01x06 - Episode 6

[bunniefuu]

Just who was that gallant young man

who left without even giving his name?

A "Trash Eraser..."

...for the world, and for the people.

That's only something Nanmaru can do.

The Gouger continues to strike.

What is all this commotion?

It has nothing to do with this man.

I'm terribly sorry.

The whole town was lying.

Takashi. Stop with this Gouger nonsense.

As of today,
this sham seminar is finished.

Even compared
to the other townspeople,

you're completely negative about it.

Why is that?

I... came here to talk about it.

Previously on Land of Tanabata

Here.

Be careful, it's hot.

Tasty?

It's tasty.

Will you be able to sleep after this?

Yes.

Sachiko, does your back still hurt?

No, I'm fine now.

I'm sorry.

Why are you sorry, Mom?

Land of Tanabata

The scars on my back...

There are nine in total.

We, the branch families...

differ from the main family.

We might be inherently flawed.

This...

is my mother, Yukiko Higashimaru.

This is Yoriyuki.

Yoriyuki... Marukami.

Back when Yoriyuki...

still looked like a normal person.

Like... a normal person?

I'm the only one that's left.

I believe...

...that my mother loved Yoriyuki.

But Marukami customs wouldn't allow it.

In accordance
with the head family's rules,

my mother married my father, Kazuhiko.

It's too small!

You need to make it bigger.

Listen, you're going to be
the heir to the Higashimaru family.

So reach Beyond the Window
like you're worthy of that!

Those Within Reach do not cry!

Stop!

What?

I'm the head of the family!

My father
couldn't adapt to Marukami.

He began to discipline my brother
extremely harshly.

- Our family started to become distorted.
- Takashi, it's okay.

Unable to watch any longer,
my mother decided to rely on Yoriyuki.

Yoriyuki...

Sir...

Listen, Takashi.

Being Within Reach is about
reaching your hand Beyond the Window.

You reach out, grab a little bit
of Beyond the Window and bring it back.

Okay.

Imagine you have another thumb

existing symmetrically to your thumb
and the outside of your pinky finger.

Imagine yourself pressing
those 12 fingers on one point.

Close your eyes and focus.

Takashi, open your eyes slowly.

You've got it.

My brother
became infatuated with Yoriyuki,

who started sending him
to the main Marukami household

to be trained as a parishioner.

However...

That was Yukiko's boy.

She's sending him to Yoriyuki's place,
isn't she?

They've always gotten on very well.

You can say that again.

Fine, if this is
how you want to do things.

There are about five of us,
so let's play hide-and-seek.

Sounds good. Let's get the others too.

Yeah.

My brother, now Within Reach,

became increasingly arrogant.

He became attached to Yoriyuki,
and my father continued to belittle him.

My brother took his anger out on me.

My mother...

My mother couldn't do a thing...

I think

everyone was reaching
their breaking point.

Then, from around that time,

I began to see dreams.

Do it the way I told you!

It's wrong.
Yoriyuki wouldn't say that.

What?

You're telling me I'm wrong?

That's right.
Your way is wrong.

You useless brat!

You're probably
that monster's child anyway.

Don't speak like that about Yoriyuki!

Takashi...

Wait...

It wasn't me.

It wasn't me!

This was all...

my mistake.

Mom...

Leave!

From today, you're no longer
a part of the Higashimaru family.

Despite my mother's nursing,

my father passed away from the injury.

My mother became even more withdrawn.

Listen carefully.

What happened

can never be revealed.

I will deal with the police
and the hospital.

All right.

I'll leave it with you.

Let's go.

Sachiko.

Sachiko?

I'm going... to the mountain.

Huh?

Bring Yoriyuki.

Mom...

I'm sorry.

I need a rest.

Lately...

All the time lately...

I see nightmares.

Like I'm continuously falling somewhere.

Maybe...

Me too.

I sometimes see that same dream.

Yoriyuki.

Sachi, if you see that nightmare again...

come find me.

Then my mother...

left this world.

Mom...

Right after that,

Yoriyuki left Marukawa Town.

He said he was sure
to be free of his dreams.

But he's a prisoner
of his dreams even now.

After all, his dreams...
are scarier than anybody else's.

What makes you say that?

The construction worker
who was k*lled in Marukawa Town...

He tried to get rid of Mount Marukami.

But...

Yoriyuki couldn't forgive him for that.

Not only not forgive him...

When he found out...

he felt like he just had to do something.

Was he...

m*rder*d by Yoriyuki Marukami?

Is that really what happened?

Only Yoriyuki can do something like that.

My brother couldn't.

My brother has always been pathetic,

just like his power.

He's always cared what people think.

He'll surely...

care for the rest of his life.

That's why he could never
actually m*rder someone.

I should say all this one day...

Sachiko...

I...

I don't know what to say.

Nanmaru...

The good thing about you,

is that you don't think
about things negatively.

So don't worry about it.

I always wanted to tell somebody.

But the truth is...

I...

All of us...

We can't live away from the village.

Sachiko...

Can someone just disappear?

Surely not...

Excuse me...

Excuse me.

Yes?

Where did you buy that?

What?

Are you a staff member
from the seminar today?

That's right.

Did they finish questioning you?

They did.

It takes an unnecessarily long time,
doesn't it?

They don't always take a long time.

You seem to know a lot
about police questioning.

Well, I am a detective.

I thought you were a member
of the Dimension Ball seminar.

Dimension?

Oh, you mean the magic?

Well...

It's not magic.

What?

Nobody would believe me, but...

they really can...

make anything vanish.

New Skills Development Research Society

How much for a microwave?

Let's see, a microwave
would be exactly 3,000 yen, I think.

- That cheap?
- Yes.

Okay, got it.

- "Clear energy with the soul's... "
- What about a dryer?

A dryer?
It depends on the type.

They start from 1,500 for small ones.

"Displaying this in your room
will relax... "

Guys!

I know you've all been working hard
to start the Trash Eraser...

Yes?

I was thinking, is it too late to stop?

Pull the plug...

- What? We're getting so many messages.
- No way.

Yeah, but...

I do know that. But...

What?

Nanmaru?

Don't tell me... Don't tell me...

that you're bored of your ability!

No, it's not that.

- It's not that, but...
- Then what?

It's just that...

I was wondering

if I should really use my ability
so casually.

That's why.

- Your ability...
- Yeah.

- Casually?
- Yeah. So casually.

If it wasn't casual,
would it be fine?

Hang on,
how should I explain this?

Out of office Masami Marukami

In office
Sayuri Emi, Sakuragi, Tagaya

Sorry I'm late.

Sorry to keep calling you here, Nanmaru.

Not at all.

You're a lot closer to the people
of Marukawa Town than we are.

I thought you might have some information.

Well, um...

I don't know anything special.

The thing is,

there's a lot that they don't share
with people outside the town.

In Professor Marukami's letter,

he never touches upon
those kinds of secrets either.

Like he completely belongs
to that village now.

But is the Professor Marukami we know

the type of person who could keep

hard-earned research results
to himself forever?

No. He never could.

Which means, as a village member,
he can't tell secrets.

But he wants to share his research.

When I read the letter again,
supposing that's how he felt,

I noticed two strange sentences.

Strange sentences?

The first one.

"Since coming here,
I've gotten into a good routine,

and I've become much healthier.

Although I'm not timing it with a clock,

it's so precise,
it's as if the annual calendar

has been perfectly split
according to the solar year."

See, doesn't the phrasing sound unnatural?

Do people normally say "solar year"?

Maybe not...

The second one.

"I realized that the order of the schedule
for the annual festival

and the flag was reversed.

I mentioned it to the townspeople,

but they said it would be strange
to change it after all this time,

so we'll continue as things are
from next year too."

Makes no sense, does it?

Not at all.

First, regarding the solar year.

"Precision like that of a solar year,
despite not measuring by a clock."

What made this click for me

were the dates of the old
Tanabata festivals we looked up recently.

Oh, yeah.

Even before the Western calendar
came to Japan,

the festival dates
were being aligned to it.

When I looked up
the festival dates at that time,

converting them to the Western calendar,
they were mostly on June 18th or 19th,

with just one on June 17th.

That means three variations.

But if they already knew
the Western calendar,

why not just standardize it to one date?

Exactly. That's a good point.

Which means,
it wasn't the Western calendar.

It was the solar year!

How many days are in a year, exactly?



- Incorrect.
- Huh?

How many exactly?

Including leap years, it's 365.25 days.

Leap years occur once every 4 years,


and how many times in 400 years?



Incorrect.

Huh?

It's 97 times. Adjustments are made.

Therefore, to be precise...

The correct number is 365.2425 days.

And for the solar year...

the correct number is 365.24219 days.

There's still an error
even after adjustments.

I get it.

The discrepancies that arose
when adjusting for that error

led to three different
festival start dates!

Precisely.

Then,

what do you think happens

in the seven-day period
before and after June 18th,

when the festival is held?

Uh...

The summer solstice.

- The summer solstice!
- Ah...

In astronomy, the summer solstice
doesn't refer to a date

like June 21st or 22nd,
but rather, a specific moment.

Therefore,

the schedule for the age-old
Marukami Village festival

includes the day
of the summer solstice moment,

plus three days before and after,
making it a seven-day event.

Hang on, you've realized
something amazing here.

Then what about the other sentence?

The festival schedule
and flag being reversed...

Right.

I have no idea.

No way.

- I see.
- You don't know, huh?

Nanmaru, do you know
what a summer solstice is?

Sure do. It's a bright day.

- The brightest of the year.
- Are you sure?

Yoji Minamimaru...

Kanji Kentei,

pre-level two, huh.

That's right.

Are you sure about this?
It's hard work.

In many ways, to tell the truth.

So it is hard work then?

Why did you decide to become a cleaner?

Hmm...

I feel like it relates to my ability.

- Ability?
- Yeah.

Resume Yoji Minamimaru

Right...

Sure. Cleaning is
the foundation of culture.

These days, culture essentially cleans up
after civilization.

And there,
a tremendous positive force emerges

to pull us back to zero
from a filthy, highly negative state.

Do you get it?

Yeah... A positive force, right?

Oshita? What are you doing here?

Ah.

Just explaining the job.

Oh.

- See you then.
- Thank you.

All right then.

Let's start the interview, shall we?

What? Then who was that just now?

Oshita, the part-timer?

Ah.

He's been with us for a while.

I heard he's been a part-timer
ever since graduating from university.

Here's to Nanmaru and his new life.

Cheers!

Cheers.

I wouldn't call it a new life,
but it looks like I'll manage to graduate.

- Great.
- That's good for now, isn't it?

I suppose so.

But once Nanmaru retires,

the New Skills Development
Research Society

will start to lose its purpose.

That's true. The only person
with a supernatural ability will be gone.

I enjoyed our experiments.

- Me too.
- Right.

So true.

What should we do
about the broadcast after Nanmaru retires?

That's a good question.

We may as well
switch to a ramen broadcast.

- Ramen?
- Huh?

That has nothing to do with new skills.
Who would do it?

- Imamura.
- Why me?

No, wait, he has to take
his glasses off when he eats ramen.

- Hey.
- You've never seen him eat, have you?

You promised not to say.

- Nobody wants to see it.
- How can you say that?

- What a cruel thing to say.
- How dare you!

Just once.
Please take them off just once.

- Just once?
- Yeah.

Awful.

So cruel!

Did something just flash?

You think so?

Never mind that, where's Aki?
Is she not coming?

Well, I messaged her,

but she never messaged back.

- So she's finally had enough of us.
- No way.

What did you want to talk about?

I want your help.

My help?

The recent death in Marukawa Town,

and what happened at the seminar...

I think the same power is behind it all.

I want to know the truth.

So work with me.

Play your cards right,
and you could get a promotion.

I'm not exactly after a promotion.

- This is cooked.
- Ah.

Huh? Wait!

Sachiko!

Sachiko!

Nanmaru!

Don't come any closer!

What?

You're about to go
Beyond the Window!

It's fine.

I haven't got a job yet anyway.

It's not about that!

The Window...

is opening...

Ouch.

Huh?

My car...

Connection with Passenger Plane
Disappearance

Luxury Liner Disappears, No Debris Found...

Is this...

A car, a boat,

a plane...

They keep getting bigger.

He's here. Yoriyuki Marukami.

Investigating together with the police
is so exciting.

- Come on, let's go.
- No, we've done enough.

That's Takashi Higashimaru.
It's all we needed to know.

We should notify the police.

They will handle the rest.

Sato, aren't you the police?

I'm not trying to arrest anybody.

Wait a second.

Hello.

Oh, no. What?

Takashi, the reason
you can afford to be so carefree

is that you don't know
about Beyond the Window.

Oh. You think so?

But that's what also makes you free.

It's pitiful not to be free.

I think so.

So, what are we doing here today?
This room is great though.

Yeah. This place is good
because the Window doesn't open here.

Why did you run off?

We've come this far.
How can we leave without any evidence?

Who's that old dude?

The current
Chief Cabinet Secretary, didn't you know?

The Secretary has arrived.

He's heading inside now.

- Huh?
- Chief Cabinet Secretary?

Chief Cabinet Secretary?

Why? Why did you do that?

Apparently,
he's weak on tax increases.

People's lives are so insignificant.

Why would someone as great as yourself

obey that old nuisance?

There's somebody I can't forgive.

It has toyed with people,

trampled into their hearts,
and now acts like it doesn't care.

Society falls into chaos as I struggle,
yet it still doesn't care.

In other words,

no matter what happens, it won't come.

That's why I want to prove
that the festivals are meaningless now.

I'm not sure I understand.

Then, is that why you made
Mr. Yagihara disappear too?

What?
Was he your friend or something?

It's not that.

It helped me to de-stress,
like the Gouger for you.

To de-stress?

Huh? It's that girl.

What is it?

Nothing.

Nothing really.

Let's go.
We have another job today.

Okay.

I heard that

they ran away in the night
because of declining profits.

Is that right?

Oh, sorry.

Woah. Look at this mess.

Yeah.

Guess there's nothing else for it.

Come on.

Hello. Oshita speaking.

Yes. Yes.

I see, I see.

Understood.

Well, looks like
I need to head to another site.

Can you get started here?

Sure thing. I'll sort this out.

Okay.

Please handle with love and care

All of this

must have been important to somebody.

Someone carefully crafted this...

used it with care,

and worked hard at their job.

But...

they failed,

and ended up having to run away
in the night.

Please!

Fine.

I'll ask the management company.

We'll see if we can leave some

for the next person
instead of discarding it.

Thank you!

What made you want to do that?

I just... kind of did.

I see. You just did, huh?

Yes.

I think I'll be able to get
the credits I need.

Really?

- You'll be able to graduate?
- Yes.

Congratulations.

Thank you.

So? What do you say
to working full-time as a cleaner?

I'm still not sure.

Right. This kind of work can be hard.

It's just, how should I say this?

My world has expanded.

In working life,

there's so much wisdom,
ingenuity, and thought

packed into places that we often overlook.

I've been made to realize that.

The history of battle

is about more than dirt or filth.

Negative forces
are hidden within prosperity.

What I'm saying is,

arrogance, laziness,
ignorance, and insensitivity

accumulate before our eyes
like trash or dirt.

We have to counter these negative forces

with the positive power of cleaning.

Then we can finally move forward.

That's what culture is all about.

Positive ingenuity...

That's really what it comes down to.

To utilize my ability,

I also need sufficient knowledge
and ingenuity to match it.

Nanmaru.

You sometimes mention your ability.

What do you mean?

Oh, um... Well, you see...

Huh?

The heck is that?

A ball of smog?

Your eyes...

You might want to close them.

What?