Original subtitles

I'm guilty of a crime.

Wait, hold up! Hold up!

I-I'm fine being with you. I'd rather be with you!

Don't worry about stuff that doesn't even matter!

All right? So give me back the controls!

Yukio!

Huh?

What? This place...

should be Japan in the summer.

I-It ended up...

It's in ruins?

To protect Earth...

he put his life on the line...

Yukio.

How can it all be frozen over now that I'm back?

Maybe it's only Shizuoka that's in an ice age!

Japan and the rest of the world should be all right!

I bet if I check the logs for atmospheric reentry,

I'll see our blue planet—

It's white as snow.

I-Is this possible? I know I was gone for a while,

but in just 10 years...

D-Did the whole planet freeze over during that time?

But how? An ice age?

Did civilization get wiped out, too? What about the E-RDE?

Wait, hold on. I promised that I'd make friends.

No people?

INFIRMARY

MOON MOON MOON

Hey, isn't that Yabusame?

It's unusual for him to be here.

Hey, he's practicing writing.

Oh, right, since the savior doesn't come to school.

I'd give anything to skip school and save the world!

Yeah, but practicing writing now is kinda—

Right. Not normal for sure.

Well, who cares? Hey, anyway...

I-I'm not doing it anymore. No more—

Tetsuo.

You're important, you know that?

Because you can...

22 HOURS LATER

There should be rations and supplies and stuff in the back.

Tetsuo?

Yukio!

...my dream, it's not high-grade oil.

It's the video log of when Yukio died.

My dream is for you to go back to normal after we return to Earth...

and live a happy life. That's all.

-And make lots and lots of friends. -And make lots and lots of friends.

My goal is unswerving. No matter what.

I'm going to make some friends.

HOW EVEN A KAIJU CAN MAKE FRIENDS BY LONELY IWAKI

The key is in this book that I've read hundreds of times.

Professor Lonely Iwaki!

TRUE FRIENDS IN 777 STEPS 1. ENCOUNTERS 2. IDENTIFY YOURSELF 3. ASK FOR INFO 4. LAUGH

TRUE FRIENDS IN 777 STEPS 1. ENCOUNTERS LEAVE THE HOUSE TO MEET PEOPLE...

Encounters!

I've got to meet people!

I'll use this pod as my base and search for possible survivors.

So much snow on the ground.

No signs of anyone living here.

There's someone!

There is a person here!

Um, uh... ohboyohboyohman...

Hey—

Whoops!

Ow. Ouch!

Ugh! Hey...

Whoa!

Who knew that he'd frozen to death?

Frozen so solid that his body snapped in two just like that.

I just hope that he wasn't alone when he died.

This is still alive.

Hey, it's working!

So you operate the shovel with this lever, huh?

This is fun!

An excavator. I've never ridden anything like this before!

How convenient is this?

I mean, it's a must-have for an ice age!

Whoo!

Hey.

A huge hole.

What is this? Scary!

Well, my priority should be to find a human abode.

Underground?

That's it! That's got to be it!

It should be warmer underground than up here,

and if it's warmer, I'll bet there's food, too.

I just know there are tons of people down there!

First, I'll call out to them so they'll let me in.

...do how you?

Can't do it! No way can I shout out to an unknown crowd of strangers!

Who'd want to be friends with a guy like me?

At this point, even a dog or a cat...

Huh?

No way! There are intergalactic kaiju here, too?

Should I bring it down?

No, can't do that with a mini-shovel that has no weapons to speak of!

I'll have to get away...

from it!

Agh!

Whoa!

Ouch, ouch.

There's another hole here?

It's... the Earth that I once knew.

I'm home.

My dream is...

after we return to Earth...

All right, I've come back to Earth.

This is where it starts, right, Yukio?

Die!

This is what I'm armed with, knowing what the enemy's after,

what I'm lacking, and how to fill that need.

I'll update the criteria in real time.

First of all, weapons.

All I've got is this mini-shovel.

My opponent wants...

to devour me.

His attacks are linear. I can dodge them!

But I have no way of hitting back.

I'm good. I'm fine.

It's the same thing that I've always done.

Use everything I have at my disposal and engineer a way to win!

No weapons?

Then I'll just make one!

Now's... my chance!

You're important, Tetsuo.

You know, because you can kill those kaiju.

Improvised Shovel Arm...

Lancer!

Whoa.

Wow!

What, is that a whole kaiju?

Yikes, those dimwits in the Disassembly Squad will be floored.

Yeah.

We really lucked out, huh?

Right, how about we toss Chief Nogi in the air?

But why?

Bring it on!

Chief!

-Yup! -All right!

I'm going to push you up now!

Hold up! Not my armpits!

Gah!

Hey.

You're...

ENCOUNTERS

You're humans!

-It's a monster! -It's a monster!

Oh, man, Yukio! Yukio!

Thank goodness. There are survivors!

Humans.

-Evil spirit, begone! -Evil spirit, begone!

Rin, pyo, to, sha, kai, jin, retsu, zai, zen!

-Out of my sight, evil spirit! Damn you! -Please vanquish him, Chief Nogi!

C-Calm down, you idiots!

And let go of my arms!

How do you not see that he's a human?

Oh, wow!

Humans! Humans!

I've got to befriend them!

What was it again?

HOW EVEN A KAIJU CAN MAKE FRIENDS BY LONELY IWAKI

What was the next thing after "encounters"?

I think I do something while I’m smiling, right?

What was it? Hurry it up!

All right, I'll just...

smile!

-Suspicious! -Suspicious!

This guy is suspicious!

That creepy face!

Huh? What?

What the?

That's a relief, Yuki...

Huh?

Tetsuo, is that another how-to book with zero objectivity?

Shut up, Yukio!

This one's amazing.

It was written by someone named Lonely Iwaki,

who they say has a million friends!

But I'm already lost at number two.

I can't do it.

Too scary. I've never done it before!

How could I do that to someone I've just met?

No way is anybody interested in me when I'm not with you, Yukio!

IDENTIFY YOURSELF

Oh, right.

The next one is "identify yourself."

Where am I?

Oh, right, the ice cave.

The kaiju's lair.

And there are living people!

Where did they go?

Huh?

Hey!

There's something stuck in here.

Looks tasty!

Don't go under the icicles. It's dangerous. Got that?

Got it!

There are tons of people!

And they're all doing something?

But why? No, right now...

I-I need them to become my friends.

Huh?

I'm tied up?

Huh? What is this?

Well, let me get myself out of this.

I dislocated my shoulders countless times piloting Yukio,

thanks to the G-forces...

so that unexpectedly came in handy!

Oh, man! Flesh, hide, bones.

The whole carcass is ours for the taking!

Now, that's what you call a coup, Ao!

Everyone in the Mall's elated!

Thank you, squad leader Nishimura.

You know, while I'd love to claim credit...

I got you.

I'll leave out the part about who found it in my report.

This was more unauthorized mining, am I right?

I owe you one!

If the elders knew that their ace

was sneaking out of the Mall every night to explore the kaiju lair,

they'd sure have a fit.

Don't worry about them.

I'm going to do what I want to do.

I can't go down without a fight, can I?

Hmm.

That child that I found sobbing all alone has—

Hey! I'm not a child!

I'm a competent grownup now with subordinates!

-And seriously— -Chief Nogi!

Huh?

That guy that we tied up and left passed out has escaped!

What?

Wow.

It's still so warm inside!

Listen, you got any extra oil? My lamp's about to go out.

Give me a second.

Okay.

Here goes.

There you go.

Thanks!

I see.

On this pure white, frozen planet...

this is how these people have survived,

by using even kaiju as resources like this.

Amazing, huh, Yukio?

These people sure are amazing.

Huh?

Oh.

Huh?

What a weirdo!

Hey! The icicle!

I'll make a running jump, and—

No, I won't make it in time!

What can I use?

Something long!

Just like when I was piloting Yukio.

R-Robo One-Sword Style...

Hey!

Are you okay?

How many times have I told you, you little fool,

not to go under the icicles?

I've told you time and time again, haven't I?

Hey, go easy on him, old man.

Thanks, kid!

He just lost his wife the other day, see.

Huh?

Wait a sec.

Who are you, kid?

Yeah, now that you mention it, we haven't seen him in the Mall.

What section are you from?

Hmm. Feels like we've seen him before all that...

Well, that would be...

Y-You see, uh, I, uh...

-Mmm? -Mmm?

Um, uh, see...

Talk to us! Are you shady?

You've got something to hide, huh?

Could it be—

Huh?

The guy's got his reasons, all right?

Ohh!

Doesn't change the fact that we owe him one.

It doesn't matter who he is or where he's from.

The name's Takimura. My son's Joji.

Thanks so much.

I'm Tetsuo.

IDENTIFY YOURSELF

All right, Tetsuo, you sit tight!

I'm going to slip you some prime cuts as thanks.

Hey! If squad leader Nishimura finds out, he'll rip you a new one!

You morons! You're in on this, too.

-What? -What?

-Wow! -There he is, huh?

Of all places...

Chief Nogi, shouldn't we capture him?

Don't be silly, Furumachi.

Dealing with any threats to the Mall, that's what we need to do.

We can always get his story later.

All right, let's give them a hand—

What?

Hey, a kaiju.

What the—

I-It's a kaiju!

But why...

Even its bone structure...

It's not like any intergalactic kaiju that I've ever defeated at all!

STEP 2 ENCOUNTERS

NEXT EPISODE

This is Lonely Iwaki!

If you're listening to this, let me ask you.

"There's no way that I can ever make any friends!"

That's what you're thinking, am I right?

The answer is no!

And why?

Because I'm rumored to have a million friends,

and I'm going to be your guide!

It's not rocket science.

You can do it! I know you can!

I know! Come along with me!

STEP 3 MY FIRST FRIEND