Ganbare Goemon: Jigen Jō no Akumu

is a single episode, twenty-eight minute OVA produced by Konami and AIC studios.
It was originally released in 1991 as part of a campaign to celebrate the 5th anniversary of the Ganbare Goemon series, being distributed as a lottery prize for purchasers of the Super Famicom game Ganbare Goemon: Yukihime Kyūshutsu Emaki (known outside of Japan as The Legend of the Mystical Ninja). It was later distributed as a user gift tie-in for purchasers of Ganbare Goemon 3: Shishijūrokubē no Karakuri Manji Gatame.
It was officially released for purchase in stores on VHS format on March 26, 1993.MyAnimeListGOEMON International
The OVA stars the voices of Daiki Nakamura as Goemon and Hideyuki Umezu as Ebisumaru, and features segments parodying three other popular Konami franchises: Gradius, Akumajō Dracula and TwinBee.
==Synopsis==
A humorous action adventure that takes place when a dimensional castle suddenly appears in the outskirts of Edo town. Goemon and Ebisumaru team up once again in order to investigate what's really behind the apparition of this mysterious building. The story takes our heroes in adventures parodying three of Konami's most popular franchises.
==Plot==
One night, a UFO suddenly appears on the sky above the forest at the outskirts of Edo town and crashes into the ground, revealing to be a huge spaceship in the shape of a medieval Japanese castle. The next day, a mysterious little character appears in town, and following his master's orders, kidnaps local belle Omitsu from the tea shop she works at and takes her into the castle. Being informed about this, Goemon and Ebisumaru decide to go investigate.
They break into the castle, where its owner challenges them to dare and reach the top floor where he will be awaiting them; although in order to do so, they'll first have to go through three dimensional floors, each presenting a unique and fantastic adventure. Every time they reach one of these floors, the world around them changes and they transform into the respective protagonists of that world. Their journey takes them through a battle in space, a vampire's castle, and soaring through the sky while riding a fighter aircraft.
They eventually reach the top of the castle, where Omitsu is held captive. Finding themselves cornered, the lord's minion creates an illusion and transforms his master into a very handsome prince, to which Omitsu instantly falls in love with. The happy couple then settle to be married the next day.
At the wedding, the illusion suddenly loses effect and the lord transforms back to his monstrous real form, but the minion quickly recasts the spell and gives his master his good-looks back. The spell doesn't last long, however, and just after a few seconds it once again vanishes away. Horrified by his hideous true form, Omitsu punches the lord in the stomach. The minion once again recasts the spell, but each time the effect lasts less and less time, resulting in Omitsu punching the owner every time he changes back to his real form.
==Dimensional castle==
The castle resembles a Japanese-style pagoda and has three dimensional floors, making it impossible to reach the top until each one has been cleared. Each one of these floors is based on a Konami game, and once entered, the person becomes a character belonging to that world, allowing them to rewrite its history.
===First floor (Gradius)===
A space confrontation against a Big Core while riding the Vic Viper.
===Second floor (Akumajō Dracula)===
The heroes make their way to the top of the Demon Castle and confront Dracula. However, they find Christine being held prisoner there instead of Omitsu.
===Third floor (TwinBee)===
The heroes are invited by WinBee (Pastel) to try for that day's highest score. They decide to go to a public bath for a break on the way.
==Characters==
;Goemon
:Voice: Daiki Nakamura
:Infiltrates the dimensional castle in order save Omitsu from the clutches of his owner.
;Ebisumaru
:Voice: Hideyuki Umezu
:An eccentric ninja, and partner and best friend of Goemon. He changes into various different characters inside the dimensional castle but keeps his distinctive personality intact.
;Omitsu
:Voice: Miki Itō
:A celebrity in Edo town. Works at a local tea shop.
;Castle owner
:Voice: Kiyoyuki Yanada
:Lord of the dimensional castle. He travels the galaxy in search of a bride.
;Minion
:Voice: Kumiko Nishihara
:Follows his master's orders without question and can cast some spells.
;Christine
:Voice: Yumiko Shibata
:Dracula's prisoner who is being held captive at the top of his castle.
;Mr. Gen
:Voice: Toshiyuki Morikawa
:A resident of Edo town.
;Kim
:Voice: Wataru Takagi
:A resident of Edo town.
;WinBee
:Voice: Kumiko Nishihara
:An amicable pilot who invites the heroes to partake in a race through the sky. Although Pastel plays this part in the story, she was called "WinBee" instead because there was no name setting at the time. Her ship is actually the real WinBee.
;Dimension
:An imaginary narrator.
==Staff==
*Executive producer: Kagamasa Kagetsuki
*Director, screenplay, storyboard: Ibase Anshi
*Planning: Ikeda Takaji, Hayasaka Taeko
*Character design / Drawing director: Tsuruyama Osamu
*Mechanic design: Jun Okuda
*Art setting: Yoichi Nango
*Art director: Hiromi Morikawa
*Director of photography: Kazuhiro Konishi
*Editor: Kakeharu Kake
*Music: Konami Kukeiha Club
*Acoustic director: Miwa Iwami
*Producer: Masato Sakai, Toru Miura
*Co-producer: Yomiko Advertisement Co., Ltd.
*Production company: AIC
*Original producer: Konami Corporation
==Theme song==
;"Goemon Ondo"
:Songwriting and composition: Konami Kukeiha Club
:Arrangement: Masahito Maruyama
:Lyrics: Michiya Mihashi
==Gallery==
Ganbare Goemon - Jigen Jō no Akumu - 02.png|Dracula's Castle
Ganbare Goemon - Jigen Jō no Akumu - 03.png|Dracula
Ganbare Goemon - Jigen Jō no Akumu - 04.png|Goemon transformed as Shimon Belmondo and Ebisumaru.
Ganbare Goemon - Jigen Jō no Akumu - 05.png|Black Knight
Ganbare Goemon - Jigen Jō no Akumu - 06.png|Frankenstein
Ganbare Goemon - Jigen Jō no Akumu - 07.png|Pork Chop
Ganbare Goemon - Jigen Jō no Akumu - 08.png|Mummy Man
Ganbare Goemon - Jigen Jō no Akumu - 09.png|Queen Medusa
Ganbare Goemon - Jigen Jō no Akumu - 10.png|Phantom Bat
Ganbare Goemon - Jigen Jō no Akumu - 11.png|White Skeleton
Ganbare Goemon - Jigen Jō no Akumu - 12.png|Ghost
Ganbare Goemon - Jigen Jō no Akumu - 13.png|Castle Keep
Ganbare Goemon - Jigen Jō no Akumu - 15.png|Throne Room
Ganbare Goemon - Jigen Jō no Akumu - 14.png|The heroes find Christine being held prisoner by Dracula, instead of Omitsu.
==Videos==
Ganbare Goemon - Jigen Jō no Akumu (english subtitles)
==Related products==
*Ganbare Goemon (series) - The Konami franchise to which this OVA belongs to.
*Gradius (series) - The first floor of the castle segment is inspired by this Konami franchise.
*Akumajō Dracula (series) - The second floor of the castle segment is inspired by this Konami franchise.
*TwinBee (series) - The third floor of the castle segment is inspired by this Konami franchise.
==Trivia==
*Goemon and Ebisumaru can be briefly seen playing Antarctic Adventure.
==References==
==External links==
*Ganbare Goemon: Jigen Jō no Akumu at the Ganbare Goemon Wiki
*Ganbare Goemon: Jigen Jō no Akumu at Wikipedia (Japanese)
Category:Cameo Specific Pages
Category:Ganbare Goemon series