Underplayed Gems

Sennin Buraku

Sennin Buraku poster
Directed by
Morihei Magatani
Genre
romantic comedy anime and manga
Country
Japan
The 3D catalogue: film cases on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalogue in 3D

The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this series is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

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How it feels

A romantic comedy set in historical China. It follows the lives of traditionally dressed characters in a village. The show was known for being bold for its time.

playfulwhimsicallightheartedold-fashionedrisquehistoricalslow-pacednostalgic

What happens

Sennin Buraku (仙人部落; roughly Hermit Village) is a manga series by Kō Kojima which ran in the adult magazine Weekly Asahi Geinō, published by Tokuma Shoten in Japan. It is the longest running comic with only one artist, being published weekly since October 1956, and the longest-running strip ever in Japan. By contrast, Golgo 13 is the longest running manga to be serialized in a dedicated manga magazine with Doraemon the second longest, and Kochira Katsushika-ku Kameari Kōen-mae Hashutsujo (Kochi-Kame) the third longest (Asahi Geino is not a dedicated manga magazine). While Sennin Buraku has been running for more years than Peanuts, Charles M. Schulz's strip has more "episodes" as it ran daily rather than weekly. The story was a romantic comedy taking place in historical China, and it was quite risqué for its time. The characters were very traditionally dressed (e.g. all wearing hanfu). The anime has been rerun on Japanese television, and all episodes have appeared on DVD (save for episodes 12 and 19). Sennin Buraku was the first late night anime, broadcast shortly before midnight on Fuji TV from September 4, 1963, to February 23, 1964. This was the first anime series produced by Tele-Cartoon Japan, and a page exists on their website about it. The series was in black and white and ran for 23 episodes. A live action movie was released in 1961, titled Fūryū Kokkei-tan: Sennin Buraku (風流滑稽譚 仙人部落). With the August 7, 2014 issue, it was announced that the series would be placed on hiatus. The death of the artist on April 14, 2015, puts any future chapters of Sennin Buraku in doubt. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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