Boss!
Wha'at?
Lend me that rolling thing.
It's lying right over there.
No, no, not the lolling one*... (*gorogoro shiteru yatsu: person idling around **gorogoro suru yatsu: something that rolls)
The one that's rolling**. (*gorogoro shiteru yatsu: person idling around **gorogoro suru yatsu: something that rolls)
Where you put your luggage on.
A trolley?
Yes, that's it. The trolley.
I'll borrow it for a while.
Thank you very much!
Huh?
Thank you very much. (TN: Please notice the cutsey tone^^)
Guess another weird client is on his way.
Yes.
River's Edge, Ookawabata Detective Agency
Original Work: "River's Edge, Ookawabata Tantei-sha" Author: Hijikita Yuho / Art: Tanaka Akio ("Shukan Manga Goraku" serialized by Nihonbungeisha)
Opening Song: [Neon Sign Stomp] by EGO-WRAPPIN'
'Muraki' ODAGIRI JOE
'Director' ISHIBASHI RENJI
'Megumi' KOIZUMI MAYA
MAKITA SPORTS KOIKE RINA UNO SHOHEI
Co-Writers: KUROZUMI HIKARU / ONE HITOSHI
Music: MORI MASAKI [Ego-Wrappin']
Cinematography: MIYAMOTO WATARU Lighting: TOMIKAWA HIDENOBU
Subtitles by arakira @d-addicts
QC / Styling: earthcolors
Special thanks: micehell / furransu
Content Producer: GOKA KIMITAKA Producers: ASANO DAI / SUGIHARA NAMI
Chief Producer: NAKAGAWA JUNPEI
Director: ONE HITOSHI
Make way, make way!
File 04: Idol Momonoki Marin Make way, make way!
Everything added up, this is the purchase price...
3,000 Yen? Didn't you confuse it with 30,000?
No.
For all of these?
Yes.
Well, my Ex left them behind.
But since he was so into music,
I thought those are some rare items, no?
Well no, and these are all not in demand now.
They're also not in good condition.
Like this here, all covered in scribbles.
This isn't worth anything.
What do you want to do?
That's alright then.
You agree?
What are you doing? Geez!
I don't have a purse,
so I always put my money in here.
One by one, come put it in.
Like this?
This is 3,000 Yen now.
Just put in as much as you like.
6 7 8 9. Well at least it's 3 times as much.
Hey, boss,
You know, I've got this little request...
Ye'es... would that be money?
How did you know?
It's obvious though.
You already got an advance for this month, didn't you?
Then pay me in advance for next month.
But why? Don't you even have a night job, too?
I told my friend that I broke up with this guy
and we ended up deciding to go on a trip to Thai.
With Thai, you mean Thailand?
Koppunkaa (TN: "Khob Kun Ka" = "Thank you" in Thai)
I got the travel expenses covered, but about spending money...
Then you won't need much, right?
It's not that you're going to buy women like those old perverts.
Women do buy men, you know.
You didn't know? When a woman says let's have some fun in Thailand
nowadays isn't that what's implied?
Is it?
But how in the world can you ask to borrow money for buying guys?
Yes?
Excuse me.
Do you do things like looking for people?
Well, it's not a normal person I want you to look for.
Would that be okay?
Please don't hold back. Unusual requests are our forte.
I want you to look for this person.
"Momonoki Marin"*? (*Literal translation: Peachtree Marine)
Do you know her?
No, I don't.
No.
I see.
She was a B-rank, no C-rank idol.
The cover looks rather pop art.
No, it's been scribbled on.
Where did you get this?
From a second hand records dealer.
What? So how much did you pay for it?
3,000 Yen.
3,000 Yen? For this one record?
Yes.
Seriously?
What's it to you?
I sold this only a while ago.
But like for peanuts.
That old fart. I'm not gonna let this go.
How many times did I let him put it in even...
Continue.
It is practically worth nothing.
In a normal shop this would be sold for about 50 Yen.
I knew I was being ripped off.
But nonetheless you just had to have this record?
Not at all.
I've got countless copies. Also in much better condition.
With this it will be 27.
But if I didn't buy it,
I thought it would get thrown away.
I thought, "Pitiful Mirin-chan"...
and ended up just buying it when I saw it there.
This brings back memories, doughnut disk, huh?
Would you listen to it for a bit?
It was about 30 years ago...
Like Seiko, Akina and Kyon Kyon*... (*The big 3 idols of the 80s: Matsuda Seiko, Nakamori Akina and Koizumi Kyouko)
She debuted during the golden age of idols. (*The big 3 idols of the 80s: Matsuda Seiko, Nakamori Akina and Koizumi Kyouko)
And disappeared quietly during a break, She was just another C rank idol.
A 'je t'aime' 3 days too late,
- The crying game of passing each other.
- My hometown is a small provincial city. - The crying game of passing each other.
- Normally performers wouldn't come to our city. - The crying game of passing each other.
- The summer sunset we saw together
- She was the first idol singer to come there. - The summer sunset we saw together
Will they be only memories in the end?
- The radiance of the day we met
- Although C-rank, she was the first performer I saw up close. - The radiance of the day we met
My eyes remember it all.
Never forget. Never forget.
Never forget, okay?
Saved it as priority A
- I will never delete this 'La saison' of love.
- She was like an angel who came down from another world - I will never delete this 'La saison' of love.
- It was totally love at first sight. - I will never delete this 'La saison' of love.
Here, thank you very much.
Please keep looking after me.
Yes.
Never forget, never forget,
Never forget, okay?
Saved it as priority A
That should be enough now.
Sorry.
I still can't forget the touch of her hand that time.
She was the cutest thing in the world.
I see.
But it didn't sell.
Momonoki Marin, she ...
...disappeared from the entertainment world after this one debut single.
That's too bad.
No, with that my wish came true.
I wanted her not to sell well.
I didn't want her to become famous.
I wanted to keep her as my own personal idol.
That's what I thought.
I guess this is hard to believe, but
After I received Marin's handshake, I
have never washed this right hand of mine even once.
Huh? For 30 years?
Yes.
So, if you find her, what will you do?
To be honest,
I got laid off during recently.
I got laid off by the company where I've been working for the past 25 years
No love or marriage, not even any special hobbies.
What the heck did I do with my life?
When I realized this I was listening to Marin's record,
Again and again.
If I keep this up I'll turn into a weirdo eventually.
Sounds like a pretty serious case, yes.
But if you get to meet her present self,
It might calm your inner demons.
If I'll get to meet her, I will wash my right hand.
And I want to start down a new path in life.
Let us search for her.
Really, you will?
Since she was a performer she would have left a lot of tracks.
So she'd be relatively easy to find.
That's that, but she was a totally unknown idol.
Every man knows his own business best. Get a thief to catch a thief, you know?
Please leave it to us.
Please find her!
Ou...ouch.
Please.
I want to meet Marin.
Certainly, this is a record we produced.
That was what? 30 years ago?
Even if you asked the person in charge at that time,
they wouldn't know right away.
I think you'd get a faster result if you asked the agency she belonged to.
Her agency doesn't exist anymore.
Of course we're also inquiring in that direction.
Let's see ...
What was your research for again?
For a mook called 'Search for the Lost Idols' (*Mook = a crossover between a magazine and a book)
What people did you write about before?
I'm also still in contact with various other sources.
Like Yoshida Gou*-san? (*Famous journalist/critic/tv-star who also runs a second hand bookshop)
He's probably well informed about this topic.
Yoshida?
Huh? Don't tell me you don't know Yoshida Gou?
Ah, Yoshida Gou-san
Momonoki Marin?
How did you manage to dig out such a minor act?
Yeah, well...
If it were Starbow or Poppins there would be still be material around but...
- Poppins? - Yes, Poppins.
The first idol group Yoshimoto Kogyo produced. (*Yoshimoto Kogyo Co. = a major Japanese entertainment conglomerate)
And also the first idol group whose meet-and-greet I went to.
There's really no data available about Momonoki Marin.
She only published one single and disappeared right after it got out.
I didn't know.
It's just a rumor, but
I heard she had run away from home.
A runaway?
She ran away and kept appearing in Shinjuku's discos night after night.
Seems she got picked up by the company president.
Well it's something like an urban legend though. You can't be sure if it's true or not.
Yeah.
No, nothing.
He didn't know at all. How is it on your end?
I found something.
I finally managed to contact the former president of the production company.
I had wanted to keep quiet about Momonoki Marin.
Excuse me.
Why are you looking for her?
We got a request from her die-hard fan who wants to meet her no matter what.
She still had fans?
Yes.
Entertainment is like gambling, you know?
And especially with idols, it's hard to figure.
You're like, really, what's with this bumpkin girl... and somehow
she transforms completely.
It was like this?
It's still the same though.
Think about it, if there's a group,
what kind of girl will be in the center?
It's mostly this kind.
They'd put a bumpkin-like girl in the center.
That's true.
Because the fans of idols
don't like perfect flower-like girls.
You have to give them the impression that they were the ones
who brought her up there.
I see.
Under this aspect, Marin was
probably too perfectly cut out for it.
Was that so?
How should I put this?
She was a natural.
She was already born as an idol.
For this reason,
she was short-lived.
So, you want to let this man meet her?
Yes, if possible.
We would be very grateful if you could let us meet her.
Don't you think it would be better for him if he doesn't meet her?
It could be one way or the other.
Our client staked his future life on this.
I won't accept this.
Well, I also feel indebted to Marin.
But I have a sense of responsibility.
Do you have anything I can write on?
Yes.
Mizuno Hiromi?
Marin's real name.
Utsunomiya Ninwa Transportation?
So she works at their office?
No, apparently as a truck driver.
Truck?
A female driver?
If you get to meet her,
tell her to show me her face from time to time.
Yes.
Never forget, never forget, never forget.
Excuse me.
Yes?
Does a Mizuno Hiromi-san work here?
Yeah, washing the truck right over there now.
Excuse me, are you Mizuno-san?
I'm nervous.
Is Marin-chan really coming?
First, calm down.
Even if you say that,
my heart is racing fast.
To answer your question,
you will receive quite a shock.
I understand.
No matter how she changed, I will accept it.
Please do that.
Sorry for making you wait.
Please come in.
This is?
This person is the former Momonoki Marin-san.
Hello.
Huh?
The real name is Mizuno Hiromi-san.
I'm not gay or into wearing women's clothing.
According to the agency's plan they made me pretend to be a woman.
And they produced me as an idol singer.
I did an idol number in a Shinjiku disco and got scouted.
I thought I would become like Go Hiromi* (*famous singer/entertainer; go check him out on YT but beware of Hard Gay^^)
But I was told I'd become like Matsuda Seiko.
Although I'm like this now,
In the past I was such a pretty boy I regularly got confused for a girl.
Even now, Big-Sis guys sell, right? (Onee-chara: man with the heart and manners of an older sister, not necessarily gay)
They had me debut as a girl.
At that time, everything was possible in the entertainment world.
But you see, me being cute was
because I was a late bloomer.
Then, half a year after I debuted,
My break of voice came about and I started growing an Adam's apple.
My beard kept growing thicker.
My debut song didn't even sell well.
It was only natural that the president said, that's enough, it won't work.
You could only disappear then.
No, I never existed in the first place.
I mean the girl called Momonoki Marin.
Is this something like Candid Camera?
Even I think this story is hard to believe, but
this person used to be Momonoki Marin.
How is that possible?
Why would this person be Marin-chan?
Hey, just look at these here.
This, please have a look at it.
This messy, balding,
bearded, dirty old guy isn't
Mari-chan, no way!
Please explain. What is this supposed to mean?
This isn't Mari-chan, right? Definitely not!
Would you be able to prove it to him somehow?
The 'je t'aime' that came 3 days too late,
The crying game of passing each other.
The summer sunset we saw together.
Will they be only memories in the end?
The radiance of the day we met,
My eyes remember it all.
Never forget, never forget.
Never forget, okay?
Saved it as priority A.
I will never delete
'La saison' of love.
Marin-chan?
Never forget, never forget,
Never forget, okay?
Saved as priority A for sure.
Yet it will probably disappear.
The mystery of love.
Therefore even if we can't see it today 'que sera sera'
Whatever will be, will be.
We will be able to find out tomorrow, 'que sera sera'
Until that time.
Que sera sera.
Marin-chan.
Thank you, Marin-chan.
Thank you.
Thank you for coming to meet me.
I will wash it. I will wash my right hand.
And I will start afresh.
Thank you, thank you, Marin-chan.
So the punch line is Odoroki, Momonoki*? (*Literally, "Surprise, Peach tree": a Japanese wordplay when one gets surprised, other words ending with 'ki' (tree) will follow)
Seems the stage name was chosen with this in mind.
The world of showbiz is like a home of phantoms.
Yeah, what exactly is an idol?
Right...well, you could say
an eternal illusion?
It's from Megumi. (Sawateka (Hello) ❤... I made a friend, Nyuuhaafu. This is a guy! Big surprise, right?)
Huh? What? This is a guy?
By the way, wonder what that guy will do from now on.
Yeah, me too.
Well, there's no way to know.
So irresponsible.
Que sera sera.
What ever will be, will be, that's life.
Awkward people like us aren't suited for Tokyo.
But I wonder if I can do it, if I can be a trucker.
You'll be fine.
For now, just ride this truck with me.
And try to imagine this kind of work.
Could I do it?
As a man who used to be an idol,
just give it a try and you can do anything.
That's right.
In life, whatever happens happens.
Therefore
...even if we can't see it today, 'que sera sera'
Whatever will be will be.
We will be able to find out tomorrow, 'que sera sera'
Until that time,
Que sera sera.
'Muraki' ODAGIRI JOE
'Director' ISHIBASHI RENJI
'Megumi' KOIZUMI MAYA
'Middle-aged man' - MAKITA SPORTS 'Momonoki Marin' - KOIKE RINA 'Mizuno Hiromi' - UNO SHOHEI
'Yoshida Go' - YOSHIDA GO 'Record Store Owner' - HANDA TAKAO 'Former head of talent agency' - JIN TARO
Original Work: "River's Edge, Okawabata Tantei-sha" Author: Hijikita Yuho / Art: Tanaka Akio ("Shukan Manga Goraku" serialized by Nihonbungeisha)
Co-Writers: KUROZUMI HIKARU / ONE HITOSHI
Opening Theme: "Neon Sign Stomp" Ending Theme: "Sunnyside Melody" Performer: EGO-WRAPPIN' / Music: MORI MASAKI
Assistant directors: KOTOKU KOJI / IWABUCHI TAKASHI NINOMIYA KOHEI / WAKABAYASHI SHOHEI
Editing / Title Back: OZEKI YASUYUKI Stylist: IGA DAISUKE
Investigation Cooperation: GALU Detective School Technical Cooperation: UPSIDE
Shooting cooperation: TAITO Film Commission
Production: TV TOKYO / OFFICE CRESCENDO
Producers: KOMATSU YUKITOSHI / TANABE HAYATO / SUZUKI KANAKO
Lighting cooperation: APEXII Post-Production: IMAGICA
Subtitles by arakira @d-addicts
QC / Styling: earthcolors
Special thanks to: micehell / furransu
Director / Writer: ONE HITOSHI
A 2014 production of: TV Tokyo
Next on File 0.5: "Scary Face Grand Prix"