Muku Sakisaka/MANKAI☆New Year

New Year Design

Backstage Stories

Part 1Part 2

Izumi	(The season is already upon us, so I have to start preparing our New Year’s cards.)
	*door opens*
Muku	Excuse me, Director-san.
	Do you have a moment?
Izumi	Sure. What’s up?
Muku	I heard from Yuki-kun that our Theatre company made New Year’s cards before. Are we going to make them again this year?
Izumi	Ah. I was actually just thinking about our New Year’s cards.
Muku	Oh, really!
	Yuki-kun sent some to his older sisters, so I was thinking I’d like to send one to my sister too…
Izumi	Come to think of it, the New Year’s cards were made last year after I told everyone I wanted to create something that screamed MANKAI Company.
Muku	Have you already decided what you’re going to do this time?
Izumi	No, not yet. I just realized we need to make them soon, so the rest is still up in the air.
Muku	Oh. In that case, if you don’t mind, can’t we all make them together?
	The people you sent them to last year might be looking forward to getting another MANKAI Company-style New Year's card!
Izumi	You have a point.
	Alright, maybe I’ll ask for everyone’s help again this year.
	…And so, that’s how we divided the tasks last time.
	I hope we can use that as reference and discuss together.
Tsuzuru	Gotcha. So there’s choosing the kimonos we’re gonna wear and coming up with the composition of the photo and lettering…
Taichi	There’s lotsa different tasks. All of them sound fun!
Izumi	I’m thinking of buying all the postcards first, in the meantime.
Muku	There’s going to be quite a huge amount, isn’t there?
	Director-san might have a tough time by herself…
Hisoka	…I’ll help too.
	If it’s shopping, then I can manage.
Izumi	Thanks, that saves me.
Taichi	Alright, alright!
	I wanna do the lettering!
	Choosing the stickers sounds fun!
Muku	Okay, then can I try picking out our kimonos?
Izumi	Sounds good to me. Go off, you two.
Tsuzuru	In that case, I’ll be in charge of the arrangement.
	That’ll affect the overall impression, so I’ll think it over carefully.
Izumi	Thanks.
	I’ll get everyone’s advice, so let’s do that together.
Taichi	Hmm…
Izumi	(It’s Taichi-kun. It looks like he’s writing something…)
Taichi	Ah, Director-sensei!
	Can I speak with you for a sec?
Izumi	Sure.
	Could this be about the ideas for the text on the New Year’s cards?
Taichi	Yep! I’ve been wracking my brain over what words to include…
	Last year, you guys wrote the characters “Happy New Year”, and I thought that looked cool. But it looks like those were written by Juza-san with a brush pen.
Izumi	Yeah. Juza-kun’s calligraphy is cool, isn’t it?
Taichi	And so, I was wondering if it would be better to include kanji, like “New Year’s Greetings”, too.
Izumi	Hey now, you’re the one in charge of it this time, Taichi-kun. I think something with your taste will be great, even if it’s not kanji.
	Besides, I want to see the words that you came up with.
Taichi	Hehe. I’m happy to hear that!
	So I started jotting stuff down on this page…
	Which one do you like?
Izumi	Wow, you’re written a lot!
	All of them look awesome. It’s hard to choose…
	…But this one has your vibe, so I’d say I like this one.
Taichi	Got it!
	I’ll try arranging it with this base!
Izumi	Yay, I can’t wait.
Hisoka	…Are you going now, Director?
Izumi	Ah, perfect timing.
	I was just about to pay you a visit, Hisoka-san.
Taichi	Are you gonna buy the postcards?
Hisoka	Yeah.
	I also want marshmallows while I’m at it.
Taichi	…That’s the main thing you’re aiming for, isn’t it!
Hisoka	Yeah.
Izumi	Alright, I’ll buy you some nice marshmallows as thanks for helping me with the shopping today.
Hisoka	…Really?
	I’m so happy. Thanks.
Izumi	Fufu. Keep it a secret from Homare-san.
Hisoka	Sure. I’ll eat them secretly.
Taichi	That’s great, Hisoka-san!
	Take care, you two!
Hisoka	We’ll be off.
Izumi	See you!

Tsuzuru	Sorry for asking you to come all of a sudden, Director.
Izumi	No worries at all.
	I’m guessing you want to discuss the New Year’s cards?
Tsuzuru	Yeah. It’s about the composition of the photo we’re taking. There’s surprisingly a lot to consider with 4 people, so I’m not sure how to proceed.
Izumi	I see.
	What kind of arrangement are you stuck on?
Tsuzuru	I thought it might be refreshing if we had some people sitting instead of all the members standing like last time.
Izumi	I like that idea. It’ll feel like a commemorative photo!
Tsuzuru	Thanks.
	It’s just, I’m not sure who to put in front…
	Considering my height, I think it’d be better for me to stand in the back.
Izumi	I see. I think placing two people side-by-side and having one person in the front would look nice.
Tsuzuru	Exactly.
	I was just considering doing something like that…
Muku	E-excuse me…
Tsuzuru	Oh, Muku? What’s up?
Izumi	Is this also about the New Year’s cards?
	We were just talking about them, so I’ll hear you out too.
Muku	Thank you! I’m asking everyone which colour they would like for their kimono…
	I’ve already asked Taichi-kun and Hisoka-san. I’d be happy if you could let me know too, Tsuzuru-san.
Tsuzuru	Oh, I see.
	Then… I’ll ask for a green one.
Muku	Noted!
Izumi	I can’t wait to see all of you in your kimonos.
Muku	Yes! Fufu, I can’t wait for the New Year’s cards to be completed.
	I want to send one to my sister as soon as possible.
Tsuzuru	…
	Yeah, that’ll be nice.
Muku	By the way, was Tsuzuru-san just saying there’s something he’s unsure about?
Tsuzuru	Yeah, I was stuck. But I solved it seeing you, Muku.
Muku	Eh?
Tsuzuru	I was going to arrange us in the front and back. But for the person in the front, I was going to ask them to sit in a chair. I’d like that person to be you, Muku.
Muku	Ehh! Me, front and center…!
Izumi	Great idea!
	I’m sure your sister will love to see it.
Tsuzuru	That’s right. Muku was the one who suggested doing the New Year’s cards this year anyways.
Muku	I-if you say so…!
	I’ll go for it!
Izumi	(Fufu. I can’t wait to see the finished cards.)
Muku	Director-san, the New Year’s cards are done!
Izumi	…Wow, they look wonderful!
	All of you look amazing in your kimonos.
Muku	I narrowed the outfits down to a few based on the colours everyone requested, and then we all decided from those.
Izumi	The lettering Taichi-kun composed looks adorable too!
Taichi	Hehe. I’m glad I chose it together with you, Director-sensei!
Izumi	Thanks so much for your help too, Tsuzuru-kun, Hisoka-san.
Tsuzuru	I enjoyed putting lots of thought into the composition.
Hisoka	I had fun going shopping with you for marshmallows… and the postcards.
Izumi	Now you can give a card to your sister, right, Muku-kun?
Muku	Yes, I’m so happy!
Tsuzuru	I’m gonna need a lot to give to my brothers back home. I might as well send one to Mizuno while I’m at it, huh?
Izumi	Good call!
	I’m sure he’ll be overjoyed.
Tsuzuru	Ahaha. Well, as long as he’s happy.
Taichi	I’m gonna send one to someone I’m indebted to!
Izumi	And the person you’re indebted to is…
Taichi	Hehe. Lee-san!
	They’ve been taking care of me both for my play rehearsals and personally~.
Izumi	We’ve received a lot of assistance as a theatre troupe too.
Hisoka	New Year’s cards…
	That reminds me, Guy said he’s going to hang one that he made himself up in his shop.
Izumi	I see. That sounds like a perfect way to greet both his regular and first-time customers.
Hisoka	Yeah. So I’m going to talk to Guy and ask him to display this New Year’s card in the bar too.
Izumi	Nice idea. That’ll be a good publicity for the troupe, so please do!
Tsuzuru	It’s just like our Director to think of advertising from that.
Muku	I mean, it’ll be delightful if lots of people can come watch our plays, right!
Taichi	Yep, yep! I’m counting on y’all next year so we can deliver more awesome plays together!
Hisoka	Yeah, same here.
Izumi	Ahaha. It’s a bit early for that, isn’t it?
	But I’m also looking forward to working together next year!
	(I hope all of us can deliver all sorts of different plays and spend an enjoyable time next year as well.)

Anna