Tokyo: The Manga Begins with the Funeral of Frilian

In the alleys of Nishijin, Kyoto.

The signboard of the independent cinema, Suzakuza, creaked in the wind.

Fujita found this place through Yamazaki's connections.

Before the war, this place was a kabuki hut.

It was converted into a movie theater after the war. Twenty years ago, a businessman who loved European art films bought it.

It was converted into a standalone cinema. Most of the paint on the sign has peeled off.

The wooden door frame still retains the original carvings.

There is a boss named Kengo Kimura.

He is probably around sixty years old.

She wore round-framed glasses and had gray hair.

  

There are two hundred seats in total.

Kimura stood at the entrance of the screening room and turned around to look at Fujita.

"But I want to remind you of something: recently, the number of people coming to the movies has been decreasing. Last week, I showed a European art film, and only seventeen people were in two hundred seats."

Fujita stood in the aisle of the screening room.

The screening room wasn't particularly large.

The red chairs are the old-fashioned flip-up chairs.

The backrest is worn.

There is a small stage below the screen.

The wooden planks along the edge of the stage have a patina that comes with the passage of time.

"No matter how many people are sitting there."

Fujita said.

"Just release them."

Kimura nodded.

How are the tickets priced?

"free."

Kamiya Yuma spoke up from the side.

Kimura paused for a moment.

"free?"

"right."

Yuma Kamiya said.

"We don't sell tickets or advertise. We just put up a poster at the entrance, clearly stating the time and location."

Kimura, wearing those round-framed glasses, stared at him.

I watched it like that for a very, very long time.

"Are you the original creator of this animation?"

"Yes."

"young people."

Kimura adjusted his glasses.

"Having worked in the cinema industry for so many years, I've seen too many people. Some people bring in investors to book entire theaters, invite movie stars to endorse the films, and then hire a bunch of reporters to write eulogistic articles. Some people pay for their own tickets and hire dozens of people to sit in the front row and cheer. Others invite judges to watch the films for free and then give them gifts in order to win awards."

He paused.

"But I've never seen anyone finish an animation and then just put up a poster without doing any promotion. If you do that, in the end, you might not get a single customer."

"It's the same whether one comes or not."

Yuma Kamiya said.

"It's the same whether two hundred come or not. Once the artwork is finished, the rest is not up to me."

Kimura remained silent for a while.

Then he turned around and walked towards the ticket window.

He then took out a blank poster paper and a marker from the drawer.

"You write the poster yourself."

He handed the pen to Yuma Kamiya.

"I can lend you this to stick."

Yuma Kamiya held the pen in his hand.

Then I squatted down next to the small table next to the ticket window.

Shiori Shirakawa watched from the side, and Rin Hoshino also came closer.

She pulled her mask up a bit.

His eyes were fixed on the marker in Yuma Kamiya's hand.

Yuma Kamiya writes very quickly.

"The Burial of Frilian. Special screening of Part 1. April 10th, 2 PM. Suzaku Seat. Free admission, 200 seats."

He had finished writing and then put the cap back on the pen.

Then he handed the poster to Kimura.

Kimura stared at the poster.

The eyes behind the round-framed glasses twitched slightly and blinked once.

"Just these few words?"

That's enough.

"There's no name of the production company, no name of the voice actors, no name of the director, and not even your own name."

"unnecessary."

Yuma Kamiya said.

"Those who come here are here to see Frillie, not these names."

Kimura smiled.

That was a smile he wore after several years in the industry, tinged with complex emotions.

He took the poster and walked to the door, where he pinned it to the glass door of the Vermilion Bird constellation with four thumbtacks.

The back of the poster is blank.

The glass doors reflect the afternoon sunlight from Nishijin Old Street.

This gives the poster a slightly yellowish appearance.

"Go back and wait."

Kimura said.

"At 2:00 PM on April 10th, I will release it for you."

.........

Three days before April 10th.

It rained in that one place in Kyoto.

The rain wasn't heavy, but it lasted quite a long time.

It rained from morning until night.

The five people are Yuma Kamiya, Shiori Shirakawa, Rin Hoshino, Fujita, and Ryota Onodera.

I stayed at a small hotel next to the Suzaku constellation.

Every day, you can see the glass doors of Suzaku from the hotel window.

The poster is up there.

It's been three days.

Ryota Onodera smoked a large number of cigarettes.

He was standing in front of a window in the hotel corridor.

He gazed towards the direction of the Vermilion Bird constellation, chain-smoking one cigarette after another.

"It's been three days, and not a single person has stopped in front of the poster."

He stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray by the window frame.

"Passersby didn't even look up."

"They don't know what Frillian is."

Shiori Shirakawa said from the side.

"Matsumoto Koichi has completely blocked all possibilities. For the past few months, apart from Jump readers, almost no one knows we're going to release an anime."

"What about Jump's readers?"

"Jump's readers are mainly in Tokyo and Osaka. There are fewer in Kyoto."

Ryota Onodera lit another cigarette.

"What if only a few people come on April 10th?"

"Then let's show it to a few people."

Yuma Kamiya walked over from the end of the corridor.

"Fujita said that Mr. Kimura agreed that he would let them in as soon as even one person comes in."

Rin Hoshino was standing by the window.

She was holding a sketchbook in her hand. She was sketching the poster that was pasted on the glass door.

The poster had yellowed.

The street next to it was completely empty.

"Master."

she says.

"Um?"

"If no one else comes, should we go in and sit down ourselves?"

Kamiya Yuma glanced at her.

Which seat would you like to sit in?

"Middle to back. Best view."

"Then it'll be towards the middle."

Rin Hoshino lowered her head, resting it on her sketchbook.

A light shadow was cast over the seat located slightly behind the center.

.........

The rain stopped on the evening of April 9th.

A gentle breeze rustled the glass doors of the Vermilion Bird constellation.

It makes some noises from time to time.

Kimura hung a small lamp at the entrance.

The small lamp illuminated the poster.

At 11 p.m., Fujita came out of the hotel.

He stood alone in front of the glass door.

He stood there for a long time.

He took out his phone and found a number.

That phone number belonged to Kobayashi's husband, Sato.

"Mr. Sato," Fujita said. "I am Fujita."

"Mr. Fujita."

Sato's voice sounded tired.

"Kobayashi just fell asleep."

"No need to wake her."

Fujita said.