01x01 - Re:Start

[bunniefuu]

The teachers keep droning on about studies.

We've only just started middle school!

Your voice was my only solace

as I lay in bed late at night.

What high school do you want to go to, Apollo?

NOW STREAMING

MIDNIGHT HEART TUNE

Hmm

Gotta be an all-girls' school.

Hopefully one with an ocean view.

TUNE IN TO THE MIDNIGHT HEAR

FURIN HIGH SCHOOL

Ahem. As mew're—

As you're all aware, Furin Girls' has merged

with Furin Boys' as of this academic year

and become a co-ed school.

I know having boys around

will take some getting used to,

but I hope you'll play nice.

Sensei!

What was that "mew" thing all about?

Did you flub your line?

That would render your speech imperfect.

I demand a do-over.

And you are uh

May I take that to mean

I can introduce myself?

S-Sure, okay.

YAMABUKI ARISU

The name's Yamabuki Arisu!

Heir to the Yamabuki Group, and a man

who'll carry Japan into the future.

As such, I am destined to be perfect.

My favorite food is peaches.

I ask that you all try to avoid being

crushed by my sheer aura and gravitas.

One last thing.

Alas, I regret to inform you that

I am only 99% perfect at this time.

To find that missing one percent

that will make me whole,

I need some help from the ladies.

I'd like you all to take turns

and say "I love you" to me.

Damn it, Yamabuki!

You've got the girls

looking at all us boys funny!

Quit doing that to every girl you see!

We finally got out of all-boys hell!

Adversity builds character, as they say.

You're welcome.

Say, the Yamabuki Group is loaded, right?

What's up with that "I love you" stuff?

Are you looking for a girlfriend?

I'd like to apply for the role.

Huh? Whoa, already?!

F-Fine, bring it!

Lacking a bit of carrying power, I'd say.

Apologies. It's bathroom time.

Since my intestinal flora

are as perfect as the rest of me,

I am in the enviable position of having

nature call at the same time every day.

Yeah, I dunno about enviable.

What is with that guy?

Uh

He's been looking for someone

since the second year of middle school.

But he doesn't know what she looks like.

Wait, seriously?

And get this

Doesn't have the same kind of edge.

All he's got to go on

is her voice.

MESSAGE FROM MOTHER: I GOT A PERM! HERE'S A PIC!

Oh, it's just a text from Mom.

WAITING FOR THE STREAM TO BEGIN

APOLLO HAS STARTED STREAMING

"MIDNIGHT HEART TUNE"

Here we go!

My only joy back in middle school

was a radio show hosted by a girl

who went by the name "Apollo."

Welcome to Midnight Heart Tune.

Guess what happened at school today.

She barely had any listeners.

At times, it was just the two of us chatting.

We'd make small talk every night at midnight.

Oh, look at the time. That's all for tonight.

She always ended her show

with the same phrase.

This show keeps me going every day.

Come hang out with me again tomorrow.

Thanks as always.

My dear listeners

I love you.

Isn't that what you wanted to hear?

And you are?

Break time's almost over.

Didn't you need to go to the bathroom?

I forgot!

Her voice was very similar to Apollo's

I think!

But I can't be sure. She caught me unawares

and at the mercy of nature's call.

Damn it! I need to hear it again!

This is the broadcasting club

with your lunchtime announcements.

Here's to another great year together.

Whoa, a girl's voice

coming through the speakers!

But the sound quality kind of sucks.

First-years, and our new male students,

it's nice to meet you.

Their equipment must be ancient.

Gotta love co-ed, huh, Yamabuki?

The broadcasting club will be coming to you

at lunch and after school,

Something came up! I must take your leave!

Hey, what about lunch?!

bringing you news on school events,

club activities, and committee announcements.

First, an announcement

from the student council.

Apollo abruptly stopped streaming

by the end of the first year of middle school.

With our school now co-ed

MIDNIGHT HEART TUNE

THIS CHANNEL DOESN'T HAVE ANY CONTEN

She also deleted all her archives.

But I knew from our chats that we were the

same age and lived in the same prefecture.

She also said

she'd like to go to an all-girls

high school with an ocean view!

I estimated her location

based on her activities,

and upon further investigation,

only Furin Girls' matched the criteria.

I also caught wind that

it'd be turning co-ed soon.

That's why I chose to go to

Furin Boys' instead of a prep school.

Sometimes my own brilliance frightens me!

BROADCASTING ROOM

BROADCASTING ROOM (TEMP)

I want to talk to you one more time.

I have something to tell you.

I need one last percent to make me whole.

And that is your

M-My apologies.

There's something I want to ask you.

Hey! Don't waltz in here

while we're broadcasting!

Mute the mic.

What? Do we have to start over?

Hey, it's the guy who almost

soiled himself in the hallway.

You know him, Rikka-chan?

You okay? You hit your head.

This is why I didn't like the co-ed idea.

I I'm sorry.

Yeah, she really does sound like Apollo.

The thing is they all kinda sound like her!

Braids has the same kind of voice.

Black Hair has familiar intonation

and pronunciation.

White Hair's whispery way of speaking

It's just like when she streamed in a

hushed voice so her parents wouldn't notice!

And Twintails has the exact

same kind of angry tone!

Curses. How has a mere three-year gap

left me feeling so unsure?

So,

since you're here

does that mean you want to go pro, too?

Whatever do you mean?

Wha?

Why are you here if you don't know?

We all wanna pursue a career with our voices.

The broadcasting club is specifically

for people like us now.

Exactly.

I'm aiming to be an anchor.

My dream is to be a VTuber.

I'm looking to be a voice actor.

I want to be a singer, you see.

A career with their voices?

I've heard of you.

Rumor has it you did one crazy self-intro.

What was it?

"Be my lover and bear my child," was it?

Th-That is not what I—

What the hell? You creep!

You even look like a total degenerate.

I bet you filled your

cloud storage with d*ck pics.

False! I'm here to see someone!

Would that be me?

It's been ages since I talked

to a boy in person.

Being shy is part of my character and all.

Oh, no, sorry

I get it.

You're here to see me, right?

As if!

Exactly. I came here to see you.

I swear on the Yamabuki name

that I have no ulterior motives.

I simply wanted to see you again

and hear your voice.

O-Okay?

If anyone here is Apollo, raise your hand.

Who?

The chocolate?

It's one of my favorites!

What is he talking about?

Huh? Apollo isn't here?

No, based on their voices,

it has to be one of them.

Which means

Apollo doesn't want to reveal herself?!

MIDNIGHT HEART TUNE

THIS CHANNEL DOESN'T HAVE ANY CONTEN

It might have something to do

with why she quit streaming.

sh**t! I shouldn't have asked them directly!

Hey, sorry.

We need to get back to our broadcast.

R-Right.

No matter. I'll have plenty

of chances to investigate.

And don't come back.

Outsiders aren't allowed here.

Never approach us again, you hear?

You see,

I want to get a voice-related job.

I am a veritable expert in voice work!

That makes me a pro myself!

Thus, I have the right to join this club.

To prove it,

allow me to enlighten you

on this club's critical flaw.

It's the equipment.

There was so much noise in your broadcast

that it was unbearable.

And you want to be pros? Laughable.

I mean, not wrong.

This school's practically ancient.

Here's my proposal to fix it.

If you let me, Yamabuki Arisu, join this club,

I'll contribute with brand-new equipment.

You see, yours truly made around

a million yen in the stock market last month.

Sounds good.

It's that easy?

Might be nice to have some man-power around.

Are you okay with this, Rikka?

Yeah. I like his voice.

Thank you.

I'll lead this club to greater

heights as your president.

Hey, who died and made you boss?!

Rikka's our president!

How do we repay him?

But he's loaded.

What could he possibly want?

I know of one thing.

What is it?

Wha?!

Costs us nothing.

Would that even count as repaying him?

I don't really mind.

Yamabuki-kun, could you turn around for a sec?

I love you,

Yamabuki-kun.

Wh-Where did that come from?!

Didn't you want us to say that to you?

What a creep!

Made my heart race a little

O-Oh, right! I must take my leave,

for I have yet to finish my lunch!

I didn't expect to meet Apollo again like this.

I guess it was just you and me again, Arisu.

Thanks for tuning in.

My dear listeners, I love you.

It was just her usual sign-off phrase.

Thank you too, Apollo.

And hey, uh

I love you, too. Good night.

I declared my love to a girl

I knew nothing about!

A blunder most unbecoming of a Yamabuki

who's meant to embody perfection!

If she has a local copy of her archives,

I need her to delete that at all costs!

I can't have it used as blackmail

material after I've made it big.

BROADCASTING ROOM (TEMP)

I have to identify Apollo

as soon as possible

and retract those words I said back then!

THIS HAS BEEN YAMABUKI ARISU

FURIN HIGH SCHOOL

Here's to Yamabuki Arisu-kun

joining the broadcasting club!

BROADCASTING ROOM (TEMP)

WELCOMING A NEW MEMBER

Let's get this welcome party started!

Take it away, our guest of honor.

Tell us how you feel right now.

This gracious welcome truly

warms the c*ck of my heart!

Oh, yeah?

Well, better make yourself useful,

errand boy.

Errand boy? Who, yours truly?!

Our club advisor was against a boy joining us.

She only approved it on the condition

that you be the errand boy.

Do you hate doing chores, Bucky?

"Bucky"? What's up with that?

Don't lose sight of your goal, Yamabuki.

Our top priority is to find Apollo.

Okay. Errand boy is fine by me.

Whatever it may be, I'll give it my all.

FURIN HIGH SCHOOL

NOTES

Now

I'll start by observing the four girls.

Is it just you today?

They're all free spirits.

What's that?

My script for today.

I tend to flub my lines,

so I've marked potential issues.

Say, Uzuki. May I ask you something?

Shh.

Keep it down.

BROADCASTING ROOM (TEMP)

Uzuki Shinobu, aspiring anchor.

She's also the student council vice president,

and your typical honor student.

Her bright and cheerful personality

has made her the school's princess of sorts.

This is your after-school broadcast.

The music room is currently

off-limits due to repair work.

Please be sure to stay away.

Her voice rings as clear as a silver bell.

With our newly co-ed school's baseball team

making its regional tournament de-butt

the wind ensemble pree-sident and the

and cheer-reading cheer uh

You catch my drift. Do your thing.

You flubbed every single word you marked!

Yamabuki-kun! Shh!

Are you stupid, Yamabuki?

That's what makes Uzuki-san so sweet!

Isn't she just so cute?

Love the contrast!

UZUKI SHINOBU, CLASS 2-D

Uzuki can go on the backburner for now.

Nene-chan.

You got the new Lilycos volume, right?

Of course I did! I'm an OG fan!

Lilycos? Apollo loved that manga.

Himekawa Nene, aspiring voice actress.

I hear she's also an avid cosplayer.

She's a real go-getter

and the life of the class.

Hey, voice Lily in this scene for us!

Oh, come on. Just a little, okay?

Ahem.

"I can finally hear your voice again."

"I've been waiting for so, so long."

Squee!

Just like the real thing!

"My father's s sp spectator?"

You mean "specter."

MY FATHER'S SPECTER MUST HAVE LED YOU TO ME.

A spectator is someone in the audience.

"Even if I am to invoke God's horny wrath"

EVEN IF I AM TO INVOKE GOD'S HOLY WRATH

Holy wrath.

THE WIND HAS BEEN TAKEN OUT OF MY SAILS!

"Out of my tails?"

Sails.

Something tells me she's an idiot.

Urk.

No! I'm so scared!

That boy over there's been

ogling me all over!

Wha?!

Uh, I did no such

Hey, keep it in your pants!

You pig!

You want your ba*ls electrocuted, jerkwad?!

I can't figure it out from their voices,

probably because I was listening to a stream.

Namely, the hybrid encoding method.

ELECTRONIC SIGNAL

SAMPLING

Since sending your real voice takes

a lot of bandwidth,

DIGITIZING

ENCODING

it's digitized and a voice pattern closest

to the original is sent.

In other words, a voice out of a phone is one

that merely resembles the original.

MIDNIGHT HEART TUNE

As such, I'll have to figure it out

by what they say and do instead.

Which means I'll have to

observe them more closely.

You want to observe me?

Sorry, my colored contacts are purely cosmetic.

I can't see unless I get real close.

Kirino Iko, aspiring VTuber.

The club's resident tech support,

and hugely popular among the otaku.

According to the boys,

she's currently pioneering a new

"assertive shy girl" archetype.

I can't even.

KIRINO IKO, CLASS 2-B

What brings you here?

This place is reserved for my streams.

Hello-Iko! I'm Ikonic!

Sumeragi Ikon here! Sorry I'm late!

HELLO-IKO!

YOU'RE AS CUTE AS EVER TODAY!!!

Hello-Iko.

Hello-Iko!

Hello-Iko

Bye-Iko!

THIS STREAM HAS ENDED

It's over?!

I mean, it's a break-time stream.

And you think that's fine?

I mean, it makes my viewers happy,

so that's good enough for me.

I'll take my leave.

Did Iko Did I do something to upset him?

What an unserious club!

I haven't even seen the aspiring singer!

You see,

I want to get a voice-related job.

Like voice actress or TV anchor.

Being a singer sounds nice, too. And I think

VTubing's about to hit the big-time.

I know you can do it, Apollo.

Thanks.

In that case,

I'll learn all about voice work, so I can

help you with whatever career you pick!

It's a promise, then.

I'll work like my life's on the line too,

so let's go see the pro world together!

Am I the only one who took

that promise seriously?

This is your after-school broadcast.

Question from the British

Karao—Karate Kid.

"Do the four of you have boyfriends?"

We do not!

Next up

Bad girl, Rikka. You're slacking off.

I'm just not feeling motivated right now.

I wonder what Yamabuki-kun thinks.

Huh?

About us, I mean.

Huh? What are you doing?!

Fellow students!

Would you agree that the broadcasting club

doesn't cut it right now?

Yamabuki-kun, we're live!

What are you doing, you moron?!

Here in this countryside public school,

if these girls continue to neglect

putting in any real effort

and let you all give them

the princess treatment,

their dreams will never come true.

But worry not.

If Apollo has forgotten about our promise,

then I'll just have to make her remember.

And if I don't know which

one of them is Apollo,

then I'll just have to make

all their dreams come true!

Any club that I, perfection incarnate,

am part of must be as perfect as I.

I declare here and now that I will guide all

the members of the broadcasting club

and turn them into true professionals!

Be it an anchor at a flagship TV station,

a Billboard-charting singer,

a top voice actress,

or a VTuber with the most

concurrent viewers ever.

I've come to fulfill our promise.

Now it's up to you to give me an answer.

That's all from me!

Get outta here, dumbass!

We resume your after-school broadcast.

Since we're here,

you'll hear from all four of us.

We've got a ton of letters.

Mom again?

APOLLO HAS STARTED STREAMING

"MIDNIGHT HEART TUNE"

Leave the tongue twister to me.

Thanks! You're a lifesaver!

BROADCASTING ROOM (TEMP)

I nearly had a heart attack.

I never thought you'd come to see me.

But I'm sorry.

I can't tell you that I'm Apollo.

Not right now.

ARISU: I'M HERE AS ALWAYS

While I always lamented

how few listeners I had,

the truth is, just having you there

was good enough for me.

I was happy just being able to talk to you.

When I said "I love you"

It's got a lot of big words, though.

Ugh!

I meant it for you and you alone.

Okay, take turns and let's keep going.

Okay!