Hoozuki no Reitetsu 2nd Season

Miss O-Koh.

You're the assistant to the chief of Crushing Hell, right?

That's right.

Then that means there's a "chief" above you, right?

That's right.

Mistress of Hell

I have a question.

I have an answer.

Where are you, Mr. Hozuki, and where are you going?

I am here, and I will stay here and do my job.

That's Zen. You have obtained enlightenment.

No, it's a mere statement of fact, Zen Master Ikkyu.

And will you please stop it with those seemingly significant pauses?

I speak from the perspective of a layman,

but I'm not sure it's a good idea to treat everything as some kind of deep Zen dialog.

Please just take my words at face value.

I see. That's deep.

No it isn't.

"I'm doing my job here, so please stop bothering me and go away."

That's as deep as it gets.

I will go away.

And yet I remain.

Go away.

No!

Every single year you barge in here, and you're not even a Hell Minion.

I think nothing of my flesh, ergo it matters not whither I go.

It makes no difference where I am.

My darling little disciple will be showing herself for the first time in ages.

I'm not leaving until I see her.

If you mean Miss Jigoku Dayu, she won't be here for quite a while.

I imagine her journey takes time.

Jigoku Dayu.

In the Muromachi Period, a woman was kidnapped by bandits and sold into prostitution.

Believing her trials to be punishment for sins in a past life,

the virtuous woman called herself Jigoku Dayu, the Hell Courtesan.

This woman, who died at a young age, is now...

That's Jigoku Dayu for you.

She's so glamorous; I love it.

It's my favorite day of the year, I always have something to write about.

She's so ostentatious.

You don't think she's a little flashy for a disciple of Master Ikkyu?

Well, yeah.

But she's the Crushing Hell's big yearly attraction.

Yeah, but still. According to my notes, this Jigoku Dayu is a ballsy lady.

I mean, that tiger...

DO NOT CROSS THIS BRIDGE

and that bridge made Ikkyu famous.

But the first time she meets him, she makes up a poem to say,

"Go back to your mountains, Priest. You have no business in the pleasure quarters!"

IF YOU ARE A PRIEST SHOULD YOU NOT MAKE YOUR ABODE DEEP IN THE MOUNTAINS? THE PLACE YOU FIND YOURSELF NOW IS BETWEEN EARTH AND HELL

At least, that's what I heard. And that led to her becoming his disciple and attaining great enlightenment.

GREAT ENLIGHTENMENT

But what is great enlightenment, anyway?

Guess it means she was enlightened a lot.

My head is heavy.

I imagine it is.

Dayu, what are you doing, decked out in such heavy finery?

I thought you've been enlightened.

Yes, Master, but even with enlightenment,

there are crushing public rules of etiquette with mortal consequences.

I don't suppose you two could make your conversations easier to follow overall?

Everything you say has too many double meanings.

I come all this way to visit with my disciple, but with so many spectators...

She's wonderful every time I see her.

So pretty.

So glamorous.

So she's the chief of Crushing Hell.

Crushing Hell is ruled by Lady Jigoku Dayu and Miss O-Koh.

Now I see why Mr. Karauri always wants to go there.

It would be irresistible for his type.

Don't take shots at me from a distance! I'm not a part of this!

What's going on? There's a million people here!

Whoa! She's glamorous!

She's the chief of Crushing Hell.

She's famous because she's smoking hot, but she almost never leaves her office.

Come to think of it, there was some kind of big to-do at the end of last year, too.

So this is what it was!

That's awesome! What is she here for?

Do they have a big event planned?

I bet it's a ceremony.

No.

She's only here to turn in the year-end adjustment forms for Crushing Hell.

Salaried Employee Year-end Adjustment Form

And to turn in this year's reports while she's at it.

What...?

Really?

So... why is she so...?

She dressed normally at first.

But when it got out that a beauty from Crushing Hell was making rare appearances,

more people would come and try to get a look at her.

So Dayu would try to meet their expectations, and dress more lavishly every year.

Which brings us to now.

I am following the opposite of the path to enlightenment.

But...

My master is here to see me, and if it makes everyone happy, then I'll do it.

I do like to see women.

But personally, I do wish you would stop this.

A priest from the Muromachi Period, making "personal" requests.

This makes me feel like an Edo shogun forcing his retainers to move to the capital,

so I personally wish you would come more discreetly.

I apologize.

But as the representative of Crushing Hell, people expect certain things of me.

I know you'd prefer I don't dress up, but I can't come in a sweat suit, can I?

I never asked you to be THAT casual.

You can just come in your normal clothing.

But what is normal?

What is it that makes one "normal"?

Yes. This.

THIS

I'm only considering everyone's convenience.

Please don't start picking apart what I'm saying.

O-Koh arranges these costumes for me every year. It wouldn't be right not to wear them.

Note: A famous enka singer who wears very similar outfits. I'm sorry. I just feel more and more like... like I'm in charge of wardrobe for Sachiko Kobayashi.

Well, at this rate it will eventually turn into an Electrical P*rade,

So please alter course before you get there.

When a crowd starts to gather, that crowd gets bigger and bigger,

And before you know it, people start to think that something big is about to happen.

I would hope that an enlightened person would not plant those seeds.

So? The forms and the report?

Um...

We forgot them.

That, too, is life.

Anyway, Zen Master Ikkyu. Go away!

I'm tired...

Hey, Hozuki, let's go get some drinks tonight.

You just went drinking last week.

But YOU didn't come.

No, because I was taking care of all the paperwork you suddenly left on my lap.

Uh, oh yeah.

But you never join in when we do anything.

I've said it before and I'll say it again.

I'm opposed to frequent mandatory drinking parties.

Special events like year-end parties are enough.

Then let's have a year-end party tomorrow!

What?

Have a Drink and Get Some Rest

So about the entertainment for tonight's year-end party.

What do you think about an OGIRI comedy quiz?

I'd like to be in charge of cushions.

Why do you always come out of left field like that?

And you will be the MC.

What? I'd love to be an MC...

But no. I can see how that act would end.

Ten to one, it'll go...

Using the H, E, L in Hell, we'd like you to write an acrostic poem.

For example, one about my Chief of Staff.

H E L

Hozuki is ruthless, enthusiastic about torture, and... loves to criticize.

Ow!

You are exactly right.

It's not hard to imagine the cushion carrier stealing the spotlight.

Lord Enma.

Yes? What is it?

Year-end Season Survey: What is your alcoholic beverage of choice?

I told you yesterday that in exchange for having the party,

you need to check all this paperwork by lunchtime, remember?

Oh, sorry, I was just so busy.

I saw you in the cafeteria watching that Hiru Kyun talk show all the way to the end.

Lunch is the only time I have to watch TV, so I... you know.

It's fine if you watch TV as long as you meet your deadlines.

Shall we start doing pinky swears to make sure you keep your future promises?

Pinky swears?

You? Suggesting sucha whimsical way to make promises? It's just so unusual, you know?

You can be kind of cute sometimes.

Huh?

Cut your finger, cut your hair stand outside the outhouse and puke up all your blood.

Rot away, rot away, year after year.

Cut your finger, ten thousand fists, if you tell a lie, you'll swallow a thousand needles.

Pinky swear.

Oh, yeah, I remember those now.

Where'd the first half of that song come from?

It's the old version I just happen to know.

What? That's scary.

Incidentally, Lord Enma, in the Edo Era...

when a prostitute fell in love with a man,

she would cut off her finger and send it to him as an expression of her love.

Really?

That is the origin of the pinky swear.

In other words, the act of making a promise used to be taken frighteningly seriously.

Why are you telling me this now?

TEN THOUSAND FISTS

TEN THOUSAND FISTS

Furthermore, the "ten thousand fists"...

Referred to punching the promise, breaker ten thousand times.

It's a deal with the devil!

I-I'll look at those right now. Just give me a minute!

Mr. Hozuki!

Stamp this please!

There.

Aren't you going to the year-end party tonight?

I'm going, but not until I've gone through all this paperwork.

What? All of it?

Because if you work really hard at the end of the year, you can take New Year's Day off, right?

New Year's Day is my busiest.

Huh?

Mochi.

Oh, yeah, mochi.

It's a fairly serious problem.

In other countries, they call it the silent killer.

On New Year's, the gods, including Lord Enma, stop by all the shrines and temples.