MaruMAːShort-shortsːMurakenzureturns
Murakenzu returns (It's been a long time!)[edit]
Ken Murata & Yuuri Shibuya
Text by: Tomo Takabayashi
Special story included with the purchase of "Kyou kara ma no tsuku jiyuugyou 21" and "Gekkan Asuka December issue".
"It's been a long time! This is Murata, Daikon Number 1, the one in Murakenzu who likes yellowfish the best."
"Eh? Eh? I like yellowfish too, it's a fish that has different names as it grows older. This is Shibuya, who right now, rather than thinking about growth, is only thinking about who the next coach will be."
"The "co" of "coach" is hiding in the kanji of yellowtail, right[1]? Ehh, then what about daikon (Japanese radish), Shibuya?"
"I like daikon, too."
"Oh my, Shibuya, how daring[2]!"
".... We're not talking about dares, we're talking about daikon. But putting that aside, and rather than discussing side dishes, I joined Murakenzu to discuss a social phenomenon."
"You can do so any time."
"Actually, it's about an event at the end of October that has been taking place for the past few years."
"Go ahead."
"When it gets dark, uhh, vampires, mummies, Dracula, and VAMPIRES[3] come to visit."
"Hmm, maybe they should include a Frankenstein to have some VARIATION."
"You can also see Spidermen, Supermen, and Sujimonomen (Yakuzamen)."
"That last one doesn't fit JARO[4] rules."
"Those guys just ring the bell one after another, and when you open the door they go 'TRICK OR TREAT!' "
"So, you were just talking about Halloween"
"That's right, but, but, but... my mom just smiles, and gives them an assortment of candies."
"Well, they are saying mischief or candy"
"If instead of TRICK OR TREAT! The would ask "Soccer or Baseball", then the answer would be clear. But they're elementary students from my neighborhood. So I wonder if everyone in the area has become Christians."
"For starters, Halloween is not a Christian holiday. Although at first, the rituals were quite horrific. But I don't see a problem here. Buddhist can enjoy Halloween. I mean, you yourself would give a small witch COSPLAY for Greta, right?
"Since that would be cute of course... but, since when has Halloween become one of Japan's annual events? I'm pretty sure we didn't go knocking house to house when we were in kindergarten."
"Instead, kids nowadays don't throw beans for setsubun[5]."
"Eh? Really?"
"Although they do binge eat the ehou-maki[6]."
"Eh? Something so big?"
"Parents and children would rather put on a cute witch COSPLAY than an ogre costume. I'm sure that must be it."
"Are you an anime fan? Is everyone in the world an anime fan like Shouri?"
"It's just that for the role of an ogre, rather than putting on a grass skirt, carry a torch and put on an ogre mask, it's more fun to put on a white mask and play a boogieman, you know?"
"Wait a moment with that last part, that's not celebrating Halloween properly, and has nothing to do with the candy or mischief problem!"
| Return to MA Series |
References[edit]
- ↑ There are two puns in this sentence, first, the one that's explained yellowtail (鰤) has the (師)co, of (師匠) coach in it. The second one is that she wrote the word "hide" (kaku) with the kanji for "write" (kaku)so this sentence can mean: "You write yellowtail with the co of coach". Or, "The co of coach is hiding in yellowtail". Since this is a dialogue the meaning was assigned according to the way it "sounds" and not the kanji used.
- ↑ Murata referred to himself as daikon at the beginning, so, in other words, he made Yuuri say he likes him. How daring or dares is daitan (大胆); and Japanese radish is daikon (大根). So there's a joke and a pun in this line.
- ↑ He says it in Japanese first, then in English
- ↑ JARO: Japan Advertising Review Organization, which handles inquiries and complains from consumers.
- ↑ Mamemaki: It's a tradition where an adult puts on an ogre costume and children throw beans at it. It's an ancient event that's supposed to protect one's house from evil spirits and bring in good fortune. Setsubun is celebrated on February 3rd, before the beginning of Spring.
- ↑ Enormous maki sushi as long as a child's head. It's eating during setsubun for good luck.
