Oh! Edo Rocket

Plot

The story is set in Edo in 1842, the thirteenth year of the Tenpō era. Government reforms have banned all luxuries, including plays, performances, inventions, and fireworks. Despite the political climate, Seikichi, a young fireworks maker, dreams of making a huge firework the likes of which have never been seen. But every time he fires a test rocket, he finds himself pursued by government officials. One night, a blue monster and a white monster are fighting in the woods, battling each other and battling a group of human warriors. The blue monster gains the upper hand but is distracted by Seikichi's rocket, which allows the white monster to escape. The next day, a beautiful, mysterious girl appears before Seikichi and asks him to make a firework that will reach the moon.

Throughout the series, the characters use terms and items that have not been created yet, including a pocket calculator and television sets. The TVs are primarily used as flashback devices to bring characters up to date on events they missed. Additionally, backgrounds in the series show shops with signs advertising electronics, specifically TVs and DVDs. In Episode 12, Onui and Shunpei repeatedly pass back and forth between 1842 Edo and a modern Japanese railway station, even riding the train in one scene, without taking any notice of the change. There are other times when the characters acknowledge the fact that they are in an anime and comment on anachronistic language used.

Residents of Furai Row-House Block

Seikichi Tamaya

Voiced by: Yoko Soumi (Japanese); Greg Ayres (English)A pyrotechnician who dreams of making gigantic fireworks no one has ever seen or launched before, Seikichi Tamaya (玉屋 清吉 Tamaya Seikichi) is very hot-tempered and will get flustered easily. He was home schooled by his parents, who were most likely pyrotechnicians too.

Sora

Voiced by: Chika Fujimura (Japanese); Brina Palencia (English)A strange but beautiful girl who appears unexpectedly in Seikichi's home, Sora (ソラ) asks Seikichi to make a rocket that will reach the moon. She is also the white sky beast, a fact which she keeps from all but a select few of her new friends. Unlike the blue sky beast, Sora can speak to humans while in her true form. She does this several times when alone with Ginjiro.

Shunpei

Voiced by: Rie Kugimiya (Japanese); Cherami Leigh (English)A mathematical genius and Seikichi's younger brother, Shunpei (俊平), is much like his brother in personality, but was not home schooled like him. Despite the time period, he often uses a calculator to solve his problems.

Ginjiro

Voiced by: Kouichi Yamadera (Japanese); Jonathan Brooks (English)A locksmith who can break any lock with his fingers, Ginjiro (銀次郎 Ginjirō) is also Captain of the Men in Black, code-named "Captain Bellybutton", but prefers not to be called that.

Santa

Voiced by: Kiyonobu Suzuki (Japanese); Charlie Campbell (English)The carpenter of the row house, Santa (三太) is sually seen with Rokubei and Shinza.

Rokubei

Voiced by: Shinya Fukumatsu (Japanese); Sonny Strait (English)The tile mason of the row house, Rokubei (六兵衛 Rokubee) is known for his grumpy and violent attitude, as well as for his enormous teeth that take up half his face. Usually seen with Santa and Shinza.

Rokubei's Wife

Voiced by: Chie Satō (Japanese); Laurie Steele (English)The wife of Rokubei, yet her name is never mentioned. She constantly smacks her husband to shut him up and apologizes for his actions.

Shinza

Voiced by: Kinoko Yamada (Japanese); Sean Michael Teague (English)The engineer of the row house who frequents Akihabara. Usually seen with Santa and Rokubei.

Tenho

Voiced by: Risa Hayamizu (Japanese); Leah Clark (English)Tenho (天鳳 Tenhō) is a circus performer who specializes in sleight-of-hand.

Tenten

Voiced by: Masaki Terasoma (Japanese); J. Michael Tatum (English)Tenho's exceedingly tall brother, Tenten (天天) assists Tenho as a circus performer as well.

Genzo

Voiced by: Katsuyuki Konishi (Japanese); Chris Cason (English)The unnoticeable cross-dressing scale-maker, Genzo (源蔵 Genzō) is extremely depressed by the fact that nobody except his mother and Onui recognizes him. He is also a mathematical genius, shown providing solutions to problems posted publicly by Shunpei. Later in the series, he is turned into a dove by one the old man's contraptions.

Genzo's Mother

Voiced by: Yūko Satō (Japanese); Melinda Wood Allen (English)An upbeat, cheery middle-aged woman who constantly tries to cheer up her son.

Onui

Voiced by: Kei Shindou (Japanese); Tia Ballard (English)The town-belle watchdog for public morality at the row house, Onui (おぬい) acts like a puppy, often sniffing people. She also styles her hair so it looks like the tips of a dog's tail and wears hairpins which resemble large eyes. In Episode 12, she is revealed to be Shupei's childhood pet he used to play with, but she left him because he wanted to solve a complicated math problem.

The Old Man

Voiced by: Rokuro Naya (Japanese); Steve Powell (English)A mysterious fellow, known as the landlord of the row house. He is always surrounded by a coterie of young women, and has many strange inventions inside his home. At one point, the row house is heavily damaged by a gigantic wood-and-ceramic mecha, and the old man repairs it by pulling a lever on his wheelchair, which causes the damaged buildings to retract into the ground and be replaced by new, undamaged ones. In Episode 10, he is identified as a historical figure named Gennai Hiraga.

Outside the Row-House

Oise

Voiced by: Romi Park (Japanese); Stephanie Young (English)Wealthy owner of the Shirahama-ya pawn shop, and an old friend of Ginjiro from Osaka.

Oriku

Voiced by: Arisa Ogasawara (Japanese); Trina Nishimura (English)Daughter of the owner of the Kagiya fireworks shop, and a childhood friend of Seikichi.

Tetsuju the Human Fuse

Voiced by: Jun Hashimoto (Japanese); Vic Mignogna (English)A crazy rocketeer who lives deep inside the Chichibu mountains with tanukis as friends, Tetsuju the Human Fuse (火縄の鉄十 Hinawa no Tetsujū) thinks he can speak the moon people language (which is gibberish) and Sora usually responds to him.

Blue Girl

Voiced by: Tomo Sakurai (Japanese); Colleen Clinkenbeard (English)A pale, slim, white-haired woman who wears a dark-blue kimono. She is also the blue sky beast. She has to consume the vital fluids of higher beings, i.e., drink the blood of humans. She cozies up to Akai, persuading him to find and kill people for her to feed on. After a conversation with Genzo's mother, she realizes she doesn't know her name, or even whether or not she has one. Shortly before her death, Akai gives her the name Yu.

The Government

Akai Nishinosuke

Voiced by: Tokuyoshi Kawashima (Japanese); Chuck Huber (English)A low-ranking policeman under the South Edo Magistrate who hates the residents of the row house, Akai Nishinosuke (赤井西之介) has an obsessive compulsive disorder and feels the need to clean up dirt and trash from the street.

The Men in Black

Eyes Voiced by: Tomohisa Asou (Japanese); J. Paul Slavens (English)Ears Voiced by: Yuji Ueda (Japanese); Anthony Bowling (English)Arms Voiced by: Eisuke Asakura (Japanese); Jeremy Inman (English)Knees Voiced by: Katsuyuki Konishi (Japanese); Justin Cook (English)Ankles Voiced by: Naoya Nakanishi (Japanese); Mike McFarland (English)Heels Voiced by: Gô Shinomiya (Japanese); Newton Pittman (English)Secret agents under the South Edo Magistrate, they tend to constantly move in odd ways such as scuttling like insects or cartwheeling. Their code names are taken from the body parts in which their powers are concentrated.

Yozo Torii

Voiced by: Norio Wakamoto (Japanese); R Bruce Elliott (English)Yozo Torii (鳥居 耀蔵 Torii Yōzō) is the South Edo Magistrate who dubbed Ginjiro the captain of the Men in Black.

Kinshiro Toyama

Voiced by: Toru Ohkawa (Japanese); Ian Sinclair (English)The North Edo Magistrate who hired Tenho and Tenten to spy on the old man due to suspicion, and he also hangs out in town in disguise as Kin the Playboy.

Tadakuni Mizuno

Voiced by: Masaki Terasoma (Japanese); Bucky Pearl (English)The Senior Councilor of the Shogun Government, the man who banned fireworks and all forms of entertainment in town.

(These last three characters are based upon actual historical personages.)

Episode list

The first letter of each episode is spelling out a message which reads "Oh! Edo Rocket: From now on after love and turmoil...er, what was it again? See ya!" (大江戸ロケットこれからも愛と荒れ後、何だったっけ、またな!, Ō Edo Roketto kore karamo ai to are ato, nandattakke, mata na.)

Theme Songs

The Opening Theme is "Oh Edo Nagareboshi IV" by PUFFY and Ending Theme from Episodes 2-14 is "100 miles~Niji o Oikakete" by Santara and from Episodes 15-25 "I Got Rhythm" by Natural High and the Ending theme for Episode 1 and 26 is "Oh Edo Nagareboshi IV" by PUFFY

Reception

Writing for the Los Angeles Times, Charles Solomon ranked the series the fifth best anime on his "Top 10".