Art by Kyosai Kawanabe
A wavering wraith of karmic retribution Art by Kyosai Kawanabe
A wavering wraith of karmic retribution
on a wandering path of wretched fate.
Thoroughly despised and fractured,
a set of two mirrors facing one another.
Coming forth from the darkness where time intersects,
your grievance shall be avenged.
Tell me what time it is right now
Hell Girl Two Mirrors Tell me what time it is right now
Hell Girl Two Mirrors Say it's a dream, hold me
The city in ruins looks familiar
Inside that photographic collection I flipped through with you
Why am I alone all alone?
Right away, right away, I realize it's a dream
I run through the rubble, I kick something
Searching for the exit that will wake me from the dream
I have to hurry, I have to hurry
I can hear your voice from somewhere
You can only see eternity in the flow of time
Tell me what time it is right now
Say it's a dream, hold me
My heart's on the verge of becoming still, make it stir again
Please
You're next to me
Probably having a different dream
I don't need the sun
Right now, I miss your smile
Ladies and gentlemen,
are you truly satisfied with the life you currently have?!
Nationalist Party Masaharu Date
The gap between the rich and the poor continues to widen
Nationalist Party Masaharu Date and we, the common people, find our lives growing ever harder!
Masaharu Date and we, the common people, find our lives growing ever harder!
For the sake of this country's future,
let us all join forces
and overthrow the Ohizumi Administration!
Let us overthrow the Ohizumi Administration!
Your grievance shall be avenged.
Send
Your grievance shall be avenged. Taichiro Ohizumi Send
Error! Cannot Accept
Why won't you accept it?
Confident of Victory Prime Minister Ohizumi
If only this bastard would get banished to Hell,
this country would become a better place!
For the Sake of This Country
Okay, I'm going.
W-Wait!
It'll be bad if we don't make the delivery to the Yoshidas by the end of today!
I told you over and over last night!
It's fine! Make them wait!
I'm working for the future of this country!
But if we don't receive any payment this month...
I'm going on ahead.
Yuriko!
What about school?!
Some people have their entire family coming to support them, you know.
I'm already in a tough position just by the fact that you're not there!
This country is corrupt!
Store for Lease
No, what's corrupt is the current administration.
We have closed. No, what's corrupt is the current administration.
Thank you.
Colluding with large corporations
to create policies that do nothing but disregard the underprivileged.
To protect the future of Japan Good Governance Party
So why can't this man be banished to Hell?!
Giving It Our Best Shot For Tomorrow Masaharu Date ~ Nationalist Party Masaharu Date
Good morning, everyone.
Good morning.
We have just one week left until election day.
Certain Victory
It would not be an exaggeration to say
Certain Victory that our efforts from here on out will determine the outcome of the election.
Let's be sure to give our enthusiastic best again today!
Yes, sir!
Good morning.
You're late.
Ah, Mr. Kanno. Perfect timing.
Would you go repost the posters on the other side of the station later?
Quite a few of them have been vandalized, you see.
Certainly. Please leave it to me.
Yuriko, help me out.
If we're going to the other side of the station,
I think we should take the fliers for tomorrow's speech
and distribute them.
Maybe leave them with the shops in the shopping arcade.
Good idea. I think we'll have you do that.
Then Mr. Kanno, bring the fliers over.
Oh, yes, sir.
Then I'll leave that to you.
Yes, sir.
Sheesh! What kind of idiot does this?!
It's because of idiots like this
that it's taking forever for the Japanese government to get better!
You damn Ohizumi spawn!
Idiot.
Sneak...
Don't.
No?
No.
Kiyomizu Cleaners Masaharu Date
Then we'll be counting on you.
Make sure to vote for Date on election day.
You can write it in kanji or hiragana.
Is that election nut gone?
Yes. After he forced this on us.
Masaharu Date Delivering Speech
Why don't you leave him once and for all?
He's been leaving you to manage the factory lately, too, right?
He said people involved in election campaigns
have to have a proper family.
And thinking ahead to when Yuriko gets married...
Well, if you say so.
Oh, these...
I'm sorry, but we just can't have these in our store, so...
What has the Ohizumi Administration brought about for us?
Please take one! What has the Ohizumi Administration brought about for us?
He'll be making a speech tomorrow! What has the Ohizumi Administration brought about for us?
He'll be making a speech tomorrow! The gap between the rich and the poor continues to widen
Please take one! The gap between the rich and the poor continues to widen
Please take one! and we, the common people, find our lives growing ever harder!
Day in and day out. How does one not get tired of this?
No kidding.
I was referring to you.
Eh?
Does she concern you that much?
Please take one! Does she concern you that much?
Please take one.
He'll be delivering a speech tomorrow.
Oh, thank you.
What's with the newspaper?
I received a flier for the speech,
so I thought I'd study up a little on politics.
Study! Study!
[The peanuts are a reference to the Lockheed scandal of the 1970s.] No Recollection Peanuts
[The phrase "no recollection" was often used in the process of denying guilt back then.]
Aren't those a bit too old?
[Hence, the reference to the paper being too old.] Nah, politics isn't something that changes much.
Whoosh!
I think we'll ask you to handle the reception, too, Yuriko.
Yes, sir. Please leave it to me.
Yuriko, we're going home!
Hold on a minute!
I'm making arrangements for tomorrow with Mr. Yamamoto!
We can work out the details tomorrow.
It's already late today anyway.
Yes, sir.
I'll do anything it takes for us to win in the next election,
so please let me know if there's anything I can do.
Sure, I'll be counting on you.
In the end, that Yamamoto's just a hired gun,
a campaign manager for one season.
Cozying up to him won't do you any good.
That's not...!
What does that matter?
I've even talked with Mr. Nakazawa, the previous delegate, you know.
Gaining the favor of a small-timer like him is nothing.
Hey, we're home!
Hah! I want a drink, not a meal. Sheesh.
But you complain when there's no dinner.
Hey, Harumi! Get me a drink!
She's probably still at the factory.
Even our reserve supply's gone!
Inconsiderate woman.
Aren't you going to eat?
My stomach's full already!
I'm going to sleep!
Aw, man!
When the government's bad, nothing goes right!
Thanks for the food.
Government services have markedly diminished
and it has unmistakably put a strain on all your lives.
In order to extricate ourselves from this situation as quickly as possible...
Please! Just a little longer!
If we could just have a little more time, we'll manage...
Why?
Why have things come to this?
If only that man would go away...
If I'm patient for just a while longer,
maybe he'll come to his senses...
He'll be delivering a speech tonight!
We look forward to seeing you there!
Please take one!
Oh, Yuriko! It's terrible!
Your mother just...
Hurry!
Um, I'm Harumi Kanno's daughter.
She was brought here by ambulance earlier...
Oh? You...
You don't recognize me?
We've been seeing each other daily in front of the train station lately.
Oh, you're the one who's always listening to the speeches...
This guy's hospitalized on the same floor, you see...
Ah! Your mother's in this room.
Oh, Mom.
Mom.
They said it's due to overexertion. Pitiful, isn't it?
You've been working too much. You need to get some rest.
If I rest, our livelihood...
This country's government really is messed up!
If you can't make a living unless you work to the point of ruining your health...
It's all the Ohizumi Administration's fault!
That's not true.
It is, too, true!
I mean, before he became Prime Minister, Ohizumi...
Up through my grade school years, making a living was a lot easier!
There were times when things were even harder, too.
But back then, the entire family worked together to pull through.
Working, covered in sweat...
Doctor, about Mr. Beppu in Room 301.
His blood sugar level has been high...
Doctor. Doctor.
Doctor.
Doctor. Doctor.
H-Hey! Doctor. Doctor.
Of course, it's not a bad thing to be interested in politics.
But your father is only blaming politics for the things that won't go his way.
I thought that he might come to his senses eventually,
but maybe it's hopeless...
Mom...
Sumidagawa Ward Community Center
Masaharu Date Delivering Speech
Uh, so where do we put the shoes?
Hey, someone!
Please, this way.
I swear! What's Yuriko doing?!
It's all Harumi's fault for getting hospitalized in the first place!
Um, could I have a moment?
What?!
I really appreciate this. Even coming all the way to my house...
Oh, it's nothing.
I'm comfortably retired and about my only enjoyment
comes from listening to election speeches every day.
Feel free to press me into service.
Our home has been mortgaged.
The factory, too. All of it.
What?
Not only that...
Your savings account was closed out without your knowledge, too.
Dad did that?
We've also borrowed as much as we can from various places that offer consumer loans.
We're in deep financial trouble.
But even after all that, he still won't work
and he continues to accumulate debt.
I told him many times that I wanted to leave and take you with me,
but then...
I have marks like that all over me.
I don't know what to do anymore...
A straw doll...
I guess I'm taking this to her, too.
Well, I'll leave it here.
Thank you.
Giving It Our Best Shot For Tomorrow Masaharu Date ~ Nationalist Party
Did something happen?
Your father stirred up trouble with one of the attendees during the speech.
It was awful!
Yuriko!
What are you doing shamelessly showing up at this hour?!
You were supposed to attend the speech!
But Mother's been hospitalized!
It's her fault for getting hospitalized at a time like this!
Thanks to that, I ended up being deeply humiliated!
Aren't you worried about her?!
I don't give a damn about that woman!
She should have just gone and kicked the bucket!
You jerk!
The reason you're doing all this...
Wasn't it to make our lives better?!
That's what you said before!
You dare raise a hand against your father?!
You're my daughter!
You think you'll be allowed to get away with that?!
Wait! Stop!
Hold on, Mr. Kanno!
Calm down!
Come on!
Mr. Kanno, a moment.
Wh-What?
I'm sure you already know this,
but it looks like our camp may suffer pretty badly
due to today's incident during the speech.
But that was Yuriko's fault for suddenly skipping out!
You think so, too?
In that case, let's have her take responsibility for this.
The maintenance of the park there
was actually up for discussion in city council last year.
Our party proposed the addition of more streetlights,
but it got shelved due to budgetary concerns.
If some kind of incident happens over there,
it will be the incumbent party's fault for turning down the proposal, right?
Yuriko will be taking that route on her way home again today, right?
Don't tell me you...
Oh, we'll just scare her a little.
The incident just has to be big enough to drown out the speech debacle.
Or what? Does your conscience bother you, as her parent?
Hardly!
A girl like her deserves to be taught a lesson on the horrors of the real world!
Don't skimp out and settle for just scaring her.
Please teach her a lesson she'll never forget!
Well, if you insist...
Yuriko, your father seems a bit worked up, so go on home without him.
I had no intention of going home with him anyway.
Wh-What do you want? I'll call for help!
Hot! Hot!
Giving It Our Best Shot For Tomorrow Masaharu Date ~ Nationalist Party
Dad! At the park just now...
What the hell were you bastards doing?!
If you're going to do it, do it right!
But it really was a wheel of fire...
We'll be sure to get it done next time.
There's no point unless it happens today.
And here I thought Yuriko would become a bit more pliable after this!
l-It can't be...
Your grievance shall be avenged. Send
Taichiro Ohizumi
I used to think that if I just banished this man to Hell,
it would solve everything.
All this time, I thought I hated this man.
But the person you really hated was...
Taichiro Ohizumi
Father
The truth is, I'd realized it a long time ago.
But I didn't want to acknowledge it.
Your grievance shall be avenged. Father Send
Error! Cannot Accept
Why?!
Because there is a prior claim on that man.
Hell... Girl?
A prior claim?
Someone other than me has already asked to have him banished to Hell?
You don't mean...
I'm sorry, Yuriko.
If I'd just done this sooner,
I wouldn't have had to put you through this suffering, too.
I'm sorry, Dear.
Your grievance has been heard.
G-Get real!
Why should I have to go to Hell?!
We're still in the middle of the campaign!
I haven't done anything!
It's the government who's at fault!
This has happened because the current administration is incompetent!
I consign this grievance to Hell...
The prime minister should be the one going to Hell!
House for Sale
This is quite a bit more cramped now.
It's plenty for the two of us.
Vote for Komori in the election next month! A vote for Komori!
That reminds me. Did Mr. Date win the election? Vote for Komori in the election next month! A vote for Komori!
That reminds me. Did Mr. Date win the election? Komori of the Democratic Party!
Nah, I don't know. Komori of the Democratic Party!
Your grievance shall be avenged.
Harumi Kanno Your grievance shall be avenged.
No empty dreams, no eternal lament
The luster of the moon
Illuminates my soul
The dance of the fiery flowers guides my way
The entangling songs of errors
Bring me heartache
Placing my hand in the endless river, let it wash away
The words that tormented me, dyeing them indigo
Your name?
Ran Henmi.
I swear. You're just so good-natured.
Or maybe it's that you're too trusting.
That must be why I fell for it.
I just can't ignore girls like you.
Please, banish that person to Hell for me.
You got it.
Your grievance has been heard.
Hell Girl Two Mirrors Aspiring Femme Fatale Your grievance has been heard.
Hell Girl Two Mirrors Aspiring Femme Fatale Next time, "Aspiring Femme Fatale".