Hell Teacher Nube 115

There are beings who know of their great existence as youkai...and then there are those who may not even know of it! When a mysterious boy is discovered by Tamamo, he may be the only one who can release the animal within...

#115: The Proud Werewolf

28.
Voice: The Wolf-Boy.
(TN: I know this is the first line of the chapter, but considering the title, I have to straighten a few things before we go any further:
-“Wolf-Boy” here is “Ookami Shonen” and is a boy raised by wolves, akin to Mowgli from Rudyard Kipling’s “The Jungle Book”.
-“Werewolf” is an all katakana word of “Ueaurufu” and is the general idea of a man who literally becomes a wolf, regardless of whether it’s a full wolf, a man with wolf-characteristics or a cross of both.
-Where it can get confusing is the factor that another Japanese word for “werewolf” is “Ookami Otoko”, which literally translates into “wolfman”. Thus some would think that “Ookami Shonen” would be a “werewolf boy”, but with the “boy raised by wolves” concept being crucial for the chapter as well as werewolves, that’s why we have to understand the two different words used here: “Ookami Shonen” for “Wolf-Boy” (the boy raised by wolves), “Ueaurufu” for “Werewolf” (including boys who become werewolves))
Sign: 40th Japan Animal-Behavior Medical Conference
Voice: 1920: there was a discovery of two girls who were raised by wolves in Bengal, which was of the model of “The Jungle Book”. 1959: A boy called Ramu who was discovered in the forests of India had the behavior of a wolf; he was said to be this.
(TN: There was one line I had to slightly change due to the slight problem it gave: the first example given of the girls raised by wolves was stated to have been found in Bengal in 1920 and stated in the Japanese “became the model for ‘The Jungle Book’.” However, Rudyard Kipling originally wrote the first tale regarding Mowgli’s raising in the wild by wolves, “Mowgli’s Brothers”, in 1893, which is over 25 years before this discovery. It was collected in 1894 in Kipling’s famous short story collection “The Jungle Book”. BTW: though this is one of Mowgli’s most famous stories, he actually was first introduced as an adult in the short story “In the Rukh” [which chronologically is the very last Mowgli tale] and “Mowgli’s Brothers”, which explain his raising by wolves and his early exploits in the jungle, was his second)
Kashiwa: Today, I am introducing what I discovered in the midst of the mountains of Thailand 2 years ago. A wolf-boy called Rem.
Caption: Shuei Medical University: Professor Kashiwa
(TN Funny note I have to make: “Kashiwa” translates into “Oak”…I just snicker thinking of that. BTW: Shuei again is in reference to WSJ publisher “Shueisha”)
Kashiwa: I’ve been rehabilitating this boy by returning him to being a human…I am giving you my great results.

29.
Kashiwa: The boy Rem.
SFX: Zawa zawa zawa
Rem: Fa…father, I’m scared.
Kashiwa: It’s fine.
Kashiwa: Do it as you’ve practiced. Don’t bring shame to me.
SFX: Ki
Rem: Haa…haa…haa…
Kashiwa: Starting like this, even Rem, who couldn’t even speak words
Kashiwa: Has become like a human to this point in only two years by my training plan.
SFX: Poro
Kashiwa: This training plan of mine is

30
Rem: Haguu!!
SFX: Gatsu gatsu gatsu
Kashiwa: Rem!
Kashiwa: Fu, you stupid! (Hey! Stop that! Rem!)
Narrator: Doumori Elementary School
SFX: Torururu…
Nube: Yes, Doumori Elementary…Eh? Nueno? U—m, yes, it’s me but
Nube: Ah, what, it’s Tama-chan—
Tamamo: Stop calling me that.
(TN: The line here Tamamo literally says is “Sono yobikata wa yamero”, which is “stop that way of calling me that”, which I made simply “Stop calling me that”)

31.
Nube: I’ve discovered something slightly interesting…can’t you come with me after school?
Nube: What, an interesting thing!?
Nube: It can’t be: Itai Dentists or Kusai Proctology or even Chinko Tamadale where the “Pa” has been taken…
(TN: There are quite a few puns or silly comments here that I have to address here:
-The first two places are strange puns where it’s a name that sounds like something associated with where it is. First there is “Itai Dentistry” where “Itai” also has another reading which is “pain”; then “Kusai Proctology” where “kusai” is “smelly”.
-There is such a pachinko parlor called “Tamadale”, but somehow Nube thinks that the “Pa” will be removed, thus changing “Pachinko” to “Chinko”, which is slang for “Penis”.)
Tamamo: I don’t understand what you’re saying, but please come at any rate.
Caption: Shuei Medical University
“Small Girl?”: Tama-cha—n, were you waiting--?
(TN: It should be obvious what this "girl" is [see the eyebrows and tie], but this is actually making reference to the lead character from "Chibi Maruko-chan", a shoujo series that ran in Shueisha magazine "Ribon" between 1986 and 2009.)
Tamamo: Well, shall we go, Nueno-sensei?
Tamamo: Is Professor Kashiwa in?
Receptionist: Please wait a moment.
Nube: You’re really a stuffy guy. Can’t I poke at you a bit? Grumble grumble…
“Object Caption”: Wig

32.
Voice: Gyaaaaa
Rem: Garururu
Nube: That’s…
Tamamo: Fu…that boy; that’s the thing I wanted you to see.

33.
SFX: Kachi | Bachi
Rem: Gya
Kashiwa: Was that fine, Rem? You are human. Humans don’t do that.
Rem: Yes…I am human…I’m sorry…
Kashiwa: Well, Tamamo-sensei of Doumori Hospital.
Tamamo: Can’t I study your research for future reference?
Nube: Ke, that fox, what’s with that card?
(TN: I don’t quite know what to say here; Nube does mention Tamamo has “happa”, which is “a leaf”, but the kanji used for “ha” also stands for a “flat object”; considering that Tamamo has a business card, I think Nube is referring to that)
Kashiwa: That’s fine.
Kashiwa: The University’s side has given me a large budget for my research this time. I’m generally increasing my rehabilitation training and am performing an “imprinting” training where he is always thinking “I am a human” through a hypnotism treatment. This has been immensely successful…

34.
Kashiwa: Rem, you are a human, same as your father.
Rem: Yes…I am human.
Tape: I am a human. I am a human.
Rem: I want…to become human…quickly…
Kashiwa: Next I’ll show you this child’s records. They’re magnificent.
Tamamo: We’ll come here again tonight.
SFX: Ta
Tamamo: Nueno-sensei, did you feel it seeing that child?
Nube: Yes, it’s sorrow. But what are we doing?

35.
Rem: Who is that!?
Rem: Ah…oh, it’s the people from earlier…
Tamamo: Quiet, we’ve come to save you.
Tamamo: Do you think you’re really a human?
Rem: I…I’m human…Same as…my father…
Tamamo: Remember! Your real parents are proud race to whom these inferior humans aren’t equal even under our feet.
Rem: I’ve…been alone in the woods all along. I don’t know my parents…but a human…
Tamamo: Right: he was lost from his parents since he was young…
Tamamo: You will understand with this.
SFX: Sha!
Rem: Ah!
Rem: A…au…au…

36.
Rem: Uuuuh.
SFX: Goki goki goki
Tamamo: !! Do you see!
Tamamo: I’m certain…this child is a youkai: a werewolf!
(TN: Tamamo uses two terms for “werewolf” here: the first is “ueaurufu” which I mentioned prior is the main version in this chapter, but he also uses the term “Jinrou”, which is yet another “werewolf” term which literally translates into “Man-Wolf”)
Nube: You’re great, Salsa-kun.
(TN: And Nube…well, he isn’t referring to Rem per-se but actually referring to a WSJ series: “Wild Half”, a manga series by Yuko Asami (a former assistant of Okano during the first couple years of Nube) about a dog named Salsa who protects its master and has the ability to transform into a humanoid form. Ironically, “Wild Half” started the issue prior to this one (this is 1996 Issue 5-6, “Wild Half” started in Issue 3-4; it ended in Issue 52, 1998 BTW), so it’s weirdly timely…heck I wouldn’t be surprised if the werewolf chapter is coordinated alongside Asami’s own start as a mangaka in WSJ.)
SFX: Gaku!
Rem: Ga!!
SFX: Shuuu…
Rem: Uh…uh.
Rem: Wrong…I’m…human…wrong…wrong…

37.
Restaurant Sign: Sky Dark
Tamao: The reason is that hypnotism training.
SFX: Gatsu gatsu musha musha
Tamamo: Rem believes implicitly that he’s human. It’s a serious wound. He can’t transform.
Nube: That’s pitiful. That hard-headed professor can’t comprehend that he’s a werewolf.
Tamamo: As a similar youkai, I can’t ignore this.
Nube: Understood.
SFX: Gefu—
Nube: This is Tama-chan’s treat.
Nube: So, the reason you called was you wanted me to see him and see if I’ll see him as being a friend of youkai or if he’s a friend of humans?
Tamamo: Fu, what would you do, Nueno-sensei the human…

38.
Narrator: The next night.
Kashiwa: Fu fu fu…If this research is a success, I’ll get the Nobel Prize…
Voice: This is a worthless farce.
Kashiwa: !!
Kashiwa: Wh…what’s with you? Do you speak ill of my research? Uum…person called Tamamo.

39.
Tamamo: What you have done has just twisted the heart of a normal youkai!!
Kashiwa: What?
Tamamo: Well, Rem.
Rem: Wrong, I’m not a youkai. I’m human…
SFX: Ga

40.
Tamamo: Remember: you are not human. You are the child of a man-wolf, a proud werewolf.
(TN: And…this is the point where all the werewolf terms just seem to drive me bonkers. Here, Tamamo refers to Rem as both a “Ueaurufu” and “Jinrou”; “Ueaurufu” is obvious, but with “Ookami Otoko” already made clear above as “wolf-man” as in the “man raised by wolves”, I had no choice but to use “Jinrou” here as “man-wolf” as in “a wolf who walks like a man” akin to some werewolf depictions. Probably the best way to remember the “Man-Wolf” concept for the basis of this chapter without comparing it with “Wolf-Man” is to think akin to John Jamison from Marvel Comics: he’s a werewolf but his nickname is the “Man-Wolf”…then again there is also Jack Russel, but he’s the “Werewolf By Night”)
Kashiwa: ………
Kashiwa: Ha ha ha, that’s a boner. Do these things, these “man-wolf” or “werewolf” exist in this world?
Nube: How about with this?
SFX: Sha

41.
Rem: Uaaaa!!
Kashiwa: St…stop that. Rem is abnormally scared of the full moon.
Tamamo: Don’t be scared! Don’t suppress the excitement in your blood. Remember…transformation is done like this. Watch closely.
SFX: Ka!

42.
Tamamo: Well, proud werewolf. Show me your true form. You are a high-grade youkai possessing strong youryoku, same as I. You don’t have to flatter these vulgar humans.
Rem: Ah…ah…
SFX: Goki goki
SFX: Gaaaa~~
Kashiwa: Hiiii

43.
Tamamo: Come!
SFX: Gacha—n
Kashiwa: U…uh…wh…what’s going on… That was!?
Nube: That…was a youkai being.
Nube: We humans think there isn’t any being that surpasses us as governors of the Earth, but that is a mistake. They exist above us, possessing a pride that they’ve come to have.
Rem: Amazing…I’m running quickly like this…my blood is heated and your power is steadily gushing out. This is…this is the real me…

44.
Tamamo: Right, Rem. This is our power; we excel greater than any being in this world. Humans have run rampant on the land but…we will never by flattered by them. Live possessing your pride.

45.
Rem: Thank you, youko-san.
Tamamo: Be well.
SFX: How----l…

46.
NUBE’S WEIRD FILES

#8: Man-Wolf

Stories of children raised by wolves are many in number. I think this seems possible due to wolves and humans being similar mammals. However, recent research has emerged with a result that wolf’s milk can’t raise a human and views that doubt it are many. Since animals are born and immediately can walk about and exercise intensely, even their milk is thick and sticky with much protein, but the mother’s milk of a human is watery and lighter and seems slightly sweet. (So says Nueno-sensei…how does he know this?)

The Wolf-Man, who is said to transform into a wolf when seeing a full moon, is a completely different thing. Generally it can be comprehended as a being who is possessed by an animal spirit. (A kitsunetsuki as it’s called in Japan) Also, the animal they change into isn’t limited to just wolves: there seems to be situations where they can change into rabbits or squirrels. An interesting fact is that the birthplace of the Wolf-Man is the area of Transylvania, the same as Dracula. Perhaps both the vampire and the wolf-man may be the same kind of youkai who just differ by the animal they transform into.

(TN: A few things:
1. The nightmare of the “wolf terms” in this chapter doesn’t even end with the Weird Files: the entry is called “Jinrou”, which could be used for “werewolves” but could also be used for the “boy raised by wolves” without discerning them here, thus I had to just leave it as “man-wolf” without making it “werewolf” as it was identified in the chapter. Likewise, “werewolf” in this section is using the “ookami otoko” term I mentioned above, which I ended up translating as “wolf-man”…this time more akin to the classic monster movie with Lon Chaney Jr. than Mowgli.
2. I mentioned prior, “kitsunetsuki” is a Japanese term for a general “spirit possession” that literally translates to “fox-attachment”, since foxes are general animals that possess humans.
3. I really don’t want to get into the whole “vampires vs. werewolves” nonsense that seems so popular in the media (it’s up there with “pirates vs. ninjas” at times) but there are a few things I need to mention. First of all, the threat of vampires and werewolves was well known in Europe, with many countries relating the two of them together such as in Hungary. In some parts of medieval Europe, people who were executed as werewolves were feared to be reborn as vampires after death, thus they were cremated. In some cultures, like Haiti, the two seem interconnected with the “je-rouge”, a werewolf that actively tries to create new followers of themselves akin to how vampires do it. Their culture also similarly has the “loogaroo”, a being that takes its name from “loup-garou” (a French term for “werewolf”) but is considered a vampire. Finally, Bram Stoker’s novel “Dracula”, which I mentioned in the entry on vampires a few volumes back, does actually have the title character turn at one point into a large wolf, which ended up allowing for the vampire to complete his feeding of Lucy Westenra and changing her into a vampire. [and remember: vampire bats weren’t discovered until afterwards] So all in all, vampires and werewolves have a lot of similarities even if…it’s more ambiguous than making them best friends or worst enemies)

TN: I have a whole lot of great, positive things to talk about with this chapter...but most of that just gets obscured by the following (and I will list them now):
-Ookami Shonen
-Ookami Otoko
-Ueaurufu
-Jinrou

Need I go on? I get the whole chapter's point regarding differentiating between a werewolf and a "man raised by wolves", but with all the terms and each one taking a different nuance, it just made my eyes and my mind swirl at the same time! And with each one literally taking a different context and important between defining Rem as either a werewolf or a wolf-boy, it just made it all the more difficult. It makes me wonder sometimes why I have to be so picky with the Japanese.

But...other than the context of "people who cohabited with wolves, even though we don't know the full story ourselves", this was an amazing chapter. For one thing, seeing Tamamo in a light trying to guide another youkai similar to himself shows his nature as a mentor...maybe not to humans (see his "girlfriend" last time), but to those who are youkai but can't really remember or understand why or that they even were. Rem had spent so much time with that mad doctor who tried to make him think he's "human" that he almost believed it himself, even becoming paranoid regarding the full moon! (which a werewolf usually embraces) In a way this was mostly Tamamo's story because it was his choice and idea to figure out how to protect Rem and make him understand the truth instead of the lies thrown at him by the professor: the animal instinct was always within, he just needed to understand how to let it go instead of just believing the lies of civilization. Honestly, I do know a bit on werewolf fiction (having written a bit...don't ask me where cause it's not that good) and know there are many situations where a "wolf person" can live among humans easily...or is human and just has the whole "growing hair and fangs" as a problem occasionally. But Tamamo's approach worked out the way it did because in this world, werewolves are just another youkai...and somehow youkai seem to work better with their own than meddling with annoying humans trying to make them something they're not...and the other way around but that's for other chapters to sort out.

BTW: this is a weird notice, but this is literally the very first Nube chapter without any of the 5-3 students...at all! Yeah, no appearance, no lines...just Nube and Tamamo. It made the chapter work, honestly...since somehow you'd expect Hiroshi or Kyouko or someone else to have a different opinion of Rem that could ruin Tamamo's approach to saving him.