Arghhh!

When I was a child, one of my favorite manga was Dokaben. Dokaben is a story about baseball teams in high schools. They play baseball to win the National High School Championship. Most of the characters scream “arghhh!” at crucial moments.

I was a child. For a child, high school students were almost adults. I assumed when I was an adult I would scream “arghhh!” at crucial moments like the characters in Dokaben.

My wife is working for theaters as a stage lighting artist. Sometimes she needs to work till night. In that case, I have to eat dinner alone. When I lived by myself, I didn’t wash dishes after meals. I would wash the dishes when I prepared to make the next meal. But I can’t be lazy like that now.

If I wash the dishes immediately after the dinner, that is OK. But if I lie on the sofa, I don’t feel like washing the dishes. It is bothersome. The sofa is too comfortable to leave. But I have to wash the dishes.

Then I scream “arghhh!” and stand up. Then I wash the dishes.

Don’t invent a time machine. If I knew I would grow up to be an adult who screams when I wash dishes, then as a child, I would have cried.

ProofreadingServices.com

Picture by Masaya Itagaki

Hiropon

 Hiropon is the name of an illegal drug, but it was legal until a few years after WWⅡended. Before that, Hiropon was very common in Japan. In an old manga, there is an episode in which a child mistakenly takes Hiropon, and she is stoned. It was a comedy manga.

The theatrical person and writer Ramo Nakazima wrote a book about his experiences with illegal drugs. He said Hiropon is the worst drug ever.

             Older people than me know “Hiropon” as the name of an illegal drug. If you didn’t know, the sound of the “Hiropon” is a pretty word. It sounds like a joyful toy for children.

When I was a script writer for not-famous young comedians, we talked about Hiropon. A young comedian liked the sound of the word “Hiropon.” She wanted to use the word in her performance. She showed the performance to the manager. The manager scolded her very loudly. The manager was older than me. He knew Hiropon is not a laughing matter.

A few years ago, I went to a theater to watch a performance by clowns. There was a shocking clown at the theater.

His stage name was Hiropon. Maybe his real name might be Hiroshi or Hirokazu. But he is too young to know Hiropon is the name of an illegal drug.

But it could be a good thing. The name of an illegal drug has been forgotten by almost everyone. A new era is about to come.

 

ProofreadingServices.com

Picture by Kagehisa Muzirushi

Symmetry

 

I have three cats.

One morning, when I was brushing my teeth, I saw a strange cat approaching in the mirror. I assumed a stray cat had come into my home. I was surprised and looked back to see the cat.

Actually, it was my family’s cat, Konatsu.

It was strange, but when I saw her in the mirror, I assumed she was a different cat.

Her cat pattern is not symmetrical. Everything in a mirror is mirror-reversed. When I saw her through the mirror, I thought she was a different cat.

If your cat is not symmetrically patterned, please look at the cat through a mirror.

You will hardly recognize the cat.

ProofreadingServices.com

 

Handsome Effect

When I was an elementary school student, one of my favorite TV animation series was Galaxy Express 999. The “999” is pronounced “three nine.” It was very popular at that time. They made a movie version. I asked my mother to take me to the theater. I watched that, and I was surprised.

The main character, Tetsuro, had a different face from the TV series. In the TV series, Tetsuro had a unique face. But in the movie version, Tetsuro had a handsome face.

Now I am an adult and work for a kind of entertainment business, I know why it happened.

Tetsuro is a brave and gentle boy. In the TV series, they could show his charm over a long period of time. But in the movie version, they had to attract the audience in a short time. One easy way to do that might have been by changing the main character’s face to be handsome.

But I was a child then. I couldn’t accept the new Tetsuro. I was confused in my seat in the theater.

By the way, a young woman sat in the next seat to me. She looked like she was alone.

Galaxy Express 999 is a story about a journey from Earth to the Andromeda Galaxy. They take the Express 999 space train. There are two main characters. One is Tetsuro. The other one is a mysterious, beautiful lady, Maetel. Naturally, Tetsuro started to love Maetel. In the middle of the movie version, Tetsuro declared his love to Maetel in the dining car. It was a very awkward but very sincere declaration. But Maetel didn’t answer him with any words. She just kept silent with a sad face. This was the key of the main story.

At that time, I surely heard the woman next to me talking to herself.

At that time, I was a child, and I couldn’t understand what she was saying and why she was talking. Later, when I reached puberty, I understood what it was all about.

The woman next to me was answering Tetsuro’s declaration instead of Maetel.

I am a man. From the point of view of men, Galaxy Express 999 is a story about a journey with a mysterious, beautiful lady. But from the point of view of women, the story might be a journey with a young, brave, and gentle boy. If you can choose the boy’s face, handsome is better.

I don’t know if the woman next to me knew Tetsuro’s old face. But changing Tetsuro’s face to be more handsome might have increased the female audience.

Good-looking characters have the power to increase an audience. First of all, I am not sure, but if Maetel was not a beautiful lady, I might not love Galaxy Express 999 so much.

Of course, we can easily make products without good-looking people. But we need other attractive aspects to increase the audience without good-looking people.

This is a tough problem.

ProofreadingServices.com

 

 

Minors Should Not Drink Alcohol

 When I was a child, one of my favorite manga was Pro Golfer Saru. The main character is Saru. He is a child, but he is also a talented golfer. He plays golf with rich adult golfers for money. He needs to support his younger brothers. One of the younger brothers always has a bottle of alcohol. He always drinks alcohol and gets drunk. A minor should not drink any alcohol. But I thought that was the most interesting part.

 They started a TV animation series of Pro golfer Saru. Of course, I watched the animation. But I found a difference. My favorite character, Saru’s younger brother, didn’t have a bottle of alcohol. He had a bottle of mineral water. He always drunk the water. At that time, I felt they had lost the most interesting part.

 Now I am an adult. I know why that happened. Even in a fictional story, we should not show a minor drinking alcohol on TV. Alcohol is dangerous. If a child drinks alcohol, it could become a life-threatening situation. Japanese TV regulations ban scenes with minors drinking alcohol. Even if an adult actor plays that role, if the character is a minor, the character can’t drink alcohol.

 I am studying Chinese. I watch many Chinese dramas. I found that the regulations are not strict in China. In some Chinese dramas, there are scenes with a child drinking alcohol. I don’t know why.

 It can be assumed that Chinese regulations don’t cover that issue even now. Or perhaps in East Asia, there is a tradition of drinking medicinal wine. You can buy medicinal wine in Japanese pharmacies. I believe China also has that tradition. So, I guess the concept of drinking alcohol could be different in China.

 Japanese manga are popular all around the world now. Your Home Is My Business! and Hikaru no Go are Japanese manga. China made TV drama series based on these stories. I enjoyed both of them.

 I wish Pro Golfer Saru could be dramatized in China.

ProofreadingServices.com

Picture by Yukinko