Hell Teacher Nube 1

Does your school have problems of the spiritual kind? Are youkai bugging your students and staff? Is your new student about to go ballistic over slightest little things due to a monster being inside of him? Well fear not: the infamous "Hell Teacher" has finally arrived in this 90s-era Jump classic!

Hell Teacher Nube (Jigoku Sensei Nube)
By Makura Shou (writer) & Takeshi Okano (illustrator)

Vol. 1: Tsukumo no Ashi no Mushi
#1: Tsukumo no Ashi no Mushi
(TN: For the most part, I’m going to keep the youkai names in their original forms with a translation only when I get to their introduction in the story. A lot of them are in the chapter title so you may not get it for a while)

5.
Narrator: In this world, there are dwellers of the dark that can’t be seen by the eyes.
Narrator: These beings bare their fangs on occasion, attacking you.
Narrator: He…has come from the depths of hell to protect you from them—an emissary of justice—well, maybe……
Boy: Look, look, that idiot was walking and fell into the gutter. He looks ter—rible.
Girl: Giggle, giggle, giggle
Sign: Waterworks under construction
Nube: This is embarrassing—

6.-7.
(Title page…you’ll know most of these characters soon enough…well OK, most will be showing up immediately but we won’t really ‘know’ them for some time…it’s a big class)

8.
(Distant shot of Doumori Elementary, the scene for our story)

9.
Voice 1: So then, sir, please take care of my son.
Voice 2: Yes, understood Tateno-san!
Boy: N—this is the school I’ll be attending. Hmm, nothing to worry about!
Hiroshi: Are you the principal? I’m Tateno Hiroshi! Nice to meet you!
(TN: Though we won’t really be finding this out until way later in the series, Hiroshi is one of several students whose name is homage to several other manga from the past. Hiroshi’s name is in reference to the main character of “Dokonjou Gaeru”, a notable and popular Weekly Shonen Jump manga of the early 1970s by Yasumi Yoshizawa)
Mr. Tateno: He…hey, Hiroshi!
SFX: Slap slap
Hiroshi: AHAHAHAHA…
Principal: However…
Principal: I can’t believe this…this cheerful boy is…A SUPER-PROBLEM CHILD……!

10.
Hiroshi: Hey—hey—so then--! Which teacher is my homeroom teacher?
Principal: N?
Hiroshi: I thought so--! At best, a beautiful woman teacher would be great---! She’s be nice with good style and come to wear a T-back swimsuit during swim times and such…
Hiroshi: N?
Principal: What’s going on? What’s with the uproar?
Boy 1: Ah, Mr. Principal.
Boy 2: Nube-sensei is doing an exorcism.
(TN: The proper means to say his name is more pronounced “Nuubei” or “Nuubee”, but since it probably would work better just shortening the vowels with an emphasizer on them above, I’ll just be calling him “Nube”)
“Pigtails”: That’s—great--! Nube!
Boy: Do away with that evil spirit---!
Hiroshi: Ex…exorcism…!?

11.
Nube: NAMU DAIJI DAIHI KYUUGU KYUUNAN KOUDAI REIKAN! HAA----BE AKURYOU TAISAN---!
(TN: I might as well get this over with at this point: the first thing Nube says here is a sutra that we’ll be hearing quite a bit through this series run. I won’t translate it for the moment since it is supposed to be like that as means for spiritual concentration. Secondly, which I’m sort of stuck on, is whether or not to translate the “akuryou taisan” which is the “be gone evil spirit” above. We’ll be hearing that a lot so I’ll be keeping that in Japanese as well for the moment…unless otherwise)
Hiroshi: WH…WHAT IS THIS TEACHER~~~!?

12.
Boy 1: IT~~WORKED!
SFX: POKA—N….
Boy 2: It’s the evil spirit possessing the portrait from the music room!
Nube: You’ve been moving your eyes around and around at nights, scaring the children of the lower grades—huh? This Nube-sensei will exterminate you!
(TN: Yes, it is a picture of Ludwig von Beethoven)
Suguru: The—re, Akuryou Taisan---! Come on out--! Rest in peace—
Nube: Mumu~~this is a quite stubborn evil spirit~~
Kid: You can do this—don’t lose—
Nube: It has come to this spirit crystal, handed down in my family for 300 million years~~
(TN: I probably could use “crystal ball” for “reisuishou”, but somehow it feels better to directly translate it tied to the spiritual exorcisms)
Students: OOH!

13.
Nube: Namu Daiji Daihi Kyuugu Kyuunan
Nube: Koudai Reikan Byakue Kanzeon
Nube: Do—ji—to—on Kara Ha—ta
Hiroshi: AH! BLACK SMOKE! IS IT…THE EVIL SPIRIT!?
Boy: Doesn’t it smell like something’s bur—ning?
SFX: FLICK FLICK FLICK
Nube: IT’S BURNING---!!
Students: WA----
Nube: I opened up holes…let’s retouch it. With this, its eyes won’t move ever again!
SFX: DOKKA~~N!

14.
Boy 1: What’s with—that trick—
Boy 2: Wait—hey--!
Nube: Ahahaha, I’m sorry, I’m sorry.
Hiroshi: Th…that’s my homeroom teacher…that dummy? (Kura…)
Nube: And—so—now—
(TN: The homeroom class, 5-3, is “5th grade, 3rd class” since it’s an elementary school. It’s actually in reference to a 5-3 in another series, thus why it’s used here)
Nube: This is Tateno Hiroshi, a transfer student!
Hiroshi: Call me Hiroshi, nice to meet you!
Nube: By the way, you know me as Nueno Meisuke. CALL ME NUBE, NICE TO MEET YOU!
Hiroshi: How—could a teacher stand out more than the transfer student?
Hiroshi: By the way, teacher, what’s with the uproar this morning!?
Nube: Th—that was, well.
Voice: The power of spiritual ability!

15.
“Pigtails”: Teacher is merely the only teacher with spiritual abilities in Japan!
Hiroshi: You are?
Kyouko: Inaba Kyouko! (SFX: Bui!) I really know teacher due to him being a neighbor long ago!
(TN: Kyouko, like Hiroshi, is also in reference to the lead female character of “Dokonjou Gaeru”, Kyouko Yoshizawa)
Kyouko: Teacher is from a spiritually powered family famous even in the neighborhood—
Kyouko: He jumps forth immediately to any children possessed by evil spirits and exorcises them away! He’s a spiritually powered teacher of justice who bets his life fighting evil spirits so he can protect children…that’s Nube-sensei!

16.
Hiroshi: Huh! What can I think with what’s being said! Qui—et down, he can—‘t be that.
Kyouko: I’m not lying, there’s proof!
Kyouko: Why…is teacher always having a black glove on his left hand? Here’s why. It’s because his left hand became the “Oni no Te” due to fighting an “oni” long ago…
(TN: “Oni no Te” does actually translate into “demon hand” in Japanese, but, as we’ll see later, the “oni” does refer to the classic Japanese demon; the term will remain in Japanese for this translation)
Hiroshi: His left hand is…an “oni”?
Hiroshi: Ahahahaha…that’s ridiculous! If he’s a spiritually-powered person from that glove on his left hand, then are Jumbo Ozaki and Okamoto Ayako spiritually-powered person as well!?
(TN: Jumbo Ozaki [Ozaki Masashi] and Okamaoto Ayako are both notable Japanese golfers who have shown successes even in the PGA Tour)
Kyouko: It’s true! It’s a famous story!
Nube: Hahaha, well, individuals are free to believe it or not—
Kyouko: That’s not nice. There isn’t even one unbeliever in this class!

17.
Kyouko: So then we’ll decide this by majority! Those who believe in teacher’s spiritual power go here, those who don’t believe are there; now split up!
Captions: BELIVE / DON’T BELIEVE
SFX: SLAM / RUSTLE RUSTLE RUSTLE
Kyouko: All of you, aren’t you teacher’s students~~!?
“Hat”: She’s putting her foot down.
“Glasses”: We haven’t seen a successful exorcism by teacher.
“Hairband”: But we love him because he’s an amusing teacher.
(TN: Yeah, I know I should just use random “boy” and “girl” for them but…those three in particular will be more notable pretty soon so I’ll just leave them as that)
Nube: Ah~~um~~well~~that’s fine; I do have a wide heart!
SFX: Hiku hiku hiku…
Hiroshi: You’re cramping, teacher.
Nube: Well, with that extent about me, our transfer student Hiroshi will briefly show his special skills—(I’m snapping too)
Hiroshi: Fine.
SFX: Su

18.
Hiroshi: Yo, ho, ha.
Hiroshi: There!
SFX: GABON!
Nube: Hahaha! Well then, shall we exorcise the ghost of Hanako-san, said to emerge from the old school building!
Kyouko: You’ve completely lost.
Student 1: Amazing! Aren’t you a genius, Hiroshi-kun!
Student 2: Can’t you join our soccer club!
Student 3: You’ll immediately become captain!

19.
Hiroshi: No…I’m not planning on joining the club…
“Glasses”: What, and with that skill!
“Hairband”: Right, it would be a waste!
Student: You should absolutely join! You can’t not join!
Hiroshi: Uh…
Student: Ri—ght, you can’t not use your treasure!
Hiroshi: …HEY—THERE! THAT’S MY—WAY!!
Hiroshi: Huh…
Hiroshi: Um…no, well…I’ve actually hurt my knee…when it gets better…I plan to join…yeah.

20.
SFX: KI—N KO—N KA—N KO—N
Kyouko: Ah.
Hiroshi: Break time.
Kyouko: Al—right, so: today we’ll go—have a dodgeball tournament to welcome Hiroshi!
Boy: Approved!
“Hairband”: Let’s go, let’s go--!
Nube: ………
Hiroshi: To…
Principal: Nueno-sensei, how is Tateno Hiroshi?
Nube: Principal…
Nube: He’s a cheerful, fine boy…usually. However…
Hiroshi: Gu!

21.
Hiroshi: What are you doing all of a sudden!
Voice: Hehhehhe
6th Year: This place is reserved for 6th years! 5th years should go in the corner!
Kyouko: What! We’ve taken it ahead of you! The point is you don’t seem like grade schoolers!
“Hairband”: Ki…Kyouko…
6th Year: Shut up! Girls shouldn’t butt i—n. Hit her, hit her.
Hiroshi: Ku…!
Principal: Right…the usual Hiroshi-kun actually is a cheerful, kind, fine boy. However…at the moment his emotions get excited…
Voice: Teacher~~!

22.
Hiroshi: WHAT ARE YOU 6TH YEARS JOKING ABOUT! ARE YOU SO GREAT BEING BORN ONLY ONE YEAR EARLIER!! I CAN’T FORGIVE COWARDS THAT STRIKE WOMEN! I’LL KILL YOU!
Nube: Hiroshi! What are you doing, stop it!
Nube: Are you killing them!?
Hiroshi: Let go—I’m sending them to hell!
Nube: HIROSHI!!
Hiroshi: Huh!
6th Years: Uuh~~aah~~

23.
Hiroshi: I did it…again…
Nube: …So…the wounds of the 6th-years…?
Doctor: They’re serious. All of them…need to be hospitalize!!
“Hat”: He…really is an extreme delinquent, isn’t he?
(TN: You should talk…sorry, you’ll understand soon enough)
“Big Kid”: It would be better to not relate to him…
“Hairband”: It’s as if he had a face like a yasha…
(TN: A “yasha” is in reference to a female demon…even with it sometimes used for male ones dependant on context)
Kyouko: What are you saying! Didn’t Hiroshi fight for all of you! Really…
Cry: AGYAA AGYAA
Cry: AGYAA AGYAA AGYAA
Woman: Hush hush, what’s wrong? This child is suddenly crying…
Nube: Boy, give me your hand and I’ll look at it.

24.
Nube: The Tsukumo no Ashi no Mushi is confined in him. Abira Unken Sowaka
(TN: The “Tsukumo no Ashi no Mushi” literally translates into “the 99-legged bug”; and the other part is merely just another sutra Nube used similar to the one earlier)
Baby: AGYAA AGYAA AGYAA
SFX: Squirm squirm squirm
Kyouko: !
Nube: Al—right, you’re fine now.
SFX: Snap / PITA
Woman: Hey hey, you’re unusual though you’re young now. You can seal the bug. That’s great. Hey, thank you.
Kyouko: What is that, teacher: a bug!? A youkai!?
(TN: “Youkai”, as I mentioned above, is another term that I will be using throughout the run of the series. It has many different meanings including “ghost”, “monster” and “apparition” and is generally taken as a “supernatural being”, such as all those in Nube)
Nube: Tsukumo no Ashi no Mushi…This thing is a childhood ailment, so to say. It possesses babies and such and meaninglessly irritates them.

25.
Nube: The people possessed by this become irritated without reason, having them become violent. There are many times where this is the source to domestic violence and hysteria. It seems like a white bug that emerges from the palm of the hand or the fingertip but…it’s a full-fledged kind of evil spirit.
Kyouko: At—last, at—last!!
Girl: How unusual!
“Hairband”: I want it too.
“Shorty”: Give it to me!
Students: Look, look!
Nube: Hahaha….Kids these days aren’t cowards!
Hiroshi: Teacher…it would be fine if that’s what’s wrong. I’m al…always like that. I come to get angry without distinction…
Hiroshi: I came to quarrel easily, even in my soccer club in my former school……I hit even my advising teacher…I transferred like I was running away.

26.
Hiroshi: I thought this school would be promising…though it seems I can’t join the soccer club; yet this came to happen on my first day and I may be kicked out to transfer again…
SFX: Slap
Nube: Becoming pessimistic isn’t like you. We all have a teacher so you can settle these sorts of worries, do we?
Nube: You can’t settle anything by running…I’ll speak to the soccer club manager tomorrow.
Hiroshi: Nube-sensei.
Hiroshi: That’s right…It’ll just repeat the same way transferring……shouldn’t I endeavor to change myself…

27.
Tsukumo: ANGER…
Hiroshi: !!
Tsukumo: HYAHAHA…YOU’RE BEING SWALLOWED IN ANGER!
Hiroshi: UWAA—
Hiroshi: A…dream…

28.
Soccer Coach: Nueno-sensei…you don’t have to go as far as prostrating…
Nube: Kabata-sensei, I’m asking you: please let Tateno into the soccer club!
Nube: In truth, Tateno is a student with many problems. He already caused an incident where he injured several 6th graders. However! In his roots he’s a really good boy. Teachers, somehow
Nube: Do this for Hiroshi!
Nube: Teacher…

29.
Kyouko: Hiroshi--! Do your best--!
Hiroshi: Right! Leave this to me!
Kyouko: Look, look! I made a bracelet with the Tsukumo Mushi last night!
Kyouko: But I’m glad: Hiroshi has entered the soccer club. Even if he’s a delinquent, he is by no means a problem child.
Nube: He’s just merely bad at controlling his emotions. (I won’t speak of that) If he devotes himself to what he loves, he’ll get better immediately…
Voice: KICK OFF!

30.
Assistant: Indeed! He has good movements with good muscles!
Kabata: He’s a pick-up! He’ll be on the regulars immediately!
Hiroshi: That’s Nube-sensei? I feel he’s just a tad flaky, but a good teacher. I won’t cause any problems even for him!
Soccer Player 1: Chi, that guy has become optimistic, in spite of being a newcomer.
Soccer Player 2: He’s going to take the regular positions that we’ve finally grasped.
Soccer Player 2: Hey, shouldn’t you be careful!
Soccer Player 1: Hey hey, you’ll end up a space-case!

31.
Soccer Player: Oh! I’m sorry, I kicked the wrong ball!
(TN: Um…yeah)
Soccer Player 1: New guy!! You shou—ldn’t have that big expression!
Players: HYAHAHAHA…I~~HIHIHI HIHI
Soccer Player 2: You blew the ball to the corner of the campus!
Hiroshi: GUUUU
Nube: Do…don’t, Hiroshi!
Hiroshi: …THESE GUUUUUYS!

32.
Voice: HIROSHI!!
Hiroshi: !
Nube: Hiroshi…
Kabata: Wh…what have you done!
Kabata: Soccer is a team game. A person like you doesn’t have a reason to join us! Please leave!!
Hiroshi: Damn this—
Nube: HIROSHI!!

33.
Nube: Hold on, Hiroshi, you’re…
Hiroshi: Haa haa haa
Hiroshi: Damn, why am I like this…I’ve endeavored with all my might and yet…the blood rushes to my head and I can’t understand anything anymore…
SFX: Clutch
Hiroshi: It happens somehow or another! A violent guy like me is destined to somehow kill people and to be put to death in a prison.

34.
Nube: No. That thing…I won’t have happen.
HiroshiL: Wh…what’s that…?
Kyouko: We hadn’t recognized it with it not being present there yesterday, but…we understood watching your anger earlier.
Nube: There’s an evil spirit lodged in you! That’s having you lose control of your emotions!
Hiroshi: Fu…
Hiroshi: Don’t be joking! What evil spirit! When spiritual powers and such are bogus!

35.
Kyouko: We’re not lying! What about the story of the “Oni no Te”!?
Hiroshi: You’re annoying, shut up!
Hiroshi: What is this “Oni no Te”? That thing was a made-up tale! If it’s reall, then show it to me right here and now!
Nube: Fine, I’ll show you.
Hiroshi: !!
Nube: This hand has come to not be of this world, due to my spiritual harm of fighting the “oni”.
Hiroshi: Th…that’s…? There was truly a feeling from the upper glove and yet…!?
Nube: It doesn’t seem like it.

36.
Nube: How’s that? Can’t you believe even just once for the moment? I think this isn’t a disadvantage.
SFX: GORO GORO GORO
Nube: Well then, the important thing when doing an exorcism is a strong will to not lose against the evil spirit over anything. Whatever comes of this, never become distracted.
Hiroshi: Teacher…

37.
Hiroshi: I…I’m still half-doubting…that this spirit is what it is.
Kyouko: I believe it.
Nube: I don’t care. If you have just the will to fight, well, let’s begin.
Nube: Namu Daiji Daihi Kyuugu Kyuunan Koudai Reikan Byakue Kanzeon. Evil spirit possessing Tateno Hiroshi: show your form in front of me.
SFX: PIRI…PARI…
Nube: Namu Daiji Daihi Kyuugu Kyuunan

38.
Hiroshi: Te…teacher—
Nube: Koudai Reikan Byakue Kanzeon
Kyouko: Is…it the bug!?
Nube: Evil spirit! Show me
Nube: YOUR FORM—
Hiroshi: !!

39.
Hiroshi: UWAA-----!

40.
Hiroshi: Th…that monster was inside of me…
Nube: This inner demon…the Tsukumo bug has grown and changed into a giant. This is the first I’ve seen a giant being of this extent!
(TN: “Inner demon” here is in Japanese “Chuuyou”, using the “chuu” of “inner” or “heart”/”mind” and the “you” similar to the “you” in “youkai”)
Tsukumo: Kukuku: who did it, who did it, who is the person who called me? A worldly priest who doesn’t know his social position?
SFX: NU!

41.
Nube: I am Nueno Meisuke, a spiritualist! I am Tateno Hiroshi’s homeroom teacher. I command you! Release yourself from Hiroshi and quietly return to that world!
Tsukumo: Kekeke…you can’t be joking: who’s the one who will return…this child’s body is comfortable to live in…because his mind rises and overflows.
SFX: Nita—
Nube: Hmph…so then I’ll exorcise you by force.
Tsukumo: Kukuku…
Tsukumo: Exorcised? By a youth like you…you won’t joke with…kukuku…
Tsukumo: THIS INNER DEMON!
Kyouko: TEACHER!!
Hiroshi: Are you alright, you’ve been scratched.
Tsukumo: Kukuku…my power has absorbed his anger energy, growing to the utmost limit…

42.
Tsukumo: YOU SHOULD SEE—
SFX: CRASH
Kyouko: Kyaaa~~
Kyouko: Te…Teacher~~~!
Nube: A poltergeist phenomenon. He’s releasing all at once the emotion power that he had suppressed!

43.
Tsukumo: HYAHAHAHAHA, WATCH! WATCH! MY DESTRUCTIVE POWER! I AM STRONG! THE STRONGEST!!
Tsukumo: I’ll use this power and recklessly kill humans. I’ll start with the students of this school! Hyahahha, fun! It’ll be fun!
Hiroshi: A monster……
Kyouko: Teacher—
Kyouko: We…should run! We can’t fight that opponent!
Hiroshi: We have to call the police! No, the SDF!
Nube: Calm down.
Nube: He’ll…be defeated by me!
Hiroshi: !!

44.
Kyouko: That tea…
Nube: Namu Daiji Daihi Kyuugu Kyuunan Koudai Reikan Byakue Kanzeon…
Tsukumo: Ah? What…what are you starting? Are you planning to transform--?
Nube: I’m taking out my trump card…it’s for fighting heinous and inhuman evil spirits like you…the only weapon!
Hiroshi: It…can’t be!?
Nube: “Oni” sealed in my left hand; now show…YOUR POWER!

45.
Hiroshi: TH…THAT’S!!
Kyouko: Long ago…he sealed it into his left hand when exorcising a single student.
Kyouko: The rumored!

46.-47.
Hiroshi & Kyouko: ONI NO TE
Nube: In this left hand dwells the power of an “oni”. The power of the “oni” can cut up all beings and having them come to nothing.
Nube: FOR EVIL SPIRITS LIKE YOU, THERE ARE NO EXCEPTIONS!
Tsukumo: I…IMPUDENT FOOL~~!

48.
Tsukumo: WHAT CAN BE DONE BY A ONE-HANDED “ONI”! I’LL KILL THIS SO-CALLED AVENGER—
Hiroshi: Teacher—
Kyouko: It’ll be alright, teacher will certainly WIN!
Kyouko: Usually, he’s a teacher who can’t even utilize 30% of his spiritual power but…when he fights to protect children…he emits 120% of his power…
Kyouko: THAT’S!
Tsukumo: GUE!

49.
Kyouko: THE TRUE FORM OF NUENO MEISUKE!

50.
Hiroshi: Th…that Nube-sensei truly is…
Kyouko: Yes: our teacher!
Hiroshi: --And so
Hiroshi: I’ve magnificently erased the evil spirit possessing Hiroshi! Please have him join the soccer club.
Kabata: An evil spirit…I don’t believe this at all!
Nube: Hahhahha: I’ll show you proof!

51.
Hiroshi: Show him proof? What—will we do?
Nube: Hahaha…we—ll, have a bit of patience, it will be over soon.
Kyouko: Nube, I’ve brought them with--!
Nube: ? Al—right, so, shall we be—gin!
6th Year 1: How dare you show us those cruel eyes.
6th Year 2: We have plenty to thank you for.
Soccer Player: You really won’t get angry no matter what we do!?
Nube: Yep, take him with your heart’s content!
Kyouko: You can do this—
Kabata: Wonderful! With that, he’ll be fine!
Nube: Case closed!
Kyouko: You were great, Hiroshi!
Hiroshi: Those guys: I’ll kill them later. Now they’re truly boiling my guts!

52.
NUBE-SENSEI’S GREAT YOUKAI ENCYCLOPEDIA

1. Tsukumo no Ashi no Mushi

Well everyone! Were my activities interesting? This corner will be related to the youkai and evil spirits in the stories each time, introduced by my vast knowledge!

The 1st one will be about the “Tsukumo no Ashi no Mushi”! It was explained in the volume, but these “childhood ailments”, so to say, are youkai that are relatively well seen. I think that they’re beings who can be materialized by suppressed emotional energy, but I don’t know fully that component. It’s usually a being that’s like a white, thin silk thread and it’s seldom that they become giant like the situation of Hiroshi.

Well then, here I’ll introduce a “method for removing this childhood ailment”, which I’ve put aside from the readers. First, wash your hand clean. Next, rub salt onto the hand. After that, when you wash it away and wait a little while, a thing that’s like a white string will wriggle out. This thing that merely has been pulled out by this method can’t be confirmed whether or not it is equal to one pulled out by spiritual power.

Finally, I’ll tell you a method for5 not being possessed by this yokai. That is to not suppress your emotional energy.

Study well, play well and live cheerfully and healthily! So then, see you next time!

TN: Welcome once again to my latest...or should I say, earliest...of projects: the Makura Shou/Takeshi Okano WSJ horror/comedy/slice-of-life/ecchi (well...yeah) classic "Hell Teacher Nube"! First of all, let me just get this out of the way: this is probably one of my favorite manga series of all time, literally one that I was with way before the internet made it possible to even get whatever you want mangawise! (trust me: I bought a lot of mine from a used Japanese bookstore in North Jersey while I was still in college) And secondly...some people may find this familiar, particular in regards to yours truly. Well...I guess I do need to explain a few things about personal history: somehow back in my last year of college in 2002-2003 (near/around the time I finished my Japanese studies since I sort of wanted to finish up my senior year with some other stuff), I was crazy enough to start trying to tackle Nube as my first real manga-translation project, way before there was any knowledge of groups like Mangahelpers. It was mostly a way to retain my Japanese studies knowing that I wasn't going to be doing it in a professional, classroom manner any further. From then until about 2004, I ended up translating 9 volumes of the series...it's really hard to say that it was good, but it somehow made the series more readable to me. However, I had this weird obsession that I was going to put these scripts on the web and finally introduce this crazy but great series to more people around the country, sort of like seeing all these old Ranma 1/2 scripts got them more noticed. Of course, there's a major difference between a series that had a fanbase that wanted to read what happened later without waiting for an official version (like Ranma) and a series hardly anyone knew about with these mysterious scripts popping up. (Nube) I tried a Yahoo group and even joined a scanslator interested in doing the series (we got up to chp. 3 before it fell apart as it tended to do with me involved). Ultimately, with my free time going to many other things, I just gave it up, essentially abandoning translating Nube...and manga altogether.

Cut to many years later: I somehow got back into translating through Bo-bobo and was mostly doing other series of the Shonen Jump line. I had thought of maybe doing Nube again, but I figured someone else wanted to really do it...so I just let it sit there. Then things started to happen. A friend was introduced to Nube through me and decided to see my scripts, wanting me to pick it back up from where I left off. Then, an actual group leader literally asked me out of the blue to do Nube as well, thinking it was my dream project! Finally, with all the cajoling, I was finally convinced: I'm back with the series that really defined my early shonen experiences! But...I decided to do it with a catch: I would retranslate the first nine volumes, mostly to see if I had improved any from when I first decided to do the series in 2002. If you want to see the original script, try to look for the Nube scanslation of chp. 1...and then, for fun, compare the two and see if I've gotten worse.

Well enough about that...so let's just state this about the chapter: it is a strong first chapter, but somehow this chapter really doesn't feel like what the series becomes down the line. I know you can say that about a lot of manga series, but somehow I always think the first volume and a half (until a certain character shows up) are pretty much set-up and the characters (and a lot of the infamous ecchiness) don't start to truly emerge until vol. 3 or 4. Well OK....that's not entirely true: Nube is Nube in this chapter: a lovable goofball who kicks ass when he has to with the power of his Oni no Te. Hiroshi seems like an enthusiastic "average kid"...and while he keeps his excited nature, we don't see his "insane stupidity/stupid jock" side that will soon emerge. Kyouko...well she does seem like how she will eventually be but since it's mostly set-up, it's really hard to see too much of her. (though I did love how we see her and Nube as close already...that won't be explained for a long while as to the whole "neighborhood" incident that bonded them) And the rest of the class...we do see a few hints regarding how they're going to emerge at this early stage (mostly from "hairband"...oh boy she's going to be a handful once she gets going) but it's mostly just introductions this time so nothing to worry about. The youkai...well, it's strange to say this but that probably is one of the cool things looking at the development of Okano both now and as the series develops: he seems to have a tendency to draw both the graphic and gruesome...but at the same time some really cute (and super-sexy) works. And of course, we have some great funny moments, from the "Beethoven" incident that introduces us to Nube (yeah, evil Beethoven...he really should have aimed for the ears) to the bracelet incident to...well, that ending. (Hiroshi deserved it, he was a jerk to them thanks to that youkai) But that's Nube: going from the freaky to the hilarious and everything in between (and you'll hopefully see more of why as the series goes on).

So, I hope you stick with me as the project gets underway and I'll see you around with the next script...until then, don't bottle it up or else...you'll be possessed by a multi-eyed worm thing.