Furuhata Ninzaburo Season 2 progress report

Episode 10:
July 27, 2014
Apologies for the irregular updates.  The good news, episode 10 is finished!
This episode, Furuhata and Imaizumi travel to New York City on a bus and must solve
a murder.  Suzuki Honami is the guest star.   

This is an unusual episode that doesn't follow the usual formula of other episodes.   The killer and the crime are not revealed in the beginning and we never actually see the crime being committed.  The ending is different as well. 

Episode 9:
March 24, 2014
This episode has been completed and released!

February 23, 2014
This time Furuhata shows us his bowling form and solves a case involving mistaken identity. Kazama Morio is his adversary in this episode.   

Translation is complete, editing in progress.

Episode 8:
February 23, 2014:
This episode is ready for your viewing pleasure!

February 17, 2014:
The late actor, Yamashiro Shingo is a retired magician who takes on Furuhata.

A young Matsu Takako guest stars in this episode also.  ( Trivia time:  Matsu Takako's father, Matsumoto Koshiro and her brother, Ichikawa Somegoro also appear in the Furuhata series ).

Final editing is in progress.

Episode 7:
January 8, 2014
Episode 7 has been released!

January 5, 2014
This episode is pending release.  I have to double check everything one last time.  Furuhata enters the world of antique wares and must solve a case involving a rare artifact.  

November 29, 2013
Translation is finished for this episode but there are some difficult lines that need to be reviewed.  It's uncommon vocabulary and terminology pertaining to the plot and characters of this episode.  Editing is in progress but may take a while as holiday season is very busy and hectic both personally and at work.  So... please be patient.  Hope to release this episode as soon as possible.  

Episode 6:
October 29, 2013
This episode has been released.  Please refer to the translator's notes if some of the lines don't make sense, especially the proverbs and the quiz portions.  But overall, this shouldn't affect the general plot.  

October 28, 2013
Release is pending for this episode, guest starring Karasawa Toshiaki.  Furuhata takes on a quiz show champion. 

Episode 5:
August 14, 2013
Episode 5 is out for your viewing enjoyment! 

August 12, 2013
Furuhata and Imaizumi are called to investigate a script writer, guest starring Kato Haruko. Furuhata is a big fan.  ( Doesn't this often seem the case, or is he just pretending in order to outwit the suspect? )   

There are many off-handed references to other characters or scenes from other episodes during the series.  In this episode, Momoi Kaori is mentioned.  She was the actress who guest starred in Episode 11.  Which other references have you noticed?  

Anyway, this episode is nearly finished.  Final editing is in progress.

Episode 4:
June 19, 2013
This episode has been released.

May 5, 2013
Kimura Takuya guest stars in this episode.  Bit of trivia, Tamura Masakazu and Kimura Takuya starred together in Kyousoukyoku later in 1996.  ( Boring, slow drama if you ask me, but I guess some people liked it. )   

Translation is about 20 percent done so far.  

Episode 3:
May 4, 2013
Episode 3 is finished.  

May 2, 2013
A few lines need to be edited and this episode will be ready.  Will be going out of town this weekend, so hopefully it can be finished and uploaded before I leave.

Episode 2:
March 18, 2013:
Episode 2 is finished.  

February 25, 2013:  
Translation has begun for Episode 2, starring Sawaguchi Yasuko.  20% complete so far. 

Episode 1:
February 28, 2013:  
Episode 1 has been completed and released!

February 27, 2013:
Translation for the first episode is done.  Editing is 95% complete, but there are some legal terms and stuff like that to review.  

February 11, 2013:
Machi and I have started subbing Episode 1 of the second season.   The first is a two-part episode, starring Akashiya Sanma.   Translating for the first part is finished and maybe 20 percent of the second part is done.  But work on this and subsequent episodes will take
time as we don't have as much free time to work on this season as the last one. Releases may be slow and will probably be done on an irregular schedule.

Further updates will be announced as progress is made.

Furuhata Ninzaburo progress report

Furuhata Ninzaburo Episode 12:

September 17th: The final episode of Season One has been released!  Hope everyone
enjoys this classic Jdrama!

Translation for the last episode of Season One is finished, however, I will be moving in a
couple of days so the subs will be delayed until I am able to get settled and then finish
working on them.  Please be patient.

Furuhata Ninzaburo Episode 11:  

August 25th:  Episode 11 is up!  One more to go!

August 13th:  The penultimate episode of the first season has Furuhata facing off against a radio host.  Momoi Kaori is the guest star.   This episode features a lot of quick on air banter and is a bit more difficult to follow.  Translation is taking longer than usual and is only about 75 percent complete.

Furuhata Ninzaburo Episode 10: 

August 1st: This episode has been released.

Furuhata Ninzaburo Episode 9:

July 17th:  Episode 9 is done!

July 15th: Furuhata visits the taping of a television program featuring a psychic.  Prolific actor, Ishiguro Ken is the guest star.

Translation is complete for this episode.  Editing in progress.

Furuhata Ninzaburo Episode 8:

July 9th:  Episode 8 has been released.

July 4th:  This episode is 75% completed.   The episode takes place on a train and  Kaga Takeshi is the guest star, who is famous for his appearance on the Fuji TV cooking show,  Ryōri no Tetsujin, (  料理の鉄人 ) aka The Iron Chef.

Someone asked if we plan to do all three seasons of Furuhata Ninzaburo.  Right now, the plan is to focus on finishing this first season.  There are no plans yet to do any additional seasons.   Also, I only have Raw files for Season 2.  I believe Season 3 is available at DA, though.  ( We only want to sub shows that have high quality Raws.  Doesn't have to be  HD but certainly at least dvd quality. )

There are some episodes in Season 2 that are interesting, and feature interesting guest stars.  The list is on the Furuhata Ninzaburo wiki page.  Also, there is one episode that features Matsu Takako who is not listed in the wiki, probably because she is not the criminal.   I believe 3 episodes from Season 2 have been subbed by another person a few years ago.  And the 3 Final specials that aired a few years ago might be subbed too, but those might be hardsubs.    

A lot will depend on whether Machi wants to translate more seasons or if we choose to do a different drama instead.  Also, there will be some life events that may present obstacles in the upcoming months.  So... I don't want to make any definite announcements yet.

Certainly, this drama is a lot of fun to work on and there are some folks that seem to enjoy the series, which is gratifying.   However, interest is seemingly waning as the series progresses.  The number of downloads for the subs is rather disappointing and is getting less and less each episode.   Maybe the show is not everyone's cup of tea?   Maybe people are watching newer shows?  Maybe people are waiting for the entire season to be finished before picking it up?    Who knows what the reasons may be...  But we will see this through to the end of the first season, for sure.  

Anyway, that's the state of things thus far.  Hopefully, this episode will be ready to be released during the weekend.  

Furuhata Ninzaburo Episode 7:

I

June 29th:   Episode 7 has been released!

June 25th:  Translation for this episode is finished.  Again, there is some language that needs to be worked out as this case takes place at a movie studio that films jidaigeki, or period movies.  But why is Imaizumi-kun wearing eyeliner?  Hmm...

Furuhata Ninzaburo Episode 6:  
June 18th:  Episode 6 is done!  

Furuhata Ninzaburo Episode 5:
June 3rd:  Episode 5 has been released!

June 2nd: This episode, Furuhata and Imaizumi investigate a case revolving around a Shogi Tournament.  There are some specific terminology that needs some explaining, which will be included in the Translator's notes when this episode is posted.  Translation is finished and hopefully, this episode will be ready in a day or two.

Furuhata Ninzaburo Episode 4:
May 28th: Episode 4 is complete.  This time, Furuhata takes on a kidnapping case.

A side note, Furuhata mentions the Banzuin case in episode 1 in passing.  Interesting that there is a bit of continuity in the episodes, although it doesn't tie the cases together in any way.

The guest star in this episode is terrible IMO.  Or perhaps it's the director, although I'm inclined to believe it was an acting choice.  What am I talking about?  You'll see it, and then can make up your own mind.  Otherwise, the story and the case are interesting as usual.

May 27th:  This episode is 99 percent finished.  A couple lines need to be re-checked.

Hopefully it will be posted in a day or so.

May 23rd:  Work on this episode is 50% complete.

Furuhata Ninzaburo Episode 3: 
May 20th:  Posted episode 3 subs at D-A!

May 19th:  This episode is finished and release of subs is pending.  I need to check things over one more time.  Will probably be released before the end of the weekend.

Furuhata Ninzaburo Episode 2:

May 6th:  Episode 2 has been released at D-A!

May 2nd:  Machi has finished the translation for this episode!  There are some rough patches, though.  This episode takes place in the world of Kabuki, so there are some specific lines that need to be researched and worked out. 

Timing and editing will continue.  Not sure yet when everything will be completed...

April 29th:  It's Golden Week in Japan so translation on this episode is a bit slow.  Only 50 percent has been completed thus far.  Don't expect things to be finished until after the holiday week.  Timing and editing on that first part is in progress, however.

Updates will be coming next week...

Greetings and salutations

Great title right?  Yeah, not so much... I know.  This blog is not supposed to be so visually appealing.  Moving on!


I thought it was probably a good idea to make a blog page about fansubbing, specifically about the projects I am involved with.  There may be links added to older shows that I worked on.  Maybe...  But the main focus will be for current projects.


But first, some random facts and some history:
( Skip this part if you wish, as it's just rambling anyway, right? )


I've been working on and off in fansubbing for a few years.  The first project I worked on was with Iryu 2, as a part of B.O.N. Funsubs.   We released a few series during my tenure with them and I had a lot of fun and learned a lot!  In addition to B.O.N.  I also worked with some other great folks in the community on some side projects.   Again, some fun and good experience.


But eventually, my part with B.O.N. came to an end.  No bad feelings or scandals or anything remotely negative.  Everyone was always great.  We just move on with life and it was time for a change.    One of my collaborators at B.O.N., jade_frost and I wanted to work on projects we had a strong passion for.  Although some series such as Ii Hito, Koi no Chikara, and Pandora I fell under this category, it was not until Gonzo - Densetsu no Keiji did we officially strike out on our own.  We released a few more series, but we felt that good, quality shows that we were interested in subbing were fewer and far between.


Our last project to date was Marks no Yama.  We both have jobs and have less and less time to dedicate to subbing dramas.  Also, the last couple of series we did really took a lot out of us and took longer than normal to complete.  It seemed it was time to take a break.  It may seem like we've disappeared into hiding but that is not the case.   Jade_frost and I still are keeping our eyes open for new interesting projects, and if one comes along, we are poised to jump back into the fray!


Even though I had some reservations about the amount of time I could dedicate to this hobby once again, I must admit that the itch to work on another drama project was getting the best of me again.   So what to do about it?


Meanwhile, I found a new translation partner, Machi, who is a native Japanese speaker.  ( Most translators in the jdorama world are not native speakers ).  Like many Japanese, she has spent many years studying English.  Her years of hard work and practice has really paid off.  She is not 100 percent fluent but she is very good.  But since she doesn't speak English on a daily basis, her skills can only improve so much.  One day, I introduced the idea of trying to give some English translation a go.  She was game to tackle a new challenge, and so here we are!


The next logical question was what to work on.  As mentioned before, most current Jdorama don't have much appeal.   There are also more translators and fansubbers that are interested in doing the current shows.  But the older shows that have not been subbed are always there waiting to be tapped.   The problem is always finding the raw files to work on.  I went through my archive of shows and we decided to give Furuhata Ninzaburo Season 1 a try.


For those unfamiliar, Furuhata Ninzaburo is a very famous show that originally aired some 15 or so years ago.  I saw some of them when they originally aired in Japan, long before the availability of shows online.  ( Yup, that means going to the Japanese rental shop to watch it on VHS.  Yes, VHS!!!)   It's a keiji or detective drama starring Tamura Masakazu, as the title character.  He plays a police detective that has been compared to Columbo.  Yes, it is basically a Japanese version of that famous show.  His mannerisms and way he interacts with the criminals is very similar.


As with most keiji dorama, each episode is an individual case.   There are 3 seasons, but season is really a loose designation.  It is not necessary to watch them all or even sequentially.  Each episode stands on its own.  Also, each episode stars a different guest star.  Many famous geinoujin, or celebrities have appeared in the series.


Watching the shows, especially Season 1 has a very distinct, older feel to it.  These are from the so-called "Golden Age" of Japanese dorama, after all.  The hairstyles, the fashions, it all seems a bit dated.  But I wouldn't let that dissuade anyone from giving the show a try.  It's really a fun show, I think.  The cases may or may not be so clever.  That will be for each viewer to determine.  But the subtle details are what makes it interesting, I think.

Nevertheless, I hope that our work on this project will give newer viewers a chance to check out one of the landmark Japanese doramas.  It may not be the most popular or beloved shows, but there's no doubt that every Japanese person knows who Furuhata Ninzaburo is.


Lastly, Machi and I will do our best to combine our skills and knowledge to present Furuhata Ninzaburo in the highest quality possible, for a show that surely deserves it!  But be forewarned, subbing shows from one language to another is not easy work.  Even though we are both 100 percent Japanese, and each of us is a native speaker; one in English, the other in Japanese, it will take time.  We are working from scratch.   There's no Japanese script, no pre-timed files.  ( This is actually the preferred method for fansubbing for us ).   We have to watch and listen carefully to every line, every word.   And of course, this is not our job.  We don't get paid so other things will take priority from time to time.  Please be patient.


That's all for now.  I will try to post updates and release completed subs in a timely manner.


So sit back and enjoy Furuhata Ninzaburo!