Sakigake!! Otoko Juku 313

They came together under the banner of a flag and the trust of a Principal to train themselves into being the men who will lead Japan into it's future. Under this flag, they have fought and succeeded against many enemies, from fellow classmates to the most powerful warriors in the world. Now, with their leader in a critical situation in a showdown with a fellow school, can the students of Otokojuku apply all they've learned to finally face the real world! Stand in line, because it's time to receive your diploma in the final chapter of this gutsy, manly classic...

Chp. 313: A Tearful Farewell: The Graduation Ceremony!!

149.
Sign: Loan Credit | Bill Discounts: SHUEI ENTERTAINMENT
Gotou: Fufu, the promised 30 minutes have already passed.
Gotou: It seems you’ve been abandoned!!
Gotou: You’re going to die!!
Kyousuke: Ku!!
Shuei Mobsters: !!

150.
(So the final chapter begins just like the first chapter: Momo marching in to take on some crooked mobsters. Not the type of thing to kick off the end of a manga, but…Miyashita was in the midst of something so it’s understandable.)

151.
Momotarou: It…it seems I was on time.
Kyousuke: Tsu…Tsurugi……!! Wh…why are you here……!!
Gotou: What are you!! A young man of Janpugumi!? Where’s the money!?
Momotarou: I don’t have money……!! But I will get back that man.
Shuei Mobsters: What the---!!

152.
Shuei Mobster: Guha!!
Kyousuke: St…stop, Tsurugi---!! Why is it necessary for a complete stranger to abandon their life for me----!!
Momotarou: You’re not a stranger!!

153.
Momotarou: We’re allies!! Otokojuku and Rakanjuku!! Even if our schools are different, our wills are one!! We can’t let an ally die without helping them out!!
Kyousuke: Tsu…Tsurugi…!! You…!!
Gotou: These brats are joking with us---!! These two will be sent to hell together---!!
Gotou: Uh!!
Momotarou: !!
Gotou: Wh…who did that---!!

154.
Gotou: WH…WHAT---!! TH…THEY’RE---!!

155.
Togashi: Ora~~~!! Return Momo and Ijuuin---!!
Yamitarou: Or else we’re carrying an assault----!!
Toramaru: Yeah: If all of us combine our powers, there won’t come to be even a trace of that building---!!
Shuei Mobster: Bo…boss……!! Th…those are incredible numbers.
Gotou: Fufu, they’re great guys…scoundrels being belittled with the social standing of students!! It seems we can only draw back here.

156.
Student: Ooh, someone’s coming out---!!
Momotarou: Fu, you saved us!!
Matsuo & Tazawa: IT’S MOMO---!!
Pharaoh: Ijuuin is together with him---!!

157.
Rakanjuku Student: We were worried about the two of you---!!
Toramaru: We came anxious of wherever you were----!! We shook off the restraints of the Principals!!
Togashi: Well, those are severe wounds!!
Student 1: Hurry and get these wounds treated----!!
Student 2: Yeah!!
Kumada: Fufu, it seems we won’t be appearing.
Edajima: Umu.
Kumada: When I saw that, there was no need in having that team power match that was still remaining.
(TN: It wasn’t really “team power” but “team spirit” but…I guess that since it really doesn’t matter, Kumada did state it without a real need to emphasize it)
Edajima: Yes. Its game and set. Both sides ended up as one with the determined purpose of saving their allies.

158.
Kumada: You’ve brought up quite the students, Edajima.
Edajima: Fuffu: that’s same for you, Kumada.
Kumada: From among them are those who will leave the nest taking the rudder in all fields in the future: culture, politics and business!!
Edajima: That’s right: their potential is infinite!! With them, I’m certain they should do it!!
Edajima: Wahhaha, al—right, tonight we drink---!!
Kumada: Yeah—let’s keep company to the very end----!!

159.
Caption: —AND SO, THE TIME PASSED—
Sign: 33RD OTOKOJUKU GRADUATION CEREMONY

160.
Edajima: WE ARE AWARDING YOUR GRADUATION CERTIFICATES!! REPRESENTING THE GRADUATING STUDENTS: TSURGI MOMOTAROU!!
Momotarou: OSU!!

161.
Edajima: Graduation Certificate: Tsurugi Momotarou!! The above-mentioned is verification of completion of Otokojuku’s entire training curriculum!! Principal of Otokojuku, Edajima Heihachi!! The other graduates have the following same content!!
Edajima: You’ve done well, surpassing in tenacity!! You were magnificent!!

162.
Momotarou: Osu! Thank you very much!!
Togashi: Wh…what………!?
Hidemaro: Wh…why are there tears coming out like this…………!?
Toramaru: Th…this was a school like hell with harsh training every day………!! I…I’ve wanted to quickly run away from here even for a day and yet…!!

163.
Toramaru: IT ALL SEEMED LIKE IT WAS YESTERDAY…

164.
Edajima: A word from the Principal!
Edajima: This is my final farewell gift to all of you!!

165.
Edajima: I AM THE PRINCIPAL OF OTOKOJUKU, EDAJIMA HEIHACHI!! THE END!!
(TN: I was contemplating using “dismissed” here for Edajima’s final “Ijou”, but it really didn’t translate into such so I just went with “The End”)

166.-167.
THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING THIS LONG TIME OF SIX YEARS AND REMAINING MONTHS. OTOKOJUKU, BE ETERNAL!!
-MIYASHITA AKIRA
(TN: Miyashita’s final “Remaining Months” uses “Yotsuki”, which is for any month past the 6th anniversary before the end of the series, thus to cover the entire period of Otokojuku’s long, illustrious run)

END (7/22/1991)
(End of Volume 34)
(“Sakigake!! Otokojuku”: End)

(TN: I will be doing “Yabai Yatsura” but doing so separately from the Otokojuku run even if it’s in the final volume. It will be a one-shot but kept with Otokojuku’s scripts so I won’t confuse anyone and so it will be hopefully done with the final Otokojuku volume when it is completed. I probably should be doing the assistant’s comments but that is probably up to whoever is scanslating this with me: if they want me to do it, I will and will keep them around. But for the moment I’ll just leave it at the final Otokojuku script and Miyashita’s final words at the end of the volume.)

204.-205.
ALL OF MY READERS:
I TRULY THANK YOU FOR PLEASURABLY READING “SAKIGAKE!! OTOKOJUKU” OVER THIS LONG TIME. WITH THE SERIALIZATION SIX YEARS AND THE REMAINING MONTHS, IT HAD A LENGTH WHERE A CHILD IN FIRST GRADE OF GRADE SCHOOL WOULD HAVE GRADUATED FROM GRADE SCHOOL. (NATURALLY). HAVING A LONG SERIALIZATION LIKE THIS WAS BECAUSE OF THE PASSIONATE SUPPORT OF ALL OF YOU. THIS WORK HAS BECOME ONE OF DEEP MEMORIES FOR ME. I’LL BE HAPPY IF ALL OF YOU OCCASIONALLY REMEMBER THIS MANGA. BEST REGARDS IN SUPPORTING MY NEXT WORK!! FINALLY, I GIVE THANKS TO THE GENTLEMEN ASSISTANTS WHO CAME TO GIVE THE ULTIMATE POWER TO MY SELFISH SELF AND THE PEOPLE IN EDITING.

1991, LAST DAY
MIYASHITA AKIRA
(TN: My final TN for the series: the “last day” term that Miyashita uses here is “misoka”, which generally is used for the last day of a month but perhaps could be tied to “Oomisoka”, a term in Japan for New Years Eve, the second-most important day in the Japanese calendar. Since the final Otokojuku volume came out in February, 1992, it is possible that Miyashita did write this letter on 12/31/91, but it really is hard to figure that out without asking him directly)

TN: Well…it’s really tough for me to imagine this day would finally come…but it’s come. It just felt like yesterday that we began the journey into the brutal academy where pre-war ideals and concepts were drilled physically and mentally into the forgotten students of society in order to change them into the men who would lead Japan into the future. It’s been a long journey, begun with a ragtag group of weirdoes we’ve all come to grow to love: a cool, smart and strong leader with his trademark headband and sword, the super-gutsy but somewhat in-over-his-head comic relief who always finds a way of nearly getting killed with his trusty hat and dosu by his side, the cheerful but somewhat dimwitted idiot with the Sazae-san hairstyle and the nerd who wasn’t quite a nerd…since he was smart but not in the right ways, not to mention the little guy who was forced into the school after bullying his way in at first to become one of the most loyal and most determined students who carried the school’s coat of arms in climactic situations. And let’s not mention the teachers, including the harsh but motherly bearded man, the idiot who marched his own students right up to the doorstep of his own family…and that helmet guy in glasses I never could remember the name of. And of course their leader: former soldier, former kenpou student, possibly one of the most powerful and destructive men on Earth…but to him, all that mattered was that he was the “Principal of Otokojuku”…and if you don’t get that, you will hear it so loudly that your ears will explode on contact!

Yet as we continued through the journey, we began to encounter others who gave this world as much delight and freakiness as can ever be seen: first the true leader of Second-Years and his super-long, super destructive sword, then a shocking squadron of Americans let into this hyper-nationalistic school lead by a super-powerful boxer whose punches ultimately broke the sound barrier and who wanted to discover “the madness” this school persisted of. Then came the invasion from an unlikely source: a super-powerful staff-wielder who wished to conquer the school he once considered himself too strong to stay at even with his tender morals. The school gained an ally in the forms of a crazy wild-man who became more notable for his outbursts than some of his later battle performances before heading off on a four-on-four match against the staff warrior and his three most loyal and powerful fighters: an “old-man-like” fighter who mastered one of the most ancient kenpou [and who would more be known for fighting against and alongside a trio of crazy monkeys], a pretty-boy whose medical knowledge was just as vast as his skill with deadly needles, and a silent, but powerful blind warrior who would come to be more well known with his skills with a stick.

Yet even as the invaders were finally stopped, the next threat came from within, by way of the upperclassmen who would push them beyond anything they had faced up to then. The First-Years sieged upon their secretive headquarters, facing off against a giant with a noble heart, a sadistic man of the darkness, and a dandy gentleman who would later be more known for his sleight of hand as his buggy whip. One of the first years attempted to confront his past against the massive leader (who was not as big as he originally let on), but the Principal chose to make them face off against one another with a specially set-up tournament on a super-long arena guided by a mysterious Chinese man skilled in great medicinal arts and strange old ways and where they would be assisted by their former enemies of their previous battle. On the road to the end, they faced off against several old enemies as well as the elite corp of the upperclassmen, including a tough masked man with a tragic past, a pretty-boy manipulator of wires and tops, a bizarre man whose fighting style manipulated his own fingers, and the powerful leader and master of the skills of the deadly Poison Fist. In the end, it came down to leader and leader, where the upperclassman leader showed his powers in manipulating wind and appearing to blow away his opponent’s skills. But with all students on both grades on the line, the younger leader of the First-Years won out in final victory in a battle more for disrupting order than for anything really notable.

Unfortunately, little rest would come due to the arrival of an invitation to a tournament run by Japan’s greatest traitor and most powerful and influential man, the man in charge of the underworld of the entire nation. With all coming together under the banner of the school, they marched forwards with one purpose in mind: win the tourney so they could defeat the traitor and get back for years of misery the Principal had dealt with due to it. The battles themselves turned out to draw forth from warriors from around the world and of any and all styles of combat just to get through it. In the preliminaries, they faced a team of punks, a notable kenpou squadron, a group of warriors who descended from the great fighters of Greece and Rome, and a team of monks who honed their skills in the highest mountains in the world. Overcoming them, they moved forwards to the main tournament, where the battles and even the battle scenes became hotter and stranger by the moment. They faced off against a squadron of the deadliest assassins from China; then some of the most ancient opponents based around the guardians of ancient Egypt. In the semi-finals, they took on a super-powerful squadron of Chinese warriors who had won the tournament three times in a row prior to their participation. And then in the finals, the tournament came to be between them and a squad of the most powerful warriors trained by the traitor himself, using the most modern of techniques and science to forge the ultimate fighting force, lead by the loyal, super-powerful “son” of the leader of the match. Ultimately though the school prevailed and the evil traitor was finally brought to justice at the end of a blade.

With the tournament behind them, the students finally looked forwards to their next year of education, where they were forced to face the sudden attack of two surprises. One was the arrival of a fearless motorcycle-riding head of the First-Years, and the other…was the abduction of the Principal! With a familiar friend taking the lead of the school and several of the most notable fighters of the former tournament joining them, they headed off to face a mysterious group of assassins stationed around the world who were brought in to fight for pride or for the profits of their backers. But it was all a front as a revenge trap for their former enemy, who attempted to ensnare them and take down their beloved Principal! But even with several notable casualities, they survived long enough for the Principal to make a glorious return and literally bring down the house around their enemies!

And now, after a short but sweet confrontation with a rival school of similar principles (and similar Principals), the journey of men has finally reached its final station. We’ve seen and experienced a lot on this journey, from oil baths to killer robots, from battles to paint a symbol on heads to all sorts of crazy and bizarre battles in every way, shape and form. And yeah…when I say crazy battles and battle styles, then I mean it, going from conventional kenpou, swordsmanship, spearmanship, boxing skills and just using a dosu and guts, the battles came to utilize everything including tops, boomerangs, unicycles, soccer, tennis, snowboarding, various types of drugs and hallucinogens and poisons, springs, stilts, bizarre physical manipulations of every and all types of body parts (including…down there), bat costumes, magnetism, strange costumes and masks, golf, marksmanship, spinning poles, pogo sticks…and then there were all the various animals: horses, monkeys, bats, bees, an elephant, ants, fireflies, a spider, crocodiles…and who knows what else I’m leaving out or forgetting! And the best part: they all could somehow or another be explained by some strange book entry that showed its history within combat, generally being invented by someone in China long ago and adapted into modern times. All in all, you probably could imagine everything we've witnessed as unbelievable or unimaginable. But then...that's the world of Otokojuku to a tee: if you don't think it's possible, they find a way to make it possible...just because it's entertaining or funny or just bizarre but with the touching and sentimental moments to bring in the emotions.

Now that we have reached this actual point of conclusion, I usually have a main question or thought regarding the series I have just completed. For Otokojuku, the question pretty much remains the same now as it did when I started the series way back over 18-19 months ago: why was this series nearly lost and forgotten? The question more or less is less about the Japanese public reaction and more for it's own existence within the United States and how it wasn't even too well known until recently. The series was a major success in Japan, lasting over 6 years and getting quite much notability in Japanese culture even now...maybe not to the extent of some of it's other contemporaries like Hokuto no Ken or Dragonball but to the point that the stories still seem memorable and many websites catalog every single Minmei Publishing entry for safe reference. But many people didn't really recognize or understand even the existence of Momotarou or Edajima when they first popped into Jump Ultimate Stars to fight against the likes of Goku, Luffy and Naruto over here...heck, myself included! Having known many of the at least basic concepts and ideas of so many Jump series, seeing a character like Edajima being such a powerful force in the game alongside the 'instant powers' like Raoh just seemed insane for a series that was so little known. Likewise, when I did see the Otokojuku references in Bo-bobo, which was my bridge to many series of this era, they just felt so random compared to now, when they just seem to illuminate Sawai's love and respect of this classic Jump series.

And if you think about it, Otokojuku continues to influence and show it's echo within Jump and Japanese fighting manga: in my eyes, the series awakened and opened up a new idea of originality in fighting series that has only expanded exponentially since then in so many ways, shapes and forms. I still say that a lot of the "ninja" styles in Naruto reflect aspects of Otoko's fighting styles, in particular Hien's usage of senbon for medicinal pressure-point combat. Heck, I still use the "Street Fighter II" example I gave before from what we saw in the climax of the final Daibukai fight! Once you eliminate half of the characters either who were already in the franchise (Ryu, Ken, Sagat, probably Balrog) or obviously wouldn't show an influence from it (Chun-Li, M. Bison), what do you have from the other six? An American military man who throws sonic booms (J), a sumo wrestler (Toramaru, Kyrgyz Khan), a guy who can manipulate electricity from his body (Red Thunder...though maybe you can use him for T. Hawk too but I'm talking of the original, not Super SSII), a wild Russian (Gobarski...yeah that was a stretch), a yoga-manipulating powerhouse (Raja Mahal) and a vain pretty boy who uses a claw (Hien...well, more "evil Hien from the Kyousatsu"). I know that many of these are more speculation than fact, but the mere factor that the Daibukai arc was done around the time SFII was in development (and it did release in '91, which means there was time between the chapters and Capcom coming out with the game) and so many of the abilities in that game just echo Otokojuku...heck, with SF one of the most notable franchises in video game history, they need to give Miyashita a bit of their fortune.

But back to the topic: why was the series hidden away beyond it's homeland for so long? Could it have been due to the basic concept of the series: the whole "pre-WWII training facility" that molds men through means akin to those ingraining national loyalty to die for the emperor and for the country? That...probably could have a lot to do with it...but at the same time it really didn't factor into the series beyond the first few volumes. Sure it was important for many of the jokes that occurred in volume 1 and when the Americans showed up at the school, but beyond that it really wasn't too important to the story probably due to it becoming more fight-based. Further, the final volume seemed to more emphasize that the loyalty that was given to the students wasn't to the emperor or for "Japan" like the old days but to each other and to their Principal. That probably is one of the good things to come out of being an Otokojuku student considering that Edajima is...well, as grumpy as he is, he still is a caring and considerate man who understands the strengths and weaknesses of his students and knows better about them than even they realize. We saw this a lot in this volume, but we also saw it in things such as his judgement for the climax of the Paaren Seiha or for his usage of Eikei to assist in the shadows of the Daibukai...heck he even knows when things go too far and barges in to clean it up, whether it is saving students captured for selling loincloths or destroying a massive amount of Toudou's property to take him down personally! As crazy as Edajima can be, he knows what's right and what's best for the school and for it's reputation...even if sometimes his own staff goes a bit too far with it. But I guess I'm deviating again so let me leave it at this: its good that Edajima is a good enough man to be loyal and trust in...because some of this really would have been scary or dangerous if these students were under the tutelage of someone else...or were actually living in the times he grew up in. I think Miyashita was trying to prove with this school and with the series that there isn't anything wrong with loyatly or school spirit, but it's usually dangerous if placed in the wrong hands or used for a means beyond that which can hinder as well as help. But ultimately the whole aspect still remains controversial even if it was satirized tremendously in the series and it could be a reason why it was forgotten like that.

Though while that could be one reason why it was forgotten, I think somehow there was just another reason as to why the series ended up why it did nearly lost to us: timing. Like telling a joke, timing is everything in regards to when or how a series hits it and how it ultimately is seen or perceived by the public at large who can read it or watch it's anime. Part of the timing blame probably could go just in when the series was in Jump in the first place: when it started in 1985, Otokojuku was just another "manly man" manga among many in the magazine with Hokuto no Ken leading the way as the biggest and most important of the genre. By the time it ended in 1991, the magazine wasn't anything like that any more. Dragonball was leading the magazine, most of the manga of it's type were gone and even there were series like JoJo's Bizarre Adventure which had already evolved completely from a series similar to thus to one with crazy superheroics and Araki's unique art style. A series about men fighting with bizarre means just wasn't going to bring them in any more and, aside those with nostalgia for it, it wasn't really going to be something to really be read alongside what was now popular by this point in the early 1990s. Thus with it sinking away from view, it did so just before the major push of anime and Japanese culture outside Japan in places like the US...which saw Jump and most of the stuff that it had at that point...but not too much what it had in it's past. Sure Hokuto was remembered, but that was a strange scenario that would allow for it's success regardless with how important and influencial it was. For a series like Otokojuku, it missed that opening and didn't have the special stuff that allowed series such as DB, Captain Tsubasa and Saint Seiya to be picked up and exported around the world...while it was sort of a lost oddity. Maybe if there was still an interest in those types of series...or maybe if there were someone who actually understood the history or saw the potential in it sooner...then maybe Otokojuku would have emerged sooner than it did and been more known by the time JUS had Momo and Edajima as playable. But...most of this is probably just my own theories and not realy the best to regard or think about when looking at how a series can get lost in the annals of history.

I think there are probably some people who are snoozing in the back so I think it's finally time to go over the last chapter and see how well Miyashita wrapped it up. And the verdict is...he did real well...well, the last few pages anyway. The whole graduation sequence was flawless, showing many of the characters we've come to love over the run of the entire series together one last time to get their diploma and hear one more speech from Edajima (which is like every other speech he's given them) I sort of wished maybe we could have had a few other little things to maybe show how things have changed or in memory of what we've been through: a speech by Onihige, maybe a line or two by Date or one of the newer students, maybe another cameo by the Shitennou to show them continuing to watch over the school...unless they already graduated considering it is a bit of a time skip. But as perfect as the final scenes of the series were...the first part wrapping up the Presence match did feel a tad abrupt but somewhat appropriate for the series as its been. It feels like Miyashita wanted a bit more time but, like the Seven Tusks, was forced to rush to the end just to get it out of the magazine. I really did like a few of the aspects in it though, particularly the uniting of Otokojuku and Rakanjuku in stopping the Shueigumi from killing them and the final satisfied compromise of Edajima and Kumada that the schools are for the most part equal just like their own silly rivalry. Ultimately, while it wasn't as long as some of the other stories, I really did feel like Miyashita was able to get back to what he liked or was good at with the Rakanjuku arc in the final volume, sort of bringing the series back to basics instead of forcing more battles on us like the Seven Tusks seemed to do. And the whole "Team Spriit" aspect the final one would have done did seem to work out anyway with the way the students came together: they were one team facing off against the mob to get their leaders back. For Momo, who has been so invincible and untouchable, it finally shows a bit more humility than he usually has and allowed to show that not even someone like him is perfect and needs his schoolmates to assist if he has a problem. (which is so few times since Momo seems to be invincible most of the time...but then he was concerned about Kyousuke so it threw him off guard)

So, as the sun sinks slowly in the west, we say goodbye to "Sakigake! Otokojuku" for the last time. I've been really glad to bring this series to you in particular because its been somewhat of a milestone one for me. This series is the first super-long Jump series that I've translated from start-to-finish, with no one else having touched any other chapters but myself. Prior to Otokojuku, all of the series I've done have either been ones that I wanted to get "completed and out there" (Bo-bobo, Kinnikuman) or short series that I did start-to-finished but not long enough to really show any effect. (Cyborg Grandpa G) Otokojuku had never been touched before, had all six+ years translated by only me, and...was sort of a fun time considering it was a series I just had to translate when I came across it. I gave you all my reasons originally before in why I wanted to do it, but I do have to say this: for a series where I literally was starting from nothing with little to no support and a lot of forgotten or bewildered looks as to why I'd do it...I'm happy that I got as much as I did all the way for the entire run. Sure I've had a lot of problems with it and know that there had been a lot of trouble and situations caused by it, but I wanted to bring a portion of Jump history to the forefront and think I did a good job in doing so. Otokojuku is now out there, it somehow inspired the entire anime version to be picked up and completed, and I've seen support for it even as surprising a place as a Naruto board where it was linked to on a signature! For a series that started from nothingn and that I had to really dig around to even get my hands on getting to all of you, I'm glad I brought some attention and gave it a little nudge in the direction of restoring or gaining the notability it deserved. As for the future...well I do want to eventually get to "Tenka Musou: Edajima Heihachi-Den", which sort of gives us more backstory for the Principal, but that's sort of a long way off in my imagination before I get to it. Same sort of goes to "Akatsuki! Otokojuku"...but that I sort of wished there was a full-series run somewhere so I can just dive right in when I'm ready. (there are a few others like "Ten Yori Takaku" or a short series the Sanmenken cameo in but those I know less about for the moment) Thanks for reading this series and, until we cross paths again, this is StrangerAtaru stating:

"わしが男塾訳者ストレーンジャアタルである！！" (Well it had to be said).

Mata ne.