Oh! Edo Rocket


Oh! Edo Rocket is a stage play written for the Gekidan Shinkansen theater troupe by Kazuki Nakashima. It was adapted into an anime television series in April 2007, directed by Seiji Mizushima and produced by Madhouse, Index Holdings, Universal Pictures Japan, and Hakuhodo DY Media Partners. It is a comedic story often breaking the fourth wall, that involves a firework maker in medieval Edo and his efforts to build a rocket to carry an alien back to her people on the moon.
The series made its North American television debut on the Funimation Channel on November 15, 2010.

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.

Characters

Residents of Furai Row-House Block

Outside the Row-House

The Government

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!"

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".