• Matsumoto Yasunori (Sai) starred as Ushiro in Ushiro no Hyakutaro, Akira in Mellow, 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 Houkago no Tinker Bell, Ziggy Sore Yuke! R&R Band, Seikimatsu: Humane Society, Fukuyama Gekijou: Natsu no Himitsu, and Al Caral no Isan, also Orphan releases. Among his other 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.
• Yamazaki Wakana (Chiaki, Sai's Deepa) played Mao Lan in Fighting Beauty Wulong and Mouri Ran in the Detective Conan franchise. She played Sonya in Dragon Slayer Eiyuu Densetsu and appeared in Chameleon, both Orphan releases.
• Shibata Hidekatsu (Koimura, the Steel Elementalor) played Baron Ashura in Mazinger Z, Kenzou Kabuto in Great Mazinger, King Bradley in both versions of Fullmetal Alchemist, and the Third Hokage in Naruto. He played Sun Quon in the Sangokushi movies, the hero's father in Dragon Fist, Funakoshi in Ushiro no Hyakutaro, and the voice of God in Tezuka Osamu's Tales from the Old Testament, all Orphan releases.
• Minaguchi Yuuko (Shiohisa) is best known for Yawara!, her breakout and defining role. She starred in numerous other shows, including Bosco Adventure, Dragon Ball Z and GT, Sailor Moon, One Piece, and Alexander (Reign: The Conqueror). She played Kii in Greed, Yumi in Blue Sonnet, Frieda in Apfelland Monogatari, Saki in Singles, Hoshimi in Maps, and Felicia in Oz, all Orphan releases.
• Orikasa Ai (Hisae) 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 Hibino Aya in Asatte Dance, Enrico in Dioxin no Natsu, Carrie in Ziggy Sore Yuke! R&R Band, Sara in Eien no Filena, Toryune in Al Caral no Isan, Hanamura in Houkago no Tinker Bell, Katchan's mother in Tako ni Natta Okaasan, the narrator in Boku no Boukuugou, Made, Ayuuru's sister, in B.B. Fish, and young Mars in Fire Emblem, all Orphan releases.
• Iwao Junko (Kana) starred as Mima in Perfect Blue. She played the title role in Ayashi no Ceres and Key the Metal Idol, Jun in Devilman Lady, Tomoyo in Card Captor Sakura, and Mayuka in Tenchi Muyou: Manatsu no Eve. She appeared in Kakyuusei (1995) and Gakkou no Yuurei volume 1, both Orphan releases.
  
• Okiayu Ryoutarou (Shizuku) starred as the title roles in Gambler Densetsu Tetsuya, Toriko, and Keppeki Danshi! Aoyama-kun, Mitsui Hisashi in Slam Dunk, Matsura Yuu in Marmalade Boy, Jinnai Katsuhiko in the El-Hazard franchise, Nueno Meisuke in the Hell Teacher Nube series,Samejima Ranmaru in Kizuna, Souma Shigure in Fruits Basket (2003), Berserker in Fate/Zero, Hideyoshi in Sengoku Basara, and Atsushi in Recorder to Ransel. He also played depressed student Yamazaki in Mellow, Takao-san in Let's Nupu Nupu, Abel in Fire Emblem, Gion in Okane ga nai!, Akram in Haruka Naru Toki no Nake de 2 (a repeat of his role in Haruka Naru Toki no Nake de: Hachyoushou), and Hakuryuu in Haruka Naru Toki no Nake de 3, all Orphan releases.

The director, Akiyama Katsuhito, directed many other shows, including Bubblegum Crisis, Sol Bianca, Bastard, Monkey Turn, and Inozuma Eleven.

By now, it should be clear that I didn't much care for Seirei Tsukai, so you might reasonably ask why Orphan did the show. The answer is, basically, it seemed like a good idea at the time. The cover art was striking, all the readily available versions were based on VHS tapes, and the laserdisc was inexpensive. I bought the disc, an anonymous friend ripped it on the Domesday Duplicator and encoded it, and then... nothing happened. Eventually, Orphan released the show as a raw. Perevodildo found it and translation checked the existing fansubs. ninjacloud fine-timed. I edited and typeset. ImAWasteOfHair and Rezo QCed.I should mention that the "special attack" names make no sense, so Perevodildo simply left the originals alone. And I don't care; do you?

So here's Seirei Tsukai, in a new, shinier version. It has some (female) nudity; it's NSFW. 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.

More ghostly doings in Japanese schools. Gakkou no Yuurei (School Ghosts), volume 4, is much like volume 3: six segments of about the same length, both animation and live-action.

The six segments in volume 4 are:

1. Death Doll (animated). The beloved doll of a girl killed in World War II brings destruction on anyone who hurts her, accidentally or otherwise.
   
   
   
   
2. Behind Me (live-action). Ever hear the story about how to summon a ghost at school. If you do, you'll never hear another...
   
   
   
   
3. The Animal Spirit That Saved My Life (animated). A girl is brought back from the brink of death by her determined dog, who refuses to let her cross the Sanzo River to the afterlife.
   
   
   
   
4. Wandering Feet (live-action). A pair of detached legs in geta haunts a school where she was separated from her mother in a flood and drowned.
   
   
   
   
5. Boy at the Crossroads (live-action). There's a ghostly boy at an intersection. You must never, never, never make eye contact with him.
   
   
   
   
6. Jogging Old Man (live-action). A newbie jogger receives encouragement and jogging companionship from a cheerful old man. After he calls to say goodbye, the newbie finds out that the old man had been bedridden for a year...
   

The voice actors in the animated segments are:

• Ikezawa Haruna played Nagisa in CLAMP School Detectives, Christine in Daa! Daa! Daa!, Luna in the Gravion series, Noriko in Gravitation, Momoka in the Sgt. Frog franchise, Yoshino in the Maria Watches over Us franchise, Caimie in One Piece, and Broye in the Uma Musume series.
  
• Watanabe Misa played Akeginu in Basilisk, Eriko in Gilgamesh, and Mattsu in Mattsu to Yama to Moburi-san.
  
• Yamaguchi Kappei 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 first OVA series, and the title role in Mouse, among many others. He played Billia in Tottoi, Matsuoka Eiji in Chameleon, Shibuya in Zetsuai 1989 and Bronze: Zetsuai Since 1989, and Tooru in Boyfriend, all Orphan releases.
• Yamazaki Takumi played Hans in A.D. Police, Kasugaigarasu in Demon Slayer, Kayneth in Fate/Zero, Yata in the .hack franchise, Isamu in Macross Plus, Jyoji in Monkey Turn, and Ferio in the Rayearth franchise. She appeared in Tottoi and Wolf Guy, both Orphan releases.
  
• Katsuhisa Houki played Gamo Bicchunokami Yorisato in Sanada 10, an Orphan release. He appeared in Hand Maid Mai; Tiger & Bunny, Babylon, Burst Angel, Fire Force, Ghost Talker's Daydream, and House of Five Leaves.
• Hikami Kyouko played Momoko in Wedding Peach, Pastel in Megami Paradise, Momo in Ultra Nyan, and Sara in Hand Maid May. The last three are Orphan releases.
  
• Hisakawa Aya 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 played Yoshiko in Ushiro no Hyakutaro, Natsuki in Kimama ni Idol, Marine in Nana Toshi Monogatari, Shizuka in Sotsugyou: Graduation, Mishima Misako in Yume Tsukai, Shana in Al Caral no Isan, Sonia in Ziggy Sore Yuke! R&R Band, Tomoko in Sensou Douwa: Boku no Boukuugou, and Koneko in Ear of the Golden Dragon, all Orphan releases.
• Matsumoto - 松本大 - 10187
• Takagi Wataru played the title role in Great Teacher Onizuka, Nezumi in the 1996 and 2007 versions of GeGeGe no Kitarou, his namesake, as well as other recurring roles, in the Detective Conan franchise, old man Gorou in the recent Godzilla S.P., and Takeshi in Kakyuusei (1995), an Orphan release.
  
• Tsuboi Tomohiro played Shinpachi in the Hakuouki franchise, Ichirou in the Knights of Sidonia properties, Toshii Maeda in the Sengoku Basara: Samurai Kings shows, and Shima in Zegapain, and appeared in the first volume of Gakkou no Yuurei, an Orphan release.
  

The director, Yazaki Shigeru, also directed the animated segments in volume 3 as well as Kyuuketsuki, an h-anime.

The staff is the same as for volume 3. Perevodildo translated and did initial timing. ninjacloud fine-timed. I edited and typeset. Nemesis and Topper3000 QCed. Our caffeinated encoder went under the pseudonym of "cappucino" this time.

So here's volume 4 of Gakkou no Yuurei. Nothing really new or groundbreaking, and I'm concerned about the decline in the animation production values. Time will tell. You can get this volume from the usual torrent site or from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news in irc.rizon.net.

My Discord colleagues in the Inka kairetsu have a dismissive term for the vast bulk of anime that is neither outstanding nor outstandingly bad: they call it mid. A mid anime won't knock your socks off, but it won't bring your last meal back the wrong way either. And if ever there was a show that deserved to be called mid, its 1993's Tsuyoshi Shikkari Shinasai: Tsuyoshi no Time Machine de Shikkari Shinasai (Tsuyoshi, Hold Tight: Tsuyoshi, Hold Tight in the Time Machine).

Tsuyoshi Time Machine is a "movie" spin-off (more like an OVA or side story, really) of an anime sitcom, Tsuyoshi Shikkari Shinasai, which ran for 112 episodes from 1992 to 1994. The series is about Tsuyoshi Iwaka, an 18-year-old who lives at home with his parents and two older sisters. His father is away for work. His mother Yoshiko and siblings Keiko and Noriko are terrible at cooking and housework, so all the domestic chores fall to Tsuyoshi. His oldest sister, Keiko, is combative and tends to beat him up all the time. 

Time Machine purports to tell Keiko's backstory. At age 12, her first crush breaks a promise to meet her for a New Year temple visit; she has distrusted all men every since.

As I said, mid. The voice cast is well-known:

• Onosaka Misaya (Ikawa Tsuyoshi) played Kubota Kazuhi in Nineteen 19, Shuntaro in Aika, Mihara Ichirou in Angelic Layer, Isaac in Baccano!, Zelos in Tales of Symphonia, J.D. in Neo Angelique, Leeron in Tenga Toppa Gurren Lagann, Takeshi in the Prince of Tennis franchise, Vash in Trigun, and a personal favorite, Azazel in the Yondemasu yo, Azazel-san series. He also played Calion in the 1987 movies version of MAPS, an Orphan release, and the1994 Maps OVAs.
• Tsuru Hiromi (Ikawa Keiko, his sister) debuted as Perrine in Perrine Monogatari. She went on to play Kashima Miyuki in Miyuki, Madoka in Kimagure Orange Road, and Mikami Reiko in Ghost Sweeper Mikami. She also played Sister Angela  in One Pound Gospel, Sara in Mother: Saigo no Shoujo Eve, Sonnet Barge in Blue Sonnet, Fengji in the third Sangokushi movie, Keiko in Hiatari Ryoukou, Nozomi in Nozomi Witches, Jill in A Penguin's Memories, UFO-chan in Dokushin Apartment Dokudami-sou, Milk in Karuizawa Syndrome, Kiyomi, the motorcycle rider, in Sotsugyou: Graduation, Asuza in Laughing Target, and big sister Shizuka in Tomoe's Run!, all Orphan releases.
• Hagimori Junko (Iwaka Noriko, his sister) played Li Chang in Blue Gender, Haruka in Rokudenashi Blues, Junna in Chameleon, Haruka in Kimama ni Idol, and a refugee in the third Sangokushi movie. The last three are Orphan releases. 
• Chiba Shigeru (Watanabe Tsukasa, his friend) played Megane in the Urusei Yatsura franchise and Nezumi in later GeGeGe no Kitarou movies. He played the title role in Kigyou Senshi Yamazaki: Long Distance Call and appeared in Ai no Kusabi, Akai Hayate, Bagi, Condition Green, and Yamato 2520, all Orphan releases. 
• Kataoke Tomie (Ikawa Yoshiko, his mother) played Blonda in Don Dracula, Tomeko in Meisou-ou Border, Bogud's mother in Michite Kuru Toki no Mukou ni,and appeared in Bagi, all Orphan releases. 
• Mitsuishi Kotono (Watanabe Yumi, Tsukasa's younger sister) played the title roles in Excel Saga, Birdy the Mighty, and the Maze TV and OVAs, Mink in Dragon Half, Katsuragi Misato in the Evangelion properties, Rosalia in the Angelique franchise, Kagura in the original Fruits Basket, Eri in Love Get Chu, and of course, Sailor Moon in the Sailor Moon franchise. She played the leads in Mother: Saigo no Shoujo Eve and Oshare Kozou wa Hanamaru, as well as Oshina in Hidamari no Ki, and appeared in Gakkou no Yuurei volume 1, Blazing Transfer Student, Nagasarete Airantou, and Yamato 2520, all Orphan releases.
• Shiozawa Kaneto (Minamoto, the mad inventor) played the title role in To-Y, Orochimaru in Tengai Makyou, Shin in Hiatari Ryoukou, Iason in Ai no Kusabi, Rock Holmes in Fumoon, Shiina in Chameleon, Sanzou in Tezuka Osamu Story: I am Son Goku, Kouhei in Karuizawa Syndrome, Amakusa Jiro in One Pound Gospel, Kaname in Bride of Deimos, and Kurahashi Eiji in Nine, all Orphan releases. He also played Joe in Tokimeki Tonight, Yoshio in Miyuki, Takeshi in Touch, D in Vampire Hunter D, Narsus in the Arslan Senki OVA, Rosario in Dragon Half, and Abriel senior in Crest of the Stars.

The director, Misawa Shin, directed many long series, including Kochikame, Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Children, Gakuen Nanafushigi, and the parent series to this movie.

One translation note. On their way home, young Tsukyoshi and Noriko sing the opening lines of Nanatsu no Ko, a famous Japanese children's song from the 1920s.

I'm not sure how this laserdisc came into Orphan's possession, but it was ripped on the Domesday Duplicator, encoded, and released as a raw. Eventually, Perevodildo picked it up, translated it, and timed it. ninjacloud fine-timed. I edited and typeset. Nemesis and Topper3000 QCed. The encoder wishes to remain anonymous.

Tsuyoshi Shikkari Shinasai: Tsuyoshi no Time Machine de Shikkari Shinasai will take a half hour of your life without leaving much of an impression, but it's the only example of the Tsuyoshi series to be released in English to date. (heponeko released raws for the entire series, but I am seriously not interested, y'know?) You can get the show from the usual torrent site or from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #new on irc.rizon.net.

Mikosuri Han Gekijou dates from 2013. It's basically a collection of short (30-40 second) dirty jokes grouped together by setting. It's based on a 4-panel comic strip of the same name by Iwatani Tenho. You may find it funny, or you may find it offensive; I found it juvenile. It reminded me of what passed for risque humor when I was a boy: books like Over Sexteen and collections of the Playboy jokes columns. In today's age of PornHub and OnlyFans, it feels positive quaint.

Still, Mikosuri Han Gekijou posed interesting problems for translation, because humor is very local, and sex slang even more so. Let's start with the title. Gekijou means "theater"; easy enough. But Mikosuri is not a real word, and Han means "half." So is the title Mikosuri Half-Theater? Not even close. Mikosuri han is Japanese slang for premature ejaculation; it's apparently a pun on mikudarihan, meaning divorce papers. (I guess the former could lead to the latter.) But "Premature Ejaculation Theater" doesn't exactly strike the right note in English. The team did extensive research on US and UK slang equivalents, but they all tended to be too long or too explicit. Finally, someone suggestion "quickshot," so the English title is Quickshot Theater.

Some other examples:

• In two cartoons with a doctor examining (ogling) a naked woman, she says, "Please examine me already," and he replies, "I'm already looking." This is a pun on 診る, medical exam, pronounced miru, and 見る, looking, also pronounced miru.
• In a cartoon where a samurai-era policeman admonishes a woman with a vibrator, it's a visual pun on jitte, a blunt melee instrument carried by Edo-era police.
• In the credits, a girl skipping rope has dialog balloons saying "106,""107,""Shakuhachi". It's a pun on how the sequence, including 108, would be pronounced in Japanese: hyaku roku, hyaku shichi, hyaku hachi. A shakuhachi is a Japanese flute played by blowing in the end; it's also slang for "blowjob."
  

The show has eight sections, with a common setting or theme, and four to six jokes per section:

• Family
• Police
• Third Street (meaning a generic suburban street)
• Company
• Hospital
• Couple
• Train
• Historical Drama

As in other anthologies, the plethora of characters are played by a small number of voice actors:

• Tanaka Kazunari played Nyuudo in Brave 10, Dorowa in Freedom, Ijuin in Green Green, Ukai in Haikyuu!!, Hoshino in Planetes, and Matsukane in Chameleon, an Orphan release.
• Saitou Kimiko played the title role in Snack Basue, Rem in Death Note, Marie in Dimension W, Sofia in Golden Kamuy, Muugi in Made in Abyss, Micchan in Migi & Dali, Chieko in Princess Jellyfish, and Cerona in Kingdom of Chaos, an Orphan release.
  
• Okiayu Ryoutarou starred as the title roles in Gambler Densetsu Tetsuya, Toriko, and Keppeki Danshi! Aoyama-kun, Mitsui Hisashi in Slam Dunk, Matsura Yuu in Marmalade Boy, Jinnai Katsuhiko in the El-Hazard franchise, Nueno Meisuke in the Hell Teacher Nube series,Samejima Ranmaru in Kizuna, Souma Shigure in Fruits Basket (2003), Berserker in Fate/Zero, Hideyoshi in Sengoku Basara, and Atsushi in Recorder to Ransel. He also played Takao-san in Let's Nupu Nupu, Yamazaki in Mellow, Abel in Fire Emblem, Gion in Okane ga nai!, Akram in Haruka Naru Toki no Nake de 2 (a repeat of his role in Haruka Naru Toki no Nake de: Hachyoushou), and Hakuryuu in Haruka Naru Toki no Nake de 3, all Orphan releases.
• Komatsu Yuka played Deunan in Appleseed Alpha, Dorothy in The Great Pretender, Saeko Tanaka in Haikyuu!!, Setsuna in the Precure franchise, and Minako in Yuri!!! on Ice.

The director, Magari Hiroaki, is a mangaka by profession, most well known for Majokko Tsukune-chan. He has since directed another gag anime, Enomoto the Animation, and done some minor animation work here and there, including the first ending for Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. (A tip of the hat to Darkonius for this research.)

I saw a FHD webrip of this show and thought it looked terrible, so I found the R2J DVD ISO and asked a friend to encode it. Perevodildo translated and timed. I edited and typeset. (There were too many signs, a sure sign of cheap animation.) ImAWasteOfHair and Uchuu QCed. Paul Geromini released checked, and his interactive suggestions with Perevodildo helped point up (so to speak) some of the jokes. The encoder asked to remain anonymous, and who can blame them? The crude, digipainted animation allowed for high levels of compression with no loss of video quality; the encode is very small.

Finally, a diatribe, yet again, about why encodes should never, never, NEVER be anamorphic. Here is a sign from the police segment, as seen on (my) Aegisub, VLC, and MPC-HC with xyvsfilter:

And here's the same sign as seen on MPC-HC with its default renderer, libass:

The angle of "MORGUE" is whacked. This is a straight up bug, caused by applying anamorphic stretch before or after the sign is rendered. The blame may lie with MPC-HC or libass or God knows what, but the simple point is: if the encode wasn't anamorphic, this wouldn't happen. Remember that, encoders.

Mikosuri Han Gekijou defies recommendations. It's either the sort of thing you'll laugh at, or it isn't. If you want to sample 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

Another anthology show, far better than the last one...

Sakyou Komatsu (1931-2011) was a Japanese science fiction author and screenwriter, best known in the West for his novels Japan Sinks and Sayonara Jupiter. He wrote numerous short stories, spanning not just science fiction but satire, political commentary, and even erotica. In 1989 and 1990, MBS aired 24 five-minute episodes (plus three specials) based on Komatsu's short stories. These were collected as Komatsu Sakyou Anime Gekijou (Sakyou Komatsu's Animation Theater). Orphan is proud to present the first English translation of this show.

Anthologies, particularly those with short episodes, are difficult to summarize. There is no through plot, no consistent set of characters, no set styles. If these episodes seem to reflect a skepticism about mankind and its technology, that's probably just my interpretation. Many of the stories include space travel and encounters with aliens; they rarely turn out to be either edifying (like Contact) or horrifying (like Alien).

• Joining the Club, which demonstrates that what's truly universal about the universe.
  
  
  
  
• Construction Work, a pointed example of how city government (mal)functions.
  
  
  
  
• Lost Spaceship. Maybe those monoliths in 2001 were something other than they seemed?
  
  
  
  
• Summer Event. Humanity's traditions outlast us.
  
  
  
  
• Forgotten Land. What did happen to all of humanity's gods?
  

Some translation notes:

• Moon Viewing. The Tsukimi festival is held to view the autumn full moon. Decorations traditionally include displays of susuki, Japanese pampas grass, and mounds of tsukimi dango, moon dumplings.
• First Dream. The "Seven Luckies" is a play on the Seven Lucky Gods (七福神). Hotei, the disgruntled leader, is the god of fortune. Benzaiten plays the lute and is the only goddess. Ebisu, who performs with a fish, is the patron of fishermen. During the first three days of the New Year, the Seven Lucky Gods are said to pilot the Takarabune or Treasure Ship through the heavens..
• The Man Who Returned. In the legend of Urashima Tarou, a fisherman rescues a sea turtle. As his reward, he is taken to the Dragon Palace under the sea and entertained by Princess Otohime. He thinks only a few days pass, but in fact, it's a century before he returns. The princess gives him a forbidden jeweled box as a parting gift. When he opens it, he turns into an old man.
  

All of the many characters were played by just two people, who primarily appeared in films and TV rather than anime:

• Tomita Yasuko is an actress who has appeared in numerous films and TV shows. She narrated the original Time Patrol Bon and had a small role in My Neighbor the Yamadas.
• Nagoka Akira was an actor and comedian. He appeared in several early anime movies, including Senya Ichiya Monogatari and Flying Phantom Ship, and he had a small role in Princess Mononoke.

The director, Nishimora Akira, also helmed A.D. Police and Urban Square. This was Gainax' first ever TV production. All the episodes were written by Yamaga Hiroyuki, a famous director in his own right. (Thanks to Darkonius for this research.)

The raw, which includes Japanese closed captions, had been floating around Orphan's archives for more than four years when Darkonius decided to translate it. Perevodildo translation checked. I edited and typeset (lots of signs). ImAWasteOfHair and Rezo QCed. Skr found the raw, but after all this time, he doesn't remember the source or whether he encoded it. The Japanese closed captions have been left in place as an alternate subtitles track.

Sakyou Komatsu's Animation Theater is really good, and I strongly encourage you to download it and watch it. Because of its structure, you can dip in and out, or jump around from story to story, with no loss of continuity. Some of it is funny, some of it is sad, much of it is ironic, and all of it is thought-provoking. 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.

In 1985, the victory of the Hanshin Tigers in the Japan Championship, the equivalent of the US World Series, occasioned a one-shot OVA, Toraemon (Tiger Man), celebrating/lampooning the team's success. 

The show is filled with references to real people. To start, the Hanshin Tigers are one of the oldest professional baseball clubs in Japan; they were founded before World War II. Their home field in Hanshin Koshien Stadium, beloved of anime baseball fans as the home of the Japanese high school baseball championships. After Hanshin won the championship in 1985, almost 40 years elapsed before they won again, supposedly because of a curse incurred during the victory celebrations.

The championship team consisted of

• Kafeku Masayuki, third baseman
• Okada Akinobu, second baseman
• Mayumi Akinobu, right fielder
• Kido Katsuhiko, catcher
• Hirata Katsuo, shortstop
• Rich Gale, pitcher (a former US professional baseball player)
• Senko Sano, left fielder
• Kitamura Terufumi, center fielder
• Randy Bass, first baseman (a former US professional baseball player)

• Happou Tsukite was a rakugo artist and comedian
• Nakano Hajime was the former Hanshin CEO, who died in a plane crash
• Hideyoshi Toyotomi, the Osaka-based warlord defeated by Tokugawa Ieyasu
• Kanbi Fujiyami, a Japanese comedian who resembled Okada
• Egawa Takashi, losing pitcher for the Seibu Lions; his financial difficulties were well known 

Much of the humor stems from Osakans' pride in being the best in Japan (for once).

1. The climactic game of the Championship.
2. The delirious post-victory celebrations.
3. A New Years' party thrown by Manager Yoshida.
4. Training for the new season, including "joint training" with the JSDF.
5. Final arrangements for 1986.

None of it makes much sense. Some of it could be considered libelous. However, the humor is fairly universal, even if the local and topical references don't register.

The voice cast includes:

• Junko Hori was best known as the voice of the protagonists in three Fujiko Fujio works, Obake no Q-tarou, Ninja Hattori-kun, and Chinpui. She played the title role in Cat-Eyed Boy and appeared in Wan Wan Chuushingura, Taiyou no Ouji: Horus no Daibouken, Rain Boy, Time Slip Ichimannen Prime Rose, and Makoto-chan, all Orphan releases, as well as Moomin, Akage no Anne, Cinderella Boy, and Unico.
• Nagai Ichirou  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 Nijuushi ni Hitomi, Ore no Sora, Nayuta, One Pound Gospel,Rain Boy, Manxmouse, Nora, Hidamari no Ki, Yuukan Club, Amon Saga, Botchan, Ipponbouchou Mantaraou, Tengai Makyou, and Yamato 2520, all Orphan releases
• Aono Takeshi played Nurarihyon in every incarnation of GeGeGe no Kitarou through 2007, Billy Bones in Treasure Island, Bookman in D.grayman, Dracule in One Piece, Katsuhiko Masaki in the Tenchi Muyo franchise, and Shiro Sanada in the Yamato franchise. He also appeared in Gakuu no Yuurei, Bride of Deimos, A Penguin's Memories, Ginga Tansa 2100: Border-nen, Fire Emblem, Grimm Douwa: Kin no Tori, Hashire Melos!, the three Sangokushi movies (as Guan Yu), Tezuka Osamu's Tales from the Old Testament, and Rain Boy, all Orphan releases.
• Saka Osamu played Daisuke Aramaki in the Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex franchise and Oohara in the Oishinbo properties. He appeared in Aoki Honoo, Tezuka Osamu's Tales from the Old Testament, Sanada 10, Next Senki Ehrgeiz, Fire Emblem, Kasei Yakyoku, Oz, and the third Sangokushi movie, all Orphan releases.
• Utsumi Kenji was best known for his roles as Roah in Fist of the North Star, Kaioh in Fist of the North Star 2, and Senbei Norimaki in the Dr. Slump and Arale-chan franchise. He appeared as the village chief in Watt Poe and Alex Louis Armstrong in both versions of Full Metal Alchemist. He played the title role in Don Dracula and appeared in OL Kaizou Kouza, Nora, Bavi Stock, Stop!! Hibari-kun!, Techno Police 21C, Sanada 10, and 15 Shounen Hyouruuki, all Orphan releases.
• Sogabe Kazuyuki played Oda Nobunaga in Black Lion, Rei Ginsei in Vampire Hunter D, Kaei in To-Y, Madison in Nana Toshi Monogatari, and Meyer in Hi-Speed Jecy. The last three are Orphan releases.
  
• Futamata Issei was best known for his roles as Godai Yuusaku in Maison Ikkoku, Akira (Chibi) in Urusei Yatsura, and Saburo in Sazae-san. He starred as Ippei in Ore no Sora and Yoshio in Dokushin Apartment Dokudami-sou, and he played Bouya in Ichigatsu ni wa Christmas, Kouji Tanaka in Okama Hakusho, Ishida, coach's assistant, in One Pound Gospel, the psychopathic brother, Cross, in Hi-Speed Jecy, and mutliple characters in Fukuyama Gekijou, all Orphan releases.
• Hamura Kyouko played John in Peter Pan no Bouken and appeared in Starship Troopers and Hitomi no Naka no Shounen: 15 Shounen Hyouryuuki, both Orphan releases.
• Irokawa Kyouko played Tsubame in Stop!! Hibari-kun, an Orphan release.
• Ikemoto Sayuri played Mari in Project A-ko and Barbara in Robin Hood no Daibouken.

The director, Shibayama Tsutomu, is best known for the Doraemon franchise. He also directed Makoto-chan, an Orphan release, and well-known series including Ranma 1/2 and Chibi Maruko-chan.

I have no idea when or how Orphan acquired the laserdisc for this show, but it was one of the first rips on the Domesday Duplicator. After that, it languished, eventually being released as a raw. Then Perevodildo picked it up, translated it, and timed it. ninjacloud fine-timed. I edited and typeset. (There were too many signs in street scenes, and they were left untranslated.) WOWmd and bananadoyouwanna QCed. The raw was encoded by an anonymous friend.

Toraemon can't be fully understood outside of its time and place, but if you're prepared to let the details slide, along with the players, it's a fun watch, with plenty of weird characters, bizarre situations, and good gags. You can get the OVA from the usual torrent site or from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net.

Redoing Zetsuai 1989 was not in this year's plan (or any year's, for that matter), but when WOWmd did a new Domesday Duplicator rip of the laserdisc, that set the ball rolling. A few timing adjustments to the old script, new typesetting, some quick QCs, and here we are: a new, visually improved version of the BL classic. 

Zetsuai is a compound word, meaning "desperate love," although the author preferred "everlasting love" as the translation. It tells the story of two teenagers, womanizing superstar singer Nanjou Kouji and soccer prodigy Izumi Takuto.

The two meet by coincidence (or fate). After a night of barhopping, Nanjou passes out in the street.

The voice cast is quite famous:

• Hayami Shou (Nanjou) played Ichijo Hajime in Princess Army, Kushinige Hodaka in Oshare Kozou wa Hanamaru, an angel in Tezuka Osamu's Tales of the Old Testament, Charles in Ai to Ken no Camelot, Kuya in Genji, Part 1, Aju in Hayou no Tsurugi, Exper Kain in Exper Zenon, Iason's friend Raoul in Ai no Kusabi, Hojo in Sanctuary, Pat Leivy in Starship Troopers, Junoichi in Blazing Transfer Student, Shargan in Gude Crest, and Seichii in Mikoneko Holmes. All of these are Orphan releases.
• Koyasu Takehito (Izumi) played Doujima Gin in Shokugeki no Souma, Thirteen in Grimoire of Zero, Dio in Jojo's Bizarre Adventures, the title role in Master of Mosquitron, and Fool in Elegant Yokai Apartment Life. He also appeared in Yamato 2520 and Yuukan Club, both Orphan releases.
• Yamaguchi Kappei (Shibuya, Nanjou's "minder") played the title roles in the Detective Conan, Ranma 1/2, and Inuyasha franchises, Usopp in the One Piece franchise, Sakuma Ryuichi in Gravitation, and the title roles in the Arslan no Senki OVA series and Mouse, among many others. He played Billia in Tottoi, Matsuoka Eiji in Chameleon, Nichol Hawking in Plastic Little, and Tooru in Boyfriend, all Orphan releases.
• Nishihara Kumiko (Serika, Izumi's sister) played Iris in the Sakura Wars franchise and Renko in Kujibiki Unbalance, both OVAs and TV series. She played Fhalei Rue in Ryokunohara Labyrinth and appeared in Kakyuusei (1995), Kosuke-sama Rikimaru-sama: Konpeitou no Ryuu, Zetsuai 1989, Dragon Fist, Gakuu no Yuurei, Tenkousei, and Blazing Transfer Student, all Orphan releases.
• Munakata Tomoko (Izumi's mother) played maternal figures in Bremen 4, Yamatarou Comes Back, and Hashire! Shiroi Ookami, all Orphan releases. 
  

The score, including the instrumental opening and ending, is by the peerless Kenji Kawai and is very effective. I don't think the songs are as good; they're very similar to the ones in Cathexis.

For the original release, Erik of Piyo Piyo Productions provided the Lupin Gang Anime subtitle scripts, which formed the basis for Orphan's script. Yogicat transcribed the aarinfantasy release, and a few lines from that script were interpolated in the LGA script. Sunachan translation-checked the dialog and the songs and made extensive changes. M74 timed. I edited and typeset. Calyrica and M74 did QC. For this release, WOWmd provided a new raw. I shifted the original script, tweaked the timing, and redid the typesetting. ImAWasteOfHair and Perevodildo QCed.

Perevodildo pointed out that the script uses double vowels to represent long vowels (Nanjou Kouji rather than Nanjo Koji), even though English signs in the show use the latter spelling. Orphan is inconsistent about transcribing long vowels; individual shows follow their translator's preference. For Zetsuai, I didn't want to make any major changes to the script, and I've let sleeping double vowels lie.

So here's a revised version of Zetsuai 1989, featuring a new encode that wrings every last detail possible out of an analog laserdisc source. You can get this release from the usual torrent site or from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net.

 

Tistou Midori no Oyayubi (Tistou of the Green Thumbs) is a 1990 movie, based on a beloved French children's novel by Maurice Druon. It tells the story of a boy, Titsou. He's the son of a rich factory owner, but he has no aptitude for book learning. 

The movie captures the book's tone of magic realism, balancing gracefully between a slice-of-life family story and a fairy tale. Long stretches have no dialog and rely strictly on visuals. The movie looks beautiful, with a pastel palette and watercolor-like backgrounds.

No attempt is made to explain Tistou's capabilities or his effect on his world; miracles are to be experienced, not analyzed. It's a lovely film, airy and insubstantial as cotton candy, and quite moving. The translator, Perevodildo, gave it his highest compliment, calling it "kino." (Yeah, I had to look it up in the Urban Dictionary too.)

A few translation notes:

• The pony's name, Gymnastique, is from the original French book. The English translation uses Gymnast, because the actual translation, Gymnastics, would be a fairly strange name for a horse. Here, the French has been left untranslated.
• Several characters with "foreign accents" mangle Tistou's name. The Japanese script uses "Chichi," but the book uses "Tisti," and that's used here.
• The factory manager's name, Trounadisse, seems like a riff on "trou d'indice" or "missing the point," because the character's orderly and rigid outlook makes him miss the point of Tistou's gift. The English book translation uses Tornbull.

The voice actors were mostly drawn from the world of films, rather than anime:

• Yamase Mami (Tistou) has only a few anime credits - Princess Peach in Super Mario Brothers: Peach-hime Kyuushutsu Daisakusen and Kayoko in the What's Michael? TV series.
• Ootaki Hideji (Mr. Mustache) mostly appeared in live-action films and TV shows.
• Yamamtoto Kei (father) played Jutaro in Band of Ninja, Mr. Gogetz in Dog of Flanders, Lt. Inoue in Harp of Burma, and Kurosawa in the first Kindaichi Shounen no Jikenbo movie, an Orphan release.
• Wakamura Mayumi (mother) appeared in many TV shows but has no other anime credits.
• Ishizaka Kouji (narrator) narrated Manxmouse, an Orphan release, as well as Call of the Wild: Howl, Buck, and the Zenki series.

The director, Tanno Yuuji, was a planner and producer. His only other anime directing credit was Bunna yo Ki kara Oritekoi, which has not been translated.

Tistou Midori no Oyayubi has never been released on digital media, so when a Japanese laserdisc version came up for sale, WOWmd snapped it up. He ripped it on his Domesday Duplicator and then encoded it. The encode is quite large, in order to preserve all the lovely details of the artwork. Perevodildo translated and timed. I edited and typeset (not much to do there). ImAWasteOfHair, Nemesis, and Paul Geromini all QCed. WOWmd chose to encode the first and second side of the laserdiscs separately, because they have slightly different frame sizes. This has happened before; Orphan's first version of Hashire! Melos was encoded in two pieces for the same reason. Perhaps, like that show, a single complete raw will be available sometime in the future.

This blog entry has been rather short, not because Tistou Midori no Oyayubi is undeserving, but because it basically speaks for itself: a charming, self-contained fairy tale about a child's goodness overcoming the evils of the real world. It's just what we need in these dark times, and I recommend it highly. 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.

Tenjou Hen: Utsu no Miko (Heaven Chapter: Prince of the Skies), commonly called just Utsu no Miko, is a well-known OVA series, released in 13 installments between 1990 and 1992 and fully subtitled. Less well known is its prequel movie, actually titled Utsu no Miko (and unofficially subtitled Earth Chapter), released in 1989. Both are based on a series of light novels by Fujikawa Keisuke, published between 1984 and 1998. Orphan is pleased to present the first English-subtitled version of this movie.

Utsu no Miko is set in Japan's Asuka period, just after the Jinshin War in the late seventh century. It mixes mythical events with actual history, and supernatural characters with real ones. The hero is a divine or semi-divine creature born with a horn in his forehead. He is the son of the god of the northern sky. 

As a result of Ozuna's departure, evil spirits in the old capital escape and run rampant. Fujiwara makes Miko an offer he can scarcely refuse: if he expels the spirits, his assassination attempt will be forgiven, and Ozuna's term of exile will be reduced. 

The use of the term Oni for the fighting monks of Mount Kongo is a bit confusing, because an actual oni has a horn on his forehead, just like Utsu no Miko. However, our hero is not a demon, even though he's known as one. Go figure.

The voice cast is large and distinguished.

• Furuya Tohru (Utsu no Miko) played the lead male roles in Kimagure Orange Road and Sailor Moon, the title roles in Casshern Sins and Kyojin no Hoshi, and recurrent roles in the Dr. Slump, Dragonball, and Mobile Suit Gundam franchises. He also starred as Kosaku  in One Pound Gospel, Niimi in Nine, Kosaku in Stop!! Hibari-kun, Beat, aka the Rabbit, in Choujikuu Romanesque Samy: Missing 99, and the title role in Bavi Stock, all Orphan releases.
• Yamada Eiko (Kagami)  played Yamazaki Tarou in Okama Hakusho, Syril in Cool Cool Bye, and Vee in Al Caral no Isan, all Orphan releases, as well asTarou in the Captain Tsubasa franchise and numerous other featured roles.
• Kinoshita Hiroyuki (Kusuri) played Ikuya in Ajin, Mugensai in Bakumatsu, Ken in Glasslip, Heizaemon in House of Five Leaves, and Fujimaki in Megalo Box.
• Yamadera Kouichi (Tsuri) played many leading roles, including Spike Spiegel in Cowboy Bebop, Sukeroku in Shouwa Ginroku Rakugo Shinju, Ryouga in all the Ranma 1/2 properties, and the nameless hero of Otaku no Seiza. He played the title role in Hashire! Melos, Benten in Oedo ga Nemurenai!, Almarick Aswaer in Nana Toshi Monogatari, Happyaku in Wild 7, Chiryuu in Bakuen Campus Guardress, Matsu in Koiko no Mainichi, and Ryouan in Hidamari no Ki, all Orphan releases.
• Hamura Kyouko (Takara) played John in Peter Pan no Bouken and appeared in Starship Troopers, Toraemon, and Hitomi no Naka no Shounen: 15 Shounen Hyouryuuki, all Orphan releases.
• Ikeda Masaru (En no Ozuna) had major roles in Yatterman and Sakura Taisen. He appeared in Don Dracula, Bagi, Greed, Kasei Yakyoku, Every Day Is Sunday, Bakumatsu no Spasibo, Techno Police 21C, Tobira o Akete, and the first Sangokushi TV special, all Orphan releases.
• Isobe Tsutomu (Karakuni no Hirotari) played Dutch in the Black Lagoon franchise, Vincent in the Cowboy Bebop movie, Harry in Gungrave, Ivan in King of Thorn, Dimsdale in Mardock Scramble, Inspector Runge in Monster, and Emperor Hadrian in Thermae Romae.
• Sakamoto Chika (Kijimuna) played Campanella in Night on the Galactic Railway, the title role in Tsuruhime, Nonoko in Tobira wo Akete, Tendonman in the Soreike! Anpanman franchise, and Agumon in the Digimon franchise. She appeared as Miko in Ohoshi-sama no Rail, Yasuda Yumiki in Nine, and Suzume's erstwhile love interest, Katagiri-kun, in Stop!! Hibari-kun!, all Orphan releases.
• Ishida Gentarou (Fujiwara no Fuhito) played Shikishima in Akira, Seijuurou in BIoHunter, Hanzui in Giant Robo, Wotan in Harlock Saga, Red Beard in Life of Guskou Budori, and Duke Red in Metropolis.
• Ikeda Shuichi (Uokai) played Char in Mobile Suit Gundam, Gilbert Durandal in Gundam Seed, Ulrich Kessler in Legend of the Galactic Heroes, the Dragon in Naki no Ryuu, Alex in Dallos, and Azuma in Starship Troopers. The last three are Orphan releases.
  
• Hidaka Noriko (Tatarame)  played Satsuke in My Neighbor Totoro, Minami (the female lead) in Touch, Akane (the female lead) in Ranma 1/2, Peter in Peter Pan no Bouken, Mrs. Yamada (the mother) in the first two Chii anime series, Near in Death Note, and Kikyo in the Inuyasha franchise. She also played Seiko in Ichigatsu ni wa Christmas, Haruo in Senso Douwa: Yakeato no, Okashi no Ki, Yuuki in Boyfriend, Noriko in Yuukan Club, and Harumi in Mikeneko Holmes, all Orphan releases.
• Shimamoto Sumi (Nayotake no Kaguya-hime) debuted as Clarisse in The Castle of Cagliostro. She starred as Sara in Princess Sara, Nausicaa in Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, Otonashi Kyouko in Maison Ikkoku, and Dayan in Neko no Dayan. She also played Shokupanman in the Soreike! Anpanman franchise, Tinkerbell in Peter Pan no Bouken, Antoinette in Reporter Blues, and Big Mama in Bakuretsu Hunter. She also played Sue in Maris the Choujo, Elice in Fire Emblem, Miss Akiko in The Girl with Blue Eyes, Suzuko and Suzu in Fire Tripper, the female lead in volume 3 of the original Heart Cocktail, the unnamed female lead in Heart Cocktail Again, and the mother in Kiku and the Wolf, all Orphan releases.
• Katou Seizou (Doushi Houki) played Nanni Spannu in Tottoi, Jashinsai in Tengai Makyou, Admiral Putyatin in Bakumatsu Spasibo, Ii Naosuke in Hidamari no Ki, Abraham in Tezuka Osamu's Tales from the Old Testament, Norbert in Apfelland Monogatari, Hatsutori Juuzou in Kage, Billy Bones in Shin Takarajima, the old stationmaster in Sotsugyou: Graduation, and Jeigan in Fire Emblem, all Orphan releases.
• Kaneuchi Yoshio (Narrator) played President Gibson in Future War 198X, Dr Shikishima in Shin Tetsujin 28, Kouichi in Wonder Three, and the Japanese voice of HAL in 2001: A Space Odyssey.

The director, Yoshida Kenji, has only one other credit, Cutta-kun Monogatari, which has pretty much vanished.

The impetus for this movie actually came from finding and ripping the sequel movie, Tenjou Hen: Utsu no Miko, which summarizes the first five volumes of the OVA series. (Orphan has released it as a raw.) Perevodildo translated and timed. ninjacloud fine-timed. I edited and typeset. ImAWasteOfHair, Paul Geromini, and Topper3000 QCed. The raw is an HD Kids Station rip from heponeko. It is watermarked and, frankly, it looks like an upscale. If we find a laserdisc source (there's no DVD or Blu-ray release), we'll do a second version.

Utsu no Miko didn't really grab me. It shows its light novel origins. The characters are flat. Utsu no Miko is brave, straightforward, and rather naive. Fujiwara no Fuhito is a villain who all but twirls his mustache. The presence of Princess Kaguya is an intrusion from another story and only confuses the plot. But it has lots of action, which helps, I guess. You can get the movie from the usual torrent site or from channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net.

And now the other shoe drops. Orphan presents the first English-subtitled release of the movie version of Tenjou Hen: Utsu no Miko (Prince of the Skies: Heaven Chapter). The movie, released in 1990 before the OVAs, is a teaser for the OVA series. It provides condensed versions of the first five episodes and previews of the remaining eight. Like most teaser anime, it is intended to leave the viewer wanting more. Fortunately, all of the Tenjou Hen: Utsu no Miko OVAs are fansubbed, using Odyssey Anime subtitles from the VHS era, and  arer eadily available.

Although Tenjou Hen is nominally a direct follow-on to Utsu no Miko, it looks very different. Yamazaki Noriyoshi replaced Inomata Mutsumi as character designer. Matsumoto Kenji replaced Kawamoto Shouhei as art director. As a result, Tenjou Hen's look very different; for example, Miko now has blue eyes instead of brown. 

Tenjou Hen overlaps the ending of Utsu no Miko by retelling Princess Kaguya's return to the Moon. Miko's desires to follow her and to attain the powers of a god inherent in his divine origin. This leads Master Ozuna to send Miko and his oni comrades Kusuri, Tsuri, Takara, and Kagami, along with the fallen god Kijimuna, on a journey to the heavens. There, Miko first encounters the god Rahu Asura, cast out after his daughter Shachi was kidnapped and raped by Taishakuten, king of the gods. 

Now determined to confront Taishakuten and right the wrong done to Asura, Miko and Kijimuna travel to the Heaven of the 33 Gods, Taishakuten's stronghold. Miko challenges the king of the gods, but he is no match for Taishakuten and is defeated.

In retaliation, or because he mistook her for a swan (shades of Polly Von), Taishakuten kidnaps Kagami, Miko's wannable squeeze, and threatens her with the same fate as Shachi. 

And that's where the movie ends. Want to know more? Watch the OVAs. (Spoiler: Miko gets Kagami back in episode 11.)

A few translation notes, courtesy of Perevodildo's study of Buddhism.

• Taishakuten is the Japanese term for Śakra, the king of the Trāyastriṃśa Heaven in Buddhism. Trāyastriṃśa is a tongue-twister and is translated as Heaven of the 33 Gods.
• Shachi, also known as Indrani, is the queen of the gods in Hinduism.

Except for Miko and Kagami, the voice cast is completely different from Utsu no Miko:

• Furuya Tohru (Utsu no Miko) played the lead male roles in Kimagure Orange Road and Sailor Moon, the title roles in Casshern Sins and Kyojin no Hoshi, and recurrent roles in the Dr. Slump, Dragonball, and Mobile Suit Gundam franchises. He also starred as Kosaku  in One Pound Gospel, Niimi in Nine, Kosaku in Stop!! Hibari-kun, Beat, aka the Rabbit, in Choujikuu Romanesque Samy: Missing 99, and the title role in Bavi Stock, all Orphan releases.
• Yamada Eiko (Kagami)  played Yamazaki Tarou in Okama Hakusho, Syril in Cool Cool Bye, and Vee in Al Caral no Isan, all Orphan releases, as well asTarou in the Captain Tsubasa franchise and numerous other featured roles.
• Tanaka Hideyuki (Kusuri) played Terryman in the Kinnikuman franchise and Rayearth in Magic Knight Rayearth. He also played Max in Dallos, Unno Rokurou in Sanada 10, Harmer in Al Caral no Isan, Sammy in Bavi Stock, Sawamura in Nozomi Witches, Ronron in Greed, Aoto in Oedo ga Nemurenai!, Katze in Ai no Kusabi, Minowa Takanari in Karuizawa Syndrome, Kazuhiko, Chiko's father in Ohoshi-sama no Rail, Ma Su, Fengji's lover, in Sangokushi movie 3, and an extra in Heart Cocktail, volume 5, all Orphan releases.
• Shioya Yoku (Tsuri) played the title roles in Kariage-kun and the Umi no Triton TV series and movies, Ryouta in Slam Dunk, Jinpei the Swallow in Gatchaman, and Cosmo Yuki in Space Runaway Ideon. He played Yuzuru in Laughing Target, Mickey in Milky Passion: Dougenzaka - Ai no Shiro, Mizuki in Nayuta, and Zhuge Jun in the first Sangokushi movie, all Orphan releases.
• Horikawa Ryou (Takara) played Shutendou in Shuten Douji, Vegeta in Dragon Ball, Naoto in Slow Step, Anthony Brown in Candy Candy, Reinhard in LOGH, Tadao in Ghost Sweeper Mikami, Kai in Kizuna, and Andromeda in Saint Seiya. He starred as Shinya in Okama Hakusho and appeared in Chameleon, Hi-Speed Jecy, Lunn no Kaze, and the first two Sangokushi movies, all Orphan releases.
• Shibata Hidekatsu (En no Ozuna)played Baron Ashura in Mazinger Z, Kenzou Kabuto in Great Mazinger, King Bradley in both versions of Fullmetal Alchemist, and the Third Hokage in Naruto. He played Sun Quon in the Sangokushi movies, the hero's father in Dragon Fist, Funakoshi in Ushiro no Hyakutaro,Koimura, the Steel Elementalor, in Seirei Tsukai, and the voice of God in Tezuka Osamu's Tales from the Old Testament, all Orphan releases.
• Mita Yuuko (Kijimuna) played the title role in Pokonyan, Posi in the Creamy Mami franchise, Kazuya in the Kimagura Orange Road franchise, Neko Musume in the 1985 iteration of GeGeGe no Kitarou, and Will in Robin Hood no Daibouken. She appeared in Rain Boy, an Orphan release.
• Banjou Ginga (Teishakuten) played the title role in 80 Days Around the World with Willy Fog, Baloo in The Jungle Book, and chairman Nakiri Senzaemon in Shokugeki no Souma. He appeared in Gude Crest, Oruorane the Cat Player, Amon Saga, Ipponbouchou Mantarou, Sanada 10, and the What's Michael? OVAs, all Orphan releases.
• Kashina Kazuhiko (Asura) played Roku in Haguregumo and Matsuda's editor in Yawara! He also appeared in Izumo, Meisou-ou Border, Akuma-tou no Prince: Mitsu Me ga Touru, the three Sangokushi movies, and the first Utsu no Miko movie, all Orphan releases.
• Tominaga Miina (Kaguya-hime) played Ritsu in Fruits Basket (2002), Persia in Magical Fairy Persia, Rollpanna in the Anpanman franchise, Misaki in Tsuritama, Muuma in Bavi Stock, Kamiya in Tokimeki Tonight, Hikaru in Chameleon, Karen in Yuukan Club, Cresson in Star Dust, Ito Aki in Tanjou Debut, and Eri in Karuizawa Syndrome. The last seven are Orphan releases.
  
• Yara Yuusaku (Fujiwara no Fuhito) played the destroyer captain in Zipang and Miyuki's father in Tokyo Godfathers. He had many featured roles, appearing in Nayuta, Next Senki Ehrgeiz, Eien no Filena, Elf 17, Hidamari no Ki, Nozomi Witches, Kimama ni Idol, both Sangokushi OVAs, the second Sangokushi movie, Prime Rose, Eguchi Hisashi no Kotobuki Gorou Show, and both What's Michael? OVAs, all Orphan releases.

Tanjou: Debut (Birth: Debut) is a two-episode shoujo OVA from 1994. It was originally subbed in the VHS-fansub era. Its two stories revolve around a quartet of high school girls - Ito Aki, Tanaka Kumi, Fujimura Saori, Aida Sachiko - but appear to exist in alternate realities. In the first, Aki falls in love, and Saori is her rival; in the second, the first three are fast friends, and Sachiko is MIA. There's a hint, in the opening credits, that the girls are acting in TV dramas, but this isn't followed through. What is going on?

Fortunately, Japanese Wikipedia explains all. Tanjou: Debut is a derivative of a training simulation game about three wannabe idols (Aki, Kumi, and Saori). 

The player's objective is to guide all three to successful careers, either as individual artists or as a unit, in the face of multiple rivals. The OVAs add Sachiko as a fourth member of the team. 

The principal voice actors have all appeared in other Orphan releases:

• Tominaga Miina (Ito Aki) played Ritsu in Fruits Basket (2002), Persia in Magical Fairy Persia, Rollpanna in the Anpanman franchise, and Misaki in Tsuritama. She also played Muuma in Bavi Stock, Kamiya in Tokimeki Tonight, Hikaru in Chameleon, Karen in Yuukan Club, Cresson in Star Dust, Eri in Karuizawa Syndrome, and Kaguya-hime in Tenjou Hen: Utsu no Miko, all Orphan releases. 
• Kanai Mika (Tanaka Kumi) played the title role in the Licca-chan franchise, Normad in the Galaxy Angel franchise, Histoire in the Hyperdimension Neptunia franchise, Melonpanda in the Soreike! Anpanman franchise, Misato in Nana, Lotte in Starship Girl Yamamoto Yohko, Kanna in Gakkou no Yuurei volume 1, and Hime in Bakuen Campus Guardress. The last two are Orphan releases.
• Shiina Hekiru (Aida Sachiko) played Asami in Elementalors, Rurubell in Megami Paradise, and Elysse in Plastic Little, all Orphan releases, as well as Hikaru in the Rayearth series, Fam in Hikyou Tanken Fam & Ihrlie, Rockman in the Rockman Hoshi ni Negai wo OVAs,  Alpha in the Yokohama Country Cafe OVAs,and Nene (the protagonist's perverted younger sister) in the Seitokai Yakuindomo franchise. 
• Kasahara Hiroko (Fujimura Saori) played the title roles in Armitage III and Mahou Angel Sweet Mint, Maron in Assemble Insert, Nanako in Dear Brother, Ami in DNA^2, Fuu in the Rayearth properties, Tama in the Tama and Friends franchise, and Hinako in Ultimate Teacher. She starred as Seara in Baby Love and played Princess Shurain in Hayou no Tsurugi, both Orphan releases.
  

The first episode also includes some additional seiyuu:

• Amano Yuri (teacher) played the title role in The Legend of Snow White, Julia in Daddy Long Legs, Kiyone in the Tenchi Muyo franchise, and Moemi in Video Girl Ai. She appeared as Lady Freeze in Bakuen Campus Guardress, Catherine in Okama Hakusho, Kuzunoha in Akuemon, Angie in Condition Green, Elthena in Eien no Filena, Kitagawa in Nozomi Witches, Noriko in Singles, and Yuko in St. Michaela Gakuen Hyouryuuki, as well as multiple roles in Fukuyama Gekijou and Gakkou no Yuurei, volume 1, all Orphan releases.
• Miyamoto Mitsuru (Mike) starred as Ibuki in Hidamari no Ki, an Orphan release. He also played Chihiro in After the Rain, Maiza in Baccano!, Roger Smith in The Big O, Steven Starphase in Kekkai Sensen, Ougai Mori in the Bungo Stray Dogs franchise, Hideo Tachibana in H2, Mizoguchi in Kaiju No. 8, Keiichi Nakagawa in the Kochikame franchise, Shirakawa in Piano, Itsuki in RahXephon, and Hubb in Wolf's Rain.
• Kazama Nobuhiko (manager) appeared in many shows, including Shinken Densetsu Tight Road and Spectral Force.

The director, Mochizuki Tomomi, has directed many other shows, including Ranma 1/2, Dirty Pair Flash, Fancy Lala, Princess Nine, Seraphim Call, and Porphy no Nagai Tabi.

I don't remember, or have suppressed, how this project got started. Perhaps I wasn't impressed by the existing subs. In any case, an anonymous friend found the R2J DVD ISOs and encoded new raws. I shifted the existing Mushin subs (themselves transcribed from an unknown VCD or even VHS tape) into place. Perevodildo translation checked. Paul Geromini edited. I fine-timed and typeset. ImAWasteOfHair and I QCed. IaWoH (to abbreviate) put me on the right track about the show by pointing out that the "original work" was credited to the same games company, Headroom, which was also behind Sotsugyou: Graduation and Sailor Victory, two shows where the same characters were used in radically different scenarios.

Tanjou: Debut is middling shoujo, but this version is an improvement over the previous ones. You can get it from the usual torrent site or from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net.

Some Japanese stories are so beloved that the have been made into an anime many times. One of them is Miyazawa Kenji's Cello Hiki no Gauche (Gauche the Cellist), with at least five anime incarnations:

• 1949: a 19-minute silhouette animation produced by Nichiei and directed by Tanaka Yoshitsugu.
• 1953: a 20-minute puppet animation produced by Nippon Eiga and directed by Morinaga Kenjiro.
• 1963:  a movie produced by Gakken Eiga Kyoku and directed by Matsue Jinbo. This version is not present in any anime database.
• 1982: a 65-minute movie produced by Oh Productions and directed by the legendary Takahata Isao
• 1998: a 20-minute OVA also produced by Gakken and directed by Morita Hiromitsu.

The anime databases attribute the 1953 version to 1963; JP and US Wikipedia claim they are separate shows. Although the 1963 and 1998 versions are both from Gakken, an educational publishing company, they can't be the same: the sieyuu in this version weren't even born in 1963.

In any case, Orphan is pleased to release the first English-subtitled version of the 1998 OVA. This is a "Reader's Digest Condensed Anime" version of the 1982 movie; even the character designs are similar. If you've seen the movie, you don't really need to watch this. On the hand if you have twenty minutes to spare, it's another opportunity to dip into Miyazawa's world and enjoy some wonderful music: Beethoven's Sixth Symphony (Pastoral) and two original compositions by Mamiya Michio: Indian Tiger Hunt and The Merry Coachman.

The title character, Gauche, is a diligent but mediocre cellist in a small town orchestra. The orchestra is preparing to play the Pastoral in ten days, but Gauche is struggling: according to conductor, lacks expressiveness, can't keep time, and is off-pitch. 

1. A calico cat, who provokes Gauche into playing a dissonant but wild piece (Indian Tiger Hunt).
   
   
   
   
2. A cuckoo, who demands Gauche practice the "cuckoo" sound until he gets the intonation right.
   
   
   
   
3. A tanuki, who asks to practice drumming The Merry Coachman on Gauche's cello and points out that Gauche is always slow fingering his second string.
   
   
   
   
4. A mother mouse, who pleads with Gauche to save her sick baby by playing his cello with the baby inside; the vibrations apparently cure animals.

The voice actors in this version include:

• Kusao Takeshi (Gauche) played the lead roles in Junk Boy and Fujilog, the title role in Babel II, Trunks in the Dragon Ball Z franchise, Sakuragi in Slam Dunk, and Lamune in NG Knight Lamume & 40. He also played the teenaged Tezuka Osamu in Tezuka Osamu Monogatari, Daichi in Singles, the fast talking orca in Sensou Douwa: Chiisai Sensuikau ni Koi wo Shita Dekasugira Kojira no Hanashi, Leedyle/Ranka in Hayou no Tsurugi, Hisamatsu in Bride of Deimos, and the icy director Kurume Kenjirou in Smash Hit, all Orphan releases.
• Matsuno Taiki (calico cat) played the title role in the second Kindaichi movie (an Orphan release) as well as every subsequent show in the franchise. He starred in Exper Zenon, played Saki in Star Dust, and appeared in Fukuyama Gekijou and Chameleon, all Orphan releases. He played Kouga in Inuyasha and the title role in The Adventures of the Little Prince.
• Kisaichi Atsushi (cuckoo) played Timka in Angelique, Yuusuke in Green Green, and Aoba in Dramatical Murder.
• Ootsuke Mizui (tanuki) appeared in Slam Dunk, Android Ana Maico, and Trigun.
• Furuyama Ayumi (mother mouse) appeared in Let's Nupu Nupu, an Orphan release, Jungle wa Itsumo, and Ultra Maniac.
• Satou Masahiro (conductor) played the villainous Professor Jason in Al Caral no Isan, Yasuda in Ore no Sora, and Oboe in Hameln no Violin Hiki, allOrphan releases. He had numerous featured roles, appearing in the Dragonball, Dr. Slump, and Transformers franchises.

The director, Morita Hiromitsu, also directed Heart Cocktail, an Orphan release, as well as Thumbellina, Kobo-chan, and World of Narue.

This started as an idle discussion on Discord about earlier versions of Hashire Melos: the 1979 version, for which I had only seen a YouTube fragment; and the 1981 version, which has only been found dubbed in English. It turned out that a full raw of Hashire Melos 1979 was available, ripped by an Omar Hidan from a web stream on the now defunct GYAO! service. Looking at this other torrents, I found the 1998 version of Cello Hiki no Gauche, also ripped from GYAO! I thought it might make a "quickie" project for Orphan. Perevodildo agreed and translated. I edited and typeset. Nemesis and Paul Geromini QCed. The source appears to be a VHS, although a DVD is available at exorbitant cost. As for Hashire Melos 1979... stay tuned.

Cello Hiki no Gauche 1998 won't replace the 1982 movie in anyone's collection, including mine, but it's a nice way to spend 20 minutes with some good music and good characters. You can download it from the usual torrent site or from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net.