There.
That is our job.
See what I mean?
Any writer can come up with material.
To use it so you burst into laughter is the work of the artiste.
How powerfully...
...and with what timing does it go 'pop'?
The answer to that, delivered on the stage...
...is the artiste's technique.
Once I had learned that...
...I was an artiste at whom you just had to laugh.
'Had to laugh'...
Had to laugh.
I'm sure that when he burst that balloon...
...he scared himself, too.
Yeah!
Look.
That look scared me!
You just have to laugh.
Don't write that!
Don't worry.
I've got another interview.
Yes... yes...
It's 70 per cent done.
That's a nearly 90-per-cent 70 per cent.
No, I'm not at 80 per cent yet.
No signal!
I'm really sorry! I'll have it by 1 tomorrow.
No. I'll have it by tonight.
Hey, there's Tetsu sticking his bum out again.
Asuka! There you are!
That's my boyfriend.
We'll be late!
Sorry!
Hello!
I'm Kimura Yoshio.
Hello. We're from...
Turn that off!
Sorry.
Please sit down.
We'd like to talk with you about confectionaries...
Your sword...
Let's take that...
The shrine's here. It's huge!
Asuka! Asuka!
Asuka! Hey!
Asuka!
Aw, man... she's gargling vomit.
WELCOME TO THE QUIET ROOM
Huh?
Hello?
Somebody?
Anybody?
Hello?
I'm burning! I'm burning!
Hello!
My head!
My head stinks!
It smells of burning!
I'm seeing this.
A real ceiling.
Real walls.
They're white.
OK.
I'm seeing them.
But this...
...I don't understand.
My head!
Did you just wake up? That noise outside is all right.
Don't worry about it.
Is this a hospital?
Yes. I'm your nurse-in-charge. My name is Eguchi.
Do you know where you are?
Not really. Am I tied down here?
Yes. Hands, feet, and body. 5-point restraint.
5-point restraint?
With the consent of your flatmate.
Where am I?
The Joseikai Psychiatric Hospital.
The Women's Secure Unit.
'Secure'?
Wait a minute!
Ms Sakura...
Yes?
Do you know why you're here?
Uh...
...probably...
...last night. I took some pills...
I'm really sorry! I'll have it by 1 tomorrow.
No. I'll have it by tonight.
I can't come to the phone right now.
Please leave your name and a message after the tone.
This is Fresh TV. How's the story going?
Give us a call.
It wasn't last night. It was three days ago.
Two days ago at 1 p. M...
...you were found unconscious from alcohol and sedatives.
Your flatmate brought you here.
Oh, shit!
Two days ago?
Yes.
It's 11 a.m., so you haven't woken up for two full days.
Two days...
You have 21 new messages.
Hello? This is Fresh TV. Ms Sakura?
Oh, no...
Oh, no!
Are you all right?
No, I'm not all right!
Could you untie these?
There's a danger you might fall.
I won't fall. I need to phone.
Did Tetsu... did my flatmate leave my cell phone?
Wait for the doctor.
Patients are not allowed cell phones.
Why?
The rules.
Wait!
When can I get out of here?
When your blood is clear of the drug.
And when that happens, I can go home?
When your doctor and guardian consent.
If you attempt suicide again, we can be held responsible.
What? Suicide? Wait a minute...
Do you understand 'committed'?
You were admitted...
...on the judgment of your guardian and your doctor.
What?
I haven't the faintest idea what you're talking about.
Oh, you were incontinent, so your flatmate took your clothes.
Those are on lease from the hospital.
It's part of your bill.
You do understand 'incontinent'?
'Incontinent'...
'Incontinent'? This is your first signed article.
Are you sure about this?
It's not true.
It's not?
No, it isn't.
I'm going to market myself as an eccentric.
Huh?
Whee-ooo!
Ms Sakura?
Dr Matsubara is here on his rounds.
How are you feeling?
I'm fine.
You're good to go?
I guess so.
Well, let's take off those restraints.
Yes. Doctor.
Unhook the catheter.
I'm Nurse Yamagishi. How do you do.
Shall we check her blood pressure?
I'll just pull these down.
Here we go...
What's this?
It's out.
Are you hungry?
Yeah, she hasn't eaten for two days.
Um, I'm on deadline...
She's a magazine journalist.
Once you're physically recovered, we'll have to call your guardian...
...for a talk.
I see you've had psychosomatic treatment.
No...
Uh, yes. I had a bit of insomnia for a little while.
Oh, insomnia...
That's all over, though.
She says she wasn't intending suicide.
I was just trying to space myself out over some things.
I was drinking, and the pills made me feel good.
Next thing I knew...
We should just get her husband's OK and let her out, then.
But her assessment...
You can tell by looking at her.
If her husband says let her out, we can't keep her.
I messed up.
To be honest, I don't understand what I'm doing here.
Your flatmate decided.
Well, yes, but...
...when's this 'assessment'? Can I have it now?
When is it?
You're away next week, Doctor. So after that.
That's no good...
Not so fast!
I'm fine.
You're lucky.
How?
Your new physician. Dr Shirai, is really good.
She's kind of butch, but she's a great doctor.
Oh?
Dr Matsubara is just wishy-washy. That's why he got that fracture.
He's got wishy-washy bones.
I told you before, that was an accident.
He just lets everyone out.
Dr Shirai takes the time to treat people, so don't worry.
Oh, great!
Treat me for what? What do I have, anyway?
I'm told they suspect you have thanatic tendencies.
'Thanatic'?
You're suicidal.
It usually takes two or three months to recover.
So let's get you cured, OK?
Connecting to the Message Center.
Sakura speaking.
I'm thanatic right now, so please leave a message...
She gets a column then vanishes for three days!
To hell with her. She's fired.
Let's eat!
Food...
I'm starving!
Damn it!
I'm starving!
It's normal.
It's just normal, mature irritation.
You have a visitor.
I have permission to undo these.
It's your flatmate. Visiting hours are over soon, so keep it short.
Come in.
I brought you some stuff.
You look like Hannibal Lecter.
Or maybe a river sprite.
Or science fiction... 'Akira'.
Tetsu...
I brought this.
No!
You know...
This place is the real thing!
I came by the nurses' station from the elevator.
There were some girls in there eating...
...all as thin as sticks...
...just glaring at their food like it was eating them.
Like they were absorbing calories just looking at it.
And beside them a girl was crying her eyes out.
Frizzy hair, like Little Orphan Annie, and a burned smell.
Telling a nurse beside her, 'I won't burn my hair again!'
That must be the one who was screaming about her head.
You don't hear that very often. 'I won't burn my hair again!'
This is a whole new world.
Well, I'm even being isolated from that world.
I've been tied down.
I don't think you can smoke here.
You're probably right.
They wanted to tie you down so you didn't roll off in your sleep.
I went along with it.
You know me... I do what I'm told.
Well, don't tell Mom...
I haven't.
I'll say you're on a trip.
Just don't start shaking like you always do when you're lying.
You're right.
With Dad only just gone, this would put her in hospital, too.
Don't laugh.
I didn't.
You did.
I did.
Tetsu, I want you to tell me honestly.
Yeah...
When you found me, how was it?
I mean, how did it look?
Uh...
...I guess we'd been fighting.
Yes. We had.
We had a fight. Over the shrine.
The shrine, yeah.
You remember?
So I went out drinking till 4, then passed out in the living room.
About 9 I woke up and went into the bedroom.
You'd thrown up a little, there on the bed...
...with all these packets of pills around you.
I thought you'd done it for sure.
You said the bedroom?
Upstairs?
Yeah.
What's this?
I don't remember going upstairs.
So I thought, 'Oh, shit!' And called the ambulance.
Then right after the medics the police came!
I said you'd taken a drug so they treated it as a crime!
Was your wife using illegal drugs?
Illegal?!
No! No way!
There's alcohol and sleeping pills upstairs. I think that's what it was.
That's the closest the cops have ever been to my ganja.
Shh! There's a camera here.
Where?!
Right there!
Come with us, sir.
Right!
I'll, uh, just be in the can.
Cute.
I was never so glad that's a matryoshka doll.
That was close!
Idiot!
So I got in the ambulance...
And came here.
No.
They had to pump your stomach.
We went to emergency at a hospital nearby.
A hospital?
Asuka...
Man, did that hurt! Right on the nail!
I'm sorry. I don't remember.
No?
After all you went through?
Then what?
Did they bring me here after that?
Yeah, I guess so.
That's weird...
What?
Why didn't I just stay there?
Oh, that was because of the beds and stuff...
They didn't have any open. This one did.
I'm in a psych hospital because they had a free bed?!
On the Secure Ward?
I'm not setting my head on fire!
Well, the medics told me we were coming here...
I do what I'm told.
That's for sure!
And they said...
...you might try it again.
Tetsu, do you really think I was trying to kill myself?
I don't want to think that, but...
But what?
All that stuff they pumped out of your stomach...
Tetsu...
Sorry.
You haven't slept...
No, I slept at a program meeting.
Tetsu...
...can I touch your bum?
This relaxes me.
It does?
Good.
What about you?
Me...
...not.
My legs are tired.
Yeah...
I guess I should say I'm sorry, shouldn't I.
I haven't said that yet.
I'm glad you're alive!
I thought you'd never wake up!
The toilet's there.
I don't need a toilet!
I don't need a toilet...
Huh?
I think I might need a toilet!
What Tetsu brought...
A boom box.
A coffee maker.
Chips.
Rolls.
Cream.
Creamer.
Nintendo DS Lite.
Two of them.
A mirror.
A manga.
They let me keep...
...the manga.
I can't read this!
Coming in!
Dinner at last.
What is it?
Hamburger, rice, and miso soup...
...all mixed together in a blender.
It looks like snot.
Don't think of snot.
It tastes like that, too.
What?
Your boyfriend... he's a TV writer, isn't he.
Yeah. You know your stuff.
I just love 'The Punishment Game'!
He's 'Tetsu the Writer'. I recognized his bum.
That's hot!
Don't tell anyone. It could hurt him.
I'm not allowed to.
And I'm a fan.
Could I ask something?
Yes?
Well...
...I can't eat looking at a toilet.
Shit!
Shit! Fuck!
I told you!
It has to be Shiseido Maquillage lipstick!
There's things I can't leave behind!
Ms Yoshimura! Ms Yoshimura! You can leave them behind!
Is that a piano? Someone's really good.
There's one in the lounge.
That's Sae. She's been here the longest.
About five years, maybe.
How old is she?
20. Five years in a single room at Y20,000 a day.
She's rich. She only weighs 35 kilos, though.
She just won't eat.
That's the nurses' station.
If you need us for anything, just tap on the glass.
Oxygen-power punch!
It's reinforced.
That hurts!
It's her head that burns?
Thank you for everything, Nurse.
Is she getting out?
No, she isn't.
Mrs Kinbara!
Um...
Look after yourself, not her.
And that door is the only way a patient can get out.
Do you smoke?
In there.
The dining area is the common room. You can eat there.
Excuse me...
I'd like to see a mirror.
You would?
What's this?
I look like shit!
You were out cold for two days?
You want this?
You overdosed. Huh?
'OD'. We call it here. I was in there a week ago.
My name's Kurita.
Uh, oh...
Thanks.
I'm Sakura.
It's a stupid thing to do.
Mine was by accident, more or less.
It's expensive here, so there's always a bed for an emergency case.
That's exactly what happened to me!
Oh?
Ace the interview. Then.
I'm allowed out tonight. They'll probably discharge me soon.
My husband put in a word. He's a doctor.
So things go smoothly with my doctor here.
Who's your doctor?
Dr Shirai. She's a good doctor if you don't look at her.
'Shirai'...
Keep the brush till tomorrow.
My husband's waiting at the nurses' station.
Thank you.
At last! Dinner at a good restaurant.
Dinner...
Ow!
Shall I brush your hair?
'Sakura Asuka'? They both sound like given names.
Are you the pianist?
No.
That was Sae from the rich room.
I'm Miki.
She doesn't eat because she doesn't want to.
I want to eat, but I can't.
Oh.
Are you an OD?
Yeah.
You looked in at me, didn't you.
You said something.
Yes.
What?
'Welcome to the Quiet Room'.
'Quiet Room'?
That's what we call the isolation ward.
You go in there if you bother people, or you're making yourself miserable.
There.
It's time to get up. Radio Calisthenics are starting...
...in the common room.
Time to get up...
I haven't slept a wink.
Raise your hands, forward and up!
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6...
Don't cry! I'm stupid, remember?
Crying just makes me stupider.
It's true.
Just get me the money.
Then go to hell!
Good morning.
My flatmate left some money. I want to buy a telephone card.
Write your name here, and tomorrow...
But I'd like it now...
That's how it's done.
All right.
I'd also like a pen and paper. And cigarettes...
Fill out this form, then. On Monday you can use up to Y3,000...
Monday?
This is Wednesday... how long is it till Monday?
The rules are there for your benefit.
I'm a writer with a deadline! I have obligations to...
Excuse me...
...you're Adachi Yumi, aren't you.
Huh?
No, I'm not.
Where was I?
I have obligations to...
The Secure Ward is here to keep patients free of those obligations.
But I can't function in society with these rules...
Do large quantities of sleeping pills help you function in society?
She's stainless steel.
An alien from the planet Stainless here to make us all stainless steel.
Fuck off!
Why?!
I wasn't hurting anyone!
All I did was burn my head!
Thank you for everything.
No, no, no...
Let me go!
What happened?
Yesterday she got a lighter and set her hair on fire.
Flame on!
So they cancelled her day out.
Bam!
Bitch!
Now Eguchi's mad.
Once a patient stabbed her with a pen.
She almost died, but she's still nursing.
Stop!
That's a woman?
Dr Shirai.
Here...
Hey!
No...
You don't hit Eguchi. It's the Quiet Room for her.
What?! Am I going to be in there with that wacko?
Of course not!
You'll come out of there as crazy as she is.
So that means...
You might get out of the Q. Uiet Room today.
Now you've got me all excited.
You know, I hate people who cause trouble.
People who eat too much then throw up...
...or who slash their wrists, or overdose...
They're ill, but it's still a drag.
There's calories in me!
Get out!
Ms Mizuhara, 35 kilos.
She doesn't eat, she goes on a drip, and walks off even those calories.
What's the point of her being here?
Sae, the piano player, is so light the blood won't reach her brain.
She's forgotten why she's here.
They're kissing...
With their tongues.
It's so irritating!
What about you?
Why am I here, do you mean?
I just didn't...
...have a normal appetite.
While I wasn't eating, my stomach shrank...
...and I was put in here.
They all want to get thin. I don't want that.
I'm here because I want to eat.
Oh.
But you can't trust me. I'm in the Secure Ward, right?
No.
I haven't thought that deeply about what's wrong with you.
You know how to get by here.
Nurse Yamagishi!
Ms Sakura, you're moving.
Really?
You're lucky! You're in with Mrs Kurita.
The woman with the hairbrush?
Thank you, Nurse Yamagishi!
Well, I pulled a few strings...
Breakfast is ready. Please come to the dining hall.
Time to eat.
In the three months I've been here I've gained two kilos.
Two more and I'm allowed to go out.
I'll come with you. I'm starving.
Oh, sorry.
We eat in the nurses' station.
Eating is therapy.
See you.
You might want to eat in your room...
It looks horrible. But it's milk and bread and strawberry.
Cute stuff like that.
Shit!
This is good!
Really good!
It's gone!
No peeking! Or it's back to the Quiet Room you go.
Just kidding!
I'll trade you a smoke for your manga.
I love that series!
Do they teach choir here?
If you pay for it.
This place is all about money.
We did 'The Wizard of Oz' at our high-school culture festival.
Oh.
Don't tell. They'll get mad at me.
Everyone's always getting mad at me!
She's OK.
Right now her head is filled with calories.
This smells like lemon grass...
Oh, I'm...
Ms Sakura. The nurse said.
I'm Nishino. I'm bulimic.
I eat and throw up, and my daughter gets mad.
I'm scared of her. She's turned out all wrong.
Her boyfriend's a yakuza.
We fight and she calls in her thug!
Cute taste, huh?
Yes. It is.
There's nothing to do here...
...so everyone fixates on tobacco.
I've got these, too.
Coconut flavor. Want them?
You don't mind?
I'll put it on account.
'Sakura...
'Black Devil, Y1,300.'
Expensive, huh? Why is that, anyway?
I shouldn't... I don't have any money...
Just get it from the guy...
...you were doing it with.
'Doing it'?
You both had your pants down. Everyone knows.
Ow!
Not me! Just him.
A blowjob?
She was blowing him! Cool!
I was not!
It's all right.
You're new. You probably need that.
You don't mind?
That's fine. I had a hard time, too.
'Sakura, telephone card, 50 units, Y1,000.'
Y1,000?
She's dead. There's a premium on the card.
This woman's dead?
Suicide
Bam!
So that's Y2,300 in all.
2,300's an ugly number.
Take this and we'll call it Y2,500.
OK.
Excuse me.
Tell me... why did you OD?
I'm a good listener.
My insomnia all started after my ex-husband killed himself.
I'm sure of that.
I met him four years ago, when I was modeling.
We'll start with a smile...
It was a stupid job.
So your name's 'Garana'?
He was the serious type.
A software developer for computer games.
For me, taking life as it came, his gravity was new.
We had dinner a few times, got serious, and then married.
Look, he's lighting farts!
Look at those farts burn!
It didn't take a year before I started thinking he was dull.
It was such a great flame!
There was a reason I had a lot of idiot friends.
I liked idiots.
I spent my days watching comedy on TV.
Hi.
I'm home.
I've been transferred to Mie.
What?
It's a demotion. The company's not doing well.
What's in Mie Prefecture?
Tsu.
Tsu?
Yeah.
'Tsu'... 'Tsu'...
End of the line...
We went on a trip. I was afraid he'd murder me then kill himself.
Boom!
Capital city destroyed!
Right!
You say I'm dull...
...but I know one trick!
Do it!
Great!
Soap and water!
Get some soap and water!
This isn't happening.
Then it'll slip out!
I can't understand you!
Are you all right?
Or some okra gumbo.
What's wrong? Or some okra gumbo.
What's wrong?
Look in the kitchen!
Is it my cooking?
My jaw! My jaw!
Is it my cooking?
I'm sorry. My jaw!
We'll pull it out.
I'll hold you.
'Ane St, 3rd St, 6th St... '
'Tako St, Nishiki.'
No!
It won't work!
'Ane St, 3rd St, 6th St... '
'Tako St, Nishiki!'
Call an ambulance!
Sir!
Mr Otomatsu!
Sir!
Mr Otomatsu!
I'm sorry this...
...had to happen.
Die.
Please! Just die.
We separated.
Ms Sakura... it's time.
In the end, all I had left...
...was a knowledge of TV comedy...
...and a pair of silver loafers...
...he'd bought me for my birthday.
Somehow they reminded me of the shoes I'd worn...
...when I played Dorothy in 'The Wizard of Oz'...
...at our high-school culture festival.
I could never bring myself to get rid of them.
I had to make a living, so for six months...
...I read porno novels at a club.
'That icky thing buried in my crotch began to move.
'Again and again it moved, as if obsessed...
'... with thrilling my acorn.
'More than coming, I was going... '
Sorry!
I give up.
There I met Tetsu, an aspiring TV writer.
'My acorn'!
Itsuki Hiroshi!
Penniless, I had no hesitation in moving in with him.
More! More!
My first writing job was an article on my experience in the sex trade...
...for a magazine he introduced me to.
My parents read it and disowned me...
...but for the first time in my life, I felt like working.
Our show's being moved to prime time!
Great!
Ow ow ow ow ow!
And I might be getting a regular column!
Fantastic!
Ow. Ow! Wait...
What's that?
Special delivery.
Yes?
Yes, this is Asuka. How have you been?
I see...
I'm sorry, I'll need some time to think...
What's wrong?
What's the system here?!
I'm itchy! I'm itchy!
Itchy! Itchy!
Asuka!
My ex!
He killed himself!
Now what? What do we do?!
Go buy an antihistamine!
OK!
I hadn't had hives since an endoscopy in high school.
It's a shame. Asuka.
From that day on, I couldn't sleep.
Don't!
The doctor told you not to drink!
I know how much I'm taking.
I've got weed...
Go away!
Are you driving away demons?
I'm going to bed.
'Demons out!'
I tried as hard as I could. I can't take any more.
You're saying it's my fault?
A shame.
Where are you going?
To a shoot.
With all that?
It's overnight.
Isn't that nice.
What...
What is?
You don't have to sleep with the pain in the ass.
Don't you have a column you should be writing?
Lately you're not very evident in the sex department, you know.
Well...
...you're always drunk.
Ow!
Ouch!
Out!
I feel like shit!
Aren't you cute!
Look at those pretty cheeks!
Drink lots of milk and grow up strong!
I suddenly thought...
...if Tetsu and I had a baby, I'd come out of this darkness.
For some reason, I was sure.
Tetsu? Let's have a kid!