What?!
何
Open the eyelid that conceals the night
夜ヲ覆ウ目蓋開ケ
凶キ影ヲ恐レルナカレ
And fear not the evil shadows
I am as a doll
仄くらき柩から
Born from a dusky coffin
産み堕とされた人形のように
With a growing body frozen red
躰は赤く凍え
And a heart soothed by darkness
心は闇にあやされ育つ
Can you see me?
君に僕が見えるかい
My nails steeped in fresh blood
つなぐ手の冷たさに
Sink into the chill of our joined hands
鮮血の爪立てる
Now, let me see you frown
眉寄せてごらんよ
壊し合おう先に続く 謎に満ちる結末を
Let us destroy one another
And face the ending full of mystery that lies ahead
Before we rot away in emptiness
羽も脚ももがれたまま
With our wings and legs ripped away
虚空のなか朽ち果てるより
There is another me
もうひとり僕がいて
Who loves someone so much it hurts
誰かを痛いほど愛しているんだ
I wonder, which one is the illusion?
さぁどっちが幻だろうね
水野早苗さんっていったかね
Sanae Mizuno, was it?
She and Kouchi often talked about books together.
恒一ちゃんとは本の話とかしてたよね
She was so young...
まだお若いのに
I worry about her brothers.
弟くんも心配ね
Oh, she had brothers?
弟さんがいるのかい
One is named Takeru.
猛くんっていって 僕と同じクラスで
He's in my class.
Dear me, this is so awful.
おや 嫌だね
Didn't a girl in your class recently die in an accident, too?
こないだもクラスの子が事故で亡くなったんだろ
人が死ぬと葬式だなあ
After a death, there always follows a funeral.
How very tired I am of funerals...
葬式はもう堪忍 堪忍して欲しいな
So very tired of funerals...
葬式はもう堪忍して欲しいな
June 4 (Thurs)
The news about Mizuno's sister comes as a terrible shock,
水野くんのお姉さんの事は大変にショックですが
but it will be all right.
大丈夫です
If we all try hard together, we can overcome this.
皆で頑張ればきっと乗り越えられます
So...
あのさ
She died.
亡くなったんだよ 水野のお姉さんが昨日の事故で
Mizuno's sister died in an accident yesterday.
Oh...
そう
Self-Study Sketching
I wonder what's wrong with Ms. Mikami?
先生 どうしたのかな
Maybe she's really sick.
そんなに具合が悪いのかな
She didn't look too well.
なんだか元気なかったし
I hope she doesn't...
まさか
Hey, Sakakibara?
ねね 榊原くん
Yeah?
何
You don't think Ms. Mikami
まさか 三神先生 何か命に関わるような重病だったりはしないよね
has some serious, life-threatening illness, do you?
えっ まあ 大丈夫なんじゃないの
I'm sure she's fine.
You're probably right.
そうだよね うん
Are you that worried?
そこまで心配なの
Well, after what happened to Sakuragi...
そりゃ このあいだ桜木さんがあんなことになって
And now Mizuno's sister...
今度は水野くんのお姉さんでしょう
So I just...
だから
Are they related?
関係あるの
Is there a connection between these accidents?
最近の事故と繋がりが
Um, I don't...
それは
Where are you going?
どこへ行くの
To do some research.
調べ物
Yomiyama Prefectural Junior High School Class of 1972
Who am I kidding?
そうか 見崎の名前はあるわけないか
Of course I wouldn't find Misaki's name here.
Mom...
お母さん
You found your mother?
見つかったかな
Yes.
はい
Interesting, so she graduated in '72.
しかし よりによって七十二年とは
Which class was she in?
お母さんはなん組みだったのかな
Class 3, like me.
母も三組だったそうです
Oh? Which one is she?
うん どの人 君のお母さん
This one.
この人です
Ritsuko?
理津子くんか
えっ 知ってるんですか
You knew her?
Yes.
まあ 理津子くんとはな
Ritsuko was...
But...
しかし 亡くなったと言っていたが
I heard that she died.
When was that?
いつ
Fifteen years ago, right after she had me.
十五年前僕を産んですぐに
Fifteen years ago?
十五年前
I see...
そうなのか
So that's what happened.
そういう事なのか
Kouichi?
恒一くん
Mr. Kubodera asked me to send you to the faculty room.
先生が職員室まで来るようにって
Okay, thanks.
そう ありがとう
Let me apologize in advance.
先に謝っとく ごめんなさい
I'm sorry.
But this is for all of us.
皆のためなの 許して
Forgive us.
You are aware that Sanae Mizuno
水野早苗さんが昨日病院の事故で亡くなられたことは知っていますね
passed away in an accident at the hospital yesterday, yes?
Yes.
はい
Um, am I suspected of something?
あの 何か不審なところでも
Oh, no, we know it was an accident.
いやいや 事故は事故なんですよ
A very unfortunate accident.
大変に不幸な事故です
It's just, Ms. Mizuno's cell phone was found in the elevator in question.
で ですね 問題のエレベーターに水野さんの携帯電話が落ちていたんですね
Did you speak with her on the phone around 1 p.m. yesterday?
昨日の午後一時ごろ携帯電話で彼女と話をしましたか
Yes, I did.
しました
She was on the roof at the time, correct?
彼女は屋上にいたんですね
And she entered the elevator from there...
そこからエレベーターに乗ってか
What caused the accident?
事故の原因はなんだったんでしょうか
That's under investigation.
調査中
All we know for certain is that
ワイヤを止めてる金具が外れて落下という線には間違いないんだけどね
the sheaves holding the cables in place came loose, causing it to fall.
That building is several decades old,
あの病棟はそもそも築何十年かで
and it's been through numerous structural modifications.
その間にずいぶんと無茶な増改築を繰り返して来た
Let's both be careful.
お互い気をつけましょ
Especially where unusual accidents are concerned.
普通起こりえないような事故には特にね
Aya Ayano Izumi Akazawa
Sakakibara?
榊原くん
Are the police finished questioning you?
警察の方との話は終わったのですか
Yes.
あ はい
All right.
そうですか では 今日はもう帰ってもかまいません
Then, you're dismissed for the day.
Um, where is everyone?
あの 皆は
The new female class officer was selected during homeroom.
ＨＲ（ホームルーム）で新しい女子のクラス委員長が決まりました
It's Akazawa.
赤沢さんです
But where did everybody go?
それで 皆はどこに
Please be sure to uphold the class rules at all times.
くれぐれもクラスの決め事には必ず従うようにしてください
Are we clear?
よろしいですね
Who is dead?
Okay, sure.
うん いいよ
Hey.
や 帰ろうか
Walk home with me?
Where did everyone go during sixth period?
六限目さ 皆どこ行ってたの
To the meeting room, to take care of some stuff.
会議室に移って 色々とね
What stuff?
色々って
You've had a lot of strange experiences since you came here, haven't you?
榊原くんさ
転校してきてからこっち色々と変に感じてることあるよね
If you know, can you tell me what's going on?
分かってるなら教えてくれる
Sorry, I can't.
ごめん やっぱり言えない
Only, that something very unpleasant might happen to you soon.
ただ これから榊原くんにとても不愉快なことがあると思う
What do you mean?
何それ
At the meeting,
さっきの会議でね
Akazawa said we needed to discuss something,
君のいないところで話し合いをしなきゃって赤沢さんが言い出して
without you there.
But even if you don't like what happens,
でもね 嫌な目に遭うことがあっても
try to deal with it.
我慢して欲しいんだ
Remember that you're doing it for all of us.
皆のためだと思って
Please.
お願いだから
"All of us"?
皆のって
This is for all of us.
皆のためなの 許して
Forgive us.
Is this one of those class rules?
それって クラスの決め事ってやつ
Yeah.
I just don't get it...
なんだかな
Can I ask one favor?
一つ頼み事をしてもいいかな
What?
何
I want a copy of the class roster.
クラスの名簿のコピー 欲しいんだ
You didn't get one?
もらってないんだ
It's just not fair.
やっぱりフェアじゃないね
I can't agree with Akazawa's way of handling things.
僕はあんまり賛成できないんだよね 赤沢さんのやり方
It's not fair of her to force her own ideas on the rest of us.
勝手に決め付けたことを押し付けるなんて
フェアじゃない
There must be so many things you want to know.
榊原くん 知りたい事いっぱいあるよね
There are.
そりゃもう
Then, you can ask me.
じゃ 一つずつ聞いて見て
I'll tell you everything I know.
僕の知っている範囲で教えてあげるよ
Takabayashi, wait! I'll tell you everything I know.
ちょっと 高林くん 本気
Are you serious?
Okay.
じゃあ 見崎鳴って子はいるの
Does Mei Misaki exist?
Mei Misaki is...
見崎鳴は
Takabayashi!
高林くん 高林くん
Takabayashi!
Good morning.
おはようございます 早いんですね
You're early today.
June 5 (Fri)
That's it, any other...
それじゃ そういう事で 何か
No, forget it.
いや もういいですね
Did something happen this morning?
今朝 何かあったっけ
Let us pray that the soul of our classmate, Takabayashi,
同じ教室で共に学んだ高林くんのご冥福を皆でお祈りしましょう
may rest in peace.
Many sad events have transpired,
悲しい出来事が続きますが
but do not lose heart and do not give up.
挫けず 諦めず
We'll get through this together.
皆で力を合わせて切り抜けましょう
Remember to uphold the class rules at all times.
皆さんくれぐれもクラスの決め事は守るように
Ms. Mikami is in a difficult position,
三神先生も難しい立場でありながら
but she has agreed to cooperate to the best of her ability.
できるだけの事をと言ってくださいました
Does everyone understand?
ですから よろしいですか
Hey...
あの さ
What's with him?
何だ あいつ
Hey, Wakui?
和久井くん
What's going on?
何だよ もう
The customer you are trying to reach currently
現在 電波の届かない場所にあるか電源が入っていないため かかりません
has their phone off or is out of the service area.
Hey!
Listen...
あのさ
すまねえ
Sorry.
Figures of Speech
Simile
Metaphor
Personification
"A rumor walks alone."
「噂が一人歩きする」
Here, we see something that is not human
これは 本来人間でないものが
being expressed as displaying human behavior.
恰も人間かのように振舞う表現であり
This is known as personification.
この用法を 「擬人法」といいます
The important thing to understand is that
ここで気をつけてほしいのは
human attributes are given to something non-human.
「擬人法」とは 人間でないものを人間のように喩えるということです
Pascal once said, "Man is but a reed, but he is a thinking reed."
「人間とは考える葦である」 というパスカルの言葉がありますが
This is not personification.
これは 「擬人法」ではありません 「暗喩」となります
So that's what they meant. This is not personification.
So that's what they meant. It is a metaphor.
Does that make sense?
よろしいですか
Hi.
What's wrong?
どうしたの 急に電話なんかしてきて
Your call was unexpected.
Sorry. Ask Misaki to explain. - Mochizuki
Mei Misaki
So, you got a copy of the class roster.
名簿もらったんだ それで
And?
Let me start from the beginning.
順番に話すよ 高林くんが死んだの 知ってる
Did you hear that Takabayashi died?
He had a heart attack.
心臓の発作で 前から悪かったそうだけど
I know he had heart problems, but...
そう 六月の二人目は病死か
I see.
The second June death was caused by illness.
Then, when I got to school today,
それで 今日学校へ行ったら クラスの様子が変で
the whole class was acting weird.
Like they had all conspired to treat me like I wasn't there.
皆で示し合わせて 僕を 「いないもの」みたいに振舞って
そういうことにしたのか
So that's what they decided to do.
Does this mean I'm just like you now?
これってやっぱり 僕も君と同じになったってこと
How does it feel to not exist?
どう 「いないもの」になった感想は
Not so great.
あんまりいい気分じゃない
But, in a way, it's a load off my mind.
でも ちょっとすっきりしたかも
It is?
すっきり
Because now I know that you exist.
見崎鳴はいると分かったから
This is where you live, isn't it?
ここってさ 君の家だよね
Yes.
そう とっくに気づいてると思った
I thought you figured that out long ago.
You did say you lived around here.
確かにこの近くだし お客でもないね
And you're not a customer.
Was that your mother who answered the phone?
電話に出たのは お母さん
She was surprised.
びっくりしてた 私に学校の友達から電話なんて 滅多にないから
I very rarely get calls from schoolmates.
Is Kirika your mom?
君のお母さんって 「霧果」って人
Yes, I guess you'd call it a pseudonym.
そっ 雅号っていうのかな それが 「霧果」ね
She goes by Kirika.
A strange woman, who keeps herself cloistered in the studio upstairs.
いつも二階の工房に閉じ籠ってる 変わった人
Does the "M" in "Studio M" stand for Misaki?
工房Mって 見崎の 「M」
It all makes sense now, doesn't it?
単純な話でしょう
Let's go upstairs.
上に行きましょう
Did you know this was here?
気づいてた
Here you go.
はい
質問 そっちからしてくれる そのほうが話しやすいかも
Why don't you ask the questions?
It might be easier to explain everything that way.
I thought you hated being questioned.
質問攻め
I do.
But today,
I'll make a special exception.
First of all, Mei Misaki,
you exist, right?
Did you think I was a ghost?
Sort of.
I guess you couldn't help it.
But your doubts are gone now, right?
Now that you know I exist,
as a living human.
I'm only nonexistent to the others in Class 3.
Since when?
It started on May 1.
That's pretty recent.
Lots of things seemed strange to you from the start, right?
And nobody would tell me why.
Not explaining the situation to you beforehand
was a costly mistake.
Mistake?
You were supposed to treat me as someone who didn't exist,
just like everyone else in class.
But now you've ended up the same as me.
How awful for you.
It's not exactly bullying...
I don't think anybody thinks of it that way.
I understand that I no longer exist to them,
but why are they doing this?
It's a natural question.
Remember the story about the Misaki who died twenty-six years ago?
Yeah.
That was the trigger.
After that, Class 3 drew closer to death.
Death?
It first happened to Class 3
the year after Misaki's classmates graduated.
And once it happens, once it begins,
somebody dies each month.
Either a student, or someone from their family.
What is "it"?
It's when...
the number of students in the class increases by one.
Increases? Who?
Nobody knows.
They can never figure out who the extra one is.
Extra one?
Twenty-five years ago, shortly after the new term began,
they realized that the classroom was short one desk and chair,
even though they had prepared enough for all of the students.
Couldn't they just check the school records?
They did, but there was no point.
The roster and records had been altered to be inconsistent.
They were just one desk and chair short.
So, someone rewrote the numbers?
I used the word "altered" figuratively.
They say that everyone's memories had changed as well.
Huh?
Sounds impossible, doesn't it?
But it's supposedly true.
I was told this type of phenomenon could happen.
Phenomenon?
At first, everyone thought it was just an error
and thought nothing of it.
But starting in April,
people connected to the class
started to die each month.
Each month?
For the whole year?
That year, I think it was six students and ten family members.
Clearly abnormal, right?
This phenomenon has continued in Class 3 ever since.
So, a 9th grade Class 3 student named Misaki died twenty-six years ago.
And starting the next year,
there was somehow an extra student in the class.
Then, people connected to the class started to die each month.
But why do people die when there's an extra student?
Nobody knows the reason.
That's just what happens.
Plus, that extra student is...
someone dead.
You mean the Misaki who died twenty-six years ago?
Who is dead?
Is it a ghost or something?
I think it's different from what we would call a ghost.
It seems to have a physical body.
There's no way to tell it apart from the rest of us.
No way to tell?
The dead person has a soul and memories,
and they don't realize they're dead.
Who are they?
The people connected to the class who have died over the years.
This is how I see it.
Class 3's actions twenty-six years ago
made the class a place that invites the dead in.
After that, the dead began to join the class,
and Class 3 drew closer to death.
See?
In response,
the Class 3 students came up with
several countermeasures to try to escape this calamity.
Like exorcisms?
Possibly.
They tried moving to a different classroom,
and changing the name of Class 3 to Class C.
But that didn't stop it.
So, the problem is with the students in the 9th grade's third class?
Seems to be.
Then, about ten years ago,
they found a way to deal with the problem.
A method that prevented people from dying each month.
Don't tell me...
Treat one student like they don't exist, to make up for the extra person.
That way, they return the class to its correct number,
and they can avoid the calamity for that year.
It's a sort of charm.
Like film that loses its color with time
色褪せてく フィルムのように
The now that we know will one day fade
確かな今も いずれ霞んで
何でもなく 笑いあった
That fleeting moment's light
When we shared a laugh over nothing
刹那の時間と光
繋がってゆく 記憶の底に
It now lies, waiting to be found, at the depths
誰かが見つけるためあると信じてる 今でも
Of memories that connect one to the next
This I still believe
"Face to face"