Kishibe Rohan wa Ugokanai: Fugou Mura

The wrists should be at a right angle. Keep them at 90 degrees.

Each finger should be kept completely straight.

Bring the palms up in front of you. Keep the elbows straight.

Keep the wrists at right angles. Bend your fingers one by one.

One, two, three, four, five.

Open the fingers one by one.

One, two, three, four, five.

That's it.

The manga artist's warm-up exercise…

has finished.

MILLIONAIRE VILLAGE

You know, Mr. Kishibe, at the end of the summer…

you have that deadline for a 45-page one-shot short manga.

Have you decided on the story?

Hmm, let's see…

ROHAN KISHIBE, AGE 27, MANGA ARTIST

How about a story about a solar eclipse?

Sounds fantastic!

KYOKA IZUMI, AGE 25, MANGA MAGAZINE EDITOR

But apart from that, would you be interested in,

like, drawing a manga about buying a villa deep in the mountains?

What did you say?

Aren't you interested in such a story?

Guess not.

Hold on a sec! What did you say about the villa in the mountains?

To draw a manga about it, of course.

I mean, if you go out

to do some research on it, you may get an idea for your manga!

That's not it! You said "buy"!

I definitely heard you say "buy a villa."

You know very well that I went bankrupt buying those mountains recently.

Mr. Kishibe…

Listen, I'm not talking about buying, but getting a story.

Here. Look at this.

I've found this village.

It's in the middle of the mountains, and there's no road going there.

But there are about a dozen luxury villas in this village.

This place is located about 80 kilometers northwest of the town of Morioh.

Not a single power line goes up there, let alone a road.

This village doesn't rely on power companies or public infrastructure.

But they have power, and you can see heliports.

The residents of this village use helicopters to move around.

Right, all the houses look really luxurious.

The sign on the building near the tennis court, isn't it Isetan's?

It is! Isetan Department Store is here. That's cool!

And right now, there's just one villa up for sale in this village.

It costs three million yen.

Hey, hey, hang on a sec.

Hey, hey, hey!

So you are talking about buying a villa!

But where you're concerned, it's just about getting a story!

I'm the one who does the buying.

You?

The plot is about 2,600 square meters, and it costs three million yen.

If I take out a loan, I can afford it even with my salary.

Hmm…

I could live in my apartment in town on weekdays for my work,

and spend weekends chilling out in the countryside.

-Hold on a sec, let me get this straight. -Huh?

Is it you who's buying this land or the publisher?

I'm buying it personally.

And I'm to make a manga about that?

To research the buying process.

I thought that could give you some inspiration.

I've done some research on this.

Huh?

The owner of the Villa No. 1 is the president of a shipbuilding company.

No. 2 belongs to the CEO of a drug company.

No. 3 belongs to a printing company family.

No. 4 has built up a successful cosmetics company.

All of these eleven owners are global millionaires!

They all have beautiful wives and families.

They are all so happy!

Did you say you've done research?

This doesn't make sense at all!

Even in a remote area, how can a villa in a millionaire village be so cheap?

What's the catch?

There isn't one, Mr. Kishibe.

Listen, this is the most important point.

All the eleven owners bought the land in this village when they were 25 years old.

At first, they were all ordinary young men who lived somewhere in Japan.

The last time land in this village was sold was in 1989. It was No. 11.

The buyer was a 25-year-old delivery driver who lived in Tokyo.

Now he is the CEO of an airline company with 30 billion yen in assets!

None of the eleven owners was from a rich family or anything.

They were all ordinary 25-year-olds.

They bought the land in this village, and then became millionaires.

Is that a coincidence?

It all started when they were 25.

And now, I'm also 25.

Mr. Kishibe, don't you want to come and see what happens

when I go and buy this lucky villa?

Does the editorial department own a helicopter?

How do we get to the village?

IN THE MOUNTAINS, 80KM FROM MORIOH TOWN

Mr. Kishibe.

I forgot to tell you something important.

The seller is the head of the village council,

and people here are rather fussy about manners.

Apparently, they won't sell the land to anyone they consider disrespectful.

Manners are very important.

So, please, Mr. Kishibe.

What are you asking me?

You're the one buying the land, aren't you?

So, you see. Jeez…

If either of us is disrespectful in this village,

both of us will be thrown out!

After climbing all the way up here.

Sometimes, you seem to think you are the most important person around.

Like you're the king, you know?

What's that supposed to mean?

So, please, pay respect to those you meet here, so that we don't offend them!

Should we practice "manners" now?

When visiting someone, where should we take off our jackets per correct manners?

You learned that for your job interviews?

The answer is "the front entrance."

Not inside, but before you go through the front door.

Because it may be dirty or dusty.

Fabulous! You're fab, Mr. Kishibe!

Look, I know our visit hasn't begun, but what should we do about that?

That's a chick.

Ah, poor thing.

It must have fallen from a nest up in one of those trees.

What should we do?

If we leave him, he'll be eaten by some animal or just die.

Well, if that happens, it's just the way nature works.

You are in luck, little bird.

We'll help you.

I've got a candy box. Here you are.

Maybe the nest is in that tree.

Let's find it later.

Good day.

Thank you for coming such a long way.

I'm so glad that the weather was good for your journey.

This way, please.

Please, come in.

My name is Kyoka Izumi.

Thank you very much for taking the time to see me about the purchase of the villa.

This is my colleague Rohan Kishibe.

He's a manga artist.

My name is Ikkyu.

At your service. I will guide you from the main gate to the house.

Please come inside.

If you please, let me take your coats.

You may remove your shoes here.

I will fetch the one who is selling the villa in a moment.

Please wait here.

It looks as if…

it's begun already, I guess.

The thing about manners!

Aren't there proper rules about drinking tea,

and we are being tested now?

Maybe someone is watching us right now.

Do you know the correct behavior for this?

Do you wanna search the Internet to find out?