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Title (English) Glory to the Ancestors

Title (Japanese) Gosenzosama Ban Ban Zai

Advertising
Fantasy Novel

Notes The box is numbered OPSD-B001 and the DVD's are OPSD-S023 through S027. There are 300 minutes of "stuff" on the five DVD's.

Classification -

Synopsis So what is "Gosenzosama Ban Ban Zai" about? Well, this is sort of "theater of the absurd". The Yomota family - son Inumaru, father Kinekuni and mother Tamiko, are living in a upper level unit in a tall condo out in the middle of nowhere. Inumaru notices something bright yellow moving in the field far below - it looks like a bunch of flowers. What it is is Maroko, a young woman dressed in a huge yellow broad rimmed hat and wide-skirted dress who comes up to the Yomota's apartment and introduces herself as Inumaru's descendent from the far future. The family doesn't believe this, but Maroko has the same large yellow-star birthmark on her bottom that Inumaru has. Maroko wants to stay with the family and serve her "ancestor". Inumaru likes the idea, and despite the fact that Maroko is a descendent of his, tries to grab a feel of her. Inumaru's mother is totally against the concept of time travel, let along Maroko being Inumaru's descendent, and leaves the family, ending episode 1. The series continues with Inumaru running off with Maroko in second episode, leaving his father behind. But the two are tracked down by a "time cop", Funmei, who is dressed all in red tights, a mask and a cape. Inumaru tricks the time cop and escapes the first time, but the later when they meet again Funmei isn't fooled and trips up Inumaru. In the meanwhile, Inumaru's mother hires a detective, Bannai, to track everyone down. Eventually all six meet up, we find out that Funmei is not only a time cop but also Maroko's father, and then there is a surprise and not totally linear ending.

Review Back in late 1998 I rented a rather odd anime laser disk from a local Chinese video store. The LD was odd because it was only in Japanese, rather than having Chinese subtitles or an alternate voice track. The LD was the first episode of a 6-part 1989 OAV by Oshii Mamoru called, "Gosenzosama Ban Ban Zai", which translates very roughly as "Hurray for the Ancestors". The series was put out as part of Studio Pierrot's 10th anniversary. I had never heard of this OAV series and couldn't find anything about it on the web or from any of my sources.
So I watched the first episode and was even more surprised - the show was very "stagey" - that is, it looked and felt a lot like a stage play. All the action was essentially set in one room of an apartment, there were only four characters and each of the characters had complicated monologues, similar to modern "theater of the absurd". Well, this opening fascinated me and I set out to try to find the rest of the episodes. But I had no luck - few people had even heard of this "theater of the obscure" OAV, let alone knew if it were still available to buy anywhere. Even when I was in Tokyo for a week in the summer of 1999 I couldn't find any trace of the series.
Then a couple of months ago, while I was browsing through the list of DVD's on CD Japan's web site, I ran into the upcoming release of a DVD box set of the series! Despite the 29,800 Yen price tag, I immediately ordered the box set. I received the package from CD Japan, and once all the pre-Christmas activities of "real life" were out of the way, I finally was able to get into the 5 DVD set.
The 5 DVD set consists of three DVD's, each with two of the OAV episodes, a fourth DVD with the movie version called "Maroko" and a fifth DVD with all sorts of special information including details on the series, cast, staff and other things. The box is numbered OPSD-B001 and the DVD's are OPSD-S023 through S027. There are 300 minutes of "stuff" on the five DVD's, including the 1981 pilot for a sci-fi/fantasy series called "Indra".
Now, don't let the above description fool you into thinking that this is an ordinary, linearly plotted story. There are all sorts of in-jokes, visual and verbal puns and out-and-out strangeness in this series. For example, the opening of each of the first 5 episodes consists of a pseudo-scientific dissertation on the mating and rearing of young of various species of birds, starting out with the cuckoo in the first episode. Old-fashioned sorts of nature illustrations are mixed with anthropomorphic birds who act out the description as if they are humans in bird suits.
Then there are all the deliberate stage techniques. Each of the first five episodes is very static, with each character having a monologue during which the character is highlighted by a spotlight from above and all the other characters are frozen in place and in the dark. In episode 5 there is even a musical routine. Only during the first or last one or two minutes of each of the first five episodes do we get any sort of action. Then in episode 6, everything changes, the story line becomes very non-linear and fragmentary and we finally get a very problematic ending.
There are also some really in-your-face uses of trademarks - the yellow dirigible that brings Maroko to the field next to the Yomota's condo has "Kodak" right across the side. Then in episode 2 when the time cop is introduced, he is standing next to a huge Coke machine and he is dressed in "Coke red". Then when the detective is introduced, he is sitting at a counter with "Canon" on it. Now, we've all seen anime where trade names are "disguised" by changing one letter, and we've all seen movies where "product placement" seems to be the most important part of the movie. But none of the letters are out of place in the trade marks in the series, and my bet is that Oshii didn't get money for "product placement" for this series. So I'm at a loss to figure out what is the point of having the huge trade marks, unless it is just to make the surreal atmosphere seem even more surreal by the use of common images in very strange settings.
And the "strangeness" is oddly familiar - I've got to believe that the creators of "FLCL" have seen or are aware of "Gosenzosama Ban Ban Zai". "FLCL" significantly more action and humor, but the underlying "weirdness" of "FLCL" is very reminiscent of "Gosenzosama".
So in the end, were my 29,800 Yen well spent? Um, er, ah well, it's not the worst anime that I've spent money on. But I probably would have been happier to have rented this series ( which is very unlikely, because it is not likely to get wide distribution this time either ). But I don't really regret seeing it either. If you are a fan of Oshii Mamoru, or of modern theater, or you just like experimental entertainment, this might be something that you want to look up.(Dave Baranyi)

Credits The cast is as follows:
Yomota Inumaru ( the son ) - Furukawa Toshio - ( Ataru from "Urusei Yatsura" )
Yomota Kinekuni ( the father ) - Ogata Kenichi - ( Ataru's father from "Urusei Yatsura" )
Yomota Tamiko ( the mother ) - Washio Machiko - ( Sakura from "Urusei Yatsura" )
Yomota Maroko ( the time traveling descendent ) - Katsuki Masako
Muroto Funmei ( the time cop ) - Genda Tesshou
Tatau Bannai ( the detective ) - Bazuka Yamadera

Episodes 6

Release Jap:DVD

TV Showing See the whole series for free? This series may be syndicated to regional cable, satellite or terrestial TV stations. For Europe click here.

Date 1989

Production

Broadcaster

Animation

References & Help Look up the latest data on this title at:
Richard Llewellyn's Animated Divots, or
Anime News Network (see Encyclopedia section) ,
or in "The Anime Encyclopedia" (Clements & McCarthy, Stone Bridge Press, 2001).
Help & further information.

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Information
Title (English)	Glory to the Ancestors
Title (Japanese)	Gosenzosama Ban Ban Zai
Advertising Fantasy Novel
Notes	The box is numbered OPSD-B001 and the DVD's are OPSD-S023 through S027. There are 300 minutes of "stuff" on the five DVD's.
Classification	-
Synopsis	So what is "Gosenzosama Ban Ban Zai" about? Well, this is sort of "theater of the absurd". The Yomota family - son Inumaru, father Kinekuni and mother Tamiko, are living in a upper level unit in a tall condo out in the middle of nowhere. Inumaru notices something bright yellow moving in the field far below - it looks like a bunch of flowers. What it is is Maroko, a young woman dressed in a huge yellow broad rimmed hat and wide-skirted dress who comes up to the Yomota's apartment and introduces herself as Inumaru's descendent from the far future. The family doesn't believe this, but Maroko has the same large yellow-star birthmark on her bottom that Inumaru has. Maroko wants to stay with the family and serve her "ancestor". Inumaru likes the idea, and despite the fact that Maroko is a descendent of his, tries to grab a feel of her. Inumaru's mother is totally against the concept of time travel, let along Maroko being Inumaru's descendent, and leaves the family, ending episode 1. The series continues with Inumaru running off with Maroko in second episode, leaving his father behind. But the two are tracked down by a "time cop", Funmei, who is dressed all in red tights, a mask and a cape. Inumaru tricks the time cop and escapes the first time, but the later when they meet again Funmei isn't fooled and trips up Inumaru. In the meanwhile, Inumaru's mother hires a detective, Bannai, to track everyone down. Eventually all six meet up, we find out that Funmei is not only a time cop but also Maroko's father, and then there is a surprise and not totally linear ending.
Review	Back in late 1998 I rented a rather odd anime laser disk from a local Chinese video store. The LD was odd because it was only in Japanese, rather than having Chinese subtitles or an alternate voice track. The LD was the first episode of a 6-part 1989 OAV by Oshii Mamoru called, "Gosenzosama Ban Ban Zai", which translates very roughly as "Hurray for the Ancestors". The series was put out as part of Studio Pierrot's 10th anniversary. I had never heard of this OAV series and couldn't find anything about it on the web or from any of my sources. So I watched the first episode and was even more surprised - the show was very "stagey" - that is, it looked and felt a lot like a stage play. All the action was essentially set in one room of an apartment, there were only four characters and each of the characters had complicated monologues, similar to modern "theater of the absurd". Well, this opening fascinated me and I set out to try to find the rest of the episodes. But I had no luck - few people had even heard of this "theater of the obscure" OAV, let alone knew if it were still available to buy anywhere. Even when I was in Tokyo for a week in the summer of 1999 I couldn't find any trace of the series. Then a couple of months ago, while I was browsing through the list of DVD's on CD Japan's web site, I ran into the upcoming release of a DVD box set of the series! Despite the 29,800 Yen price tag, I immediately ordered the box set. I received the package from CD Japan, and once all the pre-Christmas activities of "real life" were out of the way, I finally was able to get into the 5 DVD set. The 5 DVD set consists of three DVD's, each with two of the OAV episodes, a fourth DVD with the movie version called "Maroko" and a fifth DVD with all sorts of special information including details on the series, cast, staff and other things. The box is numbered OPSD-B001 and the DVD's are OPSD-S023 through S027. There are 300 minutes of "stuff" on the five DVD's, including the 1981 pilot for a sci-fi/fantasy series called "Indra". Now, don't let the above description fool you into thinking that this is an ordinary, linearly plotted story. There are all sorts of in-jokes, visual and verbal puns and out-and-out strangeness in this series. For example, the opening of each of the first 5 episodes consists of a pseudo-scientific dissertation on the mating and rearing of young of various species of birds, starting out with the cuckoo in the first episode. Old-fashioned sorts of nature illustrations are mixed with anthropomorphic birds who act out the description as if they are humans in bird suits. Then there are all the deliberate stage techniques. Each of the first five episodes is very static, with each character having a monologue during which the character is highlighted by a spotlight from above and all the other characters are frozen in place and in the dark. In episode 5 there is even a musical routine. Only during the first or last one or two minutes of each of the first five episodes do we get any sort of action. Then in episode 6, everything changes, the story line becomes very non-linear and fragmentary and we finally get a very problematic ending. There are also some really in-your-face uses of trademarks - the yellow dirigible that brings Maroko to the field next to the Yomota's condo has "Kodak" right across the side. Then in episode 2 when the time cop is introduced, he is standing next to a huge Coke machine and he is dressed in "Coke red". Then when the detective is introduced, he is sitting at a counter with "Canon" on it. Now, we've all seen anime where trade names are "disguised" by changing one letter, and we've all seen movies where "product placement" seems to be the most important part of the movie. But none of the letters are out of place in the trade marks in the series, and my bet is that Oshii didn't get money for "product placement" for this series. So I'm at a loss to figure out what is the point of having the huge trade marks, unless it is just to make the surreal atmosphere seem even more surreal by the use of common images in very strange settings. And the "strangeness" is oddly familiar - I've got to believe that the creators of "FLCL" have seen or are aware of "Gosenzosama Ban Ban Zai". "FLCL" significantly more action and humor, but the underlying "weirdness" of "FLCL" is very reminiscent of "Gosenzosama". So in the end, were my 29,800 Yen well spent? Um, er, ah well, it's not the worst anime that I've spent money on. But I probably would have been happier to have rented this series ( which is very unlikely, because it is not likely to get wide distribution this time either ). But I don't really regret seeing it either. If you are a fan of Oshii Mamoru, or of modern theater, or you just like experimental entertainment, this might be something that you want to look up.(Dave Baranyi)
Credits	The cast is as follows: Yomota Inumaru ( the son ) - Furukawa Toshio - ( Ataru from "Urusei Yatsura" ) Yomota Kinekuni ( the father ) - Ogata Kenichi - ( Ataru's father from "Urusei Yatsura" ) Yomota Tamiko ( the mother ) - Washio Machiko - ( Sakura from "Urusei Yatsura" ) Yomota Maroko ( the time traveling descendent ) - Katsuki Masako Muroto Funmei ( the time cop ) - Genda Tesshou Tatau Bannai ( the detective ) - Bazuka Yamadera
Episodes	6
Release	Jap:DVD
TV Showing	See the whole series for free? This series may be syndicated to regional cable, satellite or terrestial TV stations. For Europe click here.
Date	1989
Production
Broadcaster
Animation
References & Help	Look up the latest data on this title at: Richard Llewellyn's Animated Divots, or Anime News Network (see Encyclopedia section) , or in "The Anime Encyclopedia" (Clements & McCarthy, Stone Bridge Press, 2001). Help & further information.