02x09 - Dream

[bunniefuu]

In this village, there is only one inn.

Once you check in,

you may explore the area.

Aqua, you were amazing.

You were really creepy. Good acting.

You're a genius!

You shouldn't say that to your son.

Come on, it's a compliment.

You really are amazing.

Aqua, I'm sure you'll become

the greatest actor.

Take that!

Aqua's emotional acting.

After losing someone precious,

Touki is seized with rage and sadness.

He's amazing.

But why does he look like

he's in so much pain

and so miserable?

That's right. You should suffer more.

Did you see the light in Kana Arima?

Did you think you found someone

who understands you after meeting Akane?

Is acting fun?

Did you want to forget everything

and enjoy living your life falling in love

and spending time with friends?

I won't let you.

You're going to chop up the guy

who k*lled Ai into pieces,

t*rture him mentally and physically,

and make him experience hell

worse than death.

Until then, you have no such right.

"You"?

That's not quite right.

You are me.

Me, who was too powerless to do anything

and burning with regret about it.

I was frustrated

and heartbroken.

I just wanted to hear

Ai's voice one more time.

I'm going to use those emotions.

The battle is over!

Tend to the wounded!

It's too late.

She's lost too much blood.

Princess Saya won't make it.

Not so fast.

This is a wound-transferring sheath.

The bearer is able to

transfer their wound to others.

But she used that power

to transfer her comrades' wounds

to herself instead.

She even took on my wounds

while on the brink of death.

To think, she shows mercy to her enemy.

My wounds are gone too.

Was she planning to settle the battle

like this from the start?

That's the kind of person she is.

That's why we

Geez.

This sheath was meant to be

used like this!

How many times

have I seen that convenient dream?

Like some fairy tale,

hoping for a miracle to happen

at the right time.

Back then,

if I had been able to save Ai

Ai?

Ai!

Ai!

What's wrong Aqua?

You're acting like a baby.

I'm too strong to die from that.

How many times have I wished for that?

For a dream

that would never come true.

Well, how should I put it?

You were amazing!

-I couldn't believe it was you, Akane.

-Yeah.

You look like the Akane we know now,

but you're a completely different person

on stage.

Can I call you Ms. Kurokawa from now on?

What?

You're a genius!

A genius actor!

Stop it!

I've been reminded many times

that I still have a long way to go.

Real geniuses are people like Mr. Himekawa

and Kana Arima.

Huh?!

What's wrong? You were really good!

I want to be better.

You're good enough already, right guys?

I'm exhausted.

I want to go home,

take my socks off and lie down.

I haven't felt this tired in a long time.

Do I really have to do this

for another month?!

I can't outdo the performance

I gave today!

I'm sorry to say this when you're tired,

but we're making a

YouTube video at the office after this.

Senpai, you really are an actor.

I don't really know much about theater,

but you're a very talented actor, right?

What's this about?

You've been a genius actor

since you were a child, right?

Yeah, that's right. I'm

I'm not a genius.

You can tell if you look at those

who are called geniuses.

I'm just desperately trying to keep up.

It's pretty easy to act selfishly on stage

and pretend you're a genius.

Bold acting is easy to understand.

What's really difficult is

Back then,

Akane Kurokawa was on another level.

She wasn't just acting as Princess Saya,

something else had possessed her.

That's something I could never do.

An overwhelming presence.

So much so

that it allowed Aqua

to perform so emotionally.

She did that so smoothly too.

That's what you call a talent.

This is frustrating! I'm so annoyed!

I'll show her what I can do

by the end of the month!

I heard, Kin-chan.

You redid the direction plan

right before the production?

I know you like to

let actors perform freely,

but you shouldn't cause trouble on set.

I had no choice.

Himekawa was filming a movie

and rehearsing at the same time.

Kamoshida was acting in another play.

As for Mitano, he was rehearsing

whilst sh**ting two TV dramas.

We had no time

to adjust the direction as a whole.

Plus, we had a lot of teenagers

for this play.

A lot of them grew during the rehearsal.

Some even improved drastically

during the first performance.

Do you mean Arima?

I didn't have high hopes for her.

But I love how

young people do the unexpected.

Did her experience as an idol

give her a new perspective?

Or maybe she's found herself a boyfriend?

You know, I sometimes wonder.

In an industry full of cute girls,

why do some end up being considered

exceptionally cute?

Why is that?

It's their ability to convince people

of their cuteness.

Girls who are in famous idol groups

or those who have won an award

seem cuter than they really are, right?

It's the same as that.

An ability to convince you

to believe in the lie

that they are especially cute.

I call that "star quality."

Back then, she had that.

If Kana Arima is the real deal

Don't laugh like a creep.

Oh, you know,

I just came up with something interesting.

Kin-chan, who do you think is promising?

Kurokawa, who's perfected her acting

for better or worse,

showed an interesting performance

at the end.

It might give her a chance to grow.

And personally, I'm interested in

Mr. Raida, people from the publishing

company want to see you.

-Make them wait a little longer.

-What?

This is my favorite part.

To watch the audience leave the venue

with content looks on their faces.

I guess the play turned out great.

And so,

the curtain falls on the stage for now.

However,

the curtain for the next stage

is already starting to rise.

DNA RESEARCH INSTITUTE

STAGE PLAY

DIRECTOR

TOSHIRO KINDAICHI

SCRIP

ABIKO SAMEJIMA, GOA

TOKYO BLADE

I'm completely beat.

-This play sure burns a lot of calories.

-Okay!

Okay everyone, we did well again today.

Now let's go for a drink!

What? Again?

Stage actors sure like to drink.

Leave the reservation to me.

I know a few places around here

that offer group reservations on the day.

Thank you, Akane!

Surprisingly, the quiet ones

tend to participate more, huh?

Himekawa, you're coming. Right?

Yeah, I guess.

You wanna join us, old man?

You guys won't be able to relax

if I'm there.

You young ones can go have fun.

We'll be fine. Come with us.

Then I guess I'll go.

Yay!

I don't really like

these kinds of rowdy drinking parties.

Are you going, Aqua?

I'm gonna go home and

I'm going.

Actually, I'm going too.

What I'm saying is actors

should be considered writers too.

GINGER ALE

Not just acting out the scene

without making mistakes,

but we should actively participate

in making the play more dramatic.

But that's the director's job.

Yeah, but they'd tell us

if we're performing badly. Right?

We do need a challenge.

Here you go, Aqua.

Oh, thanks.

Look who's the one getting rowdy.

We must keep up with the trends.

Toshiro Kindaichi.

A long-time representative

and the director of Theater Lalalai.

That's probably the place

where Ai fell in love.

May I sit here?

Hoshino.

Your performance is getting

better and better.

Keep it up 'til the last show.

Thank you.

Mr. Kindaichi,

how long have you been in Lalalai?

Since the very beginning.

Lalalai was originally formed by

a bunch of drama school students

who decided to start their own drama club.

And I'm one of them.

Is there a difference in

acting for drama school and drama club?

It depends on the school,

but schools are led by teachers.

As for drama clubs, we invite alumni

and outside instructors ourselves.

So, Lalalai was formed by

a bunch of selfish people

who wanted to do as they wished.

At first, it was hard

even to gather members.

We did several shows with the people

we gathered through our workshops.

Though that didn't go well.

I'll never do that again.

Didn't go well?

I'd like to know more about it.

It was a failure in my youth.

Stop prying.

Please tell me.

No. It's not a story for kids.

Leave this to me. I'm interested

in the old man's failure too.

Mr. Kindaichi,

let's go drink somewhere else.

I know a good place.

Cheers!

All right, drink up!

Get him wasted for me.

Sure thing.

Men will drink up anything

a cute girl pours for them.

We'll get him drunk so he'll talk about

his embarrassing past.

You're so evil.

Mr. Kindaichi, she's an actress.

Please hire her.

I'm Luna.

If I have the chance.

Come on.

What kind of bar is this?

A lot of models and idols can't

make a living despite their good looks.

This bar allows them to work

behind their agency's back.

Well, that's

Hey, there. Are you enjoying yourselves?

It's members only,

so they're less likely to be exposed.

There are many bars like this.

You sound like you come here often.

Well, yeah. I like cute girls.

Plus, we can only hang out with

tight-lipped people in the same industry.

Dating other actors

is too much of a hassle.

So this place is perfect

for something casual.

Orange juice, please.

Sure.

Hey! You're not drinking, Himekawa.

He got me.

You ingrate.

Did you forget who raised you? Drink up!

-Okay, fine. I'll drink.

-Drink!

What's your relationship?

I came from a children's home.

Mr. Kindaichi has been looking after me

since I got out of there.

A children's home?

I like people who are missing something.

They absorb techniques like

they're trying to fill what's missing.

Himekawa was exactly like that.

That's not nice.

It's true, isn't it?

You too, Hoshino.

Your acting methods are similar.

You're both missing something.

It's like you're trying to imitate

decent human beings

because you're not one.

An acting method of someone

who knows they're different.

They observe everyone around them

and try to adapt.

You're right. I fit that description.

Hoshino, I thought your performance

would be boring.

But I saw your real emotions

towards the end.

That was genuine. Very intriguing.

Well, I guess it's all

thanks to my guidance.

You always take the credit.

So what?

I raised you from nothing

to a popular actor.

And you still won't drink.

Come on, drink.

Oh, no. I made him drink too much.

Old man, let's lie you down on the couch.

I raised you

Sorry about this. I'll get his

embarrassing story eventually.

It's fine.

I actually wanted to talk to you.

I was waiting for this moment.

Here.

What's this?

DNA SIBLING TEST REPOR

DNA analysis?

You and I

have the same biological father.

Could you tell me

about your father?