PREVIOUS STORY SO FAR
There was a person who found this manuscript from somewhere and donated it to us.
He died.
The name was Nanbu Masaharu.
Was it a manga editor?
Regarding the relaunching of "Manga Brave", we intend to entrust everything to you, Daigo-san.
Before Nanbu-san's death, he said he wanted you as his vice editor-in-chief.
Long time no see, Mizuno-san.
I heard that Nanbu-san died due to an accident but was there a possibility of foul play?
I don't want to serialize this.
Did Nanbu-san really approve that?
He died... before I got to tell him.
We think it's best not to engage with Watanuki as much as possible.
Because there are some bad rumors about him.
"Comic Suplex"... Embezzlement?
Is Watanuki-kun acquainted with you?
There were many strange stuff concerning how he used the company's funds.
That's bad, isn't it?
I'll discuss it with him.
I went to Nanbu-san's apartment.
This was the only thing on top of his desk that looked important.
The four corners are a bit round... I wonder why.
These are Nanbu-san's notes, right?
The most important thing is "I found the phantom mangaka!"
I found the phantom mangaka!!
More "Kuroie" works...
Gekiga Shirato Sanpei Kojima Goseki
And it seems related to words like "gekija works", "Shirato Sanpei" and Kojima Goseki".
Unresolved Cases of the Showa Era
Plus I'm curious about the phrases, "unresolved cases of the Showa era" and "mystery cases".
This is the president's father, huh...
Ogi Kohei, First President of Soukisha: Joined Kanto All-sha in 1945, where he learned the basics of management and went independent by establishing Soukisha in 1960.
Kanto All-sha?
Drawings for Ajima-sensei's manuscript.
It's something that was published as a rental manga for Kanto All-sha.
Kanto All-sha
Our first president... was from Kanto all-Sha who had gone independent?
Watanuki was the grandson of Kanto All-sha's president.
A list of shops dealing with stolen manga.
People who do not just buy them but also sells them.
I got info on the black market shops that illegally trade manga related manuscripts.
Comic Suplex
Isn't this Comic Suplex!?
Alright then... Shall we do a sting operation?
Connecting you to voice mail.
My name is Ijuin.
I have an unedited manuscript from a certain famous mangaka so if you'd like to buy it, you can call me through this number.
I'm looking forward to hearing from you.
If he was killed... that would make Watanuki the sole suspect.
Come on, hurry up!
Kei-chan, wait for us!
Suspicious Person
Even if no one is looking? This is wrong.
Beware of Suspicious Persons
He who digs a pit will fall into it.
WABI-SABI SUBS PRESENTS:
YAMI NO BANSOSHA
WABI-SABI SUBS PRESENTS:
~HENSHUCHO NO JOKEN
Partner In Darkness 2: Conditions Of An Editor-In-Chief
~HENSHUCHO NO JOKEN
Partner In Darkness 2: Conditions Of An Editor-In-Chief
LABYRINTH
"LABYRINTH"
Mizuno Yuki MATSUSHITA NAO Daiji Shinji FURUTA ARATA
Excuse me, one arancini please!
Horio Satoshi TSUDA KANJI Ito Shota SHIRAISHI SHUNYA
Okay~.
Saffron rice and Asiago cheese go well together.
Ijuin Ryunosuke NUKUMIZU YOICHI Watanuki Yoshimasa KONNO HIROKI
Wakamatsu Hiroshi HASHIMOTO JUN Takeuchi Kosuke MAENO TOMOYA Miura Taichi KOMIYA HIRONOBU (Sanshiro)
Tamura Kei MIZUHASHI KENJI Ishida Yoichi TANABE KENICHIRO
Takei Hayato KANAI YUTA Kawabata Tetsuji HASHIMOTO ICHIRO
Hello, Mizuno speaking.
Ogi Toshinori ABE SHOHEI Hanyu Kota NATORI YUKIMASA MASAKI SHINJI KASAMATSU SHO
You want to eat rice croquette?
If you want, I'll buy for you too.
Subtitles by WABI-SABI SUBS JP-EN Translation / Editing / Timing: EARTHCOLORS Raw Provider: VAMPIREXxX
You got to try this crunchy texture...
What are you doing!
Menjo Keizo TANAKA MIN Ajima Yoshiko (Recall) MAYA KYOKO
Watanuki will be coming any minute. Please be here soon!
I know that.
Ogi Toshikatsu HIRAIZUMI SEI Nanbu Masaharu IWAMATSU RYO
Hello Daigo-san. You're a bit too conspicuous!
I'll contact you when Watanuki arrives.
Okay.
Excuse me...
Are you Ijuin-san?
Yes, I'm Ijuin.
Nice to meet you. I'm from Comic Suplex.
Sorry I'm late but I received a call on an urgent matter...
Excuse me, one hot coffee please.
Yes.
Make it two.
Daigo-san!
Can we talk?
What shall... we talk about?
Enough with your act, okay?
I instructed her to contact you... in order to reveal what you're hiding.
No use pretending.
The cat's out of the bag now.
Why is a manga editor involved in stolen manga?
The desire to take away the works of the mangaka that you admire.
I know that feeling.
But that is something you must never do.
Watanuki...
You who like manga...
Did you use your connections in order to get into this industry?
The truth is...
It was my dream to become a manga editor.
But...
As soon as I entered, I realized I can't compete in this world of talented people.
In this industry, those who aren't so talented, find the work very easy and enjoyable.
But those with talent have so many things to think about...
They're in charge of writers, and the newcomers too and since they do a lot of things...
...they work themselves to death.
In my case, I don't know how to make great effort and have lots of free time.
I feel I don't belong anywhere.
Is that why you got involved in such a side job?
How did you acquire the manuscripts?
There were lots of rare manuscripts at my grandfather's house.
I also heard he gave some to the first president of Soukisha.
Wait...
Then, Comic Suplex itself is a company specializing in stolen manga?
So you're selling Kanto All-sha's manuscripts that weren't returned to their owners.
And also, works kept by Soukisha?
This isn't a side job. It's just petty thievery.
Doing this kind of thing behind the company's back.
Not exactly.
I suggested this side business myself to a higher-up.
Higher-up!?
My family and the president's family have a close relationship, like relatives.
That's why I was free to go in and out of the company warehouse.
I can easily take away some rare manuscript by a mangaka.
What did the president say?
That person wouldn't allow such a thing.
The "higher-up"... wasn't the president.
The one who was with me on this was his son, the Managing Director.
The Managing Director?
He has various circumstances...
As Accounting Manager, he's keen on money management techniques...
But he invested the company's profits and suffered heavy losses...
There sure is a lot going on...
Then the Managing Director got involved in your illegal manga business in order to compensate for the losses?
Unbelievable.
So that was why you were nonchalantly billing Brave for manuscript fees (to pay for your scheme)?
It was the Managing Director who said it. "You can move Brave's expenses to Comic Suplex."
And that I can use the money however I want.
How did Nanbu-san get Ajima-sensei's manuscript?
Yeah.
In the first place, how did Nanbu-san realize you're doing illegal business?
I was doing it before Nanbu-san came. And he found my invoices and bank transfers strange.
What did he say about it?
He asked me if I'm committing embezzlement. He was really pissed off.
When was that?
About a week before his death.
But the Managing Director is also involved in this.
The President doesn't know about it.
Very well.
However, all these drawings will be returned to their rightful owners.
I will buy these myself.
You...?
But...
Since I have no funds, I will buy them one by one.
So don't sell these to anyone anymore.
All right.
When he heard that Managing Director was involved...
...did Nanbu-san really kept quiet about it?
Yes.
So the first manuscript Nanbu-san bought...
...was Ajima-sensei's "Red Ninja", right?
That's right.
By the way...
What do you think of Nanbu-san's death?
How do you think he died?
How? I don't know.
Didn't you push him off?
Of course not!
Didn't he fall off because he was drunk?
You probably don't believe me but...
I swear I didn't do it!
Fine.
Where are you running Comic Suplex's operations?
In Ichigaya.
Did Nanbu-san go there, too?
Yes.
Show it to me tomorrow.
I wonder why Nanbu-san let Watanuki off the hook...
At first, it may seem cool of him to buy the manuscripts...
But actually, he's condoning an illegal operation.
Also, I can't imagine him doing a thing like that.
Or maybe he's afraid it'll stain the "Brave" brand?
That's not possible either.
He's been editor-in chief for only a short period.
Whether it be discontinued or whatever...
Justice is justice, and to not be influenced by his own sentiments, that's his personality.
I don't know anymore... what kind of person Nanbu-san is.
The more you study a person...
...the more you can see his unknown side.
Nevertheless, the questions have been answered as to why the President has a vague stance on Watanuki...
...and why Managing Director is covering up for him.
Frankly, I'm feeling angry right now, knowing that they lied to me.
If Nanbu-san were indeed killed...
...it's possible that the president and his son can become strong suspects.
Yeah.
Should I continue working at Brave? I have to think about it seriously.
The hint is mizuiro.
A manga magazine for adult readers cannot win if it isn't mizuiro.
"I found the phantom mangaka!"
And...
...it seems related to words like "gekija works", "Shirato Sanpei" and Kojima Goseki".
More "Kuroie" works...
Gekiga Shirato Sanpei Kojima Goseki
Plus I'm curious about the phrases, "unresolved cases of the Showa era" and "mystery cases".
This was the only thing on top of his desk that looked important.
More "Kuroie" works...
Gekiga Shirato Sanpei Kojima Goseki
This composition... Where have I seen it before...
Ito-kun.
Yep!
Do we have manga books by Tezuka Osamu?
I think they're in the conference room.
Where is it?
AYAKO A Tezuka Osamu Manga Collection
Found it!
This is it!
Connecting you to voice mail...
This always happens at crucial moments!
Daigo Shinji
Call History: Missed Calls from Daigo Shinji
Yikes...
Why weren't you answering?
Sorry. I fell asleep.
I swear. You always don't answer when something important comes up.
Did something happen?
Oh, right.
Do you know Ayako?
Ayako-san? Who's that?
Tezuka Osamu's Ayako.
The first character is written as "ki" from the word "kimyou" (weird), and read as "aya".
Right. I wonder if I've read it...
Which means you didn't, right?
It was a manga by Tezuka Osamu from around 1972.
It's a masterpiece but due to his usual circumstances, it felt just a bit incomplete.
Usual circumstances?
Tezuka Osamu was undoubtedly a genius.
In the history of manga, there was no talent quite like him...
Okay...
However, since he's a genius... his attention tend to wander to other stuff...
He's the type whose interests would change every so often.
One day he'd be working on something like in a trance...
The next thing you know it, he'd be wanting to draw another work.
For the first few months of a new series, it was said that he was surprisingly quick.
To put it simply, that work was considered his lover of the moment.
However, after two months or so, Tezuka-san would be accepting another job request from a different publisher.
Then, he'll transfer his devotion to the new work...
...and gradually put his former lover on the back burner.
I see.
In other words, Ayako was something close to that, right?
That's right. It's not entirely incomplete... Just that...
Although he wanted to continue writing it...
I guess the magazine decided to end it due to circumstances.
The manga...
...was done in the style of Yokomizo Seishi, with an old-established family in the post war era as its theme.
It's an impressive work but you see, Mizuno-san...
Stop right there for a while...
This is going to be long, isn't it? Let's meet and talk.
Coffeeshop Luan
Thank you for waiting.
Tomato & Paprika Juice. Goya & Grape Juice.
I ordered two coffee, Ijuin Ryunosuke-san.
They're my new product, cold press juice. Please try it and enjoy.
Cold press? That's amazing! Ijuin Ryunosuke-san.
Is this good? Ijuin Ryunosuke-san.
I just came up with it by chance.
As always...
Food never interests you, huh.
Well excuse me, Daigo Shinji-san.
"Shinji"? That name's too cool for your character, isn't it?
It's my real name, can't do anything about it. Ah, these are free, right? We won't pay for these.
Fine, fine. Take your time.
This is delicious. Huh, where did I stop?
This is the Ayako, isn't it?
Yep.
It tackled the light and dark side of Japan's rapid growth...
In addition to crime and murder, there is also incest...
Among Tezuka's works, that one's a very harsh, dark and murky tale.
It looks interesting.
Yeah, quite interesting.
So this "Ayako", what is it all about?
That's the thing!
Actually, the protagonist in this manga was involved in what is said to be the biggest post-war mystery incident...
The "Shimoyama Incident".
You mean the unresolved "Shimoyama Incident"?
That's right.
The incident from the so-called "Three Big Mysteries" of the Japanese National Railways.
An incident that happened on Monday, July 6, 1947...
...wherein the body of JNR President Shimoyama Sadanori, who disappeared since the morning of the previous day...
...was discovered among the tracks of the Joban Line outbound line.
What's this?
Is that a human hand!?
What's that?
Don't tell me...
Shimoyama Sadanori Japan National Railways President
This person is...
The remains were too far damaged. They couldn't identify the cause of death.
(Because of the rain) they weren't entirely able to confirm the blood.
And there were stains of unidentified oil, not used for locomotives, on his clothes.
And because there were traces on body parts that looked like he had been kicked...
Suicide, accidental death, death by torture, assassination...
Every possible angle was pointed out.
Japan was still in an era under the Allied Forces.
GHQ (Allied Forces) had ordered President Shimoyama for the urgent dismissal of JNR officials.
National Railways Announcement: 95,000 People in a Month
*Identifying and dismissal of left leaning public servants
At the same time, it was also meant as a "Red Purge*".
In other words, Shimoyama was caught up in various forces: the GHQ, JNR Labor Union, and the Communists.
With that, one theory said he was at a loss so he killed himself.
Another said he was killed by Communists.
Pres. Shimoyama Tragic Death
While one said he was killed by GHQ, making it look like the Communists did it.
Strange Relationship With an Acquaintance
"The Face isn't Similar"
Lots of Conflicts in the Murder Theory
Murder Theory Predominant
All sorts of conspiracy theories spread throughout Japan.
Was There a Feeling of Premonition?
So which theory was depicted in this Ayako?
Tezuka Osamu chose murder.
And also, he went with the theory that the GHQ had him assassinated.
Assassination...
I see.
That's what I called you for.
It looks similar. To the drawing I borrowed from you.
This drawing is similar to what?
It also appeared in Ayako.
The frame showing main character, Jiro looking at the rain-soaked tracks.
Eh! Then this is an original drawing from Tezuka's Ayako!?
Of course not. You can tell that it's not.
Sorry...
That drawing is a bit different from Tezuka's style.
It seems different, but Tezuka's composition of a bird's eyeview of the tracks...
...and this drawing's composition are very similar.
This is the frame.
You're right!
Isn't this theme's scene the same as Tezuka's?
Then, this tired-looking man walking along the railroad tracks is...
Yeah. It's President Shimoyama.
Maybe... this drawing is a manga with "Shimoyama Incident" as its subject.
Why was Nanbu-san interested in this drawing?
Does is it have anything to do with the legendary mangaka?
I don't know.
Could it be related to his death?
The Shimoyama Incident was investigated so much and too many causes of death were considered...
...that you couldn't tell which one was the truth.
Both the Metropolitan Police Department, and the First Investigation Division ruled it as suicide.
While the Second Investigation Division, and the Public Prosecutors Office claim that it was homicide.
Press people from "Mainichi Newspaper" said it was suicide...
...while "Asahi" and "Yomiuri" went with homicide.
But in the end... no one really knew what happened.
This is it.
How much is the rent?
I don't know. I'm not paying for it.
Even this is being paid by the company?
Is this where you store the manuscripts?
Yes. Nanbu-san came here to see it, too.
These are amazing.
Aren't these all treasures?
Yeah.
But the most major work I had was Ajima Fumiya's.
Aren't these all treasures?
Each of these was skillfully drawn, even the ones by unknown mangaka.
In the first place, who would buy these stuff?
At first, I asked help from secondhand bookstores who have customers that are likely to buy them.
From there, the rumor spread among avid collectors.
Now, they contact me and channel inquiries via the internet.
Including cash transactions?
Of course.
Do you have a list of the customers?
I don't keep such a thing.
There was a really good drawing found in Nanbu-san's apartment.
It was a copy, and it was entrusted to me... but I want to see the original picture.
What kind of drawing was it?
It's a man in a suit who appears to be walking along side railroad tracks.
It was this one...
Nanbu-san took the original drawing. It's not here anymore.
Where did he find it?
Over there.
What is that?
*With missing or separated pages
They're unorganized* manuscripts.
I remember Nanbu-san found it from this pile.
Did the original drawing had round corners, too?
I didn't notice.
It didn't interest you even though it was a really good drawing?
Come to think of it, there was something weird about the original drawing.
It was like an oil painting done on super thick paper.
Thick paper...
Yeah...
It wasn't cardboard though.
Watanuki, do you have a measuring tape?
Here.
Nanbu-san probably made a copy using a blank sheet of A3 paper...
And then cut out the borders to its actual size using a cutter.
That is why there were no margins.
Come again?
The size of manga pictures are reduced for printing.
With the same proportions of the magazine edition.
But this picture isn't going to fit the proportions of a magazine, right?
I knew it wasn't a manga.
In other words, this wasn't a two page spread.
Though these had slightly rounded corners, why didn't I realize it?
It's not a manga?
It wasn't a manga but it was an indispensable culture that resulted in the formation of Japanese manga.
Genre from this world were produced one after another by a great number of mangaka artists.
What world is that?
*Picture Story Show
Kamishibai.*
Kamishibai?
Do pictures of kamishibai have rounded corners?
The corners weren't exactly rounded.
Before you realize it, the drawings' four corners and colors get worn down and fade.
In "kamishibai"...
They pull one of the four corners to get them out of its box-like wooden frame.
If it's rented out all over the country and used for shows...
...parts of the picture that get rubbed by a person's fingers would soon disappear.
Drawings for kamishibai weren't originally printed?
Kamishibai was a business that used original drawings.
Until the development of printing technology, original drawings of popular works...
...were rented out to kamishibai peddlers nationwide.
I see.
No matter how delicately you handle them...
...the four corners would get worn down to a round shape.
That is why... it's the only one of its kind in the whole country... no, in the whole world.
In most kamishibai, the original drawings were pressed onto thick paper...
And seemed coated with varnish or lacquer.
By doing so...
...they looked somewhat like oil painting on thick paper.
Why was there a kamishibai drawing at Kanto All-sha?
Perhaps Kanto All-sha was previously an emoto business for kamishibai.
By "emoto" you mean, they make drawings for kamishibai?
Well, now, they're a publishing company.
But Daigo-san, why was he so particular about the drawing?
Simple curiosity, and also...
Nanbu-san's planning notes, like "Unresolved cases of the Showa Era"...
...it's hard not to imagine that that these words and this drawing weren't related to it.
The "Shimoyama Incident", right?
Yeah, and also...
I found the phantom mangaka!!
The words, "I found the phantom mangaka!"
Mizuno-san, can you look for experts on kamishibai and ask them?
Ask them? About what?
Even if we find other works by this artist, we still won't know who it is.
That's why you have to find someone who is familiar with kamishibai...
...and ask him to identify the artist's name and personal history.
Got it. I will try to do so.
What are you doing?
Treasure hunting.
From this pile of unorganized manuscripts...
...I'm going to look for other works by the original artist of the copy.
Are you going to look for kamishibai?
Both kamishibai and manga, I guess.
Maybe this artist could become a mangaka later on, too.
I'm gonna look, too?
Of course, you're also responsible for this.
Then it matches with the notes that Nanbu-san left behind?
Let's investigate some more.
On how is it related to Nanbu-san's death.
Right! Once we find it out, we'll surely get closer to the truth, right?
Yep. I'm totally fine with it.
The way you said it just now sounds kinda like Robin-chan...
Your grandfather's Kanto All-sha... was it previously a kamishibai production company?
I heard that it was so.
I see...
So that's why your storehouse had kamishibai.
Can I go already?
After an hour.
No...
I'll tell you when you can leave.
Okay...
Takei, let's go out for lunch.
Excuse me, I'll just go out for a bit.
Wanna go to "Chinzantei"?
Steak Lunch again?
Yeah.
You really love that, huh.
It's okay. You haven't spent your bonus yet, right?
We can't help ourselves, right?
For us, we get neither a regular salary increase nor bonuses...
Until when will we continue with this unstable life?
Even though we're forever shorthanded...
There's no funds to hire more people, right?
You mean, to increase the number of regular employees.
I wonder if Daigo-san could do something...
Don't count on it. Daigo-san was from Eijinsha, wasn't he?
He's a full-time employee, not to mention, came from a major company...
Can someone like him understand the anxiety we feel every time they review our contract renewal?
Daigo-san...
Even if authors have enough skills to survive in the manga world...
...why do they disappear?
Manga is an agonizing work.
That is why, one day, they would suddenly quit...
Their willpower and strength all used up.
Just by not understanding this agony... an editor cannot become friends...
...with his mangaka... no matter how much they get along as partners.
I didn't expect...
...that there's quite a lot of books about kamishibai.
But whoever this artist is...
...even if he's still alive, he'd be around a hundred years old by now, right?
Yeah, you're right. It's gonna be hard to ask him questions, right?
How about this guy?
It's published by Eijinsha.
You're right.
Hanyu Kota
Maybe we can get his contact details through Daigo-san.
Yeah.
It's better if a bit higher.
Like this?
Yeah. Just a bit more.
This high?
Yeah yeah, like that.
Maybe a bit to the right like this.
Ah, I wonder if that's okay. Just a bit lower to the right, I think...
Horio-san.
Daigo-san, hello. Good afternoon.
May I have a minute?
Sure.
Watanuki had been embezzling office fees.
Money was being paid...
...to a fictitious company set up by Watanuki.
It's actually meant to line his pockets.
Was that company already there, when I was editor-in-chief?
I think so.
Then it was my responsibility!
Watanuki's to blame to begin with.
He said he did it with the blessing of the Managing Director.
Managing director? Wait, what do you mean?
It was according to Watanuki.
Not only the Managing Director...
The president knows it, too and yet pretended not to see it.
The president too!?
I don't believe that.
The president isn't like the managing director. They're nothing alike.
You really think so?
Yes.
If there's one thing I'm sure of, it's that the president must not have known about it.
Because that man is honest and has a sense of justice...
If he knew about it, he should have already put a stop to it.
Please... ask the president for his side of the story.
I'm sure he'll be cleared of your suspicions.
I take responsibility for everything.
I had no idea... until now.
When I asked you about Watanuki the other day...
...why did you protect him then?
We're indebted to his grandfather.
It's well known in the publishing industry that Soukisha too...
...almost went bankrupt once.
The bank refused to grant us a loan, we were so desperate.
At that time, the one who helped fund us...
...was former employer, Watanuki-san of Kanto All-sha.
In other words, the Ogi family will forever be indebted to the Watanuki family?
Yes.
The story that your son being complicit with the blackmarket manuscript transactions...
Do you think it's true?
I don't know. Of course, I will look into it.
Nanbu-san should have noticed Watanuki's wrongdoing, too...
Is it true he didn't report it to you?
He did not.
Why is that?
Do you think it's possible that Nanbu-san talked directly to your son about it?
I'm not sure either.
It's a matter that they don't want me to know so...
Sir, I will tell you one thing.
This is a fact.
If you treat this matter leniently...
...I will resign from this company.
What? Nobody's here?
It's good!
Please proceed as it is.
We got this great idea from the new editor-in-chief, right?
I'm gonna draw it good!
Looking forward to it.
Nevertheless...
I think Daigo-san and Nanbu-san...
...were clearly the opposite types but...
But lately, I kinda think they have some similarities too.
Well...
They both say different things.
Like their comments during proofreading... are completely different.
I suppose so.
But... with Daigo-san...
I'm like, "Wasn't this actually the direction that Nanbu-san was going for?"
There would be times I'd wonder about that.
In a way, they're both geniuses, right?
And weirdos, too.
Hanyu
The kamishibai of the post-war era...
Kamishibai Researcher Hanyu Kota
...was a street performance...
A kamishibai peddler would sell snacks as a substitute for admission fees.
He'd come along riding on a bicycle, right?
Right. He'd have a wooden box at the back of his bike...
...which had three drawers. Inside the bottom drawer...
...there'd be stuff like mizuame (starchy syrup), takosen (takoyaki served on a rice cracker)...
...tenkasu (deep fried bits of batter) sukonbu (vinegar-flavored nori)...
...all sorts of regular cheap snacks at that time.
The middle drawer was where he put his props like a wooden clapper or a small gong...
...and the money.
The top drawer was where he stored the kamishibai pictures.
There was a wooden frame set on top of it where he inserted the kamishibai pictures...
It was devised with a hinge to make it stand up, and from there, he'd have an instant mini theater.
I see.
In 1949, the city's population was...
...50,000 people, so in Tokyo alone, there were 2000 kamishibai peddlers.
That many?
However...
...their number gradually declined.
Because of the popularity of manga rental books, and the spread of television.
The companies that produce kamishibai were called "emoto".
I worked for one of those emoto.
Kanto All-sha was originally an emoto too, right?
We came here today...
...because we want to ask if you know the artist of this picture.
We believe it was a kamishibai drawing about the "Shimoyama Incident".
I do remember at that time...
...there was a kamishibai who drew only about strange incidents.
Since I wasn't so interested in those stories in those days, I only stopped once to watch it...
But they were really impressive drawings.
The story that I watched happened at some village in Okayama...
...a killing spree incident.
*Happened in 1938 in Okayama Prefecture with 30 victims
I think... it was the Tsuyama 30 Person Massacre*.
*famous 1951 novel by Yokomizo Seishi
It became the model for, "Village of Eight Gravestones"*, right?
You know it well, huh.
Would you happen to remember the kamishibai artist who drew the Okayama massacre?
What was it? He had an unusual surname.
I think around 20 years ago... that person was involved in an incident himself.
It was about a murder... like it was a hoax or something.
I happened to read it in the newspaper.
Because it was written that he was a former kamishibai author and also a mangaka...
Those impressive drawings... that person...
I remember now, it was "Menjo"...
His name was written as Menjo Keizo.
Menjo...?
"30 Person Massacre of Kamo" Volumes 1-3 by Menjo Keizo
"Serial Killer Kurita Genzo" by Menjo Keizo
A phantom mangaka huh. This is kinda thrilling, isn't it?
So if we meet that mangaka Menjo, we might find out the truth about Nanbu-san's death, right?
What's the matter?
It's nothing.
Let's do our best for just a bit more.
Let's do our best.
I'll be heading that way now.
Take care.
Good night.
Back out now
Original Work: NAGASAKI TAKASHI "Henshucho No Joken -Daigo Shinji no Hakuran Suiri File-" (Shinchosha Corp.)
Screenplay: ASO KUMIKO
Music: GRAND FUNK
Photography: YAMADA YASUDA
Lighting: WATABE YOSHIMI
Images: KANEKO AKIRA
Editing: YANAGISAWA TATSUYA
Online Editing: HIDETO MIKI
MA: HACHIYA HIROSHI
VFX: KAMADA KOSUKE
Music Producer: MOGI EIKYO
Art: YUZHU YUKIHISA
Decoration: TAKI RIKA
Organization: TOKUDA KATSUHISA
Publicity: KAKO HIROYUKI
I'm stopping this investigation for now.
In-Charge of Manga: MORI HIDEKI (Keizo Menjo) TANAKA KEIICHI (Ajima Fumiya)
This isn't like you.
Manga Cooperation: HIRAMATSU SHINJI (Pashiri Police) TSUCHIYAMA SHIGERU (Gokumen) NIHON BUNGEISHA, LTD. ("Weekly Manga Black" Editorial Dept)
Sorry for involving you in this.
Co-Production: TOHO CO.
The "Dropper For Hire" has nothing to do with it, right?
Subtitles by WABI-SABI SUBS
Nanbu-san also said something similar.
JP-EN Translation / Editing / Timing: EARTHCOLORS
Do you perhaps have any information about the Shimoyama Incident?
Raw Provider: VAMPIREXxX
Producer: KAWADA NAOHIRO
So that's why it's mizuiro!
Produce: HATORI KENICHI
I'll continue with this investigation.
Produce: KITA REIKO
Please call me as soon as you sense danger.
Director: MIKI TAKAHIRO
Are you... Menjo Keizo-san?
A 2018 Production of: WOWOW
This is a work of fiction; people and organizations that appeared here have no connection with reality.