Of all the new anime in Japan, Oh! Edo Rocket is miles ahead of the competition as my favorite show of the season, even though I can’t understand more than a handful of commonly used words thanks to a nigh-total lack of groups subbing the show(though we finally have one!).
Taking place in Edo Japan where the ruler has imposed a luxury ban(including most forms of entertainment), the story follows a young fireworks artisan named Seikichi Tamaya and the mysterious young woman Sora that arrives in his home one day asking him if he could make fireworks that reach the moon. Of course our hero accepts the challenge, setting about the task of, essentially, inventing rocket science. Given the time period, the elicits all sorts of absurdities and goofy situations, along with some wonderful anachronisms.
At the same time, we have a whole other plot going on involving a pair of monsters viciously fighting each other and an elite time of shinobi hunting them down(due to a recent spree of murders). It quickly becomes apparent how these are tied together, but at the same time, the creators have been doing an excellent job of ever so slowly integrating the plots in a natural fashion without having to force it along.
As the show has progressed, the goofiness keeps on coming, from a big guy wearing a bear suit that spends his time at a tanuki bar in the forest, to a rampaging giant geisha robot, to many other bits that are too fun to reveal, you never know what you’ll run into next(and wow are some of them fantastic). The main storyline continues to be fairy involving, with a lot of strong interaction between Sora and Ginjiro(neighborhood playboy and man of mystery) as they uncover more of each other’s secrets while Seikichi continues to experiment with bigger and more intricate rockets. The other subplots within the show are coming along nicely as well, full of intrigue and action.
To me the whole show perfectly captures the crazy awesomeness of 90s anime- with great visual humor, a rich and varied cast, a lively soundtrack, and a perfect blend of comedy and drama. Throw in Madhouse on production and it all looks fantastic, the action is nicely animated, the backgrounds are simply outstanding, and all of it is topped off with one of the liveier soundtracks I’ve heard in a while(that also features PUFFY on the OP and a delicious track called 100 Miles – Niji Wo Oikakete from SANTARA on the ED). It boggles my mind that it took almost half the show airing before someone started subbing this gem. Go watch it now!
