Oh! Edo Rocket
Encyclopedia
is a stage play written for the Gekidan Shinkansen theater troupe by Kazuki Nakashima
. It was adapted into a TV anime
series in April 2007, directed by Seiji Mizushima
and produced by Studio Madhouse
. It is a comedic story involving a firework maker in medieval Edo
and his efforts to build a rocket to carry an alien back to her people on the moon.
The series made its North American television debut on the FUNimation Channel
on November 15, 2010.
era. Government reforms have banned all luxuries, including plays, performances, inventions, and fireworks. Despite the political climate, Seikichi, a young fireworks maker, dreams of making a huge firework the likes of which have never been seen. But every time he fires a test rocket, he finds himself pursued by government officials.
One night, a blue monster and a white monster are fighting in the woods, battling each other and battling a group of human warriors. The blue monster gains the upper hand but is distracted by Seikichi's rocket, which allows the white monster to escape.
The next day, a beautiful, mysterious girl appears before Seikichi and asks him to make a firework that will reach the moon.
Throughout the series, the characters use terms and items that haven't been created yet, including a pocket calculator and television sets. The TVs are primarily used as flashback devices to bring characters up to date on events they missed. Additionally, backgrounds in the series show shops with signs advertising electronics, specifically TVs and DVDs. In Episode 12, O-Nui and Shunpei repeatedly pass back and forth between 1842 Edo and a modern Japanese railway station, even riding the train in one scene, without taking any notice of the change. There are other times when the characters acknowledge the fact that they're in an anime and comment on anachronistic language used.
(These last three are based upon actual historical personages.)
" by PUFFY
and Ending Theme from Episodes 2-13 is "100 miles~Niji o Oikakete" by Santara and from Episodes 14-25 "I Got Rhythm" by Natural High and the Ending theme for Episode 1 and 26 is "Oh Edo Nagareboshi IV
" by PUFFY
Kazuki Nakashima
is a Japanese playwright and anime writer. He has written scripts for Re: Cutie Honey, Gurren Lagann and Oh! Edo Rocket. He was also responsible for the series composition of Gurren Lagann and he wrote the play that was the basis for the anime Oh! Edo Rocket...
. It was adapted into a TV anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
series in April 2007, directed by Seiji Mizushima
Seiji Mizushima
is a Japanese anime director. He has directed such series as Slayers Next, Shaman King, Fullmetal Alchemist, and more recently, Mobile Suit Gundam 00 and Un-Go...
and produced by Studio Madhouse
Madhouse (company)
is a Japanese animation studio, founded in 1972 by ex–Mushi Pro animators including Masao Maruyama, Osamu Dezaki, Rintaro, and Yoshiaki Kawajiri. It has created and helped to produce many well known shows, starting with TV anime series Ace o Nerae! in 1973, and including western favourites Ninja...
. It is a comedic story involving a firework maker in medieval Edo
Edo
, also romanized as Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of the Japanese capital Tokyo, and was the seat of power for the Tokugawa shogunate which ruled Japan from 1603 to 1868...
and his efforts to build a rocket to carry an alien back to her people on the moon.
The series made its North American television debut on the FUNimation Channel
FUNimation Channel
The FUNimation Channel is a 24-hour cable network which broadcasts anime series in the United States. OlympuSAT was chosen as the exclusive distributor of the network....
on November 15, 2010.
Plot
The story is set in Edo in 1842, the thirteenth year of the TenpōTenpo
was a , also known as Tempō, after Bunsei and before Kōka. The period spanned the years from December 1830 through December 1844...
era. Government reforms have banned all luxuries, including plays, performances, inventions, and fireworks. Despite the political climate, Seikichi, a young fireworks maker, dreams of making a huge firework the likes of which have never been seen. But every time he fires a test rocket, he finds himself pursued by government officials.
One night, a blue monster and a white monster are fighting in the woods, battling each other and battling a group of human warriors. The blue monster gains the upper hand but is distracted by Seikichi's rocket, which allows the white monster to escape.
The next day, a beautiful, mysterious girl appears before Seikichi and asks him to make a firework that will reach the moon.
Throughout the series, the characters use terms and items that haven't been created yet, including a pocket calculator and television sets. The TVs are primarily used as flashback devices to bring characters up to date on events they missed. Additionally, backgrounds in the series show shops with signs advertising electronics, specifically TVs and DVDs. In Episode 12, O-Nui and Shunpei repeatedly pass back and forth between 1842 Edo and a modern Japanese railway station, even riding the train in one scene, without taking any notice of the change. There are other times when the characters acknowledge the fact that they're in an anime and comment on anachronistic language used.
Residents of Furai Row-House block
- Seikichi Tamaya - A fireworks-maker who dreams of making gigantic fireworks no one has ever seen or launched before. He is very hot-tempered and will get flustered easily. He was home schooled by his parents, who were most likely firework makers too.
- Sora - A strange but beautiful girl who appears unexpectedly in Seikichi's home. She asks Seikichi to make a rocket that will reach the moon. She is also the white sky beast, a fact which she keeps from all but a select few of her new friends. Unlike the blue beast, Sora can speak to humans while in her true form. She does this several times when alone with Ginjiro.
- Shunpei - Seikichi's brother, a mathematical genius. He is much like his brother in personality, but wasn't home schooled like him. Despite the time period, he often uses a calculator to solve his problems.
- Ginjiro - A locksmith who can break any lock with his fingers. He is also Captain of the Men in BlackMen in BlackMen in Black , in American popular culture and in UFO conspiracy theories, are men dressed in black suits who claim to be government agents who harass or threaten UFO witnesses to keep them quiet about what they have seen. It is sometimes implied that they may be aliens themselves...
, code-named "Captain Bellybutton." He prefers not to be called that. - Santa - The carpenter.
- Rokubei - The tile-maker who can't keep his mouth shut. He's a grumpy, violent guy, with enormous teeth that take up half his face.
- Rokubei's Wife - No one knows what her real name is. She constantly smacks her husband to shut him up and apologizes for his actions.
- Shinza - The mechanic who frequents Akihabara.
- Tenho - Circus performer who specializes in sleight-of-hand.
- Tenten - Tenho's exceedingly tall brother, he is also a circus performer. He rarely if ever speaks.
- Genzo - The invisible cross-dressing scale-maker, who is extremely depressed by the fact that nobody except his mother and O-Nui recognizes him. He is also a mathematical genius, shown providing solutions to problems posted publicly by Shunpei. Later in the series, he is turned into a dove by one the Old Man's contraptions.
- Genzo's Mom - An upbeat, cheery middle-aged woman who constantly tries to cheer up her son.
- O-Nui - The town-belle watchdog for public morality at the Furai Row-House Block. She acts like a puppy, often sniffing people. She also styles her hair so it looks like the tips of a dog's tail and wears hairpins which resemble large eyes. Halfway through the series, when she goes on a quest with Shunpei to find out why he worries so much, it is implied that she's the puppy from Shunpei's memory by the look of the puppy and how she reacts. Later in the series it's revealed that she really was the puppy.
- The Old Man - A mysterious old man, the landlord of the Furai Row-House Block. He is always surrounded by a coterie of young women, and has many strange inventions inside his home. At one point, the Furai block is heavily damaged by a gigantic wood-and-ceramic mecha, and the Old Man repairs it by pulling a lever on his wheelchair, which causes the damaged buildings to retract into the ground and be replaced by new, undamaged ones. In Episode 10, he is revealed to be Gennai HiragaHiraga Gennaiwas an Edo period Japanese pharmacologist, student of Rangaku, physician, author, painter and inventor who is well known for his Erekiteru , Kandankei and Kakanpu...
, an actual historical figure thought to have died in 1780. On the final episode, it's shown that he is actually an alien with a space ship hidden under the row-house.
Outside the Row-House
- O-Ise - Wealthy owner of the pawn-shop Shirahama-ya. An old friend of Ginjiro from Osaka
- O-Riku - Daughter of the owner of the Kagiya Fireworks shop
- Tetsuju the Fuse - A crazy rocketeer who lives deep inside the Chichibu mountains with tanukis as friends. He thinks he can speak the moon people language (which is gibberish) and Sora usually responds to him.
- Blue Girl - A pale, slim, white-haired woman who wears a dark-blue kimono. She is also the blue sky beast. She has to consume the vital fluids of higher beings, i.e., drink the blood of humans. She cozies up to Akai, persuading him to find and kill people for her to feed on. After a conversation with Genzo's Mom, she realizes she doesn't know her name, or even whether or not she has one. Shortly before her death, Akai gives her the name Yu.
The government
- Akai Nishinosuke - Low-ranking policeman under the South-Edo Magistrate who hates the residents of the Furai Row-House Block. He has OCD and feels the need to clean up dirt and trash from the street.
- The Men in Black: "Eyes", "Ears", "Arms", "Heels", "Ankles", "Knees" - Secret agents under the South-Edo Magistrate, they tend to constantly move in odd ways such as scuttling like insects or cartwheeling. Their code names are taken from the body parts in which their powers are concentrated.
- Torii Yozo - South Edo Magistrate.
- Toyama Kinshiro - The North Edo Magistrate who hangs out in town in disguise as Kin-san the Playboy.
- Mizuno TadakuniMizuno Tadakuniwas a daimyō during late-Edo period Japan, who later served as chief senior councilor in service to the Tokugawa Shogunate. He is remembered for having instituted the Tenpo Reform.-Biography:...
- The Senior Councilor of the Shogun government, the man who banned fireworks and all forms of entertainment in town.
(These last three are based upon actual historical personages.)
Anime episodes
The first letter of each episode is spelling out a message which reads Titles in parentheses are those shown in the English dubs produced by Funimation.| # | Letter | Title | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|
Theme Songs
The Opening Theme is "Oh Edo Nagareboshi IVBoom Boom Beat/Oh Edo NagareboshiIV
"Boom Boom Beat/Oh Edo Nagareboshi IV" is a single from Puffy AmiYumi.The song "Oh Edo Nagareboshi IV" was used as the opening theme for the anime Oh! Edo Rocket-Track listing:1. boom boom beat - 3:19...
" by PUFFY
Puffy AmiYumi
or Puffy AmiYumi is a Japanese rock duo that is currently signed with Sony Music Japan. The group continues to go by the moniker of PUFFY in Japan, but in order to avoid legal naming conflicts with Sean Combs, it has adopted the name Puffy AmiYumi outside of Japan...
and Ending Theme from Episodes 2-13 is "100 miles~Niji o Oikakete" by Santara and from Episodes 14-25 "I Got Rhythm" by Natural High and the Ending theme for Episode 1 and 26 is "Oh Edo Nagareboshi IV
Boom Boom Beat/Oh Edo NagareboshiIV
"Boom Boom Beat/Oh Edo Nagareboshi IV" is a single from Puffy AmiYumi.The song "Oh Edo Nagareboshi IV" was used as the opening theme for the anime Oh! Edo Rocket-Track listing:1. boom boom beat - 3:19...
" by PUFFY
Puffy AmiYumi
or Puffy AmiYumi is a Japanese rock duo that is currently signed with Sony Music Japan. The group continues to go by the moniker of PUFFY in Japan, but in order to avoid legal naming conflicts with Sean Combs, it has adopted the name Puffy AmiYumi outside of Japan...