Sogna/Viper Staff and History

[JG]

Silence was one of the first H-game makers to start advertising against copyright infringment with a splash screen at the start of their games.  I think such a screen is in V8 R, if not V6 R as well.
Frankly, all these companies got tired of people copying their games and uploading them to the internet, so the companies formed their own organization to help police it.  Now, almost all the major H-game labels belong to that organization and lead off their games with such a copyright statement (but it doesn't seem to really stop anyone.)

[Arizona]

Well hey, some news names popped up on the Sogna wiki entry.

Komo-sama
Takahiro Komori. (Wiki) Character design on Viper V10, "Children's Play". If I'm reading this right, he actually went to high school with Masahide Yanagisawa. He joined Anime R upon graduating (Masa was also apparently with Anime R for a time, so maybe him too) and studied under Moriyasu Taniguchi. He worked on Vision of Escaflowne and Cowboy Bebop, and joined the then-new Bones, and it seems he's remained there to this day, mainly just doing animation. Since 2008 though, it seems he's been on the board of directors, seemingly after Hiroshi Osaka passed away. He may very well be most well known for Darker Than Black, where he did character designs (adapting someone else's though).

As for his actual Viper credit, it doesn't seem to be noted on the Wiki - I went off of this. Admittedly I skimmed it, but the other credits seem to be correct. I may have to inspect it further to see if there's anything else of use.

[Arizona]

Iso-yan / Umino Mk-II
Satoshi Isono, rarely Satoru Isono. Profile on Sakuga@Wiki. Character design for Viper V-12 "Angel Dust", various key animation credits which I'll get to shortly. Goes back to the Studio M.I.N. days, and did a good amount of work for the Silence brand. Also listed as having some sort of association with Yuji Moriyama. Worked on Ranma 1/2 and served as an animation director on Ranma 1/2 Nettou Hen. Continues as an animator/animation director to this day. Notably, considering what Angel Dust is a parody of, it looks like he had some sort of animation involvement in nearly every Dirty Pair release, all the way up to making it as animation director for all of Dirty Pair Flash (the one with character designs by Takahiro Kimura).

He's listed as affiliated with Studio Silver. His name isn't on their site or their wiki entry, but Masakatsu Sasaki is. Also, he has a few early 2000's PC game credits, among them character design for Harlem Blade 2 ~Dark Angel~ (the previous entry having designs by Kimura).

Full Credits

Silence
Cyber Arms Val-Kaiser (1992) - Animation, bonus illustrations
Silver Battle God Guyna-rock 2 (1992) - Key animation
Jewel BEM Hunter Lime (1993) - Key animation on Episode 9, Animation director on Episodes 11, 15, 20, 24

Sogna
(As Iso-yan)
Animahjong X Perfect File (1994) - Key animation
Viper V-12 "Angel Dust" (1995) - Character design
Viper CTR ~Asuka~ (1997) - Key animation

(As Umino Mk-II)
Viper F40 (1997) - Key animation

(Not specified, assuming own name)
Galactic Guardian Guynarock R (1998) - Sub mechanical design

-The sakuga wiki I worked from specified the Animahjong credit as "Perfect File", but I'm not aware if that version of the game has any additional animation or if it simply ended up being listed there that way.
-The Guynarock R credit is noted as "joint", which I assume means he did mechanical designs in addition to Koichi Ohata's work.

[JG]

Love this history stuff.


I can confirm his credits in Animahjong X (sans the Perfect File add-on) as Iso-yan, and as his own name in Guynarock R.

Also probable that if he worked on Val-kaiser and Guyna-rock 2, and was around in the pre-Sogna/pre-Silence days at Ranma, he probably had a hand in original Guyna-rock as well.

I think this "sub-mechanic design" may refer to the "mecha" design, which would be secondary (and thus "sub") to the human and alien characters.  The mecha in Guyna-rock and Val-kaiser do share alot of similarities.  Kate and Yuria's spaceship and the Guynarock space station are similar in design, too.  It's highly probable that Isono was an artist for each of these, if not the artist.  He may also be listed as second in R, if he didn't actually have a hand in R's production, but his mecha designs from original Guyna-rock were reused and redrawn by Hideyuki Morioka (守岡英行), who went on to use his mecha drawing skills in features like Evangelion.

[Arizona]

Sahara Ako
Keiji Gotoh (Wiki). As mentioned previously, he was slated to be character designer for Viper M3, but something happened and Mikan Ehime (Risa Ebata) took over. He was a hot commodity in the late 90's/early 00's, famous for his distinctive character designs - probably his most well known is on Martian Successor Nadesico. He's still quite active in all the usual bigger animator roles (key animation, storyboarding, animation director) and an occasional director, although it doesn't seem he's had any major character design work in a decade now. "Sahara Ako" seemed to be his pen name when working on porny stuff (like Urotsukidoji), but for some reason he's used it again here and there in recent years, for no obvious reason I can see.

On his wiki entry, there's a bit on Viper M3 which I'm pretty sure wasn't there before that seems to explain why he left. I can't even hope to make sense of anything there, so I'm not sure if there's anything more insightful than before.

[Arizona]

Some new information about Atsuko Ishida and Masami Obari.

Obari got remarried recently, to a Gundam model kit builder. She's 23, Obari is 50. This prompted someone, Khoda / @80s_anime on Twitter, to look at "Rikon Neko" ("Divorce Cat", volume released in 2009), an autobigraphical manga Ishida wrote, about her divorce from Obari and the cat they adopted while they were married. It was written with his blessing though, and as far as anyone can tell they seem to be on good terms, if them apparently chatting on Twitter is an indication.

They also went ahead and translated a preview portion of it. It opens with the cat dying and how she had a miscarriage, so...yes, it is pretty depressing.

[Arizona]

The Japanese Sogna wiki article lists a "Lemon Angel" game as something Sogna "participated" in working on. I'll have to back up and do some explaining first.

Lemon Angel was, apparently, a spin off of the famed Cream Lemon anime (porn) franchise. It was a pop idol group consisting of Erika Shima, Miki Emoto, and Tomo Sakurai, starting in 1987 until breaking up in 1990. They had the whole media mix CD, radio, photo album, video, blah blah thing going on, but that also included a late TV anime with (less than) five minutes per episode.

That is pretty unusual, since while late night time slots are the norm now, it, uh, wasn't at all then - and, as you might imagine, this was due to adult content (aside from your usual mannequin nudity, plenty of suggestive moments and jokes, etc). The three group members were represented as anime characters, so oh yeah nothing creepy going on there at all. A number of untranslated episodes, many of which are basically music videos anyway, can be found on YouTube.

Very notably, Kenichiro Nakamura is listed as director and writer, and Japanese wikipedia suggests him to be the main director/writer. He also played animation director and did key animation. A whole damn lot of work.

Also listed as an animation director/animator for the show is Hiroshi Osaka. He is someone who I mentioned before in regards to Takahiro Komori, in part because his name kept popping up, but nothing tied back directly to Sogna. Has a character design credit on Cream Lemon Special DARK from 1987. He was prolific animator and character designer, and one of the co-founders of Bones - particularly known for some stellar work on Gundam, including his character design on V Gundam. Sadly, he died in 2007.

After the group broke up, Erika Shima and Miki Emoto dropped out of entertainment scene. Apparently, despite rumors to the contrary, they've been doing just fine. Tomo Sakurai went on to be a voice actress, with her breakout role being Mylene Jenius on Macross 7 in 1994 (you may recall that coincidentally, Kenichirou Katsura, character designer for Viper CTR and RSR, did the characters on that). She actually just recently announced her retirement from voice acting back in September of this year.

There's an English fan blog on the group if you've any interest. Take a look at that background - although I can't say for sure, those chibi style characters very much resemble the kind Nakamura would draw.

Anyway, getting closer to the point here! Despite the break up, there were a few Lemon Angel games afterwards. One was Mahjong Lemon Angel (1990), an mahjong strip game - an arcade mahjong strip game, no less (that was a thing for a while). Some footage here. The game over screen again has Nakamura-esque chibis, animated even, although it's unlikely that's actually him. There was also a PC Engine version in 1994, and in 1996 there was something for Windows/Mac called "Lemon Angel Paradise", which I can't find much on. But, these are all the ones that do not seem to be related to Sogna.

"Lemon Angel" from July 21st, 1995 for PC-98 is the one Sogna is listed as "participating" on. Take a look at these screenshots. That looks dead-on, exactly like Nakamura's style from the time, doesn't it? But, it was released by Fairy Dust. If you look at their other PC-98 releases, over half of their output there is based on Cream Lemon stories, so you can see things coming together.

Of course, that makes me wonder how anyone is actually credited in the game? Is it mostly Fairy Dust people with Nakamura on board? Is it pretty much just Sogna but published by Fairy Dust? Is Sogna credited at all? Maybe I'll have to set aside a day to stumble my way through it on a PC-98 emulator and see what's up.

[黒い灯影]

I bought this book, and it had a section for the VIPER series in it.
This is a chatGPT translation of this. I also included the original japanese text.

エロゲー文化研究概論 増補改訂版
Introduction to Eroge Culture Studies, Expanded and Revised Edition.

pg108
 
『VIPER』シリーズ始動
The 'VIPER' series gets underway
 
大張正己の弟子で、 アニメ動画・原画スタッフとしてデビューした中村謙一郎(別名義でP[パワー]・ウォリアー)という人物がいる。
There is a person named Kenichiro Nakamura (also known as P[Power] Warrior), a disciple of Masami Obari, who debuted as an anime animation and original drawing staff.
 
その中村がゲーム業界へ移って立ち上げたのが、有限会社サイレンスというメーカー。
Nakamura transitioned to the gaming industry and founded a company called Yugen Company Silence.
 
コネクションを活かしてアニメ畑の本職を招き、静止画が当たり前だったエロゲー世界において常に画面上で何かが動いているアニメーション主体のソフトを数多く制作し、独自のポジションを築いた。
Leveraging connections, they invited professionals from the anime field, and in a world of erotic games dominated by still images, they created numerous software titles focusing on constant on-screen animation, thus establishing their unique position.
 
初期作品では脱衣麻雀ゲーム』あにまーじゃんV3』(一九九三)や、ちょっとエッチなー般向けAVG 『宝魔ハンターライム』(一九九三)などがある。
Among the initial productions were the strip mahjong game "Animahjong V3" (1993) and the slightly erotic AVG "Treasure Hunter Lime" (1993).
 
どちらもアニメ『らんま1/2』のキャラクターデザインで知られる中嶋敦子がキャラデザと作画監督をつとめた。
Both were characterized and directed by Atsuko Nakajima, known for her character design in the anime "Ranma 1/2".
 

pg109
 
「ライム」には原画で松本憲生やもりやまゆうじといった有名アニメーターも参加している。
Famous animators such as Norio Matsumoto and Yuji Moriyama also participated in the original drawings for 'Lime'."
 
サイレンス社は複数のゲームブランドをもっていたが、メインになったのはソニア(SOGNIA)である。
Silence Inc. had multiple game brands, but the main one became SOGNIA.
 
ー九九三年六月二五日、ソニアばオムニバスエロゲーのくだりでも名を挙げた『VIPER(バイパー)』シリーズの第一弾『VIPER -V6-』を発売。
On June 25, 1993, SOGNA released the first installment of the "VIPER" series, "VIPER -V6-", which was also mentioned in the context of omnibus eroge.
 
そこから毎回さまざまな短編を詰め合わせて「V8」「V10」「V12」「V16」と巻を重ね、およそー〇年間にわたり「エロゲーの中の2Dアニメーション」を語るうえで欠かせない存在となっていった。
From there, various short stories were compiled in each release, forming "V8", "V10", "V12", "V16", and so on, becoming an indispensable presence in the discourse of "2D Animation in Eroge" for approximately a decade.
 
当時アダルトでも一般でもAVGはキャラクターのまばたきやロパクだけで「動いてる」と思えたもので、そんな時期に『VIPER』シリーズのアニメーションは大きな衝撃をもたらした。
At that time, in both adult and general AVGs, characters' blinking or lip sync alone seemed like 'movement'. During such a period, the animation in the "VIPER" series caused a significant shock.
 
先に述べたようにプロのアニメーターが参加したものが多いこともあり、エロゲーユーザーではないアニメファンにも知られるタイトルとなった。
As mentioned earlier, the participation of professional animators made it a title known not only to eroge users but also to anime fans who are not typically eroge players.
 
『VIPER -V6-』収録「悪魔が来たりて･･･」の悪魔っ娘カレラ、『~V10』(一九九三/九)収録『ノーザン・ テイト』の強気な剣道少女・藤堂あすか、『~V12』(一九九五/図)収録「魔法の賭博師トトカル☆チョミ」のイカサマ博打うちの少女トトカル☆チョミ、『~V6』(一九九五/ー二)和収録,「-RISE-」で地底人の地下帝国に誘拐凌辱されるウェイトレス・本条寺あきら････この四人は特に人気が高いソニアの看板キャラとなり、あとでそれぞれ独立した一本もののスピンオフ続編が作られている。
In "VIPER -V6-", the character Carrera, a demonic girl from "The Devil Comes...", in "V10" (1993/9), the strong-willed kendo girl Asuka Todo from "Northern Tate", in "V12" (1995/figure), the cheating gambler girl Totokaru☆Chomi from "The Magical Gambler Totokaru☆Chomi", and in "V6" (1995/2) and recorded in "-RISE-", the waitress Akira Honjoji who is kidnapped and violated by subterranean people of the underground empire... These four characters became especially popular as flagship characters of SOGNIA, and later, each received their own standalone spin-off sequels.
 
『VIPER』シリーズのアニメーション部分は圧縮されたデータから必要なものを適宜引き出して高速連続再生する独自の描画エンジンによるものだったが、Windows時代に入ってからは一般家庭にあるパソコンもずいぶん性能が上がって大きなサイズの映像ファイルを再生できるようになったためアニメーションを売りにするソニア作品のセールスポイントは色あせはじめた。
The animation part of the "VIPER" series used to be powered by a unique rendering engine that could extract and play compressed data at high speeds. However, with the advent of the Windows era and the improvement of home computer performance, the ability to play large video files became commonplace, causing the animation-focused selling point of SOGNA's works to begin to fade.
 
 
pg110
 
ー九九〇年代後半から二〇〇〇年代初頭にかけて同じようにアニメーションを売りにする他メーカーが出てきてぶつかったこと、自社作品のほとんどで監督・脚本をトップの中村謙一郎がみずから手がけたためにベクトルが偏ったこと(異種姦、凌辱もの志向が強かった)、ソフ倫脱退によって流通で苦労したり運営方針をめぐって社内も社外もゴタゴタしたこと、製作販売上の不手際が目立っこと･･････などが積み重なり、ソニアはユーザーへの求心力を状ってしまう。
From the late 1990s to the early 2000s, other manufacturers emerged that similarly focused on animation, causing competition. Moreover, the direction of the company's own works became biased as Kenichiro Nakamura, the top director and screenwriter, handled most of the projects himself (with a strong inclination toward different species and violation themes). Complications arose from leaving the Sofmap union, leading to distribution struggles and internal and external turmoil over management policies. Production and sales mishaps became prominent... All these factors accumulated, causing SOGNA to gradually lose its appeal to users.
 
最終的に、ソニアはブランド元のサイレンスもろとも二〇〇三年に解散を迎えた。
Ultimately, SOGNA, along with its parent brand Silence, was dissolved in 2003.
 
人物のトピックとしては、 『勇者王ガオガイガー』『コードギアス反逆のルルーシュ』などの木村貴宏が『VIPER -V6-』ほか数タイトルでキャラクターデザインを手がけたのが目をひく。
As a notable personality, Takahiro Kimura, known for works like "King of Braves GaoGaiGar" and "Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion," drew attention for his character design work in "VIPER -V6-" and several other titles.
 
また、後藤圭二(「佐原亜湖」名義)をキャラクターデザインに迎えようとしていた『VIPERM3]が契約でもめて後藤が降板した際、サイレンス社員の「小娘」という女性スタッフが代わりにキャラデザをおこなっている。
Additionally, when Keiji Gotoh (under the pseudonym 'Saeko Sahara') had to leave "VIPER-M3" due to contract disputes, a female staff member at Silence known as 'Koyatsu' took over the character design.
 
この小娘とは後の「愛媛みかん」……つまりテレビアニメ 『マクロスF』キャラクターデザインの江端里沙である。
This 'Koyatsu' later became known as 'Ehime Mikan'... in other words, Risa Ebata, who is known for her character design work in the TV anime "Macross F."
 
もしサイレンスの解散がなければ 『マクロスF』のビジュアルはどうなって……いや、これまた考えてても詮ない歴史のIFか。
If Silence had not been dissolved, I wonder how the visuals for 'Macross F' would have turned out... Well, it's another of those pointless historical 'what ifs' to contemplate.

I'm gonna get the other edition in case there's any more SOGNA lore in it.

[JG]

Nice. Either some mistransciptions on your part or mistakes on their part in referencing the wrong game (V6 instead of V16) or titles (Northern Light, not Tight/Tate), but generally one can follow the story.

[黒い灯影]

Nice. Either some mistransciptions on your part or mistakes on their part in referencing the wrong game (V6 instead of V16) or titles (Northern Light, not Tight/Tate), but generally one can follow the story.

thats probably just some OCR errors i didn't catch, i didn't proofread all the text.