Sherlock Hound

Sherlock Hound (名探偵ホームズ, Meitantei Hōmuzu, lit. "Detective Holmes") is an Italian-Japanese animation television series based on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes series where almost all the characters are depicted as anthropomorphic dogs. 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 in 1981 until problems with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's estate led to a suspension in production. By the time the issues were resolved Miyazaki had turned to other projects, and thus the remaining episodes were directed by Kyosuke Mikuriya. The show was finally aired in 1984. The same year a film version edited together 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" (lit. "Story Spilled From the Sky") and 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, tenor and alto saxes and flute (his last recording) and Milt Jackson on vibes. This English theme does not exist on the UK DVD's from Manga, instead instrumentals of both the Japanese opening and ending themes were used.

Characters

Sherlock Hound (ホームズ, Hōmuzu)

Voiced by: Taichirō Hirokawa (Japanese), Larry Moss (English)

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. Hound resembles either a Pembroke Corgi or a red fox.

Doctor Watson (ワトソン, Watoson)

Voiced by: Kōsei Tomita (Japanese), Lewis Arquette (English)

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.

Mrs. Hudson (ハドソン夫人, Hadoson-fujin)

Voiced by: Yōko Asagami (Japanese), Patricia Parris (English)

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 (マリー, Marī). 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. Like many people in Hound's world, Mrs. Hudson is a golden retriever.

Professor Moriarty (モリアーティ教授, Moriāti-kyōju)

Voiced by: Chikao ÅŒtsuka (Japanese), Hamilton Camp (English)

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. Sometimes he acts as a mercenary to other criminals who are after what he normally wouldn't steal. In this version, Moriarty resembles a gray wolf.

Smiley (スマイリー, Sumairī)

Voiced by: Mitsuo Senda (Japanese), Lewis Arquette (English)

One of 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. Before working for Moriarty, he and George/Todd were members of the Bengal Pirates that appeared in the first episode, though they escaped being arrested with the rest of the crew.

George/Todd (トッド, Toddo)

Voiced by: Hiroshi Masuoka (Japanese), Larry Moss (English)

One of Moriarty's henchmen, created for the show 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, he, along with Smiley, was a member of the Bengal Pirates that appeared in the first episode, though they escaped being arrested with the rest of the crew.

Inspector Lestrade (レストレード, ResutorÄ"do)

Voiced by: Shōzō Iizuka (Japanese), Lewis Arquette (English)

As Hound's go-to guy in the police force, he's also the first to call on Hound for assistance on a case. Though he is a well-meaning and passionate police officer, he's not the most attentive of people, and he also has a hotheaded and impulsive nature as well. He is usually assisted by several policemen in trying to catch and arrest Moriarty, but they always fail at trying to catch him and they seem to always end up landing themselves into comedic situations similar to that of the Keystone Cops. Lestrade is a bull dog.

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.

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 United Kingdom as a HMV exclusive set. It has since become available in other outlets. It only contains the English dubbed version. This release also lacks the episode title cards, though the episodes are listed on the DVD case and menus.

As of 29 March 2012, The episodes in their original order are posted on Hulu.

Discotek Media released the series in a complete, unabridged DVD box set with English and Japanese versions on September 30, 2014.

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.

See also

• Non-canonical Sherlock Holmes works

References

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)