I've got your lunches!
Thank you.
This Chinese food is great!
Anai, do you have any change?
After Family Appreciation Day,
Anai started a cheap lunch service
and rose to fame amongst the younger recruits.
Careful! The president is coming!
What?
You youngsters are such hard workers!
But we keep it a secret from the higher-ups.
Anai has finally found his place,
and the dust has settled for me.
And that's good. Right?
RAGE
Work, go home, internet, sleep.
The dust has settled and this is all that's left...
There's nothing that I'm really itching to do.
I wonder if it's fine to live like this: without any goals.
I have to wonder, especially after seeing Anai succeed.
What about your driver's license? It will look good on your CV.
That's not what I mean. I'm talking about life goals.
Are all of today's youth like this?
Marketing has kids like this, too.
Maybe it's a generational thing.
If your current situation needs changing, why don't you do something about it?
If you don't act on it, you're just complaining for the sake of complaining.
I had a goal when I was young.
I tried new things and honed my skills.
It's no cakewalk getting through the glass ceiling!
Gori...
you're preaching.
That was my intention!
Oh no. I have to go.
We'll continue this later.
You're going to a workshop, right?
Yeah, about marketing management.
Are you're going, too, Washimi?
I started taking Chinese lessons last month.
"Work, go home, internet, sleep." Wow.
Boring!
Well, what about you, Fenneko?
My days are always productive.
I check the Instagram accounts of airheads,
starting with Tsunoda.
For those who are most deserving, I dig up their addresses,
and I sometimes uncover their unglamorous pasts.
In short?
Work, go home, internet, sleep.
Just like me.
You're right!
Take a left at the next intersection.
Check your left side.
Blinkers on. After three seconds, move left.
Check your rearview mirror. OK, turn left.
I'm doing exactly what I'm told and with precision.
I'm honestly good at this.
Nice. You're a good driver.
But,
there's nowhere that I'm trying to get to.
That was a nasty realization.
Ugh!
I'm just getting my driver's license because my mom told me to.
But doing what you're instructed to do is also a talent.
Not everyone can do that.
You've already hit the streets! That's amazing.
I'm not amazing. You're just bad at it!
You're still on the theory part, right?
Yeah.
Why are you stuck on that?
I could help.
The safety check you have to do for a left turn has me stumped.
I know it's important,
but what's the point of craning your neck when there's obviously nobody there?
Just do it, with no exceptions! It's a rule because it's important.
Yeah, but...
No "buts!"
That's why they won't let you on the road!
Huh?
Huh? What?
I can't hear you!
I said, you got rejected.
What now?
Remember him?
Oh, him!
I put it off when you started driving school,
but I ended up accepting the invitation to meet on your behalf.
Hey! Stop making decisions for me!
But what a surprise! We got rejected!
He said, "Oh, never mind."
Is this story really that funny?
Do you want to know the reason?
Stop. I don't want to hear it.
Are your feelings hurt?
A little.
Things like this can happen.
Perhaps you misunderstood and thought only you were selecting a match.
Ugh!
The other party also gets a say in the matter.
By the time you finally come around to the idea of marriage,
it could be too late.
Are you listening?
I am.
Not everyone will take to you like Shirota did.
Did Shirota say anything after we met?
It's already too late.
He had another meeting, and they're getting along well.
Seriously?
I'm actually shocked.
I wasn't even crazy about Shirota...
What is this feeling?
What is it?
Panic?
Moving on...
I've found something nice.
Have you heard about this?
Matchmaking parties!
MATCHMAKING PARTY
Has everyone received their profile card?
First impressions count, so think carefully when filling yours out.
I got manipulated by her again.
PROFILE CARD
Ugh!
Our annual income, too?
"Hobbies."
Let me see!
Argh! You can't do that.
HOBBIES: COOKING AND CLEANING
Isn't karaoke your hobby?
AGE: 29
Aren't you 40?
I wanted to write 27, but I felt bad, so I decided to raise it.
At least praise me for that.
This party is for people in their 20s and 30s, you know.
I...
I like younger guys.
It figures.
Does Gori frequent these kinds of parties?
Exchange your profile with the person in front of you and begin conversing.
A measly three minutes to talk!
What should I talk about?
ANNUAL INCOME:
3.5 MILLION YEN
That's too realistic.
Um...
Oh, yes...
What... what are your hobbies?
-Well, they're written there. -Oh, that's right!
-Um... -Yes?
What do you do on your days off?
You mean, what are my hobbies?
If so...
they're written there.
Of course they are!
I'm terrible at this! I can't communicate under this kind of pressure!
Will you live with your parents after marriage or get your own place?
How many kids will you have?
A flower that you've nurtured looks like it's dying. What do you do? Pick one!
One, water it. Two, toss it out.
Amazing! She's so used to this that she's developed her own method.
Time's up.
Gentlemen, move to the next seat, please.
It's over already?
I have to meet 30 people like this?
What a pain.
CIVIL SERVANT INCOME: 4 MILLION
-Hello, I'm Arai. -Is he on helium?
-Oh, you see... Oh, um, you see... -His eyes are swimming around!
I... write poems.
For dirt cheap, I bet, with your annual income!
Um, what's your hobby?
It's written there, as always!
Gentlemen, move to the next seat, please.
I can't focus anymore.
What am I doing?
Speed date! Speed date!
All the local prospects aren't so great
Speed date! Speed date!
Where a three-minute chat Is the darkest fate
Serving up dudes off a meager man menu
Grab your chopsticks and take your pick
Going down the line Like conveyor-belt sushi
All of these choices make me sick
They're all garbage Son of a bii--
So you're an accountant, Miss Retsuko?
Oh, sorry. I wasn't listening.
It's OK.
I'm Torajima.
Nice to meet you.
Nice to meet you, too.
ANNUAL INCOME: 12 MILLION YEN
Oh my...
So your hobby is cooking? How lovely.
Could this be...
my "fated encounter"?
Hey, have you found a good guy?
What about you, Director Gori?
I found one!
You did too, right? What kind of guy? Come on, tell me.
Tell me his age at least. I'll tell you the age of mine, too.
-One, two... -One, two...
-Thirty-five. -Thirty-five.
He's a surgeon with an annual income of 12 million yen!
You were blinded by his income, weren't you?
Amongst other things...
Compared to other guys, he seemed confident and reliable.
Right! A real go-getter!
We really connected.
I felt the same way, though.
That Torajima guy...
is a con man.
All the regulars know this.
Learn to differentiate between the truth and lies.
It's our punishment for allowing ourselves to be wooed by numbers.
We'll learn and move on.
I've already had enough.
About our previous talk...
I told you that I'm working hard to find value in my job, right?
Even so, there are times when I wonder if I chose right.
At this rate, I'll be alone forever.
It really scares me.
But I'm very happy now.
My job is rewarding. I've got you and Washimi.
In my 20s, I was afraid to imagine what life would be like in my 40s.
But now that I'm here, it's surprisingly fun.
Hopefully, I'll still feel that way for another 20 years.
But no one can predict the future.
Twenty years from now...
I can't even imagine it.
I bet you'll be married.
I sometimes wonder about that.
When your kids tick you off, you'll let out your death metal voice.
I can imagine that happening.
DRIVING SCHOOL
Hey. What's up?
I passed my exam!
Wow, congrats. All that's left is for you to wait for your license.
Thank you!
Are you looking for Tadano?
Not really...
Yeah, he's the one you'd want to tell most of all.
I just thought I might...
I haven't seen him in days.
Wait a sec. Let's see...
Ah! Yup, his course has expired.
Maybe he quit.
He quit?