Yokohama-sen Doppelgänger 1

Doppelganger 1



p1: ============================================
[the opening crawl. Feel free to arrange the lines however]
In the summer of 2003,
four corpses were found in succession
along JR’s Yokohama line
between the East Kanagawa and Hachiouji stations.
All four had died of strangulation.
Furthermore, since all four had been employed as sculptors,
the circumstantial evidence led the Kawakami Prefectural Police Investigative Unit
to declare it a serial murder case:
THE YOKOHAMA LINE SCULPTOR MURDERS.
An investigative team was established, the search begun.
And then--------------------
[red bubble]: New Serialization!
[the white text is translated already]

p2-3: ============================================
Several weeks later, on August 1st, 2003, at 6:03 p.m., they arrested a suspect—
[red]: That suspect was me.
[black text is already translated]

p4: ============================================
2014,
Present Day
[bubble]: M-star
[upper left]: Special Report
[below that]: Japan’s Villainous Murderers
Kenzaki Makoto has been on death row
/ for eleven years since his capture in 2003…

[tv screen banner]: The Yokohama Line Sculptor Murders
Oh, wow. I remember when that took place.
Kenzaki…
/ What’d he do again?
Remember? He killed four people, and on their faces he…
[little bubble]: Oh!
[upper left of the lower bubbles]: He’s still alive?
Haven’t they executed him already? <small: It’s been 11 years >
1: Finding Myself

p5: ============================================
[sing]: Shounan Penitentiary

*Step*
*Step*

[sfx]: Freeze

That solitary cell, the one furthest in the back, is his:

p6: ============================================
the villainous murderer Kenzaki Makoto.
[sfx]: Gulp
I heard that, the other day, he went on another rampage.

WAAAHHHHHH

He’s terrifying,
/ so I don’t want to deal with him,
but I’m curious…

BANG!
THUMP!
Splat!
Splat!
[sfx]: Shocked!
Wh—What was that?!
[sfx]: Dash!
That sound came from Kenzaki’s cell.

!
[sfx]: Shine!

p7: ============================================
…Was I noisy?

p8: ============================================
He’s so scary…
[sfx]: Shiver
Huh?
Uh…
/ N—No.

I haven’t seen your face. You a new guard?
…Yeah.

I see.
/ Then let me start by saying this:

I don’t lie.

There’s nothing I hate more than cowards
/ who act nice and then stab you in the back.
/ / I mean, you can’t trust those people, right?

The most important thing in a relationship is a sense of trust.
So please, speak your mind to me.

…So, in actuality, was it noisy?

p9: ============================================
…A little.

…I’m glad to see you’re honest.

I was kneading this papier-mâché
so that it would harden into a form
/ suitable for my work…
[sfx]: Gooey

Kneading…?!
Come to think of it, I’d heard that Kenzaki is docile only when he’s working with clay.
[sfx]: *Realization*

p10: ============================================
He… He’s good!
I’m impressed.
/ He might be in here, but that man is amazing!

[sfx]: Squeeze
I’ll knead more quietly this time.

…Good.
*Step*

*Step*
*Step*

*Dash*
…Excuse me.

p11: ============================================
Th—
/ The truth is, I’m a fan of yours.
Back in elementary school, I traveled all over Japan to see your works.
[book]: Kenzaki Makoto sculptures reference guide
[book 2]: Makoto Illustrated Reference
I even have all the books on your sculptures.

[sign]: Shounan Penitentiary

I’ve always wanted to meet you,
/ but I can’t believe it’s in a place like this…

p12: ============================================
I’m glad to hear it!

My days are a living hell,
but I’m feeling a little better for the first time in eleven years.

I want to thank you somehow.
Th—then please, make a sculpture! Of me!
I’d be happy to.

*Step*
*Step*

…When was the last time I received a request?

Back before

I was arrested,

p13: ============================================
I was a sculptor.

I quit an arts university
to work as a sculptor from dawn till dusk.

I abandoned all other happiness in life,
devoted myself to my art.

But none of my works
ever sold.

p14: ============================================
[sfx]: Pouring rain

*Drip*
*Drip*
I’m short on money for rent again this month…
If I get kicked out of here, my workshop, I won’t be able to create.

*Sigh* I wanna eat meat…
I’m so broke,
/ I had to skip another night at the bar…

To earn the bare minimum amount of money to live,
I’ve spent every moment I wasn’t creating
doing any job I could, provided the pay was good.

Most sculptors in Japan live like this,
barely eking by,
withstanding a life of insecurity while dreaming of the day when a single sculpture will put food on their table.

I was trying to live doing what I loved,
so I was prepared for hard times.

p15: ============================================
[poster]: {
[bubbles]: Seeking / applications!
[below that]: Application Period: August 1st 2003 ~ September 30th
[big text]: The Language of Art Students
[bottom left]: We’re looking for creations to be featured as those made by the protagonists of our new drama.
[bottom right]: Starting January 20th / Every Tuesday, 9:00 p.m. ~ 9:54 / Director: Ooguma Yuu / Starring: Furukaki Yui
[search bar]: The Language of Art Students / Search
[far bottom right]: Ashi Television
}
And then, one day,
suddenly,
[vertical text, under the above inserts]: The Language of Art Students

My work? In a drama?!

I caught a break.

p16: ============================================
High Nielson ratings
[upper left bubble]: Two seasons scheduled
[middle bubble]: A societal phenomenon
[bottom-right bubble]: Movie confirmed
[insert]: And somehow, the show hit it big‼

[insert]: My works caught the public eye
[insert, far left]: I was acknowledged as an up-and-coming creator.
[pic, top]: {
[horizontal, top]: J news
[vertical]: An interview with the sculptor from the popular drama!
[horizontal, bottom]: Kenzaki Makoto-san
}
[second image]: {
[rightmost book]: The World of Kenzaki Makoto’s sculptures
[second from the right]: Introduction to Kenzaki’s sculptures
[leftmost]: The sculpting boom led by Kenzaki Makoto
}
[third image]: {
[right side]: {
[bubble]: Order‼
[below]: Relief
}
[next image]: {
[bubble]: Order
Head
}
[next image]: {
[bubble]: Order
Half-length statue
}
[next image]: {
[bubble]: Order
Bust
Tonoko
}
}

[insert]: Just as all that was beginning…

p17: ============================================
I was arrested as a suspect in the Yokohama Line Sculptor Murders‼
[sfx]: Clang!

[right paper]: He thinks he can do anything, just because he’s an artist?!
[left of that]: When the four were murdered, a death mask made by Kenzaki was spotted in his workshop.
[first black bubble]: The fall of a promising creator
[above that]: Beneath the Façade, a Murderer / He suffocated his victim by covering their faces in plaster
[black bubble in the middle]: The world was in uproar.
[above that]: Inhuman
[left of that]: Kenzaki’s Sculptures Removed / The crusade begins!
[down and right of that]: A terrifying crime‼
[below that]: Apologize through death‼
[below that]: <small>History’s <big> Worst </big>
[below that]: Go to hell
[left and up of that, past the body]: The Art of a Serial Killer / In Sick Taste
[above that]: Just too
[above and left of that]: The dark side of a popular drama’s sculptor
[and the last black bubble]: And my life took a turn for the worse.

p18: ============================================
[sign]: Shounan Penitentiary

…Since coming here, I’ve learned two things…
[sfx]: Glare!

First:
*Tick*
*Tock*
We prisoners aren’t told of the day of our executions in advance; we’re just suddenly taken to the execution site.

Second:
*Tick*
Executions occur from 9 to 11.
*Tock*

[bubbles]: Huff x2
[sfx]: Tick / Tock
[insert]: This morning might be the day…!
/ My… My mind’s going insane…! Every morning
/ for year
/ after year

*Tick*
*Tock*
[insert]: I—It still hasn’t even been a minute!
/ Ugh… Ninety-one minutes to go…

[sfx]: Step x2

[sfx]: Clatch!
Kenzaki.

p19: ============================================
Let’s go to see the chaplain.

[sfx]: Thump

I—I know…
/ I know what that means.
That’s the line you say when taking people…
/ to the execution site!

Settle down, Kenzaki!
We’re just following orders.

[sfx]: Ding

[sfx]: Open!

p20: ============================================
Stand up straight
Aiie
/ Aiie!
Take proper breaths.
[sfx]: Drag

Aiie
Eeek!
…I wanna—
/ I wanna see Natsuki-san…

Kenzaki,
/ If you wish to write a will, do so now.
Also, this shall be your last meal.

What would you have us do with your body?
I am told your relatives committed suicide from the shock of your crimes…
/ If no one is willing to receive it,
then donate your body to a university hospital.
/ Thus, in the end, you will serve the needs of others.

[insert]: Nam-Myoho / Renge-Kyo

…This shall be an eternal farewell.
[insert]: So you’ve chosen not to leave a will.
Have you any last words?

Aiie
Aiie

[sfx]: Thump x2
I—
/ I’ve told you
time and again
that I—

p21: ============================================
I AM INNOCENT!

I don’t know anything; I didn’t do anything!
Huff
[upper left]: I’m not the culprit! These are false charges‼!
[below that]: And yet!
[bottom right, big bubble]: I was suddenly arrested and brought to this‼!
[below that]: Huff
[small bubble, lower left]: Huff
[final bubble]: Give me back
/ the last eleven years of my life!

You’ve all been deceived!
Right now, I guarantee you the real culprit—that dirty liar—
he’s living a carefree life out there somewhere.
/ He laid the blame on me!

p22: ============================================
You, Culprit!
[small]: Huff
I hate you! Hate, hate, hate you!
Hah
A curse upon your soul‼!

[sfx]: Hah x2

[sfx]: Clink

[sfx]: Shine!

p23-24: ============================================
[sfx]: Open!
[sfx]: Drop!

[sfx]: Creak

p25: ============================================
[letter]: {
For the guard.
Thank you.
Kenzaki Makoto
}

[sfx]: Slide

…………….

He has hung for fifteen minutes.
/ Doctor.

Kenzaki Makoto
is dead.

p26: ============================================
<no text>

p27: ============================================
*Gasp*!

p28: ============================================
Cough Cough Cough!
?!
Wheeze, wheeze!

Bathump
Bump
Bathump
….HUH?!

I—I’m alive.
Huff
*Sigh*
Why…?!

Huff
Huff

p29-30: ============================================
Huh? Huh?
BWUH?

[various small bubbles on p29] {
What’re you saying, kid?
/ There’s no way that happened.
[lower right]: But it did! That guy suddenly appeared.
/ Like that!
[the lone bubble]: So scary.
[below that, slightly to the right]: What are you doing?
[overlapping bubble]: You’re in the way
[left and up]: I’m so hungry.
[overlapping bubble]: Hello?
}

[all the bubbles on p30] {
Where you goin’?
[left of that]: Ahaha. That’s great.
[overlapping bubble]: And then…
[musical bubble]: Why’s that?
[directly below that]: He’s disgusting
[right of that]: Move it
[bottom bubble]: Don’t look at him. Let’s go.
}

p31: ============================================
[sfx]: *Shocked*

Quit standing in the middle of the crosswalk!
[insert]: {
Wh—What?‼
Where am I?!
This isn’t the penitentiary.
I should be dead…
}

!
[sign]: Yokohama Tea Shop
Yokohama…?! <small: My hometown. >

*Crunch*

!
[sfx]: Bathump!

p32: ============================================
Hey, you there!

I… I don’t understand what’s going on,
/ but if they catch me, they’ll send me back.
[sfx]: Thump x2

[sfx]: Thump x2
… I don’t want to go back there. Not to prison!
If I just run, I’ll be free…

[sfx]: Dash!

p33: ============================================
Ah!

Hey!
/ Wait‼
[sfx]: Grab
[sfx]: Wobble
…Hey.
/ You’re slow!

I’m just trying to tell you that standing there,
/ in the crosswalk, is dangerous.
What’d you start running for?

Huh?!
/ He doesn’t recognize me?!
But my face should’ve been broadcast everywhere…?!
…
[sfx]: Rustling / Sneakily

You’re homeless, right?
Please. Just keep on not remembering.

…I—If I can at least keep my name secret.
[sfx]: Bathump x2
What’s your name?

p34: ============================================
[sfx]: BATHUMP!
Wh—What do I do?
/ Lie?!
…If I’m going to keep living on the outside, I’ll have to tell lie after lie.
/ No! I don’t wanna live like that.

Oh. Kenzaki.

[sfx]: Twitch!

Look. It’s on your shoes.

Oh.

Ooh…

p35: ============================================
That’s an odd name.
Excuse me.
/ I’m a little lost, and…
Oh, yes, what is it?

Wh—What’s with this guy?!
He doesn’t even know my name?!

Take this right here.
[sfx]: Stare

…Come to think of it, everyone else
is giving me suspicious glares because I’m dirty,
but those aren’t the looks you give a murderer…?

p36: ============================================
[sfx]: Rustle

You dropped this.
Oh, thank you.

[insert]: Hm?

[newspaper]: {
[right headline]: Two Months Since the Opening of Roppongi Hills
[upper-left headline, partially cut off]: The Post Office’s – Begins
[lower left headline]: Twelve Girls Band Concert
}
Roppongi Hills just opened?!

…When’s… this from?
It’s today’s.

[sfx]: Stare
Th—The hell? You wanna read it that much, just take it.

[sfx]: Rustle

p37: ============================================
[top line]: June 10th, 2003 (Tuesd
HUH?‼

This
/ is from eleven years ago‼
And it’s twenty-five days before…
the Yokohama Line Sculptor Murders occurred?!

p38: ============================================
That’s impossible…

B—But…
……….

Excuse me.
[sfx]: Shocked!
The 3.11 quake was scary, huh?

Th—Three point what?!
I dunno. Hey, c’mon, let’s go!

[insert]: What do we eat?
[insert]: Yakiniku.

…You wouldn’t eat liver sashimi, right?
Huh? You sayin’ that’s edible?
[insert]: Just ignore him

…Uh,
umm.

[sfx]: Bathump
[bubble]: *Gulp*

p39: ============================================
Would you say that I
/ look like
the culprit executed for the Yokohama Line Sculptor Murders?

p40: ============================================
Huh?
/ What’s that?
I’ve never even heard of that case.
/ Oh… Is it from a novel, or something?

[sfx]: Crackle!
A fight’s broken out in front of the station.
I’m on my way.

*Tap*
You’re still young; work hard, and you can make it through!
[insert]: Don’t stay homeless forever.
…What’s going on?

I can’t believe it.

I can’t believe it, but…

p41: ============================================
[insert]: Was I brought back to life,
/ and brought back in time to before the incident?‼
[bubbles]: {
[upper-right]: That piece of trivia is amazing.
[overlapping bubble]: Heh heh.
[to the right]: Ahahah
[bottom, big]: What movie should we see?
[overlapping]: Nemo!
[upper-left]: Why is it? Why is it?
[lower-left of that]: Why is it? Just why?
[right-most of the last two]: Cough. Maybe I caught a cold…
[left of that]: Not SARS?

p42: ============================================
…A god
/ or else a devil
has given me this chance.

This second chance at life!
/ Haha!
Yeah, I’ll eat yakiniku, and take a luxurious bath, and drink beer.
/ And then…

I—
I’ll be…
a sculptor again…‼

No, wait. Now that I’ve got this chance, maybe I’ll do what I always wanted:
/ go on a trip to see sculptures the world over…
I’m free.
/ I can live my life however I want!

And the thing I want to do the most…
is…

[upper-right]: Execution
[lower-right]: Those hellish eleven years
[upper-left]: A curse upon your soul‼!
[lower-left]: False charges

p43-44: ============================================
to drag to light the true culprit,
the one who threw me into hell,
AND FUCKING KILL HIM‼

p45: ============================================
[sign]: {
Forest Park →
<- Rest site
<- Fishing Spot

The newspaper said today is June 10th…
/ If I recall correctly, the first murder is on July 4th.
The incident hasn’t happened yet.
But there’s no time to waste. Someone is going to die in twenty-five days.

I’m no investigator, no detective. Just a former sculptor.
And I’m going to fight against someone who pulled off the perfect crime…
A villainous serial killer.
[sfx]: Scratch

If I don’t think things through before I act, I’ll be in danger.

p46: ============================================
[scratched in the dirt]: Who is the true culprit?

He pinned the crime on me. So, he hates me?
Or does hate have nothing to do with it?

I shouldn’t trust anyone anymore…
But if I don’t work with someone,
/ I won’t have any money, or a place to hide…

Oh!

No, there’s…‼
There’s exactly one person I can trust.

[sfx]: Dash!

p47: ============================================
<no text>

p48: ============================================
[sfx]: Hustle and bustle

Wow, you were a lifesaver.

We were short on staff, so we could barely keep up with the rush,
but thanks to you hurrying here to help…
/ Sorry to make you come when you’d already quit working here.

Well, I did owe you for the raise you got me way-back-when.

Everyone knows you don’t swing that way,
/ but the customers say that’s interesting in its own way. <small: Thanks for your hard work. >

p49: ============================================
[sfx]: Pluck

[sfx]: Tink

[box]: Makeup remover
[sfx]: Pull

Pwa
hah
[sfx]: Wipe x2

p50: ============================================
[sfx]: Vrooom

[sfx]: Click
Cherry Blossoms ♪
Cherry Blossoms ♪

They’re in full bloom now ♪

?!
[sfx]: Thump
*Rustle*

p51-52: ============================================
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEKKKKKKKKKKK‼!
[sfx]: Flick / Flash!

Wh—Wh—Who are you?!
What are you doing, just walking into my home?!

[sfx]: Brush

p53: ============================================
[sfx]: Jangle
I used the spare key you had hidden in the meter box.

Ah! He cut off the exit.
[sfx]: Slowly
Wait—how’d he know where the key was hidden?!

*Glance*

!

[sfx]: Glance
…!
At a time like this,
/ I’m sure that you…

p54: ============================================
will prioritize your safety and try to run without listening to a word I say.
That’s why I previously closed all the storm shutters,
/ blocking the exits.

I’m sure you’re already aware,
/ but this is the only way out.

…………..

In that case
/ I’ll use force!

p55: ============================================
That’s just a bluff so people won’t underestimate you!
The truth is, you’re seeking a nonviolent solution
/ because you have no confidence in your strength.

[sfx]: Shocked!
He saw straight through me…?!

I just want to talk, just you and me, without anyone else knowing.
But you’re famous right now, so if we talked outside, we’d draw attention…

So I decided to wait here, in your workshop,
where you always work alone.

p56: ============================================
...J—Just who are you?

…I detest lies.
/ Aren’t you the same way?

I mean, you can’t trust liars, right?
The most important thing in a relationship is a sense of trust.
And I want you to trust me.

So I will tell it to you straight:

p57: ============================================
I am Kenzaki Makoto,
I’m you
/ from eleven years in the future.

p58: ============================================
[sfx]: Flutter

[business cards]: Drag Bar Makoto

p59: ============================================
…Huh?

[sidebar]: Past and present meet face-to-face.
[big text]: TWENTY-FIVE DAYS REMAIN UNTIL THE MURDERS
[bottom-left]: Next issue, what will be the pair’s first action?‼ / Yokohama Line Doppelganger