As Winston Churchill said,
"Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us.
Pig Pen
"Pigs treat us as equals."
Pigs are sometimes used
to stand for something unclean and stupid, something to be reviled,
but that is a mistake.
They roll in the mud to protect themselves from parasites,
and to lower their body temperatures on a hot day.
They also possess a keen sense of smell.
It aids their memory,
which is among the best in the animal kingdom.
Again, I can't judge things based on assumptions.
Also, they have very strong jaws
and can easily bite through human fingers.
This is the nursery.
Sows and their piglets are kept here.
What's this doghouse-like thing?
Aww! So cute!
Hmph, pigs fatten up in no time.
Here.
C-Compared to chicks, p-piglets have got nothing...
Episode 3 Hachiken Meets Pork Bowl
The sow's about to nurse.
You Dairy Science first-years will tend to this family after Golden Week.
The mother isn't allowed near the piglets?
Correct, the sow can accidentally step on them and kill them.
I see.
It's interesting to see eight of them in a row.
Hams in a row.
The one all the way to the right's really tiny.
Oh, yeah.
More
A lot more milk comes out of teats closer to the chest
Less
than those toward the rump.
Soon after birth, piglets compete for access to milk
and select a teat as their own.
The stronger ones get the chest-side ones,
and the weaker ones get pushed toward the rump.
This small piglet is here because it lost the competition.
Um... Aren't we going to do anything to help this one?
If its growth is compromised, we sometimes feed it extra milk.
But normally we let nature take its course.
Hey, you!
A good spot's opened up!
What?
C'mon, switch to another one!
Try moving it to another teat.
Come on, more comes out of this one.
This is piglet behavior.
Once they make a decision,
they stay, even if it's a poor environment.
Just because they lost out in the first competition,
they decide what they have is good enough.
Don't get this way, guys.
Ooezo Agricultural High School Dormitory for Future Agriculture Managers
I'm back...
Oh, right, you're both going home.
Yup, gonna tend the farm non-stop over Golden Week.
You're not going anywhere to enjoy yourself?
There's no time for that.
Entire family's going out on the fields!
My family's got 56 hectares to take care of.
Golden Week's not enough time to finish it all.
I don't think I grasp the scale.
Well, about the size of one Macross.
See ya.
I think I'm even more confused now.
There is a lot less people, all of a sudden.
Everyone who has farm work to do at home went back.
The only ones who stayed are those on club duty.
Starving!
Let's eat something!
Doesn't anyone have fun on vacation?
Do you, Hachiken-kun?
Hey, Hachiken-kun.
Do you have time tomorrow after stable chores in the morning?
Want to go have fun?
Huh, where?
Um, a place with a mascot,
and gift shops.
It's a place full of dreams!
Welcome to Welcome Land
An amusement park?
A mascot...
Gift shops...
Full of dreams...
I heard he won big.
I will, too!
Tokachi Agricultural Cooperative Obihiro Racetrack
It's a racetrack!
Yeah!
My horse is racing today!
Well...
Still, whatever the place,
it's a date with Mikage...
Oh, there he is.
Icchan!
Yo.
Why's Komaba here?
Our club's senpais are all at an away game.
Us first-years only had practice in the morning.
The more, the merrier, right?
Yeah, you're right.
Isn't that Nakajima-sensei?
Oh, yeah.
Nakajima-sensei!
Crap, he's got the eyes of a gambler.
You came here, too?
Yes.
One of my family's horses is running today.
Minors aren't allowed to gamble.
We know.
We're just here to watch!
Sensei, since you're here, please be a good equestrian club instructor
and tell us about Ban'ei racing.
Right.
First, Number 3:
it's only run once, so it's still got energy and also works pretty well with his rider.
It's no use. Let's go.
Ban'ei racing is a relic from the frontier times.
It all started when farms began competing their draft horses
to show whose was the strongest.
The race happens pretty much at a person's walking speed,
so you feel at one with the horses!
Hey, it's starting.
The fourth maiden race of the spring season is about to begin!
Now, the staff are splitting into left and right!
It's started!
It's quiet.
Slow...
Here they come!
What is this?
How heavy are those sleds?
It's a maiden race, so 480 kilos!
The biggest graded races have them pulling one ton.
A ton?!
Which one's yours?
Number 5, Mikagehomare!
Oh, hey, maybe it can win!
It's leading into the second obstacle!
The tough part has yet to come!
It stopped! Hey!
Why isn't it pushing on?
It's a strategy.
The second obstacle is bigger than the first, so the horse needs
to match its power and timing with its rider to overcome it.
They gauge each other's intent.
The horse gathers its strength, then...
climbs up in one go!
Oh, it's fallen!
Not yet!
You can still see the fighting spirit in Mikagehomare's eyes!
Don't act so cool, jock!
Go, Mikagehomare!
I've bet everything on you!
Ew, that's so lame!
Don't be so nasty!
There it goes!
Yeah! Number one!
What?
The whole sled has to cross the finish line!
What?!
Man, that was so close.
Third, huh?
I so thought it'd come in first.
Coming in third's good enough for me!
Although, I don't know if the same goes for people who've bet money...
But it could've placed first if it'd put in a bit more effort!
What, you're awfully hung up over winning.
Er, but, it would've been awesome
if it could've won by its nose, like in a normal race.
The race started with draft horses,
so it needs to finish carrying its load to finish the job.
But, I'm so glad.
It can live on for a while yet, now.
Horses with poor results get retired, with no mercy.
Retired...
It's a happy ending if the horse can become a carriage horse for events,
but most of them become horse meat.
What?!
Even though they're trying so hard,
if they lose, they get eaten?!
It's the same story outside of horse racing.
For livestock, effort means nothing.
It's all about results.
So effort isn't rewarded...
I don't know if I like that...
Like's got nothing to do with it.
The smoked chicken from Inada-senpai you ate the other day
was a chicken that was offed because it didn't lay enough eggs.
It's already gone into your stomach.
Stop quibbling over the details.
You know, Hachiken...
You seem obsessed about winning and results,
then you say stuff like rewarding effort.
You joined an agricultural high school without a clear goal, too.
Did something happen?
Hachiken, what're you going to do for high school?
You're not continuing to our high school.
Are you sure?
I want to go to a high school far away.
Well, I can look for one if you want to go to a different school.
There are high schools you can choose that'll help you
reach your future goals...
I don't have any.
I don't have any goals for the future.
So long as I can get out of my home and go far away, I don't care.
What did your parents say?
They said nothing.
Okay.
I happen to have a place I recommend to students like yourself.
Hokkaido Prefectural Ooezo Agricultural High School
Want to give it a try?
Oh.
So you basically came here because you lost.
That's stupid.
What do you mean, "stupid"?!
What would you know about how tough it is trying so hard for nothing?!
You were born a farmer,
so you got into high school without studying at all!
As long as you graduate, you have a career waiting for you back home.
I envy you, being so carefree!
Icchan!
Hachiken-kun!
Stop!
Hey, do you guys want to go somewhere fun?
Where?
The stables at the Ban'ei Racetrack!
Uncle, it's been a while!
Hey, Aki!
I knew you'd come!
Mikagehomare was in the race, so I thought you might!
Thanks for the text! You were a godsend!
Are those your friends with you?
They're my classmates, Hachiken-kun, and Icchan from the Komabas.
Oh, Ichirou from the Komabas!
You've grown so tall!
I think I last saw you at your pop's funeral.
How's your mom?
Managing, thank you for asking.
Are you gonna continue the family business once you graduate Ezonoo?
That's my plan.
What a waste!
You should go to college!
We don't have that kind of money.
Oh! Mikagehomare!
You worked hard today!
Whoa, you're still all sweaty!
Guess this one still remembers you?
I said my goodbyes when it was still a foal.
Here's a pic from around the time it was born.
Oh, cute!
Mikage is, at least.
So this... turns into this.
Whoa!
Sorry!
Did it read my thoughts again?!
Nah, this is different.
It's telling you to brush it.
Here?
You want to be brushed here, right?
There, there.
Wow.
It feels good, yeah?
You totally understand horses, don't you?
You're amazing.
Of course you can never totally understand horses!
How nice that you students can still dream.
Since you came out here,
do you want to learn more by checking out other places?
Like the horse clinic?
Yeah!
Wow, it's like a smithy!
Welcome.
Hey, Doc!
Thanks for having us.
What, a patient?
Nah, just a tour.
They're Ezonoo students.
It's amazing.
How do you use this one?
This is a speculum.
It forces the mouth open.
This one's a nose twitch.
It forces a horse to calm down.
Clinic
There are also castration tools...
Torture Chamber
These are for dental work.
Their health goes south just from having a slightly misaligned bite.
Maintaining their dental health is dull but important work.
Oh, I heard horses are really sensitive,
that they're delicate creatures.
Yup, they are.
They get stomachaches all the time,
and they can die at the drop of a hat,
so they're often compared to cows.
We say cows can live, even if their brains are all rotten.
Yeah, cows are awesome!
They're full of life!
You're way too positive.
Oh, we should've brought Aikawa, too.
Oh, right!
He wants to be a vet.
Oh, one of you wants to become a vet?
That makes me happy!
Even if you have a dream,
and know what you need to make your dream come true,
that's not enough.
Doctor, what do you need to become a vet?
Well, school smarts and tuition money, of course,
not to mention endurance.
As for the rest, this is my personal opinion,
but you need to be able to kill.
Large animal veterinarians, in particular, deal with farm animals,
so they're often asked to choose between life and death.
There are plenty who enter an agricultural university wanting to be a vet,
but realize they can't stomach it after all when faced with that choice.
But on the other hand,
there are many lives that have been saved
because of kind vets who don't want
to kill, and don't want to let them be killed.
In all things, I think having a dream requires having
the resolve to struggle with reality.
Oops. Yes?
Yes, I'm here.
Resolve...
Does everyone at Ezonoo have that?
An urgent patient's coming in. Can I ask you to leave?
Sorry, I wanted to let you look around, but...
No problem!
Sorry to bother you during a busy time!
It's just about time for us to head back, anyway.
Oh, right! Gotta do the evening stable chores!
What's going on?
Oh, it's a funeral.
Did someone pass away?
Yeah, yesterday.
One of the race horses suddenly died.
They're giving it a funeral like it were a person...
It depends on the owner.
It's lucky to have a nice funeral.
Did it have a good racing record?
No, it was nothing special.
Most of them get group funeral rites
at a memorial or at the horse-headed Bodhisattva,
but this one's owner must've made a special request.
We make our living with horses,
so we'd like to give all of them a proper funeral.
But business is tough...
Just because of the life they were born into,
they're stuck with a life-or-death existence.
Their lives are decided on a person's single whim.
If we ever come to completely understand how a horse feels,
we might go crazy.
Your place has cows, right?
Your mom's managing it all by herself right now?
Huh? Yeah.
Mom's getting along in her years,
so I'm the only one who can carry on the business.
Sorry...
I said earlier that it's easy being the heir.
Nah, not knowing where you came from, I was overly harsh.
Sorry.
What, Aki?
Oh, it's just that I don't see you apologizing to people very often.
Shut up, idiot!
What?! Why're they so close?!
Ooezo Agricultural High School Dormitory for Future Agriculture Managers
Did everyone get to recharge over Golden Week?
Or is that a stupid question when you've all been working at home?
Yeah.
Well, change gears and start working hard again, tomorrow.
That is all.
Good night!
All right.
Good night!
Make sure you turn in your cell phones!
Received 1 Message
Mom
I transferred your monthly allowance. Are you used to things there?
What? No way!
You went to the clinic at Ban'ei?
Yeah, it was like a torture chamber.
The vet said that you need to be prepared to kill in order to be a vet.
Yeah... you do.
Maybe I'm not really cut out for it, after all...
Do you have the resolve and stuff
to make your dream come true, Tokiwa?
Resolve?
Well, you need resolve, all right.
We're a poultry farm,
so if we got hit by the avian flu,
we'll need to kill our entire flock and be instantly
tens of millions in the hole.
If you're talking that much money, you have to be able to do math!
I j-just need to hire an accountant!
Don't rack up unnecessary overhead costs.
Are you worried about him?
Yeah, he's the eighth one in a litter of eight.
My name has "eight" in it, too, so...
I know!
I'm not saying I'm gonna name him Hachirou or Eight!
Don't do it. He's not a pet.
He's going to become meat for sure.
It'll only hit you harder later on.
We're all used to it...
If you insist on naming him,
make it "Pork Bowl."
That's it!
That'll let you raise it objectively!
Damn it...
Fine, I've decided!
I'll raise you into a great pig on par with the others!
It's you and me for the next three years, Pork Bowl!
Hi, we're third-years in Food Science!
When can we turn this litter of piglets into bacon?
In three more months.
Goodbye, Pork Bowl...
What's wrong, Hachiken?
Principal's Office
Hello, yes?
Oh, from New Sapporo Junior High?
Yes, sorry to call out of the blue.
My name is Shiroishi, and I was the homeroom teacher
for Hachiken Yugo, who entered your Dairy Science Department this year.
A-ha. I see...
Is that so...
This story is a work of fiction. The people and groups are fictitious, but the themes relating to food and life are firmly based in reality. Visiting the places and facilities used as models can be dangerous and may result it contracting diseases from the animals. Please enjoy this story as a work of fiction.