 |
| Yuki | Hey, what’s the deal with Mr. Classic Delinquent here? |
| Muku | Hm? What’s gotten into Ju-chan? |
| Yuki | He told me he didn’t want to intrude, but that he wanted to watch as I worked on costumes. He’s just been… sitting there with his feet together. On the floor. Scribbling notes. |
| Misumi | Sitting with his feet together? You mean triangle legs!? Sounds funnn! I wanna do that too, tri-tri-triangles! |
| Yuki | Uh no, I think one person is enough. |
| Kazunari | Ohh, he popped me a visit too. He said he wants to get familiar with the ins and outs of theatre, so he’s really studying up on what we do behind the scenes. |
| Yuki | Yeah, the director told me. But I didn’t think he was gonna go about it this aggressively. |
| Like, you can see it on his face whenever he’s struggling. It’s almost painful to look at. |
| Tenma | Wait, so that’s why there are suddenly these giant decorations in his room. I was pretty shocked at first. |
| Ehh, well, I guess this could be good? There’s no excitement like throwing your heart into learning something new. |
| He’ll get a fresh perspective from all of this. |
| Muku | But it seems like Ju-chan’s really having a hard time… |
| Kumon | Yeah, for sure… |
| Azami actually told me that something happened during the finale of Yuzo’s play. It seemed like a big accident, and when they saw Nii-chan in the dressing room, he was feeling really bad about it. I guess he’s still having a hard time. |
| I don’t really know what happened, but maybe that made him wanna learn about backstage jobs. It definitely seems related to that incident. |
| Muku | He’s lost confidence in himself? |
| Yuki | How is learning backstage jobs supposed to help? I wonder what the connection there is… |
| Kazunari | Yeah, I'm pretty curious too. |
| Tenma | It’s our duty to help him out. Kumon, as the one who knows Juza best, I think you’re the best person to talk to him. Do you have any ideas? |
| Kumon | Yeah, I’ve been thinking! Maybe it’d be best if we worked our magic like we usually do. |
| The problem here is that Juza’s feeling insecure, which means we should find a way to cheer him up! Come on, guys, we’ve got this! |
| Muku | Ohh, you’re right! |
 |
| Juza | … |
| (So you do the rough sketch, then you make the design spec…. And then the pattern… |
| Ugh. God, those guys sure are amazing… It’s hard to believe they manage to do all this alongside acting. |
| And to think… All these people, with skills and talents leagues above mine… They all gathered at Mankai and rebuilt it from the ground up. |
| I’m going to talk to Tetsuro tomorrow about set building…. And after that, Tsuzuru with script writing…) |
| … |
| (Oh yeah. I borrowed this book, “A Guide to Simple Writing.” I should read it soon so I can give it back.) |
| … |
 |
| Tetsuro | …. |
| Juza | Do you need help with anything? |
| Tetsuro | … |
| Juza | This? |
| Tetsuro | … |
| Juza | Are you looking for this one? |
| Tetsuro | … (nod) |
| Juza | Ahh okay, you seem like you got it. Alright. |
| Tetsuro | … |
| Juza | (I can tell just by watching him work that the little details are important when making sets. Everything’s gotta be perfect, even the parts the audience will never see. All this to make sure the actors don’t get hurt. |
| This section’s gonna be painted over soon by the other staff who work on location art. |
| So much time and effort goes into making our sets and props. |
| All this to create a show the audience will wanna watch and remember. |
| And… I fucked it all up.) |
| Tetsuro | …How about we take a little break. |
| Juza | Okay. |
| (Huh? D-Did he know what I was thinking? Hmm.. Maybe it’s just my imagination.) |
| Omi | Hey, good work you two. Who’s ready for a homemade snack? |
| Tetsuro | … |
| Juza | Thanks. |
| Omi | I brought meat buns the other day, so I decided to make some sesame dango for today and mix things up. |
| Juza | The other day? |
| Omi | Yeah, when Tetsuro’s working in the garage, I’ll sometimes drop by with snacks. |
| I heard you’d be here today so I whipped up something sweeter. |
| Juza | Thanks for the food. |
| Omi | Every time I see Tetsuro’s work, I’m just blown away by the attention to detail. I’m really looking forward to seeing the finished set. |
| Tetsuro | … |
| Juza | I still gotta think about what new challenge I’ll tackle with this play. And I gotta talk to Tsuzuru about script writing. On top of that, I know he and the director need my input so they can make this play something that’ll challenge me as the lead, too… |
| That’s the whole point of Mankai, right? To grow and improve as actors so that we can combine our strengths and improve the troupe as a whole… But I still feel like Tsuzuru would do a better job handling the script without me. |
| Omi | Why do you think that? |
| Juza | I messed up while guest starring. Ruined the whole finale. |
| And the memory won’t leave me no matter what I do. Every time I close my eyes, that paralyzing stage fright hits me all over again. |
| I keep tripping over countless questions, countless roadblocks, and I keep thinking… How do I regain my confidence? How can I move forward as an actor? |
| Omi… Have you ever been overwhelmed with terror? |
| Omi | … |
| Of course. Fear like that is no stranger to me. |
| Juza | What do you do, then? |
| Omi | What I do is I try imagining the life I didn’t live. It’s easier to find things I like about my current self if I compare it to the version of myself that walked the opposite path, like a narrative foil. If you compare yourself to other people, there’s no limit to the bitter complexes you’ll build. It’s easy to only see the good parts of other people. But if you think of that foil—who you could have been, who you’d be if you didn’t make those choices, who you are without those challenges under your belt—you might see things in a whole new light. |
| Juza | … |
| I’m grateful to have been mentored in theatre, but… I really can’t think of anything else I could contribute. |
| Omi | From that angle… I think you might understand when you perform on stage again. |
| Whenever you’re up there, your movements are full of blinding passion, clear from miles away. |
| So imagine that you’re looking at yourself through someone else’s eyes. What do you want to see? |
| Juza | I’ll definitely think about it… Maybe it’d be a good idea to ask for something like that in the script. I’ll talk to Tsuzuru. |
| Omi | Alright, everything’s cleaned up here. |
| Tetsuro | … |
| Juza | Is that it for today? |
| Tetsuro | … (nod) |
| Juza | Thank you so much for letting me observe today! |
| Tetsuro | … |
| Juza | Oh, is this for me? |
| Two tickets to the zoo? |
| Tetsuro | … |
| Juza | Thanks. Omi, you wanna come? |
| Omi | Looks like the tickets are only good for weekdays. I work during the week so I don’t think I can go. Why don’t you ask one of the university kids? |
| Juza | Will do. |
| Akashi | Pardon the intrusion. |
| Juza | ? |
| Akashi | U-Uhh… |
| Omi | Is everything alright? |
| Akashi | Y-Yeah… |
| Omi | You look like you’ve seen a ghost. Do you have a problem with Juza? |
| Akashi | I’m so sorry! I’m so sorry! I-I… It’s just, I feel a little intimidated by Juza’s intense aura. |
| Juza | ? Huh, my... aura? |
| Akashi | U-Umm, excuse me, Tetsuro, there’s just something I need to check with one of the hanging sets. |
| Tetsuro | … |
| Akashi | Mhm, yeah, okay, this over here, and this… Yep, all good. |
| Omi | This is how Tetsuro and Akashi’s interactions usually go. |
| Akashi | A-Alrighty, that’ll be all from me. Sorry for the interruption. |
| Tetsuro | … |
| Juza | Huh? O-oh. I see. Okay. |
| Hey, Akashi! |
| Akashi | !? |
| Juza | I’m only asking if you happen to have the time, but would you mind showing me how you do the lighting? |
| Akashi | The… lighting? |
| Juza | Yes. Please. |
| Akashi | U-Uhh, I guess I could… |
| Juza | Thank you very much! So, uhh, how can I reach you? |
| Akashi | How about LIME? |
| Juza | Got it. |
| Omi | Aha, Juza’s gotten pretty good at socializing. |
| Tetsuro | … (nod) |
| Akashi | Well then, guess I should be going… |
| Juza | Yeah, see you later. |
| Omi | I’m so happy for you, Juza. |
| Juza | …When I was talking to him I could tell he felt intimidated by my appearance. I feel bad. |
| I just hope that I don’t scare him too much when we work together later. |
| Omi | Y’know, I’ve been looking for another person who’s interested in lighting. How about we go together? |
| If I don’t have work, I’d be happy to join you. |
| Juza | Thanks. Let’s do that then. |
