Sato, where did you go?
Sato!
Kobayashi...
Maybe you don't remember me.
I was on the class committee and stuff.
Oh, the Class Rep?
I know it's sudden, but I have something to talk to you about.
Any chance we could meet up?
Meet up?
Yeah, I live over here now. Can't we meet?
We'll arrange a time and place by what works for you.
Would now be all right?
Sure.
The truth is, I just didn't want to be in my apartment.
I wanted to forget about the online game,
so I wanted to go where there were no computers.
Any excuse would do.
Welcome.
She's not here yet, huh?
Sato?
So, it is you!
Huh?
Bazaar: 10 Café: 6 Haunted House: 3
Class Rep?!
My big brother moved to Tokyo first, so I enrolled in a college here too.
What I'm doing now is, well...
I guess it's a volunteer kind of thing.
Oh? Volunteering, huh?
So, just like before, you're heading committees?
What's that supposed to mean? That's a harsh way to say it.
You were always like that, weren't you, Sato?
Always with that cool gaze, and that condescending attitude.
At first, I thought you were that way towards everybody,
but after a while I realized that was only your reaction to me.
Sato, you hated me, didn't you?
No, I didn't, not really.
Truth is, though, the way you talked did sort of rub me the wrong way.
You took things too seriously, as Class Rep.
Yeah, that. That's the same thing you said before.
I did?
During the culture festival our last year in high school.
Sato, you're lazing around again!
The culture festival is tomorrow! Do you realize that?
Take things more seriously.
Darn it...
Ms. Class Rep, don't you get tired, straining yourself like that?
What?
You take everything so seriously.
Maybe that's fine for you,
but if you can't consider other people's pace of doing things,
isn't it all just about your own ego?
Did I say something like that?
Yes, you did.
The truth is, it was only later that it sank in,
after I graduated from high school and experienced a bunch of things.
So, what are you doing these days, Sato?
I asked your family, but they wouldn't give me a clear answer.
So, did you get held back from graduation?
Or are you still looking for work?
I'd be better off if it were either of those.
Huh?
What are you doing?
Sato went off somewhere.
There's no reason to be so worried.
He has nowhere to go anyway.
He'll come home when he gets hungry.
But...
If his foot slips from the cliff...
Huh? What the heck are you talking about?
Nothing.
Hikikomori? You, Sato?
I'm not going to school. I'm not working either. In short, I'm a NEET.
Funny stuff, huh?
It's not known what causes hikikomorism. I can't laugh at that.
Huh?
Hold on, would you like to meet a mentor of mine?
A mentor?
All of them are wonderful people.
It was by meeting them that I was able to change,
so that I could have my own words and not be swayed by the words of strangers or other people!
Oh...
I mean, each individual person has amazing potential!
I'm positive even your hikikomori condition will be cured.
Your very life will change!
This is perfect!
I was just going to go see that mentor now!
Come with me, Sato.
Now?
You've obviously got time, right? Since you're a hikikomori and all...
What sort of person is this mentor we're going to meet?
Well, let's see.
In a word, I guess he's someone who made his dreams come true.
His dreams?
His name is Sagawa.
He's a legend. He acquired a "supercar" in less than a year!
A "supercar"?! What the hell kind of work is he doing?
I'll explain the details after we get there,
but it's work that really contributes to society!
Sato, do you play online games and such?
Huh? Why would you ask something like that?
Well, they say a lot of times hikkikomoris are into stuff like that, right?
As if I'd ever play an online game again.
People who are into that world of bullshit are the dregs of humanity.
Sato, you can get on a train, so your hikikomori condition isn't that serious, is it?
That's where you're wrong.
Until about six months ago, just going out to shop late at night took all my effort.
So, that means now your symptoms have gotten better?
How did you do it?
H-How? Who can say?
A lot has happened recently and it's because of that.
Hmm...
That's right. It's not because of her or anything.
How could it be?
We're going pretty far, huh?
We're almost there.
I came because I got carried along by her talk, but just where are we going?
Let's go.
Huh?
Mr. Sagawa's home is a thirty-minute walk from here.
Thirty minutes?! Walk?!
I can't see anything but pampas grass.
Hold on a minute! It's the home of a legend, right?
I'm not lying to you.
Look! It's there, isn't it? The supercar.
It certainly is, but...
S-Something's not right.
Well, let's not stand around; let's go inside.
Sagawa - Mouseroad Susukigahara Merchandise Explanatory Meeting
Hello? It's Kobayashi.
"M-Mouseroad"?
The company that produces superior merchandise that celebrities worldwide swear by!
We are honored members of Mouseroad.
Is this by any chance...
Huh? Oh, Ms. Kobayashi.
We-We're all set up.
Is that this Sagawa guy?
No, it's not. That's Kurokawa.
He's a normal member like me.
Mr. Sagawa went out for the closing after he finished the merchandise explanations.
Come in.
Yay!
Ooh, that's good.
Yes! It has the intrinsic good taste of nature, doesn't it?
Class Rep?
That's right.
It is safety that Mouseroad suggests to others!
Our job is to provide products that everyone from allergy sufferers
to children and the elderly can use with confidence.
Well, now, let's demonstrate just how superior the merchandise we sell is,
compared to commercially available products.
This time I'm going to explain about this household detergent made from 100% natural materials!
Here we have prepared another company's synthetic detergent.
Let's try putting these two into separate containers of water.
Look, Mr. Kurokawa!
Mouseroad's is clear, but this one is murky, isn't it?
That's right. The other company's detergent has extra additives in it which make it this murky.
Wow...
If I shake them both up, I'm sure the difference will be very clear!
Oh! There's no sound whatsoever from the commercial detergent!
That's right! The commercial detergent has foamed up too much, so it makes no sound!
Doing laundry uses the force of the water's impact and the friction of cloth rubbing together,
but with this detergent, it's all meaningless!
Yeah, for that reason, it's very clear that Mouseroad's product is superior!
Would you look at that?
That's really something!
What do you know?
Amazing! Bravo!
I never would've dreamed our class rep would end up doing something like this.
Well, now that you all understand how good Mouseroad's products are,
let's have the "Super Supplier," Mr. Sagawa, come on out!
Sagawa! Sagawa!
Hey, everyone!
Since you've been given a life as a human being, don't you want to try driving a "supercar"?
Ooh...
I made my dreams a reality with Mouseroad.
It's possible for you too!
For those who want to make their dreams reality,
I recommend that by all means you take in the lecture that's coming up.
Mouseroad! Mouseroad!
Mouseroad!
Mouseroad! Mouseroad!
Mouseroad!
Even though I put my lots in so my chances were up to more than 50%...
You weren't able to draw a bonus?
Nope; I pulled out a lot of "draw again" tabs, but...
Sato!
You're not going to take in the lecture?
They'll want money, right?
Well, yes...
You purchase the products at the same time, so they can't do it for free.
But it's not much.
If all goes well, you can recover your costs in one month,
and above all, it's work that's meaningful to society!
It all comes down to "buy the products here, and sell a ton of them to others to make money," right?
Yes, yes! You really get it, don't you?!
And if you build your circle of "friends," you move up the ladder.
It's that kind of system, right?
Yeah, uh-huh!
This is...
Huh?
one of those so-called "pyramid schemes" right?
You see, I'm a hikikomori, so I watch a lot of television.
So, I happen to know that this kind of thing often makes for trouble.
What's wrong with it? It's not like it's illegal.
Screw you!
Sato!
Treating me like a sucker!
Damn... Damn! Damn!
Everyone I run into is just messing with me!
Sato!
Sato, listen to me.
Go back there!
I'm not a sucker like the bunch that were in there!
You're wrong. That's not how it is.
I'm not wrong!
Ms. Class Rep just wants to get her hands on a neat car or something like that old guy,
so people will fawn over you, right?
So, you called up an old schoolmate like me, to try to turn me into a pawn, right?
Am I wrong?!
No, you're right!
I was trying to trick you into buying more detergent than you could use in ten years, Sato.
Not just detergent, natural food products, and pots and kettles too!
So what's wrong with that?!
I got corralled into this by an older friend,
and they've gotten me to buy a mountain of these products!
That's your own fault though, right?!
Don't get me involved!
Yes, yes, it is all my fault, but...
But I...
I don't want to be the one who gets tricked by other people anymore!
What?!
Class Rep...
Right after I moved to Tokyo, my father keeled over.
Huh?
I was forced to earn all I needed for my school and living expenses.
To make money, I couldn't be choosy about the work I did.
You're not saying, Class Rep...
It was dressing up in costumes to sell jewelry.
I was on a commission, so I worked really hard,
and I climbed all the way up to number one.
But I didn't ever even get paid properly for my work.
In the end, the owner took the money and ran.
All I could do was just resign myself to accepting it.
That was when it happened, when I got invited into Mouseroad.
But thanks to that, I ended up burdened with even more debt.
What about you?
Are you going to keep living as a hikikomori your whole life, at the very bottom of society?
You're smart enough, Sato, to already be aware of how people around you look down on you, right?
Garbage... you suck...
A failure as a human...
Hikikomori loser!
You're hikikomori, right, Sato?
Are you listening, Sato?
Everyone is using you.
Society wants unemployed hikikomoris to exist,
because people always need someone they feel confident looking down upon!
JAPAN
SOCIAL-WITHDRAWAL
ASSOCIATION
CONSPIRACY
Conspiracy...
CONSPIRACY
You get it, right?
The world is, after all, take or be taken, despise or be despised.
It's a zero-sum game!
Since it is, we should side with the exploiters!
Look down on the people around you!
That's right, relationships between people are rotten to the core anyway,
so you should just trade them for money and start over!
That's what Mouseroad is for!
Let's rise to the top together with Mouseroad!
If we do, my debt will be gone, and your dreams can come true too, Sato!
My dreams?
Yes! There are no dreams that can't come true!
A success story is waiting for you!
You have to use everything for that purpose!
A dream and a conspiracy...
That's right...
You have to use everything you can use.
Mouseroad! Mouseroad!
Mouseroad! Mouseroad! Mouseroad!
Sato!
You're still here, huh? How about just going on home?
Hey-hey-hey-hey!
I am a super supplier...
Sato?
I am an amazing success story...
Huh?
Yamazaki, what are you doing?
That's my line.
What were you doing until this time of night?
Sato, what's that?
Well, I thought I'd sell you guys some wonderful merchandise, so I stocked up.
Products?
You stocked up? Where did you get that kind of money?
An acquaintance introduced me to loans!
Loans?!
What, there's no need to worry.
Once I sell all this, I'll be able to pay it back immediately.
My success story has just begun!
Sato, can I talk to you a minute?
Huh? About what?
That wouldn't be a typical bad pyramid scheme?
Don't be stupid!
How would I get sucked into...
Sucked into...
Episode 17
Welcome to Happiness!
I got sucked in!
The cause of that is also starved brain matter!
This is really good detergent, you know.
Next episode, "Welcome to No Future!"
Next Episode
Welcome to No Future!