Monday, November 17, 2008
Fansub Review: Nozomi Witches
As this is the first time (I think) that I've reviewed a show only in fansubs I'd like to have a bit of a history lesson to start.
I've been an anime fan for a good 10+ years now. There's no secret that in that time anime has gone from an emerging niche market to a full blown marketable product that just about everyone knows about. While it still has yet to become mainstream, you can at least walk into your local video store (or even Walmart) and pick up a copy of some of the more popular titles.
Back when I was just starting to become an anime fan I got my fix through VHS tapes which cost $20 and up for two to four episodes. In order to watch as much as I could on my limited budget I got into the fansub market trading tapes and requesting Nth generation copies from fansub distros. Back then I was watching mostly shows from the 80s and early 90s as all the "new" stuff would take a year or two to come to LaserDisc in Japan and then it might get picked up by a fansubber. If not, you were SOL.
Today, if you want a fansub you can usually get an episode a few days after its airing on Japanese TV. Many in the anime communities feel that fansubs have lost that amateurish feel and that "By fans for fans" comradery and that today's fansubs are little more than piracy. While I won't argue that fact here, I will state that fansubs are still the only way to see some shows and sadly, they will most likely be the only way to ever see such shows.
Bewitching Nozomi is such a show. Made in 1992 around the Barcelona Olympics we get the story of a young boy named Ryotaro who, after being scouted by his neighbor Nozomi starts his trek to become a boxing champion and fulfill Nozomi's dream for him.
The plot is relatively simple and yet it works. The element of realizing a dream for a female love interest is certainly not new to anime. Touch did it back in the 80s with baseball instead of boxing. Yet there is something enduring about the show which I can't put my finger on. Perhaps it's because the characters are so enduring despite only getting to know them over the course of three episodes.
As a three episode OVA from 1992 the animation is perhaps a bit dated by today's standards but it holds up very well, outside of a few early digital type effects in the OP.
It should also be noted that the OP song, "Flash of Thunderlight", bears a striking similarity to both "Eye of the Tiger" and also Bonnie Tyler's "Ravishing". Not that that's a bad thing.
If I had any complaints about the show it's that the story does, at times, feel a bit rushed and that it could have easily have been expanded to a 13 episode TV series. Yet I'm satisfied with what we have and I think you will too.
Nozomi Witches a.k.a. Bewitching Nozomi is a pretty rare find, even for fansubs. Checking the usual places I can't find a copy. Mine was a copy of the old Lupin Gang SVHS so the video quality isn't quite what you expect. Still, I say this is a show worth hunting down. When you finish it, be sure and send a note to the anime companies in the States and ask them to license it.
I've been an anime fan for a good 10+ years now. There's no secret that in that time anime has gone from an emerging niche market to a full blown marketable product that just about everyone knows about. While it still has yet to become mainstream, you can at least walk into your local video store (or even Walmart) and pick up a copy of some of the more popular titles.
Back when I was just starting to become an anime fan I got my fix through VHS tapes which cost $20 and up for two to four episodes. In order to watch as much as I could on my limited budget I got into the fansub market trading tapes and requesting Nth generation copies from fansub distros. Back then I was watching mostly shows from the 80s and early 90s as all the "new" stuff would take a year or two to come to LaserDisc in Japan and then it might get picked up by a fansubber. If not, you were SOL.
Today, if you want a fansub you can usually get an episode a few days after its airing on Japanese TV. Many in the anime communities feel that fansubs have lost that amateurish feel and that "By fans for fans" comradery and that today's fansubs are little more than piracy. While I won't argue that fact here, I will state that fansubs are still the only way to see some shows and sadly, they will most likely be the only way to ever see such shows.
Bewitching Nozomi is such a show. Made in 1992 around the Barcelona Olympics we get the story of a young boy named Ryotaro who, after being scouted by his neighbor Nozomi starts his trek to become a boxing champion and fulfill Nozomi's dream for him.
The plot is relatively simple and yet it works. The element of realizing a dream for a female love interest is certainly not new to anime. Touch did it back in the 80s with baseball instead of boxing. Yet there is something enduring about the show which I can't put my finger on. Perhaps it's because the characters are so enduring despite only getting to know them over the course of three episodes.
As a three episode OVA from 1992 the animation is perhaps a bit dated by today's standards but it holds up very well, outside of a few early digital type effects in the OP.
It should also be noted that the OP song, "Flash of Thunderlight", bears a striking similarity to both "Eye of the Tiger" and also Bonnie Tyler's "Ravishing". Not that that's a bad thing.
If I had any complaints about the show it's that the story does, at times, feel a bit rushed and that it could have easily have been expanded to a 13 episode TV series. Yet I'm satisfied with what we have and I think you will too.
Nozomi Witches a.k.a. Bewitching Nozomi is a pretty rare find, even for fansubs. Checking the usual places I can't find a copy. Mine was a copy of the old Lupin Gang SVHS so the video quality isn't quite what you expect. Still, I say this is a show worth hunting down. When you finish it, be sure and send a note to the anime companies in the States and ask them to license it.
Labels: Animation, Anime, Fansub only
