#yotoden

[chibiranmaruchan]

Yotoden, volume 1 front cover, back cover and coloured pages.

[laboitediabolique]

B2 sized poster for the original video animation series "Yotoden", Idol Co Ltd., January 1987. This poster came as bonus with volume 7 of the video magazine Anime Vision which came out exclusively on the obscure VHD (Video High Density) home video format.

[commercialwarehouse]

THIS IS THE GROWN UP WORLD OF JAPANESE ANIMATION

[animarchive]

Dream Dimension Hunter Fandora illustrated by Mayumi Watanabe, Dangaioh by Toshihiro Hirano and Yōtōden by Ken'ichi Ōnuki.

 (Anime V, 02/1990)

[oldtypenewtype]

Yotoden OVA Valentine House themed Anime Headline article, illustrated by Kenichi Onuki in the 2/1989 issue of Newtype.

[chibiranmaruchan]

For @reminiscezine, a zine celebrating nostalgic fandoms from before '10, I chose two anime that hold great significance to me. I want to thank them for this opportunity to create art for fandoms I love and hold good memories and significance to me on a nostalgic level.

For my first piece, I drew for Yotoden, also known under the full title of Sengoku Kitan Yotoden. It's an OVA series from the 80's about 3 ninja from different schools of ninja, joining together to defeat the man who orchestrated their destruction and plans to completely dominate Japan, Nobunaga Oda. Yotoden wasn't very popular in the west, but had an English dub of the condensed movie version known as Wrath of the Ninja (this was the version I watched first and sought out the OVAs after) however it was pretty popular in Japan during the late 80's and early 90's and from what I've seen, still has a huge following in Japan online today. It's not the best anime, but it's something of a comfort to me. One of my online handles is based on one of the characters from it, Ranmaru Mori, who in turn was based on a real historical figure and I actively collect merch for this; owning a copy of both the OVA and movie version on DVD, the very rare manga and a few animation cels. I loved it so much, that I drew the anime for my 2nd GCSE mock art piece (which was very similar to my Reminisce zine piece, which is intentional) and solidified my interest in ninjas and what introduced me to the Sengoku era, which is one of the historical periods I find most interesting in Japan and globally. For my piece, I drew the main character, Ayame, a young kunoichi who disguised herself under the male alias Ayanosuke, to survive once her village was destroyed by Nobunaga Oda's demonic forces. She is fighting Ranmaru, who is a major villain within the story, using her trusted kodachi, coveted by the Kasumi ninja. In the background, the mysterious comet goes by, with the full moon which is about to eclipse, which will signify the battle to save humanity as seen in the final episode.

For my second piece, I drew Bubblegum Crisis, which was a more well known 80's OVA in the west, as well as Japan. It's known for being heavily inspired by blade runner, with 80's J-pop and J-rock music video montages within each episode, mecha and a group of vigilantes for hire called the Knight Sabers who wear hardsuits to fight the injustices caused by big companies that exploit their power within the city. Despite getting into Bubblegum Crisis a bit later in my teen years, I fell in love with it and knew it would be one of my favourite anime (which it still is) from the first episode alone. It was everything I wanted in an 80's OVA and it still holds up well as an entertaining watch. The songs are great and enjoyable to listen to outside of the anime, which I often do. For my piece I drew the main character, Priss, who is a biker chic, whom fronts a band called the Replicants, but is also one of the members of the Knight Sabers. She undeniably dons the best hardsuit from the group. I decided to draw Priss as her 2 alter-egos, her rocker chic and in her Knight Saber hardsuit in a similar way Kenichi Sonoda, the character designer of Bubblegum Crisis, would, by superimposing her identities over each other and using bold, bright colours for the characters and a dark colour for the background. I based the piece during the opening segment of the first episode 'Tinsel City Rhapsody', where Priss in her rocker chic getup sings the opening song 'Konya wa Hurricane' (which translates to 'Tonight, A Hurricane or 'There's A Hurricane Tonight') as the A.D police fail to handle a rogue Boomer (name for the androids in this universe) and the other Knight Sabers begin despatching to do the job themselves. The montage is heavily inspired by Streets of Fire's opening song 'Nowhere Fast'.

[chibiranmaruchan]

7 of my favourite anime moments for this week (20th-26th August 2018)

Monday 20th August: Cyber city Oedo 808 (1990-1991)- Benten says goodbye to Remi.

Tuesday 21st August: Perfect blue (1997)- Fake Mima chases real Mima through the city.

Wednesday 22nd August: Royal space force: Wings of Honneamise (1987)- Shiro successfully flies into space.

Thursday 23rd August: Yotoden (1987-1989)- Ayame and Sakon share a quiet moment together.

Friday 24th August: Bubblegum crisis (1987-1991)- Priss performs with her band.

Saturday 25th August: Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-ohki (1992-2017)- Tenchi activates the light hawk wings.

Sunday 26th August: Venus wars (1989)- Hiro tells Maggie the truth about the corrupt Aphrodian government.

[chibiranmaruchan]

A personal top 10 favourite anime OVAs

So my list of anime not talked about much but people should try out seemed to go down well, so here's a more personal list on 10 anime OVAs I love (bonus vocal song list at the bottom of the list)

Yotoden

Episodes: 3

Movie version: Wrath of the ninja (there are some scenes removed and some added in the movie, so I recommend watching it first, then yotoden after, as the differences are more easier to spot that way)

Dub avaliable: No

Set in the Sengoku era of Japan, a young ninja named Ayame Hayami disguises herself as a male ninja, 'Ayanosuke' and joins up with 2 other ninja, in order to defeat the demonic Nobunaga Oda. He has destroyed her home, Kasumi village, leaving her the only survivor, as well as burning Buddhist temples and waging wars against the ninja. Each warrior is gifted with an enchanted sword, that was passed down to them from their respective villages, with the hopes they would destroy the evils that plague Japan.

Bubblegum crisis

Episodes: 8

Prequel: A.D police files (3 episodes)

Sequel: Bubblegum crash (3 episodes)

Dub avaliable: Yes

In 2032, Japan had a major economic boom, due to the Genom company making androids called 'boomers', however, they turn on their masters every day and the A.D police, which was assembled from the regular police to specifically fight the rogue boomers, can no longer surpress them. 4 vigilantes, Priss Asagiri, Sylia Stingray, Linna Yamazaki and Nene Romanova, take it upon themselves to put on mech armour and shut down any rogue boomers, while being targeted by Genom.

Battle angel Alita

Episodes: 2

Dub avaliable: Yes

A mechanic named Daisuke Ido finds the upper body of a female cyborg in a junk heap and repairs her, naming her 'Alita' (Gally in some translations). When she awakens, she has amnesia, so she works towards remembering her past. Alita eventually learns the new world she lives in isn't safe, cyborgs kill people in order to sell their organs on the black market and as a result, she becomes a hunter-warrior to take down the criminals in the city.

Devilman: The birth

Episode: 1

Sequels: Devilman: The demon bird (1 episode) and Amon: Apocalypse of Devilman (1 episode)

Dub avaliable: Yes

Akira Fudo is confronted by his old friend, Ryo Asuka, who reveals to him his father had found a mask that would be able to turn the wearer into a demon. Ryo asks Akira to take on this responsibility to kill demons, to which he agrees and becomes the Devilman. Many demons are now out to destroy Devilman, so he must kill them, before they kill him.

3x3 eyes

Episodes: 6

Sequel: 3x3 eyes: Seima densetsu (4 episodes)

Dub available: Yes (Streamline and Pioneer)

Yakumo Fuji encounters a strange girl named Pai, who claims she is an immortal monster known as a 'Sanjiyan' (triclops). His now deceased father, Dr Fuji, told Pai to ask Yakumo to help her obtain the statue of humanity, which will help grant Pai her wish, to become a human. Through unfortunate circumstances, Yakumo's soul is taken by Pai, now their lives are one and Yakumo is an immortal fighter known as a 'wu'.

Dominion tank police

Episodes: 4

Sequel: New dominion tank police (6 episodes)

Dub avaliable: Yes

Terrorists run rampant in the polluted city of Newport; a division of the police force, known as the tank police fight them, but cause more damage than the terrorists. Leona Ozaki transfers into the mainly male division and tries hard to prove that she can fight in the powerful tanks. After the terrorists get the better of her, the tank police believe she is truly incapable of fighting alongside them, so she builds her own tank, perfect just for her.

Cyber city Oedo 808

Episodes: 3

Dub avaliable: Yes

Cyber police in the futuristic city of Oedo, release 3 prisoners who have committed terrible crimes in order to help combat cyber crime by having them take down the criminals. If they succeed, time is reduced from their sentences, if they fail, their collars will explode, killing them. Each episode focuses on each of the 3 prisoners, Shunsuke Sengoku, Gabimaru 'Gogul' Rikiya and Merrill 'Benten' Yanagawa.

Video girl Ai

Episodes: 6

Dub available: Yes

Yota Moteuchi has a crush on his friend Moemi, who has a crush on his best friend Takashi. When Moemi confesses to Yota she likes Takashi, he becomes depressed and goes to a video rental store to rent a VHS featuring a video girl. While watching the tape, his VHS player begins to malfunction and the girl featured on the tape comes out of the TV. She introduced herself as Ai Amano and vows to help Yota win the affections of Moemi.

Golden boy

Episodes: 3

Dub avaliable: Yes

Kintaro Oe is a young man who takes on part time jobs, he never stays for too long and always wants to experience new things. He always carries a notebook with him, filled with special notes based on observations he has made during each job. With each job, a young woman always ends up falling for him, despite his perverted behaviour and he ends up proving he is a capable worker, even when the odds are stacked against him.

Genocyber

Episodes: 5

Dub avaliable: Yes (first 3 episodes dubbed by manga UK, the last 2 are dubbed by u.s manga corps/central park media)

A mute, psychic girl named Elaine escapes the facility she is kept in. Her father, Dr Reed sends her psychic, cybernetically enhanced elder sister Diana, to retrieve her; though Diana is reluctant, as she is jealous of Dr Reed's favouritism of Elaine. The Hong Kong police and agents from the Kuryu group (Kuron in the anime) in Japan are also after Elaine for their own reasons. Elaine befriends a street urchin and is blissfully unaware of everyone's intentions and the carnage that will go down for the next 3 centuries as a result of humanity's desire for ultimate power.

Bonus: OVA songs tend to be harder to find than songs from a TV series so here the songs in each are.

Yotoden: Insert song- 'Red nails' by Mika Takenaka, Ending 1- 'Love at the end of the myth' by Carmen Maki, Ending 2- 'Element of a dream' by Lily

Bubblegum crisis: Opening 1- 'Konya wa hurricane' by Kinuko Oomori, opening 2- 'Mad machine' by Kinuko Oomori, opening 4- 'Ikari o komete hashire' by Yuiko Tsubokura, opening 5- 'Mysterious night' by the knight sabers, opening 6- '', opening 7 'Say yes' by Maiko Hashimoto, opening 8 'Chase the dream' by Kinuko Oomori, insert song 1 'kodoku no tenshi' by Yuki Ueda, insert song 2- 'Thrill no odori tenshi tachi' by the knight sabers, insert song 3 'Victory' by Kinuko Oomori, insert song 4 'Akuma to tenshi no kiss' by the knight sabers, insert song 5 'Bara no soldier' by Yuiko Tsubokura, ending 1- 'Mr Dandy' by Bleuw, ending 2- 'Kizudarake no wild' by Kinuko Oomori, ending 3 'Wasurenaide' by Kinuko Oomori, ending 4 'Twilight' by Yuiko Tsubokura, ending 5- 'Omoide no dakarete' by Yuiko Tsubokura, ending 6- 'Rock me' by Yuiko Tsubokura, ending 7 'Never the end' by Maiko Hashimoto, ending 8- 'Bye bye my crisis' by the knight sabers

Battle angel Alita: Ending- 'Cyborg mermaid' by Kaori Akima

Dominion tank police: Opening (Japanese)- 'Hot dance in cherry moon' by shojo-tai/opening (English)- 'We'll give it our best shot' by brown eyes, insert song (Japanese)- 'Hey boy' by Riko Ejima/ insert song (English)- 'Puma dance' by brown eyes, ending (Japanese)- 'Hoshi no orgel' by shoujo-tai/ ending (English)- 'I adore you' by brown eyes

Cyber city Oedo 808: Opening- 'Burning world' by Hidemi Miura, ending- 'I may be in love with you' by Hidemi Miura

Video girl Ai: Opening- 'Ureshi namida' by Noriko Sakai, insert song 1- 'Message' by Nav Katze, insert song 2- 'Kimi no niji' by Maki Kimura, insert song 3- 'Ashita wa ashita' by Maki Kimura, insert song 4- 'Kokoro no mizutanari' by Masakazu Katsura, insert song 5- 'Frozen flower' by Nav Katze, ending- 'Ano hi ni' by Maki Kimura

Golden boy: Ending- 'Study a go go' by the golden girls

Genocyber: Ending 1- 'Fairy dreamin'' by wizz-kiss, ending 2- 'Instead of standing here alone' by wizz-kiss, ending 3- 'Because I am coming to see you' by Mami Ito