Hell Teacher Nube 143

All youkai have a meaning behind their existence, but some have a harder time than others showing what they're worth When Hiroshi discovers an enigmatic little youkai he helps, he may end up getting a headache figuring out how to get rid of it!

#143: Echo! Kodama

50.
Sign: Doumori New Town Planned Site of Construction
Hiroshi: Torya
SFX: Doka
SFX: Bashi
Hiroshi: Yes—nice shot!

51.
Hiroshi: Hehe, this vacant plot that was cut through the mountain recently is just right for my morning secret practice ground.
SFX: Boji!
Hiroshi: Alright, I’ll end this. Overhead Sho…
SFX: Gon

52.
Hiroshi: What are you? You’re a dirty brat. You have blood coming from your head. Are you alright?
“Brat”: Are you alright?
SFX: Muri!
“Brat”: Are you alright?
SFX: Muri

53.
“Brat”: Are you alright? Are you alright? Are you alright? Are you alright? Are you alright? Are you alright? Are you alright?
Hiroshi: Uwaaaaa, it’s a youkai—

54.
SFX: Shurururu…
Hiroshi: Wh…what the? You were coercing me. I’m used to youkai because I’m a student of Nube.
SFX: Doki doki doki
Hiroshi: It seems you’re not a bad youkai. You seem pitiable. Here, I’ll put this on your head. I always have cut spray. Close your eyes, it will soak into them.
SFX: Shu—
Hiroshi: In spite of being a youkai, you’re clumsy for getting hurt.
Hiroshi: See you, I’m going. Don’t loiter around this construction site. Hurry and go somehow.

55.
Voice: Wa—what is that--!?
Hiroshi: How could I know it would follow me on its own?
Miki: It’s a dirty brat—
Kyouko: Is this kid a youkai?
Noriko: Cute—
Miki: Hey, Hiroshi, if that’s a youkai, then it can do some accomplishment. It seems like Zashiki Warashi; does it give good fortune…
Hiroshi: Yeah…it’s its mouth…
Miki: Mouth? If it’s its mouth, then I’m skilled at that. The sixth sick sheikh’s sixth sheep’s sick. The sixth sick sheikh’s sixth sheep’s sick.
(TN: Miki’s challenge to the youkai is a tongue twister as you can see here, but in actuality the one she used was a Japanese tongue twister that goes “Toukyou Tokkyo Kyokakyoku”, which literally translates into “The Tokyo Patent Approval Office”. (there are other versions of said tongue twister that get longer and more complex, but Miki just goes with the basic version) Since I didn’t know whether to use the Japanese tongue twister or not for an English translation, I went with a simple one-line tongue twister stated to be one of the hardest in the English language…well, that and I wanted a tongue twister that wasn’t your typical “Peter Piper” or “She Sells Seashells” bit)

56.
“Youkai”: The sixth sick sheikh’s sixth sheep’s sick. The sixth sick sheikh’s sixth sheep’s sick. The sixth sick sheikh’s sixth sheep’s sick. The sixth sick sheikh’s sixth sheep’s sick. The sixth sick sheikh’s sixth sheep’s sick. The sixth sick sheikh’s sixth sheep’s sick. The sixth sick sheikh’s sixth sheep’s sick. The sixth sick sheikh’s sixth sheep’s sick.
Nube: Good morning--!! Well today we’ll be having an energetic class, aren’t we…
SFX: Gara
Nube: Waa!! It’s the Great Youkai War!!
(TN: While I know it is an obvious bit, “The Great Youkai War” or “Youkai Daisensou”, is also the name of a trilogy of live action Japanese films made by Daiei Films between 1968-1969 involving battles between various monsters and youkai from around the world. The films are known as the “Youkai Monsters” series in the US, with subtitles such as “Spook Warfare”, “One Hundred Monsters” and “Along With Ghosts”. A remake film of the first, also known as “The Great Youkai War”/ “Youkai Daisensou”, was released in 2005, with the literal translation remaining the same in English as “The Great Youkai War”.)
Kodama: The sixth sick sheikh’s…the sixth sick
Miki: Sixth sheep’s sick. Sheikh’s sixth sheep.

57.
Nube: Hm—m, it’s a “Kodama”.
(TN: “Kodama” is a literal translation for “echo”; the “echo” in the title was for the verb of “Hibiku”, which is “to resound” or “to echo”)
Kyouko: Kodama?
Nube: Well, it’s a Kodama said to be the mountain echo of the mountains. It’s a spirit of the mountains.
(TN: Yet another “echo” is used by Nube here, but this time it is “Yamabiko”, which is specifically a “mountain echo” akin to one reverberating from the mountains when you yell out from them)
“Mountain Man”: Yahoo—yahoo—yahoo—yahoo—
Hiroshi: Right: the same word is repeated with that.
Nube: Perhaps the mountain was cut open for the construction of New Town and it lost its habitat. I’m certain that the wound on its head is with the construction…
Kyouko: Right, that’s pitiful.
Kodama: Pitiful, pitiful, pitiful, pitiful.
Nube: But, again, why to this school?
SFX: Paaa…

58.
Nube: --It seems it wants to return the favor for having its wound healed by Hiroshi.
Hiroshi: Eeh!! Th…that’s fine then.
Miki: Wh—y? Please give it back because you’ve been sold a favor you’re unworthy of.
SFX: Gya—gya—gya—
Hiroshi: I’m not greedy like you.
Hiroshi: So then, what can I do with this? Its only ability is just to repeat words.
Miki: ………
Miki: Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. Peter Piper. Peter Piper picked a peck. Peter Piper—
(TN: Well in this case, I just went with Peter Piper because I wanted to keep it short. The tongue twister this time around is “Tonari no Kyaku wa Yoku Kaki Kuu Kyaku da” or “The next customer is a customer who eats persimmons well”)
Hiroshi: Stop, stop.

59.
Miki: It’ll—be fine, it’ll—be fine, because I’ve thought of a way where it will be useful!
Hiroshi: ………………
Miki: It’s a monster—
Kodama: It’s a monster, a monster, a monster
Ritsuko: Eh, a monster, where, where?
Caption: Seems like it can’t be seen by adults.
Hiroshi: T-h-e song of the frog—
(TN: “The Song of the Frog” is a simple nursery rhyme song used generally in nursery schools)
Kodama: The song of the frog—The song—song—song—
Miki: We could use a suitable song later but…
Miki: (top+bottom)h/2
(TN: Miki is describing the formula for finding the area of a trapezoid: the top and bottom bases are added together, multiplied by the maximum height of the shape, then divided by 2, leading to a general formula of “[(a+b) X h]/2”, with “a” and “b” being the two bases of the trapezoid)
Kodama: (top+bottom)h/2. (top + bottom). Top. Top.
Hiroshi: Uwaaa, stop it—(It’s torture--)
Kyouko: It really is a useless youkai—

60.
Caption: The next day
Hiroshi: Hey, you’re early, dad. Its still 5:30.
Mr. Tateno: Ah—today I must go to Iwate.
(TN: Iwate could either be referring to Iwate Prefecture in Tohoku or to a town of the same name on the Kitakami River)
SFX: Shako shako shako
Caption: Hiroshi’s father is a truck driver
Hiroshi: Do you best—dad!
Mr. Tateno: Right—I’m going off.
Truck Sign: Ichibanhoshi (The First Star)
(TN: Mr. Tateno’s truck is representative of the “Dekotora” phenomenon in Japan, where truckers decorate and show off their trucks with various art on them or extravegant artifacts such as various extravagant exteriors. One group of Dekotora has a nickname of “Ichibanhoshi” or “The First Star”, such as the one on Mr. Tateno’s truck)
Hiroshi: N?
Hiroshi: You’re still here? Go back to the mountain! Don’t hang around me. You’re depressing.

61.
Hiroshi: Really…it must naturally live in the mountains and yet it will be here forever to return a favor where it can’t do anything…
SFX: Za—za—
Kyouko: Hiroshi, it’s still here on the campus.
Hiroshi: I know of that.
Nube: Due to its naiveté, it won’t go home until it returns the favor…it would be fine if I could do something for it but

62.
Mr. Tateno: (singing) It’s a man’s will with a one-handed handle—will it be Aomori or Hakodate today—
(TN: The two cities that Mr. Tateno mentions are right across the Tsugaru Strait from one another: Aomori is one of the northern-most cities on Honshu island; Hakodate is the southern port city on Hokkaidio)
Mr. Tateno: I’ll be going home—to my dunce-headed son. He’s being raised with the help of one man—your dream is to be a J-Leaguer. Can’t I quit this trucking trade—
Mr. Tateno: !

63.
Principal: Hiroshi-kun, it’s terrible!
Principal: I got a phone call from the Iwate Prefectural Police earlier…your father was in an accident. He’s been taken to a hospital, but he’s in a critical state unconscious.
Hiroshi: Father!
SFX: Da!
Nube: Hold on, Hiroshi, getting a bullet train ticket immediately is…
Nube: Hiroshi! Calm down.
HiroshI: Haa haa haa
Hiroshi: My father is…my father is suffering and yet there’s nothing I can do…please, Nube! Send my voice to Iwate with your spiritual power!
Nube: Th…that’s impossible…

64.
Hiroshi: Damn it…
SFX: Gaku…
Hiroshi: Hold on, father, don’t die—
Kodama: Hold on, father, don’t die—
SFX: Paaaa…

65.
SFX: Bashu
SFX: Shu
Kodama: Hold on, father, don’t die—
SFX: Supo
Kodama: Hold on, father, don’t die—
Kodama: Hold on, father, don’t die—
Man: Keiko-san…?
Kodama: Hold on, father, don’t die—Hold on, father, don’t die—Hold on, father, don’t die—Hold on, father, don’t die—

66.
Nube: It’s transmitting his voice and jumping from person to person. That ability is possessed by Kodama…
Kodama: Hold on, father, don’t die—
Woman: Kya
Sign: To the Airport
Kodama: Hold on, father, don’t die—Hold on, father, don’t die—Hold on, father, don’t die—
Kodama: Hold on, father, don’t die—
Kodama: Hold on, father, don’t die—
Sign: Stone Hand Hospital
(TN: “Stone Hand” is “Iwa no Te”, an approximation of “Iwate” but with the “no” in between separating them)

67.
Kodama: Hold on, father, don’t die—
SFX: Bata—n!
Doctor: He…hey, this is absolute rest.
SFX: Suta
“Hiroshi”: Hold on, father, don’t die—

68.
Nurse: His pulse is returning to normal.
Doctor: He…he’s returning to consciousness. It’s a miracle!
Mr. Tateno: Pl…please give me a phone…for a word with my son…
Ritsuko: Hiroshi-kun! It…it’s a phone call from your father.
Mr. Tateno: Hiroshi…it’s your father. I’m safe. I heard…your voice…thank you…

69.
Hiroshi: It…wasn’t some useless youkai. It has an amazing ability that surpasses all means of modern communication.
Hiroshi: Hehe, but it returned to the mountains with that.
Hiroshi: About this time…

70.
Commemoration of 3 years of serialization:
NUBE-SENSEI’S ACCUSATION TRIAL
Defendant: Tateno Hiroshi

(Evidence #2)
I recently noticed this watching the “Nube” anime and when I confirmed it in the manga afterwards, I had a question due to seeming to come to that after all. In Vol. 6, #42, “The Ghost of the 4th Lane”, on the same day Hiroshi had said “Today she brought a swimsuit, even though it’s a day we don’t swim…”, Hiroshi was wearing a swimsuit. Wouldn’t that be strange? Perhaps Hiroshi returned to his home once and brought with his swimsuit? I’ve been worrying about this and can’t even sleep at night. Please tell me.

Caption: This is the proof
Caption 2: He’s actually wearing it!

Nube: What’s—going on, Hiroshi?
Hiroshi: U—m…ah, it was then! I didn’t have a reason to go back home and bring it with.
Kyouko: That’s right. It wasn’t for that time… Then, what was wrong? Did you bring a swimsuit also planning on swimming?
Hiroshi: That can’t be! I don’t expressedly bring what will be baggage on days I don’t swim.
Nube: Then why… It can’t be! Hiroshi, you…
Kyouko: Can’t be…
Hiroshi: Yep. Since it’s a bother to go home to bring it separately, I’ve kept my swimsuit at school all along.
Kyouko: Kya---! Th…that’s filthy~~!! So…so then, you were wearing a swimsuit that got wet without being washed!? Doesn’t that feel sickening!?
Hiroshi: Not really…at any rate it gets wet when it goes in water. Well, Nube?
Nube: N~~well, that seems as such.
Kyouko: Th…those two~~~!!

Judgement:
For the moment, innocent due to consistency with the explanation. Even so, you really did realize that thing. Amazing.

TN: So...I think it's time we get to our checklist of what this chapter had:
-Youkai helped out by one of Nube's students: check
-Youkai indebted to Nube or his student and wanting to help him/her: check
-Youkai showing it's power in strange ways to "help" but not enough to get rid of them: check
-Strange forced crisis made just to allow for youkai to be used perfectly: check
-Miki making a complete fool out of herself in supernatural manners: tell me of a chapter when that doesn't happen?

To tell the truth, this chapter wouldn't have felt too bad...if it weren't a mish-mash of the Zashiki Warashi and Hayame introduction chapters. Yeah, there are limited usages of how a story can get and there were some funny moments (Miki's fight with the tongue-twisters for one), but I just didn't go along with it for once. It just felt like a typical Nube chapter with a rather forced climax...yeah I'm happy we finally get something more with Mr. Tateno, but to be used like that just so his son can get to him through supernatural means did feel like a bit much. I guess sometimes you just have to take what you're given...I mean with so many chapters, you're bound to have the occasional clone like this.