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Original Concept EIICHI KAMAGATA
Original Story / Screenplay HIDEYUKI KURATA
Original Character Design TARAKU UON
Character Design / Animation Director MASASHI ISHIHAMA
Production Design NORIYUKI ZINGUZI
Art Director EASTER · YATUKUMI Art Conception HIROSHI IZUMI Color Coordinator MAYUMI TANAHASHI
Director of Cinematography KAZUNARI NISHIDA Editing MASANORI SAKAMOTO
Sound Effects MINORU YAMADA Sound Mixer YASUSHI NAGURA
Recording Director HIROMI KIKUTA Music Director TAKASHI KODAMA
Music TAKU IWASAKI
Producer TOMONORI OCHIKOSHI
Animation Producer YUJI MATSUKURA
Director KOJI MASUNARI
Animation Produced by J.C. STAFF
Produced by ANIPLEX INC.
Episode 14 Paper Leaf Wood
The UN's Investigation Committee enters Hong Kong...
for the submergence incident.
There are two messages.
Hello, Wendy-kun.
I still haven't received from you the report that I need...
for the annual session.
If possible, please send it to me today.
Thank you for your hard work.
And one more thing.
I will be stopping by the night after tomorrow...
so please keep your schedule open. Let's have dinner together.
The United Kingdom of Great Britain Recovery Plan...
Operation Sleeping Books...
Progress Report Version 9 by Wendy Earhart.
It was in the middle of the 19th century...
when Mr. Gentlemen, the father of the UK...
and most powerful man in the country...
first showed signs of biological aging.
The first changes reported were of external features, such as hair and skin.
A task force was organized immediately...
in order to counter his aging process...
but they were unable to achieve any success.
The team also looked into Asian remedies, including...
supernatural arts, pharmacology, and traditional Chinese medicine.
This caused frequent conflicts with China and eventually led to...
confrontations between the UK and China in various areas.
These confrontations took place behind the scenes...
and people with unique powers called agents...
were engaged in secret maneuvers.
In the middle of the 20th century...
Mr. Gentlemen became unable to walk on his own.
The task force abandoned the approach of medically prolonging his life...
and adopted Plan B, The Gentlemen Regeneration Plan...
where Mr. Gentlemen's knowledge was to be transferred into a different body.
Subsequently, the development and experimentation of a host body...
was started immediately.
However, no ordinary man's body had the capacity...
required to house Mr. Gentlemen's vast volume of knowledge.
Consequently, the team turned their eyes to the "great men"of history.
A body that contained a strong personality would have...
much greater adaptability than that of an ordinary man.
Cells from the greatest historical figures were collected...
by the British Museum and the British Library.
These organizations found hair and skin fragments...
in the objects and book collections...
that once belonged to these great men.
Of the few hundred samples collected...
several dozens were successfully cultivated.
The team members started narrowing down the candidates...
that would become the container for the new Gentlemen.
Genetic research and cloning technology were pushed forward...
to compete against Mr. Gentlemen's aging, which was also progressing.
Research in the various fields was progressing smoothly...
and Mr. Gentlemen's body was under the greatest possible care...
by the staff members.
As a result, the operation reached the point...
where it was only one step away from success...
and everyone was dreaming of the UK's new glory.
That is, until the year 2000.
In 2000, the Department of Dominant Gene Preservation was attacked...
by an unidentified person or persons.
About half of the great men's genes collected were stolen...
and the facility was damaged.
However, a truly horrifying incident was to happen just one year later...
in the year 2001.
The great men were regenerated from the stolen genes...
and appeared in various parts of the world...
causing the so-called "Great Men Incident".
The regenerated great men possessed special skills they didn't have before.
We, the British Library Special Operations Unit, resolved the situation...
the "Great Men incident"...
but many mysteries and problems still remain.
Who regenerated the great men?
What level of technology did this person or persons have...
in the field of genetics and paranormal abilities?
These two points were deemed important and were much discussed.
The fact that one of the great men had been working...
inside the British Library, as a mole, was also viewed as a problem...
because it corroborated our suspicion that...
the enemy had been probing deep into our research and plans.
The enemy... Yes, the great men were clearly regenerated by our enemy.
Although we lacked evidence, we knew who our enemy was.
It was...
Dokusensha.
Originally an organization of civilian officials serving China's emperors...
Dokusensha was said to have been a guardian of the imperial libraries...
through successive dynasties.
They preserved and studied literature on various subjects...
including not only Chinese philosophy, culture, politics, and science...
but also the supernatural arts and sorcery.
They disappeared from the center stage of history...
at the fall of China's last dynasty.
Dokusensha Beijing Store However, in 1994, they came back as an ordinary bookstore chain...
and opened the first store in Beijing.
It served as an antenna for their intelligence gathering.
By selling books that were only available at their stores...
Dokusensha opened a number of outlets all over the world...
within a few short years.
The readers of Dokusensha's books were...
later to become the foundation of the "Billion-People Committee".
By the time we realized the true purpose of their activities...
Dokusensha had already become a power in the East.
What enabled them to become an even more...
dangerous threat to us was the handover of Hong Kong in 1997.
As soon as Hong Kong was returned to China...
Dokusensha established its largest branch in Hong Kong.
Dokusensha By taking advantage of Hong Kong's increasing importance in the areas of...
Dokusensha tourism and trade, as well as its importance as a source of information...
they were able to further expand their operations around the world.
At the same time...
the conflicts between the UK and Dokusensha...
started to occur more frequently.
Many of our staff members and agents were killed...
in battles against Dokusensha.
Their goal was to gain complete control over people and subvert our country.
There can be little doubt that...
it was Dokusensha that regenerated the great men...
but it still remains a matter of controversy to this day...
whether the great men's respective actions were...
all part of Dokusensha's plan.
Today, however, the majority believes Dokusensha was unable to keep...
the great men under control due to their overwhelmingly strong personalities.
And that the great men gone wild on their own accord.
Whatever the case, because of the "Great Men Incident"...
the Gentlemen Regeneration Plan was forced to begin again from scratch.
The Preservation Department had been destroyed...
and the great men's candidate cells were damaged beyond repair.
It was at this point that...
Plan C, a last resort, which had been deemed nothing short of impossible...
was suddenly brought into the spotlight.
It was a plan where Mr. Gentlemen's knowledge, personality, and memory...
among other things, would be divided into multiple books...
and concealed from the enemy's attack.
This seemingly impossible idea was made possible by...
the British Library Special Operations Unit.
"Skin Print", a special paper on which...
the human genome could be printed in its entirety...
was created by the head of the development team, Jiggy Stardust...
and the success rate of the transfer operation increased dramatically.
Needless to say, however, it was a temporary measure.
When a container body was ready...
Mr. Gentlemen would be transferred back from the books into the new body.
Upon analysis and examination...
it was decided that Mr. Gentlemen would be divided into seven books.
These were: The Book of the Forlorn Blood...
The Book of the Pulsing Flesh...
The Book of the Power-Filled Arms...
The Book of the Trotting Legs...
The Book of the Rising Intellect...
The Book of the Supporting Bones...
and Book of the All-Seeing Eyes.
Mr. Gentlemen named this operation "The Sleeping Books Operation".
In 2002, eight months after the initiation of the operation...
an optimal candidate for Mr. Gentlemen's new body was conveniently discovered.
It was...
Wendy-san.
Don't scare me!
I told you to knock when you come in.
I did, but you didn't seem to hear it, so...
I'm sorry.
Where have you been?
Sumiregawa Nenene-sensei's home.
Were they back yet?
But there was a message on the answering machine.
From whom?
I don't know.
It was only a word.
Did you record it?
Thank you.
I'll listen to it later.
Wendy-san, have you eaten?
Not yet.
Should we order a pizza or something?
No, I'll cook something.
Is that bad?
No, it's not, but do you know how?
I bought a book.
Go ahead, then.
I'll call you when it's done.
Good luck with your work.
OK.
What happened to him?
The smooth progress of the Sleeping Books Operation...
was brought to a halt by an unforeseen incident.
A terrorist attack on the British Library.
In this attack, one of the books containing a part of Mr. Gentlemen...
and some of the preserved genes were stolen.
The attack was reported by the press all over the world...
which caused severe damage...
to the UK's diplomatic relations with other countries.
Our country's ordeal did not end there.
A year later, the UK withdrew from the EU and was expelled from the UN.
Upon declaring bankruptcy...
the UK government entrusted the remaining six books...
and a key, to the staff members that Mr. Gentlemen had selected.
They were sent out of the country.
It was all because Mr. Gentlemen's knowledge, cultural sophistication...
and memories were vital to the rebuilding of the UK.
Shortly after, however...
the UK government's actions became known to Dokusensha...
and it began working on stripping the UN of their ruling power over the UK.
Denied and it began working on stripping the UN of the ruling power over UK.
It was Mr. Joker of the former British Library Special Operations Unit...
who served as a delegate to these negotiations.
He gave pieces of information...
Mr. Gentlemen's books to Dokusensha...
while carrying forward negotiations on issues...
Authenticated while carrying forward negotiations on issues...
such as the UK's autonomy, territorial disputes...
and relaxation of economic sanctions.
Some saw his actions as betrayal and condemned him...
but it was the only means possible to gain time.
And his courageous decision proved effective.
In an effort to further develop a Perfect Language...
the Chinese side showed interest in Mr. Gentlemen's books.
Mr. Joker seized the opportunity...
and succeeded in penetrating the very core of Dokusensha.
Keeping a close eye on them...
he started fine-tuning the operations plan.
One factor that can't be ignored upon carrying out this operation was...
the existence of Paper Masters.
One of them, a Special Operations Unit member, Yomiko Readman...
code name "The Paper"...
disappeared when the British Library was destroyed in the attack.
Her whereabouts still remain unknown today.
The Biggest VIP Greet When You See Her All Japan Bookstore Association Tokyo Division Her whereabouts still remain unknown today.
The Biggest VIP Greet When You See Her All Japan Bookstore Association Tokyo Division
But the Paper Masters that we must take a close look at here...
are the ones named Michelle, Maggie, and Anita.
These three sisters are private detectives...
who operate out of an office located in Hong Kong.
Three Sisters' Detective Agency who operate out of an office located in Hong Kong.
Three Sisters' Detective Agency
Our first unplanned contact...
was made in a junior high-school in Tokyo, Japan.
One of our staff, J, was there to collect one of Mr. Gentlemen's books...
and encountered the Paper Master, Anita King.
Our investigation revealed that the three Paper Masters were living...
at the residence of Japanese writer Sumiregawa Nenene...
as her bodyguards.
Sumiregawa Nenene...
had a close personal relationship with Yomiko Readman.
We've conducted a follow-up investigation to find out...
whether there were any relationships between Readman...
and the three Paper Masters through Sumiregawa...
but nothing has turned up so far.
While living with Sumiregawa Nenene...
the three sisters were carrying out missions given by Dokusensha.
Each mission consisted of collecting one of Mr. Gentlemen's books.
Unbeknownst to them...
it helped us greatly in our efforts to track down the books as well.
Now, let's inspect each of the Paper Masters more closely.
These are images of Yomiko Readman, kept in the British Library.
And these are images of the three sisters.
Small differences can be seen between each Paper Master's skills.
Whether it is due to their personalities...
or other factors requires further investigation.
Finding this out may reveal ways to deal with Paper Masters...
and other persons with extraordinary skills...
What's this cake for?
For your birthday, Wendy-san.
My birthday is two weeks away.
So it doesn't make you happy unless it's your birthday?
I didn't mean that, but...
I'm sorry.
I wanted to try cerebrating someone's birthday, too.
I wanted to know how it feels...
Thank you, Junior.
I'm delighted.
Who told you about my birthday?
Alex-san.
I'm sorry.
That's OK.
As long as you didn't ask my age.
I'm sorry.
You're a good cook.
I followed the instructions in the book exactly.
Does it taste bad?
No, it's good.
I just said you're a good cook.
What's wrong?
This is the first time we talked like this, so I'm nervous.
Despite all this time we've been together.
Wendy-san.
Can I cook for you again on your birthday?
You don't have to.
I don't want to get two years older in just one year.
How about next time, I'll cook something nice on your birthday.
When is my birthday?
I'll find out.
The sinking of Dokusensha's Hong Kong branch underwater...
has become a big turning point.
Their Perfect Language Project must have been...
We've taken back all of Mr. Gentlemen's books that were in their possession.
More importantly, we've gained a large lead over them in terms of intelligence.
It can be safely said that we've overcome most of the obstacles...
in the way of Mr. Gentlemen's resurrection and the rebuilding of the UK.
What we need now is...
strong unity and a will to carry our work through to the end.
Our country must stand up again for an orderly world, a proud culture...
and more than anything else, for peace.
Some of you may be displeased with me.
Some of you may be offended by my carrying out this plan in secret.
Never the less...
I beg you for your cooperation, for the United Kingdom...
and for Mr. Gentlemen's wish.
Your report was very well-written.
Thank you, sir.
How's Junior?
Is he well?
Yes.
He's growing up in many ways.
Please take good care of him.
He's still a child.
What are you reading?
A script for the Perfect Language I found at Dokusensha.
Rubbish.
It seems they didn't know a story...
that would be loved by all the people of the world.
What is it?
A story of vengeance.
What else?
Now, the operation has entered a new phase.
We shall start looking for her.
That girl with the glasses.
Natsukashii kaze no nioi dokoka sabishikute
Modorenai hibi wo hito wa itoshiku omouyo
Toki no chikara wa ooki sugite hitori kiri tada nagasarete mo
Shinjite iru tadori tsuku saki kawara nai egao no basho e
Futatsu ni wakareta yume demo
Tohkute mie naku temo
Kitto tsunaideru kokoro wa tsuyoku
Kanarazu mata aeru
Naita fuyu mo
Warai au natsu mo
Kokoro wa azuke rareta me wo tojita tokini
Kanji rareru yo ano koro no nukumori