Pandora's Box (パンドラの匣)

Risuke.

You shouldn't work in the field!

The doctor said that you weren't up to it.

Mother!

Oh, please!

You'll kill yourself if you keep pushing yourself so hard.

Okay, let's go inside.

My very existence is bothersome to people.

I'm a burden.

Nothing depresses me more than such a thought.

I hated my renegade self so much.

I decided to abuse and inflict pain on myself.

That's why I pretend to be a farmer.

Besides that, it's useful with the present food shortage.

I grow potatoes and pumpkins...

Right before I spit up blood I get a rumble in my chest.

That's something I learned.

It was this night that I'd been waiting for.

It was exactly as I'd hoped.

But I wouldn't tell my family about the blood.

I would wait until it was too late and then die on them.

Die, you potatoes! Die! Die!

If I died while playing the part of a farmer, in a field I'd tended

I'd feel gratified.

But...

I, as the ruler of the Empire, have informed the USA, UK, USSR and China

that the Empire would accept the terms of the Declaration.

The welfare and well-being of the Empire's citizens has always been

of utmost importance to the Royal family.

Even though the Empire declared war against the allied nations...

We lost the war.

What?

This is the emperor.

At noon that day, I cried listening to His Majesty's divine voice.

Tears rolled down my cheeks and a strange sensation came over me.

Like I was on a big ship that was slowly rocking.

When I regained my composure, I was a different man.

No more old-fashioned pretenses.

"Dying for the country" no longer held true.

Mother.

Be quiet.

But mother...

Later!

But mother.

We lost the war!

I spit up blood.

Oh...

I joined this sanatorium not because I was suddenly afraid of dying.

There was no reason.

But one thing was clear. I became a new man on that day.

The regimen was tough but they said if you did the stretches earnestly

recovery would be quick.

After much debate they decided my nickname was "Hibari," a skylark.

I must say that the treatment this sanatorium offered

Ouch!

...was eccentric.

Shota Sometani

Mieko Kawakami

Next stop is Koumebashi Riisa Naka

Riisa Naka

and Kusaka Sanatorium. Riisa Naka

Yosuke Kubozuka

Yoriko Doguchi

Mickey Curtis

Based on the novel by Osamu Dazai

Pandora's Box

Attention.

Tsukushi Nishiwaki has fully recovered so he'll be leaving today.

Feel free to join our send-off.

Ready?

Good.

Do your best!

Do your best.

The best that I can.

Will you write me sometimes?

Yes, if you write too.

Oops! Your name tag!

Tsukushi.

Do your best.

The best that I can.

- Do your best! - The best that I can.

Hibari.

What?

Tell Tsukushi that the crickets have started chirping.

He just left. He's not here anymore.

That's not the point. Tell him when you write to him.

What have you got against crickets?

Why don't you write to him yourself, Mabo?

Oh, you're so mean.

Dear, Tsukushi Nishiwaki.

You've only been gone a few hours and already somebody's missing you.

From today...

a nurse joins us from Tsurushima Sanatorium in Osaka.

Now she has an earthy prettiness, don't you think?

Her mother must have integrity.

In comparison, Mabo gives a bad impression.

It's her mother's fault.

"Echigo Lion" blames everything on mothers.

Anyhow, the new head nurse joined the sanatorium right after you left.

Her name is Shizuko Takenaka.

She's nothing to look at. Just big-boned and middle-aged.

Take-san.

But because she's big-boned...

- Doing your best? - She looks good in a uniform.

The best that I can.

Keep it up.

Her nickname...

Bring it on.

...is Take-san.

Doing your best?

The best that I can.

Doing your best?

The best that I can.

Hibari.

Doing your best?

The best that I can.

She's classy and aloof which makes her popular with the men...

Hibari, open wide!

Doing your best?

The best that I can.

But I find the freshness of Mabo and her adorable gold-capped smile

far more attractive.

But it's irritating the way Mabo flirts with just about anybody.

That gets on my nerves.

On top of that it seems like she can't forget you.

That's more than I can handle.

Mabo, doing your best?

I like you the best, Hibari.

What?

I'm in trouble.

What sort of trouble is that?

Do you miss Tsukushi?

Don't patronize me!

Mabo, wait. I'm sorry!

Hey, was that Mabo crying just now?

Take-san told her off.

Do you know Ms. Narusawa in Violet Ward?

Mabo kept chatting away to her when she was unwell.

Oh, I thought you made her cry, Hibari.

She cried because the head nurse reprimanded her.

That's about as bad as Mabo's troubles would get.

I'm better off without that girl, I'm done with her.

As a New Man, I have nothing to regret.

- Kappore, doing your best? - The best that I can.

- Keep it up. - Bring it on.

- Hibari, doing your best? - The best that I can.

- Keep it up. - Bring it on.

How nice it is here...

Hibari.

Was Mabo crying?

She said she had some trouble.

...She's a pain.

It's none of my business.

Well, it unnerves me.

What's going on?

A head nurse should be resolute when disciplining the staff.

Look at that!

Look at all that rice! You seem to have a lot more...

Years ago

maids secretly gave more rice to the servant she was fond of.

What?

Take-san...?

Likes you?

I don't care.

The New Man won't tolerate such an old fashioned display of kindness.

I overestimated Take-san.

Women are no good. They're all the same.

I didn't eat all the rice.

You're a pain.

Take-san says "pain" and Mabo says "mean," out of habit.

It's meaningless but nonetheless it's annoying.

In your letter you said that Take-san sounded interesting

you wouldn't feel that way if she called you a pain.

Let me elaborate about Take-san. She's old-fashioned and plain.

She isn't at all feminine.

Just one glance would bring you down to earth.

In comparison, at least Mabo has a modern outlook...

I dare say that even her gold cap reflects a sense of the avant-garde.

Remain as you are. I have an announcement.

Last night Itoko Narusawa in Violate Ward, passed away.

She will make a quiet exit from the sanatorium now.

You're welcome to join us in saying farewell.

Hibari.

Do you know Pandora's Box, the story from Greek mythology?

That much I know.

By opening the forbidden box

evil is unleashed and it resembles

creatures that buzz around, covering the sky.

Leaving us to forever suffer from ills, poverty and pain.

But everyone, we shouldn't despair.

Hope can be just as deceptive as concepts of despair.

As desperate as we are, we seek out hope.

Doing your best?

Since the time of the Gods of Olympus, we were meant to seek hope.

Leaving behind those who preach to us about optimism and pessimism.

The best that I can.

We'll sail away on our new voyage. The coast is clear.

Keep it up.

Following the Sun as a heliotropic climbing plant does.

Bring it on.