My colleague Eternal-Blizzard has just released the last two episodes of Ninku, thus completing a fansub odyssey that began back in 2004. Ninku was started and dropped by no less than six fansub groups, which must be close to a record among orphan series. The English-speaking anime community owes Eternal-Blizzard a debt of gratitude for persevering and finishing the series - from Blu-rays, no less.
Ninku is a fairly standard shounen story set in a fantasy world. "Ninku" is a martial art combining ninja and karate techniques. Ninku masters are the strongest warriors imaginable. However, in the recent past, the evil forces of the Empire have defeated and dispersed the Ninku and now rule tyrannically over the land. Only former Ninku captain Fuusuke and his tiny band of surviving Ninku warriors now oppose the might of the Empire.
It sort of sounds like a fantasy version of Star Wars, with Ninku power substituting for the Force, but it's not taken anywhere near as seriously. Fuusuke is a total goofball, a chibi who looks even younger than his 12 years. His tongue is always hanging out, and he's interested as much in a good meal as the pursuit of justice. His companions include Touji, who likes to fight in just a fundoshi; Aichou, who pilots a rickety biplane that crashes at the start of many episodes; Rihoko, Touji's sister, who is infatuated with Aichou; and Hiroyuki, a penguin whose explosive farts provide propulsion at critical moments. Together, they meander around the countryside, supposedly in order to rescue Fuusuke's mother from the villains, but mostly as an excuse to have single- or short-arc adventures.
The voice cast includes many well-known seiyuu:
The director, Abe Noriyuki, is best known for directing Yuu Yuu Hakusho and Flame of Recca.Ninku is a fairly standard shounen story set in a fantasy world. "Ninku" is a martial art combining ninja and karate techniques. Ninku masters are the strongest warriors imaginable. However, in the recent past, the evil forces of the Empire have defeated and dispersed the Ninku and now rule tyrannically over the land. Only former Ninku captain Fuusuke and his tiny band of surviving Ninku warriors now oppose the might of the Empire.
It sort of sounds like a fantasy version of Star Wars, with Ninku power substituting for the Force, but it's not taken anywhere near as seriously. Fuusuke is a total goofball, a chibi who looks even younger than his 12 years. His tongue is always hanging out, and he's interested as much in a good meal as the pursuit of justice. His companions include Touji, who likes to fight in just a fundoshi; Aichou, who pilots a rickety biplane that crashes at the start of many episodes; Rihoko, Touji's sister, who is infatuated with Aichou; and Hiroyuki, a penguin whose explosive farts provide propulsion at critical moments. Together, they meander around the countryside, supposedly in order to rescue Fuusuke's mother from the villains, but mostly as an excuse to have single- or short-arc adventures.
The voice cast includes many well-known seiyuu:
- Matsumoto Rika (Fuusuke) played Satoshi in the Pokemon franchise, Jim Hawking in Outlaw Star, Satoshi in the Pokemon franchise, Jinno in Bakuen Campus Guardress, Kei in Dirty Pair Flash, Sushi Tori in Let's Nupu Nupu, and Okon in Hidimari no Ki. The last two are Orphan releases.
- Madono Mitsuaki (Aichou) played Prince Touma in the Ranma 1/2 movie Nihao My Concubine, the hero Takeru in the Dragon Knight h-OVA series, and Marron Glace in the Bakuretsu Hunters series.
- Kosugi Juurouta (Touji) made his debut at the villainous Eyesman in Bavi Stock I, an Orphan release. He played Lantis in Magic Knight Rayearth, Tooyami in Tales of Seduction, and de Morcerf in Gankuutsuou. He also played Oguma in Fire Emblem, Dr. Bayfarm in Joker: Marginal City, Utsubushi in Amatsuki, Kannou in Okane ga Nai!, and Gisuke in Kage, all Orphan release.
- Hayashibara Megumi (Rihoko) 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, and Miyokichi in Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju. She also played a number of feline roles, including 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 Navi in Izumo (1991) and Clair in Hashire Melos!, also Orphan releases.
- Suzuki Katsume (Hiroyuki) played numerous featured roles, most recently in Brand New Animal.
- Taniguchi Takashi (Kouchin, the final boss) played God in the Yondemasu Yo, Azazel-san series, among other roles.
- Hiramatsu Akiko (Mekira an antagonist) played Nene Romanova in Bubblegum Crisis and Bubblegum Crash, 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, an Orphan release.
- Ishida Akira (Sekirei) has had a storied career. He starred as Sasuke in Samurai Deeper Kyou, Chrno in Chrno Crusade, Howard in Uninhabited Planet Survive, Rion in Galerians: Rion, Komugi in Hen Zemi, and Arima in Princess Lover. He played Gaara in the Naruto franchise, Shinichi in Nana, Athrun Zala in the Gundam Seed Destiny properties, Cho Hokkai in the Saiyuuki franchise, Xellos in the Slayers franchise, Natori in the Natsume Yuujinchou franchise, Tsukasa in the Shokugei no Souma franchise, and Kuchiki in the Genshiken series. He played brother Oomori in Let's Nupu Nupu and Gordon in Fire Emblem, both Orphan releases.
Eternal-Blizzard and his Soldado-Saizen crew picked up from where Dattebaiyo broke off more than a decade ago. They re-released the DB episodes on a new Blu-ray source and continued on to finish the series. As usual, the staff list draws from across the "back catalog kairetsu" - Soldado, Saizen, Orphan, and more. I got roped into doing QC back around episode 30. Shounen's not my favorite genre, but Eternal-Blizzard has helped Orphan a lot, and I was happy to repay the favor.
The project isn't quite done. There will be batch torrent, to fix up whatever issues have turned up over 55 episodes. The batch will also include a drama CD. Still, the main story is over - in fact, it finished at episode 50 - so you can watch Ninku through and get the whole story. Fuusuke and friends will be waiting for you.
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