Mr. Stain on Junk Alley


Ga-Ra-Ku-Ta: Mr. Stain on Junk Alley, also known as simply Mr. Stain, is an animated television series created and directed by Ryuji Masuda. The producer of the show is Shunsuke Koga and the characters are designed by Wakako Masuda. The series involves surreal adventures centred on characters living in a junk-filled alley. The episodes are short, with a duration of about seven minutes, and usually start with the titular Mr. Stain finding an object. There is no spoken dialogue and only vocal grunts, with the series using its visuals to convey stories. Each episode's ending credits show the characters who appeared in the specific episode along with their names listed in English, followed by a segment of everyone dancing and having fun.
The show was animated by Koga's studio The Fool, and premiered between 10:50 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. on December 31, 2002. It was broadcast in Japan by Kids Station, beginning January 6, 2003, on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday at 12 p.m.. It was also aired in Brazil and Latin America by Cartoon Network. The series received generally positive reviews from critics. A DVD release of the show was also launched by Funimation for the US and Canada region code#Region codes and countries|region]. Funimation also included episodes of Mr. Stain on many of its other DVD releases.

Characters

Mr. Stain lives in a junk-filled alley and comes across objects in his searches. These objects seem ordinary at first but soon prove to be otherwise, resulting in awkward situations. He befriends a large feline, named Palvan, who almost always does not agree with Stain on the best use of a found item. Their arguments become extremely violent with one of them getting hurt, but things turn out well at the end. Both characters are very selfish but their tender side can also be seen. Mr. Stain is the only character who appears in all the episodes; Palvan is not in episodes four and ten. The rest of the characters appear occasionally in important roles, but can be seen in other episodes.
The characters in the series are an odd bunch with names that suggest their fate, role or physique: Eaten is a fish that is consumed, Rings is a lizard that uses rings as an accessory around its neck, Pylon is a crab that uses a pylon as headgear, and Policeman is an officer of the law who comes to the alley on his rounds. Different minor characters, such as Squeezed dog and Masked monkey, appear in the series as inhabitants of "Junk Alley" besides Mr. Stain and Palvan. Others like Lost kitten and Stephanie, a young girl, accidentally enter the alley and are helped to find a way out. There is an abandoned baby and a pianist called Lifa, with whom Stain falls in love but must fight his alter-ego, Handsome Stain from the mirror world, for her affection.

Synopsis

Mr. Stain is a street-dwelling vagabond who uncovers the mysterious and bizarre world of Junk Alley. Objects in the alley have magically come to life. Stain makes friends and along with them has adventures within the alley. The episodes usually start with him finding an odd object and an adventure ensues. The episodes are comic with some thought-provoking scenes.
One touching episode is Heavenly Bird, where Stain discovers a bird in a cage and wants to eat it. After a riotous chase through the alley while he tries to capture the animal, Stain realizes that the bird is sad and dying. It just wants to see its tropical homeland. Stain works through the night to build a cardboard model of the bird's homeland and when the Heavenly Bird sees it, he thinks he's home and dies. Another episode, titled Toy Robot, is about a remote controlled toy that decides that it no longer wants to be a servant, but wants to fly like the birds it sees. Stain, being helpful, comes up with different ways of making the robot fly, with comically tragic results. The last episode is an epilogue to the series and is for half an hour. The story revolves around Stain who sees a woman living in a high rise apartment and immediately falls in love with her. After a few comic attempts to get to her, all of which fail, he accidentally switches places with the attractive Handsome Stain from his mirror. This Stain has no problems getting to the woman and seducing her.

Episodes

DVD release

Contents

The DVDs of Mr. Stain were originally released in Region 2 on March 3 of 2003 to May 28 of 2004, then it was released in Region 1 on March 26 of 2006. The Japanese DVDs came in 3 separate volumes and an extra Epilouge DVD while The American DVDs come in a standard amaray DVD case that contains a two-disc set and have a paper insert listing other Funimation releases. In addition to the fourteen episodes of Mr. Stain, all of the DVDs have nearly two hours of bonus material. The show also has a picture book that was released in 2007.

Japanese and American DVD extrasJapanese DVD only extrasAmerican DVD only extras

  • Interview With Director Ryuji Masuda, Part 1
  • Interview With Director Ryuji Masuda, Part 2
  • Interview With Director Ryuji Masuda, Part 3
  • Interview With Producer Sunsuke Koga, Part 1
  • Interview With Producer Sunsuke Koga, Part 2
  • Production Process Explanation With CGI Director Daisuke Suzuki
  • Interview With Meyna Co
  • Staff Interviews
  • Character Profiles
  • TV Spots
  • Mr. Stain on Junk Alley Special
  • Junk Alley Goes to Pusan
  • Staff Comedy #1
  • Staff Comedy #2
  • CGI Shorts: Drawing
  • CGI Shorts: Stain vs. Palvan - Showdown
  • CGI Shorts: Her Scheme
  • CGI Shorts: Creator
  • CGI Shorts: Giant Cat in Tokyo
  • "Mr. Stain on Junk Avenue" Pilot test
  • Palvan CG animation test
  • Unaired version of the "Egg" episode
  • Concept art for Stain, Palvan, and the Alleyway
  • Trailers for other anime

    • Music

    The score was done by Meyna Co. while the end music was done by HALCALI.

    Reception

    Reviews

    The series received a positive response from reviewers. Reviewers generally felt that the show could be watched by any viewer and praised the "infectious" and "foot-tapping" music of the end credits. John Sinnott of DVD talk compared it to Charlie Chaplin, commenting that it is "very funny and filled with well thought out slapstick, calling it "a very fun and touching show and one of the better anime sets to be released so far this year. Otaku fans of well crafted comedy alike should give this series a look." He was impressed by the non use of dialogue, saying that the bitter sweet moments in the show "gives it heart", his opinion was more mixed on the fourteenth episode which, he felt, "did drag a bit."
    Jeremy Mullin from IGN called the show "weird", but thought that the weirdness made the show appealing, especially the "Looney Tunes"-like way in which it is done. Stating, "You usually get a good laugh at the antics of Mr. Stain and his friends, but sometimes things get dramatic in a thought-provoking way that gets to you. Some moments are particularly disturbing.". He thought the series would be "perfect for a nice break from reality when you want some laughs with the occasional moral message" and suggested that even non-anime fans could enjoy it.
    Michael Bartholow of Advanced Media Networks called the show "wacky, bizarre and humorous with touching moments that are thought provoking". Also comparing it to the Looney Tunes series, specifically praising its choice to be visually oriented rather than relying on conventional dialogues.

    Overall ratings