mono

Whoa! An anime adaptation?

Wow!

It's all finally happening for you, Suzu.

Good for you.

Thank you.

HORROR MANGA ARTIST SUZUKO ISUZU

This'll be your fourth year as a manga artist, right?

Yeah. Even my parents are happy for me, and they'd been worried up until now.

Some friends of mine threw a party for me,

but now, I think it's all caused me some writer's block.

Why do you say that?

It's like I need some sort of oppressive force in order to perform.

Now that everyone's celebrating me, it's like I've lost the drive.

Yes, you're one of those types.

I can understand how you feel.

You must be somewhat of the rebellious type.

Well, don't put it that way. You'll make me feel embarrassed.

And I never would have guessed you two know each other.

We work under the same editor, and we're both originally from Mie.

I mean, I've been seeking refuge here in Yamanashi for quite a while now.

Seeking refuge?

And I never knew you two knew each other as well.

Yeah, we met at Houbunsha that time I had a meeting there.

-Boop, boop, boop, boop… -I'm getting a strange sense of déjà vu.

Boop, boop, boop…

Suzuko Isuzu is the author of Why My Dad Died.

In it, upon the passing of his father, the main character leaves Tokyo

for his hometown in the countryside in order to take over the family farm.

At first, he is uninterested

but he comes to appreciate

and even love the rural life through raising crops.

However,

he soon learns that one particular plot on his father's land

is haunted by a malevolent spirit and is the reason why his father died.

The land is cursed, and he cannot escape.

While, yes, it is a horror story, it also digs deep into the farming life…

RUMBLE RUMBLE

-…and I found it a very interesting-- -Ms. Kurokuma.

While I do appreciate it, please refrain from your compliments.

That's right. Forgive me.

WHOLESOME SLICE-OF-LIFE MANGA ARTIST AKINO

You know, I did think about that. How you're able to write such scary stories.

-And you're good with gore too. -No, no.

I don't touch gore, or anything graphic for that matter.

I do. Quite often.

I've done… where… did… while also…

Oh, we lost her.

Sorry, I'm back.

And there's something I've been wanting to ask you, Ms. Kurokuma.

How busy do you get when you're getting an anime adaptation?

Let's see.

In addition to my regular meetings and gathering resources,

I also have more manuscript work

due to new manga volumes being released as the anime is being broadcast.

Yeah, that sounds really busy.

There's also the voice recording that needs to be done.

Yes, I'm looking forward to that.

Though I'm not looking forward

to how long it's going to take to get from Ise to Tokyo.

Hey, Ms. Aki. What's wrong?

I'm just fangirling at sitting in on a conversation

between two people who have anime adaptations.

And you should also watch out for taxes.

-Taxes? -Yes.

THIS YEAR - NEXT YEAR

You'll probably see increased sales of your standalone books,

which will lead to greater royalties.

You should pay close attention

to all your expenses and deductions when you do your tax return,

or else you'll get hit hard when tax time comes around.

That's even more horrific than a horror manga.

What was the biggest thing you struggled with

when going through an anime adaptation, Ms. Kurokuma?

Let's see. If anything, it would be

the misfortune I brought upon those involved in the anime's production.

-Misfortune? -Misfortune?

I often base my manga on real haunted locations

that should never be visited under any circumstance,

and I often feature magical items that get used in real life.

Because my manga is based on these things,

those producing the anime very often fall victim

to various misfortunes and strange occurrences.

CHILLS + HEMORRHOIDS STRANGE EPIDEMIC

I do regular rituals and wards

to help protect those involved in the production of the anime,

so that none of the above actually occurs.

But for my first anime adaptation,

I let my guard down amid all the merriment.

Yay!

What's with the extremely niche host club?

So, what befell everyone?

Firstly, the animation studio's five-story building collapsed due to soil subsidence,

and it is now only a four-story building.

That's so outlandish right from the start!

There were fortunately no injuries,

but when the director went home that night,

he found his apartment building too had succumbed to sinkage.

The scriptwriter also had seven car accidents over seven consecutive days.

Seven consecutive accidents?

He had six minor traffic accidents from Monday through Saturday

and then on the Sunday, a boar slammed into his car.

-A boar? -A boar?

The scriptwriter wasn't hurt in any of them, but by the end of it all,

his car looked like it had been through a stunt course.

Strange happenings occurred during recording as well.

Takashi…

They heard voices coming from the empty recording booth.

Definitely spooky.

Dinner's ready… Come down…

The sound director, Takashi Nishikawa,

burst into tears at the thought of his late mother,

-who had passed away three years prior. -Mom!

Well, that's a bit more uplifting.

And finally…

The lead actor, a very popular voice actor, went missing.

I heard of that.

And he's still missing, isn't he?

How did he go missing?

I think he was on his way home from recording one day

when he fell down the stairs at the train station.

He hit his head and lost all his memories, so he was hospitalized.

Then one day, he just vanished.

Actually, they found him not too long ago working as a tuna fisherman in Oma.

Really?

Every one of these incidents occurred

within just two months of the anime production.

I then took measures and managed to stop any further misfortune from happening.

But if the anime had been broadcast as planned,

the curse could have gone through the radio waves,

and the viewers could have ended up as victims too.

Whatever did you do?

I gave one of these to everyone involved.

-A plasma air purifier? -A plasma air purifier?

Anyone who works in a temple or a shrine knows that plasma works on spirits.

-Seriously? -Seriously?

It stopped any more hauntings for those who were involved in the anime production,

but in turn, it turned the spirits' anger toward me.

I lost my entire manuscript to it.

Wow, that's terrible.

Spirits are good at working their way into IT and electrical appliances.

Don't say it like you're some sort of electrician.

Were you all right with it being gone?

The editorial department had a copy of the old manuscript saved,

so all I lost were the few pages I was working on at the time.

Well, that's good considering the circumstances.

I then purchased a new computer and had it cleansed at a reputable IT shrine.

Things have been fine ever since.

I know that place.

DENDENGU SHRINE

They have a shrine dedicated to the God of Lightning,

and it's where people in IT go for good luck.

PRAYER RECEPTION

You don't say.

This is my new PC, by the way.

Have you made it into a household shrine?

Still, seeing as you're a horror manga artist, Ms. Isuzu,

you might do well to get yourself a plasma air purifier in advance.

Okay. And I'd also better find the motivation

for getting my manga ready for an anime adaptation.

We're rooting for you, Suzu!

A FEW DAYS LATER…

Ms. Aki!

I finally found the perfect motivation!

You did?

HATE THREAD FOR SUZUKO ISUZU

I signed on to one of those anonymous forums

and started hurling hate toward myself alongside all my haters.

It's gotten me all fired up now!

Now I feel ready to take on the next 72 hours cranking out my next manuscript!

Suzu! I really think you should find another method!

I see. So your first ever screenplay meeting will be in Tokyo this Friday.

Yeah, it's why I got a bit carried away.

Sorry about that.

MINOBU DONBURI WALK WHAT DONBURI DO YOU WANT TO EAT?

I know what.

MINOBU STATION SHONIN STREET

Hey, Ms. Akino. Thanks for inviting me out.

It's good to get out every now and then, right?

Ms. Kurokuma!

Sorry to keep you waiting.

Not at all. I, too, only just got here.

Ms. Shimada's coming today too, isn't she?

She is. She should be waiting for us just outside the station.

Isn't that her?

YUTAKAYA

EDITOR IN CHARGE OF HOUBUNSHA MANGA CANNON

KOHARU SHIMADA

Looks like she's already eaten.

Rules for the Minobu Donburi Walk.

Participants will go around

eating mini "donburi" rice dishes throughout the Minobu area,

collecting digital stamps at the eateries that offer these meals as they go.

Once all six stamps have been collected,

participants will head for the summit of Mount Minobu, where the final goal awaits.

STAMP - MAP CURRENT NUMBER OF STAMPS

Hold on. Ms. Shimada's just about done with them all already.

Never mind that.

I've brought my work phone and my personal phone along with me.

You think that's what we were worried about?

BUDOYA OPEN FOR BUSINESS