Momotaro: Sacred Sailors: I Hear It's Amazing When the Famous Peach Boy in Mitsuyo-Seo Space with the Kaigun-Sho Does a Raw Blink on Celebes Rock. I Need Anime! '63!! A-I-U-E-O!!!

The year 2020 marks the 75th Anniversary of the end of World War II, which came shortly after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima & Nagasaki in Japan. Being a fan of Japanese animation, it's important to understand its history as a medium, and that inevitably brings things over to WWII. Though there were Japanese animators working hard prior to the war's start in 1939, including the likes of Noboru Ofuji, Yasuji Murata, & Kenzo Masaoka, they were all shorter fare, either for simple amusement, advertisement, or for personal experimentation. I actually covered a number of these "pre-anime" works back in the blog's second ever review, which covered Zakka Films' Roots of Japanese Anime DVD (which you can still buy from Zakka for ~$20!), but the main attraction of that release was 1942's Momotaro's Sea Eagle. Directed by Mitsuyo Seo, this 37-minute production became Japan's first theatrically-shown anime... And it was a propaganda film showing a surrogate attack on Pearl Harbor as though it was lead by iconic folk hero Momotaro & his animal friends, so as to make it look appealing to children.

Considering the environment it was released in, & its lack of showing any on-screen deaths, it's not surprising that it was a success & spawned a sequel.

The text on the side cites that the film
was finished in December 1944.

Let's face facts, people: World War II was an era of propaganda films. Nazi Germany had movies directed by Leni Riefenstahl, most notably Triumph of the Will. The United States had Walt Disney & the Warner Brothers producing various wartime movies, with probably the most infamous being the one where Donald Duck worked on the production line of a Nazi factory. Therefore, it's easy to see that Japan did the same and took advantage of a slowly growing animation industry to do so, just like how there were too many Looney Tunes propaganda shorts to count. Anyway, on April 12, 1945 (just months shy of the war's end in September), Momotaro: Sacred Sailors debuted in theaters, and at 74 minutes long became Japan's first theatrical-length anime; while the Japanese Naval Ministry merely "sponsored" the first film, this sequel was specifically ordered by it. Following the end of World War II & Japan's occupation by American forces, it was long presumed that Sacred Sailors was confiscated & burnt, and the fact that it had never resurfaced helped strengthen that idea. However, production company Shochiku eventually came across a negative in a warehouse in 1983, and the following year saw a new release on VHS. Come 2015, it was decided to remaster the film, to celebrate both Shochiku's 120th Anniversary & the 70th Anniversary of World War II's end, and through the financial support of partners around the world it received an HD remaster & even got screened at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival. One of those financial partners was FUNimation, which in turn licensed the film for North American release in 2017, making it probably the least likely anime the company has ever released; Anime Limited did the same for the UK. So, as the first of a three-part look at how World War II was reflected in anime, not to mention tie things in with my second-ever review for the blog, let's see what all the hubbub is with Momotaro: Sacred Sailors.

After taking out the naval fleet on Devil's Island in a surprise bombing raid, sailors Sarukichi, Wankichi, Kijisuke, & Kumakichi return home to visit their families, but it's not long before they're called back to action by Momotaro. This time around, they have to help establish a new airbase on Manado, educate & endear the natives, & then launch another surprise attack on Devil's Island, this time via parachuting, with the intent to make their foes agree to unconditional surrender.

Twelve Anime Theme Remixes & Covers That Surpass the Originals Part 2

As a matter of course, when I say that a remix or cover "surpasses" the original song, that is simply my opinion & not a declaration of absolute truth. Also, for every single one of the songs I brought up in Part 1, or will bring up shortly in Part 2, I am a fan of their original forms; after all, there had to be something in the original that made it worth remixing or covering, in the first place. If it sounds like I'm kind of rambling & pointing out something that doesn't really need pointing out... That's because I am, and I have no real idea as to how to properly lead into the second half of this list.

Therefore, let's just move right on!

"Kesenai Tsumi～raw "breath" track～" by Nana Kitade
(Fullmetal Alchemist [2003] ED1)
Just like Part 1, let's start Part 2 with a theme from a pretty notable & popular anime, in this case the original TV anime adaptation of Hiromu Arakawa's Fullmetal Alchemist. A true-blue gateway anime for many, including yours truly, the original 2003 series featured an extremely strong selection of 4 OPs & 4 EDs, and what we'll be focusing on is the first ED. Ever since the 80s, anime has been a reliable way for new singers & bands to get some exposure, and the same is true for Nana Kitade, whose debut single "Kesenai Tsumi" became a bit of an instant classic by being associated with FMA, which was airing on the very lucrative Saturday 6PM time slot on MBS. Seeing as the first quarter of the anime often blended together dramatic moments with lighthearted comedy, it was appropriate for those episodes to end with an upbeat pop song, though the staff at BONES wasn't against using the song's unassuming nature to essentially troll viewers at the end of one particularly infamous episode, which ended with a real heart-wrencher.

Twelve Anime Theme Remixes & Covers That Surpass the Originals Part 1

Think of your favorite anime of all time, and one of the things you'll definitely think of are their various opening & ending themes. With the former being the way to get your attention grabbed & the latter being the way you prepare to return to real life, the "OP" & "ED" are an iconic duo of anime series that are rarely broken apart, and where too many iconic songs in the mind of anime fans come from. Still, sometimes the original version of a song isn't always the "best" or most iconic version. After all, everyone knows of "Fly Me to the Moon" through Frank Sinatra, Neon Genesis Evangelion, or Bayonetta, but few give credit to Kaye Ballard, who performed the song first. For a more recent example, new anime Great Pretender is using Freddie Mercury's cover of "The Great Pretender" as its OP, with the original song by The Platters seemingly being forgotten. So I think it's only natural to wonder if this can apply to anime themes, too. Are there any remixes or covers of anime OPs & EDs that are, arguably, better than the originals?

Well, I have twelve that I'll certainly argue in the positive for, so let's start with the first six.

"I'll Trust You Forever" [English Version] by Yoshifumi Ushima
(Mobile Fighter G Gundam OP2)
While its over-the-top, shonen manga-influenced style is no longer truly unique in & of itself in the annals of the Gundam franchise (see: the various Gundam Build series), 1994's Mobile Fighter G Gundam remains a strong favorite for many, one that has arguably aged better than some of its more popular & "mainstream" entries, like Gundam Wing. Part of that love comes from its outstanding soundtrack, both in Kohei Tanaka's multifaceted & orchestral score, as well in the theme songs, particularly Yoshifumi Ushima's OP themes. Ask anyone who's even slightly familiar with G Gundam, and it's almost a guarantee that they'll all instantly be familiar with 1st OP "Flying in the Sky", especially since that was the song that was used for the show's entire run on Toonami. However, while that song is tons of fun & makes for great singing along, I'd argue that the 2nd OP, "Trust You Forever" is the stronger overall song. By coming in halfway through, Ushima (who also wrote, composed, & arranged both themes) was able to put a stronger thematic message in "Trust You Forever", telling about how you'll always have your friends & loved ones to rely on when things get rough, and that pain & scars are simply the means by which you become stronger. I mean, it even works extremely well as an acoustic song, as Hironobu Kageyama & Masaaki Endoh once proved.

Mach Go Go Go: Restart: Go? 号? 五? 5? 剛? GO!!!!!

From the late 60s through the 80s, Tatsunoko Production became one of the most celebrated & iconic anime studios in the industry, delivering one notable anime series after another. From Hakushon Daimaou to Gatchaman to Casshan to Time Bokan to Gold Lightan to Mospeada to Zillion to Shurato, "Tatsu's Children" became known across the world in one way or another. Come the 90s, though, it was decided to reboot many of these properties for a new generation, most of which via OVAs, with the end results being pretty mixed. 1992's Tekkaman Blade TV series was overall great, though sometimes a little slow. 1993's Casshan: Robot Hunter OVA was decent but felt truncated at only three episodes, while the Time Bokan: Royal Revival OVA was nothing more than a silly celebration of the comedic franchise; fun, but nothing substantial. 1994's Tekkaman Blade II & Gatchaman OVAs were both good on the whole, but each felt like they were meant to be longer. As for 1996's New Hurricane Polymar OVA, it was most definitely cut short, feeling more like only Episodes 1 & 3 of a four-episode series; yeah, it's about as rough as that sounds, but at least it looked really cool.

These 90s reboots came to an end in 1997, which also marked the 30th Anniversary of the anime that originally put Tatsunoko on the map: Mach Go Go Go.

For those unfamiliar, the original Mach Go Go Go debuted back in 1967 as Tatsunoko's first color anime (& second anime, overall), based on the racing manga of the same name by the studio's founder, Tatsuo Yoshida, that ran in Shueisha's Shonen Book, the precursor to Shonen Jump. While it wasn't an instant hit in Japan (though it averaged around 13.9% viewership, which is nothing to sneeze at), it became a mega hit abroad when Trans-Lux licensed it for North America, where it got dubbed into Speed Racer. While Speed Racer went on to receive its own "New" 13-episode continuation in 1993, Tatsunoko didn't actually do anything new with the property for decades, minus the occasional cameo here & there. Originally planned to run for 52 episodes, this new TV series of the same exact name, unofficially titled "Shin/New Mach Go Go Go" in Japan, wound up getting cancelled early, only lasting 34 episodes of a planned 52. Speed Racer Enterprises, which at the time owned the rights to anything "Speed Racer", produced an English dub pilot for this new series, titling it Speed Racer Y2K... because it was the end of the 90s. It never went anywhere and was almost "lost", if not for being included in at least one super-obscure release.

Then in 2002, DiC got a hold of the show, even getting it aired on Nickelodeon as Speed Racer X, before suing SRE over television & merchandising rights; it only adapted 13 episodes. After Tatsunoko got the complete rights back to everything Mach Go Go Go & Speed Racer following a lawsuit with SRE in 2013 (I swear that this is the last lawsuit I'll bring up), FUNimation licensed everything Tatsunoko produced in 2015. The end result of all of this came in the form of the Speed Racer Collector's Edition, released on November 7, 2017, which contains all of Speed Racer on DVD & Blu-Ray, all of the original Mach Go Go Go with English subtitles on DVD & Blu-Ray, & all of the 1997 reboot on sub-only DVD, now under the name Mach Go Go Go: Restart; don't worry about the latter not being in HD, as even Japan only has an SD-BD release. Unfortunately, this absurd release has all of the discs in fold-out sleeves that are housed within a horrifically life-sized bust of Speed's head (at least Dawn from the Anime Nostalgia Podcast found a use for it), and currently remains literally the only way to see either of the original Japanese versions; yes, FUNimation isn't even offering either Mach Go Go Go anime via streaming, which is ridiculous. At the very least, said Collector's Edition has been such a bomb of a release that Amazon is still selling it at just shy of $100, only 1/3 of the MSRP, which is actually a good deal for essentially three shows, two of which are on both Blu-Ray & DVD; you can just hide the bust in a closet, like I do.

So, for Review #250, let's see what there is to Mach Go Go Go: Restart... in all three of its forms.