03x05 - An Urchin in the Desert

[bunniefuu]

Well,

what did you think of
Death Voice Channel's second episode?

If you still can't use your death voice,
just be patient and keep practicing.

If you liked the video,
please click this button to subscribe!

What...?

RAGE

You sure took your time in the restroom.

I've connected my smartphone
to the karaoke machine.

I see.

What are you doing?

I'm searching for our songs.

You won't find them there.

I don't remember
signing a karaoke contract.

Well, I know that.

I was just checking.

Do you know how many songs are in here?

No idea.



So even if our new song gets registered,

it'll still be the 270,001st song.

It's like dropping a grain of sand
in the desert.

How can we avoid being buried?

We have no choice but to find a w*apon,
some way to make us stand out.

A w*apon?

I'll think of something.

Wait, where are you going?
What about practice?

I changed my mind.

There's no practice today.

What? What do you mean? Hey, wait!

Ms. Washimi.

Come here a sec, please.

Here you go.

What's this?

It's the money I borrowed.
It really came in handy.

Thank you so much!

What's with all the secrecy?

If Ms. Gori finds out I talked to you
about this, and not her,

it could become a problem.

Ah, you're right.

She'd probably say something like,
"Why didn't you come to me?"

Whoa, you sound exactly like her!

We're friends for a reason.

Good morning!

Ms. Gori...

Good morning.

What are you girls doing?

Um, we're, uh...

How should I say this?

We were talking about
how we miss going out as a group.

Huh? Are we planning a trip?
Where are we going?

We haven't decided anything.

Anyway, how's the side hustle? Busy?

Ugh, yes! Just listen to this!

That app...

Thank you, everyone!

I love you all!

You're going to release a new song?

Yes! We're working on it now.

I'll buy ten CDs when it's out.

I'll buy 100!

I'll buy 1,000!

-10,000!
-I'll buy 100,000!

I'll do my best to sell a million!

Um...

What is this?

That's OTM Girls' new song.

The guitar is so noisy
and the bass drum is nuts.

This is a totally different song
to the demo you gave me.

I asked the composer to remake it.

Releasing a new song is like dropping
a grain of sand in the desert.

What does one need to drop
to guarantee it won't be buried?

A... Uh, a gemstone!

Impossible.

You'd need both money
and incredible talent.

A pebble?

Unmemorable.

What about, for example...

-A sea urchin.
-A sea urchin?

You'd be shocked
if you saw one in the desert, right?

Well, you have a point.

I'll remove Manaka
from the center position.

The lead vocalist will be a new member.

A new member?

Wait a minute. This is absurd!

Manaka has practiced so hard.

It's so mean of you
to just change it up like that!

Besides,
where would you find a new member?

Are you going to start looking now?

I've already found her.

Where did you find...

The main vocalist for the new song,
accounting manager,

is you.

What...?

He caught you singing death metal
in a karaoke booth?

Yeah, I guess he just happened to see me.

So, what are you going to do?
Will you do it?

Oh, come on!
I turned him down on the spot.

Why?

What? Well, you know, I'm already 25.

I'm too old to become an idol.

That doesn't matter.

Yes, it does!

There's no way I can sing like that
in front of people!

Good morning!

Oh, Ms. Gori!

Good morning!

What are you girls chatting about?

We were, um...

We were talking about
how we miss going out as a group.

Ah...

Is that so?

I've definitely told you already!

Sorry, sorry.

Good morning.

Uh, morning...

BREAK ROOM

She's from General Affairs.

Man, giving work advice sure is tiring!

I see.

Yeah.

Do people normally go to you for advice?

Yeah, that's right!

I think junior workers
find me rather approachable.

Hey, can I ask you something weird?

Yeah, sure.

Let's say...

you have a hobby that
you don't want people to know about,

but there's someone
who really appreciates it,

and that person asks you to perform
your hobby in front of people.

Uh-huh...

What would you do?

This is all a bit vague.
I'm not sure what to say.

Is this about you?

Did something happen?

What? No! Not me!

It's just a hypothetical question.
What do you think?

It depends...

Thought so.

So this is a story about my friend...

Okay.

He really likes this girl, girl A,
but girl A isn't interested.

Ah, unrequited love.

On the other hand,
there's this other girl, girl B,

who is actively trying
to get closer to my friend.

She's really nice, you know.

Gotcha.

What would you do in this situation?

If I had to put myself
in this guy's shoes?

Yeah.

Hmm. I might go out with girl B.

But would I regret it later?

I'm not sure.

Well...

it depends...

Right?

-Did something happen to Retsuko?
-Did something happen to Retsuko?

She's always acting so secretive.

Isn't she? She's so secretive.

She's been acting kind of strange
for a while now.

She looked like she wanted
to ask me something the other day.

Why didn't I notice?

Why don't you just ask Washimi?

The two of them seem to be quite close.

Absolutely not!

If I ask her, she'll just say,

"What, don't you know?

But what does it matter?
It's not our business, anyway."

Was that your Washimi impression?
You sound just like her.

We're friends for a reason!

The trick is to talk as if you haven't
an ounce of blood in your body.

Ah...

Bring all of this inside.

Okay.

Mr. Hyodo?

I'm sorry about the other day...

About turning down your offer.

It was very kind of you.

Don't worry about that.

That's you, isn't it?

It popped up immediately
after a basic search.

You might be trying to hide your face,
but it's pretty obvious.

You look so happy singing like that.

Why did you turn down the offer?

Huh?

You felt bad for me, didn't you?

That upsets me way more, so stop it.

It's not like that.
I'm just not cut out for it.

I have no interest in singing
in front of people.

That doesn't make any sense.

Why do you go to karaoke
and upload videos, then?

You're expressing yourself.

That means
you have the desire to do it, after all.

What? That's not it.

I upload them because I need money.

I'm after the ad revenue.

All right, all right. I get it.

You're a serious good girl.

What?

That's why you always
have to lay the groundwork.

You need a reason to do things.

You only do something
once you've created a scenario

where it's seemingly unavoidable,
like needing ad revenue.

Hey, Manaka,

the thing is, I'm already 25.

I'm too old to be an idol.

Sorry for being too old, then.

Huh?

I'm 26 years old.

What?

I don't need to apologize to anyone
for being an idol.

I'm doing this because I want to.

I haven't fallen so low
that I need sympathy

from a subservient woman like you.

OTM!

Thank you for an amazing night, everyone!

Tonight, we have a special gift

for all of our supporters.

Do you feel b*rned out?

Life is full of crap, isn't it?

Today, for those of you
who feel that way,

we're dropping a sea urchin
in the desert!

A sea urchin?

All right,

this is our new song,

"Aggressive Girl."

Isn't this the remade version?

We have to change it back!

We'll continue with this.

What?

I'm not changing the song.

If you don't sing,
this performance will be a disaster.

It's as simple as that.

What are you saying?

I'm betting on a particular outcome.

The rest is up to you.

Do as you please.

What is he saying?

How can he be so selfish?

How? Why?

Hey, the intro is ending.

RAGE

What's the point
Of trying to be a good girl?!

I'll get stepped on
By the foot of this crap world

If you're hearing this
And you wanna gaslight me

Go ahead an' do it, d*ck!
Step! Up! Fight! Me!

See?

Everyone is appalled.

You can't use just any old w*apon,
you know.

That's right. Let it out. Scream!

And never forget this day.

Let out the roar
that comes from deep within you!

This marks the birth
of "Aggressive Retsuko!"

These are her first cries.