Shiinamachi Senpai Volume 3 Episode 1 Part B 7
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Translator: DarkHeartedAlchemist
【Episode 1 Part B: Sister and Legend, Part 7】
「Hmm….」
Let’s leave Shiki alone with her thoughts for a whole and apply the setting of the movie to me and senpai.
What would I do if it turned out that senpai had an incurable disease and didn’t have much longer to live? Just thinking about it made my heart ache and I felt a bitter sensation accumulating at the back of my throat. My eyes felt as if tears could flow out of them at any moment and my hands here shaking so much that I had to clench them really hard to make it stop. I see now. That is how the protagonist of the movie must have felt. When we were watching it, a simple 「oh…」 was the only comment I was capable off, but now I felt I could truly understand his struggle.
「Senpai, forgive me for asking such a weird question, but… you’re not hiding any illness from us, are you?」
「Eh? No, last time I checked I was in perfectly good condition. Don’t worry Jiro-kun, I’m not going anywhere anytime soon, fufufufu~~.」
Senpai assured me, probably figuring out why was I asking her such a question in the first place. I expected such an answer, but still, hearing her say that directly made me feel relieved. I feel like I have gained a deeper level of understanding what it’s like to emphasize with a fictional character. I wonder if Aika will praise me for figuring that out on my own?
「Although I think I might be sick just a little bit…」
「…You might?」
Ah, I get it. Senpai probably noticed I tried to place myself in the shoes of the movie’s protagonist so she did the same and imagined herself as the movie’s heroine. So what that basically means, is… is that she imagined herself as being my lover!
That took me by such a large surprise that I could do nothing but stare at her and continuously open and mouth and close it like a fish washed ashore by the storm. I also noticed that at some point my glasses gotten so foggy that I could not see anything, so I had to quickly take them off and give them a good old rub. In the meantime…
「All right, it’s decided! I’m going with the Hayashi Rice Set!」
Shiki had apparently decided what’s her order going to be. All proud of herself she pressed the button at the side of the table that would signal one of the waitresses that we were now ready to place our respective orders. I guess I should be thankful to her, since with that she unknowingly stopped my mind from wandering off to the land of fantasies. So all hail Shiki’s sense of timing. Now I understand that taking her along with us was definitely the right thing to do.
After we placed our orders, senpai placed the pamphlet on the table so that we could all have a look at its contents.
「As we have all universally agreed upon, the theme of this movie is to 「do things while you can and not waste the chances that you are given」.」
I’m pretty sure that her initial wording was slightly different, but other than that yes, that’s what this movie was apparently about.
「The scene at the festival and the last scene with the heroine’s letter to the protagonist drove that point across pretty nicely in my opinion.」
「Right? It was so well directed that it almost makes you wonder how is this possible that the director and the rest of the crew managed to make something so good out of it when author of the original novel this was based upon wrote it as a most generic, tropey piece of literary work possible.」
Shiki’s remark was on point, but I don’t think the difference between the source material and its adaptation was dependent on the production values. To my understanding, what matters the most when adapting a book into a movie is every viewer’s perception of the said source material and how each individual perceives its transition into other forms of media.
I closed my eyes to think about it. If this is really a movie about not wasting the opportunities you are given, then what would I do if I was the protagonist? After receiving a letter that seemingly crushed my very being, what would I do next? How would I go on with my life?
「Even if she send that letter to him, the heroine is still alive. She’s not dead yet, so there’s still a possibility that they might get reunited. Their story is not over yet.」
Senpai said that with a serious look on her face.
「Ohhh, what a poetic interpretation. Nice one, Kaguya!」
It’s not over yet. The story can still continue. The happy ending is still within reach for those characters. Just knowing that was enough to provide a sense of salvation to my worried heart.
「I see now. So it’s all about creating the groundwork for a potential sequel that would show the viewers a real ending. A 「True Ending」. In other words, a classic case of a money grabbing bait.」
And there it is again, Shiki ruined a pretty nice moment we were having with her blunt, tactless remark.
「Whoa there cowboy, maybe sheathe that Sword of Sass of yours, huh?」
That was the moment where I had to step in to play the straight man again. I expected Shiki to be angry or annoyed at me, but strangely enough, her lips were curled up in a slight smile. Was she really that pleased with herself? Or was she just having a good time teasing us?
「Even if it is a money grab, Kaguya’s suggestion will most likely turn out to be right. I expect the main plot point of the second movie to be about the hero setting out on a journey to reunite with his beloved.」
「Yes, and they will probably see each other again very soon after that. Wouldn’t it be nice if that was exactly the case?」
I felt satisfied with senpai’s happy prediction.
Romance movies are really mysterious, aren’t they? They revolve around human emotions and as a result, provoke various emotions in the hearts of the viewers, whether it be happiness, sadness, annoyance or infatuation. And this principle might be true not only for romances, but for all movies in general as well. After all, even horrors or action movies can get people invested in them as long as the story remains 「interesting」.
「Monjiro?」
「What is it?」
While I was immersed in savoring every inch of senpai’s beautiful profile, Shiki casually called out my name.
「What would you do if I told you that I don’t have much more time left to live?」
She looked straight at me with both her eyes, golden and blue. I didn’t sense anything dead serious in her voice when she was asking me that. She was simply curious and wanted to know how I would react.
「I…」
「Thank you for your patience! Here’s your order!」
But before I could answer her properly the waitress showed up by our table, carrying my Hamburg Steak Set and Shiki’s Hayashi Rice Set. Looks like senpai’s OmuRice Set was still being prepared.
「Well I’ll be damned if it looks delicious. Let’s focus on eating for now, Monjiro. We can go back to that when we finish.
「Oh… yeah, right, if you say so.」
Without waiting for my reply, Shiki already had a fork and a knife in her hands and was preparing to dig into her dish. Well, I should probably do the same before it gets cold.
「Ahmm…」
Shiki was right, this stuff was off the charts for a simple family restaurant meal. Seeing us enjoying our respective dishes, senpai smiled and laughed heartily.
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