Hell Teacher Nube 184

When it's raining, you can't go outside, and inside's been barred as well, what is there for a kid to do? For Nube's class, the answer may come from a strange youkai that may give them everything they need...but for a slight cost.

#184: The Hyperspace Youkai: Nodzuchi

155.
Voice 1: Wow—amaz—ing.
Voice 2: Is it? I made it.
Katsuya: It’s a simulation game where you make an amusement park. That’s popular now.
(TN: It really is tough to figure out exactly what type of game it is referring to, but it does appear that the closest I can figure out in what sort of game this is parodying is the game “Theme Park”, released by Bullfrog Productions in 1994 that simulates the building and management of an amusement park. It was much more cartoonish compared to the much later (later as in by the time Nube was over, with this chapter still being written in 1997) game “Roller Coaster Tycoon” released in 1999)
Miki: Wow—interes—ting.
Hiroshi: Miki…you’re wearing that outfit again……I can’t, I can’t.

156.
Hiroshi: Next let’s play a fighter—
Makoto: Let’s play Biohalard 2.
(TN: Makoto’s “suggestion” for a game is actually a parody of the actual survival horror video game “Biohazard 2”, also known in the US as “Resident Evil 2”, created by Capcom. Although the original “Resident Evil”/”Biohazard” was a popular game, the sequel to the 1996 original did not come out until 1998, one year after the release of this chapter.)
SFX: Wai wai gaya gaya
Noriko: The PS edition of Nube is now on sale with rave reviews.
(TN: This random advertisement by Noro-chan is actually for a “Hell Teacher Nube” video game, released in May, 1997 for the Playstation by Bandai as a simulator game mostly using ideas from the manga and anime run of the series. One particular note about the game compared to the anime: the game actually had Hayame in it…the anime never did)
SFX: Gacha
Nube: Heey! Where do you think this is?
Hiroshi: The night-watch room.
Nube: This isn’t a gathering spot to play games!
Hiroshi: But you put a PS in the night-watch room.
Nube: That’s something forgotten by a teacher that was on night watch earlier. That really was wrong.

157.
Hiroshi: But it’s been raining for a week consecutively today.
SFX: Za—za—
Kyouko: The only thing we can play are games.
Nube: I understand your feelings but there’s nothing you can do. If you want games, then please do them at home.
Hiroshi: Though it was fun since we were doing it with everyone.
Kyouko: U—h, nothing we can do. Shall we go home?
Miki: This is boring.
Miki: N
SFX: Mya—
Miki: A cat? Come out.
Voice: Waa, let me see.
Miki: N? This thing somehow has no tail. N? And there is something slippery.
Voice: What is it?

158.
Miki: Ah…somehow the tip is triangle-shaped…ah…its body is thick and cylinder-shaped…ah…no-way, amazing…it’s thick like a beer bottle…
(TN: Miki, you really have a way with words)
Voice: He~~y, come on out.
SFX: Gui
“Creature”: Mya~~

159.
Miki: Kyaaaaa, what is it!?
SFX: Bun bun bun
Hiroshi: Wa—don’t wave it around—
SFX: Paku (bite)
Miki: Hi
Miki: Kyaaaaa~~
SFX: Zuru zuru zuru
Katsuya: Miki! Everyone! Pull it!
SFX: Gaba
SFX: Baku baku baku
Kyouko: Kya—
Students: Waa~~

160.
Students: Uwa~~~
Hiroshi: Ah
SFX: Pon pon pon
Katsuya: Wh…what is this place?
SFX: GAra~~n
Miki: It’s the inside of the monster’s stomach.
Makoto: You’re kidding…what’s with this wideness.
Akira: Strange…this defies the laws of physics…
Hiroshi: We came from here.
SFX: Zubo
Kyouko: H…huh?
SFX: Subo
Hiroshi: What, we can simply get out.
Katsuya: It’s true.

161.
Kyouko: Just a moment…are you alright!?
Hiroshi: N, ah this is something. It’s amazi—n.
Katsuya: It seems safe.
Hiroshi: Interesting—
SFX: Supo supo
Miki: I don’t believe it…there is a comfortable space within that monster. If we get them inside here, we can completely change Japan’s housing situation.
(TN: Miki is commenting here about the problems in Japan’s housing market, where it’s dense population makes it hard for many to get their own home or to find space to live)
Students: Yahoo—
Miki: U—h, this warmth, it’s a feeling of a southern country. I want a chair and a parasol.
SFX: Nyoki!
Miki: !
Miki: ……
SFX: Nyoki nyoki nyoki

162.
Miki: Just a moment~everyone, everyone~~
SFX: Dota dota dota
Katsuya: Miki?
Hiroshi: She’s delighted to the extent that she can’t stop with her base form.
Hiroshi: Eh, is that true?
Katsuya: It will take forms with just a thought?
SFX: Koku koku
Hiroshi: A Mini 4WD
(TN: A “Mini 4WD” (in Japanese: Mini Yonku) is a plastic model race car without a remote control. While notable in Japanese culture since 1982, it had a major resurgence around this point due to the popular manga/anime franchise “Bakusou Kyoudai Let’s & Go!!” (Roaring Brothers Let’s & Go!!), which ran on TV between 1996-1998)
SFX: Nyoki!
Hiroshi: Oh~~~
Makoto: KakuRed!
SFX: Nyoki nyoki
Makoto: Wa~~~
Hiroshi: Amazing—interesting—
SFX: Wai wai gaya gaya
Katsuya: The ground transforms like clay.
Makoto: If we think of it becoming hard, it can become even like iron.
Miki: ………
Miki: I’ve thought of a good idea. (heart)

163.
Kyouko: It’s this, Nube. As long as they’ve entered inside there, everyone won’t come out.
Nube: This is Nodzuchi…a youkai from antiquity in Japan…Nodzuchi has the inside of it’s stomach become a hyperspace and can swallow down as many people as it wants…the inside of it’s stomach is cozy and seems enjoyable, I don’t know why it would seem like that but…
(TN: We’ll know more in the supplemental, but for the moment, I can say that “Nodzuchi” has kanji that literally translate to “Field Hammer” or “Field Mallet”)
Nube: It seems to have long hibernations in units of 100 years……perhaps…no…it can’t be…
Nube: At any rate, I’ll go in and bring everyone back. (OK, let’s go)
Kyouko: I’m going too!
SFX: Zuru

164.
Nube: N
SFX: Zubo
Nube: Wh…what is this!?

165.
Makoto: Ah, Nube-sensei!
Miki: No way, you brought Kyouko with.
Kyouko: Wh…what is this!? It’s amazing…
Miki: Look and you’ll understand. It’s an amusement park for just us.
Makoto: Go—ahead, please have fun here.
Kyouko: …
Nube: This is amazing. It was made by this, a point for manual arts.
Kyouko: This isn’t the situation to show admiration…really, it’s because of this comfort…
(TN: I’m a little confused by Kyouko’s expression here but basically she goes “…taku Okiraku nanda kara”, which comments about the “comfort” (the “okiraku” here), but I don’t really know if she means “Nube’s comfort” (regarding the amusement park his students built) or merely “the comfort of Nodzuchi” that makes things so much better than the whole idea that…you know, they’re inside the belly of a youkai)
Nube: Well, it is a bit nice. Shall we look at everyone’s masterpieces? Hoo, Kaneda made a Merry-go-round? It was made well.
Kaneda: Actually it’s a horse-racing game. (He he he…)
SFX: Dodododododo

166.
Akira: How about this roller coaster?
Sign: Akira’s Genius Coaster
Nube: Oh.
Nube: Oh—it was made well.
SFX: Katan katan
Kyouko: Kya—
Akira: 30 rotating loops in all! It’s a water coaster with a free-fall attachment!
Nube & Kyouko: Wa—gya—giee—
SFX: Doba—
Kyouko: Le…let’s do something much quieter.
Kyouko: Wow, it’s cute. Let’s do that.
Sign: Shizuka & Noriko’s Little World
Noriko: Look inside—

167.
SFX: Suru…
SFX: Ufu~~n… doro doro aha~~n
Noriko: Who did it—who built that strange thing behind ours--!
Shizuka: No way--!
Sign: Katsuya’s Adult Treasure House
Nube: Shuichi has…a Viking restaurant?
Kyouko: Shall we eat here?
Sign: Shuichi’s Viking Restaurant

168.
Shuichi: I cut the wall and when it called to mind a flavor, I could cook it.
Kyouko: This is essentially
Nube: Youkai meat…
SFX: Gatan!
Nube: ?
Shuichi: This is true Viking cuisine, where you ride and eat as Vikings.
SFX: Guooo…
Nube: Can we eat this—
Kyouko: Gue~~~
Hiroshi: Hey, it’s my personal work. You absolutely have to see this.
Sign: Hiroshi’s Shooting Ga(me)
Nube: Huh? There’s not some gun?
Kyouko: Hiroshi…you’re making some misunderstanding again.

169.
Hiroshi: The ball is your friend! Defeat him with a shot.
“Oni”: Gau
Nube: That’s what it is?
Nube: Ho…how was that 3-D? Wasn’t it merely papier mache?
Kyouko: Ah.
Kyouko: It’s a parade.
Sign: Miki-chan’s Cinderella Castle
(TN: As particular note to mention here: the “Cinderella Castle” is the center of the main complex of Tokyo Disneyland, just like the Magic Kingdom section of the Walt Disney World resort in Orlando, Florida. BTW: Disneyland in California has the Sleeping Beauty Castle, just to clarify a bit further)
SFX: Janjaka janjan jakajaka jan~~

170.
Miki: Oh~~~hohoho
Center Slave: Human Chair
Left Slave: Slave
Nube: Bad taste.
SFX: Gerogero~~
Kyouko: The worst.
SFX: Gura
Miki: Kyaaa!!
SFX: Dorodorodoro
Kyouko: What!?
Nue: The attraction is melting

171.
Students: Uwaa—we’ve made it with trouble and yet—
SFX: Doro—
Nube: No…was it like that after all?
Nube: It’s started its hibernation.
Kyouko: Eh, hibernation!?
Nube: It wasn’t written in literature of why Nodzuchi gulps down humans, but I’m certain that it’s for guaranteeing nourishment in its period of hibernation that lasts 100 years. Those people that make it an enjoyable space forget to go outside and, during the interval…
Hiroshi: Ah, there’s coming to not be an entrance.
Miki: We can’t get out.
Students: Kyaaa!!
SFX: Boko boko
Nube: Ultimately…the people that were eaten by it up to now was its nourishment over its hibernation.

172.
Kyouko: What do we do, Nube!?
SFX: Kya—wa—
Nube: If it is diverged with a foreign object in the stomach, it should vomit it up.
Nube: Namu Daiji Daihi Kyuugu Kyuunan
Nube: Nodzuchi! An Oni is here in your stomach!! Spit it up!
Nodzuchi: Pii~~
SFX: Bua~~

173.
SFX: Bita bita
Nube: You’re an outrageous being that seems harmless.
SFX: Gusha
Hiroshi: Aa—h, we had made that with much pain and yet
Katsuya: It was fun—scary but
Miki: Somewhat disappointing.
Nube: Ah, the rain has stopped.
Kyouko: With this, we can play outside with all our strength.
Miki: Ultimately outside is the best.


174.
Nube-sensei’s
(Useless) SUPPLEMENTAL EXPLANATION

#25: Nodzuchi

An old youkai who appeared even in myth, Nodzuchi has a true identity as “Kayanohime”, who appeared in “Nihon Shoki”. Originally it was guardian deity of Noyama, but after the importation of Buddhism, it changed into a youkai. Nodzuchi, which was drawn in “Konjakuga Suzoku Hyakki” of Toriyama Sekien, has come to take the form of a snake with just a mouth with no eyes or nose that’s hairy, and closely resembles the Sandworms that appear in “Dune”, the science fiction film directed by David Lynch.

Survivors (or perhaps descendants) of Nodzuchi exist even today. The “Tsuchinoko”, which came to have a major boom in the Showa 40s and even now takes on a role of descending on towns of regions, is this. As pointed by its name, it has a form that’s like a “mallet” (hammer). It glides from the tops of trees and when it curls up its body and rolls, it’s like a skilled artist, but it seems to have now lost the youryoku to the extent of the era of myth. Since it is said to have a deadly poison, it may be safer to not stick your hand out recklessly even if you discover it by chance in the mountains.

(TN: A few things:
1. Not sure whether or not I mentioned it before but “Nihon Shoki” (The Chronicle of Japan) is the second-oldest book in Japanese history and has some of the most complete historical records of Japan.
2. “Kayanohime” is the god of grass as stated in Nihon Shoki. In the tale of it’s birth, it is stated that Nodzuchi (which was mentioned as tied to this tale) was a god alongside Ooyamatsumi who “divided their realms between mountains and fields, leading to the birth of eight new gods after the creation of the world by Izanagi and Izanami, with “Nodzuchi” being the ruler of the fields.
3. “Dune” (known in Japanese as “Dune: Suna no Wakusei” or “Dune: the Planet of Sand”), is a 1984 film directed by David Lynch adapting the 1965 novel by Frank Herbert regarding a man who would be a savior and overthrow the rulers of the planet at this time. The “sandworms” are massive monsters which live on the planet of Arrakis, which is the main planet of the title.
4. The “tsuchinoko”, which translates into “hammer child” or “hammerspawn”, is a snake-like cryptid of Japan, similar in appearance to a snake but with a wide girth and fangs like a viper. It has an ability to speak but has a tendency to lie and a taste for alcohol.)
5. The “Showa 40s”, or the 4th decade of the rule of emperor Showa, was the period between 1965 (Showa 40) and 1975 (Showa 49).

TN: I think that the class really should have figured it out from the get-go: if you're going into the belly of a monster, no matter how comfortable, convenient or useful it feels, you will be eaten. No ifs, ands or buts: you are it's food and it will do anything to make you it's food. Though one thing I do admire about Nodzuchi: it does offer the chance for escape, but it makes things so appealing with it's powers that it prevents anyone from wanting to leave, thus trapping them into being it's nourishment while it sleeps and taking away their option when they choose to stay behind instead of just being trapped in there. Of course, with Miki being in the lead and the whole amusement park they set up...they pretty much trapped themselves into being it's food. (though I'm still confused as to how Nube defeated it: it seemed like it was telling Nodzuchi "there is an Oni in here, you don't want to eat the Oni so spit me out' but I wasn't too sure outside what I translated about it.) Aside from the weird ending, this was a fun chapter, one that actually seemed, for once, to acknowledge nearly the entire class instead of just a few notables. The second page with that big panel with pretty much every known 5-3 student was a nice picture that seemed to allow for us to really show how far we've come. (sure it's slightly ruined with Kyouko and Noro-chan doing the ad for their video game, but they probably had no other way to advertise its' release) And the attractions at the park we did see seemed to fit every character...though somehow I do have two slight comments about them:
1. If Noro-chan and Shizuka knew that Katsuya was going to "take over" their little attraction, why not move to somewhere that Katsuya isn't?
2. I sort of wished we got a few other attractions even if it would have extended the chapter a bit more. Like maybe see what Makoto would have done in the park...or maybe split off Shizuka into her own attraction (though after earlier this volume I assume she'd be an information desk) Or maybe allow for some characters like Ayumi or Yuka to have their say in their own attractions. (though in Ayumi's case I'd just imagine a giga-library...and what sort of joke can one make about a library...then again it's not like Nodzuchi could eat her anyway with her real body in the hospital so I assume she went home when Nube forced them all to go home)

Though I do admit one thing: Hiroshi did get to hit an Oni with his game...well, reflected it from the fake one to the real one. (don't know if that was intentional or not...)

BTW: Miki's original description of Nodzuchi...yeah, make up your own minds.