IntroductionThis is the story of Yamaguchi Yoshiko, a Japanese woman born and raised in China during the Japanese occuption of Manchuria. With a pretty face, beautiful voice, and fluency in Chinese, she debuts as the Chinese singer and actress Li Xianglan (Ri Kouran in Japanese), in the hopes that her efforts will work towards the benefit of both Japan and China. Hiding her true nationality, however, she slowly discovers herself becoming a puppet of the Japanese military’s propaganda efforts in Manchuria, starring in “national policy” films that humiliate the Chinese people. But billed as the “star of Greater East Asia,” her popularity soars across borders to Japan, where she holds a concert that draws thousands to the Nihon Gekijou Theatre and leads to a riot that injures several people. As war erupts on the Asian continent and in the Pacific, does she have the will to continue deceiving the people of her homeland, China? How will the events of the war affect her family, her friends, her love, and her career?This is the story of Li Xianglan, Ri Kouran--one woman, torn between two countries, who endured her internal struggle and gave the Chinese and Japanese people alike a new hope in a time of conflict and strife.

Assistance and Special Thankscandyman808 for arranging for spot translation and QCFreefall and Sangohan for some timing/QCSpot translations by gloomy (Japanese), jinzo (Mandarin and Japanese), and Echo9 (Mandarin and Japanese)eighteen for uploading the torrent here at D-Addicts

Vocabulary and Other Tidbits

A few notes that may help you understand the story a little better if you are not very familiar with the history of this period.

"Five Peoples in Harmony" (五族協和): founding principle of Manchukuo, in which the five peoples of East Asia (Japanese, Han Chinese, Mongolians, Manchurians, and Koreans) unite to build a nation peacefullyKwantung Army (関東軍): a unit of the Imperial Japanese Army, initially established to serve as defense for the South Manchuria Railway Co.; eventually, it seizes more power and becomes the effective "ruling power" of ManchukuoManchuria/Manchukuo (満州／満州国): Manchuria is a region in northeastern China that was at the center of conflict between Japan, China, and Russia. In order to become a world power equal to England, France, or America, Japan had gone through a period of rapid industrialization and militarization with the slogan fukoku kyouhei (富国強兵, “rich country, strong military”). As an island nation, Japan looked to the “Chinese continent” and Southeast Asia to provide the land and natural resources for its growth, which put it in direct conflict with countries in the West, which already had colonial interests in those regions. When Japan stunned the world by defeating Imperial Russia in the Russo-Japanese War, it signaled Japan’s rise to power. With the Treaty of Portsmouth, Russia was forced to evacuate Manchuria and cede to Japan the development rights to Liaodong Peninsula, along with the railway system in the region that would later become the South Manchuria Railway Co. The Japanese would occupy Manchuria and establish the puppet state of Manchukuo to protect its interests in the region. To legitimize the government, Japan brought in China's last emperor, Puyi (溥儀), to rule as head of state, although he had little true powerSouth Manchuria Railway Co. (南満州鉄道): also known as Mantetsu, responsible for operating railways in Manchuria and developing Manchuria's agricultural and industrial resources for the Japanese EmpireManchurian Film Association (満洲映画協会): also known as Man'ei, a film company established by the Kwantung Army to produce "national policy" films"national policy" film (国策映画): a film produced with the primary purpose of pacifying the native people in Japanese-occupied territoriesUnit 731 (731部隊): a unit of the Imperial Japanese Army that performed secret medical and weapons/biological warfare experiments on live humans, including organ and tissue removal, dismemberment, infection with diseases, and other grossly unethical experimentation; the victims included many Soviets, Chinese, Koreans, and Mongolians

NotesI don't know if anyone else had problems with the filenames, but Part 1 (Manchuria) is the 763 MB file and Part 2 (Shanghai) is the 933 MB file.I apologize that this took so long (almost three months!), but some of us got a little busy, so thank you for waiting so patiently. Anyways, if you haven't watched it already, enjoy.

I've tried it. It says something about DirectShow and changing the video renderer...

In Media Player Classic (MPC), under the "View" dropdown menu, select "Options". Or just press "o" when Media Player Classic has started. A new "Options" window should appear.

On the left of the "Options" window, you should see "Playback". Click it and then click "Output". The rightside of the "Options" window should change to display the various "Playback" choices. The first section should be "DirectShow Video".

I've tried it. It says something about DirectShow and changing the video renderer...

In Media Player Classic (MPC), under the "View" dropdown menu, select "Options". Or just press "o" when Media Player Classic has started. A new "Options" window should appear.

On the left of the "Options" window, you should see "Playback". Click it and then click "Output". The rightside of the "Options" window should change to display the various "Playback" choices. The first section should be "DirectShow Video".

This is where one selects the video renderer. I use VMR9.

Hope my explanation does not confuse you. And MPC will work for you.

It's not confusing at all! But unfortunately, even with VMR9 checked off, the subtitles still does not play... Thanks for your help though...

I've tried it. It says something about DirectShow and changing the video renderer...

In Media Player Classic (MPC), under the "View" dropdown menu, select "Options". Or just press "o" when Media Player Classic has started. A new "Options" window should appear.

On the left of the "Options" window, you should see "Playback". Click it and then click "Output". The rightside of the "Options" window should change to display the various "Playback" choices. The first section should be "DirectShow Video".

This is where one selects the video renderer. I use VMR9.

Hope my explanation does not confuse you. And MPC will work for you.

It's not confusing at all! But unfortunately, even with VMR9 checked off, the subtitles still does not play... Thanks for your help though...

Okay, I've seen the first episode now, and I think it's great! Does anyone know if there was a soundtrack released for this production, or if there are plans to release one? I'd love to get a CD of Ueto Aya singing all those old songs.

^ Yes, my apologies... I was rushing a bit and didn't see the artist at top. Like doink-chan said, that is for the theatrical production. After taking a bit more time to search, the only thing I could find was the DVD which kind of looks promising.

IntroductionThis is the story of Yamaguchi Yoshiko, a Japanese woman born and raised in China during the Japanese occuption of Manchuria. With a pretty face, beautiful voice, and fluency in Chinese, she debuts as the Chinese singer and actress Li Xianglan (Ri Kouran in Japanese), in the hopes that her efforts will work towards the benefit of both Japan and China. Hiding her true nationality, however, she slowly discovers herself becoming a puppet of the Japanese military’s propaganda efforts in Manchuria, starring in “national policy” films that humiliate the Chinese people. But billed as the “star of Greater East Asia,” her popularity soars across borders to Japan, where she holds a concert that draws thousands to the Nihon Gekijou Theatre and leads to a riot that injures several people. As war erupts on the Asian continent and in the Pacific, does she have the will to continue deceiving the people of her homeland, China? How will the events of the war affect her family, her friends, her love, and her career?This is the story of Li Xianglan, Ri Kouran--one woman, torn between two countries, who endured her internal struggle and gave the Chinese and Japanese people alike a new hope in a time of conflict and strife.

Assistance and Special Thankscandyman808 for arranging for spot translation and QCFreefall and Sangohan for some timing/QCSpot translations by gloomy (Japanese), jinzo (Mandarin and Japanese), and Echo9 (Mandarin and Japanese)eighteen for uploading the torrent here at D-Addicts

Vocabulary and Other Tidbits[spoiler]A few notes that may help you understand the story a little better if you are not very familiar with the history of this period.

"Five Peoples in Harmony" (五族協和): founding principle of Manchukuo, in which the five peoples of East Asia (Japanese, Han Chinese, Mongolians, Manchurians, and Koreans) unite to build a nation peacefullyKwantung Army (関東軍): a unit of the Imperial Japanese Army, initially established to serve as defense for the South Manchuria Railway Co.; eventually, it seizes more power and becomes the effective "ruling power" of ManchukuoManchuria/Manchukuo (満州／満州国): Manchuria is a region in northeastern China that was at the center of conflict between Japan, China, and Russia. In order to become a world power equal to England, France, or America, Japan had gone through a period of rapid industrialization and militarization with the slogan fukoku kyouhei (富国強兵, “rich country, strong military”). As an island nation, Japan looked to the “Chinese continent” and Southeast Asia to provide the land and natural resources for its growth, which put it in direct conflict with countries in the West, which already had colonial interests in those regions. When Japan stunned the world by defeating Imperial Russia in the Russo-Japanese War, it signaled Japan’s rise to power. With the Treaty of Portsmouth, Russia was forced to evacuate Manchuria and cede to Japan the development rights to Liaodong Peninsula, along with the railway system in the region that would later become the South Manchuria Railway Co. The Japanese would occupy Manchuria and establish the puppet state of Manchukuo to protect its interests in the region. To legitimize the government, Japan brought in China's last emperor, Puyi (溥儀), to rule as head of state, although he had little true powerSouth Manchuria Railway Co. (南満州鉄道): also known as Mantetsu, responsible for operating railways in Manchuria and developing Manchuria's agricultural and industrial resources for the Japanese EmpireManchurian Film Association (満洲映画協会): also known as Man'ei, a film company established by the Kwantung Army to produce "national policy" films"national policy" film (国策映画): a film produced with the primary purpose of pacifying the native people in Japanese-occupied territoriesUnit 731 (731部隊): a unit of the Imperial Japanese Army that performed secret medical and weapons/biological warfare experiments on live humans, including organ and tissue removal, dismemberment, infection with diseases, and other grossly unethical experimentation; the victims included many Soviets, Chinese, Koreans, and Mongolians[/spoiler]

NotesI don't know if anyone else had problems with the filenames, but Part 1 (Manchuria) is the 763 MB file and Part 2 (Shanghai) is the 933 MB file.I apologize that this took so long (almost three months!), but some of us got a little busy, so thank you for waiting so patiently. Anyways, if you haven't watched it already, enjoy.

Would people be interested in having me edit these subs?
I have watched it and Windows media player on my computer does not consistently play the extra srt formatting.
So, I'm stripping most of the extra formatting off the subs.

Also there are a few places where the subs timing is a bit off and I am fixing these

regardless, I'm doing it for myself and Aya quashlo, LMK if its ok and/or others would like to see this.