Hell Teacher Nube 169

If "everybody's doing it", does that necessarily mean you have to just to keep up? In the case of Hiroshi, he may have no choice but to take part in a new fad, but this decision may end up putting his life in danger!

#169: The Last Purikura

28.
Narrator: Doumori Elementary: within the woods behind the school building. In here, there is a small shrine.
(TN: This is sort of strange since the original Japanese has “chiisa na hokora”, with “hokora” literally being a “small shrine”. I didn’t just make it a “small-small shrine” and instead merely just made it a “small shirne”)
Narrator: In here, a spirit who Nube had sealed up to now had been happy, but…
SFX: Gan!
SFX: Shuuu

29.
“Devil”: Kekeke…I can leave…I can leave…

30.
Hiroshi: Owowow, what is it!?
Kyouko: This way!
Hiroshi: So what is it!?
Kyouko: The new version has come out at the game center in front of the station.
Hiroshi: A new version of what?
Kyouko: Dummy.
Kyouko: That!
Flag: Puripuri Club
“Girls”: Seems so—feels like it—get out—
(TN: As I mentioned in a previous chapter, this period of the mid-1990s had a major fad in the form of “Purikura”; short for ‘print club’, it is a special photo booth where your picture can be taken in various backgrounds or silly photo scenarios and turned into stickers that can be placed anywhere or traded and shared with others. Though the name of this Purikura stand is rather funny, since “puripuri” is Japanese for “a strong smell” such as a fart or can stand for “angrily” or “huff”; but the image of a print club being named after a “fart” just sounds funny to me so I just left the Japanese as is to be interpreted at your own discretion)

31.
Hiroshi: A Purikura?
Kyouko: That’s right: now they’ve come out with a burr-hopping penguin that can be done. Hiroshi, take one of those.
(TN: There is no such thing as a “burr-hopping” penguin: in actuality the penguin is somewhat of a silly pun probably for the purikura. The name of this penguin in Japanese is “igatobi pengin”; this is similar in name to “iwatobi pengin” or the “Western Rock-Hopping Penguin” (Eudyptes chrysocome), but with “iwa” changed to “iga”, which in this case is a burr akin to those protecting chestnuts, thus the strange hairs on the “penguin” in the purikura picture.)
“Penguin”: Iga iga
Kyouko: My friends exchange all of them and we stick them on. Hiroshi, yours will be here—
SFX: Pira
Hiroshi: Heh, worthless--!!
Kyouko: Wh…what? Everybody’s doing it now.
Hiroshi: This is—so I can get on with a hobby of chirpy girls?
(TN: There was a term here I had a tough time translating known as “chipappa”, which is what Hiroshi referred to the girls who do Purikura as; somehow though with a couple of inferences regarding birds with the term, I decided to use “chirpy”, but it probably is incorrect and probably should be double-checked)
Kyouko: Bu…but…everyone…it’s…possessed by valuable…friends.
Hiroshi: That’s unplea~~sant. Taking a Purikura is stupid.
SFX: Hera hera hera

32.
Kyouko: Tightwad!! That’s enough!
(TN: What Kyouko called Hiroshi here is somewhat of an insult: ‘kechi” has various other meanings including “miser”, “stingy” and “n-word” (it rhymes with “chigger”), but I thought “tightwad” worked best)
Hiroshi: …………
Hiroshi: Do…don’t cry about—it. Is sticking my Purikura important like that?
Hiroshi: Really…I’ve got no choice—
Machine: Choose the frame you like.
Hiroshi: Yeah, yeah.
Machine: Be firm for five seconds.
Hiroshi: Sure, sure.

33.
SFX: Fu
Hiroshi: N? What was that now…for a moment, a strange shadow had…
Window: Please wait a moment.
SFX: Katan
Hiroshi: Oh, they’re out, they’re out. Ge—that’s a bad appearance—
Nube: Um—so then, the person who understands the problem……

34.
Hiroshi: …………
Kyouko’s Book: Arithmetic
Hiroshi: N?
Hiroshi: That’s the notebook from yesterday.
SFX: Hyoi
Hiroshi: Ah.
Hiroshi: Now~~I get it. Oh, almost all of the class is in here. Miki, Katsuya, Makoto, uwa, even Matsui-san. Hahaha, everyone has good zeal for these stupid—things.
SFX: Para para
Kyouko: Don’t touch!!
SFX: Dogaa!
Nube: ………

35.
Hiroshi: Oh~~yeesh~~damn it—that Kyouko! She struck me due to these things and that’s seemingly stupid.
SFX: Ki—n ko—n ka—n
Hiroshi: I’ll paste all of them in this area since there’s such a scale of them!
SFX: Peri
SFX: Pito
SFX: Pito
SFX: Pito
Hiroshi: A~~h, worthless.

36.
Mr. Tateno: Hey, Hiroshi, get in the bath.
Hiroshi: Eh—I’m fine, it will be trouble tonight.
Mr. Tateno: You dummy, you haven’t gone in for five days—
Hiroshi: Yeah yeah, I’ll go in~~ (Yaw~~n)
Hiroshi: ?
Hiroshi: !?
SFX: Kapo—n…

37.
Hiroshi: !? (Strange noises) I…I’m seeing a woman’s bath…?
Hiroshi: Wh…why?
Hiroshi: Why, why?
SFX: Gogogogogogogo
Woman: ?
SFX: Biri
Hiroshi: Gyaaaa

38.
SFX: Guoo…
Hiroshi: Waa~~Now what is this?
Hiroshi: Wa—wa—
SFX: Pira
SFX: Bashi bishi Beshi
Hiroshi: Gyaaaaaa

39.
Nube: What’s that?
Nube: You can see images from the places you’ve stuck your Purikura?
Hiroshi: Seems so; I saw a woman’s bath and…
Nube: What’s that?
Nube: Where did you make that? You saw in a woman’s bath? Tell me in detail!!
Kyouko: A Purikura...why did you make that, Hiroshi? In spite of making fun of them just like that…
Hiroshi: It…it was…
Hiroshi: Uh…

40.
Hiroshi: Waaa!
“Punk”: Don’t be pasting your stupid stickers—brat.
SFX: Jyu—
Hiroshi: Hot—
Kyouko: Hiroshi!
Nube: His ki is quite decreasing…this seems to be real.
Kyouko: Eh?
Nube: Where was that Purikura?
Hiroshi: The game center in front of the station!

41.
Nube: Here?
Girls: Seems so—feels like it—get out—
Top Sign: Game Land
Nube: Out of the way, out of the way—
Girl 1: Kya—what are you doing, oldie?
Girl 2: Stop it, pervert.
Girl 3: You’re sly muscling in—
Hiroshi: I chose the ghost frame.
Kyouko: That’s like you to choose with bad taste.
Hiroshi: Yeah yeah.
Nube: Namu Daiji Daihi Kyuugu Kyuunan: Being within the screen, show yourself.

42.
SFX: Zu
“Devil”: Gya
SFX: Pi—gya—pi—

43.
Kyouko: Th…that’s the devil of the opposing mirrors! The one that possessed Miki and I…
Caption: Consult manga vol. 5
Nube: Hmm, this being that was sealed got out. It used a black art within this machine. This time, you’re not forgiven.
(TN: As I may have mentioned before, “youjutsu” uses the same “you” as “youkai” but has a literal meaning of “black art” or “sorcery”)
Nube: Ha!
SFX: Jishu!
Kyouko: Will Hiroshi return to normal with that?
Nube: No…the black art that it cast on him will continue still.
Nube: Perhaps Hiroshi had his soul split into 16 and printed into the Purikura stickers. Similar to a straw doll, his life diminishes each time a sticker is annihilated.
Kyouko: Yes.

44.
Nube: If all 16 stickers are annihilated, that’s the end.
Kyouko: Ho…how many times have you been in pain?
Hiroshi: I don’t know…was it 10…no, about 13.
SFX: Guoooo
Hiroshi: Waaa, I feel dizzy~~
Crow: Kaw~~
SFX: Paku (chomp)
Hiroshi: Kaha
SFX: Do
Kyouko: Hiroshi—

45.
Nube: No good; he already almost doesn’t have ki remaining in his body.
Kyouko: That’s!
Nube: I don’t know how many there are but…if we can discover even one and pour ki into it, we will save him but.
Kyouko: That’s impossible! Hiroshi stuck them irresponsibly.
Kyouko: Hiroshi! No~~don’t die---!!
Hiroshi: Kyou…ko…I’m…sorry…
Hiroshi: Puri…Kura…album…I’m…sorry…

46.
Kyouko: It can’t be…
SFX: Para para para
Kyouko: It was then……! (out loud) Hiroshi…

47.
Nube: We’ve done it, Kyouko. Injecting ki!
Kyouko: Hiroshi…
Narrator: That Purikura is seriously possessed by Kyouko even now.
Narrator: But she uses it occasionally.
Hiroshi: Gya
SFX: Gusa

TN: So...let me get this straight: if Hiroshi didn't do the Purikura and wasn't pressured into doing it because of guilt over Kyouko...this chapter wouldn't have happened. Yeah...I just don't get it either. Just because Kyouko was caught up in the latest fad in Japan doesn't mean that Hiroshi has to nearly get killed in the process of pleasing her. Heck, bringing back the "Opposing Mirrors Devil" just to have a stupid Purikura chapter just felt a bit of a waste. The little guy was sort of happy running around in his kaleidoscope, then he runs off to ruin Hiroshi's life and Nube just kills him for it. And what's worse, Hiroshi's own life is now essentially in a stupid little book Kyouko's probably going to ultimately forget about in a few years just because it was a fad she took part in while growing up! Look, I don't care if a manga chapter tries to be "hip" with what's going on out there or tries to take advantage of what's going on in society, but at least do so with class and make it interesting. As silly as it was last volume, the "Jumanji" parody worked because it was it's own thing working off the concept...this Purikura mess just felt like it wanted to cash in on what was hot in 1997. Strangely we've seen a couple of these types of chapters already...and there are more to come, but I can't say that it will be of quality or not considering it's all tied to an extremely localized to the time phenomenon...its almost like Nube has become a "spiritual KochiKame" by this point!