Cyborg Grampa-G 8

Note: this translation is the property of Arienai scanslators. Please inquire within if you have any questions or concerns regarding this translation.

There are many evil and diabolical things in the world that a cyborg must deal with to protect his family, one of the worst of which is...taking a driver's exam!?

Chapter 8: Getting a License is Easy!

165.
Eiichi: AAAH---!!
Eiichi: Dear, be much more gentle…
Kei: Da…dad! How did you get those cuts?
Yuu: Your father was is going to driving school. He had a bad instructor there. He was so strict…he can’t go there anymore…
Eiichi: Owww…
G: So then, I’ll go in his place! I’ll get it in one day!
Eiichi: That dummy, he’ll get a license in one day!!
Kei: I don’t want to ride in a car driven by gramps--!!
Z: ?

166.
G: GANTETSU CAR GO!!
Sign: HEIKYOU DRIVING SCHOOL

167.
Principal: Um—I’m the principal of this school. From today, all of you will be learning how to drive a car. Your training time will be 27 hours driving and 30 hours studying………
Instructor: Y----O! You’re all here, freshmen.
Principal: Uh……he’s finally here…
Instructor: I am the No. 1 effective instructor in this school!! From today, you will be led by me. Be grateful!!
Principal: Yeah yeah…

168.
Instructor: See these dazzling medals as my many glorious proofs!! Also consider my many national honors currently: Most Valuable Instructor, Best Guy Dancer, The Drive Academy Award, etc!!
Instructor: Is that fine, you all? It’s because I work all of them relentlessly! Be prepared!!!
Instructor: Do you know what you’re doing!
Woman: Kya
Instructor: You forgot you don’t just check safety by looking in the mirrors!
Woman I…I’m sorry………
Woman: Thank you…………very much.

169.
People: Gee~~that’s the instruction car……the beloved custom car of the demon instructor!
Instructor: Ku ku ku, we’ve got a collection, Chitty-Chitty Bang-Bang!!
(TN: Though the Japanese actually refers to it as “Chiki Chiki Ban Ban”, the car is named after the famed car from the children’s novel by James Bond creator Ian Fleming, as well as the 1969 film of the same name which is more well known in Japan)
Plate: Temporary License Training
Car Side: Licensed
Instructor: I’ve got one takedown today too!!
Instructor: Oh, our next pray is
Instructor: Wh…what are you!!
G: I am Cyborg G-chan! Nice to meet you!!
Instructor: Ke, a stupid old man…Oh well…I’ve been an instructor for 25 years! Even the principal fears me now; I’m the shadow governor of this school! It should be fun teasing an old guy!

170.
Instructor: Sit down! First, I’ll show you the correct way of entering a car!
G: Hyo!?
Man: A~~h, I pity that old guy.
Principal: And so we’re losing yet another student.
Instructor: Fine! When you’re entering a car! Confirm safety of the left and right! Open the door with your right hand! And finally lo—ck the door!!
G: Confirm safety of the left and right!
Caption: Camera
G: Open the door with your right hand! And finally weld the door!!
Instructor: He’s defying me…You do have some guts. You’ll be in tears later, old man!

171.
Instructor: !?
G: Hyo—this is fun!
Caption: SILENCE…
(TN: Note the Doraemon pin)
Instructor: HEY—OLD MAN!! YOU’RE DRIVING OVER 100 KM!!
Instructor: !! There’s a car ahead…and one in the other lane…there’s nowhere to run!
G: Uorya---!!
Instructor: THAT’S NOT HOW YOU DRIVE---!!
(TN: The first part of the expression used here was “Katarin”, which is “deformed” in Japanese. I really thought “deformed driving” really didn’t sound appropriate, making me choose to make it the expression used at this point)

172.
Man #1: Oh~~that old man’s doing it.
Man #2: You can do it—Old—man.
Woman: He’s getting numb—
Instructor: That old man~~he’s making me completely angry…
G: Mu!?
G: What’s that? There’s a mysterious car chasing me from behind…he’s fast!!
G: Hyo!? Gantetsu!!
Gantetsu: Shi shi shi
Instructor: A…dog…driving……
G: What!? Did he remodel that car!?

173.
G: Hyo!?
Gantetsu: Shi shi shi
Car: !?
Man #1: Actually…it was an old man…now…
Man #2: N…no, I saw a dog…
Gantetsu: Shi shi shi
G: Mu~~now he’s done it! I won’t lose either
Instructor: How dare you…you’ve wounded my pride...now you’re going to take my hell training.

174.
Instructor: LISTEN UP!! WHLE STANDING AND DRINKING A COLA, DRIVE WITH YOUR LEGS ON THE WHEEL AND BLINDFOLDED!
Instructor: ………!!??
Instructor: WHAT IS THIS STUPID OLD MAN~~~!?
People: Kuu~~cool, old man!! Show us that instructor’s surprised face--!
SFX: BEEP—BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP

175.
SFX: BEEP
Computer: I’M A COMPUTER! WHERE IS MY MASTER!?
Gantetsu: Shi shi shi
Computer: WHAT! I DON’T LIKE DOGS!
Gantetsu: ?
G: Hyo—Gantetsu!?
G: What ha—ppened to the car!
Gantetsu: Shi shi shi
Gantetsu: Shi—shi shi.
G: I CAN’T UNDERSTAND SHI SHI SHI!!

176.
G: Hyo--!? What is this!!
G: Muu!? That’s the car modified by Gantetsu!!
G: Oh no…the computer’s control system broke down and it’s starting to run wild…
Gantetsu: Shi shi shi
G: Don’t laugh at that!!
Instructor: That guy~~how dare he destroy my Chitty-Chitty Bang-Bang.

177.
Computer: POSSIBLY…YOU’RE MY MASTER…
Instructor: Wha!?
Computer: YOU ARE……WELCOME TO THIS CAR, MASTER—
Instructor: WHA!?
Computer: THIS CAR IS A FORD V6 TURBO BOOST PRESSURE 2.7 BARS—
Instructor: Wha!?
Computer: EQUIPPED WITH 2 20mm MECHANICAL CANNONS, M47 GUIDANCE MISSILES, CRUISE MISSILES AND SUCH—
Instructor: I don’t understand this thing…but with this car, I’ll win against the old man!!
G: TRANSFORM: GANTETSU CAR!!! Hurry, Gantetsu!!

178.
G: STOP IT--!!
Instructor: Oh?
Instructor: Here I come old man! Send out one huge missle! HA HA HA HA HA
Computer: SENDING MISSLE, MASTER!
G: HYO!?
G: There’s a school up ahead…

179.
G: I CAN’T LET PEOPLE GET……
Gantetsu: !
People: Wa—what’s coming here!!
G: WHAAA!!

180-181.
G: Of course! I can use this missile……
Instructor: !?
G: FUSION MISSLE G-CHAN METHOD GO!!
Woman: !
Instructor: HAA—HAHA, OLD MAN! YOU’VE LOST!! THAT’S CAUSE WHAT YOU’RE DOING NOW IS WILL END UP A DANGEROUS ACT FROM YOUR ADVANCED INTERFERENCE AND CERTAINLY STOP YOU—
G: MUU!? WATCH OUT…

182.
G: Gantetsu!!!
G: Urya
Instructor: !?
G: JUDGEMENT!!!

183.
Instructor: Old man…you’ve lost…I’ve got another medal……
Girl: Hey—I was saved by a doggy—
Girl: Ah
Principal: I’ve been dancing around that instructor too! (Hyo—sho—sho—That’s great, we’re the same!
Narrator: And so, he was commended on top of being given a driver’s license!!
Written Caption (on both licensed) Licensed through Death
G: Muu! We can go about as much as we want!!!
Yuu: Let’s not buy a car.
Man: Was it right to graduate him?
Principal: I don’t want to get mixed up with him……
(End of Volume 1)

184.
I Sense Good Drawings: An Interesting Talent in the Future
Mangaka: Ryuuji Tsugihara
(TN: Ryuuji Tsugihara is a notable WSJ mangaka of the 80s, primarily known for his mid-80s hit “Yoroshiku Mechadoc”)

When I met Hijikata-kun, it actually was intense. He was the youngest on the staff at that time, and I was surprised by the skill of his drawings and the speed of his work, but he was weirder than anything. From what he says to what he does, the one who always shows a “laugh” when he works is him.

Since then, I only knew the work of his stories, but I remembered that I thought “If he greatly uses his gag (?) sense, it would be good.”

So since then, he’s polished further under Makoto Niwano and I take tremendous delight in personally reading the works that he’s birthed. (by the way, the model for G-chan actually seems to be the grandpa of his pleasant self!)…but though I say that, Hijikata-kun’s sense and drawing skill aren’t held just in gags.

Please let “Cyborg Grandpa G” certainly challenge as a full blown story that uses a sharp touch while being an exceeding gag work.

185.
Congratulations on Your First Volume: I’m Scared of your Bottomless Talent
Mangaka: Makoto Niwano
(TN: As I explained in chp. 2, Makoto Niwano was the mangaka Shigeru Hijikata (Takeshi Obata) trained under prior to becoming a Jump author, primarily on his hit series “THE MOMOTAROH”.)

Hyo!! (Like G-chan) Finally, “Cyborg Grandpa G” vol. 1 is released!!

First of all, Hijikata-kun…no, sensei!! Hijikata-sensei!! I’ve been expectantly waiting for vol. 1, congratulations.

Grandpa has mechanized his entire body, replacing heaven and changing insurgently. He has introduced a character who smashes from the head the pattern of gags roughly until now.

Anyhow, I’m amazed by that power.

Thinking about it, though Hijikata-sensei was assisting me from chp. 5 of “THE MOMOTAROH”: “Hot-Blooded Entrant, Saburouta Miyagawa-kun”, I just saw him as simply a 18 year old snot-nosed kid from the start. But, already he had his own pen, and with the judgement of his skill with the pen & his tonework which he easily digested (his gradation tone was loud), I became completely drunk.

So with his genius, I watched him enamorately dozing at my workplace and I had thought of strangling his neck many times. Well, this is an attempt, but his ability is bottomless!!

(TN: With Obata beginning work from the 5th chapter of “THE MOMOTAROH”, which began publication in 1987, it is easy to see when he entered the magazine and the timing of everything since then)

TN: Though it is the final chapter of the volume, this probably has some of the most refreshing and interesting comedy and storytelling of all that we've seen in the volume. The concept of the chapter was just simple (G-chan goes to take a driver's test to stop a diabolical instructor at the driving school) but the way it was done and managed made it all worthwhile somehow. Considering all of the really weird villains that we've had in this volume, from the deceptive mayor to a dog with diamond teeth...and yeah, Sharekoube, the driver instructor in this chapter is probably one of the few characters that is just evil enough that you want to see G-chan kick his butt when you meet him! And the way he is handled is what makes the chapter actually entertaining in the long run, not to mention all the wacky things going on alongside the test, particularly Gantetsu modifying a car of his own...and the cliffhanger with the instructor taking control of said car! This chapter is probably one that literally does run on all four cylinders...and hopefully is a sign of further good things to come as we progress further in this first series by Obata.

BTW: Speaking of Obata, somehow I liked translating and reading a bit of the comments by both Tsugihara and Niwano around the time of Obata's first series. Somehow I've noticed that if you have a ton of potential like him, WSJ isn't going to let go of you too easily and will probably help you along to the point that you finally make a breakthrough. But at the same time, it is a tad strange to see Obata's potential by mangaka close to 20 years before he literally is discovered by the rest of the world, Japan and otherwise.