Golden Boy Golden Boy, volume 1 original by Tatsuya Egawa copyright 1993 French translation by Charles Lewis copyright(?) 1999 Dynamic Visions [they don't actually assert a copyright, but ya know, it's automatic. . .] ISBN 2-87409-045-X English translation v1.1 by Mahousu, March 2001, no copyright asserted; provided freely as an aid to understanding the original.

Before leaving kindergarten, I wrote these words in my notebook: "I really like to study." Often I wonder when it was that our schools forgot the true meaning of "study," something which is now so often misunderstood by teachers and parents. For really, learning ought to be both stimulating and entertaining.

[best version of the pun I could come up with...]

Kintaro:

La laaa... tara tara... tum tum tum...

Narr:

My name is Kintaro Oe. 25 years old.

And I'm a man who will do any job.

Schoolgirl A:

There sure are a lot of guys who sing in a loud voice while listening to their walkman!

Schoolgirl B:

Yeah, and they all seem so stupid doing it!

Kin:

Pam pa paa pum!

Narr:

Now, I'm going to work. Today is my first day at my new employer.

Hey hey hey!

Kin:

Rappa ppa... Dodo daa daaan!

Narr:

I wonder what the day's going to bring!

I'm in a super good mood!

Kin:

Zuzu zuda daannn! Dudu dubidadu...

Lesson 0 Information processing

Kin:

I'm dead!

Ouah! What a fall!

Shoot! I'd have been better off not taking the walkman.

[That's for sure! This message brought to you by the Bicycle Safety Council.]

Sign:

Household waste recycling

Kin:

Beurk! Ngh! Ngh! Ngh! Ngh! Ngh! Ngwaah!

CEO:

You all right?

You're not hurt, are you?

Kin:

She's hot! Ohhhhhh!

Kin:

Ah! Nononono! I'm doing great!

Look!

Shoot! I knocked everything over! How silly of me!

I'll have everything back in place in a second... there we go!

Clean! Clean!

CEO:

That's fortunate...

Kin:

Hunh? Yes, fortunate, ha, ha, ha! Uh...

CEO:

Here.

It's for cleaning your clothes.

Kin:

Uh... There's also fixing my bike...

Hunh?

CEO:

Fine. I have to go now. Goodbye.

Kin:

But this is a million yen bundle!

Hey...

Wait, I can't take this! It's too much money!

CEO:

Don't touch me with your disgusting hands!

Kin:

O... OK...

CEO:

...

Kin:

Mhhh...

CEO:

Hey, little one...

From now on, stay on the sidewalk - you're safer there.

[The Bicycle Rights Coalition would like to object to that last remark. Bikes have just as much right to the road as cars!]

Kin:

I learned something

Note.. note.. note..

Notebook:

[Oy! And nobody's paying me for this either! OK, here we go, left to right, top to bottom, as much as I can make out.]

Left page:

Broken Half Moon [his bike]

It's her chest

Pointed[?] clothes

Since I was listening to my walkman, I didn't hear the car behind.. (I was in the middle of the street!)

• - minus: I fell[?] into some garbage (a lot)

  The great part:

  • - plus: 1,000,000 yen! Yippee!!

  The rich can get away with anything with their money. She has a superb voice:

  "Are you hurt?"

  "Don't touch me with your dirty paws!"

  "Hey, kid, from now on stick to the sidewalk..."

  Driving: 17/20

  Traffic laws: 5/20

  She's a terrifying woman!

  Boing!

Right page:

8 July Wed. [which makes it 1992, by the way]

Arrogant!

Ferrari without plates

H: 168 [5'6", statuesque by Japanese standards]

Breast: 88 [34.6] Boing boing

Waist: 58 [22.8]

Hips: 85 [33.5]

Hyper long [legs]

Icy glare Beige eyeshadow[?]

Pink lipstick

Slip[dress] with a large hole in the middle [??]

A girl of good family

Name something like Ruriko Takahashi

Presumed age: 22-23 years

Fine hair

Okamota 3 Street (one way)

She came up from the rear

[Whew! Jamais! Jamais encore!]

Kin:

So, how much do I owe you?

Tenin:

Oh, nothing, nothing. It's not serious

I just bent it back a bit, that's all. Ah, ha, ha!

Kin:

Yes, but...

Tenin:

Oh, that's all right! When you have kids, you'll buy their bikes here, OK?

And be careful!

Kin:

Thanks a lot!

Yakuza:

Hey, pops!

Tenin:

Please, would it be possible for you to wait a little longer?

I beg of you, I have nothing...

Yakuza:

Hey, no!

Notebook:

Band of yakuza [Nothing else legible! Yeah!]

Tenin:

I beg of you, I have nothing...

Yakuza:

Even the saints lose their patience. And we've already been more than understanding with you...

Kin:

I learned something else: even yakuzas use clichés.

Box:

T.N. Software Co., Ltd.

[The inevitable joke: why wasn't it T'n'A. Software?]

Kin:

Excuse me, I'm Oe, I telephoned yesterday...

Girl A:

Ah! You're the new employee! Come on in.

Follow me.
[Sorry, but in Golden Boy, it only seems appropriate to call them all "girls."]

Kin:

<Mhhhh...>

<What a sweet ambiance>

Study!

<A perfume... of springtime...>

<Ahhh! How....>

Inspiration

Narr:

Such freshness. Ah, my friends, this is a place for working!

Girl A:

President...

Here's Oe, the new employee.

Kin:

Good morning, I'm Oe, the new employee!

Huh?

Narr:

Nghh... It's... It's the girl from a little bit ago...

This terrifying woman... She's my new boss?

Kin:

Th... thank you for this morning!

Heh! Heh!

<bow> <bow>

<Ghaaa!>

CEO:

Janitorial.

Kin:

Huh?

Girl A:

Fine. You can start with the toilets.

Narr:

Ahhh! Why such haaattrreedd!

Ad:

Programmer wanted

40 - 60,000 yen per month

[Hmm, I think a zero got left off that salary. Either that, or they're going to be spending a loonnnggg time searching.]

Experience desired

Place: Shonan

Hours: 6am - 5pm [obviously not a U.S. programming shop!]

Days off: Sat., Sun., legal holidays

Advanced degree preferred

No students.

Software development.

TN Software Co. Ltd.

Narr:

To think I studied programming with so much passion.

Kin:

A stroke of the towel! A stroke of the brush! Lalala!

[There's actually kind of a pun in the French.]

Narr:

But this woman is so seductive! I fell in love with her immediately! She's got class to spare. A sublime perfume. She's intelligent. Active. Decisive. Loaded. And she drives her Ferrari like she was in Formula 1... I'll never leave her! The dream! Ohhhh!

<CEO:

Ho, ho! I am your queen!>

<Kin:

Yes! My heart is yours! I will be faithful to you all my life!>

Narr:

My beloved queen...

She... she places her marvelous ass-ets here...

[Yeah, I swiped that from the sub.]

Kin:

...

Ahh!

Nonono! I shouldn't think about it... Nonono! But...

It's truly irresistible...

Hmm?

CEO:

Aren't you a little perverted?

Kin:

No! Pardon me... my queen!

CEO:

Your... queen?

I have no idea what you're talking about...

Kin:

<That's it! She hates me! I'm going to be fired!>

Kin:

<Fired! It's a tragedy!>

<No! No! Stop! Don't look at me like that!>

CEO:

I'm embarrassed, young man.

We're a serious company.

Kin:

Argh! What a cruel world!

I was so happy! So happy to begin this new work! I spent nights studying computers, and what did it get me? Toilets to clean! It's so unfair that I was starting to clean the bathroom with my tears!

Me, who loves computers!

I adore them! RAM! CD ROM! CPU! A universe both simple and complex at the same time. Built out of fleas, of cockroaches!

I want to work! I want to program!

If you really want to judge me, give me at least one chance!

CEO:

Hmm, OK, whatever you want.

Narr:

I'm finally going to be able to demonstrate everything I learned that night!

Kin:

Study, study

Arrow:

Since I didn't have a PC, I made a keyboard out of paper!

Kin:

Triumph! Glory!

<CEO:

Stay here forever, Kintaro!

Be my right arm!

I can't live without you!>

<Kin:

Heh! Heh!

But no, no...>

Kin:

...

What is this?

Um...

Excuse me... This program isn't in BASIC, is it?

Girl A:

So, you really don't know anything about computers!

We're all professionals here!

BASIC is a programming language used by elementary school kids!

Kin:

So what *do* you use, then?

Girl A:

C, assembler, or sometimes Smalltalk!

[Boy, that takes you back, don't it!]

Kin:

<C>

Narr:

Fine, if "A" is a kiss...

And "B" is a...

Then "C" can only be...

[I don't have to explain this, do I? It's like "first base," "second base," etc., but slightly faster.]

C. C. C.

Kin:

T... teach me! I want to learn about C!

Girls:

Aahh!

CEO:

Fired!

We can't have someone as ignorant and ill-behaved as you in our company!

There isn't any place for you here. Get out.

Kin:

What?

CEO:

Were you listening? I told you to go away.

Narr:

A cold and cruel stare...

CEO:

The youth these days are all the same. You talk really well, but it's nothing but wind. No sense of responsibility, none. Absolutely zero.

Pfut!

Narr:

Argh! It can't end like this...

I have to do something...

Kin:

Wait a minute, CEO!

Today I am nothing, but tomorrow I can become the best! A god of programming!

CEO:

Tomorrow..

... A god of programming? What is he talking about?

Kin:

I can do it! I want to with all my might! With all my heart!

Money doesn't interest me!

I only want a chance!

Remember, even the saints lose their patience!

[Ah! Il a appris quelque chose!]

CEO:

Do what you want.

But watch out! Don't interfere with the others' work, got it?

Kin:

Thank you, CEO!

SFX:

Bow

Kin:

Excuse me...

Could you explain to me what "C" means?

<What'll I do if it's something dirty? Heh heh!>

Girl A:

"C" is a programming language which, compared to BASIC or FORTRAN, is closer to machine language.

Kin:

Hum! Hum! I've learned something again!

Narr:

Ahhh! This place has the air of springtime...

No... I'm not going to quit this job that easily!

Kin:

Heh! Heh!

Footnote:

You'd think he's Goro Noguchi! (A young male "idol," very much in vogue in the '80s.)

Kin:

Here's the coffee!

Girl B:

Oh! Thanks!

Kin:

Excuse me... Could I ask what you were talking about?

Girl B:

Oh, nothing. I was just saying we're lacking new concepts in software engineering...

Ah! This is good!

Girl C:

For example a user interface which succeeds in simplifying a complex system and renders it accessible even to children.

[Obviously written before the advent of "Microsoft Bob"]

Kin:

I see...

I've learned something!

CEO:

[in English] No problem.

Come on! You know we are the last company to break off a contract.

Kin:

The CEO speaks English superbly! What class...

Girl D:

Of course! The buyer for the software we're in the middle of developing is American. It's a hyper-well-known place, and our company is looking toward the American market to increase its business.

The demand is huge, and given identical [profit] margins, you always have to go with the larger market.

Kin:

Of course! Of course!

Study!

Tatataaa!

Study!

Because life is teaching me!

Ghh!

Argh!

Kin:

Well... But...

It's a bra... Life is full of surprises...

Study! Study!

Sniff sniff

Girl A:

Ah, ah, ah! Exactly!

Girl B:

Really? That's incredible!

Girl A:

Anyway, I've discovered this great restaurant!

Girl B:

Ah yes? And where is it?

Kin:

Uuuuh...

<Please don't let them see me...>

<Please don't let them see me...>

Girl D?:

Ah non, it's ruled out!

Girl A:

C'mon, c'mon, that's not true...

Kin:

But...

I've learned something....

Note note

Notebook:

She likes sexy lingerie

Miss M.N. [Girl A]

B (cup)

A little tubby

Miss S.F. [Girl D]'s bra

Breast 80 [31.5"]

Hips 82 [32.3"]

She's a little hairy

Dormouse fur [?Sorry, but that's the best I could come up with, and it feels a little weird staring at it to try to make it out. You know what he's commenting on, at any rate.]

CEO:

You're working hard, aren't you?

Tell me... Aren't you afraid?

Kin:

Noooon... Don't worry! I've done window cleaning before!

CEO:

Ah yes

But be careful anyway, OK?

Poitrine:

Boing

Kin:

Y.. yes! OK!

CEO:

How nice it is here!

Kin:

<Ah... How nice it is here!>

There, it's finished. Time to go home!

Wait...

There are still lights on here...

Kin:

Heh, heh! No, no!

Electricity is expensive!

There's the breaker. Yep, that's it. We can't waste energy.

<CEO:

Nobody thinks about general expenses! Oh Kintaro! You are our savior!>

<Kin:

But no, but no...>

<Poitrine:

Boing>

<Kin:

CEO! Don't carry on like that! I can see your breasts!

Ah! Ah yes? Ah Ah!>

<Poitrine:

Boing>

Narr:

He's dreaming there

CEO:

Aaahh!

Kin:

Ah!

It's the cry of a woman in danger!

CEO!

What's going on?

CEO:

Who? Who turned off the server?

Kin:

<Huh?>

<CEO:

Oooooh! How happy I am! You're the one that turned it off? Thank you! Thank yoouuu!>

Kin:

Me! It was me!

<CEO:

Kintarooooo!>

<Kin:

Chief! Calm down!>

<Poitrine:

Boing>

CEO:

You know what you've done, you stupid idiot?

Bo-bounz punch

You erased a program we've worked on for over three months!

And we have to deliver it in a week! What are we going to do now, hunh?

[OK, OK, I know there are objections as to how just turning off the power would have wiped out three month's work. But remember when this manga was originally written. I have two possible theories: (1) To speed access, they'd been doing everything in a huge RAM disk, which they'd forgotten to ever copy to the hard disk; or (2) They were doing everything on Lisas with the buggy version of MacWorks XL, which took so long to boot they knew they'd never have it up again in a week.]

Kin:

Pardon me, CEO... But didn't you take notes?

Look, I've noted down all the important stuff... and you?

CEO:

It's enough not to cut the power to the server and the data will be saved, imbecile!

Kin:

Aahhh!

What are you doing?

CEO:

You've caused irreparable harm to our firm!

Kin:

No! You shouldn't have done that! This notebook is everything to me! It's dearer to me than life itself!

It has an immeasurable value!

CEO:

Mh?

Kin:

Argh..

..gh!

Notebook:

[the worst possible page]

Kin:

<Oh... Oh no!>

CEO:

Get out now! I don't want to see you any more!

I had hoped that you really were worth something... But I made a mistake. You are the most vile and loathsome of men.

Kin:

So... sorry!

Kin:

Let me work here! I beg of you! Give me another chance! Before leaving, I will make up for my error!

CEO:

All that... All that is nothing but wind! You're not a real man!

Kin:

I'll do whatever you want! I'll lick the ground.

But ...

I'll clean the toilets if you want...

CEO:

You shouldn't have any problems with money...

I gave you a million yen just a few days ago.

Kin:

That's true. But I've already spent it.

<Kin:

Come on thirty five!

Oh, oh!

Yuh!>

CEO:

Schpt!

You're nothing but a sewer rat!

Kin:

Shlup!

CEO:

You vermin!

Kin:

Pity, my queen!

Narr:

A week later...

After several sleepless nights...

CEO:

<I can't do any more.. We'll never make it..>

<We already spent three months to develop this program. This will

be our first major failure since the creation of our company.>

Girl A:

CEO!

CEO:

Don't yell, please! My head's about ready to explode!

Girl A:

Come take a look, would you!

CEO:

What?

Hunh?

It's impossible!

What's it doing there? It's the program that Kintaro erased!

That means that one of you saved it!

Girl A:

Actually, it was a disk that Kintaro gave me a few hours ago...

Kin:

Voila!

Girl A:

Hunh?

CEO:

Whaddid you say?

I understand now! That rotten kid was playing a trick on us!

Girl E:

What?

CEO:

Kintaro saved the file on a diskette, then he cut the current deliberately!

<Kin:

Everything's here!>

CEO:

And now he must be laughing like an idiot...

Seeing us drive ourselves crazy trying to recreate everything!

<CEO:

We're done for!>

<Kin:

Heh, heh! Faster! Faster!

... even though everything is here!>

CEO:

That's why he was so desperate to excuse himself!

<Kin:

Sorrry!>

CEO:

When in fact, all of this was just a horrible scheme!

<Kin:

Ha ha! Who did you think you were, you hysterical old woman!>

CEO:

Grrr

He's going to pay! Where is he? I want to know where he is!

Girl B:

I saw him in the hallway, he was mopping the floor.

CEO:

I'm going to kill him!

Girl A:

President, wait a minute!

Girl A:

It's not our program, I'm sure of it.

CEO:

What?

What are you saying? Let me see!

Girl A:

It corresponds exactly to the client's order, but still...

CEO:

You're right...

This isn't our program...

<In fact, the interface is a lot simpler... I don't understand...>

<The graphics are very intuitive...>

<And there are shortcuts...>

<Even a novice could use it without reading the manual! But who could have written it? What extraordinary talent...>

This... this is not possible.. Who wrote this?

Could it have been Kintaro?

No! Not him! Not Kintaro! I can't believe it!

Screen:

I learned a lot with you! I thank you very much!

Kintaro Oe

Girl A:

But then... He wasn't talking nonsense! He succeeded in doing it all in one week!

Girl B:

It's true that when we explained something, he understood very quickly!

CEO:

<Kintaro Oe... He made us believe he was an imbecile. Never there when you needed him. But in fact, he showed us that he was more intelligent, more responsible, and more patient than we were...>

Screen:

Goodbye!

Boing! boing!

CEO:

<Fine, enough laughing. All this is too absurd... I'm still trying to get him!>

You said you saw him in the hallway, was that it?

Maybe he's still there!

Let's go so!

Girls:

He's not here.

He must have left.

Tenin:

Ahem...

Girl B:

Can we help you?

Mrs. Tenin:

Excuse us, young ladies, I wanted to know if was really here that a certain young man worked, very friendly, with a cap, and who rode around on a mountain bike...

Girl E:

Well of course! That's Kintaro!

Mrs. Tenin:

So, a few days ago, we were having some problems. And he lent us a million yen. He didn't even leave us his name or address... But a little while ago we saw him come in here, so we came to thank him. His generosity saved our lives, you understand?

CEO:

...

<Kintaro offered a million yen to an old couple he didn't even know?>

<Kin:

I spent it all!>

CEO:

<Kintaro, in fact...>

<I've got to be quick!>

Narr:

Kintaro Oe. 25 years old. Born May 5, 1967. Blood group A.

Kin:

Study! Study! Study!

CEO:

Ah! There he is!

Wait, Kintaroo!

Kin:

Study! Study! Study!

Narr:

He passes from one job to the next, in order to learn from the school of life.

His favorite quotation: "If you've lived well, you'll have no regrets in dying."

Favorite pastime: Study.

Ideal woman: Jodie Foster or Rui Sakuragi (famous Japanese AV actress)

Mens sana in corpore sano!

Favorite love story: "Tokyo Love Story" (manga which gave birth to a live TV series)

Favorite dish: Japanese-style curry rice.

One more time, he's headed off for the future without a precise goal, with his faithful mountain bike, Half Moon.

One day, he will save Japan... or perhaps the world!

Well, maybe...

The assistants' manga!

In a world pre-premiere, the Egawa Professionals!

In case of divergence with reality, refer to the latter.

By Naito

I am most honored to make your acquaintance. I'm the one responsible for the background drawings of the AB brothers. (I don't know how to draw the characters.) This time, the assistants get a page of their own. Please be kind, and pardon our inexperience and our bungled drawing.

[Well, there's not a lot of point in me translating all the little boxes by the characters - how could you tell which went with which unless you could already read them? Of interest, perhaps, is that among all the mess, there are two teams of four persons each, one working on Toukyou Daigaku Monogatari (Tokyo University Story), and one working on Golden Boy.]

To tell the truth, it's quite rare for everyone to be there at the same time.

Notes: 1. Taruruto-kun is a manga by Egawa very well-known in Japan, and adapted as anime by Toei Animation.

2. Aguri Suzuki is an old F1 pilot.

3. Dada is also a character in the adventures of Ultraman (1966).

[In response to popular request, I'm doing the next chapter too. But that's it!]

Narr:

Mhhh?

You can see her panties!

Narr:

I saw an angel fallen to Earth...

[Uh, Kintaro, you know who the original "fallen angel" was...?]

Lesson 1 The angel of seduction

Narr:

Pretty, innocent and guileless...

Like a flower...

Sunlight filtered through the upper windows...

And in this light, I saw an ethereal creature, a marvelous angel fallen from heaven.

A vision from a dream

Kintaro!

Girl (Naoko):

Hee, hee!

Narr:

She... she smiled at me...

When looking at me! Heh, heh!

Don't leave! Sweet vision, show me again your angelic smile!

Let your smile take me one more time to paradise...

Soul:

Celestial paradiiise...

Hey!

Housekeeper:

I'm back!

Hskeep:

I had to search for it!

But why use a liquor that's so expensive...

What's wrong with you, kid?

Kin:

Nothing...

Nothing serious!

I'm going there... I'm going there right now...

Quick, put it on my shoulders so I can carry it!

Hskeep:

But it isn't heavy...

Kin:

See you!

Hskeep:

Watch out! That bottle cost a fortune!

Kin:

Wah!

Hskeep:

Oh! I told you to watch out!

Kin:

Oof!

Hskeep:

Pfiu!

Kin:

Heh, heh, heh! I worked in a circus... The experience was useful. Thank you! Thank you! Heh, heh!

Hskeep:

Clap! Clap! Clap!

Narr:

My name is Kintaro Oe.

I'm 25 years old...

And I study in the school of life.

October 1. I got a stiff neck at the house of Juzo Katsuda. I foolishly let myself be startled by the governess... I turned my head to the right, then the shoulders to the left, then the head some more to the right...

Today, I learned that the human head cannot make a complete circuit on its axis...

Notebook:

[Take a deep breath, and...]

Left page:

Naoko: Hee hee! Hee hee hee!

Kin: Magnificent

Girls of her age smile so easily!

It's so charming!

She doesn't look at all like her father.

He has a big mustache.

She's an incredible girl.

I think she's had trouble finding a boyfriend because of all the money her family has... Maybe she looks like her mother.

She is beautiful!

Nails well cared for

Pretty eyebrows

A pretty mouth, yes

Right page:

Juzo Katsuda's daughter is truly magnificent!

Shiny hair Silky!

Truly super beaut!

Breast: 82 [32.3"]

I saw an angel!

Waist: 55 [21.7"]

She must be in Seconde (10th grade) or Premiere (11th grade)

Girl's high school uniform

You could see everything

Hips: 80 [31.5"]

Slender legs

Kintaro in ecstasy

Guileless

[Heh, that wasn't so hard!]

Kin:

Then...

Narr:

I'm now working in the electoral propaganda department [all right, in English we'd be less honest and call it something like the "voter information bureau"] for the reelection of Juzo Katsuda, who's currently the mayor of Kogane.

We're in the middle of the electoral campaign. And it's his third candidacy.

Kin:

Here, I brought the bottle...

Noriko:

Thank you!

Narr:

This is his wife, Noriko Katsuda

Noriko:

You were fast!

Everyone, here's our special reserve!

Crowd:

Yeah!

Narr:

This generous woman had for her task collecting the votes of housewives.

Narr:

It seems that the family has been the owner of large tracts of land in the region for several generations.

Loudspeaker:

Vote well! Vote for Juzo Katsuda!

Narr:

Even the Yakuzas in the area work for Juzo Katsuda...

And they manipulate a lot of money

And a lot of votes.

During this period, greenbacks bloom even among the foliage and the vegetables...

Woman:

Oh? Where did these Y10,000 come from?

Yakuza:

Well...

Narr:

The bureau of elections is like a bistro...

The voters sell their votes for a little sake or some money.

What a conception of politics!

It's disgusting.... These elections are a real embarrassment.

"Happy coat" guy:

Hey, friends, if the mayor wins, I'm inviting you all to a super night club!

You'll be able to have fun with the girls at the best soap hotel in Yanagawa, "The Emerald"! That alone would cost you Y100,000 apiece!

[I assume anyone interested in reading "Golden Boy" knows exactly what a "soap hotel" is. If not, look at the pretty pictures.]

Crowd:

Yeehiii!!!

Narr:

Yeah! The best soap hotel! Now that's an electoral argument!

Soap girl:

C'mere, big boy!

Hskeep:

Excuse me, Mrs. Katsuda... My youngest has a really high fever... Could I leave work early this afternoon?

Noriko:

No, there's too much work today... Plus, kids recover fast anyway.

Kin:

Um... Excuse me, but if it's a matter of doing some cleaning, I can take care of it during my breaks, in the morning and the evening...

Noriko:

What are you talking about? You need to concentrate on the electoral campaign!

Kin:

Yes! I will work with ardor!

But this poor woman lives alone, with her sick child! You can't ignore the suffering of this faithful governess for the sake of an election! Such a comportment would surely have a negative influence on our voters!

Hskeep:

Hey, kid! I'm not poor, and I don't live alone!

Kin:

During this critical phase of the election, with a noble gesture, you can conquer the public and gain the upper hand!

Noriko:

Ok, you've convinced me, do what you want.

Kin:

Yessir!

Hskeep:

Thanks!

Narr:

Yeessss! I've done it! I'm finally going to see my angel again!

Guy:

Hey, you!

Kin:

Y... yes?

Guy:

I think you ought to know that the mayor is really fond of his daughter, the charming Miss Naoko...

Kin:

Hum?

<Beurk! He smells like rotten fish!>

Guy:

A while ago... a classmate of Miss Naoko stole her underwear...

<Classmate:

Panties!>

Guy:

They put him in concrete overshoes and gave him a one-way trip to the bottom of the drainage pond on the property... At least, that's what they tell me!

Box:

Village of Kogane. Drainage pond on the Katsuda estate.

Kin:

<Great... I learned... Something...>

Kin:

So, she's named Naoko...

Miss Naoko...

[Yeah, what do you think that he learned? Not to get into trouble? Sorry, that's one lesson that never seems to penetrate.]

<Pff... I spend my time cleaning toilets.>

<What a drag!>

...

But this is where she places her posterior every day!

It's incredible!

Oh! Oh!

Sweetie! Sweetie!

Does she know that I am cleaning it for her?

Aaahh!

Oh!

Hum?

Naoko:

Excuse me! I'm so sorry...

I opened without knocking, I shouldn't have...

Kin:

That's... that's ok!

I'm... I'm Kintaro Oe. I'm doing the cleaning in place of the governess!

<Oooh! What a magnificent voice! The sound of this celestial voice carries me off to paradise...>

Naoko:

Ah... I really am sorry...

To have scared you while you were cleaning...

But you're all wet now!

Kin:

Huh?

Oh! Sorry!

Don't panic! I'll clean myself up right away!

Naoko:

Strange, the towel's gone. You can't stay like that...

Well, then, come to my room!

Kin:

What? But...

<Ah, what a velvety hand!>

But...

<Oh, they are so warm... So soft, whoa! I'm in paradise! Wow!>

<I'd let myself be led anywhere by this hand! Especially theerre!>

<No! I can't think about such things!>

I... Excuse me!

<Wow! What a hand towel!>

Naoko:

No, don't apologize. Everything is my fault. I shouldn't have frightened you like that in the bathroom!

Kin:

<An angel's room>

<She's a very well-ordered girl...>

<So it's here that she spends...>

<all of her days.>

<Say, do I sense a delicate perfume?>

Hey! What do you think you're doing?

Naoko:

I'm just changing my clothes, that's all!

Kin:

Fine, so I'm going then?

Naoko:

Why? You can stay if you like...

Kin:

<What to do? The door's over by her side...>

<But what is she doing, anyway? I'm going to have a heart attack! When I think that she's there, behind me, completely naked! No clothes at all...>

<Ahhh! I wish I had eyes on the back [of my head]!>

Wah!

Kin:

<I can see everything in the mirror! How is it possible? Does she know it? Does she want it? Am I really allowed to?>

<Ahhhh! I'm looking at things I shouldn't be seeing! My heart is going to explode!>

<But she is so beautiful! So beautiful!>

<I understand! She's lived in an ambiance so pure...>

<that she doesn't even imagine the impulses a man can have!>

<Ahhhrgh! I'm nothing but an abominable sewer rat, contaminated by our execrable universe! That's what I am! A pig!>

<Nooo! Nooo! Your silhouette is too perfect for my eyes!>

<Argh! I can't tear my eyes away from so much beauty!>

Naoko:

<Ha! He's staring at me! He's like the others... Just a pig...>

<Disguised as a gentleman.>

Um...

<And he too, he must be terrorized by my father. He won't dare to do anything.>

Kin:

Argh!

Naoko:

Are you all right? You're perspiring... You're not sick, are you?

<He doesn't have an ounce of pride! C'mon, show me you're a man. Look at me, am I not seductive?>

Kin:

<Ohhh... What a chest...>

<And her lingerie is so fine...>

Naoko:

<You're on fire, aren't you?>

Are you all right?

Kin:

Y... yes!

<Argh! The... the body of an angel!>

I've got to go!

Naoko:

Wait!

Kin:

Sorry, can't!

Naoko:

<Stupid little pig, you'd have wanted it: I'm going to make you crazy every single day!>

Humpf!

Kin:

Study! Study!

Naoko:

Kintaro!

Kin:

Yes?

Sign:

Attachment [of articles] is strictly reserved for electoral communications for the municipal elections. Please attach properly...

Naoko:

Hello.

Kin:

Hi! I'm happy to see you!

Naoko:

Pardon me for yesterday, I...

Kin:

But nooo... F.. for what? I'm the one who should be asking for pardon....

<She is... She's so close... At this distance, I'm breathing the same air as her... Ohhh! Magnificent...>

Naoko:

Ah!

<Falling like this...>

<My breast should touch his hand...>

Kin:

Miss!

<I touched it!>

Kin:

<She's... not wearing a bra...>

<I thought they were smaller... But now that I can touch them...>

<She's at least a C cup!> [European sizing, of course]

Naoko:

<So, you like my breasts?>

Kin:

<But... why would this timid girl... But yes! She is so sensitive that she doesn't wear a bra so as not to suffocate her little heart! What a sensation!>

<I've learned something... Oh, yes!>

<Gh... gh... ghuuuu! Good grief! She's not wearing any panties, either!>

<Incroooyaaaableeee! It's unbelievable! I can't be mistaken...>

Note: incroyable [enkrwajabl] adj. unbelievable

[Yes, I switched the French and English around in the usual translator's (weak) trick.]

Kin:

<I felt it, and... she doesn't have any panties... underwear... pa-n-ties paa-paaaa-nnn-paan! Underwear! Underwear! Muuuuh! Muuuuh!

Naoko:

<So, you like girl's heinies?>

Kin:

<Oh! How firm it is!>

<Oh! Oh! I'd like to die right now! Yes! Yes!>

Naoko:

Oh! Pardon!

Kin:

Augh!

<Don't act like an idiot! Be a man!>

You're doing better? You had me frightened, there, ha, ha, ha!

Naoko:

Hem...

Kin:

<Happiness, alas, is not eternal...>

Naoko:

This letter is for you...

Read it, please...

Kin:

Huh?

Naoko:

Ah!

Kin:

Miss, don't run like that!

Letter:

For Kintaro Oe

Please excuse me for this improvised letter. I don't know what

one is supposed to say in these situations, so I will come

directly to the point. Saturday night, at eleven o'clock, I

will be waiting for you in my room. I have to speak with you.

Again, excuse me. You absolutely must come, I beg of you.

Sincerely, Naoko Katsuda

Diagram:

(Right to left): Jump! Climb! My room

Kin:

OK, beautiful miss...

<Hoorah!>

I will come, no matter what the cost!

Naoko:

I... I beg you to excuse me...

You must think that I'm a bizarre girl, mustn't you?

Kin:

Now what are you saying? Not at all! I find you very nice!

["sympathique"; can't think of an exact English equivalent]

Naoko:

<Well! He was a bit more courageous, this boy. Desire got the better of his fear...>

Kin:

So anyway... what was it that you wanted to talk to me about?

<Oh! My God! You can see everything!>

Naoko:

Listen, Kintaro, could you possibly teach me...

Kin:

Uh.. what... what is it that I should teach you?

Blouse:

Nipple!

Kin:

<You can even see to the end of her breast!>

Naoko:

What it is I would like... what it is I would like you to teach me... Oh, I am so embarrassed...

Kin:

<She.. she couldn't possibly want a lesson on... on sex?>

Naoko:

Really, I just can't figure them out...

Kin:

<Arithmetic..>

Ah.. ahhh... yes, indeed, it is a little complicatateeed...

[Misspelling deliberate]

Naoko:

You can't teach me to solve them?

Kin:

Of... of course I can!

<Oh, Lord, please forgive me for having thought such naughty things!>

Soooo, if you make it like that, it all works out, you see?

<This girl has real problems in math.>

And then, you solve it just like a type of addition...

Naoko:

Hmm, so, it's like that?

<What a dope! He really is giving me a lesson...>

<Pfff, if I had shown him more difficult problems, this poor Kintaro would have been incapable of solving them.>

I thank you very much! Thanks to your advice, I understood all the exercises very easily!

<If this dummy Kintaro knew that I ranked fifth in the national Math Olympiad, it would blow his mind! [Dated slang, I know, but the closest I could come up with.] Look at him, happy as a clam! [lit., puppy] What a stupid head!>

<Head like a p...>

Kin:

Uh, if you want, I can give you a lesson every day...

Naoko:

What? Every day?

...

Kin:

That is, if it's all right with you...

Naoko:

How nice...

Kin:

<"How nice..." Heh, heh, heh! Supeeeer!>

Naoko:

<Men... They can never resist these little games...>

<But, when you come down to it, they only think about one thing... Hee, hee, hee!>

<They're just pigs... They only live for their little zizi!>

[Hey! I resent that! It's not that little! Er, that is, I mean, I do feel your remarks are a bit too sweeping, Miss Katsuda. And I'll have you know that while maybe you got fifth in the Math Olympiad, *I* was 78th in the Putnam exam! (Or maybe it was 178th, I don't quite remember!) OK, maybe not as high a rank, but it was a much harder test! Well, I thought so, anyway!]

Narr:

Several days before the elections.

Arrow:

Opposition candidate

Naoko:

Professor!

Here, I'm out of the bath..

Kin:

Wagh!

Signs:

Yuzo Katsuda Victory assured!

Narr:

By day, I work at the voters office...

Naoko:

Ahhh! I feel dizzy....

Kin:

Wah!

Narr:

And at night, I give lessons to Miss Naoko.

Voices:

For Katsuda!

Yes, for Katsuda!

Kin:

<All this underwear! It's tortureee!>

Narr:

Argh! I can't take any more!

Naoko:

Look, it's a gift from my father!

You like it?

Narr:

And that makes two weeks now!

Kin:

Yes... it's diviiine!

Naoko:

Great! So I'll wear it during the lesson!

<My, my... He's looking at me as if he'd like to undress me...>

<My chest...>

Kin:

So, this con... constant...

Naoko:

<My derriere...>

<And her....> [Well, "chatte" is feminine, of course!]

Naoko:

<You can't take any more of it, can you? I know that you would like to know what's concealed in my little maillot... I can see it in your eyes!>

Kin:

Nhf... anf

Naoko:

<And you're dying to touch me... I can see it in the trembling of your hands...>

Hands:

Tremble tremble shake shake

Naoko:

<I know what you want... I know better than you!>

Zizi:

Push push

Naoko:

<But you can't! It's forbidden...>

I didn't really understand this thing here...

<You're nothing but a puppet in my hands... and I'm pulling the strings.>

<You're just a toy, little boy...>

<Hmm, look, his notebook. Kintaro uses it a lot, every day...>

<I'm sure there's plenty of stuff on me in there...>

<I'm dying to read it...>

Oh... I feel faint...

Kin:

Uhhiiii!

Naoko:

<Pff.. too easy...>

Kin:

You ok?

Naoko:

Um...

We can stop for the day, ok?

Arrow:

I swiped the notebook.

Naoko:

!

Notebook:

[This must be to make up for the previous one being so easy. Unfortunately, this one's a little more significant, so I had best make the effort. The parts that are covered up by her exclamation, I mark with [...].]

Left page:

[...] basically, she [...] that she can treat men like objects, but in reality, she's a very sad girl, wounded by her father. She wants to take revenge on him!

But with my love, I could perhaps...

Intentions: humiliate boys.

[...]ko Katsuda, terminale [that is, she's actually a high school senior].

Birthday 15 Nov (Scorpio).

Blood type A.

In appearance, an innocent girl, but in fact:

She plays at provoking boys.

She has been marked by the dominant presence of her father.

Father - (authority - power - violence).

[Semilegible words:] gorgeous humility

Right page:

She habitually exploits her feminine charms... She made three important points:

The 1st: In a [school] uniform, but without underwear or bra.

Uniform -> constraints

No bra, no underwear -> liberty

No. 2) when she was changing

No. 3) when she was coming out of the bathroom

She's playing at a comedy for her parents.

Her drama -> a double personality

Father: crude, but gifted with a great vitality. He regrets never having received a diploma.

Mother: jealous, beautiful, intelligent

Daughter

Naoko:

<Whaattt? "Her purity is only an appearance"? "She's playing at a comedy, and believes she can manipulate men like puppets, but at her core, she's a very sad girl"?>

<"She is submissive to her father"...>

<"and would like to avenge herself on him..."?>

<"But my great love will succeed in..."?>

[OK, I know Naoko read them a bit differently from me, but recall her eyes are clouded by rage, whereas I am my usual calm, meticulous analytical self.]

<But... then... so he understood everything!>

<In fact, he played the comedy better than I!>

<He manipulated me! I'm angry!>

[Say whatever else you will about her, but Naoko is really cute when she's angry.]

Furor furor furor furor

<How dare he say I am submissive to my father! Grrr! Kintaro, you con artist!>

Caption:

She's upset over being unmasked

Naoko:

I swear you will pay!

Crowd:

Yuhuhuh! We won! We won!

Guy:

Fantastic! Tonight, we're going to the night club!

Kin:

Ah! ah...

Guy:

Whassa matter, aren't you happy?

Kin:

Well yeah... But I lost my notebook. It's precious...

Guy:

So what? You can always buy another one! Think about the night club!

Kin:

Right! Yeah! I've never really seen one! It's super!

[Scene change]

Excuse me, you wouldn't have seen my notebook, by chance?

Naoko:

No, sorry...

Scissors:

Cut cut

Kin:

Huh?

<What's she doing?>

Naoko:

Take these, please...

Kin:

OK...

Naoko:

Breathe in....

Kyyaaah!

Kin:

Eh?

Yuzo:

Naoko! What's going on?

Naoko:

Papa! This... this guy came in through the window, and he tried to rape me! He cut my clothes and...

Arrow:

Scissors

Kin:

What?

Yuzo:

You filthy dog! What did you do to my daughter? Massacre him!

Thugs:

I'm going to kill you!

Kin:

Ghiii!

<Guy:

If you so much as touch one of her hairs, you're dead.>

Naoko:

<C'mon... Invent a good excuse for yourself. Abase yourself... Crawl to save your miserable life...>

<Kin:

It's Miss who arranged everything...>

<Have pity!>

<Naoko:

Forgive him, father... It's my fault!>

Naoko:

<All you have to say is that I trapped you, that you're my victim...>

<We'll see soon enough how much you love me... C'mon, beg for mercy... You know quite well that if you lie, they're going to kill you!>

Kin:

Smack!

Yuzo:

What?!

Kin:

Listen to me, sir! I love your daughter Naoko, and I swear to you that I could never do ill to her!

Yuzo:

Tear him to pieces!

Kin:

Wha!

Aaaahh!

Naoko:

<But... Why? Why didn't he beg?>

[I'll skip all the sound effects, if you don't mind...]

<Is he really that stupid?>

<Why did he cover up for me?>

<Could it be that he's really...>

<in love with me?>

<No... No, it's impossible!>

Naoko:

Stop!

That's enough! Everything is my fault! Don't hit him! I'm the one who was pestering Kintaro!

Kintaro...

Kintaro, forgive me...

I finally understand, you see...

Kin:

I'd have...

preferred if you had understood a little earlier...

Kin:

Too bad, I missed out on the trip to Soapland!

In any case...

I learned something...

Naoko:

You forgot this!

Please forgive me.

Kin:

That's all right...

Naoko:

When you're better. And if you forgive me...

You'll come back to see me from time to time?

Naoko:

When you come back, I promise you...

That I'll give you my virginity. Mhh!

Smack!

Kin:

...

Driver:

We going to let him leave like that, boss?

Yuzo:

Hmm, for a young one, this kid really has a tough hide.

He has character. He never broke down. I think I'd like to have a son like him.

Naoko:

<It's exactly like you were saying...>

<I've always lived in the shadow of my father.>

<But from now on, my life is going to change.>

<I promise you...>

<Kintaro!>

Narr:

Kintaro Oe. 25 years old. Born the 54th [sic!!!!] of May, 1967. Blood type A.

He left his studies at the University of Tokyo law school, because he had already learned everything the university could teach him.

Now, he goes from job to job, to learn in the school of life.

Ideal woman: Jodie Foster, Rui Sakuragi, Shiro Sano*

* Singer [m.] with a feminine appearance

Favorite pastime: Study! Mens sana in corpore sano!

One day, he will save Japan... And, why not, perhaps the whole world!

Perhaps!

Kin:

Study! Study! Study! Study! Study!

Dragonfly:

Dragonfly

Notebook:

Call me when you want!

(0322) 332-11254

[No, I'm not sure about the number. But face it, she didn't want to talk to *you* anyway.]

I'll be waiting for you, Kintaro!

Satisfied? Dissatisfied? Puzzled? Have something to add? Mail me at mahousu@gmail.com

Uncopyright by Mahousu; provided freely as an aid to understanding the original. Have fun! [The original is, of course, copyrighted as marked above. You should still have fun, though.]