Satirical anime are rare to begin with, and political satires rarer still. I attribute that to the "
subject" political culture of Japan. One remarkable exception stands out though, the 2007 Madhouse work
Oh! Edo Rocket. Originally produced for the stage, the playwright reworked the material into a 26-week animated romp that juxtaposed modern technologies and the late Edo period. The soundtrack by Honma Yusuke rounds out the anachronisms by making heavy use of American big-band sounds that were probably common in Japan during the immediate postwar years.
Set in 1843-44, the story focuses on a young fireworks maker, Tamaya Seikichi. Like other characters in
Oh! Edo Rocket, Seikichi has historical roots in the
Tamaya family of fireworks makers. Their Kagiya rivals also appear in the show. Seikichi's professional development has been restricted by the introduction of the
Tenpou Reforms by the Tokugawa Shogunate. In an effort to "cleanse" Japan of foreign and modern influences, the Reforms banned many "useless" activities, one of which was entertainment. As a result Seikichi is forced to conduct his experiments in obscure locations and spends a lot of his effort avoiding the local enforcer, Nishinosuke Akai. Akai is employed by
Mizuno Tadakuni, the real-life author of the Reforms.
One day a strange young woman with stars in her eyes appears before Seikichi and asks him to build her a firework that can reach the moon. That premise lets the playwright satirize political repression, the 1960's race to the moon, and the relationship between government and citizens in contemporary Japan.
The show repeatedly breaks the "fourth wall," with the characters often speaking directly to the audience. At one point the main characters all bemoan the fact that an episode is taking place without any of them appearing in it. Another time one wonders about some obscure character who "doesn't appear on the website!"
I was shocked when Funimation decided to license this show because I always thought it was "too Japanese" to appeal to foreign viewers. The cast makes the same observation in the recap episode, fourteen, when they wonder how a particular scene will play out for foreign audiences. Funimation took considerable liberties with the translation to cope with this problem. Some of their changes are quite funny and appropriate (the "playboy" character is portrayed as an Elvis impersonator at one point), but others simply miss the mark. If you are interested in watching this show, I strongly recommend finding the Shinsen fansubs. The translator ("
Tom & Jerry") took great pains with this show and included notes whenever a cultural referent might not make sense to those of us outside Japan.
This is one of my all-time favorite anime series and entirely unlike anything else you might have watched.
When I watched
AKB0048, I wondered if Okada Mari had watched
Rocket. Her script also has a ban on entertainment at the center of the plot.