Oh! Edo Rocket

Oh! Edo Rocket (大江戸ロケット) is a stage play written for the Gekidan Shinkansen theater troupe by Kazuki Nakashima. It was adapted into a TV anime series in April 2007, directed by Seiji Mizushima and produced by Studio Madhouse. It is a comedic story involving a firework maker in medieval Edo and his efforts to build a rocket to carry an alien back to her people on the moon.

Plot
The story is set in Edo in 1842, the thirteenth year of the Tenpō era. Government reforms have banned all luxuries, including plays, performances, inventions, and fireworks. Despite the political climate, Seikichi, a young fireworks maker, dreams of making a huge firework the likes of which have never been seen. But every time he fires a test rocket, he finds himself pursued by government officials. One night, a blue monster and a white monster are fighting in the woods, battling each other and battling a group of human warriors. The blue monster gains the upper hand but is distracted by Seikichi's rocket, which allows the white monster to escape. The next day, a beautiful, mysterious girl appears before Seikichi and asks him to make a firework that will reach the moon.

Residents of Furai Row-House block

 * Tamaya Seikichi - A fireworks-maker who dreams of making gigantic firework no one has seen before, no one has launched before.
 * Sora - A strange but beautiful girl. She asks Seikichi to make a rocket that will reach the moon.(she is also the white sky beast)
 * Shunpei - Seikichi's brother, a mathematical genius.
 * Ginjiro - A locksmith who can break any lock with his fingers.
 * Santa - The carpenter
 * Rokubei - The tile-maker who can't keep his mouth shut.
 * Rokubei's Wife - No one knows what her real name is.
 * Shinsa - The mechanic who frequents Akihabara.
 * Adabanatei Tenho - Circus performer specializes in sleight-of-hand
 * Tenten - Tenho's exceedingly tall brother, circus performer
 * Genzo - The invisible cross-dressing scale-maker. Only O-Nui recognizes him.
 * Genzo's Mum
 * O-Nui - The town-belle watchdog for public morality at the Furai Row-House Block. She acts like a puppy.
 * The Honorably Retired by the Corner - A mysterious old man, the landlord of the Furai Row-House Block.

Outside the Row-House

 * O-Ise - Wealthy owner of the pawn-shop Shirahama-ya. An old friend of Ginjiro from Osaka
 * O-Riku - Daughter of the owner of the Kagiya Fireworks shop
 * Tetsuju the Fuse - A crazy rocketeer who lives deep inside the Chichibu mountains with bears as friends.

The government

 * Akai Nishinosuke - Low-ranking policeman under the South-Edo Magistrate who hates the residents of the Furai Row-House Block
 * Men in Black "Eyes", "Ears", "Arms", "Heels", "Ankles", "Knees" - Secret agents under the South-Edo Magistrate
 * Torii Yozo - South Edo Magistrate
 * Toyama Kinshiro - The North Edo Magistrate who hangs out in town in disguise as Kin-san the Playboy
 * Mizuno Tadakuni - The Senior Councilor of the Shogun government, the man who banned fireworks and all forms of entertainment in town.

Anime episodes
The first letter of each episode is spelling out a message which reads "Oh! Edo Rocket: From now on after love and turmoil...er, what was it again? Not again" (大江戸ロケットこれからも愛と荒れ後、何だったっけ、またな!)