Sherlock Hound

Sherlock Hound
Blu-Ray Disk cover of Famous Detective Holmes
名探偵ホームズ (Meitantei Hōmuzu)
Genre	Detective fiction, Comedy
TV anime
Directed by	Kyosuke Mikuriya, Hayao Miyazaki
Studio	Tokyo Movie Shinsha, RAI
Licensed by	Geneon Manga Entertainment
Network	TV Asahi
Original run	November 6, 1984 – May 20, 1985
Episodes	26
Anime and Manga Portal

Sherlock Hound (名探偵ホームズ, Meitantei Hōmuzu^?, released as either Famous Detective Holmes or Detective Holmes in Japan) is an anime television series based on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes series where almost all the characters are depicted as anthropomorphic dogs.[1] The show featured regular appearances of Jules Verne-steampunk style technology, adding a 19th-century science-fiction atmosphere to the series. It consists of 26 episodes aired between 1984 and 1985.

Production

The series was a joint project between Japan's Tokyo Movie Shinsha and the Italian public broadcasting corporation RAI. Six episodes were directed by Hayao Miyazaki until problems with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's estate led to a suspension in production.^[1] By the time the issues were resolved Miyazaki had turned to other projects and thus the remaining episodes were directed by Kyosuke Mikuriya. In 1984, a film version of two of the episodes directed by Miyazaki (The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle and Treasure Under the Sea) was released alongside Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind in Japanese theaters, entitled Meitantei Hōmuzu Gekijouban.

Music

The Japanese version has two pieces of theme music: The opening theme is "Sora Kara Koboreta Story" (land the ending theme is "Thames Gawa no Dance" (lit. "Dance of the Thames River"), both performed by the Japanese group, Da Capo. The series' background music was composed by Kentaro Haneda with some themes based on the opening and ending themes. The series' English version had a single piece of theme music for the opening and ending credits. The frequent soloists are Joe Farrell on soprano and alto saxes and flute (his last recording) and Milt Jackson on vibes.

Characters

• Sherlock Hound (Jap: Taichirō Hirokawa, Eng: Larry Moss): Just like his original incarnation, he has a genius intellect and is extremely knowledgeable in multiple fields. He keeps a cool and logical head despite the situation. Unlike his original incarnation, his only drug habit is smoking a tobacco pipe. He keeps his apartment a mess and is regularly conducting chemical experiments that lead to clouds of noxious fumes. He also seems to have feelings for Mrs. Hudson, as does the rest of the male cast.

• Doctor Watson (Jap: Kousei Tomita, Eng: Lewis Arquette): Hound's loyal companion, he is a trained doctor who returned to England shortly before meeting Hound. He tries his best to help Hound as he can, but has difficulty at times keeping up with Hound, both mentally and physically, being a bit overweight. Watson is a Scottish Terrier.

• Marie Hudson (Jap: Yôko Asagami, Eng: Patricia Parris): Hound and Watson's landlady. In most adaptations, Holmes' long-suffering landlady is shown as middle-aged or older, but in this version she is a widow in her 20s and a love interest of many, including Holmes and Moriarty (mostly Holmes), and given the first name Marie. Her late husband Jim was a pilot and Hound finds her contacts in the world of aviation useful. She can also be quite quick and resourceful when need be, and she also appears to be a crack shot with a revolver. Miyazaki actually wanted to present her as the real brains of Baker Street, running rings around both Hound and his enemy Moriarty, but he was overruled.^{[citation needed]} Like many people in Hound's world, Mrs. Hudson is a Golden Retriever.

• Professor Moriarty (Jap: Chikao Ohtsuka, Eng: Hamilton Camp): Unlike the rarely appearing mafia donnish Moriarty in the books, this Moriarty is portrayed as working personally on his plans without any sort of support network and frequently encountering Hound and his allies, being the antagonist in the majority of the episodes. Still an intellectual, he is a master inventor, often the one responsible for the steam punk technology seen in the show, including his personal "steam car", which is more like a cross between a tractor and a tank than a car. His plans can occasionally be very complex or outlandish that rely on one questioning or linking together unusual acts, which is often how Hound figures out what Moriarty is up to. In this version, Moriarty is a wolf.

• Smiley and George/Todd (Jap: Hiroshi Masuoka (George/Todd) & Mitsuo Senda (Smiley), Eng: Larry Moss (George/Todd) and Lewis Arquette (Smiley): Moriarty's henchmen, created for the show. Smiley is tall, lanky, has something of a limited intellect, a thick Cockney accent and a positive attitude. In the episodes directed by Hayao Miyazaki, he is colored a pea green, while in other episodes, he's medium brown. George/Todd is small and squat, has a negative outlook on the situation, and is usually the first to criticize Moriarty or his plans. He is inconsistently called either George or Todd, sometimes within a single episode, early in the series, eventually settling on Todd. The two are often used for comic relief. Before they worked for Moriarty, they were members of the Bengal Pirates that appeared in the first episode, though they escaped being arrested with the rest of the crew. This was indeed them, because Smiley remarks in the second episode that they used to be Pirates.

• Inspector Lestrade (Jap: Shōzō Iizuka), Eng: Lewis Arquette): As Hound's go-to guy in the police force, he's also the first to call on Hound for assistance on a case. A well-meaning and passionate police officer, he's not the most attentive of people, and his hotheaded and impulsive nature can lead to his landing in comedic situations.

DVD and Internet Releases

In 2002, Geneon released the series on DVD (Region 1, NTSC format). 6 volumes or 'Case Files' were released. Each disk was double sided with the Japanese version on one side and the English dubbed version on the other side.

The entire series of the English dubbed version is available at the website Crunchyroll.com

As of May 19, 2009, TMS Anime has posted all 26 full version episodes in English on YouTube. However, most of the episodes are out of order.

On 1 February 2010, Manga Entertainment released the complete series on DVD (Region 2, PAL format) in the UK as a HMV exclusive set. It has since become available in other outlets. It only contains the English dubbed version.

Episodes

Note: B = episode number by broadcast order, Y = episode number by YouTube order. The Original air date listed is that of Japan, the first country to air the show.

B	Y	Title / Original air date
01	11	"The Four Signatures" "His Name: Detective of Rumor" (彼がうわさの名探偵) November 6, 1984 Holmes is returning to England, but while crossing the English Channel, the ship he's on is attacked by pirates who are after one of the passengers. With the aid of another passenger, Dr. John Watson, Holmes attempts to save the day.
02	10	"The Crown of Mazalin" "Genius Moriarty: Professor of Evil" (悪の天才モリアーティ教授) November 13, 1984 An aristocrat's son is the main suspect after a crown on loan from the Queen goes missing. Holmes is asked to investigate, not knowing Professor Moriarty has been watching the location.
03	01	"A Small Client" "Martha's Small Case" (小さなマーサの大事件!?) November 20, 1984 Holmes suspects Professor Moriarty for the rising counterfeit money problem in London, but is unable to find any leads until a little girl comes asking Holmes to help her find her cat. (Directed by Miyazaki)
04	05	"Mrs. Hudson is Taken Hostage" "Mrs. Hudson's Hostage Incident" (ミセス·ハドソン人質事件) November 27, 1984 Professor Moriarty thinks he has found a weakness in Holmes, his land lady Mrs. Hudson, and so sets about kidnapping her, but things don't go as he planned. (Directed by Miyazaki)
05	02	"The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle" "The Blue Ruby" (青い紅玉) December 4, 1984 A little girl named Polly pick-pockets a gem Professor Moriarty has just stolen, and he is determined to stop at no end to get it back. (Directed by Miyazaki)
06	08	"The Green Balloon" "The Mystery of the Green Balloon" (緑の風船の謎をとけ!) December 11, 1984 A mysterious green balloon lands in Holmes' backyard, asking for help as the sender is being held prisoner on Dolphin Island.
07	07	"A Sacred Image Disappears" "Large Pursuit of the Lame Detectives" (大追跡!ちびっこ探偵団) December 18, 1984 Moriarty succeeds in stealing a large gold statue, but Holmes is able to track his escape, learning that Moriarty hid it somewhere by the docks, and must find it before Moriarty returns.
08	12	"The Speckled Band" "The Uneven Cord" (まだらのひも) January 8, 1985 A young girl returns to England after several years in America and finds her uncle is not quite who she remembers.
09	03	"Treasure Under the Sea" "Treasures of the Seabed" (海底の財宝) January 15, 1985 The Navy asks Holmes and Watson to help them recover a submarine stolen by Professor Moriarty. (Directed by Miyazaki)
10	06	"The White Cliffs of Dover" "The Major Dogfight of Dover Strait" (ドーバー海峡の大空中戦!) January 22, 1985 Someone has been sabotaging England's new Air Mail postal service to Europe, and it's up to Holmes, Watson and Mrs. Hudson to find out who. (Directed by Miyazaki)
11	04	"The Sovereign Gold Coins" "The Enormous Saving Box" (ねらわれた巨大貯金箱) January 29, 1985 Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson are asked to investigate the disappearance of twenty Sovereign Gold Coins from a specially constructed safe. (Directed by Miyazaki)
12	09	"The Stormy Getaway" "The Professor's Storm Disaster!" (教授 嵐の大失敗!!) February 5, 1985 A large shipment of cash is being taken by carriage across the country, and due to sabotage the police are unable to escort the shipment, and so Holmes is asked to shadow the shipment to ensure it arrives at its destination.
13	15	"The Runaway Freight Car" "Wagon Disappearance!? The Professor's Magic Trick" (貨車が消えた!? 教授の大魔術) February 12, 1985 A freight car in the middle of a passenger train disappears on route to London, and Holmes must figure out how.
14	14	"The Coral Lobsters" "Dainty! The Lobster Restaurant" (珍味!さんごのロブスター) February 19, 1985 Moriarty has stolen a collection of diamond-encrusted coral lobster carvings and it's up to Holmes and Watson to track him down.
15	16	"The Golden Statue of the Great Burglar" "I Saw! The Shiny Thief" (見たか!ピカピカの大どろぼう) February 26, 1985 When a bank entire collection of gold is stolen the same night a sculpture disappears, Moriarty becomes the first suspect when sketches of a gold statue in his likeness are found at the sculpture's house.
16	17	"The Secret of the Sacred Cross Sword" "Magic Castle! Or the Death of his Life?" (魔城!ホームズ 生か死か?) March 5, 1985 Holmes and Watson are invited to the first unveiling of "The Sacred Sword of the Wizards" in decades, but when the safe containing it is broken into and the sword isn't even touched, it's up to Holmes to figure out why.
17	20	"The Adventure of the Thames Monster" "The Thames Monster" (テムズ川の怪物) March 12, 1985 A sea monster seems to be attacking ships on the River Thames and devouring them whole, and after a passenger goes missing in one of the attacks and no body can be found, Holmes is called in to find him.
18	18	"The Adventure of the Three Students" "The Strategy That Scatters" (ネスコに散ったドジ作戦!) March 19, 1985 Holmes must find three art students on holiday in London from France who have gone missing, while Inspector Lestrade tries to figure out why someone would steal artwork reproductions.
19	19	"The Rosetta Stone" "The London Sky Battle" (漱石·ロンドン凧合戦!) March 26, 1985 When The Rosetta Stone literally floats away from the British Museum, Holmes wonders if it has to do with various countries' claims to the stone.
20	13	"The White Silver Getaway!" "The Silver Airship, Chase the Number!" (飛行船しろがね号を追え!) April 2, 1985 Moriarty and his gang manage to steal a shipment of gold, but Inspector Lestrade's investigation is making it difficult for the gang to get the gold out of London. Meanwhile, Holmes and Watson investigates an odd break-in and robbery at a company making a new blimp.
21	24	"The Disappearance of the Splendid Royal Horse" "Singing! Growing Mechanic Maneuvers" (ブンブン!はえはえメカ作戦) April 9, 1985 There's a new thief in London, one that puts Moriarty to shame, and their next target appears to be the Queen's favorite horse.
22	25	"Disturbance, The World Flight Championship!" "The Chaotic Large Airplane Race" (ハチャメチャ飛行機大レース!?) April 16, 1985 Moriarty enters a prestigious airplane race, with the intent of sabotaging his way into first place, including stealing parts from other entrants to make his plane the best. Mrs. Hudson, Holmes and Watson enter the race in hopes of stopping him.
23	21	"The Secret of the Parrot" "That wisdom! The Professor-parrot" (知恵くらべ!オウム対教授) April 23, 1985 When Moriarty goes to great lengths to steal a parrot off a train, Holmes takes up the case to find out what's so special about this parrot.
24	23	"The Bell of Big Ben" "Listen! Moriarty's Anthem" (聞け!モリアーティ讃歌) May 7, 1985 Big Ben's bell has been burglarized, but bureaucrats beseech Holmes to keep that bit buried while they search, so as to burke blemishing England's dignity.
25	22	"The Priceless French Doll" "Chaos! The Priceless Doll Case" (大混乱!人形すりかえ事件) May 14, 1985 Moriarty is after a large diamond, but after hiding it in a doll, he ends up with more than he bargained for.
26	26	"The Missing Bride Affair" "Goodbye Holmes! The Last Case" (さよならホームズ!最後の事件) May 21, 1985 A bride vanishes moments before she is to walk down the aisle, and the couples' families come to Holmes for help, but when secrets from the bride's past come to light Holmes has to weigh his options.

See also

• Non-canonical Sherlock Holmes works

References

1. ^ French anime site

External links

• Sherlock Hound at the Internet Movie Database
• Sherlock Hound (anime) at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia
• Sherlock Hound at Nausicaa.net fan site
• Sherlock Hound net (jp)