nakushita yakusoku wa hoshi ni Send the lost promises to the stars
omoide wa tokenai My memories won't fade away
yotsuba no clover sagashinagara kimi no kao I steal a glance at you as we look for four-leaf clovers,
chirari nusumi mite wa me o sorasu But then divert my eyes
yasashii ame wa furu watashitachi no ue ni The gentle rain falls above our heads
surechigau hito no kazu dake dramatic ni naru no as it becomes as dramatic as the number of people passing by
kowareta taisetsu na mono to I wonder if we'll ever be able to
itsuka mata aeru hi ga kurukashira reunite with those precious things that were broken
nokoshita kizuato ga kienai The scars that were left behind won't go away
sorezore no basho made Now we must depart
mou ikanakucha To our own separate ways
Lohmeyer-senpai?
Oh, Hagu-chan, you haven't met him before?
Nope.
Lohmeyer-senpai used to live in our apartment.
There we go...
He had strong arms... and a friendly smile.
He was really an amazing senpai!
Dreamy
Lohmeyer-senpai?!
Dreamy
You guys get so dreamy when we talk about Lohmeyer-senpai.
So he's an amazing person?
Yeah! Without a doubt!
That's right... I met Lohmeyer-senpai for the first time, some time after I met Hagu-chan.
I'm sick of somen.
Meat
Where's the meat?
Meat! Meat! I want to eat meat!
Give me meat, meat, meat, meat, meat!
Morita-san, making a fuss won't get us any meat.
Payday hasn't arrived yet, so it's hard going...
No more somen!
Who's complaining about my family's somen?!
Meat!
MEAT
Don't eat it if you don't like it!
Give me meat! I'm begging you!
I can understand why Morita-san would go off like that though.
We haven't eaten meat in a while...
Makes things rough, doesn't it?
As young adults, living without meat is...
If they had the smell of meat for aroma therapy, maybe it'd calm us down?
Japanese Beef; Meat Juice
Waft
It won't satisfy our hunger, so it'd just make things twice as hard...
Oh, that reminds me. Mayama-senpai?
I've been meaning to ask you... this room has been empty for a while...
Why isn't anyone moving in there?
Oh, that room is...
That room is...?
That room is...
That room is...?
Lohmeyer-senpai's room.
L-Lohmeyer-senpai?
German? Foreign student?
He's our senpai, and he's on leave from school at the moment.
His father fell ill, so he's helping out on his family's farm.
I've never seen Mayama-senpai look so sad before...
What kind of a person was he?
He was a wonderful person.
He was serene like the northern plains...
Powerful, lustrous...
Fragrant, firm, yet juicy...
Poet
Poetic
Juicy?
Boxes: Tomato
Hey!
I just got back!
Have you all been doing okay?
Lohmeyer-senpai!
You've finally returned!
Japanese?!
He's totally Japanese!
On top of that, he's popular?!
Popular
I actually came back yesterday.
Bus as I'd missed work for a while, I went to say hi and got caught up there.
Y-You came back!
Have you been well? We were all worried about you!
I'm so happy! Today, we celebrate!
Roast Ham; Boneless Ham; Store Owner
He's popular here as well!
Popular
And I brought you guys plenty.
Ham!
Boneless Ham
Sausage!
Meat!
Here, eat 'til you're full!
Itadakimasu!
They're almost expired, so we gotta eat them all tonight.
Don't hold back!
D-Delicious!
This flavor and aroma! Just what you expect from an expensive ham!
Its juicy and full-bodied flavor!
I've been waiting for this ham!
I'll start delivering ham again, so I'll bring plenty for you guys.
Here, it's a tomato we grew back home.
It's tasty!
It's so good!
It goes so well with the sausage. It's amazing!
I see. Oh, and you're a newcomer, aren't you?
What's your name?
I'm Takemoto, Senpai.
Already in love
I see! So you're Takemoto!
Eat more!
Oh, that's right, Senpai, how is your father doing?
Oh, he's doing okay.
There's still time until we harvest the rice, and my older brother and his wife are taking care of the fields and cows.
So, I gotta make some money over here until harvest time.
I also want to graduate already.
His arm and chest are so built...
He really looks like a working man.
Even if he gets stranded on a deserted island, it looks like he could sustain a family of six.
Man... he's so cool!
Once again in Love
Rice
I see, so it's time to be looking for jobs in Tokyo.
Well, if you can't find a place to work, then come to my place.
I'll take care of you. I won't let you go hungry.
Senpai! Senpai!
Oh, no...
For a second there, I almost understood what a girl feels when someone proposes to her...
But...!
Lohmeyer-senpai!
I'll follow you for life!
Me too!
I...!
And two weeks later...
Good morning.
The plentiful food left everyone feeling magnanimous...
And our ability to work got better and better...
This is nice.
Good job!
Oh, stop it, Mayama...
The happy and juicy days were endless.
Or so we thought....
Senpai!
Lohmeyer-senpai!
Ham-senpai!
Senpai!
Senpai! Please give us ham!
Meat! Meat! Meat!
Please don't treat us cruelly!
E-Emergency!
I found a note from Lohmeyer-senpai!
Letter: I have no choice but to go home again. I'm going home for a bit. — Lohmeyer
His father's sick again, so he's going home!
Ham-senpai!
Lohmeyer-senpai!
Come back—!
Leaving everyone at the apartment with juicy memories and empty stomachs,
Lohmeyer-senpai left us.
Farewell, Senpai. Farewell, ham. Farewell, oh, juicy life.
Takemoto, have you finished that thing yet?
The place to put Hagu-chan's "kokoro"...
Oh, you mean Rococo?
Yeah, more or less.
I pulled an all-nighter two nights ago to finish it.
I see. Good job.
Yeah, finishing that job makes me want to give myself a hug.
Note: Poster says Legendary Hero Search
Legendary Hero Search
Note: Poster says Legendary Hero Search
"Once again searching for a legendary hero"...
Isn't Arakawa Land that rundown park by the river?
They had a character like that, Mayama-san?
W-W-What's wrong, Mayama-san?
You've turned into a shoujo manga character!
I see... so you don't know about it, Takemoto?
It's been a few years already, hasn't it?
W-Why are we on a grassy knoll?!
Sign: Arakawa Land
It's fallen into disrepair now, but at one time, he was there!
A legendary hero!
Hey, Mama. Where's the kitty?
Michiko wants a picture with it!
Hey, Michiko! Be careful not to fall!
Hey, dear, is the photo session with the mascot on the flyer really today?
It looks like there's no one here.
Actually, this character has a weird hairstyle...
Arakawa Land; Nyanzaburou Photograph Session!!
Is this thing a dog, a cat, or a human?
Beats me....
There's lots of theme parks out there these days, so getting people to come must be tough.
It's probably impossible with just one character...
You're right.
Oh! There's the kitty!
It's too b-b-b-big!
Bam!
Actually, it's really scary!
Kitty!
M-Michiko!
Michiko!
I love you, kitty! Kitty!
R-Ryoko!
Oh, a picture! Thank you!
Michiko! Look over here!
Must be nice...
Um...
Michiko, Ryoko, you both have hearts popping out!
Sure. Take a pose.
But what the...? That's rude of you!
Taking someone else's wife like that...!
Papa and the kitty!
Dear, look over here!
Man, what a drag.
What the hell is with this trashy park?
Where are we anyway?
Y-You three! Haven't I told you to stop smoking?
Shu the hell up.
Why are we at a place like this for our school trip?
Where are we?
Stomp!
To begin with, you...!
Hey, you! What the hell are you doing?
I'm gonna crack your head open!
W-What? You wanna mess with me?
W-What are you doing? Lemme down, damn it!
M-Masa-chan!
Masa-yan!
You bastard! Don't mess with us! Let Masa down, punk!
Thud
I-It's so hard!
His stomach feels like it has a steel plate in it!
No way! Teru's punch couldn't even budge him?!
He's tall, his arms are strong, and his chest is amazingly thick.
And most of all, this manliness flowing out of him, even when covered with fur...
I want to follow him forever!
B-Big Brother...
I want to become a big man like you, Nyanzaburou-san!
Sensei, please take a picture! I'll give you my cigarettes!
Actually, I'll never smoke again!
He's wonderful...
Arakawa Land in the Suginami District was opened in the 46th year of Showa...
Note: Showa 46 = 1971
...when the biggest landlord in the Hamadayama area, Mr. Arakawa Ninzaburou, opened up part of his land as a park to contribute to the area.
Trading cards of his favorite Tokusatsu heroes The cat hates him Trademark hairstyle Loves cats
Although it had a fair amount of visitors when it first opened...
Time passed, and the park was steadily losing customers, facing competition from the larger theme parks that opened in other cities.
Note: Heisei 1 = 1989
And in the first year of Heisei, in order to make a comeback and revitalize the town, Arakawa himself came up with a mascot character.
And that was Nyanzaburou.
Nyanzaburou
The park director, Arakawa Ninzaburou's love for Tokusatsu, cats, hero characters, and his own tacky hairstyle...
...were put together in a weird mixture to create this dicey character.
Nyanzaburou Memorial
However, there was no way they could've made a comeback with such a character.
Route
Arakawa was troubled by the ever-falling number of visitors.
"How can we shine the light of hope onto our Arakawa Land?"
Why do you know so much, Mayama-san?
That aside, they actually have a memorial like this?
But a savior suddenly appeared in front of Arakawa.
He was truly a messiah.
During the two years that person worked as Nyanzaburou, the number of visitors was ten times greater than before.
200/day; 2000/day
T-That's impossible!
I mean, how could just changing the person inside the mascot increase the number of visitors by that much?
But it happened, Takemoto.
Daily Visitors 200; Daily Visitors 2000
Take a look at this.
Left Sign: First Generation Suit Right Sign: Legendary Nyanzaburou Suit
Whoa, it's way too different!
The arms and legs are too long, too!
That's right.
The original Nyanzaburou was 167cm tall.
So only male applicants shorter than 167cm were being accepted.
But the person who came to the interview...
Sign: Interview Room
I saw the poster looking for a person to work as a mascot...
...was a huge man who was over 190cm tall!
I see...
Poster: Part-time job as a Mascot character "Nyanzaburou" Give dreams to the Children!!! Create the future for the district!
I was looking through job listings, and I found this poster.
And since it's just weekends, I was hoping you guys could hire me.
But that's too bad.
I liked the line, "Give dreams to the children!"
You're hired!
Hired
B-But Director, the costume is for people shorter than 167cm...
We can just lenghten the arms and legs of the costume!
I'm betting the future of Arakawa Land on this man!
Since when was that at stake?!
And that was the beginning of the legendary days that lasted for two short years.
Arakawa Ninzaburou &
I-It can't be!
Lohmeyer-senpai?!
S-So you were inside that thing, Senpai?
The legend and the fact that the visitors increased by tenfold all makes sense now!
So you finally understand, Takemoto.
Lohmeyer-senpai, with his powerful arms and friendly smile...
The senpai that I admire, who I can't see anymore because he went home to take over his family's farm...
The senpai who proudly fed us vegetables that he grew himself...
The senpai who told everyone to come to his place if we couldn't find a place to work...
Mayama-san!
Look, Takemoto.
Sign: Surrounding Nyanzaburou-san
Sign: Congratulations Over 100,000 visitors
This picture is from the party celebrating the 100,000th visitor.
What an amazing number...
On top of that, they're all old people and men!
That's right, the majority of the visitors to the park were old people and men.
Everyone knew that Nyanzaburou was no hero, but just a costume with Lohmeyer-senpai inside.
However!
We, who had already become adults, can never hope to be embraced again!
Yet there are times when we want to be held tightly by arms that are stronger than ours, just like when we were kids!
Back when I was a child, just like the way my father and mother used to...
This is a drama of the two years that Lohmeyer-senpai created.
Why the mike?!
Lohmeyer!
And why is there a gallery?
Lohmeyer! Lohmeyer! Lohmeyer!
Lohmeyer-senpai, who surrounded everyone with his unwavering kindness.
We all get lonely and want to go flying to your side.
But who is there to hold you when you're feeling down?
Even though I get discouraged by the smallest things, I was thinking about that...
I still didn't know what I could do.
But I decided for myself that I can't just say, "Things are fine the way they are," and give up on things.
And...
What happened to Arakawa Land afterwards?
If you find a one-yen coin on the side of the road
Let's pounce on it
All money are lonely creatures
You can't leave them alone
Because if you care for them in your yellow wallets
They'll bring along more of their money friends
They'll bring more
Rah-rah, please bring more
Thank you! Thank you!
Now then, next is...
"You're ringing up that wad of bills."
It's Morita-san...
A new hero who can sing and dance appeared...
And, with his daily concerts, he gripped the hearts of the people...
Arakawa Land entered its second golden age.
akanai mabuta kosutte mieru I rub my heavy eyelids to reveal
pastel moyou no mirai ni A future in the shape of pastels
chiribamerareta kigou o tadoru I follow the scattered symbols
taguri yoseta hyoujou As my expressions were pulled in closer
nee nandakke sagashiteita mono Say, what was it that we were looking for again?
are wa soune itsudakke That's right, exactly when were those days
bokura ga inryoku ni sakarai nagara deatta koro When we used to meet, denying the attraction that was forming between us?
sore ga waltz no you dane fushigi sa It's like a waltz, isn't it? It's quite marveling
sasayaku youna komorebi no kousaten de We paint away sceneries
futari waltz no youni ne mawari nagara As we waltz and spin
egaki dashite yuku mono Where the whispering sunlight falls through the trees and meet.