Memories Off #5 - That Escalated Quickly

At long last, I bring you the one-shot Memories Off #5 OVA, which is perhaps more meant as a "game companion" piece than any of the three previous Memories Off OVAs. But this finally brings the franchise to a close with echoes of the Kanata arc of Memories Off 3.5, where a group tries to cope with the loss of a mentor and an estranged girl associated with the male lead. This release is a remux of MangAnime's Portuguese/English release, which does contain some hardsubs in the form of staff credits and OP/ED romaji and kanji. (Portuguese speakers can switch to MangAnime's original subs on tracks 2 and 3, if they wish.) However, you can find a non-credit version of the OP and a non-hardsubbed version of the ED in the extras folder. The main script is an edit of the yu English subs that MangAnime included against AquaStar's translations, with a bit of my own input, of course.

Also included are 7 character-specific music videos and one promo video for the OVA itself. Sadly, it's not just the extras that caused so much delay, as I did have the main script basically done at the end of April. After moving and setting my PC back up, I started having PC issues and an infinite Startup Repair loop. My efforts to fix things were in vain, and I eventually found out that my main hard drive was failing. Fortunately, I didn't lose anything in terms of raws, scripts, or anime files in general (minus some Katawa Crash achievements), although it was a financial setback. Not sure exactly what went wrong, but it could've been some thunderstorm/power surge issues. Turns out it's maybe not a good idea to use a 14-year-old surge protector that I probably bought along with my first PC, which served me from 2000-2005. But with a new, larger HDD, and a new surge protector with battery backup, I should be back in business.

Torrent

Memories Off #3.5 04 - Summer Loving, Happened so Fast

In which minor dramas, misunderstandings, and work conflicts are resolved, and lifelong commitments are apparently made. But it seems like Inori has some mental issues that these OVAs don't go into enough detail to cover.

And I had so much momentum with the first three episodes of this OVA, only to let this one sit retimed but unedited for almost two months. Blame various trips for conventions and other things, and also moving. But at least I'm still a basement dweller, so there still shouldn't be too many legitimate real-life obstacles to getting more releases out. Memories Off #5 to follow.

Ep 04 Torrent || 10-bit Batch (Nyaa) || 10-bit Batch (BakaBT?)

EDIT: post title changed; knowing me, I'm sure it was inevitable that I'd accidentally re-use a musical reference somewhere...

Memories Off 3.5 03 - Baby, You're a Firework

This episode begins the "The Time when Prayers are Answered" arc of Memories Off 3.5, and I have to say, it's got a bit less gravity and a bit more Epic Misunderstandings than the previous arc. And does anyone else think that the scene from 15:35 - 17:11 is random and unnecessary? Maybe if I'd played the game and knew who that character was beyond "mauve-haired girl with a sword who appears in the OP", it'd be a different story. And I'll see if she pops up in the last episode; I can't recall since I last actually watched the full series in 2007.

Might've had this out a little sooner if not for the moving calendar signs at 20:25, but since Faith&Flux translated them (albeit not entirely correctly), I held myself to the same standard. I didn't TL/TS a few other signs like the Fireworks Festival fliers, but I felt they were redundant since Inori reads one out loud anyway.

Torrent

Memories Off 3.5 02 - I Set Fire to the Rain

In the concluding episode of the "On the Other Side of Memories" arc, the characters attempt to pick up the pieces, mend their relationships, and move on with their lives after the tragic events of episode 01. A love triangle powered by grief can be powerful, indeed. (And did I mention that one of the people I paid tribute to in the Saint October 25 ED dedication died in a motorcycle accident? Fffffff--) Anyway, the next episode begins a different story arc centered around employees of the Cubic Café's rival establishment.

There may be some encoding issues with this file, but I'm not sure how much of the problem is in the source or even how much of it is fixable without destructive filtering, if it's fixable at all.

Torrent

Memories Off 3.5 01 - Two-Wheeled Mayhem

At long last, I bring you the first episode of the 2004 Memories Off 3.5 OVA. This OVA consists of two separate arcs that can be watched in either order (eps 1-2 or 3-4 first), but I'm releasing them in the same chronological order that they were originally released. Thus, episode 1 is the first episode of the "On the Other Side of Memories" arc, where our male lead is actually in a somewhat mature, stable relationship. Unfortunately, a now-famous girl from his past has resurfaced, though her romantic focus appears to be elsewhere.

Subtitles for this are from the only existing English release, by Anime-Faith and Anime-Influx (with some editing, of course). I guess those groups decided to join forces rather than compete like they did for Memories Off 2nd. Encode is from the same encoder who did Memories Off 2nd for me, though they didn't have the scripts available this time around. Ah well, nothing a bit of transcription can't solve.

Torrent

Memories Off 2nd - 10-bit batch

This is a 10-bit version of Memories Off 2nd. I'd originally held off on releasing this version because my old desktop couldn't play 10-bit without resorting to VLC, and I have a personal rule against releasing files I can't comfortably play -- a rule which also preclude(s/d) overly-high resolutions and lag-inducing typesetting/karaoke. But over the course of the project, I migrated things to a new PC that is able to handle 10-bit and 720p+, so I figured there was no real reason not to put these encodes to use.

I will also be moving on to Memories Off 3.5, and I have 8-bit and 10-bit versions of those episodes as well. Let me know if you want both 8-bit and 10-bit, or just one or the other. I can also do an 8-bit batch for Memories Off 2nd, if there is demand.

10-bit Batch (Nyaa) || 10-bit Batch (BakaBT) || 8-bit Batch (Nyaa)

Memories Off 2nd 03 - Love the one you're with?

And at last, we finally have the last episode of Memories Off 2nd, where numerous rainy scenes and emo moments manage to reach a conclusion. From some of the montages that get shown, I get the feeling that a 12-episode anime might've provided a better adaptation of the game, but we take what we can get. I do have the materials to do a 10-bit version of this OVA if there's interest. Let me know if you notice any errors in the current releases.

10-bit Batch (Nyaa) || 10-bit Batch (BakaBT) || 8-bit Batch (Nyaa)

I don't know why I often choose December as a month to finish one anime every day, as there's always tons of stuff going on with family and friends, and it's not cool to let the fansubbing suffer after just getting back from the convention hiatus. I've also had some PC issues here and there -- I got the feeling that my old desktop PC was having overheating/fan issues, so I decided it was finally time to migrate things over to the new PC. And after that, I had a little scare when supposedly-benign temperature monitoring program SpeedFan made the hard drive with almost all my raws temporarily disappear and not be recognized for awhile. Fortunately, it spontaneously re-activated, and none of my scripts were at risk. But I've gone through and backed up a good portion of that material so that a real failure won't completely devastate me.

Memories Off 2nd 02 - Beach Blanket Betrayal

I think the above line describes how I feel about the typesetting for the many cellphone messages in this episode. But since they are relevant and were translated by Anime-Faith, I couldn't omit them. Blame Aegisub's Color Picker if you see "obvious bars are obvious" colored bars around the text. Anyway, Tomoe has her best friend's boyfriend Ken at her beck and call for every little thing in this episode; one wonders how she survived before she met him. But Ken manages to be complicit in their secret liaisons as well -- is there a School Days-esque development ahead on the horizon?

As is always the case around this time of year, I'm busy with staffing and panel preparations for Anime NebrasKon. If you're going to be there, stop by my viewing rooms and say hi! I'll be screening Memories Off 2nd on Saturday 11-2 at 4:15 AM, so ep 3 WILL be done within the next 2 weeks. (Lol no I lied and slacked off and showed A-Faith's ep 3 instead.)

10-bit Batch (Nyaa) || 10-bit Batch (BakaBT) || 8-bit Batch (Nyaa)

Memories Off 2nd 01 - Summer Never Dies

Here's something I've had kicking around for awhile; as promised awhile back, I will be releasing all of the Memories Off OVAs, and this begins the second series. Enjoy the beginnings of a summer love triangle, though I imagine things don't feel so rushed in the original game. Speaking of games, you can also enjoy this episode as a drinking game: take a drink every time Hotaru asks, "Ken-chan, do you like/love me?" Subs are a combination of Anime-Faith's and Anime-Influx's subs, plus the usual edits and changes on my part. Styling matches what I used on the 1st Memories Off OVA.

10-bit Batch (Nyaa) || 10-bit Batch (BakaBT) || 8-bit Batch (Nyaa)

Memories Off 3 - How to Save a Life

I thought for once I'd present a screenshot with relevant characters, since this is the final episode of the 2001-02 Memories Off OVA. This installment features cheery, artsy, and sickly girl Minamo Ibuki, who has an unexpected connection to Tomoya's past. After going through a certain amount of drama, the episode ends on a sad and ambiguous note. At least the animators remembered to include the title this time.

Batch (BakaBT) || Batch (Nyaa)

I'm not sure if I'll start in on Memories Off 2nd right away. However, I have new encodes available for it in both 8-bit and 10-bit h264. Both versions have equal file size. So the question is, do you want...

* 8-bit only?
* 10-bit only?
* Both 8 and 10-bit?

Memories Off 02 - Head Games

After fixing half a dozen embarrassing editing errors that I introduced, not to mention countless more TL, editing, timing, and other errors from the Anime-Keep subs, I bring you episode 2 of Memories Off. This episode features Shion Futami (the older sister of Ami and Mami? Probably not), a quiet librarian type of girl who harbors a hidden side and some dark secrets. She's not as moe as Shiori Shiomiya, though.

Note that the English and Japanese episode titles are added in as softsubs, because the post-production team apparently forgot to place the Japanese title in the video. Given how simplistic and shoddy this OVA's animation is, it wouldn't surprise me. So if you're seeing rectangles at that point, your system isn't set up to display East Asian characters properly. To avoid that issue, I normally don't use kanji in my subs, but this warranted an exception. If you wish to fix it, GIYF.

Batch (BakaBT) || Batch (Nyaa)

And as before, I'm still searching for the MangAnime release of Memories Off #5. If you have or can acquire it, let me know. (Luckily, they eventually re-uploaded it.)

Memories Off 01 - Amefuri Koneko

Once again, I'm reaching into the vaults to bring out another old and somewhat forgotten OVA from the early 00s. Memories Off was based on a romance game of some sort, though I don't know if it was ero or not. Rather than forming a complete story, the three episodes adapt different story paths from the game. They all deal with a male lead who's lost a childhood friend/girlfriend to Japan's #1 Backstory Killer (a traffic accident), and his attempts to move on amidst guilt and regret.

Since I could not find the Baka-MX version for comparison, I took the subs from the commonly-available Anime-Keep release. As always, they've been retimed and edited, this time to fix TL/timing errors, improve flow, and remove embarrassing internal notes that were accidentally left visible in the final release.

Batch (BakaBT) || Batch (Nyaa)

More technical details available at the torrent link. I'm sure some will question the use of wmv and wma, and my answer is:
1) That's how the raws were.
2) Since the wma used 16-bit depth rather than 24-bit, it worked in Aegisub without the need to transcode to another codec. Therefore, I decided not to transcode the audio, which would've degraded the sound quality.

Before anyone asks: yes, I do intend to release later OVAs in the Memories Off series. Someone has been working on finding/encoding raws for MO 2nd and 3.5 for me. However, I'd like to get the MangAnime release of Memories Off #5, so if you have that file, let me know and seed the torrent.