01x02 - The Importance of Each Stroke

[bunniefuu]

A foreigner?

Is he a foreign junior high student?

I've never seen one before.

That must be

Is the foreigner gonna go

to practice hitting ba*ls?

I'm jealous.

I wanna hit some ba*ls too.

It's been a while.

Miss Kiria might be

practicing right now too.

Squish, squish

Squish, squish

What do you want?

What?! The foreigner spoke Japanese!

You did too.

You glared at me earlier.

I just glanced at you.

You don't usually see

a spaced-out foreigner

with a golf club stuck in his backpack.

RISING IMPAC

EPISODE 2: THE IMPORTANCE OF EACH STROKE

IZUMI NO TSURUGI GOLF CENTER

Wow! That's nice! Really nice!

They're all hitting so many ba*ls!

Hey, are you gonna

Wait, where are you going?

To the bathroom?

Practice.

There are some free spots down there.

What are you gonna do

on this grassy rooftop?

The shape of this club is a bit odd.

How can he hit a ball with that?

He's pretty good.

What are you doing? Playing gateball?

You must be a beginner!

Whiffing's so embarrassing, isn't it?

Listen, golf is all about

hitting a ball far.

If you play the sport

where you can hit a ball farthest

He's ignoring me.

He's a rookie, unaware

of the importance of each stroke.

Hey, look at him.

Yeah.

Can I ask you something?

I'm looking for Miss Kiria's house.

She's a professional golfer.

I know the place.

What?

Really?

Can you tell me?

He's unfriendly.

Fine, I'll find it by myself.

What?

DANGER! DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME!

I'm done for today.

Oh, so you're gonna tell me?

You're a nice guy at heart, aren't you?

What a kid.

Unbelievable.

Wow!

By the way, how do you know Miss Kiria?

I just know her.

He's definitely unfriendly.

It's at the top of the steps.

Oh, is that the house?

Well, thank you for taking me here.

By the way, what's your name?

He was totally unfriendly.

Kurumi!

Lunch is ready!

Oh, no. Frozen rice gratin again?

Why don't you learn how to cook, Sis?

Why don't you cook, then?

But I've got so much to do.

Right, you spend all your free time

playing video games.

Yes. I'm coming.

This is so much fun.

Oh! Miss Kiria!

It took me a lot of effort

to find your place.

Gawain?

What brings you here?

Seriously?

Did your grandpa

really allow you to come here?

Why didn't you call me

or send me a letter?

Yeah, I posted the letter today.

Sis.

Stay away! I'm busy now.

Mom is on the phone.

She wants to talk to you.

Okay, I got it.

Hold on a moment.

Don't ransack my room.

Hi! Are you, by any chance, Miss Kiria's

Did I do something wrong?

You mean the show at nine o'clock?

Why can't you learn

how to set a timer for a recording?

Kiria!

Congratulations!

What?

You've finally brought

a boyfriend home at 21.

I'm not into little boys!

No worries. Age is no barrier to love.

The season of love

has finally come to my sister.

He is such a pretty boy

with chestnut hair and pale blue eyes.

But my prince is much more handsome.

Someday he and I will also

It's no good.

She's lost in her own world.

Anyway, I can't believe

this happened all of a sudden.

This is a bank book from Haiyo Bank.

My grandpa

asked me

to give it to you!

It's a great amount of money.

Squish.

Hey, Miss Kiria,

I'm gonna go to the garden now.

Sure.

Finally, I'll really be able to play golf.

Grandpa, you'll see!

I'll be the longest hitter

in the world for sure!

Dear Kiria.

You may have noticed,

but Gawain has no father nor mother.

He has lived in a cabin in the country

with his grandfather.

I've inconvenienced my grandson

in many ways.

However, he never considered himself

to be unfortunate

and grew up healthy and full of life.

Not only that,

but he's kind enough

to take care of his old grandfather.

For the first time,

for his own happiness,

my grandson said

he wanted to leave the village

to become a golf player.

I was really happy to hear that.

By meeting you,

he found something significant

that he can dedicate his life to.

Please help his dream come true.

I might

have done something outrageous.

Woo-hoo!

I've been dying to hit a ball

for a long time!

I even went to a driving range

to find you.

I met an unfriendly foreigner there

who showed me how to get here.

What's wrong, Miss Kiria?

The letter said he's already

sorted out your school transfer.

He has entrusted you to me,

along with a substantial sum of money.

All of your friends are excited

to send you letters.

I see.

Gawain.

You won't regret this?

Becoming a professional golfer

is extremely tough and challenging.

Your hard work won't be sure to pay off.

It was me who invited you here, but

giving up precious moments

with your grandfather and friends

You won't regret it?

What can I say?

If I wasn't serious,

I wouldn't have come to Tokyo.

If I try but fail to become a pro,

I can accept that,

but I can't give up this chance

before I even try.

I see.

You've practiced your swings every day?

How did you

You noticed the calluses.

How many times did you swing?

A thousand a day!

A thousand?

You're being reckless as usual.

I'm sorry about earlier.

Did you say something bad?

Can I really hit 300 ba*ls?

This is in appreciation

of you keeping our promise.

You should warm up first.

Squish, squish

Hey, that lady is

She's the female pro, Kiria Nishino.

Who is the foreign kid?

I don't know.

Well, Gawain,

after waiting so long,

let's go full throttle!

Okay!

Keep my eyes

on the ball!

No kidding.

It's above the 250 line.

It was almost 300.

Maybe it was a fluke?

His swing has improved a lot,

even though he's been practicing

for just a month.

I don't know how far he'll get.

But I'm pretty sure he will be

I'm back.

Welcome back.

Kurumi,

let me introduce someone.

He's going to be living with us

from now on.

I'm Gawain.

Nice to meet you!

I'm her younger sister, Kurumi,

Mr. Brother-in-law.

Mr. Brother-in-law!

How about some tasty cake and tea?

Cool!

Brother-in-law?!

Come on, Gawain!

Don't be lazy with running.

Golfers need a lot of stamina!

If you don't slow down now,

you'll soon tire out and get a cramp.

I'm a pro!

I work out on a regular basis!

My stomach hurts.

I feel sick.

I told you!

But anyway, we accomplished

the requirement of ten kilometers.

I just got warmed up.

I'm gonna run

another ten kilometers or so.

I forgot about

his extraordinary physical strength.

Wow!

It's yesterday's driving range.

Looks fun.

I'd love to take a swing too!

Hey, clench your sides.

These sides!

We're kindly teaching you the basics

before you embarrass yourself.

Thank you.

Hey!

You don't know

how to use your knees either.

What should I do with them?

Why don't you figure it out by yourself?

You're not talented.

We're gonna train you hard every day!

What's wrong? Do you wanna quit?

Say something!

Don't bully your friend!

What? Who is this foreign kid?

Hey, get your hand off.

I'm gonna kick your a*s, kid!

He's really strong!

Get your hand off

Son of a b*tch!

Damn c*ck kid!

Ouch, that hurts!

You should get along with friends.

Didn't your teacher tell you that?

-What grade are you in?

-Third grade.

Third grade? We're in sixth grade!

We weren't bullying him.

We're just letting him know

that a clumsy guy can't play golf.

You're an eyesore.

Clumsiness is contagious, you know?

I

I just

I want to play golf because I love it.

Well, then,

why don't you stop being their friend

and become my friend?

And let's play golf together!

I don't have any friends yet

since I'm new here.

You'll get better with practice!

As for me,

I don't know any rules for golf yet.

Hey, what the hell are you

Wait, Furuyama. Listen to me.

Thank you.

And you're

I'm Gawain.

Gawain.

I'm Takeo Mukaida.

Hey, Mukaida and Tohoku Dialect!

Challenge us to a golf game!

-What

-What?

Oh my!

It's true that the early bird

catches the worm.

I could make friends

and practice golf for free.

It's not a usual golf game.

We're going to compare drives.

We'll use the sum

of each other's distances.

And if you guys lose

Mukaida!

You have to quit our golf club.

What?

-And Tohoku Dialect!

-Squish?

We're gonna give you 100 low kicks.

I see.

If we lose, do whatever you want.

Not that it'll happen.

We're in trouble.

They're serious.

Don't worry.

We should just win.

Niiyama and Furuyama ranked top 20

in Tokyo's junior tournament.

That's how skilled they are.

But I am last or the second to last,

and he is a third-grader

who doesn't know the rules.

No way we can win.

I'm gonna hit one first!

Did you see that? It's over 150 yards!

He's frozen in shock.

What is "yards"?

It's the unit of distance in golf.

150 yards is about 137 meters.

Got it.

It's about 150 yards again.

Come on, it's your turn.

It's impossible.

Our total won't be able

to reach 300 yards.

There's no chance to win.

Hey, Mukaida.

You said you love

playing golf, didn't you?

Smile when you do something you love!

"Smile"

That's right.

I love playing golf!

You just scratched the ball!

It didn't even reach 100 yards!

How was it?

Doesn't it feel good to hit a ball?

You're right!

All right, it's my turn.

Let me use your club!

Hey, don't you understand the situation?

If Tohoku Dialect

doesn't hit over 200 yards,

you will lose, plain and simple!

Sorry, Gawain.

If only I had hit it a little farther.

What?

He hit a 300-yard shot?

Oh, it flew farther than yesterday.

Mukaida!

Our total is about 400 yards!

And their total is 300.

We won!

From now on, they won't bother you,

so feel free to play golf.

Sure!

Thank you, Gawain!

Screw you!

Not even the pros can hit it that far!

It's a fluke! It's got to be a fluke!

You can't get that distance with a fluke.

Lancelot.

You're the unfriendly guy from yesterday!

What?

Gawain, do you know him?

Yeah!

He gave me directions yesterday.

Do you know him, Mukaida?

Yes, he's the captain of our club, and

Thank you for yesterday.

I forgot to ask your name.

I'm Lancelot.

By the way,

how long have you been playing golf?

Let me see.

It's been just over a month.

300 hundred yards is amazing

for your level of experience.

I can't even come close to that.

Well, since I wanna be a pro,

I should be able to hit that distance.

At this pace, though,

going pro seems easy!

Looks like there's zero chance

to beat you in driving distance.

But you can't beat me in golf

if you rely only on flight distance.

Why not?

Why would I lose to someone

who can't outdrive me?

You'll see if we compete in putting.

You mean yesterday's gateball?

Let's go.

Why do I have to compete with him

in gateball?

You know,

it's not gateball but putting.

Hitting a ball with a driver

is called a tee shot,

which is the first shot.

The place with the cup

is called the green.

And putting is

to put a ball on the green into the cup.

The idea is to get the ball in the hole

using that short club, isn't it?

It's easier said than done.

All you have to do is hit it

straight towards the hole, right?

Piece of cake!

So what's the challenge?

Let's say this is a real golf game.

A real game?

The distance to this green was 300 yards.

You reached here in one 300-yard stroke,

and I took two strokes.

Right, I get it.

That's my ball.

And this is your ball.

Whoever gets the ball

into the cup with fewer shots wins.

Are you looking down on me?

Why is my ball so close to the cup

while yours is far away?

You've never putted, right?

It's a handicap.

But I hit one shot, and you hit two.

I have an advantage originally.

If I put it in with one shot, you'll lose!

I see.

Then I'll get it over with.

May I use your club?

Hey, Tohoku Dialect!

Don't think you can win

against our captain.

Yeah!

Lancelot is a genius.

Be quiet for a minute.

Yes, sir.

It's so close to the hole.

If you hit it straight, it goes in easily.

That's your second shot.

Whoops!

Calm down, Gawain!

The putter is used to roll the ball.

Hit it softly.

I never thought it'd roll so strong.

You moron!

Next is the fourth shot!

I'm gonna tap it in now for sure!

It's about 30 centimeters from the hole.

What?

How come?

I made a straight shot!

Darn it!

Squish

Jeez

It's the 30th shot!

May I borrow your putter, Niiyama?

Why? Why can't I put it in that hole?

That's enough.

The result is obvious.

You can't finish even with 30 shots.

But I'm going for the third shot.

No matter how far you hit,

if you can't put it in the cup,

you won't win.

A 300-yard drive and a 30-centimeter putt

both count as one stroke.

If you don't get

the importance of each stroke

you'll never become a pro.