CAFÃ‰ RESTAURANT GARDEN
Here's the order.
One set meal C with rice.
Akira Tachibana. Seventeen years old.
A high-school junior.
-Oh, hey there. -Hello.
Masami Kondo.
Forty-five years old.
A family restaurant manager. Divorced once.
-We're friends. -We're friends.
Take this to Table 4.
Oh, I'll take that.
Because you and I are friends, Tachibana.
It should be because you're her manager, not her friend.
What are you going on about?
-Here's the order. -Oh, she's right.
Well, we are also friends.
Mr. Kondo, will you be friends with me too?
Oh, of course, we can be friends--
Actually, I don't think a manager and an employee should be friends.
What? But you just said--
Yoshizawa, I think your bangs are getting too long.
You do work at a restaurant.
If you don't cut it shorter,
you might get fired before we even become friends.
After school, shoe cupboard, resonating sound of rain
My shirt gets wet as I run out with no umbrella
You're out of my league
I wish I was the rain So I could easily feel you
Let me touch you
One, don't treat me like a child
Two, it's even worse to play it off by being nice
-I love you -Can you hear me?
I love you
Right now, I can jump over the puddle
After the rain I caught your eye as a rainbow appeared
You're so indifferent to romance That's why
Raindrops sparkle against the blue summer sky
Lulu lala I'm in love
After the rain
Right now, I have no doubts
I need no umbrella
QUIET RAIN
This was...
Friends!
I hugged you as your friend!
Friends?
That's right!
-Hey, Akira! -Hey.
Oh, no! Is that a pimple on your face?
Oh, yeah.
Oh, I have something that works great on pimples.
CHIN UP AND ALWAYS WORK HARD!!
Yoshizawa, what's wrong?
-I'm in trouble. I might get fired. -What?
Mr. Kondo just told me my bangs were too long.
Then, why don't I cut your hair for you?
What?
I'm aiming to become a hairdresser, so I'm pretty good at it.
That would be awesome!
It'll be great if you can do it after our shift today!
Hey, Akira.
You're friends with Yoshizawa, right?
Friends...
EQUAL NOT EQUAL
More like an acquaintance.
-He's just an acquaintance. -I see.
Akira...
Akira, do you have someone who you like?
What? I...
Oh, sorry. That's a weird question.
I want to become better friends with Yoshizawa.
Even if it's one step at a time.
It's true that I'm aiming to become a hairdresser,
but I'm not good at it yet.
But I've always wanted a chance with him.
I was so happy, I couldn't help myself.
I wonder if it's going to be okay. I hope we hit it off.
I'm sure you will.
No matter what the excuse is,
you will gradually find more connections with him.
And if you have many chances to get to know each other,
I think that friendship can turn into a romantic relationship.
You're right!
I heard that's something that happens a lot to people.
-Can you keep this a secret? -Sure.
Now that I'm filled with energy, I'm feeling hungry.
I should eat this. I'm going to dig in.
-I'm going to get back to work. -Okay.
Akira!
Thanks.
I guess this will do. Oh, hi there.
You should go if you have some time.
SUMIYOSHI SHRINE SUMMER FESTIVAL
A summer festival...
They have it every year at the shine near the station.
-And Mr. Kondo insists on -One last one.
putting them all up on the wall every year.
Summer...
Thank you.
Summer is...
Summer is slipping away.
Mr. Kondo.
Oh, hey there.
Friends...
I think friends usually text each other.
I want to text you, Mr. Kondo.
What? You like sunflowers and curry?
Actually, I like things that are yellow.
Tangerines and Shiba Inu happen to make my heart flutter too!
-Those are yellow things too. -Yup!
MASAMI KONDO
Even if we're only friends right now, I'm sure one day...
Give me a second!
One, two. One...
Oh, you don't have any remedial classes?
-Good for you! -What do you want?
We haven't invaded the soccer team's area.
And Yamamoto-senpai, didn't you retire from the soccer team?
You have exams coming up.
I'm letting off some steam.
I see. Goodbye, then.
Hey!
You're on your own a lot recently.
You used to hang out with that girl with the almond eyes.
Oh, Akira...
Are you talking about Akira Tachibana?
Oh, her name is Tachibana?
What about that?
What? Well...
Goodbye, then.
Oh, hey! Wait! Hey!
Ouch!
Damn it.
-Are you okay? -Oh, yeah.
I'm all right. Though, it did hurt quite a bit.
-I'm sorry. -It's not your fault.
But I didn't retire just because of the exams.
It was because of an injury, huh?
I see. I thought I haven't seen her in a while,
but I didn't know it was because she got injured.
It's probably a different situation than yours,
but do athletes have no choice but to leave the team when they get injured?
I wonder if she doesn't want to run anymore.
Is that what Tachibana said?
-No. -Then that's not the case.
I'm sure she wants to run.
I did grow apart from soccer because of my injury and the exams,
but I want to play soccer as much as I can because I like it.
But
it might not be something that easy for talented people.
She's probably simply afraid of a recurrence of her injury,
and as the star of the track team,
people's expectations of her must be high.
Above all, she must have high ambitions herself.
Well, try not to worry about it too much.
I think having someone like you who cares about her
helps Tachibana feel better.
Anyway, as the soccer team's talentless ex-captain, that's my opinion.
Thank you.
-Last one! -Okay!
MODERN JAPANESE REMEDIAL WORKSHEET
Oh, are you doing your summer homework?
Are you the type who does it a little bit every day?
I hope Yuto learns from you.
It's homework for my remedial class.
What?
I see. Homework for your remedial class, huh?
Oh, sorry.
For what subject?
Modern Japanese.
It's about Rashomon.
You mean Rashomon by Akutagawa?
-Yes. -I'm sorry.
I was actually reading it over again recently,
so, I was just surprised.
I see. Rashomon, huh?
"It was a chilly evening.
A servant of a samurai stood under the Rashomon, waiting for a break in the rain.
The servant, in a worn blue kimono,
sat on the seventh and highest step,
vacantly watching the rain. His attention was drawn
to a large pimple irritating his right cheek."
Which part are you having problems with?
I understand it, but...
What's the question?
Let me see.
"What do you think about the servant's action?
Write about it freely."
This is a bad question.
A bad question?
A good question is something that
you can logically draw out a single answer for.
I don't think this is a good question
because you can have different answers depending on that individual person.
I was told the answer to this question won't affect my grade.
Oh, in that case, it's another story.
It's fun to read novels when you can freely imagine the characters' motives.
"The servant who would have starved to death,
met a certain person inside the tower.
That person was an old woman who was pulling out the hair of the dead.
The servant thought of that as an evil crime and he got angry,
but she told him she was going to sell them as wigs.
Basically, she was doing it to survive.
Then a certain courage was born in the servant's heart.
A courage to become a thief instead of starving to death.
MODERN JAPANESE
The thing he thought of as something evil,
became a virtuous reason to live."
At any rate, this story ends with some implications.
-A sequel... -What?
Is there a sequel to that?
What? A sequel?
Oh, I see.
I never thought about it.
That's actually funny.
Oh, sorry.
There's no sequel to this,
but Akutagawa rewrote the last sentence a few times.
WHAT HAPPENED TO THE LOWLY SERVANT, NO ONE KNOWS.
In the sentence before that,
it says the servant ran out into the rain towards the town to commit a robbery.
I don't know what Akutagawa's thoughts were,
but I think when he was writing that sentence,
the servant's courage to become a thief was very significant to Akutagawa.
That's my opinion.
What would you do, Mr. Kondo?
What?
If you were that servant,
would you have also become a thief like him?
I don't think I would have become a thief.
Well, I don't think I can be one.
When you get to this age, you get into a habit of living timidly.
I want to avoid causing trouble as much as I can.
If I were the servant,
I think I'd be under the tower until it stopped raining.
I might not be able to move from there
even after it stopped raining.
How about you, Tachibana?
What? If it were me...
Sorry.
That was a difficult question.
Now, that's what you call a bad question.
MR. KONDO AKIRA
The servant's pimple is a sign of youth.
I'm just a middle-aged guy who can't even get pimples anymore.
I don't have the courage, nor the energy to completely change my mind.
-Mr. Kondo! -Yes! I'm coming!
WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THE SERVANT'S ACTION?
Thanks.
That's a pretty interesting answer.
-Oh, your pimple is gone. -Yup.
Nishida, I like my new haircut.
I'm glad.
Oh, Yoshizawa!
You cut you hair. Attaboy!
-Have a good night. -See you!
I wonder if it's okay to invite her.
Thanks for waiting.
Let's go.
I HOPE THIS COURAGE WILL POSITIVELY INFLUENCE
THE SERVANT'S LIFE IN THE FUTURE.
I WOULD LIKE TO READ A SEQUEL TO THIS STORY.
Raining One summer afternoon in a rain shower
Under the umbrella Kissing
I kissed gently on your wet cheek
I'm still longing for that season
I'm so distracted that I keep daydreaming
Nothing but you're the part of me
It's still not enough It still hasn't gone away
Innocence of our stacked hands
What a good thing we lose?
What a bad thing we knew
In the rain, I get soaked in those phrases
It's just not enough
I still can't say goodbye To the days I dreamed of counting down
What a good thing we lose?
What a bad thing we knew
If I hadn't touched you, would I be smiling?