01x03 - Episode 3

[bunniefuu]

An official meeting took place

two days after the appearance

of the orifices.

The ministers who attended

the meeting were perplexed,

and the discussion began with what

should be addressed first at the meeting.

I wonder who dug those orifices.

Oh, come on.

No one can dig an orifice in midair.

What should we do about them?

And whose jurisdiction do they fall under?

That must be under your jurisdiction,

the Ministry of Defense.

It's not like we're under attack.

Shouldn't it be yours?

No.

I've never heard of orifices

spontaneously appearing in midair.

Since they are floating in the air,

shouldn't they be considered culture?

Is that so?

Yes, they're art, so you should

place them under your jurisdiction.

That is a good idea.

Is it?

Exactly. It's 100,000 yen per person

for investigating the orifices.

It shouldn't be too hard.

What do you think?

I'm sure we will find

participants in no time.

Could you find people who are willing

to investigate for 30,000 yen?

It won't be anything

difficult or dangerous.

Yes, of course.

The government says it's not dangerous,

so it should be fine.

As for remuneration,

each participant will get 15,000 yen

for investigating the orifices.

Leave it to me. I'll handle it.

We're the only ones you've asked, right?

Can you find some young people

who are willing to work for 5,000 yen?

Until recently, I was working

at a music box museum.

What's that?

It's like an art museum run by the town

but it specializes in music boxes.

There might not be one around here.

The part-timers who were trying to fill up

the orifices eventually entered them.

Where do you live now?

I live here now

but I used to live in the countryside.

A lot of people moved here

since the orifices appeared.

I didn't move here because of that.

-Oh.

-Well

I've been moving around a lot.

I thought it would be nice

to live in a peaceful place,

so I was looking around.

Because of that,

I didn't have a fixed job, to be honest.

Amidst all the moving around,

I had come to live here once before.

Let me tell you in chronological order.

I used to work at a library.

It wasn't being used much

and it closed down

because they couldn't afford

to keep it open for the few patrons.

After that, I wanted to be bold

and moved here to get

a completely different job.

I'm going to pick up the bento boxes!

Matsuoka got a job

at an advertising agency.

At first, I was enthusiastic,

but the work schedule was really brutal.

It was so different from the library.

I hardly had time to sleep,

my motivation declined,

and I was exhausted.

I'm sure this company

would have hired anyone.

No one worked here for long.

I mean, who would want to work

for such an exploitative company?

Talented people would

definitely get a different job.

I said that's too much light.

It's way too bright.

And I'm telling you it won't be visible.

-Of course it's visible!

-No, it's not!

Are you for real?

Do it yourself, then.

I thought about stopping them.

But they were big names in the industry

and I was a newbie.

Besides, I didn't want to deal

with angry adult men.

Yet, I had to tell them

the bento boxes were here

or a superior would yell at me.

You can't handle it alone, can you?

That's not the point.

Do you have a problem with me?

I'm just telling you it's too bright,

so turn down the light a notch.

What part of this is too bright?

Um

The bento boxes are here.

They are over there.

Are you okay? What's wrong?

If I don't announce the bento boxes,

I'll get scolded.

Right.

Did you get yelled at?

We weren't fighting or anything.

It's just our usual playful banter.

I-It's too much.

How should I have known?

He tends to use too much light,

so we were just messing around.

You were yelling.

We weren't fighting, though.

But I thought it was too bright too.

You mean me?

The lighting.

My lighting?

I was wondering if it might be too bright.

Was it too much?

It was so bright,

I thought about suggesting

to turn down the light a bit.

You?

I thought if the filming crew

was okay with it

But the light

The light was

It was as if the light was burning

the subject to death.

Was it that bad?

Don't you think that's a bit extreme?

You were using that much light.

I thought the actor might catch fire.

Oh, but

Yeah, it might've been too bright.

I admit I might've overdone it.

Sorry.

It's okay.

Matsuoka decided to quit her job.

Who was I doing all this for?

I couldn't keep going anymore

and wanted to go someplace quiet.

Then, why did you start working

at the music box museum right away?

Because I needed to make a living.

It might have been better

if I had taken some time off.

The strange thing is

When you're in a state

where you can't take a break,

the option of taking a break

is not even on the table.

Have you moved out of that house?

Yes, I'm already living here.

Our museum is

How should I put it

We only get very few visitors.

It might be a boring place to work at

for someone your age.

That's okay.

Even on busy days,

we only get about five visitors.

During the offseason, it's even less.

There are plenty of other places

that offer better pay.

I'm good at finding something to do.

If a group comes, please guide them

along the route I just showed you.

Although groups only come

once a year tops.

Just be prepared to guide them

in case they do come.

Noted.

And that's the stage.

You do plays?

Only when we have reservations,

we reach out to the city's theater group

and they perform fairy tales.

Mostly, it's part of a school's

extracurricular activity.

One day, when Matsuoka

was working her shift.

There were a total

of six visitors on that day.

We're with the theater group.

-I'll show you

-It's okay. We know where to go.

Oh, go on in.

Among the six visitors that day,

one had reserved a seat

for the performance.

Although Matsuoka had only

been working here for a few weeks,

this was the first reservation

and she found it unusual.

Excuse me.

I reserved tickets for today's show.

I'm Yukie Hara.

Thank you for coming.

Who is it?

It's Little Red Riding Hood.

Oh, Little Red Riding Hood. Come on in.

I'm not feeling well

and can't get out of bed.

Hello, Grandmother.

Your ears are so big, Grandmother.

Yes, so I can hear better what you say.

And your eyes are large and shiny.

It's a little scary.

No need to be scared.

It's so I can see you better, my dear.

Your hands are

quite large too, Grandmother.

Have they always been this large?

No need to be afraid.

If I didn't have large hands,

I wouldn't be able to hold you in my arms.

On a different day.

Matsuoka came to work

to find the name "Yukie Hara"

on the reservation list.

It hadn't even been a week

since she had attended

the previous performance.

Excuse me.

I reserved tickets for today's show.

I'm Yukie Hara.

To be honest, I found the show

was even more boring than commercials.

For a minute, I wondered if

there was nothing better to do here

than watch the same show twice.

But then, I realized it was a coincidence

that they had the same name.

Hello, Grandmother.

Have your ears

always been so big, Grandmother?

Matsuoka was curious about

how this Yukie Hara would watch the show.

Therefore, she watched her from behind.

As did the other Yukie Hara,

she, too, was simply staring at the stage.

Your hands are

quite large too, Grandmother.

I've been living here for a while but

I didn't know there was a place like this.

Have you seen the museum as well?

Yes, I did.

Although there's not much to see.

It's nice and calm, though.

Do you happen to know

someone by the same name

who lives around here?

She's around the same age as you.

No, I don't.

A little while ago,

a Yukie Hara with the same kanji

reserved and came to see the show.

When I saw the reservation list today,

I thought she had come

to watch it a second time.

Oh, really?

Does she come here often?

I've only started working here recently,

so I'm not sure about that.

Maybe I should come here

from time to time.

Ms. Hara really started

coming here regularly.

She didn't get to meet

the other Yukie Hara.

Instead, she ended up frequently

engaging in conversation with me.

For the past six months,

you've been the only person

who's been watching the play.

It's hard to cross paths.

Matsuoka tried to figure out

a way to introduce

Ms. Hara to the other Yukie Hara.

Recalling her fading memories

of the other Yukie Hara,

Matsuoka started searching the internet.

That's it.

Now, tap here to upload your picture.

Does it have to be a picture of myself?

It can be anything,

like a landscape for example.

Then, I'll use a photo of my dog.

Now, type "Yukie Hara"

into this search bar.

There are a lot of them.

This is the other Yukie Hara.

Well, they're all called Yukie Hara but

If you tap here, you can send a message.

I see.

Maybe I should use a photo of myself

instead of my dog.

Could you take a photo of me?

Sure.

Okay.

-Are you ready?

-Yes.

What do you think?

The lighting is perfect.

Let's take one at the museum next time.

What should I write?

Is it okay to message her out of the blue?

Yes, of course.

"Hello, I'm Yukie Hara."

I bet she'll be surprised

when she reads this.

The two Yukie Haras

connected through social media.

It turned out that

the other Yukie Hara was

in the arts business

and was working in Germany.

Therefore, she currently wasn't in Japan.

However, they promised to meet up

the next time she returned to Japan.

Six years have passed since then.

I quit my job at the music box museum.

Now I work at this small public bathhouse.

It's modern and provides

a comfortable working environment.

"Ms. Matsuoka, I hope you are doing well."

"I have news."

"I have kept in touch with Yukie Hara

and I am going to meet her."

"It's been six years."

"She is finally coming back from Germany."

"It's all thanks to you, Ms. Matsuoka."

"Would you like to join us?"

It's nice to see you again.

Who is it?

It's Little Red Riding Hood.

Oh, Little Red Riding Hood. Come on in.

I'm not feeling well

and can't get out of bed.

Hello, Grandmother.

Your ears are so big, Grandmother.

Yes, so I can hear better what you say.

And your eyes are large and shiny.

It's a little scary.

No need to be scared.

It's so I can see you better, my dear.

Your hands are

quite large too, Grandmother.

Have they always been this large?

No need to be afraid.

If I didn't have large hands,

I wouldn't be able to hold you in my arms.

Your mouth is very large too.

Has it always been so large?

Even after six years, it was still boring.

Yet the two of them

simply stared at the stage.

The two Yukie Haras had found

many similarities between each other.

Not only did they have the same name,

but they were the same age

and shared the same birthday.

Even their dogs had the same birthday

and were the same breed.

However, they were born and raised

in different places.

The other Yukie Hara had visited

this place just by chance.

Let's meet up here again

next time I come back from Germany.

Yes, let's. I need to stay

healthy until then.

Although that play is boring.

Will they still be performing it?

They've been doing it for six years,

so I'm sure they'll keep it boring.

You should come too, Ms. Matsuoka.

Next time, let's have dinner together.

Yes.

Seeing them made me wish

to age gracefully as well.

That's why I came back to this town.

But

Two years ago,

I was diagnosed with an illness.

So

Getting sick wasn't what I'd meant

when I said I wanted to age.

Well

You get them even if

you don't wish for them.

That's what illnesses are.

She's not coming back from Germany

for four years?

What does she do for work?

Something related to the arts.

I'm not very familiar

with the kind of work she does.

I see.

But the orifices are there for us.

Maybe you can meet her in there.

Do they have orifices in Germany too?

In Germany

there aren't.

Not in Germany.

Oh, okay.

There are no orifices in Germany.

So, if she wants to enter one,

she'll need to come back to Japan.

We don't know

if she wants to enter, though.

She might not enter.

But even if she doesn't enter

We will meet inside the orifices one day.

I assure you.

Are you allowed to drink alcohol?

That's a good question.

sh**t.

The meat is burning.

-Oh!

-Oh, no.

-I'll eat this, then.

-Really?

Burned food is bad for you.

I don't want to let it go to waste.

I'll take this one.

-Can I use those chopsticks?

-Go ahead.

Thank you.

Hey, Mom.

I've decided to enter the orifices today.

Yeah, today.

Okay.

Thanks, I'll be careful.

Yeah, thanks.

Do you think

there's reception in the orifices?

I'm not sure.

It might be bad, right?

Subtitle translation by:

Mariko Yasuoka-Sator

I'm thinking of letting her quit.

I was born in the UK.

She still can only speak English

and can't fit in at school.

So she wants to do ballet?

I didn't choose to be born in this body.

It's not my fault.

Objectively?

Maybe someone who wants

to go pro should go.

It's all about talent.

Dramaism.

Seven Orifices. Episode 4.