CHITOSE IS IN THE RAMUNE BOTTLE
What is wrong with you? That's a crime!
Hey, I got your mom's permission.
Sorry to put you through that, buddy.
Don't be so on edge, man.
Let's have a heart-to-heart, Kenta.
Calling me by first name already?
Whatever you've got to say, spit it all out.
I know you've got a lot on your mind.
Fine, you asked for it.
You popular kids look down on us losers.
You think you're hot shit because you happen to be attractive or athletic.
If you wanna reject us, do it after you talk to us and learn who we are as people!
Sure, maybe we were born with some advantages, but that's not the whole story.
For instance, Yuko always takes exemplary care of her skin and hair.
The athletes spend the majority of their youths in practice.
Yua pulls many late nights studying before exams, too.
You can only say that because you're winners.
If we can't beat the gifted kids no matter how hard we try, then why try at all?
Putting aside how far you can make it,
the more time and energy you put into something,
the more knowledge and skill you start to accumulate.
That's why you gotta believe in yourself and put in the work.
Also, like, you became a winner just by getting into our school, y'know?
In Fukui, its name might hold more value than the big national universities.
L-Look, I get what you're saying about drive and effort,
but there's nothing we can do about people skills.
Listen, man. Communicating with people isn't as hard as you think it is.
Say what?
All you need is three magic phrases: "Why?" "I think," and "Me too."
Man, I've been so sleepy all day!
Why?
I've been up late reading light novels all week.
Me too... I like them too.
You do? What've you been reading?
I think... I'm into stories about losers making their way up.
There you go. Way to hold a conversation.
Are you messing with me?!
Of course not. I thought those LNs I read were pretty cool.
I can see why you get hooked.
Yeah, right. Like you'd ever read LNs.
Is a Loser Allowed to Love? by Shuhei Kobayashi.
I'm an Otaku, but a Gyaru Floozy's After My D! by Manato Himura.
My Youth as the Biggest Loser in the Destroy Happy People Club! by Kaze Aoi.
Anybody could rattle off a few titles!
How about telling me what Loser Love's about?!
You got it.
The protagonist, Sho Goto, is considered a loser by all...
Will this really work?
It will! This is Saku we're talking about!
By the way, this tea is really good.
Oh, yeah. What were you like back in high school?
That...
That was perfect.
Believe it or not, I'm an avid reader.
Man, reading those ten series took me a whole week.
Wh-Why would you do that?
Because I despise people who shit on others without knowing anything about them.
The basic essence of communication is a desire to get to know each other better.
You play a game of catch with that desire.
Yua and Yuko tried to get a rally going by asking why and saying what they thought, right?
If you don't understand the topic, just listen.
And then say what you think about it.
What was that you said? Reject us after you learn who we are as people?
Who was it that made an enemy of a group he never tried to learn about?
There's this story about a great man's childhood.
As a boy with natural-born good looks,
he put lots of effort into his studies and sports and quickly outshone others.
What's more, he was nice to everybody.
Where the heck did that come from?
Just hear me out.
But the other kids put him under the microscope—
maybe because he was too perfect.
Even the smallest mistakes he made were blown up and criticized.
I kind of get wanting to find his flaws.
After thinking about it,
the boy started slipping up in his studies and sports on purpose.
He thought people would like him if he was average and unremarkable.
So did that make the haters go away?
Nope. After he put on a show of having shortcomings,
the hate only got worse.
What the hell?
That's when a teacher talked to him.
"People who are born with plenty of gifts from the gods
have a duty to take charge and lead the people."
After that, the boy stopped hiding his abilities
and went on to better himself with no reservations.
Yeah, the boy had a realization.
All he had to do was fly higher and further.
He could live a beautiful life in a place where nobody could ever touch him.
Like the pale blue moon in the night sky—
like a dazzling glass marble in a bottle of ramune.
So who's this story about, anyway?
The great man was named Saku Chitose.
Way to toot your own horn!
Also, I just made up, like, 90 percent of that on the spot.
Now I wanna know what part of it was true!
But yeah, okay, I'll admit it.
I really was making you out to be the bad guys without knowing you.
Speaking in the language of the LNs you read,
they over-idolize popularity and also demonize it.
But you guys are winners in life.
You're playing life on easy mode.
Just checking, but do I fall under that "winner in life" category?
I think anybody would say you do.
It's not as easy mode as you think.
People I've never even talked to call me an asshole or manslut on the daily.
My bad.
But there are popular jerks out there who try to put us down.
Sure, but my friend group is full of good people.
Yeah, Hiiragi and Uchida talked to me like normal.
Getting one up on others isn't going to make you a better person.
Screw everyone else. All that matters is being comfortable in your own skin.
But hey, your dating life actually is on easy mode, right?
Yep, I definitely am hot stuff.
On the flip side, I have to deal with people catching feelings for me.
They try to get with me, and when I turn them down, they paint me as the bad guy.
Stuff like that.
Just imagine someone you thought of as a good friend asking you out
and having to turn them down.
It's not fun, you know?
Hey, uh...
Will you listen to what happened to me?
Now we're finally getting somewhere.
You see, actually...
Oh, I think I know already.
Huh?
You fell for the lone girl in an otaku group out of school after she was nice to you,
but she had her eyes on another, cooler guy.
That got you afraid of being around people at all, and you stopped coming to school.
H-How'd you know?!
Anything you wanna add to that?
When I asked her out, she said,
"Wha? Are you delusional? I would never go out with someone like you."
Straight to my face.
Oh, wow! I'm amazed you can go out in public after that!
I'm literally not going out in public!
You're kinda funny, man.
Your jokes hit too close to home!
How'd it look?
Like, they were really hitting it off!
So, do you still care about her?
My feelings for the girl, Miki-chan, are completely gone.
3D girls are just garbage.
What about school?
Um, I think I'll go back if you'll promise to teach me how to become popular.
No way. I don't wanna hang out with you every day to begin with.
What?!
Grow up! Take responsibility for your own story
and write it how you want it!
But, in keeping with my own life philosophy, I don't mind getting you back on your feet.
What say you?
Help me! I-I feel like I can trust you, Chitose.
I'm not gonna be your mentor forever.
Three weeks, tops.
All I can do is give you pointers on how to live with your head held high.
But we'll need a goal to work toward.
Well, uh, I do want to show Miki-chan and the others who's boss.
Oh, nice and simple.
Let's show her she missed out on a great guy.
But you need to stop saying that crap about "3D girls" or whatever.
But I have no idea what they're thinking.
Trying to look cool in front of his girl is what makes a man.
Nuh-uh, no. 3D girls are scary.
Don't you wanna know how soft boobies are in real life?!
If you better yourself, you might even be able to get down and dirty with Yuko!
- Are you serious? - I'm seriously serious.
Do you wanna motorboat?
I wanna motorboat!
- Do you like real, live boobies? - I love 'em!
Call me King!
Long live the king!
Louder! From the gut!
I wanna motorboat real boobies!
Sell your soul to me!
Grawr! Boobies!
Screw you. Those are my boobies.
Get your own.
What?!
Mom, I'm sorry for worrying you for so long.
Oh, hey there, you two.
My, you're finally out.
Some girl broke your heart, I hear? Better start going to school again tomorrow.
Y-Yeah.
H-Hiiragi-san, sorry about earlier.
Just call me Yuko, Kentacchi.
If you said sorry to Saku, we're all good.
You should really take a shower first, though.
I should, huh?
I'll cut your hair for you!
Here we go! Snippity-snip!
There are two things we need to focus on.
One, improving your communication skills.
R-Right.
The other is to fix up how you look.
First, you need to lose weight.
I-I'll do my best.
Can you give me your phone?
You're banned from using social media or anonymous message boards for a while.
Huh? For how long?
Hey, don't move.
Until you realize how stupid it is to hate on people you don't know.
Hey!
It was a strange little time.
If we'd pressed even one button wrong,
I don't think we would've ever come across this moment.
Or maybe it's because we pressed all the wrong buttons
that the three of us are here right now.
How'd you convince him?
I just told him to get over it and find another girl already.
Well, I know how offhanded you can be with people you've just met.
Besides, even if you make the worst first impression,
some people will come to love you because of it!
Just like me.
Can you please stop reminding me of my cringe past?
If the day comes when you truly open your heart to me,
there's so much I wanna talk about.
Things I wanna say, things I wanna ask, and even things I wanna complain about.
There's so much, you have no idea.
Let's take it slow and steady, yeah?
Hey, man, try getting out of the house, getting in fights like today,
getting in heated discussions about the girls you like,
or getting rejected and feeling down in the dumps again.
Apparently, people say that's all part of growing up.
K-King, my tummy legit hurts.
C-Can we call it quits for today?
Listen to me. Real change happens in an instant.
The moment someone makes up their mind to take the first step, it's already begun.
D-Does that mean I've started to change too?
Exactly.
C'mon, let's go.
Morning!
Kenta Yamazaki, who wasn't coming to school, is now back with us!
Give him a big hand!
By the way, the cause was being rejected by a girl in a group outside of school.
K-King, did you really have to mention that?
I'm gonna be a laughingstock!
- Yep, make people laugh. - Wha?
He probably doesn't want anyone to know, so keep it between us!
Please, you just went and told the world yourself.
Saku's kind of a moron,
so take your seat before he runs his mouth even more.
Wait, did the girl cosplay for you and stuff?
Don't be stupid. Yamazaki, eat some katsudon and cheer up!
King, what's going on?
Like I said, make people laugh at you.
The more you try to hide these things, the more people will pry into it.
So make fun of yourself.
But do it casually,
like it's no big deal.
Uh, she was seriously super cute. I thought we had a good thing going.
She always shared her McD's fries with me,
and when she let me use her hanky, she told me to keep it.
I hear ya, Kenta. That'd give anyone the wrong idea.
How low is your dating IQ?
If I lent you my towel, Kaito, I wouldn't want it back either.
Why?
It'd probably reek from all your sweat.
- I thought girls were into that stuff! - What's up?
- I thought girls were into that stuff! - Do I, uh...
Do I look like I stink, then?
That was just some light banter between friends.
But...
What's the basic essence of communication?
A desire to get to know each other better, right?
Yep. There's a fine line between banter and bullying.
You find it together through mutual trust and understanding.
If you get to know them, you'll be able to tell if they're trying to put you down
or if they're just lovingly teasing you.
What if they're really trying to be mean?
Then go all-out and destroy them.
I'll watch your back when it happens.
What's that?
Uh, tofu noodles with chicken and veggie soup.
Are you a girl?!
I'm actually on a diet. King said I have to eat this.
I have a hard enough time maintainin' my weight. Losin' it's a whole diff'rent story.
We need ta step up our game, too.
Ah, I see we're bringing the Fukui dialect back today.
Why are you on a diet, anyway?
Well, since I got rejected, I figured...
Okay, tell us everything. Let it all out.
Well, I was in this otaku hobbyist group.
It was three guys and one girl.
And you fell for the girl?
Yep. Miki-chan was her name.
D-Does she cosplay?!
Occasionally, for events.
Seriously? Hang on, let me picture Yuzuki and Ucchi doing it!
Pass on already.
Is that "move on already" in Fukui dialect, or are they just telling him to die? Scary!
Miki-chan and I weren't close at first,
but she suddenly started talking to me more, offering me sips of her drink, and stuff.
It does sound like you had something going on.
I thought the same thing and worked up the courage to ask her out.
But then...
She said, "Wha? Are you delusional? I would never go out with someone like you."
What the hell, man?
She was into the group's leader and just wanted to make him jealous.
After they started dating, they were laughing at me spinning my wheels.
So you want to stick it to them.
I know it's not very manly, but yeah.
He'll be fine.
People who can face up to their weaknesses will only grow tougher.
Yamazaki, you went and told her how you felt!
That's very manly of you!
Agreed. If you're doing this, become the best version of yourself, okay?
You can talk to me if anything comes up,
Kenta.
And me!
Believe in Saku until the end, and you'll be fine!
But don't take his jokes seriously, okay?
See?
They're good people, yeah? Your turn.
That, by the way, is called hook, line, and sinker.
What was that whole song and dance about?
Damn, you got me.
Yeesh, man.
You act like you only look out for number one, but you're just a plain old good guy.
Wrong. I'm doing this to impress myself, too.
Anyway, what do you make of Kenta?
I don't discriminate, but I do know where to draw the line.
He didn't seem like the type of guy who doesn't make excuses in life.
Someone like that can't change so easily.
You're right about who he was before.
Oh? So you believe in who he can become?
Staking it all on things that make no sense to anybody else is what makes a man.
The way you went about it is very you, Chitose.
What's that mean?
Needlessly over-the-top and dramatic.
Not efficient enough, then?
Please. Heroes are meant to be bound by meaningless philosophies.
Meaningless philosophies, eh?
I'm not saying that's wrong.
Taking the scenic route is what makes life worth living.
Mind if I ask you something?
Four days until payday. I'm down to my last 1,200 yen.
I have no money to lend you.
Kura-sen...
What do you think it means to live life true to yourself?
Unusual question, coming from you.
It's flowery rhetoric that sounds great, but not many of us have accurate compasses
that show us exactly where we are and where we're headed.
That's why we'll look at others and wonder if they're doing it better,
or drag them down to where we are because misery loves company.
I feel like your compass is tuned better than most other adults, though.
Perish the thought. Nobody's got a perfect compass.
Only difference is...
whether we can fully believe in our own compass.
That's all we have to go on.
Is the compass in my hand still pointing up at the sky?
Pointing at the moon I longingly reached out toward that night?
All said and done,
good job, kid.
As for my reward...
Whoa, almost time to hit the gentleman's club!
Get back here, old fart!
Hello? Nine o'clock, four days from now.
Are you seriously making a booking right now?!
Translation: Sriram Gurunathan
Subtitle Editing: Geoff Mazzolini Subtitle Timing: Krzysztof Kunc
Quality Check: Riley Dalton Translation Check: Rei Miyasaka
NEXT TIME A LONESOME HERO
"A Lonesome Hero."