Oh! Edo Rocket (大江戸ロケット) is a 2001 stage play written for the Gekidan Shinkansen theater troupe by Kazuki Nakashima and directed by Hidenori Inōe, with a novelization released in August of the same year. A manga adaptation illustrated by Una Hamana was serialized in Kodansha's seinen manga magazine Monthly Afternoon from February 2007 to July 2009, with its chapters collected in three tankōbon volumes. A twenty-six episode anime television series by Madhouse was broadcast in Japan from April to September 2007. It is a comedic story often breaking the fourth wall, that involves a fireworks maker in medieval Edo and his efforts to build a rocket to carry an alien back to her people on the Moon. The anime series was licensed in North America by Funimation.

Plot

The story is set in Edo in 1842, the thirteenth year of the Tenpō era. Government reforms have banned all luxuries, including plays, performances, inventions, and fireworks. Despite the political climate, Seikichi, a young fireworks maker, dreams of making a huge firework the likes of which have never been seen. But every time he fires a test rocket, he finds himself pursued by government officials. One night, a blue monster and a white monster are fighting in the woods, battling each other and battling a group of human warriors. The blue monster gains the upper hand but is distracted by Seikichi's rocket, which allows the white monster to escape. The next day a mysterious girl appears before Seikichi and asks him to make a firework that will reach the Moon. Throughout the series, the characters use terms and items that have not been created yet, including a pocket calculator and television sets. The TVs are primarily used as flashback devices to bring characters up to date on events they missed. Additionally, backgrounds in the series show shops with signs advertising electronics, specifically TVs and DVDs. In episode 12, Onui and Shunpei repeatedly pass back and forth between 1842 Edo and a modern Japanese railway station, even riding the train in one scene, without taking any notice of the change. There are other times when the characters acknowledge the fact that they are in an anime and comment on anachronistic language used.

Characters

Residents of Furai Row-House Block

Outside the Row-House

The Government

Media

Stage play

The original stage play by the Gekidan Shinkansen theatrical troupe, directed by Hidenori Inōe and written by Kazuki Nakashima, was performed at the Osaka Shochikuza theatre from August 7–26, 2001, and at the Aoyama Theatre from September 5–24 of the same year. A novelization of the stage play was published by Ronsosha on August 7, 2001.

Manga

A manga adaptation illustrated by Una Hamana was serialized in Kodansha's seinen manga magazine Monthly Afternoon from February 25, 2007, to July 25, 2009. Kodansha collected its chapters in three tankōbon volumes, released from October 23, 2007, to October 23, 2009.

Anime

A twenty-six episode anime television series was animated by Madhouse. The series was directed by Seiji Mizushima, screenwritten by Shō Aikawa, with character designs by Takahiro Yoshimatsu and music composed by Yusuke Honma. The series was broadcast on TV Saitama, Tokyo MX, Chiba TV, RKB, HBC, TV Aichi and MBS from April 4 to September 26, 2007. The opening of the series is "Oh Edo Nagareboshi IV" by Puffy, which was also used as the ending theme for episodes 1 and 26. The ending themes are "100 miles~Niji o Oikakete" (100miles～虹を追いかけて) by Santara (episodes 2–14) and "I Got Rhythm" by Natural High (band) (episodes 15–25). The series was licensed in North America by Funimation in 2008. The series debuted on Funimation Channel on November 15, 2010. Crunchyroll added the series to their catalogue in November 2017.

Episodes

Reception

Writing for the Los Angeles Times, Charles Solomon ranked the series the fifth best anime on his "Top 10".