Japanese with anime voice: episode19
Hello, I’m Sachi.
If you are a listener of this Japanese with Anime Voice, then I assume that you like anime. By the way, I’m wondering if situations like those in anime or manga are actually possible in the real world. What do you think?
By the way, anime is something you can watch on video, while manga is something you read in a book. Most anime is based on a manga, or sometimes a novel. I always thought that anime was based on manga, but when I looked into it, I found that there are many anime without an original story.
Now, I wonder if it is possible to be like a manga, but actually, it is surprisingly possible. My mom used to say to me, “Your behavior is just like a manga,” and to tell you the truth, there is no way to answer her…well, maybe it is a manga. But it’s not like a romance comic where I’m on the verge of being late for school with breakfast bread in my mouth. I’m sorry. There is no “future boyfriend” who bumps into someone on a corner and they bicker about it. I’m sorry. It’s not like that.
When I was in Tokyo, I worked part-time at a cafe in a station building. One day, two young men came in and one ordered a banana smoothie. One of them ordered a banana smoothie complained that the smoothie was tasteless. So we changed the smoothie several times. But the taste was the same, and the customer was like, “I’m fine with this one.” The manager who dealt with them was very tense. And the manager instructed me to go and give those customers more water. So I went over to their table and was pouring them a glass of water when they suddenly started talking to me. They said, “Which ear do you think is fukumimi? FUKUMIMI means thick and large earlobes. In Japan, there is a group of seven gods who bring good fortune called shichifukujin, and one of them is Daikokuten, an incarnation of an Indian god who governs treasure and wealth. Daikokuten’s earlobes are so thick and large that people with the same earlobes are called “fukumimi,” meaning “good luck. It seems that the two men were competing with each other to see which one was the better fukumimi. I was asked out of the blue, so I had to think about it, you know? So I forgot to fill my glass with water and started comparing the two. Then the water overflowed, spilled over, and landed on one customer’s lap. The customer was surprised and I realized my blunder. I was so upset that I rushed to the kitchen to get a rag. The manager caught me there and asked me what had happened. I told him that I was sorry and that I had spilled water on the customer, but he looked angry and disappointed, and angrily ordered me to get a rag and mop immediately. Of course. After the banana smoothie incident, there was no way I would have poured water on him. I went back to the customer with a rag and apologized, but the customer smiled and said, “Oh, thank you, it’s okay, it’s okay. ” He was wearing short pants because it was summer, and I think he only got his knees wet. I wondered why he was smiling like that, and the customer told me that it was funny, like a manga, and that this kind of thing really happens. I was like, “I didn’t know this really happened either…” But they just laughed it off. Afterwards, the manager told me that those customers had told him that I had made them feel at home. The manager praised me for a job well done. I was like, “No, I just made a blunder.” The manager felt that thanks to me, the complaint about the banana smoothie had been canceled out. Well, that’s how the matter was settled. It seems like that kind of thing happens to me all the time. To me.
And what’s more, it’s called “類は友を呼ぶ (rui ha tomo wo yobu)”. This is a well-known proverb meaning that people with similar characteristics become friends. I am like a manga, and I am surrounded by manga-like people. That is why I have met partners who make rare happenings, and I have interesting friends who never run out, no matter how many years go by.
I don’t have to tell you about my partner, and I’ve talked about him often in other episodes, but I also have a friend who is really interesting. I met her when we were about 3 years old, and I’ve stayed in touch with her for some reason or another, but it’s not like we contact each other anytime.
The other day, I was walking to my neighborhood to shoot a video, and on my way home, I was waiting at a stoplight when I heard a voice from a car that was also waiting at the stoplight, and it was a friend of mine. I hadn’t seen her in 2 years. I hadn’t contacted her, but we bumped into each other on the side of the road. It was a situation out of a manga. So, I guess a manga is not necessarily a fictitious setting. I’d be interested to know what kind of manga-like situations people from overseas think of. If you have had a manga-like situation yourself, please share your experience in the comments section!
