Original subtitles

The story so far..

In order to be reborn as a human,

Kondo Asami was reliving the second round of her life,

where she rescued her middle school teacher from false accusation,

and found out that her ex-boyfriend, who was a loser in the first round,

had achieved great success in the second round.

Then one day...

I let my guard down~!

She was sure she was going to be reborn as a human this time, but...

Indo-Pacific double-lined mackerel.

- There's no way I can start over again...? - You can.

Eh?

Thus started her third round of life.

Thank you for being born.

I worked pretty hard to accumulate good deeds, but I was an Indo-Pacific saba (mackerel) next.

Saba's good. I like saba.

- Yeah, I like it too. - You like it as food, right?

Yeah. What were you last time?

- Giant anteater. - Ah, giant anteater is tough.

- Isn't saba better than giant anteater? - Yeah.

- Just slightly. - Sounds like it might be fun once you turn into one.

Yeah, you're right. - Then

if you were to be reborn as a saba, do you want to be salt-grilled or simmered in miso?

- Ah~ that's a tough choice! - Are you assuming you're going to be eaten?

- It may be salt-grilled for me. - Me too! What about you, Ah-chin?

Shimesaba (cured mackerel).

Shimesaba is delicious too!

I mean, I don't want to be simmered or grilled, right?

But wouldn't salt-grilled be better as a side dish?

- Yeah, yeah... - As a side dish?

- You'd want to eat shimesaba while drinking sake. - For sure.

You just said you'd "want to eat."

- I'm sorry about this. - It's okay.

Kondo saved my butt too, so we'll call it even.

- Thank you. - We'll push on the way back.

On the way back? Are we on our way there now?

What's that? That over there.

Oh no! The police is here!

- Are you serious? What shall we do? - Let's go.

What will happen if we get caught?

- Won't we get turned into shimesaba? - Shimesaba?!

- No way. Let's go. - Oh no, oh no...!

Hurry, hurry!

♫ "Konayuki" by Remioromen (2005)

What is it?

Eh~! Isn't this collective responsibility?

Hey, wait a minute!

It is now already the 14th year of my third round of life.

- The time is now 7:15. - Oh, here it comes.

Does that work?

It works, it works. It works really well.

I've also been managing to suppress my aversion for my father for the third time.

- Did you watch "Trick"? - I did.

Trick - Season 3 2003

Wait. I haven't watched it so don't tell me.

- Didn't you watch it, Nacchi? - I'm watching it today after I get home.

Oh yeah? Can we say things like it was good?

- No, if at all possible, please don't say that either. - Not even that?

- Wouldn't it be okay to say if it was good or not? - I mean,

if I hear that it was good, my expectation will rise, and

and I wouldn't be able to truly enjoy it. And if I hear it wasn't good,

- I'll lose the motivation to watch it, right? - Well, that may be so, but...

Then how much can we tell you?

- You can say if it aired or not. - Of course it aired.

That's why we're trying to talk about it.

But everything else would end up being a spoiler.

All right. We'll talk about "Trick" tomorrow.

Yeah. We can all talk about it after Nacchi sees it.

Sorry.

You can talk about Nakama Yukie's previous drama.

- Previous drama? - Gokusen?

- Yes. "Gokusen" would be okay. - "Gokusen", huh?

- "Gokusen" was good, wasn't it? - Yeah, it was.

- Nakama Yukie is good in comedies, isn't she? - She is.

Nakama Yukie's comedic skill is what makes "Trick"...

Wait. Don't bring "Trick" into the conversation.

- But I'm talking as a whole. - It's as a whole, but

- yesterday's broadcast is included too, right? - Well, yes.

- Then I don't want you to talk about it. - Eh~? Then what shall we talk about?

- Something that's totally unrelated to "Trick", right? - Yeah.

Totally unrelated to "Trick"...?

- Like Asashoryu? - Ah~

Asashoryu - Mongolian sumo wrestler who became yokozuna in January 2003

- Unrelated, right? - Asashoryu would be fine.

Asashoryu... he's

This exchange is actually...

strong, isn't he?

the third time too.

Yeah, he's strong.

Brush Up Life 4

Ah-chin, did you catch a cold again?

Aren't you catching it too often?

Speaking of middle school days,

what can't be avoided is this scene.

The social studies teacher who disperses his same annoyance in the third round too,

Mita Tetsuo, commonly known as Mita Kong.

How am I supposed to know if you don't speak up!

You're robbing everyone of their valuable class time, you know!

Do you know what you're doing?

This is the scene I just quietly watched in the first round.

In the second round, I tried to fight back, but

I was forced to yield to his far-fetched argument.

- I'll say it again. You're causing trouble for... - Sensei.

What?

The two did something that had nothing to do with the class, but

since it's your decision to use class time to reprimand them...

I don't think it's right to blame them for that.

This time for sure...

Why is that?

If they hadn't passed notes,

I wouldn't have interrupted the class either, right?

Then why don't you reprimand them later?

Why go through the trouble of interrupting the class to reprimand them in front of everyone?

Because it's collective responsibility.

- Collective responsibility... - Listen up.

When you go out in society, there are many cases where someone's miscue or error

causes trouble for everyone. The collective responsibility is for you to learn that.

You say someone's miscue or error will cause trouble, but

you're talking about things like, for example, if someone spills milk in the classroom,

everyone has to smell it, or if someone breaks the window,

everyone will get cold, right? That's not the same thing as collective responsibility, is it?

- How is it different? - In this case,

you're just trying to force something that doesn't directly cause us trouble

to cause us trouble.

I don't think situations like this happen very often in society.

It happens. You guys just don't know about it.

No, I don't think it normally does.

Even if it did, in the times ahead,

I think that kind of thinking reminiscent of the Showa era will change.

- How dare you so brazenly... - But even before all that,

you have an obligation to educate us, and

and we have the right to be educated, right?

I don't think it's a good idea for the teacher to intentionally obstruct that.

There. How do you like that?

There's nothing you can say, is there?

Oh, well. Whatever.

Let's talk about the rest individually.

The three of you come to the faculty room later.

Okay, let's continue~!

Ah... I shouldn't have said anything~.

It took me 3 rounds to learn that

it's best to keep quiet.

As for my academic performance, perhaps it's because I had become remiss, but

my ranking had dropped somewhat from the second round.

The student council has an announcement to make.

Uno Mari-chan widened the gap again.

And after ending my middle school days like that without making much progress...

I enrolled in the same girls' school in the third round too.

♫ "Hanamizuki" by Hitoto Yo (2004)

H-have you kissed yet?

I had a relatively enjoyable time in high school...

Yes.

Well then, time is up, so we will now conclude the interview.

Thank you.

And enrolled in the same university.

Although this time, it wasn't the School of Pharmacy, but

I chose the Department of Literature, as I did in the first round.

- Did you read "Harry Potter"? - I did.

However, the friends I was close to were slightly different from the first round.

The reason being, in that group was...

Have you heard about that? iPhone.

my ex-boyfriend.

Even though he doesn't have any recollection of dating me.

Then one day...

Wanna go grab a cup of coffee?

- Sounds good. Oh, can I stop by Sanseido first? - Sure.

- What are you buying? - A reference book.

Say, we're all going to Karaoke after this, but

- you two wanna come too? - I would!

- Really? How about you, Asami-chan? - Oh... well...

Okay.

They said they'll come.

He probably just invited us on a whim, but

I felt a little flurried on my own.

♫ "Kiseki" by Greeeen (2008)

1st Round

Come to think of it, we used to sing this song a lot.

Brings back memories.

♫ "Koko ni Iruyo" by SoulJa feat. Aoyama Thelma

I used to hang out with this bunch a lot too.

♫ "Winding Road" by Ayaka x Kobukuro (2007)

As a side note, at a barbecue during summer break next year,

this kid will confess his feelings to this kid, and will get rejected.

That's because this kid likes this kid.

But this kid is going out with a senpai at his part-time job, so

the two will never date, but

they will have a physical relationship just one.

Of course, at this point, they had no way of knowing.

Because our home was in the same direction,

he gave me a ride home.

It's the first time I've been in his car in a long time.

To be correct, his parents' car.

You bought a nice one~.

The time that we spent here back then...

and the words that we exchanged...

What flavor is this? It's brown sugar!

And...

Sorry about this.

the 50,000 yen I lent him

were all not even something in the past anymore.

Thanks.

- Let's all get together again. - Sure. Invite me again.

Yeah, I will. Oh, that's right.

Can I have your phone number?

Yeah.

- Huh? Where? - Uh, mine is here. Right here...

Did it go through?

Here it comes. Okay.

Okay, it's been added.

Thanks.

Then I'll see you at school.

- See you. - See you.

Well, since were classmates, if it's just phone number...

... or so I thought, but...

After that, I started hanging out frequently with his group of friends and...

Do you want onions?

And...

You may have noticed but...

I like you. Please go out with me.

For me, it was the second confession.

I didn't think I'd ever go out with him again, but

all in all, he's sweet and

he's sweet, so

Okay.

I decided to go out with him again.

By the way, this is our first reconciliation in 62 years.

Being that this was the second time around, there was no sense of newness, but...

Right Potato, Left Potato Eating alternately

it was a comfortable relationship.

- Try it. - No!

But this time, in order to make sure he didn't go astray...

- Maa-kun, I want you to promise me just one thing. - What?

Don't go play pachinko.

Pachinko? Why?

I can't stand people who gamble.

- Oh, is that right. - Yeah.

Are you going now? To pachinko.

Well, only a few times that I can count.

Then don't go anymore.

- All right. - It's a promise.

Yeah... Okay.

- Pachinko, right? - Yes.

Eh?

Okay, okay. Here.

I kept a close watch on him.

Hello?

Why did you miss school today?

Are you listening?

Wait a minute. That's just playing hooky.

Yeah...

But you know, you're having your parents pay the expensive tuition, so

you should attend your classes.

The guy has the potential for annual sales of 1 billion yen.

I can't let him get ruined because of me.

With that one thought in mind...

It's open~.

Hey~.

Why is the place such a mess?

Huh? Oh, I was going to clean up later.

You keep saying later, later. The mess was here last time I was here too.

Was it? Sorry.

I turned my heart to stone.

As a result...

I'm sorry. Let's break up.

Eh?

I don't think...

we were meant for each other.

The reason the shock was greater than the previous time was

probably...

because I was that seriously in love with him.

My third coming-of-age ceremony.

As you make your way for a bright future...

Hey! That's not right, is it? You old geezer!

- Don't be talking about lame stuff. - Finally!

- People like that really do exist, huh? - Yeah, right?

This time again, the guy was subdued...

and this time again, Fuku-chan sang Orange Range

with his mediocre singing skill...

I was actually thinking about going into music.

talking about his impossible dream...

- Fuku-chan, you'll do well for sure! - I think you'll do well too.

Really? I was seriously...

as we all encouraged him irresponsibly,

and I, too, knowing that he'll never make it...

Don't forget about us when you get famous!

urged him on.

And this time too...

Kato sang "Konayuki" with all his heart.

It was that kind of coming-of-age ceremony as planned.

Oh, no.

After graduating from college, I went to work for a TV station.

That was because I liked dramas to start out with,

and by entertaining a lot of people,

I thought I could expect a huge amount of good deed points.

♫ "Yasashiku Naritai" by Saito Kazuyoshi (2011) Ending Theme of "Kaseifu no Mita"

So I started living alone in Tokyo for the first time in this round.

My first job at the TV station was on the staff of "24-Hour Television,"

making huge cheat sheets for the performers' songs...

Two minutes until the end of song.

acting as stand-ins, and so on...

Even though the work itself was tough,

"24-Hour Television" is a charity telethon

but from the perspective of the program objective,

I felt I could accumulate some points for good deeds.

After the end of "24-Hour Television," I was assigned to the drama team.

The first drama series I worked with was...

- The parking lot? - Yes.

"Woman" starring Mitsushima Hikari (2013)

I participated as the AP.

AP is the abbreviation for assistant producer.

While you could refer AP with just one word,

there are 3 types of AP: Set AP, Finishing AP, and the Station AP.

I'm the Set AP.

Usuda-san has arrived.

Okay. Got it.

- Good morning. - Good morning.

- Did you find the parking lot okay? - Yes, I did.

My job is mainly to take care of the actors

and make sure that the set runs smoothly.

The previous scene is taking longer than expected.

Oh. It's a bit of a tough scene, isn't it?

- Usuda-san is here. - Good morning.

I'm sorry, but Usuda-san hasn't had her hair done yet, so

- please don't film her here. - Ah, got it.

Nozomi, get off.

Having already had a total of more than 20 years of social experience

as a civil servant and a pharmacist up to this point,

I was quite good at my job among my peers.

Thank you.

Earlier, Mitsushima-san seemed quite happy with it too.

I think she likes it.

But I'll babysit the kids anytime.

Thanks.

It felt strange to watch a drama

I watched in my previous life from the creator's side.

- It got done earlier than scheduled, didn't it? - Yes.

- It's thanks to Hikari-chan... - Mitsushima-san was amazing too, but

- it was the two of you that uh... - No, no, no...

- Thank you very much. - Thank you for your hard work.

- Good bye. - Bye.

And in this way, a few months passed in the blink of an eye...

And with this, the filming of the final episode of the drama "Woman" is wrapped up.

Thank you for your hard work.

For several months, we worked almost without a break.

Physically, it was the most demanding of all the jobs I've had, but

there was that much more sense of accomplishment.

The children's close up shot was amazing.

I got to be friends with Usuda-san too.

- I'm really going to miss you. - I know. I'm going to miss you too.

I'll do my best so that we can work together again.

Some day, when I'm the producer, I'd like you to appear in the leading role.

Oh... Of course, of course.

- I'll do my best too so that I can. - I'll do my best.

- Although I don't know when that will be. - I'll be waiting.

But before that, let's go to dinner.

- I'd love to. - I'll call you.

Thank you.

- Thank you! - Thank you.

- Thank you. - Thank you.

With the filming over, I finally got some time off, so

I went home to my parents for the first time in months.

Asami, you're right next to Kobayashi Kaoru-san in the picture.

That's right.

That's awesome... Did you talk to him?

Well, yeah. Although it was about work.

- Asami, are you eating properly? - Yeah.

- I am. - Really?

Are you sure you're not just going to conbini all the time?

No, I'm not. Well, I cook for myself once in a while, I think.

- That's good if you are. - That sounds nice. Living alone.

What? Do you want to live alone, Haruka?

I don't want to do it permanently, but if it's for 2-3 days, I'd like to try it.

- That's like taking a solo trip. - No, not like that.

It's like having your own space. And for just 2-3 days,

I'd like to try cooking for myself and stuff.

- That's solo camp. - Solo camp?

Oh, that's right.

It means to go camping alone.

- I like it. - You like it?

Asami, don't you get like goods for the shows?

- Yeah. They're in the smaller bag. - Oh, let's see.

Ah-chin, did you lose weight?

- My weight hasn't changed. - Oh, really?

- What is it? Do I look haggard? - Yeah, you looked pretty busy there for a while.

Oh, that's right. Speaking of which...

I found this when I was cleaning out my closet the other day.

- Wow! Cool! - Isn't it though?

- It's the drama club. - It brings back memories.

- Do you remember? - Of course I remember.

- We used to do it at Komatsu Shoten. - We did.

Look, look. We were rating them really seriously.

Drama Ranking for July 1. Beach Boys A-93 N-92 M-100 285 points 2. Tsuki no Kagayaku Yoru Dakara A-94 N-93 M-91 278 points 3. Saigo no Koi A-91 N-58 M-93 272 points

- You're right. - And we even wrote a review.

- It's interesting, isn't it? - Really.

"Bokura no Yuuki - Miman City" starring Kinki Kids (1997)

- I watched this~. "Miman City". - Wow, brings back memories.

Somewhere along the way, weren't all three of us

using the word "catharsis" an awful lot?

- You're right. - As I recall, this "catharsis" is a word

Ah-chin learned from somewhere.

- Oh, that's right. - Right?

That's how we all started saying it.

We were, weren't we? Without even knowing the meaning.

Ah~ I remember this.

Say, Miipon...you were unconditionally giving Takenouchi Yutaka's dramas

- perfect ratings, weren't you? - Eh? I don't think so.

- Wasn't it just "With Love"? - No, no. Earlier, there was...

- There was? - There was, there was...

See?

- "Beach Boys", huh? - 100 points.

Come to think of it, you liked Takenouchi Yutaka, didn't you?

I did like him~.

Somewhere along the way, it became the Takenouchi Club just for Miipon.

What Takenouchi Club?

Look. It says here that Takenouchi Yutaka's

catharsis is well proportioned!

You were definitely talking about his facial features.

- I don't remember this at all. - Embarrassing!

"Mizuki-san's really beautiful. She's cute. She's particularly catharsis."

Every time we finished shooting,

I'd replenish my energy by coming back to my hometown and having idle chats with

my family and childhood friends like this.

- Good morning. - Good morning.

A year and a half after getting assigned to the drama team,

I finally got to be involved in a drama I had liked since the first round.

Good morning.

April Wednesday Drama

"Hanasaki Mai ga Damattenai

Staff Room

"Hanasaki Mai ga Damattenai"

Starring Anne-san, who had just played the leading role in an asadora this spring.

The original work is by he writer who has produced

numerous bestsellers, Ikeido Jun Sensei.

Furthermore, the producer is a famous producer who made hits out of

shows like "Gokusen" and "Hataraki Man."

While the entire staff was all pumped to

make the show a hit at any cost...

only I remained calm.

The reason being, I knew that this drama would be a hit.

It's like riding the winning horse of all winning horses.

And...

Ah-chin.

Do you know who I am?

- Gon-chan? - That's right~!

- How have you been? - It's been so long~. Why?

I'm doing make-up now.

It was a miraculous reunion with Gon-chan, a classmate from elementary school.

I entered this industry right after I graduated from vocational school, so

it'll be 5 years already.

Which show were you working on recently?

Let's see. A recent one would be "35-sai no Koukousei".

- I was watching that. - Oh, really? I'm glad.

What about you?

- The last one was "Tokyo Bandwagon" for me. - Oh, is that right?

Then we were working pretty close to each other.

- We may even have passed by each other. - I'm sure we did.

The Gon-chan that I met for the first time in a while

was as cheerful as ever, and hadn't changed.

About the only things were the cigarette and hair color.

The rest hadn't changed at all.

And the tattoo.

Other than that, she hadn't changed at all.

But it's touching, isn't it?

It's been 2 months since the filming began.

Filming was progressing smoothly, and the first episode rating was off to a good start.

and the staff's morale was getting even higher.

And I, who knew that this drama would get a Season 2,

was riding high on the winning horse.

Are you working late today?

Why?

Dad's birthday

Call him tonight if you can.

Get your act together!

Get your act together!

Got it!

Every year, I'm reminded of my parent's birthday with a message from Haruka.

Come to think of it, on my father's 52nd birthday in the second round,

in other words, today...

This man didn't touch her.

I rescued Mita Kong.

There's no way he can touch her.

I had completely forgotten about it, but

needless to say, that incident will occur in the third round too.

Which means if I don't go,

Mita Kong will be caught even though he didn't do it.

But I'm in Tokyo working now,

and there's shooting until tonight.

Unfortunately, it's physically impossible for me to go back to my hometown.

How am I supposed to know if you don't speak up!

Besides, I don't like him in the first place.

The fact that it happened in the the first round

must mean that this was his destiny to begin with.

This time, it can't be helped.

Because it's impossible for me to go.

Actually, I got married the year before last,

and my wife is pregnant right now.

Well, if the on-site staff moves at a phenomenal speed, I'd make it on time, but...

It's collective responsibility.

Aren't I always saying I won't know if you don't tell me?

My wife is pregnant right now.

I guess I'll speed it up.

NTV Ikuta Studio

Studio No. 3 Front Room

Just like good deeds, speeding things up on the set

is ultimately an accumulation of little things.

Each minor loss of time

will have to be eliminated one by one.

This scene has 7 shots in all.

That means the camera is rolled 7 times in one scene.

Full shot.

Anne-san by herself.

Kamikawa-san by himself.

Both of them together.

And now, for the fifth shot,

they're standing by for a group shot.

In other words, this scene will be finished with 3 more shots...

Make-up Room

Sorry, Gon-chan!

Make-up Dept. Maruyama Misa

Good morning.

It should wrap up with 3 shots, so

can you get it done in 15 minutes?

- Okay. I'll hurry. - Sorry. Thanks.

Thank you.

This will make the transition to the next scene smoother.

Fourth Floor Hallway

Incidentally, the last two shots are

a closeup of Mai's hands counting bills, and

a closeup of her hand writing a receipt.

For these shots, Teramoto-san, the bank supervisor, will be present, so...

After this shot, we'll be shooting the receipt and bill counting,

Bank Supervisor Teramoto Shizuko

- so shall we go inside? - Sure.

By doing this, the time the AD takes to

come get her after the previous shot can be eliminated.

Inside Studio No. 3

When the extras start getting tired,

The Extras

the number of retakes increases.

Take one if you'd like.

Thank you.

By constantly getting them to maintain their condition,

I try to prevent them from making mistakes.

Normally, I'd stick around and chat, but

I'll clean up what I can now so that

I'll be able to see off the cast as soon as the shooting ends.

I'd appreciate that. Yes. Good bye now.

Oh, Shigeyama-san. Can we do meshioshi today?

Chief AD Shigeyama Masaki

"Meshioshi" means skipping the meal break

to keep on shooting in one go.

By doing this, I can expect to save quite a bit of time.

What's wrong?

I was wondering if we could just go on with meshioshi.

No, even if we did do the meshioshi, Tsukaji-san won't be here until 1900.

- We'll end up waiting anyway. - That won't be a problem.

I just talked to his manager. They're already on their way.

Really? What about the stand-by crew?

- Make-up is ready to go anytime. - Okay! Let's do it.

- Then I'll let everyone know. - Okie doke.

Excuse me.

Studio No. 3 Equipment Room

We're going with meshioshi today,

- so I ask for your cooperation.

Filming Dept. Nagayama Junichi

Oh, really? Okay.

What? Isn't it meaningless if we have to wait for Tsukaji-san?

Sound Dept. Iwata Keiko

Tsukaji-san is already on his way, so we're okay.

I see. Then I guess it's a go.

It's not on the schedule for today, but we have a dashi.

I see. For us, the faster we can wrap it up, the better anyway.

Thank you. I appreciate it.

"Having a dashi" means we have a cast member who needs to be sent off ASAP

in order to get to another job.

By the way, this time it was a lie.

Art Dept. Koike Kanta

The most important thing in speeding things up is

each respective individual's desire to "speed things up."

During a difficult shoot, people give up thinking

Lighting Dept. Kanamori Daisuke

it can't be sped up anyway and lose focus, slowing things down.

That's why you have to let them know that "you can speed things up if you work hard at it,"

Costume Dept. Kato Masako

and get the set in a "speed up" mode.

Director Nagumo Seizo

Check okay!

Check okay. We're now moving on to Cut 6.

Extras are ready.

We're working on the rails.

Lights are ready.

The two men playing the robbers are here.

- Wonderful. - Then let's start the camera rehearsal!

When this mood sets in, things start speeding up at once.

- Yes, got it. - Okay, here we go!

In this way, the filming was speeding up smoothly.

If things continue this way, it would be possible to rescue Mita Kong.

But here, an unexpected situation occurred.

- That's strange... - I'm sorry, please wait a moment.

The equipment for the number calling system stopped.

There was a sense of anxiety in the air.

- How does it look? - Looks like this may take a while.

I see...

This will cause a delay

...or so everyone thought, when

Shige-chan, wouldn't it work if we cut the equipment out of the picture?

Can we cut it?

"Cut out of picture" means to remove something from the angle of view.

Looks doable. Let me confirm it.

Director.

Looks like we can do it if we cut the equipment out of the picture. What shall we do?

- Good idea. Let's do it. - Okay.

- Let's cut it. - Okay.

Thank you for waiting. We will now resume shooting.

- Go get Anne-san and Kamikawa-san. - Okay.

Thanks to the camera guy's fine play,

filming continued.

However...

I see. On Tomei Expressway...

The car with Tsukaji-san on board

got caught in heavy traffic on the expressway

and they couldn't move at all.

How long do you think it will take?

Ah~ Yes, I understand.

We were up a creek without a paddle.

Let's go with Cut 15.

But I don't want to give up.

Oh, can you hold for just a minute?

Yes, thank you.

Udagawa-san, it looks like Tsukaji-san is stuck in traffic from Tomei.

Is there way they can get through?

Production Dept. Udagawa Makoto

Tomei?

Udagawa-san is a member of the production department that sets up location sites,

so he knows all the back roads of Tokyo like the palm of his hand.

Let's see. If they get off at Youga and drive on the road along the bank of Tama River,

they'll get here in 30 minutes.

Thank you.

Hello. Sorry to keep you waiting.

As a start, can you get off at Youga?

The best play of the day.

One more time, from a different angle.

If they get off at Youga and drive on the road along the bank of Tama River,

they'll get here in 30 minutes.

Yes!

You the man.

Please wait a little longer.

And...

Thank you for waiting. Tsukaji-san has arrived.

Good morning.

Tsukaji-san, who was originally scheduled to enter the set 2 hours later,

made a miraculous early entry, and the voltage on the set soared.

Thus, the filming...

This wraps it up for today. Thank you for your hard work.

...got wrapped up a whole 3 hours ahead of schedule

thanks to the phenomenal speed up effort.

In fact, it ended so early

I ended up doing some shopping to kill time.

The problem starts from here.

As I recall, the previous time I had stopped by Aeon on my way home from work,

so I must've got on the train around 9:00.

However, there are 3 trains around 9:00.

Naturally, I don't remember which train I took.

If I get on the wrong train here,

Mita Kong will be arrested for something he didn't do, lose his job, and

and even his family's life will be ruined.

Failure is not an option.

Come to think of it, Mita Kong got on the train from Kitakumagaya Station.

I'll get to the station a little early and and wait for him.

Even though I'm exhausted from the early morning shooting,

even though I have an early morning tomorrow too.

This has nothing to do with the class, does it?

It has nothing to do with it, right?!

Just to help the teacher I hated so much,

I came all the way from Tokyo...

Ah~ I wanna go home.

I wanna take a bath and moisturize and go to bed.

Ah-chin?

Shi-chan.

- Long time no see! - Yeah, long time no see~.-

- What are you doing? Meeting someone? - Oh, uh, yeah...

- What about you? - I'm on my way home from work.

- Oh yeah? - Yeah.

I don't think she's broken up with Fuku-chan yet.

- How's Fuku-chan doing?- Good.

Well, although nothing's going on with his music.

Oh, yeah? Well, it's a tough business.

Yeah, it is.

I want him to see the reality already.

- It's hard to make a living and stuff, huh? - That's right.

But if I harp on him too much, we'll end up fighting, so...

- I see. - Actually,

I'd like to have kids too.

He says we can't have any until he sells and makes it on his own.

Fuku-chan can get serious at weird times, right?

The subject matter's a bit heavy to hear in front of the station.

But every time I see my parents,

they say how they want to see their grandkids soon.

- That's hard to take, isn't it... - Yeah.

Heavy, heavy, heavy...

It's heavy. What do I do?

I can't miss Mita Kong either...

Shi-chan, let's talk about that again soon when we have more time.

- Sorry, you're waiting for someone, right? - No, it's just that

uh, you know, instead of standing out here talking,

I thought I could lend you an ear some other time.

Thanks. Then I'll call you sometime soon.

- Sure. Okay. -Bye then. - See you.

Good night.

Even though I told her I'd lend her an ear,

I can't change the future, so

I don't know what to tell her.

Mita Sensei.

How have you been?

- Oh, Kondo? - Yes.

Long time no see.

- How's it going? - Good. It's been a while.

- You're looking good too, Sensei. - Yeah, I'm doing good.

It's 9:05 right now.

The next train leaves at 9:17.

At the very least, I have to try to

stop him from getting on this train.

Just to be sure, if I were to try to stop him from getting on the next 9:34 train too,

I can't drag out standing and talking for 30 minutes.

Why don't we go grab a cup of coffee?

- Coffee? - Yes.

- Now? - Yes.

Instead of standing and talking, um... at that Gusto there.

Coffee, huh? As much as I'd like to,

I got married the year before last, and

and my wife is pregnant right now.

- Congratulations. - Thank you.

And so, I've got things I have to do today,

so I can't go for coffee.

I have no desire to go for coffee either, but

for your sake, I'm reluctantly inviting you.

- When you have time again... - Yes.

come visit us at school.

Okay. I will.

- Then I'll be seeing you. - Yes.

Oh shoot... Shoot, shoot, shoot, shoot, shoot.

What do I do~?

I'm taking this train too.

- Oh, really? - Yes.

Heck, you should've said so.

I'm sorry.

Sensei, that next car seems to be less crowded.

- Why don't we go over there? - Eh?

- That's fine, but isn't it more crowded there? - No, no, no.

It's better than here. Let's go over there.

Let's go. Over there. Let's go.

Excuse me. Excuse me.

- Isn't it more crowded here? - Is it?

Excuse me.

I don't really care, but it's extremely crowded here.

Unlike the time you guys were there,

nowadays, parents are quick to come in and make problems, so

- it's a hassle. - It must be.

The students know that too, so they don't listen to the teachers.

It's true.

The middle school students back in the days were much more sincere and

- likeable. - I know what you mean.

Ah~ Boring.

I have absolutely no interest in hardship stories of someone I never liked.

Why aren't we leaving? Is there some kind of trouble?

What could it be?

It seems that incident is happening this very moment in the next car.

What is it? Is it a groper?

Looks like it.

What the heck is he doing. The scumbag!

Naturally, I can't help the guy who did it.

♫ "Yasashiku Naritai" by Saito Kazuyoshi (2011) Ending Theme of "Kaseifu no Mita"

Then Kondo, see you again.

Sensei, you take care too.

In this way, I succeeded in the rescue of Mita Kong in the third round too.

And while I'm at it, one more task.

- This is great. - Really? I'm glad.

That's the kind you use in the bath, okay?

I'm home!

Asami!

- What happened? - Happy Birthday.

Thank you.

Then, I'm going back to Tokyo.

Haruka, give me a ride to the station.

What? Now?

You guys didn't all have to come.

Why not? Since you came all the way, let us see you off. Right, Dad?

- This is the best birthday ever. - You don't have to do that now.

- The one I have you is the kind you use in bath. - I know. Of course I'll use it in the bath too.

You can't use the one I gave you in the bath, okay?

- I know. - But I didn't know you were such a filial daughter.

I've always been a filial daughter.

Naturally, I couldn't tell her I was already here for something else anyway.

Ah~ This feels good.