That's right, she promised me...
...that she'd absolutely come back.
Back to this world we live in.
Sato!
Rei!
Sato!
Look, Yamazaki...
Our names are on here!
Of course they are, since it's a game the two of us created.
We finished in time for the winter Comic Stall.
Our last chance!
What are you talking about, Sato? This is just the beginning.
It's the beginning of our legend, which will soar across the world!
The winter Stall is cold, huh?
The summer Stall was hot.
Thank you so very much for coming today.
The convention will be closing shortly.
We kindly ask that all vendors gather up their materials and prepare to exit.
So, in the end we only sold five games, huh?
It's not over yet.
Of those five users,
if somebody, just one person, writes something on the Net about how wonderful this game is,
beyond a doubt that will trigger our big break.
What I mean is, I don't really care if it didn't sell,
as long as I can leave behind some proof that I lived in Tokyo.
What do we do with these?
Do you want to take them home with you?
Leave them at your place, Sato.
I don't think it's likely, but somebody might come to buy one.
What about selling them to people in your class or something?
I don't give a damn about that bunch.
All our busyness up till yesterday seems just like it never happened.
Uh, yes?
Who could that be?
Puru-puru-rin!
Wh-What's going on?!
No reason to be so shocked, right, Sato?
You'll make sweet Pururin sad!
Wh-What the hell is this?
It's Pururin, the magical girl. You don't know that by now?
No, that's not what I meant.
I'm giving her to you, Sato.
Use her as you will.
What the..."As I will"?
I have a bunch of other things to give you too.
Come on over for a minute, please.
Oh!
It's snowing. I wonder if it will stick?
Not a chance.
They say in Tokyo the snow only sticks maybe in February.
Oh...
I've got food left that I bought and didn't eat, so I'll give you all that.
Thank you.
Beside that, this laptop...
It's old, so I don't think you can sell it,
but you may be able to use it as a space heater.
Thank you.
Umm, beside that...
Yamazaki...
What is it?
Can I help with something?
I feel bad taking all this stuff for free.
Please do.
Oh, this!
Huh?
The pictures from that one time.
When you'd gone to photograph little girls, and you suddenly said, "Take my picture."
You idiot! Delete all that stuff!
What are you saying? These are keepers!
As souvenirs of life in Tokyo.
I'm telling you, don't!
Come to think of it, Sato,
somehow my food supplies were shrinking little by little without my knowledge.
Considering your miserable condition,
I presumed I should avoid investigating the matter.
Was that...
Er... The books on these shelves? I can box them all up, right?
I win.
I didn't even live here for a year, but I've got quite a lot of memories.
Yeah...
We're pretty much finished, huh?
I guess I can take down the curtains tomorrow morning, huh?
The snow's sticking, Sato!
Oh...
Let's have a snowball fight!
What?
To commemorate my last night in Tokyo!
Here it comes!
All right!
Sato!
Huh?
You don't understand what true love is!
What's that all about?
At times like this, normally you yell something out, right?
You know, in TV dramas and stuff.
I see your point. Then, I'll do it too!
I love that girl, from the bottom of my heart!
Whoa! Heh-heh...
Sato, your love is a façade!
No, it's the real thing!
What's the matter, Yamazaki?
Sato, you don't get it at all!
No, the one who doesn't get it is you!
What about me...
...makes you say...
...that I don't get it?!
Umm...
That you went to a vocational school and stuff?
Don't you make fun of my school!
For me, that was the decision of a lifetime!
What can a hikikomori like you possibly understand, Sato?
C-Cut it out, Yamazaki! Cut it out!
Sato!
Both of you, what are you doing?
Huh?
Sorry, Sato.
I ended up getting all worked up.
It's all right. Don't worry about it.
This snow will blanket over all our sorrows.
Or something...
Sounds like a TV drama or something, doesn't it?
A drama has a logical progression, outbursts of emotion and a resolution.
Our everyday lives are just filled with nebulous and vague anxieties forever and ever.
Yamazaki...
So, your apartment was this big.
What are you talking about? It's the same size as your apartment.
Yeah...
Uh, umm...
Take care of yourself.
Take good care of Sato please, Misaki.
Y-Yes, I will!
This far is good enough, Sato.
You can't afford to waste money, right?
Sorry.
If you visit home, be absolutely sure you get in touch.
Sure...
See you around.
Yamazaki!
Don't let the world beat you, Sato.
You're not going home defeated, right?!
When we were in the middle of making it, I thought it was the best game ever.
But it's actually a total piece of crap.
I'm positive even the people who did buy it are regretting it.
We did get beaten after all.
It's quiet.
I can't believe it got this quiet just because Yamazaki left.
It's too quiet.
Is it really only Yamazaki who's gone?
There's nobody.
Nobody...
No human being but me.
On the Earth, there's only me.
No, in this universe, there's only me.
This is bad.
I've awakened to the truth.
Awakened to what truth, Sato?
That I myself was, in fact, the absolute god who imagined this universe!
That's amazing.
Wow, amazing.
Wow, amazing~!
That's not all.
I am a super-powered warrior who has come to this world,
reincarnated across time and space since ancient times, thousands of years past!
That's amazing too.
Amazing.
Amazing~!
To me, a god, nothing is impossible!
So, call Yamazaki back~!
Right! Gotcha!
Yamazaki, come to Mita House!
He's not coming, is he?
Wait, that wasn't it.
Maybe it was more like this...
Yamazaki, come. Come!
Yamazaki, what are you doing?!
Come back right now!
Yamazaki!
Thank you very much.
Here are some rice cakes and oranges.
Set the rice cakes up as a New Year's offering.
Praying that next year will be a good year for you, Tatsuhiro.
Sato Tatsuhiro
What will I be doing next year?
I've become all too aware that I don't have talent as a creator.
And what's more, Yamazaki isn't here anymore either.
Is there no other way but to return to being a hikikomori?
Well, there are only a few hours left in this year.
Shrines in every region have begun preparations to receive the crowds who will visit during New Year's.
Misaki, umm...
Yes?
Do you think there's a God?
What?
Oh, that's right, you go out with your aunt to invite people to services and stuff.
That's not even worth asking, huh?
That's something I just don't know.
Huh?
I sometimes think it would be nice if there were a God,
but if God does exist...
Hello, everyone.
There's now only a short time left in 2006.
I'm Hiroshi Houri, the MC bringing you today's "Kakushaku Club."
Now, as today's special guest,
Heroko Kyomoto of the "Diamond Sisters" is with us!
Thank you! I'm Heroko Kyomoto!
Well, see you at the park tonight.
If you skip it, the penalty's a million yen!
It's true. I'm the only one Sato has left now.
There's now only one day left in this year.
For that reason, as a conclusion to this year,
I'd like to hold a test tomorrow, on New Year's Eve.
A test? Why?
Well, students have final exams too, right?
It's necessary for this course too, absolutely.
See, look.
It's all according to the syllabus.
Is she for real?
And what do I do, for the test?
A New Year's shrine visit.
What?
To see how much your hikikomori state has been cured, we'll try going into a crowd of people.
How long has it been since I've visited a shrine at New Year's?
Here...
Right...
Did you know that on New Year's Eve the trains run all night?
Right...
It's an awful crowd of people, huh?
Are you okay?
Of... Of course I'm okay!
There were even more people at the winter Comic Stall!
Oh, that's true, huh?
But that time,
from start to finish I was in our own booth, and Yamazaki was with me.
With Yamazaki near me,
it was like an extension of my high school days,
and I could forget that I was a hikikomori.
So, what's to become of me now?
Back to being a hikikomori after all?
Huh?
Misaki!
Oh! Sa-Sato!
Sato!
What do I do?
Do I go home by myself?
Can I make it home alone?
Sato?
Senpai...
This is absolutely no good.
There's nobody for Sato but me now!
Episode 21
Welcome to Reset!
Do you want to have, like, an affair?
All he would have to do is cause a really flashy miracle.
This year of all years...
Next Episode
Welcome to God!
Next episode, "Welcome to God!"