25 minSeason 1 • Episode 26
LatestOh! Edo Rocket is a stage play written for the Gekidan Shinkansen theater troupe by Kazuki Nakashima. It was adapted into an anime TV series in April 2007, directed by Seiji Mizushima and produced by Studio Madhouse. 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.
Writing
Nakashima's theatrical roots explode into gleeful fourth-wall demolition.
Production
Madhouse flexes with period detail that then gets gloriously wrecked.
Sound
Score whiplashes from traditional shamisen to J-pop bangers.
Rie Kugimiya
Shunpei
Romi Park
O-ise
Tokuyoshi Kawashima
Nishinosuke Akai
Koichi Yamadera
Ginjiro
Yoko Soumi
Seikichi Tamaya
Chika Fujimura
Sora
Kiyonobu Suzuki
Santa
Shinya Fukumatsu
Rokubei
Chie Sato
Rokubei's Wife
Kinoko Yamada
Shinza
Risa Hayamizu
Tenho
Masaki Terasoma
Tenten
Katsuyuki Konishi
Genzo
Kei Shindo
O-nui
Arisa Ogasawara
Oriku
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Gekidan Shinkansen's hyper-theatrical style—think kabuki meets rock opera—shaped Nakashima's later Kill la Kill and Promare.
The real Tamaya firework dynasty still operates in Tokyo; the anime's self-aware jokes about 'anime-original endings' directly nod to the stage play's different conclusion.
JP
