July 20th.
Today, I'll be starting an observation journal on a space morning glory today.
I gave it lots of water so the morning glory would bloom faster.
How much longer?
When will I get to see the morning glory?
July 25th.
I woke up to find that the morning glory had sprouted.
Nice to meet you, Mr. Morning Glory.
I was so happy, I gave it lots of water.
And then Mom got mad at me.
She said the morning glory was already full.
August 11th.
A typhoon hit Edo.
I stayed with the morning glory the whole time so it wouldn't be blown away.
And then Mom got really mad at me.
She said I would catch a cold.
But I was worried so I ignored her,
and then Mom and I got into a fight.
August 12th.
It was still raining.
I was in bed all day with a fever.
I kept trying to go check on the morning glory,
but Mom wouldn't let me go.
Mom didn't care what happened to the morning glory.
I'm never gonna talk to Mom again...
August 13th.
I woke up to find that the morning glory was gone.
The morning glory wouldn't have died if I had stayed with it.
I'm sorry. I'm sorry...
I was crying, when Mom brought a fully-bloomed morning glory in a pot.
Mom had moved the morning glory to a pot during the typhoon for me.
She protected my friend in my place.
I'm sorry. I'm sorry.
I still ended up crying.
But it wasn't because I was sad, it was because I was happy.
August 30th.
I watered the morning glory with Mom.
The morning glory is still growing strong.
[Independent Research Project Presentation]
The end.
Okay, thank you, Hiroshi-kun.
It's nice that the morning glory didn't die.
Great!
And you made up with your mother.
Yes, a very well written report which conveyed Hiroshi-kun's feelings.
Then next up is...
Daigoro-kun.
Yes.
Daigoro-kun, what did you research this summer?
Uh...
I also did an observation journal.
I see. What did you observe?
Isn't everybody excited?
Well, Daigoro-kun, go ahead.
Class 3-1, Daigoro Kitaouji.
July 20th.
Today is the first day of my long-awaited summer vacation.
How shall I have fun tomorrow?
I was so excited that I couldn't fall asleep
and missed my radio exercises.
Hey, Daigoro-kun!
You skipped radio exercises on the very first day?
That's no good.
By the time I got to the park, nobody was there.
But...
S-Sake...
P-Please...
G-Give me sake!
That was where I met Madao.
Uh...
What's a Madao?
["An Observation Journal Should Be Seen Through To The Very End"]
July 21st.
I started an observation journal on Madao today.
Daigoro-kun, hold on.
What's a Madao?
Madao is the master of the park.
A creature with a beard and sunglasses.
It sits in the park all day without working.
Daigoro-kun, that's just a middle-aged man, yes?
An unemployed middle-aged man living in the park, yes?!
I brought him alcohol from my house yesterday, and he warmed up and started talking to me.
You shouldn't give stuff like that to a strange old man!
Kid, where's the sake?
He said that he can't live without sake,
so I gave Madao lots of sake.
How much longer?
When will Madao bloom?
It won't!
As long as you keep giving him sake, that old man will never bloom!
July 22nd.
Madao still hasn't sprouted.
Sprouted?
You shouldn't say that about a grown man, Daigoro-kun.
I give it lots of sake but it won't move or work.
I ask why it won't do anything...
Once a flower's withered, it can never bloom again.
He answered me with a sad look on his face.
What is this?! What kind of project is this?!
How can he say such things to a child?!
July 23rd.
Madao still hasn't sprouted.
I give it lots of sake but it all comes out of its eyes.
I ask why it spills back out after I give it to him...
I'm sorry...
I won't waste any more...
I'm sorry...
And then more sake came from its eyes.
Until the sunset.
Say, Daigoro-kun?
This is a little heavy, yeah? Yeah?
What is this? Could you stop?
July 24th.
Madao still hasn't sprouted.
Daigoro-kun, I get it now.
You skipped your independent research project, didn't you?
Madao looked hurt.
That's it. Madao doesn't even exist.
I ask what's wrong...
And it says that it screwed up while making a swing.
Daigoro-kun!!
I ask why it's using a rope to make a swing when the park already has swings.
When will Madao bloom?
Daigoro-kun, I don't like where this is going!
Are you sure about this?!
July 25th.
Madao still hasn't sprouted.
I was on my way to do radio exercises when I found Madao lying on the rail tracks.
I ask what's it's doing,
and it says it couldn't fall asleep so it crawled over here.
Whoa!
Stop it!
When will Madao bloom?
That's enough, Daigoro-kun!
Report over.
An excellent job.
You aren't finished, but that's enough.
Why, Teacher?
I wanna hear more!
Did Madao bloom?
What happened?
It's not about it blooming or not.
More! I wanna hear more!
Finish the story, Daigoro!
Madao! Madao!
Madao! Madao! Madao! Madao!
Wh-What part of that touched the hearts of the kids...?
I-I got it now!
Th-Then since it seems like your report is rather long, we'll go with a summary.
Daigoro-kun, August.
Start from August.
Only read the important points, okay?
Skip the weird parts.
August 1st.
We have a new family member.
You skipped too much!!
How did Madao become a member of your family?!
What happened in the days that were skipped?!
A bed was prepared, but Madao still hasn't sprouted.
Two dry eyes stare into the empty sky, unable to perceive...
Much as God was unable to understand the will of the fallen angel Lucifer...
And you're suddenly writing like a pro!
I've had enough...
I spit on the ground and light up a xxxboro.
What happened?!
What happened over summer?!
This isn't a step towards being an adult!
It's a damn escalator!
Humans must change and adapt to their environment in order to survive.
Why a condor?!
And you've changed way too much!
The man who refused to change and stood still was practically a corpse.
You should've been observed instead!
August 3rd.
I casually tossed it a bottle of whiskey I sniped from my mother.
Madao, I've changed your environment.
It's your turn to respond, so why do you just lie there?
What damaged you?
Isn't that obvious?!
Madao didn't answer my question,
You can clearly see why he's unhappy!
instead it licked at the whiskey with a sour look on its face.
This is what you meant by a new member of the family?!
When will Madao bloom?
I look up at the sky to see a condor circling as though laughing at me.
And why is there a condor in Edo?!
August 10th.
Ten days have passed since we took in Madao.
It still hasn't sprouted.
As always, I casually toss it a bottle of bourbon I swiped from my Mom.
Does it have to say "casually"?
Do you have to emphasize that "casually" part?
Mom's been getting creeped out by Madao recently.
It appears that she's realized I'm keeping Madao and not a dog.
That should have been obvious from the beginning!
She was creeped out from the beginning!
My Mom raised me on her own.
I wonder when she stopped trusting in men...?
Who cares about your Mom's story!
Just end this story!
August 10th three years ago.
Hey! I said to stop!
Why is there a flashback arc in your journal?!
I remember that it was a blisteringly hot day.
My Mom's husband...
In other words, my old man, was also a Madao.
My old man was a skilled carpenter,
but after an accident left his arms paralyzed,
he stopped working and began drinking and gambling during the day.
My Mom always worked hard,
buy my old man would beat her for not earning enough.
I couldn't stand the sight of my old man,
so I never returned home until the sun set.
I would wait for my exhausted Mom before heading home.
That was my daily routine.
But we didn't abandon that Madao, because of memories of long ago...
We believed that he would return to being a kind father, a kind husband.
But that day...
We're home.
Our faint hopes
vanished into the summer sky with the cries of cicadas.
Raindrops trickled down my cheek.
Before I knew it, I had told the Madao before me about the other Madao.
Sorry, forget about everything I just said.
Why did you help me...?
Aren't you sick of seeing a Madao?
Both you and your mother.
Aren't you making your mother suffer?
I might be feeling remorse...
If only I had provided support for my old man when he hit rock bottom...
Then my Mom wouldn't have suffered like this.
I couldn't say anything more...
At some point, I may have seen my old man in Madao.
What was I trying to accomplish while making my Mom suffer?
Was I trying to recover what I'd once forgotten...?
On that day, Madao didn't touch its bourbon.
August 11th.
I awake to the sound of rain pounding against the window.
It seems that a typhoon has hit Edo.
My legs led me to the doghouse.
But Madao was nowhere to be found.
Aren't you sick of seeing a Madao?
Both you and your mother.
What are you doing?!
Where are you going in this rain?!
Let me go!
It's already weak from drinking all that booze!
Madao's going to die in this rain!
So that was a Madao...
No!
It's not a Madao!
It's... It's...
My friend!
Daigoro!
No more of this...
I have to save him!
August 12th.
I couldn't find Madao in the end.
My head hurts and I can't write as well as I did before.
I seem to have caught a cold.
I didn't drink any sake, but it's coming out of my eyes for some reason.
Just like it did with Madao.
Is sake coming out of Madao's eyes wherever he is?
When I thought of that, I couldn't stop the sake from coming out.
And then...
Ma-Madao...
Honestly...
Next time keep an eye on it so it won't escape.
And also...
If you're going to keep a Madao, keep it inside so we aren't embarrassed.
And feed it properly instead of giving it alcohol.
Mom allowed me to keep Madao.
Or maybe Mom felt the same way I did.
Madao, were you drinking again?
No...
No more drinking for me.
August 20th.
Madao has changed since then.
He no longer drinks sake,
and he performs all kinds of chores while Mom is out.
All while reading the classifieds.
Mom called him Madao in the beginning,
but she's started to call him Hasegawa-san.
Here, Hasegawa-san.
Madao is Madao, so why?
Ah, sorry about that. Thank you so much.
I don't really get it.
August 25th.
When Madao went out for errands that evening,
Mom asked...
Daigoro.
Would you like a father?
That was her question.
I didn't understand what she meant,
so I asked her about it
and then her face turned red.
Well, it's nothing...
I didn't understand,
so I asked Madao that night...
I wouldn't know.
I don't really get grownups.
August 26th.
It's finally the day for Madao to sprout.
Thank you for everything you've done.
Thanks to you two, I've been able to recover from hitting rock bottom.
I don't know how to show my appreciation...
My, it's a little early for that.
You haven't gone to your interview yet.
There, your tie.
Sorry about that.
Only one person will be able to pass, right?
Do your best.
We'll be waiting for the good news.
Yes!
As Madao headed off to battle and Mom watched him go,
they were like father and mother.
Madao as my father...
I tried to picture that, but it felt weird so I stopped.
You seem to be nervous.
Huh? Oh, yes...
Since my return to a normal person from being a Madao is riding on this.
Oh, is that so?
I'm the same.
Oh? You were also a Madao?
I couldn't tell...
Well, I lost my job after an injury and snapped...
My wife and son gave up on me...
I'm embarrassed to say that I didn't realize what was important until I'd lost it all...
I managed to straighten myself up and asked my wife if we could start over,
but she told me to let her think about it.
Well, it's okay.
I'll try again if I'm accepted here.
There's only one opening, but let's both do our best so we have no regrets.
Um... Can I ask you something?
Yes?
What's your son's name?
August 27th.
Madao never came back.
He probably didn't pass the interview.
So he's too ashamed to face us.
Madao's such an idiot.
He doesn't need to be so sensitive.
Mom didn't say anything.
Was Mom hurt again because of me?
August 29th.
We ate with Madao.
The other Madao.
Madao had become a completely different person.
After apologizing to Mom and me over and over,
he happily reported that he'd found a job.
He also cheerfully told us about someone
who got drunk and made a ruckus at the interview.
Mom also looked like she was really happy.
Yo, you two.
Could you spare me some sake?
Daigoro, let's go.
Daigoro?
Why?
You promised never to drink again.
Why?
You promised to do your best at the interview!
Why...? Why...? Why...?!
Get lost if you have no sake, kid.
We're through.
Liar...
Daigoro, that's enough.
Let's go.
Don't bother with him any longer.
Liar!
Madao! I know!
Daigoro!
You may lie!
You may pretend to be drunk!
Everybody may badmouth you!
I know...
I know that Madao is no Madao!
You brought back what I'd once forgotten!
You're the nicest, best samurai!
I won't forget!
I'll never forget!
Never!
What's with all the noise?
Oh? Hasegawa-san.
You're back?
I'll have a bit.
What the hell?!
I-Isn't this water?!
I don't need beer or work...
I've already received enough...
Daigoro, be happy with your Mom and dad.
Yes, I knew.
Madao had already bloomed long ago...
Daigoro-kun...
Forgive me...
That was no observation journal...
It was practically a novel...
But it was wonderful!
Magnificent!
Everybody give Daigoro some applause!
[Cast]
Huh?
[Madao: Taizo Hasegawa]
It's still going?
[Me: Daigoro Kitaouji]
Oh, there's even a credit roll.
[Mom: Satsuki Kitaouji]
[Dad: Daisuke Kitaouji]
Amazing, it's like a movie.
[Old Man at Park: Isoroku Yadonashi]
Man, that was great.
[Narration]
[Daigoro Kitaouji]
Everyone, one more round of applause for Daigoro!
[Directed / Script by]
[Mom]
Huh?
Your mother wrote this?!
[Temple School]
Do your own homework!!
The next episode...
"Radio Exercises are Socials for Boys and Girls."
[I think we're going to forget the fact it's winter again next week and do an episode about radio exercises.]
[Actually, it's a two-parter. In part one, a journalist seriously looks into the Anti-Foreigner Faction battle.]
[See you next time.]