Would you like some wine?
I'm...
Do you have oolong tea?
Yes, we carry it.
- I'll have cider. - Bireley's.
What are you having?
I-- I'll also have Bireley's.
One more Bireley's.
Cheers.
Naoko-san, the bride, looks like quite a drinker.
Akagawa-senpai is in trouble.
- Senpai's beet red already. - Than ks.
Have some more.
While embarrassing, at this time I wanted to plunge into the adult world by myself.
In other words, I wanted to drink my own way...
...without regard for my senpai.
Don't you get tired of gazing only at her?
I-- I was just looking that way by chance!
I am madly in love with her.
A kouhai in the same club, she's owned my soul since first glance.
Since then, I have been carrying out Operation AHO.
OPERATION AHO
Senpai, what a coincidence.
By chance, I was passing by.
- What a coincidence. - By chance.
- Coinci-- - Dance!
- Coinci-- Co-- - Dance! Dance!
I made sure to appear before her often.
AHO is an abbreviation for "Appear Before Her Often"
We've passed the number of times you could call it coincidental...
...and reached the number of times that makes you think it's fate.
I'm waiting for an opportunity. I need the courage to wait!
That's not courage.
Don't read my mind!
You love removing obstacles from your path.
Do you plan on building a treehouse and waiting forever?
Director of School Festival Operations
and my friend.
He's the most talked about in school.
While getting the most chocolate in Sakyo District on Valentine's...
...he is infamous for his bad habit of using his beauty for cross-dressing...
...and leading men down a fruitless path.
You roundabout bloke. Why don't you face what's in front of you?
Hey now, you've had a bit too much.
He's my friend, who, due to circumstances...
...vowed to not change his underwear until his dream's realized.
Don Underwear
He's broken the record for not changing his underwear.
And hopes for the honorary title of "Don Underwear."
His dream has yet to be realized.
Leave me alone! I have my own timing!
Timing, huh?
Tonight is my chance.
If I can sit at the same table as her at the after-party...
...I can plunge into phase two!
Not romantic.
Let's head to the after-party!
Follow me if you're coming!
It's a three-minute walk, so don't get lost!
Everyone's going, right? You're going, right?
Shijo Kiya town vicinity was incessant with the laughter of people partying.
In this vicinity, the alcohol and my meeting with the dazzling adult world is waiting!
THE NIGHT IS YOUNG
Piña colada, please.
I'm fond of cocktails.
Drinking cocktails is like choosing a beautiful jewel.
They make me feel so extravagant.
Actually, I love rum so much that I wish the Pacific Ocean was made of it.
I could drink a bottle with one hand on my hip...
...but I exercise restraint and lock that away in my heart.
Hey, you. You can really put it away.
I'll buy you another.
- No. I couldn't let you. - Bring her an Acapulco.
Rum is made from cane sugar.
Brandy is vin brûlé. In other words, "cooked wine."
Wine that has been distilled and its alcohol content increased...
...becomes whiskey or brandy.
You know a lot.
It's just a result of age.
I'm honored you're sharing with me.
No, having a good time with passersby is my version of happiness.
There's a rumor about a drink called Imitation Denki Bran.
Imitation?
Denki Bran is a cocktail with history...
...having originated in old bars in Asakusa in the Taisho Period.
Even today, it's a main drink that is sold in convenience stores...
...but its recipe is an old secret.
However, one day an employee at Kyoto Central Electric...
...tried to re-create the flavor through trial and error...
...and at a roadblock, like some sort of miracle...
...he discovered Imitation Denki Bran.
The flavor and scent are completely different from Denki Bran...
...however, it has a mysterious taste, and continues to be made in secret...
...and brought into town at night.
I'd like to try it one day.
You like your liquor too.
Hey, man. If you're lost we've got girls.
I'm fine.
- I want the otome with the black hair! - Black hair, huh?
- That's not what I meant! - Don't hate me.
You remind me of my daughter.
I'm a terrible father.
I haven't seen her in a while.
I can't show my face in front of her.
Today was an important day for her too, but I skipped out.
My daughter, don't forget to always question your happiness.
- Make your life worthwhile. - Yes.
- Do your best. - I will.
- Do your best. - Todo-san?
Do your best.
You sure pack a punch.
Oh, this is indecent.
Th-- They're erotic prints.
They're works of art, damn it!
Todo is famous for being an old pervert.
He really is a worthless bastard.
A breast or two doesn't mean anything.
You can't so easily trust those you meet in town at night.
That includes us, of course.
He's in a sleazy group called the Bedroom Investigation Committee.
All they do is collect those.
I heard sales are down lately, and they're having trouble with debts.
As a self-involved Tengu, I don't know the lot.
Without knowing that, I really did a terrible thing.
It's totally fine. You can be harder on him.
But you really do have a great punch.
That was a friendly punch...
...I learned it from my mother when I was young.
Do you understand?
In this world, the number of saints can be held in one hand.
The rest are rotten scoundrels, idiots, or completely idiotic rotten scoundrels.
In that case, please use this friendly punch.
If you wrap your four fingers around your thumb...
...it'll be as if it is filled with the charm of a Maneki Neko...
...and will not hold any sincere hatred.
Restricting a hidden chain of violence before it happens...
...it brings harmony to the world.
Of all the martial arts I learned from my parents...
...this fist is the one trump card I was allowed to use in society.
You are very knowledgeable.
Would you like to come with us?
We'll teach you about Ponto town.
That would be reassuring. But I don't have any money.
Don't worry. I haven't had any money in years.
Put in on Todds tab.
Money makes the world go round.
Money you've left a mark on sometimes returns too.
This must be an act of Rihaku-san.
There's a weird, old loan-shark guy...
...and he appears from an extravagant three-story train.
His hobbies are collecting used books and antiques...
...and attacking young men to steal their underwear.
Higuchi-kun, what are you doing with such a dirty thing?
And he has a ton of this alcohol called Imitation Denki Bran.
The rumored one.
But I'm glad Higuchi-kun is always going commando.
Excuse me. Somebody.
Please, share your underwear with me.
- Fuck. Why is this happening to me? - Hey, young man.
You want my help?
Yes! Please give me underwear!
In return, come drink with me in desperation.
Let's get wasted!
Now, you should watch closely.
- Who are you? - The important thing is, are you drinking?
-I-- I am drinking. - Yes! Let's drink!
Let's drink everything in Kiya town tonight!
Let's go!
No breaks from here on out.
Going to a party of those you don't know, without embarrassment...
...is a sword fight where you don't know who will be cut first.
Is this little lady just going to spectate?
Not my ear! No!
Those without talent should use effort!
Effort is talent!
And talent is raised up by effort!
What sort of gathering is this?
Frivolous arguments in full bloom.
It's not frivolous! It's sophism!
Incidentally, which is correct...
...marrying a man you've fallen for or one you haven't?
Marrying a man you haven't fallen for is correct.
If you've fallen for him, you lose reason and can't make correct decisions.
Marry someone you haven't fallen for, so you can make reasonable choices.
You're living a long life together...
...so even though you have to carefully make reasonable decisions...
...love is something that can't be explained logically...
...and is thus unbecoming for marriage!
If you didn't fall for him and there's no passion, you won't cool off later...
...and if he cheats on you, you won't have to suffer through jealousy.
The more logically you think about it...
...why do women marry men they've fallen for...
...when they should marry men they haven't?
He's going to study in London because he got shot down.
- Today's his going-away party. - Can't you see the truth? Damn it!
I don't want to go to England!
Naoko-san!
Now then, to wish Kozaka-senpai safe travels to London...
...we will do the sophist dance!
Senpai, become one of the greats!
Become one of the greats and never come back!
Senpai, we'll get by without you!
Thank you!
I'm so happy to be given a send-off by guys like you!
Shall we escape back to Ponto town?
It's been a long time.
We're celebrating my 60th.
What a joyous occasion. Shall we drink to the hilt?
- My son's wedding is today too. - That's even more joyous! Let's drink!
- However, life is short. - What is life, really?
- The characters mean "a person exists." - So if life is over, you die?
The opposite. The end of life is called death.
So then life is different than just a person existing?
This looks really gloomy.
We're not going through the Akadama wine either.
Higuchi-kun, you're a Tengu right? Do something.
The atmosphere is a bit off...
...but let me try the Higuchi-style floating technique.
- Boring. - He's got black pants on.
My legs and the audience are stiffer than I thought.
Be more entertaining.
Us elderly don't have time.
Time goes faster and faster.
Show me your watch, little lady.
- Oh, dear. - It's so slow.
- It's normal. - Ours are like this.
If you compare that to ours...
Time flies like an arrow.
You're a real drinker.
Did you drink all of these?
How much do you drink?
As much as is in front of me.
That's quite a girl.
I'm an uncultured person who is more boring than a rice cooker...
...but take a look at this.
What are you doing?
It-- It's the sophist dance.
It's the sophist dance we came up with years ago.
Now, everyone join in.
It reminds me of those lazy sophist days.
How nostalgic.
Everyone, like an eel.
We're slippery as we play with words.
It seems she's the lead actor tonight.
I never knew that our thoughts continued to live on.
Sophist Debate Club, this legacy was our desire.
Don't worry, this bad legacy is still being passed down.
Drink some more.
You're one of the most talented people in the last 100 years.
You should have a drinking contest with Rihaku.
That guy? No.
If you out-drink Rihaku, he'll grant you one wish.
And you get to drink Imitation Denki Bran to your heart's content.
That's what I want.
If you're doing it, we bet on you.
- Me too. - Me too.
Drink some more. Here.
Chug it. Chug it.
I can't possibly chug.
I don't care!
It's a demand!
In the bubble economy, I was swimming in a pool of bills...
...now it's like a faraway dream.
That tornado the other day guaranteed it.
It came rapidly from Fushimi Castle to my red carp pond...
...and took all of my beloved carp into the sky.
Yuko! Jirokichi!
Damn it!
Bring Yuko back! Bring Jirokichi back!
Sorry, but would it be all right if I got some underwear now?
A student like you isn't good enough to wear underwear!
I started with nothing and got so far, but then...
Fuck!
Todo-san.
Are you serious about getting rid of your collection?
SHUT up!
This is difficult for me!
I'm going to take a look.
These are such great works.
Hey, boy, are you judging us with your eyes?
I'm not judging.
We're the Bedroom Investigation Committee...
...and we collect cultural artifacts related to sexuality.
"In other words, it's a gathering of perverts."
Is that what you wanna say?
I didn't say anything.
That was his plan all along.
Bury me in debt, tear me away from my daughter...
...and separate me from my erotic prints.
When will Rihaku-san be here?
He'll be at a restaurant in Kamogawa soon to collect.
Okay, let's call the Investigation Committee.
We should at least see your daughter off in the end.
Thank you!
Thank you.
You're coming too!
- This way! - Okay.
Is Rihaku around?
That's no good!
Lose all inhibition!
Is Rihaku around?
What? That's amazing.
- It just happened somehow. - Naoko-san!
Yasuo!
- A terrible loss. - A forced restart of cultural anthropology.
"Why are adults crying over something like erotic prints?"
That's what your eyes are saying.
I told you, that's not what I'm thinking! Maybe it's your self-awareness?
Some hero is going to have a drinking contest with Rihaku-san.
Does he not care for his life?
He's laying waste to the Kiya town vicinity in search of Rihaku-san.
They say he's 20 feet tall.
I hear it's a giant with ripped-up clothes.
I hear he spits carp streamers out of his mouth.
He came all the way from Oushuu.
He's more of a monster than a man.
- A sleeping lion. - A depraved monk.
What is this?
Who are you?
We play with words like a slippery eel.
She is happy, which makes me happy.
Hooray! Hooray!
What is this?
It's all over!
Todo-san, don't give up!
Nothing matters anymore! I'll let him kill me!
What a sight.
- Dad? - Naoko!
- What an embarrassing father I am! - Father, stop!
- I don't care if you're an old pervert! - Damn it!
- Naoko-san! - Kosaka-kun?
I beg of you! Marry me!
If you love him, don't marry him!
We're already married, and that makes no sense.
Kosaka, stop being so unmanly!
You're still in Japan?
It finally comes.
RIHAKU
Todo-san, long time no see.
Where are the goods?
This man destroyed everything!
So filthy.
This is not what we discussed.
How do you plan to compensate for this?
- He's going to kill me! - Bring him.
Stop right there.
- You. - Todo-san, don't give up.
Think about your next move.
Why would you--?
I'm the guy who threw around erotic prints and groped your breast.
But you taught me your wonderful view of life.
Rihaku-san, tonight I challenge you to a drinking contest.
I believe I'll win.
How fascinating.
Very well.
My under...
This floor is the public bath. Below is the party room.
Imitation Denki Bran...
...an alcohol transparent like spring water.
If I win, his debts will be doubled.
I will show no mercy.
I will act as the judge.
Now, begin!
In Imitation Denki Bran you taste the nothingness of life.
I think it warms you from your core, and tastes robust.
Like you know anything about life, youngster.
Life is fruitless.
It's abundant.
Truly fruitless.
Life is lonely and hollow and is over in an instant.
- Take or be taken from. - Give and take.
- Painful. - Fun.
Why do you drink?
I was led by those I was fated to meet.
Even now, drinking with you...
...I feel like everything is tied together.
You'll know soon enough such things are a trick of the alcohol.
Reality is a desolate world of lust and desire.
People are not connected.
We are alone.
I can't...
...drink anymore.
It's the otome's victory!
Thank you! Thank you so much!
You really are bottomless!
Pardon me.
Shit. This--
What happened?
At a glance, everyone sitting along the Kamogawa are couples.
I wonder if there's some sort of rule that they must be equidistant.
So cold.
Don't be silly. It's hot and humid.
Thank you.
What's this? A flyer for the open-air used-book fair.
It's started already?
Just now, I thought of all the books I've read...
...and remembered a picture book called Ratatatam.
It's the story of a small white train that escapes the mansion it's enclosed in...
...to go on an adventure.
Why did I have to lose such a lovely book?
I wanted to find this book once more.
Are you awake?
This is the school festival office.
It was originally the headquarters of the Library Police...
...an organization created to retrieve unreturned books from students.
It functions as an institution of secret information...
...and all sorts of information collects here.
Working in the school festival office is hard.
In order to give those fly-away students a soft landing in reality...
...it's necessary to make a pre-emptive strike...
...by having a thorough grasp on their preferences and movements.
Why did you bring me here?
You couldn't have!
Yes.
We naturally have information on her.
Isn't this...
“illegal?
Don't you want to know?
Rather than an exchange, let's say it's for friendship.
I'd like your help with school festival operations.
There are many troublemakers...
...and as the one who has to keep them in line, I'm feeling anxious.
She loves a picture book called Ratatatam.
It has been a guide for her life ever since she read it as a toddler.
She seems to have remembered it a moment ago.
Ratatatam
Where can I get this book?
At Iwanami and Oote bookstores.
You can pick it up new or used at retail shops or online.
However, it seems the book she read as a child...
...is still circulating the used-book market.
That's...
It's expected to be sold at the Shimogamo Open-Air Used-Book Fair.
If you obtain this, it should be easy to win her heart.
OLD BOOKS FESTIVAL
It's an ocean of books.
I am a deep-sea fish sweeping the sea for quarry!
BIRDS, BEASTS, AND RELATIVES
Viva, beginner's luck!
Why is it so hot in the summer even when it's dark?
I hate used books.
Books bewitch us saying, "Read us and gain knowledge!"
However, I haven't once gained benefit from this.
Rather than knowledge, give us profit!
If it would give us knowledge after that--
What are you going to do? Compensate me!
That's what I should be saying!
Can you not even apologize for what you've done?
You were probably distracted thinking about some girl.
"If I can obtain the book she loved, it will be easy to win her heart."
That's what you were thinking, right?
You're way too correct!
Suddenly finding the book I've long been searching for...
...or having the book I've been thinking about appear right before me...
...it makes me feel like it's some sort of fate.
Like there's a god of old-book markets...
...setting up my lucky encounter with the book I desire.
I had the feeling that he was setting me up with books I had previously parted with.
But I couldn't seem to find Ratatatam.
I wonder if the god of old-book markets is already on vacation.
Lately, I too, can't find the books I'm looking for.
A vicious collector is storing all the rare books.
Did you hear?
In the beginning, books circulated between people...
...and while being read repeatedly, they connected people.
And collectors are a dam for this flow.
DAM
Rare books are passed around through black auctions.
It's a life-taking trade.
It's terrifying.
Hey! You brat! Hey!
I saw you take off the price sticker! Wait! W-- Wait!
Hey, wait! Hey!
Damn that brat...
...making me buy him a new ice cream.
At least I finally got rid of that nuisance.
Kid, behave!
But really--
What is that?!
This guy told me to do it!
He said if I didn't, he would bully me, which is why l...
Hey, you. I'm going to need you to come with me.
Hey, wait. I didn't do anything.
- He's a pervert. - He was going to molest that kid.
- Let's get going. - I don't want to go.
Hey. Where did that kid go?
What are you doing?
Having trouble with your lower half again?
You drinking?
An ice kotatsu, how elegant.
Higuchi-san, are you going to read all of those?
No way.
I sell them at a high price to acquaintances who want them.
I'm so grateful for books.
There are people who pay good money for these stacked papers with ink on them.
People who collect these dirty things really are fools.
Today was a great catch.
If you'd like, I'll buy you some yakisoba.
Thank you.
Higuchi-kun only pays about once a quarter century.
Oh, another money-making contact.
I'm going to do one more deal, so please wait here.
This is Don Underwear.
He's a hard-core romantic.
I'm not a romantic.
I just am trying to reunite with my fated person.
See?
There must be some sort of reason.
At last year's school festival, after watching my friend's play...
...which I couldn't grasp the contents of, I was sitting on a bench...
...and the sky began raining apples.
Apples?
Students trying to make candied apples on the floor above...
...must have, by chance, tripped at the same time.
And at the same time, an apple bounced off our heads.
In that instant, my heart was shot out.
I had genuinely fallen in love.
I believed it to be fate.
However, I didn't know what to do.
Since our only connection was that an apple had bounced off us...
...at the same time, I hesitated in talking to her.
Even after we parted...
...I couldn't forget her.
I just want to see her once more and talk to her.
However, without any clues as to how to find her...
...and not wanting to rely on suspicious information organizations...
...everything was a fated coincidence, a romantic happening.
Don Romantic.
Then I decided to make a wish at Yoshida shrine.
Until the day I meet her again...
...I will not change my underwear from those I wore that day.
He's got life extremely wrong.
You saved me.
Don't mention it.
I have a lot of connections.
Well then, I will be g--
My red carp pond is getting fixed little by little...
...and I've started collecting erotic prints again.
That's great. Well then, I'll be going.
At today's black auction...
...I've heard that the rumored Hokusai erotic prints will be available.
However, it's a bit difficult to show my face there.
Oh, I don't--
I saved you. It's give and take, right?
AUCTION
Higuchi is here.
This is it for me.
This is the only thing I'll ever ask. I'll thank you later. I have faith in you.
Good luck.
What exactly is happening here?
A meeting of monsters.
Be as careful as possible so as not to lose your life.
Well then, participants, come right this way.
Rihaku-san likes this too.
What is this pungent scent?
Welcome, and thank you for gathering.
This is what they call "fire nabe."
If you eat it with sesame oil it's really good.
The plan is that the last person remaining at this party table...
...gets to take home anything they want from my bookshelf.
Have you already decided what you want?
- A Guide to Train and Boat Travel! - Hokusai's erotic books!
This is the picture book that a certain otome read as a kid.
As you can see, her name is written here.
My romantic engine jumped to full operation.
That's Ratatatam, and it's the original she once owned.
It's this world's greatest treasure.
Now then, first, let's have you each eat one piece.
Hot!
Hot! Hot! Hot!
Hey, little boy, don't be bad.
It's not bad. I'm doing something good.
Something good?
Don't you know? Books are all connected.
For example, the Sherlock Holmes complete collection that girl has...
...the author is Conan Doyle.
He was influenced by French author Jules Verne...
...and wrote a sci-fi novel called The Lost World.
See, the book over there.
And Verne, he looked up to Alexandre Dumas...
...and thus wrote Mathias Sandorf.
Dumas' novel, The Count of Monte Cristo...
...is best known as King of the Cave in Japan.
The first to adapt it was Ruiko Kuroiwa, editor of Yorozu Choho.
He appears as a character in the novel Meiji's Tower of Babel...
...the author of which is Fuutarou Yamada.
In A Diary of the Black Market in Wartime, he mentions the novel Will O' the Wisp...
...calling it a "stupid idea," which was written by Seishi Yokomizo.
He's editor of Shinseinen...
...and On Watanabe edited Descent of the Androgynous with him.
His death in a car accident...
...was mourned by Junichirou Tanizaki in his essay "Cold Weather in Spring."
Tanizaki had a literary dispute in a magazine with Akutagawa Ryunosuke...
...who committed suicide several months later.
Bowler Hat by Hyakken Uchida describes before and after his suicide.
Yukio Mishima praised Hyakken's essays, and when Mishima was 22...
...Osamu Dazai told him to his face that he hated him.
Dazai wrote "You Did Well" to his friend who died of tuberculosis...
...who was Sakunosuke Oda, the author that girl is reading over there.
All books are connected.
This ocean of used books is one large book.
You-- Who on earth are you?
I am the god of old-book markets.
I bring divine justice to those who block the flow...
...by putting high prices on books...
...and have the duty of returning those books to this ocean.
Which is why I want your help.
They really can eat.
If you get sick of nabe, we have ramen and gyoza too.
Shouldn't you be giving up soon?
I could say the same to you.
If you see a seven-colored streamer, you're in trouble.
Aren't you seeing it too?
The pain was already gone, and my consciousness was hazy.
I had already made myself an eternal machine...
...for devouring the nabe in front of me.
You are persistent.
There have been many men who couldn't best me.
Now I'm seeing this hallucination.
If it's a hallucination, I will not lose!
Splendid!
You are the winner!
Take it!
Thank you so much!
What's that?
I am the god of old-book markets!
That brat!
Foolish collectors, beware!
- What is it? - A Guide to Train and Boat Travel!
My manuscript!
If you want it, come look for it at the used-book fair.
I think they will be in the rightful place for a suitable price.
Damn it!
My collection!
Wait, my future.
That's...
...the senpai I always run into.
Thanks so much.
Now the books can be revived.
I think you'll eventually find your Ratatatam as well.
It's Ryuusei Kishida's diary!
Why is it here?
I'm so grateful! So grateful!
- Japanese Poems Ancient & Modern! - A Guide to Train and Boat Travel!
It gives me chills.
We were done in by the god of old books. That's annoying as shit.
I'll buy the yakisoba.
Haneki-san, maybe you should go home.
Forward march!
- Heave-ho! - Heave-ho!
Heave-ho! Heave-ho! Heave-ho!
- What is this? - Guerrilla play.
It must be school festival season.
Commence The Codger of Monte Cristo: Chapter 47!
Are you Jogasaki, who was in the Cinema Club's Misogi?
How rude of you to not address me properly!
Tell me your name first!
I am Princess Daruma.
I'm searching for the Codger of Monte Cristo.
I believe you know of him.
Kaori!
You bastard. That's low.
PRESIDENT'S CURRY
If I paint her with this Stray dogs will swarm upon her
And it will be amusing When she's cast away to Mount Yoshida
Stop Don't treat Kaori like an object
I really don't know the whereabouts
Of the Codger of Monte Cristo.
So...
But if you can't tell me--
Stop!
Where is my beloved
The Codger of Monte Cristo now?
The director Of School Festival Operations knows
The director of School Festival Operations?
Your breast-climbing friend
From the Bedroom Investigation Committee Youth Division?
Yes, my kouhai In the Bedroom Investigation Committee
Who battles with the breast rock In my entryway
The director of School Festival Operations He knows
Kaori!
You courageous neat freak Who can't accept living bodies
Recognize your own filth And use the kitchen soap on yourself
- Recognize the true mastermind - Kaori, Kaori, Kaori
The mastermind is the director Of School Festival Operations
Kaori!
- Withdraw! - Heave-ho!
You, wait!
Guerrilla plays are illegal outside of school too!
You're corrupting public morals, you scoundrel!
After them!
When I'm with you, the night seems longer.
I'll go after taking Hanuki home.
- Let's meet at the festival. - Okay.
You should pick up monk cakes on the way.
They're delicious when they're freshly made.
So I headed to the school festival.
The night isn't over yet.
The school festival is a youth bargain sale with pushy salesmen.
In other words, a youth black market.
RATATATAM STONE
Picture book? You only have one?
Move along. I don't need people who are just looking.
I've dug a moat, and obtained a key item during the invasion of the keep.
Now I only have to wait for the otome to come.
It's Ratatatam! What a coincidence!
It isn't a coincidence. It's inevitability.
Then the two of them would talk about love and their future.
The long fight is about to end.
Looking back now, the road to here is so nostalgic it makes me smile.
Forward march!
- Heave-ho! - I'll "heave-ho" you!
What are you doing? This is my shop!
Wait! The Codger of Monte Cristo! After him!
- Damn that Codger of Monte Cristo. - What is happening?
Come, we'll meet at headquarters.
They're a school festival terrorist organization that conducts guerilla plays.
They appear suddenly at unpopular shops, use them to build a tower, and perform.
The play's called The Codger of Monte Cristo.
In this adventure musical...
...Princess Daruma looks for the imprisoned Codger of Monte Cristo.
The content includes a mix of lies and truth wrung out of actual clubs and undergrads.
The people who have been exposed have had their lives ruined.
Letting them run loose is beneath our dignity.
No matter what, we'll catch The Codger of Monte Cristo...
-...and bring order to the festival! - Yes, sir!
Director!
Director, what shall we do about the running kotatsu?
That's not important now.
However, they're giving nabe to people on the street.
If we leave them be and someone gets food poisoning...
- I leave it to you. - Yes.
What an ordeal.
Seriously. Everyone and their mom is on a rampage.
- Do you have a cold? - I caught it from someone I was visiting.
- Welcome! - Take a look!
- She's a big winner. - It's delicious. Delicious.
It's a red carp jacket-slash-backpack.
You wear it by opening here and putting your arms through. Yes.
How cool!
My back feels warm.
To receive this red carp just when I was getting cold.
Hooray for opportunism. Right, right.
This really is the stage of youth.
The performance of every talented student flows by like a gorgeous picture scroll.
- You can go, right? - Let's go!
How about Bisco? Bisco's a type of bread!
Then Happy Turn, Komekko, and rice candy are all the same as rice!
Oh, what a lovely carp.
Higuchi-kun, this time you have a hot kotatsu.
Would you like some nabe too?
The office is on me, so it has to be on the move.
It's evolving.
Don't worry.
I haven't changed my underwear, but I'm not in the kotatsu.
That's splendid.
That is my etiquette as Don Underwear.
He's going to take on a once-in-a-lifetime battle.
Just watch. I'll reel in a happy ending for this festival.
Even so, I didn't know humans could live that long...
...without changing their underwear.
I immediately became sick, but I'm living the best I can.
You at the running kotatsu! Don't move!
And heave!
- Heave-ho. - Heave-ho.
Wait!
Forward march!
Heave-ho! Heave-ho! Heave-ho!
The princess isn't coming. Did they catch her?
Again? We don't have any more replacements!
- You do it! - Impossible!
You want to be an actress? I mean do it.
Here's the script.
You can just sing while listening.
No, I've memorized it already.
I can't tuck in my tail and run.
It was some kind of fate that I was assigned this major role.
Tonight I'm resolved to be led by fate!
Director, you've caught a cold from visiting the Obscenity Investigation Committee!
It isn't "Obscenity" Investigation, it's "Bedroom" Investigation!
"Bedroom" means your lady's bedroom?
To investigate there makes you a foolish, shameless bastard!
The name Director Sleaze is befitting of you.
I will be strong
Against your nasty cold
Until I see my beloved
The Codger of Monte Cristo
Henceforth, the Codger of Monte Cristo Will be incarcerated
He will never return From the codger castle
Even if my path leads me to hell
I will not be afraid
I will go anywhere
If it's for the Codger of Monte Cristo
Good job!
The Codger of Monte Cristo troupe, performing here is against the law!
- Let's move out! Move out! - Please, come quietly!
Don't get in my way, festival office!
Don't infect us, Director Sleaze!
Cut it out. Let me through.
Again.
How do you always end up the lead actress?
They got away from us again!
That was the 11th lead actress!
Even if you catch us, we have plenty of replacements.
That being said, the actress's level has clearly declined.
They must be at their limit too.
But it's strange. The script was written in advance...
...however, the author is nowhere to be seen.
In other words, if we restrict the writer, the play cannot go on.
Director! Director!
- They were communicating via SNS! - That's private information!
It's the next script! I obtained the music producer's data!
Here is the poster!
What?
Next is the last curtain, a love-scene finale.
A--? A love scene?!
Where will it be?
Please, look at this security-camera image.
The running kotatsu.
What's that?
Daruma? Did they forget it from the running kotatsu?
If you rewind further...
That's it.
Why didn't I realize?
Bring The Codger of Monte Cristo slide!
Make it overlap with the running kotatsu.
They're in the exact same place.
The Codger of Monte Cristo's ringleader is writing the script at the running kotatsu...
...and then having the troupe enact it later.
Shit.
The kotatsu's going to the multipurpose building's garden!
It's Higuchi and Don Underwear!
- Underwear? - Director Sleaze!
Everyone's just doing as they please.
Chase the running kotatsu!
Don't let Don Underwear enact the final scene!
- What's wrong? - Next is a love scene.
Your partner is Don Underwear. Will you be okay?
I don't have any experience...
...but if it's a requirement of the play, I'm ready.
Underwear-senpai started this troupe to search for his girl.
He said, "if this play becomes famous...
...the apple girl I fell in love with will come to watch!"
Underwear-senpai is going to confess his feelings right there!
The princess and codger are a metaphor for the two of them being unable to meet!
I'm sure she will be able to reciprocate Don Underwear's love!
In that case, for this play, until the apple girl shows up...
...the show must go on!
Our connection with the kotatsu has been found out!
We might be forestalled on the roof!
Plan O!
They've come!
If I don't stop the theater troupe...
...she's going to have a public love scene with Underwear.
That is bad. Positively. This is not the script written in my heart!
Conversely, if I dance into the guerrilla play...
...change outwith Underwear...
...it will be theatrically inevitable that we are together!
Director, we've apprehended the location of the kotatsu!
My engine is lacking horsepower. As it is, the final act will end!
Naoko-san!
NAOKO, I WILL WAIT FOR YOU UNTIL I DIE
Suffocating.
Romantic engine. Inserting pure love nitrous.
I, too, will dance in as an actor!
Hey! Your belt is twisted!
Let me fix it for you.
What's twisted is my heart in love!
Who does that? This isn't what you promised.
I prioritize her over everything.
Our promise is at the bottom of my list.
Where is The Codger of Monte Cristo?
You ran a lot, however this is not the goal.
The stage for the final act is over there.
The Codger of Monte Cristo, begin!
Hooray!
When the Codger of Monte Cristo
Disappeared
It made the world
Come to an end
However, now is the end
Of my journey
Right now
I was sitting
On a bench
You were sitting nearby
And then suddenly It rained apples
When I stood up and looked at you
You were looking at me too
Just then two apples
Bounced off their heads
Two apples bounced off their heads.
What kind of fate
Is this revelation?
I fell in love and understood
This is...
I love you, my fated person
Princess Daruma
This is just an idiot's fair.
You should become one of the idiots watching.
If we're all idiots...
...I'll be a dancing idiot!
Ready, set, 10...
...nine, eight, seven...
- Something's caught in the net! Raise it! -...six, five, four, three...
...two, one.
Music.
I just happened along by chance
But being able to meet with you
Makes me very happy
Who are you?
I am a trivial Ratatatam peddler
And the senpai Who often meets the otome
- What happened? - What?
Senpai, what a coincidence
No, it's just by chance
- What a coincidence - No, by chance
- Coincidence - Chance
- Coinci-- Coinci-- Co-- - Chan-- Chan-- Ch--
- Now, this is fate - Now, this is fate
Now the kiss.
But these aren't my feelings. This is a play, brought on by necessity.
Senpai?
I am the lead actor
The mastermind of this play
Without realizing an intrusion occurred
But please forget what happened
And look only at me
My beloved apple girl
If you're here Appear before me now
You're looking for me?
What a coincidence
A thunderbolt on a clear day
I was able to meet you again
Fate in fate
I also awaited you
My fated person
My destined person
Don Underwear
The apple girl.
I'm sorry.
Got you!
Underwear, you villainous disrupter of public order!
I'm the director of School Festival Operations!
The one you are searching for is the idol I portrayed a year ago for amusement.
I apologize for not telling you.
Am I
No good for you
Don Underwear-sen?
I was always, always Thinking of you
And always, always
Supporting you from behind
However
If your heart is set on
Someone you find beautiful
I wouldn't mind
Undergoing plastic surgery
Look at me instead!
Nice!
Switch to her!
Give up, Director Sleaze!
Sleep in the "Bedroom!"
Do it! Do it!
I'm sorry But I can't do that
What I fell for was not a face
But the moment That the apples bounced off of us
I knew it was fate
For example
If that person was a guy
I can't ignore That pounding of my heart
You're just a romantic too!
Look at the girl in front of you!
If you're going to go that far
You should know That's not the whole story
I was lonely and wanted someone To make me feel better
But I am the isolated Director of Operations
No one can understand me
If you're willing to accept me
I don't mind becoming a girl for you
You're drunk on his passion! As if that sort of opportunism exists!
They're going to kiss!
Hurry and give me an excuse.
Hurry with the music.
No! Don't fold!
Don't search for warmth in another due to your loneliness. It's outrageous.
Yuko! Jirokichi! My carp!
Love
A new love
This time it is a fated love
Love changes
Love is self-centered
However, I've suddenly met
A sincere person
The story is always opportunistic
You've finally turned to me
They're still alive. Still alive!
My fated person
This is a rose-colored
Campus life
When I realized it, I already had a cold.
When I nonchalantly mentioned my condition, there was no response.
Either because it's the middle of the night, or because no one wants to talk to me.
I grew as tired as if all four seasons passed in a night...
...and here I am in a permanently unmade bed.
WAITING IS PAINFUL. AND BEING WAITED ON IS PAINFUL.
HOWEVER, WHETHER ONE IS WAITING OR BEING WAITED ON,
THOSE WHO ARE ALONE MUST ACT.
Those who are alone must act.
Make my egg sake without egg and sugar, okay?
I can't do that.
You catch a cold because your spirit is weak.
Take a look at me.
You don't catch a cold because you're an idiot.
But I'm honestly a bit happy you came to visit.
If I stayed in bed without eating, I would die from starvation.
That being said, I can be of no help. I'm glad she's here.
This is surprisingly good.
How is everyone?
Everyone seems to be sick.
It seems like no one is around town.
I'm surprised you're fine dressed like that.
Even if you have a cold, if you have Junpero, you can stand.
That's a mysterious drug that was used as a treatment for tuberculosis.
It wound like cotton candy, and with each lick, your fever would decrease...
...and energy would rise in your entire body.
Oh, yeah. Rihaku-san should have some.
I could make some money off this.
Don Underwear-sen!
I already changed my underwear.
Are you okay?
Noriko-kun's cold is pretty bad, so I was going to visit her.
You'll both collapse. I will accompany you.
You should take this for a cold.
The secret ingredients in Coca-Cola against the cold.
Adding ginger...
...increases the effect.
Delicious.
My mother gave me the recipe for this egg sake.
I feel bad for Underwear-sen, so please keep this a secret.
Thank you for going to the trouble.
You're going to catch a cold in those short sleeves.
- Put something on and come back. - I'm fine.
No.
That cushion is so round and cute.
I bought a bunch.
They feel good to hug, and you can play with them.
It's a waste to have all that egg sake just for me.
Would you bring some to the director of Operations?
He's by himself, so he may be lonely.
Understood.
Bring the ginger cola with you too.
Thank you for going out of your way.
As you can see, I might be buried alive in popularity.
So many people came.
Ever since the musical, I have fans in every club.
So you needn't worry.
However, I regret to say that my cold has spread...
...to the many people who came to visit.
However, the one I'm worried about is my senpai...
...in the Bedroom Investigation Committee, Todo-san.
If his daughter doesn't come to visit...
...and he's just laying by himself, he must be lonely.
- I'll go visit him. - Really?
I have apples over there. Will you take them to him?
- Apples always cure colds. - Yes.
Last year they were done in by a tornado, but this year seems to have been good.
I received a lot of hats too, so take one with you.
Your ears look cold.
What happened with him after that?
The senpai you see often, who tried to take over The Codger of Monte Cristo.
He was just there by chance.
Do you really believe that? He totally hijacked the stage.
I'm friends with him...
...and that's the first I've seen him so desperate.
Do you not know?
You're always moving forward, so no one can catch up to you.
But there's someone who always runs into you by chance. Don't you find it strange?
Until now, I've always been absorbed in interesting things...
...and walked wherever my feet lead me.
I have particularly neglected the discipline of male-female diplomacy.
I can't even understand my own fuzzy, cotton candy-like feelings with ease...
...let alone grasp another person's feelings.
But the truth is when I remember senpai hugging me over the papier-mâché...
...I somehow space out and want to squeeze my red carp.
Did that really happen?
Was it all just a hallucination?
EVEN IF I COUGH, I'M ALONE
TODO CARP CENTER
Why did you come all this way again?
The director of School Festival Operations told me.
He was mad, wasn't he? That I gave him a cold.
He was worried more about you than himself.
My daughter came to visit me...
...but it spread to her husband and his family too.
It will definitely spread to you too.
The god of colds hates me.
Man, I'm always in your debt.
Was that your senpai trying to get a book at the used-book fair?
He was trying desperately to get his hands on...
...this lame picture book called Ratatatam.
Despite my equally desperate requests for the erotic books.
In any case, I was able to get it afterwards, so it's fine.
Speaking of, I originally got this cold from Rihaku-san.
He already had a cold during your drinking contest.
I hear he's even worse now.
DEMACHIYANAGI STATION
Why is the town so quiet?
A cold is attacking people like a swordsman testing a blade.
I thought the world had ended while I was in bed.
Now, don't be shocked, but Higuchi-kun collapsed from a cold.
I tried to visit Rihaku-san...
...however, the cold was relentless, and I accepted defeat...
...without being able to reach my destination.
This is no half-baked cold.
It is a Rihaku cold that is rampant in the town.
Where does Rihaku-san live?
He always parks his train in a lonely area of Takuragaike.
From there the cold rises up.
The god of colds that inhabits his body has created followers...
...and they have spread the Rihaku cold throughout Kyoto.
If we stand by idly, Kyoto will die along with Rihaku-san.
I will go visit Rihaku-san.
Even Higuchi-kun is like this. It's impossible.
I've always thought the god of colds was not my friend...
...but this seems to be some sort of fate.
There's something I have to talk to Rihaku-san about face-to-face.
Forgive me for visiting so late!
Rihaku-san!
- Rihaku-san. - I'm going to die.
You cannot be weak.
You never change.
How many decades has it been since our drinking contest?
It hasn't been that long. It was a few hours ago on this very night.
It would be great if that were true.
Lonely hours fly by.
Many years have passed since then.
On this cold, winter night, I've wet my nappy and am crying...
...but no matter how much I call, my mother won't come.
I'm here.
I collected milk-bottle caps, attached a price, and exchanged them.
In Sevens, I liked to stop at six or eight...
...because it was fun to see everyone's troubled faces.
My family wasn't close, but I had money.
If I had money, people would come. Girls and money.
There was someone who tried to take these by force.
I lost everything...
...and learned that this world is "take or be taken from."
You can buy strength. You can even buy love.
There's nothing you can't buy.
I got everything I wanted, but no matter how much I got, my heart was never full.
You are not alone. You are connected to others.
The money you lent became someone's power.
It became their happiness that will someday come back to you.
Your cold spread to Hanuki-san...
...which spread to Todo-san and the director...
...and then Underwear-sen and Noriko-san.
Then it spread to their acquaintances and their acquaintances.
It's currently spread throughout town.
The things you have taken are going around spreading happiness.
Even if you want to remain alone, you are connected no matter what.
The connection that began with you...
...is holding everyone together whether we like it or not.
You are not alone.
Tonight is a wonderful, long night that you have given us.
Thank you.
Thanks to you, I've had a very fun night.
Imitation Denki Bran is very delicious.
Will you drink with me again?
As long as there is alcohol around.
What's that?
A terminal full of germs, more troublesome than my cold.
It seems there is a young person more lonely than I.
Do you have any idea who it is?
I think of that person. Do you remember the plot of Ratatatam?
That white train had a goal, and you too have a destination station.
- Yes. - The sun rises quickly.
The night is short.
Walk on, otome.
It's the medicine for colds that don't get better.
Junpero.
DESTINATION
My school ranking...
...which hasn't risen since my entrance, won't rise in the future either.
Continuing to grad school would only put off the job search until later.
Without wit, profit, talent, savings, power, and guts, without charisma...
...and without being an endearing piglet of a man...
...that makes you want to pinch his cheeks.
I can't leave this world only fulfilling the withouts.
Wondering if I've buried a talent.
Where did my talent go?
A skilled hawk hides its talons.
I felt like I'd locked my piggy bank of talent in the closet during my first year.
I had that, didn't I?
Didn't I?
MOVE FORWARD A LITTLE AT A TIME
It's been over a year since I met her.
While removing an obstacle, I missed a step on the road to love...
...and became a train forever removing obstacles from its path.
I can't even clarify her feelings, because I'm gutless.
This has to do with my dignity. I must adjust.
Maybe I don't really like her. Then my dignity would be preserved.
I'm not convinced.
- What do I even know about her? - That's obscure reasoning.
I know nothing other than the back of her head.
I'm using her existence to fill the emptiness in my heart, like a coward.
- I should be embarrassed! - Bow to her and apologize!
Face a wall and sullenly expand like a Daruma doll.
Don't get taken in by the tides.
There's a prejudice in the world that says all college students must have lovers.
This prejudice was forced on this student and he's making every effort to hold on.
Which further creates the illusion that everyone has a lover.
Definitely the opposite!
- Scaredy-cat! - Grit your teeth!
Are you turning to love because you can't see your own future?
You need to confirm her feelings.
- Carefully and as roundabout as possible. - Let me participate too!
- You idiot! You talk forever! - Think logically!
Could I really do something so delicate as dating?
Is it fun to date?
You're totally just thinking about lewd things like touching boobs.
Of course my head's full of lewd thoughts, but that isn't all. There's a lot more!
- There are more beautiful things! - You fool!
What'll I do if I'm smashed to pieces?
What if our dating becomes a reality? That night, she slides in closer.
- How would I handle that? - She isn't like instant ramen!
If she tells me to grab her breast, would I refuse?
I wouldn't refuse, but...
- You're a pervert through and through. - Apologize to her.
You need to fine tune your stance!
- What do you like about her? - Why her?
If you insist that you should step up now...
...present a logical reason that everyone can accept!
Low! Traitor! Treason! Lewd!
- Fool! Reckless! - Silence!
Gentlemen, if you're telling me to thoroughly think this through...
...how do men and women get together and start dating?
This pure, poetic love you demand, isn't it impossible from the beginning?
The more we analyze our own will and consider each part...
...don't we become unable to move forward?
Whether it's sex drive, vanity, popularity, an illusion, or idiocy...
...even if you take in every part and what you have left is heartbreak hell...
...you should spring for that darkness!
If I could do that, I wouldn't be worried!
If I don't jump now, I will forever continue looping back to this corner!
Rather than confessing my feelings to her...
...I ask, is there anyone who could die alone tomorrow without regrets?
If there is, step forward!
SHE SAID SHE'D COME BY. I TOLD HER YOUR ADDRESS.
Yeah, right.
That girl will be here soon.
OTOME, WILL STOP BY SOON
FUSHIMI
As if going backwards through tonight's journey, I visited many sick people.
Everyone was nice and considerate.
I ended up receiving gifts rather than giving them.
It was as if I, who hadn't caught the cold, were being left out, and it was a bit lonely.
I thought that I wouldn't mind catching a cold if I didn't have to be alone.
OTOME RECEIVES ASADAAME
Boy of the Northern Wind, Kantaro
SUCCESS!!
- She's rapidly approaching! - She's coming here?
- Defense! - Can't we permanently open the gate?
- Keep her at the gate! - Are you going to show her your filthy self?
- Offense is the best. - Hit the defense switch!
- She's come all the way here! - I'm not prepared!
- I couldn't be prepared if I had eternity! - Dig a moat!
Calm down!
- In any case, open the gate! - Don't do it!
Open up! Open the castle!
You'd better not come in!
- Lock it down! - Hit the switch!
- The gate's open! - Throw your arms open and greet her!
- Stop! - Where's the switch? Where?
Let's leave it up to instinct!
Hide!
Senpai?
Where are you?
Senpai? Where are you?
- Buy some time! - What will you do with it?
Either way she's coming!
Erotic. Erotic.
Let me grab you.
Let me touch you!
So sour!
ASADAAME
No! It's not time for that!
What will you do if I die?
Now!
No!
Ta-da!
Fire!
You flew here for me!
I was finally able to fly!
Senpai, do you not want to see the scenery?
I'm looking at the best scenery.
Also, the shape of my wings only lets me fly this way.
Are you okay?
You came all the way here?
You didn't hear me, so I came up on my own.
Sorry.
What's that?
Ratatatam!
RATATATAM
I'll give it to you, if you'd like.
This is the book I had when I was a toddler!
My name is written here!
I came by it by chance.
Thank you so much!
I'll treasure it.
How did you make it here?
I just happened along by chance.
That's such a coincidence.
I know an interesting used-book store.
Would you like to go together?
I'd love to!
I may have caught a cold.
If she doesn't come-- No. Even if she ends up coming...
...I want to return to those fun days of clearing away the obstacles in my path!
That day, I'm embarrassed to say, I woke up at 6 a.m.
I was invited to coffee before the used-book store.
Is this what they call a date?
Lost in thought, I remembered something to talk about.
There was something I wanted to ask her.
I wonder what sort of evening she had in Ponto town.
At the used-book market, at the school festival...
...visiting those who were sick. How was it?
It was a strange evening that seemed like a year.
If she could tell me how she walked around...
...I could tell her my story as well.
Now that I think of it, there was something I wanted to ask Senpai.
What sort of evening did he have in Ponto town?
At the used-book market, at the school festival, in the sickbed.
How did he spend that night that felt like a year?
I really wanted to know.
Welcome.
Meeting like this...
Must be some kind of fate.