Sherlock Hound
Japanese Blu-ray cover art
名探偵ホームズ (Meitantei Hōmuzu)
Genre	Action Adventure Mystery
Created by	Arthur Conan Doyle
Anime television series
Directed by	Hayao Miyazaki Kyōsuke Mikuriya
Produced by	Yoshimitsu Takahashi
Written by	Hayao Miyazaki Marco Pagot Gi Pagot Sunao Katabuchi
Music by	Kentarō Haneda
Studio	RAI Tokyo Movie Shinsha
Licensed by	NA Discotek Media UK Manga Entertainment
Original network	Rai 1 (Italy) TV Asahi (Japan)
English network	AU Nine Network
Original run	6 November 1984 – 21 May 1985
Episodes	26 (List of episodes)
Anime film
Sherlock Hound: Blue Ruby Chapter and Treasure at the Bottom of the Ocean Chapter
Directed by	Hayao Miyazaki
Written by	Sunao Katabuchi
Studio	Tokyo Movie Shinsha
Released	11 March 1984
Runtime	46 minutes
Anime film
Sherlock Hound: Mrs. Hudson The Hostage Chapter and Aerial Battle at the Strait of Dover Chapter
Directed by	Hayao Miyazaki
Written by	Sunao Katabuchi
Studio	Tokyo Movie Shinsha
Released	2 August 1986
Runtime	46 minutes

Sherlock Hound (名探偵ホームズ, Meitantei Hōmuzu, lit. "Famous Detective Holmes"^[1]) is an Italian-Japanese anime television series produced by RAI and Tokyo Movie Shinsha. Based on the character Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle, 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 and 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. Hayao Miyazaki worked on six episodes in 1982 until problems with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's estate led to a suspension in production.^[2] By the time the issues were resolved Miyazaki had turned to other projects, and thus the remaining episodes were directed by Kyōsuke 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. Another film, compiling "Mrs. Hudson is Taken Hostage" and "The White Cliffs of Dover" episodes was released in 1986 alongside Laputa: Castle in the Sky. Episode 12 of the series actually aired in the United States before it aired in Japan, as it was dubbed into English in 1982 (possibly commissioned by either TMS or RAI) and was broadcast on HBO in late 1983 under the title The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes.

Music

Two pieces of theme music are used for the Japanese version: 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 duo, Da Capo. The series' international versions had a single piece of theme music for the opening and ending credits. The frequent soloists are Joe Farrell on soprano, tenor and alto saxophones and flute (in his final recording) and Milt Jackson on vibes. This English theme is not included on the UK DVD's from Manga Entertainment, 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); Elio Pandolfi (Italian)

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, however, 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. He drives a Benz Velo.

Doctor Watson (ワトソン, Watoson)

Voiced by: Kōsei Tomita (Japanese); Lewis Arquette (English); Riccardo Garrone (Italian)

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.

Mrs. Hudson (ハドソン夫人, Hadoson-fujin)

Voiced by: Yōko Asagami (Japanese); Patricia Parris (English); Cristina Grado (Italian)

Hound and Watson's landlady. In most adaptations, Holmes's long-suffering landlady is shown as middle-aged or older, but in this version she is a young comely widow and a love interest of many, including Holmes, Watson, 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; many of the local aviators are also former buddies of Mrs. Hudson's late husband and/or have strong romantic feelings for the caring gentle-natured Mrs. Hudson herself, and so they are always eager to assist in any way she asks. Mrs. Hudson displays a serenely-dignified and level-headed personality comparable to Hound's; she can also be quite quick and resourceful herself when need be, plus she appears to be both an experienced high-speed driver and 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]}

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

Voiced by: Chikao Ōtsuka (Japanese); Hamilton Camp (English); Mauro Bosco (Italian)

Hound's archenemy. 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 main 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", a tractor and tank combination rather 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.

Smiley (スマイリー, Sumairī)

Voiced by: Mitsuo Senda (Japanese); Arquette (English); Angelo Maggi (Italian)

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); Moss (English); Maurizio Mattioli (Italian)

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, though the Japanese version shows that he's only called 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. Director Hayao Miyazaki modeled the appearance of the character Todd on Kazuhide Tomonaga, the animation director for the series^[3]

Inspector Lestrade (レストレード警部, Resutorēdo-keibu)

Voiced by: Shōzō Iizuka (Japanese); Arquette (English); Enzo Consoli (Italian)

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.

Releases

DVD

In 2002, Pioneer Entertainment 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.

On February 1, 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.

Discotek Media released the series in a complete, unabridged DVD box set with English and Japanese versions on September 30, 2014.^[4]

Blu-ray

On November 21, 2014, Bandai Visual released the restored complete series on Blu-ray (Region A, Japanese language only) in Japan as a 4-disc set.^[5] On November 29, 2022, Discotek Media released a Blu-ray of the restored series for North American home video based on the Bandai HD transfer, including both the Japanese and English dubs, restored promo clips, and a restored rare English dub of the pilot.^[6]

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.