Parman 2

ATTN scanlators, please read the following:
As a request from Christian, this script has been reserved by his group. However, since I am trying to translate comics not only for my benefit but also the benefit of aspiring scanlators web-wide, we have agreed that this translation will become public exactly one month from today. Until then, please refrain from using it. Thank you for your cooperation.

edit: DONE. wow. this was extremely daunting despite how deceivingly simple it appeared at first glance. I am still not entirely confident on this translation, but I gave it my best. There was lots of stuff it referenced that I didn't know and had to look up...that was to blame for much of the problem.

01
Comic Essay / The exciting life of Parman
(2) Three days' worth of parties
by: Fujiko Fujio A

left vertical: PARMAN is Fujiko Fujio A's Comic Essay fueled by his countless curiosity! here's the 2nd chapter!

bubble: Koike Kazuo
box: Koike Kazuo's　Gekigasonjuku Corp. Launch Party
t/n - this is roughly "dramatic comic　training camp", although I have no idea why the character for village is part of the name (maybe like an outdoor training camp?...although it's an indoor place...). This company is basically a school for manga artists.
and by the way, the sign above him is the same, compare with the box.

below:
I love busy events, so obviously I love parties. Even if I get invited by someone I don't really know, I show up anyway.
Most if not all parties are held at many hotels in the center of the city. After this one, I had two more to attend in Ginza and Roppongi (how convenient!). And it just so happened that these three days all had parties held by people I knew well.
Three days of back to back parties...I was ready to get down!

bubble: Kurogane Hiroshi
bubble: Nagai Gou

02
-The first party was held at Hotel Okura. Since Koike kazuo's company (he's the author behind "Lone Wolf and Cub") Gekigasonjuku went public, this party was celebrating its new start as the Gekigasonjuku Corp.
Besides his work as an author, Mr. Koike also teaches at the Osaka College for the Arts as well as a business content producer (and so on)...he's involved in a lot of different things!

-At the meeting, there were around 500 people in attendance, from all sorts of fields - not just from publishing, but also from government, production, and education. I was like, huh!? Even Nagashima Shigeo (the baseball manager) came! Mr. Koike sure has connections!
It was almost like us manga artists were covering for each other as we snuck into the crowd!
During the opening remarks, Mr. Koike proclaimed his ambition to "hold to the high standard of japanese intellectual properties"!
(t/n - more lit. "protect japanese intellectual property"...as usual in most asian languages i feel this expression means far more. it implies his desire to not simply protect, but more like maintain (and likely improve) the high standard on japanese products of the imagination, such as comics, movies, and animation. it represents one of japan's major exports, and certainly is no simple endeavor)

red sfx is jya jyan (you know the biwa sound that plays in old samurai movies?)
bubble: After that firm opening, out of nowhere came Saotome Taichi, also known as the famous "nagashime ouji" from the Gekidan Sujaku troupe, to perform a captivating dance!
(t/n - taichi is the man super-famous for being the best female impersonator in japan. he played several female parts in movies and old kabuki plays. he also plays bishounen type roles...anyway, nagashime ouji appears to be his nickname and that is fitting since it means roughly "prince of the flirtatious gaze")

bubble: Everyone was captivated by his glance...

03
i'm skipping the top box for now. it's cut off anyway...
(it's basically the invitation for the event he describes next)

-The next day, I went to the Imperial Hotel's Peacock Hall. The party was basically celebrating the fact that master storyteller Hayashiya Kikuzou's son, Hayashiya Kikuo, has succeeded his father's stage name in Rakugo storytelling, while kikuzou himself has adopted the stage name of Kikuou. Over 600 people were in attendance from different fields, all to see this incredible double debut!

smaller bubble: Tezuka-sensei's daughter
other smaller bubble: tezuka-sensei's wife
large: Because both master kikuzou and kikuo are into comics, I saw many familiar faces at the reception!

small middle: Mr. chiba tetsuya
left: Mr. "fighting" harada
lower right: Ms. Moriguchi Hiroko, who once co-starred with them on TV
biggest: Whenever I go to a party with people I know, I always make it a habit to take tons of pictures!

04
bubble:
below:
I've always been into Rakugo storytelling. Because we didn't have TVs when I was a kid, the radio was the thing to have. I've always thought of Rakugo as truly "manga for your ears." Katsura Mikisuke, Kokontei Shinshou, Sanyuutei Kinba, and so on...I'd listen to tons of Rakogo programs until my ears went numb!

box: Hayashiya Kikuzou / Born 1937 in Nihonbashi
box: Descendent of 8th generation Hayashiya Shozou/Promoted to Shinuchi in 1937/Regular guest on the NTV show "Shoten"/Leader of National Ramen Party/Director of Rakugo Association

Before becoming a Rakugo actor, Kikuzou had hoped to become a mangaka, and almost worked as an apprentice to Mr. Shimizukon. That's why he's the artist behind the kikuzou ramen trademark logo. We've known each other for about 10 years now. Kikuo, his son, takes after his father as a young rakugo actor who's fun to listen to. I'm proud that the two of them work together as a father-son team, leading the rakugo world with their storytelling!

bubble: For his second promotion, this is the sketch Kikuo asked me to make (it was on a handkerchief!)

05
red sfx is just clap clap

bubble: Kojima Kou
bubble: Tsunoda Jirou
-And so, the announcement was made about their promotions! Turns out, this was the first time in Rakugo history that two generations of storytellers were promoted at the same time! There was nothing but thunderous applause from everyone in attendance!

-Ehem...We would truly like to express our gratitude to everyone here today to who came to celebrate our double promotion! Please continue supporting Kikuou as the new 2nd generation Kikuzou!

-Ehem...this father-son promotion was all the idea of my father, master kikzou, and being excited about it, I couldn't resist...since it's already settled, I'll be sure to do my best not to disgrace the Kikuzou name!

06
-After that, the two came off stage and went around giving their thanks

bubble: They parent-son duo even came to our table with beaming faces!
boxes right to left
-kojima kou
-chiba tetsuya
-nagai gou

-That night was full of excitement! Along with chiba tetsuya, nagai gou, and kurogane hiroshi, we went from the after-party to after-party! I was having so much fun that I regretted having to go home...but I was afraid my wife would beat me up the next day!

-When I got home late that night, I popped in the CD I received as a gift and gave it a listen...it had "Taikobara" by Hayashiya Kikuzou and "Shin-Hikorokuden" by Hayashiya Kikuou
-Eh~~ There sure are a lot of young people in the world of Rakugo these days! I'm also one of those dumb people...i mean young people...
(t/n - hard to illustrate the pun, wakadanna -> bakadanna. these are the kind of jokes in rakugo)

07
-With an aimless conversation, hand in hand
-Theirs is an unreliable, insubstantial love
box: A quote from "Permanent Wild Rose"

bubble: We're the perfect youkai couple
(pouring sfx)

-Changing the subject, I'm a huge fan of the female mangaka Saibara Rieko. Ms. Saibara took a fairy-tale like love story and did a complete about-face, turning it into a strange obake-onna style manga! She's depicting her very own mysterious world!

pic: Human proverbs / entertaining manga dictionary

-it's quite rare that mangakas become fans of each other. After all, being in the same line of work makes you rivals, right? Still, I couldn't help but fall for Saibara's great manga!
So one time when I was working on my comic essay for Big Comics, I asked her if she wouldn't mind doing illustrations. The first time I got the OK and saw her images, it's no surprise I was so happy I cried out "YESSS!!!", a typical Saibara-ism!
(t/n - does that make sense? he's saying his outburst was just like she would say)

bubble: And so, my other invitation was from her! It was a talk show party, and she said she wanted me to come! So of course, off I went!

08
-When I met Saibara Rieko, she was wearing a beautiful kimono, and despite the personality she depicts in her comics, she's the complete 180--the most charming, wonderful, and nice lady there is. Even though we were in the middle of the show, draft beer came out. I said "Huh!? You sure?" to which she said, "It's no problem. Guests can listen to the show while they drink." With that, we had a big toast with our mugs!

-With me as a special guest(!?) I was given a place to sit on stage. I was afraid that if I went on stage, it would make a scene and ruin the mood...but, thanks to the warm guests everything went well!
bubble: After drinking that beer I had no problem on the mic!
(t/n - mic = microphone)

-The most amazing part is that like 99% of the audience was young girls! After the show, I made it a point to copy the master Kikuou and sit in the audience, and tons of them came to see me! I think they must have confused me for someone else, but I was in the best mood after that!

bubble: Why did they draw Atom!?
bubble: Anyway, it was the best night EVER!!!!! Ms. Saibara, PLEASE invite me next time!!
(t/n - damn, he's lucky...)

top right vertical line: The excitement lasts into the night...

-end-