The End of the Pale Hour (2021) - full transcript

[ April 2012 ]

Uh, I'm Ishida from the
Economics Department.

Thank you for coming today!

Thanks. Uh...
In this tough economic climate,

few job hunters are getting
offers at this stage in their search.

And if it's from the company of your
first choice, it will be even more limited.

In other words, everyone
here today is a winner.

So here's to you!

Cheers!

Yeah, cheers.

Smile, everyone.



Winners, yeah!

Hey, where did you get your job offer?

Tokyo Central Printing.

Wow, that's nice. It's a big company.

This guy gonna bring innovation
to the printing industry,

so remember him.
- Really?

I'm going to Dentsu. We might run
into each other on the job.

Looking forward to it.

I don't have it yet.

Totally fine.

At least have a business card.

- Right.
- It's okay.

Okay. Greetings. Shake hands.

- Nice to meet you.
- Nice to meet you.



I have a friend who's in the same business.

- Really?
- Yeah, I'll introduce you.

Please.

Sir! Two beers, please.

[ "An uncut gem does not sparkle" ]

Gem...

Definitely study abroad
while you're still a student.

I'm fine. I'm sorry.

You can't. One more time.
One more time.

What's wrong?

I'm sorry. I think I lost my phone.

Really?

I'll give you my number. Can you call it?

Sure. What's your number?

Um... 080

6513 724.

724.

Well?

Well, you seem awful at finding it.

Sorry, sorry.
Clumsy, right?

No, it's fine, really.

I'm leaving first. How much do I owe?

You're leaving already?

Yeah.

I just came by to show my face.

A thousand yen would be fine.
I'll give it to them.

Thanks.

Okay.

Bye.

Good night.

♪ What do you have? Why do you have it?

♪ You have it because
you don't drink enough.

Okay, drink, drink, drink, drink...

Here.

Thank you.

A bit noisy today, huh?

No, I'm really sorry.

They're happy so it's okay.

No... but aren't they a bit carried away?

Calling themselves "winners".

It's okay to be carried away.

They're young.

Hey!

You shouldn't be
in here all alone.

Go upstairs.

No, I'll be right back.

- You will?
- Yeah, I'll be back.

Oh, it's water...

Tasty.

Ma'am, three highballs, please.

Okay.

Okay. Okay.
Okay. Okay...

Such a nuisance.

You should go.
Since you came all this way...

Yeah, yeah.

[ Maybe it would be more fun to
have a drink with me, lol? ]

Um, this... is for two.

I'm leaving first. Please deduct that.

Whoa...

You look cheerful.

No, I don't. Shut up, really.

[ I just left the pub! ]

[ Whale park, you know it? ]

Whale park...

Hi, there.

That invitation was unfair.

Huh? What?

You didn't really lose your phone, did you?

What? No, no,
I really did lose it.

Really?

I was so surprised that you
cunningly asked me out like that.

Here.

Good job on the strange drinking party.

Cheers.

Oh, you like highball?
I bought it on a whim.

Once I finish this,
I'm gonna go to a store.

Oh, there's one over there, right?

Oh, yeah, yeah.
That's where I bought these.

I mean,

why did you decide to drink
again after leaving the party?

I was only invited to balance the numbers,

and it would be lonely to
drink again by myself.

Well, yeah.

So I looked at my phone,
and there was a received call log.

So you asked me out?

I guess I shouldn't have done that.

It's not that you shouldn't...

But I'm glad you came.

It's the third single, right?

No, it's the fourth single.

Huh? Are you for real?
Because it has "Tremolo" in it.

No, Radwimps has "Yushinron"
and "Futarigoto", right?

It's definitely the fourth.

No, I think it's the third one.

I listened to it in high school
when it was released.

Huh? Wasn't the third single came
out when we were in middle school?

- Did you failed to enter college?
- No.

Yeah, but I'm a grad student.

Oh, so you're older than me.

Hey, should I speak in honorifics?

No, no, no, don't.
You absolutely shouldn't.

Okay, okay.

What are you gonna do next year?

I'll be working at a printing company.

I want to come up with a plan
that will surprise even the agencies

and make the whole world go wild.

Oh, sounds interesting.

You see, I wanted a job
where I could entertain people.

I see.

I look forward to spring.

Yeah.

What about you?

I'm on apparel brand.

It's small, though.

We make cute bags using materials
from developing countries.

Oh... So, do you go
abroad or something?

Someday, maybe.

In the future, I hope to become a
grandmother who wears flashy clothes

and enjoys growing old.

Oh, that's nice.

Yeah. I know, right?

Oh no, can we still make it?

Maybe, but...

What is it?

If I went, I'm sure we'd have fun.

Oh... Confident, aren't you?

I'm confident.

It's kind of embarrassing,

but thank you.

The train's leaving. Let's run.

Yeah.

Can we make it?

Right?

[ RADWIMPS - Tremolo ]

Hey.

Hey...

Hey.

Why did you leave before
me the other night?

Ah, no... You see...

Come over for drinks again today.
7:00 p.m. at Dharma.

I'll be there if I can.

That one right there is never coming.

But I'll be waiting for you.

I'll be seriously waiting for you.

I'm home...

Welcome home.
Will you be having dinner tonight?

Oh, let's see. Let's see...

If you don't want it, just tell me quickly.

I know, I know. I'm at a loss.

What's with that tone?

[ Do you like theater? Wanna go see one? ]

What's the matter?

No, no, no, nothing.
It's nothing.

I see you like that kind of thing.

No, it's not like that...

this girl was an acquaintance of mine.

- Oh, really?
- Yeah.

I see. Is she from your university?

No, not at all, just
a very distant acquaintance.

Distant?

Yeah. Distant.

Oh... You just like girls with big titties.

It's not like that. Hey...

So you like them smaller?

Hey, stop checking my
fetish in broad daylight.

Boobs, huh?

Stop with the boobs!

Yesterday, too.

I was on the same road yesterday, and the day before that, and before that,

and for many days, months, and years, I've been on this road, back and forth,

back and forth, back and forth.

There are plenty of other roads out there,

but I just follow the designated route to work,

like ants going back and forth,
back and forth,

back and forth between home and office.

Where did the future I dreamed
of back at that time go?

Am I the only one who still can't give up?

Mom.

How was it?

A bit disappointing.

I thought that the story

was just an extension of the drinking
party we had the other night.

That winning group drinking party?

- Yeah.
- What do you mean?

We may not have achieved our number one dream,

but we're still optimistic about
working next year, aren't we?

Hmm. Well, yeah.

Yeah, but as a result,

it didn't work out so well for the
people on today's play, did it?

Standing in a totally different
place from what they dreamed of,

struggling not to be that way,

trying to escape mediocrity,
becoming something they're not.

Yeah, you're probably right.

After all, the protagonist jumped off the roof.

When you become a working adult,

you think that you can become
someone if you join a good company,

but in reality, that's not true.

Is that so?

Okay, next question.

Okay, go ahead.

What does "kotel" mean?

Kotel?

One: dumplings.

Two: deep fried.

Three: fried rice.

You swam. Your eyes
swam towards fried rice.

Kotel?

Um... Deep fried.

Wrong! The correct
answer was dumplings.

It's hard.

Okay, next. "Somen."

- What's that?
- Somen?

One: sesame balls.

Two: yakisoba.

Three: sweet and sour pork.

Oh, okay. Okay.

Well, but

I feel like yakisoba is
too much as it is, so...

Somen, right?

Umm... Sesame balls.

Wrong! It's yakisoba.

- For real?
- Yes.

Just like that.

One step away and I win.

Shit.

Okay, next one.

"Kotel liang ger liang te".

Why are you sighing?

Kotel liang ger liang te?

Kotel liang ger liang te.

There's not even a choice
anymore, so I don't know.

I said the answer to Kotel earlier.

Ah... What was it? Kotel.

- It's dumpling. Dumpling.
- Yeah.

Dumpling... Dumpling.

- Hmm?
- Dumpling...

More please.

No.

It's not, isn't it?

Okay. Three wrong guesses.
It's time for punishment.

Punishment.

Okay. Put your hand here.

What?

Really?

- Whoa, that hurts.
- You're kidding, right?

- Ow, ow, ow.
- You're lying.

Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow.

- It hurts.
- What?

It hurt... it really hurt.

My sleepiness is at its limit.

Shall we leave for now?

Mm, yeah. Okay.

This way?

What shall we do?

What shall we do?

You know,

maybe we could push it a little more.

Um...

Huh?

Can we?

Yeah, just a little bit.

Let's see...

Then...

Then...

if you want...

would you stay with
me until morning?

Yes, please.

Yeah.

Wow, it's huge.

Hey.

We're so close.

- Ow.
- Ah... Ow.

That hurt...

No, I'm not good at this.

What is this? It feels like
we're in junior high!

Fun, isn't it?

Yeah, I'm thinking, "What the hell".

I know.

I love you so much.

Yeah.

Let me hear it some more.

Okay.

What song is this?

"Aliens" by Kirinji

I like this one.

No, you can't. I stink.

No, I like this smell.

[ I'm free ]

It's huge.

That's so cool.

- Amazing, right?
- Yeah.

Beautiful.

Oh, looks good on you.

That's cute.

- Put navy blue here.
- Navy blue?

Cho-co-la-te.

Glico.

Yay! G-li-co.

Hand, your hand?

- Oh, I can do it.
- I can do it.

- Happy birthday.
- Sorry.

- My aspirations at 22?
- Yeah.

Dream big.

- Dream big.
- Dream big.

- Good luck with that.
- Thank you.

Happy birthday!

Here you go.

- It's coming.
- Oh, here it comes.

- I'm scared. I'm scared.
- It's coming.

- I hit it! I hit it!
- You hit it.

I think you're good at it.

- Go, go, go.
- Oh, wow.

Wow, wow, wow.

- You got it?
- Yeah, yeah.

No... wait, it's cold.

We don't usually do fireworks this time of year.

It's okay. Our youth will be over soon,

so we should do all the fun stuff.

Hey, don't say that.

Even if we're working, our
youth will go on, you know.

But everything is like that.
One day, everything ends.

Let's go see a big fireworks
display next time.

Now, I'd like to invite you all to
propose a new business idea.

With e-books becoming more and
more popular, please think freely

about ideas that will bring
innovation to the printing industry.

Each team will give a presentation of
the answer they come up on their own.

You may begin.

Yes, sir.

Okay, let's brainstorm
as I compile our opinions.

- Okay.
- Yes.

Um, yeah.

So, first, let's think about

when you would use an e-book.

Hmm, what kind of information do
you think is best to get from a phone?

Past shopping data? Commute to work?

Monthly readings...

you know, from the second month.

Anything else?

How about

we link it to social medias?

We might know what
the persons' tastes are.

Oh, that's a good idea.
Nice, right?

- Yeah.
- Yes..

Social media integration.

That's pretty cool.
"Social media..."

This way, we create a new
lifestyle centered on e-book apps.

We believe that this is the
future of the e-book business.

Thank you for listening.

We got it.

Wow.

It is amazing, Koga. This might
affect your assignment.

I hope so.

When we get where we wanna go,
I'll have to say my thanks.

Koga, which department
do you wanna go to?

Planning Department.

Oh, me too.

Oh, I see. I hope
we can work together.

I wish we could all be great and
have our own board meetings.

Oh, I like that.

No, but I think I'll start by
becoming the best in our batch.

Cool.

I'm counting on you, Chief.

No, President.

President. Then please
call me President.

Certainly, I will call you President.

No... Let's go for it.

He's an outstanding guy.
I mean, his head is above the rest.

He's confident, but not sarcastic at all.

And he's cool.

I see. So you have
a great guy there.

How about you?

I'm having fun.

It's a free atmosphere,
and it suits me.

After the first few years of learning the job,
I think I can plan a product.

- Oh, really?
- Yeah.

I'm gonna make lots of things that
people can hold in their hands.

Then we'll probably end
up working together.

Huh? It's not that big of a job.

But it's kind of exciting to see something
I've thought up go out into the world.

Yeah. Let's work hard.

- Yeah.
- To us both.

[ General Affairs Office ]

Mr. Nakayama.

Yes?

Welcome to training.

I'll be your trainer from now on.
I'm Nakayama. Nice to meet you.

Nice to meet you.

Okay, here's your set.

This is your seat.

Yes.

- Get changed.
- Yes, sir.

Are you done?

Yes.

Oh, and finally,
put your seal right there.

Yes.

- Here.
- Okay.

Excuse me...

What is it?

What does General Affairs do?

I don't know how to say it.

For example, you've done
group work in training, right?

Tables and chairs in that hall, seating chart, who do you think prepared it?

General, as in all the work.
General Affairs.

Sales, Planning, Engineering, Manufacturing.
Each department is not responsible for it.

We're the department that
takes care of everything else.

Yes.

Oh, here.

Next time, could you put
your seal slightly diagonal?

What? Diagonal?

I understand.

- Thank you very much.
- Thank you very much.

Yes, General Affairs.

No, it sucks.

I see. And your seniors?
Do they seem nice?

No, I don't know...

It's like we're in different races.

Can't you ask for a transfer or something?

No, I can't do it.
I've just been assigned.

I see.

I don't know what has
become of this company...

What are you saying? Cheer up.

Come on, let's go
somewhere this weekend.

Yeah, okay.

What the hell? You look gloomy.

No, it's just so depressing.

Well, me too.

No, but... sales is a big deal.

Salespeople are old-fashioned, like they've

got this air of being the
best at running the rails.

I see.

When I was job hunting,
I said all these cool things,

and now that I'm here,
it's different.

No, it wasn't supposed to be like this.

Well, they say don't blame
your circumstance for your problems,

so maybe it's time
we make our own place too.

That might be true, too.

Anyways, let's enjoy
being working adults!

- Yeah.
- Yes.

[ June 2013 ]

I'm home.

Ah, welcome home.

No, it's gonna take a while. Sorry.

It's okay, as long
as you pay with drinks.

There it is.

The chairs are done.

- Thanks.
- Complete. Complete.

What do you think?

No, I'll pay for the drinks.

Okay, next. Bookshelf.

- Bookshelf.
- Bookshelf. Okay.

Ready...

I missed this.

- What are you looking at?
- Wait a minute.

Don't.

Wait a minute. Wait a minute.
We just saw it.

- Just a bit more.
- I won't let you see it.

Hey, I'm serious.

Is this plant okay here?

Huh? Yeah, it's fine right there.

Yeah, it's on.

Well... I can do it if I try.

No, if it weren't for me,

you'd be sleeping on a cardboard
box for the next two days!

If I hadn't been here,

you'd have been four times
more gloomy about the whole thing.

Yeah.

Yes, I got it. Thank you.

Yes.

Let's go have a drink.

Yay! On the house!

Oh, you said it was on you.

- Your treat, Naoto, right?
- Me?

Ah, here.

This is my favorite place.
Remember that.

Let's go.

Looks good.

Good evening.

Then welcome to Koenji, my town.

It's not your town, Naoto.

Dude... You came
here because I live here?

No, whatever it is, let's drink!
Okay. Cheers.

Cheers!

For example, in August,

lights in Dogenzaka in Shibuya
can be cut by about 60%,

and instead, hang paper
lanterns along the street.

Wouldn't that be cooler?

They could even set off fireworks,

making everyone look forward to summer.

Then, block off

the scramble crossing and have
a bon festival dance competition.

I like that.

The whole Shibuya area will
be like a summer festival,

...the 109, Tower Records, Mark City,

Hands, Parco, and so on

will all be turned into stalls.

With sponsorship from Red Bull.

There it is... Red Bull.

Most of the cool creative
stuff is already on Red Bull.

Yup!

Do you always talk like that?

No, the company doesn't do
things like this anymore.

Yeah, you don't know
how hardheaded we are.

We have creative meetings like this
to keep our brains sharp.

No, but one day you two should
really hijack Shibuya for real.

I like that. I like the sound
of that, hijack Shibuya.

- Let's do it.
- Yeah.

Right.

The incoming call was from
what I call "bottom biting bug".

So fast.

Oh, no. Oh, no.

Red Bull, Red Bull.

- Not good.
- Are you drunk?

- You guys are not good.
- I'm not drunk.

- I'm not drunk yet.
- You're drunk.

I'm not drunk.

Let's go now. Let's go now.

- Where are we going?
- One more. Let's go.

One more? Don't say one more.

I'm so happy at this time.

I know, we're just slacking off.

That's a good thing, I'm sure.

Ahh... Today is ending...

I really don't want it to be tomorrow.

Don't rise!

This says to put the
seal diagonally to the left.

Yes.

How long are you
gonna keep doing that?

If you keep doing that, your brilliant
juniors will overtake you in no time.

I'm sorry.

Excuse me.

Why do we need to tilt it in the first place?

By tilting diagonally to the left,

it makes it look like you're bowing
to an approving superiors.

Oh, no. I don't know.

Don't "I don't know" me.
It's respect. Respect.

Even Kiritani is doing it right. Right?

Yes. I'm just doing
what they tell me to do.

Yeah, you should do the same.

I'm sorry.

And I'll be gone starting tomorrow,
take care of things.

Yes.

What? Really?

All the materials you need are right here.

I understand.

♪ Got ta Jump N' Shout

♪ Got ta Jump N' Shout

Do you know them?
Basement Jaxx.

Well, I know.

- Oh, you know them?
- I do.

♪ Got ta Jump N' Shout

♪ Got ta Jump N' Shout

Fuji Rock?

Yeah, I have this weird senior...

He says he always takes time off
with pay every year just for Fuji Rock.

I thought you were getting
restless. So that's why.

You don't wanna go?

No, it's hot and scary.

I hear you get picked on a lot.

I'll go solo for the artists I want to see.

I see... you're right...

No, you wanna go, don't you?

No, no, no, it's okay. Forget it.

Instead of Fuji Rock,
why don't we go somewhere else?

Huh?

Because you've been
so reluctant to leave me.

Well, there's no other place
I want to go except Fuji.

You expect too much. You've never
been there, have you?

Well, yes...

Alright, how about this.

That was all a lie.

All the fun tweets every year
are orchestrated by shills,

Franz isn't coming to Japan this year,
and Ulfuls postponed their comeback.

OK GO and Straightener won't appear either.

...and the venue is hit with a
huge tornado and a typhoon,

and frogs, ah..., fall from the sky.

What are you saying?

How about we drive around
and decide where we're going?

It's like there's no place
worse than Fuji Rock,

and no place better than
where we're spending our time.

Will you go with me?
To a world we don't know yet.

Sorry for the wait...

Okay, let's go.

Where?

Let's see... The beach.

Beach? Um... What beach?

Which would you prefer, west or east?

Well... then, west.

Okay, I'll get a hotel in that area.

Seriously?

Let's go!

We've been expecting you.

Wow.

- Is this real?
- Amazing, isn't it?

Come in. Let me show you around.

Wow! It's huge!

- It's so huge.
- It's huge.

Wow.

Wow.

Right?
It's definitely better than Fuji Rock.

But how many times is Fuji Rock?

We'll just have to enjoy
it for how many times it is.

Yeah. Let's have a little fun.

Wow.

I'll pour yours first.

Thank you.

Oh, well then...

Oh, are you sure? Are you sure?

Say cheese.

Say cheese.

No, no.

Whoa. Wait.

- Oh.
- Wait, wait. Ouch.

It's a bit nostalgic.

Hey.

Hey.

Ah... It feels like I'm dreaming.

Yeah, that's right.

Hey.

Rather I could just die.

I know you're joking,
but don't say things like that.

Sorry.

If you die, I have to die with you.

Why?

Because if you were really gone,
it would be like I'm dead, too.

Don't. You have to live your life.

Then I'll live like I'm dead.

Don't be a nuisance to your neighbors.

I love you.

I love everything about you.

Thank you.

It's beautiful, isn't it?

Yeah.

It felt like we were in magical times.

Right.

Let's go.

[ Let's go again sometime! ]

- Let's do it over here.
- Yes, sir.

- I'll go in the back.
- Okay.

Hey! Long time no see! How are you?

Well, I'm okay in a way.

But no matter how many misprints appear,

if we spent this much on labor,
we'd be completely in the red.

- It's meaningless.
- It's true.

That's right.

We're all crammed into the factory,
so who's gonna make the sales?

Here you go.

- Where?
- Oh, this page, right here.

Ah, I'm tired.

A beer would be great right about now.

- Are you listening?
- Huh?

I'm sorry. Um... Yeah.

- You weren't listening at all.
- No, no. It's beer, right? I heard you.

Someone call an ambulance!

Something's wrong, right?

- Accident, they say.
- Accident?

- They said a finger flew off.
- I'll call an ambulance!

Finger?

Really?

We called an ambulance.

Deep breath. Deep breath.
Breathe in.

I'm sorry...

It's okay.

Hey, get some ice and a plastic bag.

Yes, sir.

- I brought the ice.
- Look for the finger.

- It's the finger!
- What?

We found it! We found it!

Hey, the ice! Ice. Ice.

Emergency.
Coming through. Excuse me.

Are you okay? Can you walk?

Here.

What's the matter? Cheer up.

I'm really not cut out for this job.

You don't know how many
times I've heard that.

No, seriously,
this time I thought about it.

Why?

Well...

I know it's inappropriate.

I got a little excited.

Huh?

No, it's so messed up
and inappropriate.

I know it's inappropriate.

It made me

realize just how boring
my own daily life has been.

Well... I don't quite get it.

So you want someone's
finger cut off every day?

No, that's yakuza.

Somehow I wanna
do something refreshing.

Yeah, I guess so.
It's nothing to be depressed about.

What do you wanna do?

You suck. Have you really
been here before?

Yes, I have.

She liked to bring me
here after we had a few drinks.

There it is... "The Girlfriend".

Shut up.

Oh, did she reply back to you?

No, not yet.

It's been a week now, isn't it?

Maybe she's busy?

No, that's never happened to us before.

I see.

When the time come, it will come.

Seriously, don't say that.

Well... must be tough.

But...

What?

No matter how much you like her,

if she's married,
you can't expect a happy ending.

Home run, home run!
We've got a home run!

Congratulations.

No...

I knew it from the start.

Huh? What? What do you mean?

My husband went
overseas on a business trip.

So now I am living alone.

Huh...

Huh? Ah...

Oh... you're married?

Yeah, I was supposed to go with him,

but then I found a company
I wanted to go to,

so I decided to stay behind.

I said I wanted to make the most of my life.

But he said that's not what he agreed to.

I decided that since I stayed,
I would enjoy my freedom.

And it's only been three years.

Oh, really?

Hey, what music do you like?

Uh, Radwimp, maybe?

Oh, which single?

The fourth one?

It's the third single, right?

Hey.

Yeah?

Why me?

You're asking me that now?

Yeah.

You looked like him in profile.

Look like who?

My husband.

At the airport, when he was leaving,

he took off his ring.

What?

It wasn't supposed to be like this.

[ When can I see you again? It's too vague
as it is, so I want to talk to you properly ]

It's cold, huh?
[December 2014]

Your face looks
even more dead today.

No, it's not.

You're looking like

a college girl wondering why her
boyfriend hasn't messaged back.

Hey...

You're making fun of me,
aren't you, Kiritani?

I-I'm not...

But did I hit the mark?

No.

You know the saying,
"Eating the grass on the road"?

It means

that the horses eat the grass on the road,
and that's why they're late.

Huh?

To think it was normal back then,

to be able to wait so patiently

makes me envy them.

Are you trying to cheer me up?

You seemed to be
troubled with something.

But I'm telling myself that too.

I worry about
things sometimes, too.

You have moments like that too.

Of course there are.
I am a human after all.

Sorry, sorry.

Long time no see.

He came back all of a sudden.

Let me ask you something.

It's your husband, right?

Yes.

I see...

Like, he just arrived at Haneda.

Yeah, that's what happened.

Is that the day we took that trip?

Yeah.

And you're with him ever since,

that's why you never contacted me,
or made time to see me?

I guess you could sum it up like that.

I'm really sorry.

I wanted to at least tell you right away.

But?

I'm sorry.

I have one question.

I don't care if it's a lie.

I don't lie.

I don't care if it's a lie. Just tell me.

What?

Did you love me one bit?

I'm sorry.

I really did love you.

Excuse me...

Yes?

Is he absent again today?

Yes, he's not feeling well, and has
been absent for a few days now.

I see...

You're up?

I couldn't contact you, and I was worried,
so I came here to see this.

You should be thanking me.

Sorry.

Don't apologize.

I'm fine.

Here, drink this.

What the... It's sweet.
What is this?

- I put four sugars in it.
- Seriously?

The human body needs
something warm and sweet

to calm it down a little.

Well, I can only tell you this.

Take this opportunity to
be a very great guy.

Was it really too sweet?

This is so sweet.

Are you okay?

- Ah, I'm sorry for causing—
- No, no, no...

Just take it easy.

Thank you very much.

Don't work too hard.

Yes.

- Are you cold?
- Ah, I'm good.

You want a cup of tea?
Okay. I'll get it.

I'm sorry.

Ready... Pantyhose.

Futomaki.

Fruit cup.

- It's too erotic.
- No, no, no.

Drink, drink, drink.

- Oh, he's here.
- Hey.

What's up? You look depressed.

Come on, he's heartbroken
right now, so be nice to him.

Oh, you got dumped?

No...

No way, really?

For now, let's do it together.

Do what?

The erotic sounding non-erotic
word game from Yamanote Line!

Huh?

- If you miss, you get a shot of tequila.
- Really?

- She's really good at this.
- She really is.

I'm not gonna lose.

- Okay, I'll go first.
- Okay.

Lewd Yamanote Line Game!

Here I go. Ready?

Analyst.

Muki guri.

Onarimon.

No... maybe a chin-chin (dick) train.

Okay. you didn't get it.
Gross

I almost got sober for a second.

- Really?
- Go on, you can do it.

Whoa, nice! You're surprisingly
good at drinking.

Let's do it one more time.

Ah, that was fun.

I'm so drunk.

Hey, you know what? Let's go home
with our pants down tonight.

There it is, Chief.

After payday,
does it mean you're treating us?

Who are you calling chief, you idiot?

Where would you find a guy who
treats you to a prostitute while drunk?

You're too handsome for that.
There's no one like that.

No, no, there's absolutely no one.

Is this enough?

- It's enough.
- It's enough?

Hey, hold this.

- I've never been with a prostitute.
- It's okay.

Pass. I'm not going. Pass.

I'll take two.

I don't want it.

- You've never been there?
- Yes.

Seriously? What have you been doing?

No. Have you been there?
Even you, Naoto?

I'm a regular at several
places in Koenji.

Really?

That's really close by.

Okay, then.
Today's your debut match.

Let's forget about all the exes!

Chief, I'll follow you the rest of my life.

Listen, I'm not that far gone.
I'm not going for real.

Huh?

Don't talk about us like
we're stooping that low.

You really shouldn't do that.

Sorry. I'm sorry.

Well, we're all down.

You're falling down.

- Let's go, let's go
- Come on, let's go.
- Really?

- For real?
- Let's go. Let's go.

You're cute.

How old are you?

I'm 26.

You look younger.

What do you do for work?

Planning...

Oh...

I hear you. I'm sorry
but I don't really get it.

As for me,

by day, I work at a vintage
clothing store in Harajuku.

Huge gap, isn't it?

Hey.

The person you loved.
What was she like?

What?

I know it right from the start.

So? What is she like?

Compared to you, Ms. Mika...

she had tiny breasts.

You like small tits?

No, I don't.

But...

if it was for someone I loved,
I'd do anything.

I've never had love at first sight before.

I thought I was too old for that.

But that person's gesture,
her voice, her sullen face...

I loved it all.

I really love her.

But she is...

married, you know.

No one wants to destroy the
happiness they've once created.

Because I want her to be happy.

So, I'll just be the runner-up.

When we were together,

I just wanted her to look at me,

that's really all I wanted.

Cheating or adultery, or whatever,

I don't really know

and I really don't care.

I don't know what it means. I hate it.

But no one will forgive me, right?

But...

no matter what people say around me,

I honestly, truly,
don't care about all of it.

That's all I ever wanted.

[ December 2016 ]

All good with the presentation material?

Yes, it's perfect.
Please confirm later.

Oh, Takahashi of Sales, please.

Yes, I understand.
I'll wait for a bit.

Ah, hello, Chief Takahashi?

Sir, Mr. Kato from
Teio Publishing is on line 1.

Yes, yes, please excuse me.

You're on a roll.

How unusual of you to
be in a place like this.

Oh, well.

What the hell...

I'm here to take you out.

What do you mean?

[ Notice of resignation ]

I'm gonna move
on to the next stage.

Where are you going?

An editorial production.
Well, it's a small company.

How small?

Six employees, including myself.

Six?

That's super venture.
Will it be okay?

You said you've had enough
of big companies.

The president, who I slightly
knew before, approached me.

It was a godsend,
so I decided to jump in.

Well, I'm surprised
you made that decision.

Yeah.

No, don't make that face.

Let's go out for a drink again.

No, of course we should.

When the time comes,
tell me about your new girlfriend.

No, I probably won't
have one by then.

No, no, no, good luck with that.

No, as for today, that's my line.

Oh, that's right.

Happy New Year.

No, but that might be the first time
this year I've been told that.

I've never said it before.

Happy New Year.

Happy New Year.

This kanji is the character for "money".

Money.

[ Yesterday we went to visit her first shrine!
She's growing up fine ]

Thank you for your cooperation.
Thank you.

[ March 2017 ]

Hey!

Hey.

It's been a long time.
You've gotten a little old.

Yes, I do.

How are you?

So-so, so-so.

- Welcome.
- I'll have a hot coffee.

Thank you.

Well, I'm glad you finally came.

You always keep dodging me.

So... what do you want to talk about?

Wow, that was quick.

Like I said in the text,
I want you to work with me.

Did you say that?

You've been saying it since college
that one day you'd get a decent job.

The time has come, and it's right now.

But when I say "work,"
what exactly do you do?

You're working in HR now, right?

Yeah, well, in the broadest
sense of the word, I'm in HR.

You've got a lot of contacts in the company. I'm sure you'd be a great asset.

What? What kind of work is it?

I have some really good cosmetics.

Let's do that together.

What?

No, you buy the products from me,
and you sell them to your other friends.

The difference is your share.

No, that's...

No!

It's not a pyramid scheme,
and it's definitely not a network business.

This is seriously clean, hard work.

The incentive is simple:
the more people you sell to,

the higher your profit will be.

Well...

There are easier routes in this world.

Thank you for waiting.

So?

- Wanna do it?
- Hot.

You're well-connected, right?

Let's be winners together.

That's disgusting... Gross.

Oh, excuse me, wipes, please...

Hello? Just wondering,
where are you now?

Oh, seriously?

I'm in Shibuya right now, I have something interesting to tell you, let's meet up.

No, I don't know how tired you are.
Do you want something to eat?

Welcome—

Oh my, it's been a long time.

Hello.

One more will come later.

Come in.

- You come here often?
- Yeah.

When I was in college.

Hey, are you a working adult?

Well, I'm doing my job.

That's what matters!
That's what matters!

Take your time.

- Take your time.
- Yes, ma'am.

I can tell you've been here a lot.

I used to come here a lot.

But I'm glad you're doing
better than I thought you would.

Yeah, I'm trying.
It's super hard, though.

Are you doing well?
Your current work.

Yeah, well, I'll try to do my best.

What about you?

Well, I guess I'm moving on up a bit.

Oh, really?

Well, it's an internal transfer.

- What? They finally gave you hope?
- Yeah.

You know, there's a new
department to plan new services.

Yeah.

I thought to myself, "This is it!"

Oh, that's nice.

Well, all I can do now is hope
that the transfer goes through.

Yeah, I hope it goes well.

Is that it? So you wanna
talk about that today?

- That's not it.
- Oh?

- Listen to this.
- Okay.

That Ishida I often talked about.

- I met Ishida earlier after a long time.
- Earlier?

We hadn't seen each other in a while,
and he called me over,

and I did, and he's totally gone
down the pyramid scheme road.

A gyudon.

Nice. Can you still eat?

...or Hakata ramen.

Oh, ramen.

- Well, can we go?
- I'll get a second serving.

Can your stomach handle it at your age?

Ahh, it's been a long time
since I drank this late.

How long has it been since we
had an all-nighter? You did well.

We did.

We talked and talked until dawn.

- We said, "We're gonna hijack Shibuya".
- We said that! How lame.

We're so lame.

So lame...

But I haven't given up on that yet.

I know. Me too.

You know they say you can't have

both time and money
at the same time, right?

Yeah, well, I guess so.

But back then,
I had more money than a student,

and if I worked hard, I could get summers off,

and since I was strong,
I could go to work after all night.

Yeah.

But I could

only do that when I was young.

You're right.

That's why I said it wasn't supposed to be like this,

that time we were drinking
in the corner of Koenji.

Looking back on it now, actually...

it was the magic hour of my life,

don't you think?

Magic hour, huh?

Yeah.

- Hey.
- Yes?

I've got to stop by somewhere.
I'm okay here.

Huh?

I'm gonna go walk for a bit,
then I'll go home.

Oh, I get it.

The pilgrimage of memories
of your ex-girlfriend.

No. Is there any way to put it?

You're still acting like a lunatic.
You never waver and I like that.

Shut up. Go home already.

Okay, I'll be in touch.

To Kyodo.

Huh? My phone.

[ The End of the Pale Hour ]

"The End of the Pale Hour" Production Committee

[ English Substitle brought to you by ECOTV ]
[QC by rjgman56]