Insect Five
Hero Show
You're finished now, pssht!
No! Someone save me!
Kids! You gotta call for them, as loud as you can!
Insect Five!
We'll deal with whoever's bugging you!
Stop, Monster Insecticide Man!
You can do it, Ant Black the Strong!
Ant-tack!
Pssht!
You got me...
Thanks for cheering us on, everyone!
All right, everyone who wants to shake hands with Insect Five,
please line up by the tent!
Ren, Miu, let's go!
Yeah!
What, you're gonna go shake their hands, too?
Of course! I have to thank them for putting on such a great show!
You're such a fangirl. I'll wait here.
You know you enjoyed it, too.
That doesn't mean I have to join you!
U-Um... You were really cool!
Thanks for your support!
Shake my hand, please!
Um... Your performance at Dome Park last week was great, too...
Sure!
And today's was just as dynamic!
Th-Thanks for coming to see us so often.
Oh? Shino?
Huh?
It is you! It's been so long!
Huh? Akki?!
Has it been since high school?
I almost didn't recognize you in this casual look!
You're in Tokyo, too? What a coincidence!
Huh?
Are those your kids, Shino?
N-No! They're my friend's brother and sister.
Of course! You had me scared for a sec.
You were always so innocent about relationships.
So what are you doing in Tokyo?
Huh? Uh, um...
I'm a designer!
A designer? How cool!
You were always good with your hands.
W-Well, yeah...
I work here now, too.
But I'm out with a friend today to unwind.
What sort of work do you do?
I'm a public servant.
What, really?! But you always hated studying.
We gotta go before it's over.
O-Oh, right. Um...
Y-Yun, could you take them?
Sure, but you won't get to shake their hands.
Wha... I-I'm an adult! It doesn't matter if I don't!
Gosh, don't be silly!
Okay, then let's go, Ren and Miu.
Yay!
So spiders aren't insects?
Nope, they aren't! They're just animals.
Oh, really?
Spider Red's so cool!
Hajime-oneechan!
Oh, welcome back.
We're back, Hajime-chan the designer.
C-Cut it out!
I wasn't technically lying.
I am a motion designer, after all.
Where's Akki-san?
She said her friend was calling for her, and left.
You sure you didn't want to shake their hands?
I was too embarrassed to while Akki was here.
I'm a failure as an Insect Five fan!
Oh, relax.
I hid the fact that I was an otaku in high school.
What, really?! I didn't take you for the type!
I had a normal high school girl life, you know!
And I was genuinely good friends with Akki.
But...
I was scared they wouldn't understand my hobbies.
No kidding? I'm relieved that you actually know what normal is.
You're still on that?!
So you like, took cutesy photo booth pictures with your friends?
I don't have any of those now, but I've got other old pictures of us.
Really?
Y-You promise not to laugh?
I won't.
Not sure if I believe you.
I'm the one on the right.
Yer joking, right?
I'm serious!
W-Wow...
Well, you looked cute. And fashionable.
Huh? Really?
All I did was copy what my friends did.
I-I see.
Musta been nice to fit in.
But I couldn't show off my geek merch, which kinda cramped my style.
I was always envious of girls in high school
who would be fancy and copy each other's styles.
Huh?
Promise not to laugh at what I'm about to show you?
Huh? What do you mean?
If you promise you won't laugh, I'll show you an old picture of me.
What would there be for me to laugh about?
Just promise that you won't laugh!
O-Okay, jeez...
Swear that you won't! Promise me that you won't!
Look, I'm not gonna laugh!
Then, here.
This was me in high school.
Graduation
Yer joking, right?
Is that payback for earlier?!
That's the sort of girl I used to be.
I didn't have many friends, so I always stayed home playing games.
I decided to reinvent myself when I came to Tokyo.
I see! So that's why you put such obvious effort into your wardrobe.
You're not used to it.
Wh-Wh-Wha...
These are serious worries of mine, you idiot!
I didn't mean it in a bad way!
Sure, I don't know what I'm doing! But I do my best to research what I choose!
Hey! Calm down!
You idiot! Idiot!
What, then?
You're telling me you knew more about fashion all along?
Despite only ever wearing the laziest of outfits?
If you're such an expert, you should dress like one!
Hold on. You've got nothing to be embarrassed about.
It takes a lot to go outside your comfort zone.
Besides, I like your clothes, Yun.
It's good to play up your quirks, after all!
I'm getting riled up!
Man...
We both only showed our friends one side of us.
Maybe we've got more in common than we thought.
Maybe.
That's kinda reassuring.
And it means you can be confident in who you are now, Yun.
All right!
I'm gonna be more confident too, and tell Akki about my hobbies!
Huh? W-Wait, I don't think that's such a good...
No, I'm going to do it.
Message sent!
Really?
Message Akki SMS/MMS Tap to show
Oh, she already replied.
That was fast!
H-Hajime?
Don't take it personally. I understand...
She...
Huh?
She said she knew.
She knew this whole time about how I went to anime shops alone!
All these years, I've been worried about nothing?!
It was sure nice of her to keep quiet about it.
Yeah.
That's a weight off my shoulders, at least.
I see.
By the way, you don't wear those coke-bottle glasses anymore?
I tossed them before coming to Tokyo.
Huh?
But I do keep a pair on my person.
These ones.
They make you look smart!
Are you saying that I usually look dumb?
Can I borrow them?
Sure.
How do I look?
They make you look smart!
What, payback for the payback?
Come to think of it, I cut my hair before coming to Tokyo, too.
Did you?
Yeah. I thought it'd be too much of a hassle long.
Well I'll be. I can totally cut it myself.
You've been cutting it yourself?!
Yeah. It even saves money!
That's not the point...
Good morning!
Mornin'.
Oh, what's this, you two?
W-We thought we'd try a different look. Change things up a bit.
What do you think, Aoba-chan?
Hm...
Those make you look smart!
Payback for the payback for the payback?!
P-Payback?!
Ooh, so this is the game you made for class.
Y-Yes.
Notes spawn to the rhythm of the idol's song
and hit the enemies to cleanse them.
That's how our rhythm game works.
A rhythm game? Wow!
It's animated in 3D!
Can all vocational school students do this?
No, this is above and beyond.
Thanks!
If you can already 3D model this well, wanna try your hand at some real work?
She's so easy to read.
Oh, you lost!
All right. Momiji will get directions from Hifumin.
Understood.
I'll ask you to do some work later.
Okay.
If you find any weird issues in the designs,
feel free to complain to Aoba directly.
Hey, come on, Yagami-san...
Rake her over the coals!
Okay, understood.
Momiji-chan?!
I understand that you're here primarily to learn, Narumi-san,
but I have some actual work for you.
First, a simple mini-game to demonstrate your skills.
Shinoda-san from the motion team is in charge of designing it,
so ask her if you need clarifications about the specs.
Roger!
You'll be making a mini-game, as well, Sakura-san.
No way!
But in your case,
it'll be to give you 3D practice, and won't be included in PECO.
Right...
Please make a board game in which you roll a ball through a maze to the exit.
Do you have any questions?
When do I need to finish it by?
This might be difficult since you're doing this while attending college,
but for now, aim to have it done in a month.
Roger that!
I'm going to leave my desk for a bit. Please keep the noise to a minimum.
You're amazing, Narucchi. You already have work.
Nah, I'm nothing special.
When did you start studying programming?
Around middle school.
That long ago?!
What made you start programming?
Hm...
I wanted to make games with Momo.
Momo's always been really good at drawing.
I wondered how I could contribute, and settled on programming.
Aocchi's also really good at art,
but being a game creator was such a stretch that I didn't even consider it.
Yeah, that's totally understandable.
But now that you mention it...
If I become a programmer, I'll be able to make games with Aocchi again.
I think I'll make that my dream, too!
Th-That's awfully cavalier of you.
How did you get into programming anyway, Nenecchi?
On a whim?
Huh?
I don't have any dreams for the future,
but I'm starting to think that working at a game company might be nice.
When I actually tried to make a game on my own, it was pretty fun,
and I was happy to earn Umiko-san's approval, if only a little.
So I just sort of went for it.
But I didn't think I'd actually get hired thanks to Umiko-san.
Guess I've got talent after all!
Just kidding!
Lucky you. Hired because you knew someone.
Huh?
I mean, it's the truth, isn't it?
She may look stern, but I guess that's the real Umiko-san.
How disappointing.
N-No! Umiko-san's not—
What is there to deny?
Must be nice to get approval for just messing around on a whim.
But I plan to get hired on raw skill.
I'm going to make games here with Momo, no matter what!
W-Well, I'm taking my programming studies seriously, too.
I'm sure that's what Umiko-san was judging me on.
S-So don't accuse Umiko-san of any funny—
You're supposed to take this seriously!
Well, let's both work hard and work seriously to get hired.
Although some people are more serious than others, Sakura-san.
Why does she suddenly hate me?!
Sakura-san.
Is something the matter?
Huh? Uh, um...
Nenecchi seems to be having some trouble.
I see. What part are you having trouble with?
Sh-She's acting all goody-goody!
But what Narucchi said is true.
I'm only here because I got special treatment.
So if, instead of making excuses...
If I learn how to program properly,
it'll prove that Umiko-san made the right decision! I'm sure!
Then...
I knew I saw potential in you.
I know, right?
It's okay! I'll figure it out myself.
Narucchi!
I'm going to become a super programmer, no matter what!
You'd better be prepared! 'Kay?
M-Momo-chan... do you have a moment?
Yes.
Um, h-here...
Here are the details of your assignment!
Thank you very much.
I-If there are any components you don't understand, feel free to ask.
U-Um, is modeling a character right off the bat too hard?
Would you... prefer to work on props or something else?
No, this is fine.
I'll make sure I do a good job.
Jeez! At least put a shirt on!
Aw...
But it's so hot.
Look at you, going around sopping wet again.
Here.
You need to dry off properly!
Naru, are you mad about something?
No, why?
You sorta seemed to be.
Here, wear this. It's freshly dried and warm.
What's for dinner tonight?
Twice-cooked pork, without the pork!
That's just a vegetable stir-fry!
Dinner is served!
Let's eat.
If you would eat a little less, I could make it for real, with meat.
Eating less with meat, or a lot without meat...
But if I want that satisfaction, I've gotta go for volume!
You're such a glutton.
But once we get our first paycheck, we'll be able to splurge a bit.
What do you want to eat?
Twice-cooked pork with pork.
Dream bigger, girl.
Okay, then Mongolian barbecue.
Goat, huh?
It's lamb.
What? No way.
Are you sure you're from Hokkaido?
Do you have to judge me so much for that mistake?
We don't have the skillet for that, so we'd have to eat out.
Let's buy a skillet.
Huh? But we might not eat it that often.
No, that's not the point. It'll taste better if you make it.
You sure know how to flatter me.
Then let's buy one as soon as we get paid.
Okay.
Thanks for the food.
Yet another yummy dinner.
Jeez, you're gonna turn into a cow.
Beef could be nice, too.
Is eating all you think about?
I'm going to take a bath, so wash the dishes, 'kay?
Okay.
They'd better be done by the time I finish.
Okay.
Once we get paid more, I'm going to buy a dishwasher.
Scuttle Scuttle
What happened?!
I-It hid, b-but I just saw one of those icky, black bugs
for the first time...
One of those bugs?!
W-We didn't get any last year, so why now?
Well, we had just moved in...
But it's just a you-know-what. You're overreacting.
Then you kill it, Naru.
See? If you show some guts, they'll be too scared to come out.
You think so?
Scuttle Scuttle
D-Don't we have any insecticide?
No! I wasn't expecting this!
Something to hit it with! Something to hit it with!
Here, for you to use!
I'm still reading that! And why me?!
Are there any other magazines?
I threw out all the ones we were finished with just last week.
W-We're completely without weapons!
Scuttle Scuttle
Wh-What should we do?
What do we do? What do we do?!
We can't just leave it alone...
Scuttle Scuttle
Then again, squishing it would be gross.
And Momo's about to totally lose it.
Take this!
Scuttle Scuttle
My bowl!
Scuttle Scuttle
G-Got 'em! Not so smart after all, huh?
My bowl...
You'll live. Hurry up and go buy some insecticide!
O-Okay!
Oh, but first...
I wanted to put some clothes on...
Momo, are you awake?
Yeah. Good morning.
Sorry, I caught a cold.
Are you okay?
Y-Yeah...
I just need some rest and I'll get better,
so go ahead and go to work by yourself.
Okay, but I'll try to come home early.
Thanks.
Let's see. Clothes, clothes...
What should I wear?
Oh, this will do.
I hope Momo will be okay on her own.
Okay, I'm heading out.
I'm sure she'll be fine.
Good morning.
Momiji-chan, good mor...
Huh?
You seem less put-together than usual. Change of pace?
Not really.
Oh, maybe because these are pajamas.
I figured it would do. My skirt's not, though.
Huh? Then what about your hair?
Oh, no!
Did something happen?!