Soda Master (ラムネモンキー)

TANBE MIDDLE SCHOOL MOVIE RESEARCH CLUB

Chins up!

Lower your hips!

Jut your butts out!

Arms higher!

That's it for today.

I'll stay behind and continue.

What are you doing here, bowl-cut kid?

Watching naughty videos?

Or maybe having a good time with your teacher?

What?

Why are you looking at me like that?

You want to get hurt again, you otaku punk?

Your bowl cut pisses me off.

Tsukkun!

You Tanbe Middle otakus are pretty good!

What's that?

Mocchan, Takeo, go!

Take this!

Damn it…

Hey!

Ouch!

No way… How could a bowl-cut otaku be so…

I'm not the kid I once was.

Wait… Stop…

Suppress your fury, Kam-Bo.

Master.

I'll talk to them later.

- But they're at fault... - Quiet.

Through your training, you guys have received great power.

But kung fu is not a tool to pick fights with people.

Never use it in brawls again. Understood?

KIKUHARA SALON

You wanted to keep it just barely touching his brows,

so this length is fine.

It doesn't touch his brows at all!

Shouldn't it be at least this long to count as "barely touching"?

I think "barely touching" means "basically not touching."

Then call it "not touching"!

Kids' hair grows quickly.

So this length is better… Right?

I apologize. No need to pay this time.

No, I'll pay.

No, I really can't take your money.

Are you sure?

I feel kind of guilty.

Please come again.

Next time, I'll go to my mom's salon!

Yes, let's do that.

Thank you.

Kisuke, where is my lunch?

You had it already.

You're tricking me again.

Do you plan to starve your mother to death?

We were investigating the disappearance

of Matilda, an art teacher from 37 years ago,

when we ran into the Warden of Hell, Jason, Mr. Chan's nemesis,

Mr. Eto, a PE teacher,

and got an important clue from him.

So you mean he was a stalker?

What kind of man was he?

He apparently smelled of alcohol.

Alcohol?

The culprit was a drunkard stalker.

The first one I can think of is that idiot Hachiro.

That punk always loitered around town,

and he was always drunk.

I don't think so. Hachiro was a local celebrity.

Eto would have known him.

If he meant Hachiro, he would have said his name.

Oh, and besides,

Hachiro died in a traffic accident ages ago.

I remember it was in the papers.

What do you think?

You said you wouldn't be back here.

It's our duty to report important clues, right?

It can help your investigation.

We aren't investigating.

- What's your name again? - Officer Tsurumi. Bet you won't remember.

Why don't you investigate it on your own?

In dramas, the maverick detective

often ignores orders and does things on his own.

I don't want to be a maverick!

We won't come back.

Yes, I hope you keep your word!

"He smelled of alcohol"

isn't really a clue, I think.

It isn't, yes.

Are those court documents?

Yes.

I can't understand them at all.

But for the company, and the entire industry…

I can't afford to lose.

How is your work, Chan?

I'm working on a new project.

Do your best. Both of you were my idols, after all.

Kam-Bo, how is your life lately?

Me?

I'm the same as always.

I cut people's hair, shampoo, then shave them.

A peaceful life.

Can I try?

- Really? - Yes.

I'm drawing a cow, basically.

- A cow? - Yes.

Okay.

THICK MILK LATTE HONEY SPICE LATTE

Like this, I guess.

You're super good!

I draw on my shop's blackboard, too.

Since we were kids, Kam-Bo has always been a genius at art.

We all thought he would be a pro manga artist.

I'm not that good.

Your problem is that you don't have confidence!

I met you at the Manga Research Club, and gave up on becoming an artist!

You're good.

Once you go pro, give me your autograph!

Going pro…

You can do it. You must!

If you want to be a pro, you've got to learn from the masters.

Like Osamu Tezuka.

Or Fujiko, Akatsuka, Ishinomori…

TANBE CENTRAL SHOPPING DISTRICT

They're from Second Middle School…

Let's run.

You looked at us funny.

We like beating up bowl-cut kids, you know.

Just looking at your Tanbe Middle uniform makes us sick!

I'm from Tanbe Middle too.

Fine.

How about a three-on-three fight?

Then, we had a huge brawl.

How could you fight over just that?

I mean…

Every time we passed those punks from that school,

we would end up fighting.

I don't get it.

Be-Bop High School was a hit back then, tons of idiot kids wanted to mimic it.

Yuen was in a bad mood because of his elbow so he got violent.

You hit them first!

It was you! Then we all got beaten up.

Then the police came, and I was kicked off the team.

And the Manga Club got closed down.

That club only had me and Chan to begin with,

so it didn't meet requirements.

Then you three formed the Movie Club?

Thinking back,

if the Manga Club had carried on, maybe you would have been an artist,

and I would have taken over the family business

and become a carpenter.

- That's the better timeline. - Don't say that!

Mr. Kam-Bo, why did you give up on your dream?

I wasn't good enough to go pro.

That's not true!

Because of your family, right?

Kam-Bo lost his dad early on.

His mom took over the barbershop and raised him.

So you had to take over the family business…

Kam-Bo was too kind.

Not at all.

His mom was nice and pretty.

She often came to pick him up at our club. "Kisuke!"

"It's late already!" Like that.

Is she doing fine?

Yes, thank goodness. How about your parents?

My mom died four years ago,

and my dad followed her a year later.

My dad passed last year. Take care of her.

Yes.

You can start drawing manga now, you know.

Yes, tons of sites exist now.

Some get famous from social media.

It's never too late to chase your dream.

But of course, it's never that easy.

- We know that well at our age. - Even then, you should do it.

He has a lifestyle to uphold. It's not easy.

You have to sacrifice things to get what you want!

I'm telling you, don't blindly force him into it.

KIKUHARA SALON

MANGA POSTING SITE

MANGA SUBMISSION SITE - NAMEPORT CREATORS PASS

All right.

WANTS TO REDO HIS LIFE

FUJIRO HIGASHIMIYA IN HIS 50S - GOT FIRED RECENTLY

TO BE REBORN

WHAT WAS I LIVING FOR?

I'M USED TO LIVING WITHOUT HOPING FOR ANYTHING

Looking good.

You want a second chance at life?

Fancy another chance at life, huh?

Another chance? You can give me that?

Where are you going?

- The pool. - The pool? Don't be ridiculous.

I'm on the swim team.

I have to practice.

You never told me you swam.

Your hair has gotten longer.

Let me cut it for you. Sit.

Girls don't like sloppy guys, you know.

Yuen, you should be an action star. You're cool.