What did I want to be?
Yes. What did you want to be when you grew up?
A man with strong bonds of friendship, of course.
What does that mean?
I think he means
a guy who cares about his friends.
That's right.
But that's normal, right?
No, it's not!
For example, one day, out of the blue,
your friend comes to your place carrying a suitcase.
And inside the suitcase is
a dismembered body!
Oh, no!
For some reason, that friend ended up killing someone.
Then?
That friend came to me because he knew he could depend on me.
-But you know, that's murder, right? -Right!
I know!
I know that, but I'll listen to his whole story.
That's true friendship.
That's the strong bond of male friendship!
Ouch! That's hot!
Wouldn't you tell the police?
You can do that later.
Later?
Most importantly,
you listen to your friend's whole story.
That's what's key.
Oh, man!
Kids do the work.
Why can't you answer sometimes, Dad?
-Hurry up and answer it. -Be a good boy and work.
Whoa!
Shuji's friend has a suitcase!
-A suitcase? -Yes.
There's big trouble.
This is really bad.
What kind of trouble?
-Will you listen to my story? -Yes.
I'll listen, but...
what's inside that?
Want to see?
What's that?
My overnight stuff!
Wait! You want to stay here?
I've run away.
You've run away?
-Yes. -"Yes"? Is that any way to talk?
Hey!
You're supposed to tuck your pajamas inside your pants.
In! Put them in!
-You too, pops. -"Pops"?
What? Why tuck them in?
It keeps your tummy warm.
That's one of the fundamentals of life!
-Tuck yours in too, Shuji! -Leave me be!
Tuck in, Shuji!
What's that?
I thought this would be helpful when turning out the light.
Did you make this pig?
Nobuta did.
Don't you know about Nobuta power?
What's that?
-Excuse me. -What? What are you doing?
You're creeping me out!
Don't copy me, man.
"Don't copy me, man."
What a pain.
It sure is warm.
Why the heck did you run away?
Well, my old man came to my boarding house.
What? You mean your dad?
Yes. My real dad.
He told me to start working for his company. We got in a big fight.
I see.
Your dad's the president of that company, isn't he?
That's right.
But I don't want to go back home.
I like Mr. Hirayama and I can drink soymilk too.
You…
and Nobuta, every day…
"Every day"?
"Every day" what?
He's asleep.
Good night.
So how long are you going to stay at our place?
What's wrong with it? It's lots of fun, don't you think?
Watch out! Oops!
What's wrong?
I was wondering
if we'll end up like these incredibly boring-looking dudes.
I don't want to be like that.
Not like that! I don't want to be like that!
I'll hand out the post-graduation surveys now.
Make sure you hand them back in by next week.
Decide my future by next week?
One week isn't enough to decide on the rest of my life.
Shuji. What are you going to do?
-Me? -Yes.
-I haven't decided anything. -Really?
Tani will try for a sports scholarship in tennis.
-Really? -Nami's going to fashion school.
Misaki wants to go to any college with an English department.
-That's pretty amazing. -Yes.
Whoa. It's like everyone else has seriously thought this stuff over.
POST-GRADUATION SURVEY
What will you do? You going to work at your dad's company?
I'm sick of talking about what to do after graduation.
Don't you think there's something more important we need to do?
What's that?
Ouch.
Aren't we going to make Nobuta popular?
That poses lots of problems too.
No matter what we do, it always starts crazy rumors.
Who the heck keeps making trouble for us?
Must be someone with nothing else better to do.
Why don't we spread rumors this time?
Good idea! We'll get the jump on them.
I've had it with letting them always get the better of us.
I've had it!
Okay!
-On go, okay? -Yes.
Here goes.
Ready. Nobuta!
Sorry.
Ready. Go!
That's right. We can't keep doing silly stuff forever.
We won't be able to
gaze out into the sky from here
for too much longer.
Ciao!
-Shuji! -Yes?
I've been wondering, what's that on your bag?
There isn't anything on my bag.
This isn't anything.
That's totally cute!
-Yes! It sure is! -This?
-You think it's cute? -Did you make that yourself?
-You're really good at that. -Yes! It's so cute!
Actually, this was made by Kotani.
-No way! Kotani made it? -Yes, Kotani did.
Kotani made that!
-Go on now! -Cut that out!
-Kotani! Kotani! -Wait!
Will you make me one too?
-Me too! -Yes! Me too!
Okay.
All right!
Can you make a girl one?
Oh, that'll be cute for sure!
-I want a ribbon on mine! -That sounds cute!
You know what?
To get more people to know about Nobuta, let's sell Nobuta merch.
It'll be called…
the Nobuta Keychain.
-What do you think? -Will that sell?
Nowadays, even with something as wacky as this, they say,
"How cute! How totally cute!" And "How kooky cute!"
And "100% cute!" It'll be a hit for sure.
And "Piggy cute!" That's exactly what it is! How dumb!
It'll be the talk of the school.
If we can show people this unexpected side of Nobuta,
your popularity will soar for sure.
Then
let's hand them out for free.
No, don't you see?
People only appreciate something when they pay for it.
I see.
So what we'll do is, we'll get Nobuta's popularity to skyrocket fast.
-At last, we're going to the majors! -You bet.
So I'm counting on you to pay for making the merch.
I'm fighting with my dad, so I don't have any money.
Seriously?
HIRAYAMA TOFU SHOP
Yo!
Good evening.
Say, Mr. Hirayama, is my dad still here?
It's a little late for that.
He left last night.
Really?
Thank goodness.
Okay, let's go.
Come right in.
Ouch!
-Whoa! -"Whoa!"
What happened?
Is this the aftermath of your fight?
One thing my dad has got are strong arms.
He's like that.
There! Done!
Is this too chintzy?
No. In fact, it's that chintzy look that makes it cute.
-It's cute? -Yes.
Nobuta power charge!
What?
Since we're making these, I want to make sure they sell.
Give me that one you filled with Nobuta power.
Why?
-Didn't you know? -What?
The potency of Nobuta power is absolutely phenomenal!
-Nobuta power potency? -Yes.
That's what we can do!
What's that?
What we'll do is,
we'll spread the rumor that this thing grants wishes.
Girls love that kind of thing.
-Charms and stuff. -Rumors.
-Rumors create more rumors. -Right!
Then these could sell like crazy!
-What do you think? -Are we going to be millionaires?
We'll be rolling in cash!
Seriously? Awesome!
-Morning. -Good morning.
Morning.
What?
What are you wishing for, Chie?
That I can talk with Bunta.
-You're so admirable! -You're so admirable!
Bunta? Okay.
Bunta.
Don't you think Chie is cute?
Are you serious, man?
Serious, man.
See?
Chie's pretty cute, right?
Bunta is gradually starting to realize that Chie is cute.
Bunta can no longer escape the allure of Chie's charms.
She really is cute.
Hey!
-She's cute! -You bet.
-I'm not sure why, but she's really cute! -You bet.
What's more, I've heard that this thing will make your wishes come true.
I'll give you one for free, Bunta. Okay?
A real man goes on the attack!
-Okay, Bunta? -Right.
You're cute, Chie.
You're cute too, Bunta.
Yes!
Please. May more insects come to me.
Make me a great man!
Got it.
Right there!
"Right there!"
Find anything?
That's too close, I can't see anything, darn it!
-Look, would you? -Look, would you?
Great!
-How about a Nobuta Power Charge Doll? -This is it!
-They're super cute! -This is the thing!
-Hey, ladies? How about one? -No way!
-Who wants that junk! -You actually want one, don't you?
No pushing! No shoving! No running!
That's great!
What's this? Pork?
Pork rib stew.
Pork rib stew? I've never had this before. Just kidding.
It's really delicious.
Lately, you hang around Kotani and Kusano, don't you?
-I do? -Yes.
You think?
-I see you together a lot. -You do?
It's because we're making these.
You're making that?
What?
No, not really.
I'm just helping a little.
I give them ideas and stuff.
Like a part-time job.
-Is that right? -Yes. Part-time.
-You making money? -Yes. We're making money.
-I'll treat you sometime. -Really?
-Yes. -All right!
They're 200 yen each, right?
That's 600 yen. Pay her.
-Thank you. This is so nice. -May I get into Tokyo University.
Come on. Let's go.
-Thank you, Kotani. -Thank you.
Yes, Yes. Come on. Get going.
They're really popular. I'll take one too.
Thank you.
This color is different than the others.
That one… I made it for you.
Really?
Thank you!
You don't have to pay for it.
What? No, I'll pay.
No.
You…
You're my f…
You mean, you'll give me a discount because we're friends?
Okay. Since we're friends, I'll have it for free.
Okay?
Thank you. I'll take good care of it.
Okay. I'll give you this for it.
A present.
Thank you.
Whoa!
What's wrong?
I…
I made…
I made a friend.
Amigo?
Thank you.
You know what?
I like the head of taiyaki best.
Oh, is that right?
When I eat the head,
I feel happy.
I'm not sure why though.
Did your friend give you this?
I see. So you made a friend.
And Nobuta Power is selling well.
It's like everyone else wants a part of you now.
It makes me sad.
I…
I don't think I've changed at all.
Kotani!
There you are.
Some girls are here asking for keychains.
-Okay. -Let's go.
Who cares about that.
But some girls want them.
Okay.
I guess producing means making something that everyone wants a part of.
But that doesn't help me.
Right?
-Yo! -Yo!
-Is Akira here? -He'll be home soon.
-Come on in. -Thanks.
Sorry about the other day.
No problem.
As usual, father-son arguments are brutal in your family.
So…
What is this?
Akira's selling these at school, 200 yen each.
What? Two hundred yen for this?
That's better than my business.
The same price as tofu, but these are selling like hotcakes.
Unbelievable, isn't it?
Ouch!
Damn it!
Ouch!
Lately,
even I can tell that I'm short-tempered.
Maybe you're not getting enough carpaccio… I mean, calcium.
I've had to lay off some people that I've worked with forever.
You know,
I've gotten sick of my job.
But you want your son to follow in your footsteps into it.
It can't be helped.
Companies, you know,
they get into trouble over who it passes down to and some go under.
They say the sooner you let everyone know who'll take over, the better.
I'm home!
Welcome home.
What're you doing here, Dad? You're back?
You're annoying me.
How can you call me annoying?
I'm here because you won't give me an answer!
I told you, I'm not working there!
How dare you say that, you punk?
I took over my dad's company and grew it!
Now it's your turn to make it even bigger!
You can't tell me what to do!
-Right, Mr. Hirayama? -Don't start a fight.
If you don't take over after me, it makes us look bad!
-How come you can't understand that? -Ouch! That hurt!
Now I'm ticked off!
Damn you!
Now I'm ticked off again!
Ouch! You jerk! Cut that out!
You give up?
-You jerk! -Not yet! Damn it!
Unbelievable.
Even dropping tofu wouldn't make such a mess.
Talk about having a fall.
It's not like I expect you to do anything right away.
I'm just asking you to make up your mind about the future.
That's something that I can't decide yet.
I mean, I'm only 17.
There are still decades and decades left in my life.
Why do I have to decide right now?
It's just way too cruel.
Wow!
This is major.
"Major"? You mean 10,000 yen?
-100,000 yen. -What?
-They're selling that well? -Yes.
-These little pieces of scrap? -Yes.
Students from other schools are coming to buy them too.
Let me have one of these.
-Sure. Take as many as you like. -All right!
But don't you dare forget to advertise.
You bet.
All right! Things are going to get even better!
Looks like you're enjoying this.
It does?
You might make a good businessman.
No way.
I'm serious.
No way.
Totally serious.
"Late in the month of February, when the winds blew like a gale,
and the sky dark as the pit..."
A businessman?
MEETING ROOM
-Mr. Yokoyama! -Yes?
When are you going to get rid of this?
Oh, that?
I don't think I can ever get rid of it. Sorry.
-What? What the heck is in here anyway? -Don't!
No! Don't open it!
What in the world is this?
This is the book of poems I published a long time ago, but it never sold.
I was going to throw them away,
but they're memories from my youth, so I couldn't bring myself to.
"A used-up pocket warmer will never warm up again."
No! Please, stop it!
Fine! I'll throw them out! I'll throw them all away!
DISPOSABLE POCKET WARMERS BY TAKESHI YOKOYAMA
You don't write this stuff anymore?
No.
I haven't written anything at all.
Poems, you know, don't make money.
So making a living was more important.
Yes, I guess you could say that.
Do you regret it?
No, I don't.
Not at all?
You may not believe it, but I really enjoy the job I have now.
Want to put this in my shop?
You're kidding.
Ouch!
Shuji, how much are our sales?
Hold on.
-Hurry up. -Seriously?
No way! Holy cow!
-Show me! -No.
-Don't get too surprised. Okay? Stay calm. -Okay.
Voilà!
-Awesome, right? -Awesome!
You sure sound excited.
What are you guys talking about?
Oh, it's money?
Don't worry.
I won't be so stupid as to tell you to stop.
I only came to buy one of those keychains.
I'll take one.
Sorry, but we're sold out right now.
Then this is to reserve one when you've got more.
Thank you!
You kids, do you know which is the front of this coin?
Isn't it obvious?
It's this side.
It figures you'd say that.
Actually, the cherry-blossom side is the front,
but for some reason, now everyone thinks the number side is the front.
The cherry blossoms are the front?
We'd like to think the pretty side is on the front,
but in the real world, things don't always work out that way.
You youngsters obsessed with money!
Don't you dare ever forget that
money has a front side and a back side.
Got it?
Hey.
This one is different than the ones you make, isn't it?
Yes.
Then it's a fake.
A fake?
I heard that these ones are 150 yen.
I checked it out.
They are made by students at some other school.
They are clearly a copy of our Nobuta.
I never thought there'd be knock-offs.
"It's your fault that I don't sell anymore!"
That's why our sales have plummeted.
What a pain in the neck.
I mean, ours is the original.
Maybe we should just forget it.
It already made everyone happy.
I don't like it!
I mean, why are we letting this get the better of us?
I don't like it either.
I know what to do.
We'll take all the money we've made and make a better version.
Nice. Let's make one better than anyone else's!
That's right.
I won't let this garbage get the better of us!
"I won't stand for it!"
I can understand not wanting to give in.
Right?
That's what your father felt when he ran away from home too.
Ran away from home?
My dad did?
What? You don't remember that?
Not at all.
He couldn't stand to work for his father's company,
so he took you and his wife, ran away and came to live here.
HIRAYAMA TOFU SHOP
Then what happened?
Neither me nor your dad had any money, so the four of us ate nothing but tofu.
I don't remember that at all.
Your dad looked all over for work.
But he realized he couldn't support his family,
so he went back to his dad and asked to work at his company.
I've…
lost to a lack of money.
He left home because he didn't want to give in,
but ultimately your dad gave in
and had to return.
That's hot.
Come on. Over here.
-Wow. -Wow.
NOBUTA KEYCHAIN NEW VERSION
Let's make one that's better than before.
Hurry up! Come on!
PIG POWERED
That was our thought
when we made this to get revenge on whoever made those fakes.
They're here, amigo.
Awesome!
Our sales goal was 500,000 yen.
I swear we'll achieve it.
It's really cute!
It grants your every wish!
You haven't sold any at all.
It's because you got so cocky, idiots!
If you feel bad for us, then give us your money!
Business is thriving!
What's this? A new version?
-That's right. -Wow! This new version sure is cute!
-The new version! -Wow! It's so cute!
-Hey, you got the new version yet? -No.
This is the new version. What will you wish for this time?
Shuji, want to go to karaoke today?
Yes! Let's sing to blow off steam!
-Karaoke? -Yes.
-Karaoke? Sure thing! -Really?
-You bet. -Same place?
-Okay. -Be there!
-Want the new version? No? -You still doing this?
We sure are.
-This is the new version. -No thanks. I'm good.
-Are you sure? It's new. -It's okay.
Hang in there.
-Wow! This new version is really cute! -New version on sale.
-This must have just come out. -Yes, it just did.
-It's the new star. -Wow! It's so cute!
And there's hardly any! First come, first served!
It's so darn cute! Wow!
There's still a ton left.
Let me rub it and make it better!
And this one is way better than the last one.
Why isn't it selling?
Everyone's sick of them.
But that wouldn't explain all of it.
This makes no sense.
You getting enough calcium?
If they're sick of it, then just live with it.
Right?
Shuji!
Hi.
You okay?
Why do you ask?
I heard the new keychain isn't selling.
Well, it's not that bad.
-I'll buy one. -No, it's okay.
-But you need to sell them, right? -Just forget it!
What?
It's okay.
PIG POWERED
I lost my cool.
I'm not my normal self.
I'm a total freaking jerk.
I never should have put so much effort into this.
I seriously should have gone easy on this.
Then if we failed, I could laugh it off.
And I never would have acted like I did with Mariko.
There's nothing wrong with trying very hard.
But it sucks if it's a failure.
But…
it may have given some people hope.
Like people who wished for things.
That doesn't count for anything.
Is sales of 100,000 yen or selling 1,000 all that counts?
Yes, it is.
Stuff like giving people hope
is just wishful thinking and only helps to ease your conscience.
Everyone!
We've been screwed again.
Bang!
Whoever did this is an idiot.
It doesn't matter if paint gets dumped on stuff we couldn't sell anyway.
I have no idea why anyone wants to do this kind of thing.
It's probably good this happened.
What?
I mean, now we can move on to the next thing.
We need to move on.
Right?
I'm home, Mr. Hirayama.
Hey!
What? You're here again?
Where's Mr. Hirayama?
Making deliveries.
I see.
Wait!
I want to talk.
About what?
About taking over after me.
You…
don't have to do it.
What?
Why?
Good question.
Look at this.
This is the world that I live in.
The 10,000-yen bills are all together.
The 100-yen coins are together. The 1-yen coins are together.
They're nicely organized.
They're split into their compartments.
The 10,000-yen bills can't fit in with the 100-yen or 1-yen coins.
All the 10,000-yen bills are with their kind.
From the outside, it's a pretty dull-looking world.
You don't have to enter it yet.
You keep on being a ten-yen coin sitting on the side of the road.
Okay.
What is it?
Come with me!
Where?
Good morning!
Both of you, come with me!
School's about to start.
That doesn't matter. Come with me!
-Whoa! -Whoa!
Nobuta.
What's wrong?
Dig here.
What?
Arf-arf!
There's something here.
I think it's someone's treasure box.
This brings back memories.
I had one of these as a kid.
Look at this.
Something that we made
was a precious treasure to someone.
It remained special in their hearts.
To me, that's enough.
I'm glad we worked so hard to make them.
It's just like Nobuta said.
"We need to move on. Right?"
Here. That end has more bean jam.
What's your treasure, Dad?
That would be you.
When you eat the head of taiyaki…
doesn't it make you feel happy?
No.
Right?
Yes.
I feel normal.
I see.
I guess it's just me.
All right.
DISPOSABLE POCKET WARMERS BY TAKESHI YOKOYAMA
Mr. Yokoyama's book of poetry was sold at Goyokudo
and he enjoyed a brief boom.
"The white rose is a flower of the rose family."
"White Okuda is the son of an ear and nose doctor."
-The title is Mirage! -Mirage?
Why is that so funny?
-Was there one that funny in it? -Okuda!
Well, as long as people enjoy it.
Whoever hasn't handed in the post-graduation survey, hand them in.
-Here! -You haven't written it?
Bring them forward.
Like I thought,
I couldn't decide my future
in just a week.
MEETING ROOM
"Theater."
Yes, she does like theater.
POST-GRADUATION SURVEY
"A ten-yen coin on the side of the road. Akira Kusano."
"Live a happy life. Nobuko Kotani."
"Become a proper human.
Shuji Kiritani."
What's with these guys?
I can't tell if they're being facetious…
or serious.
LIVE A HAPPY LIFE. NOBUKO KOTANI
A TEN-YEN COIN ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. AKIRA KUSANO
BECOME A PROPER HUMAN. SHUJI KIRITANI
While these people work at their jobs,
they probably also feel disappointed or happy, or love someone special.
You know what?
I want to quit being a producer.
Is that right?
What? Why?
It's too painful for me.
"Too painful"?
For Nobuta to belong to everyone is painful for me.
What do you mean?
I want Nobuta to be mine alone.
To be honest, I don't like anyone looking at her.
What's going on inside someone's mind
is way beyond anything I can ever imagine.
Hold on here.
Nobuta! I love you!
Today is the last day of the Nobuta production project.
Subtitle translation by: Brian Athey