Tumblr is monge~

[rogumi]

The TV show あしたが変わるトリセツショー (Ashita ga Kawaru Torisetsu Show) announced Amako Soubei-sensei had drawn aged up Rantarou for them! And to our surprise... they showed the drawings in the preview lol! This post will be updated in case she drew more characters for them!

[komatsudaya]

RKRN Komatsuda Yuusaku Appearances (w/summaries and translations)

The older Komatsuda brother has appeared sporadically throughout Nintama Rantarou over the years. Unfortunately, he was excised from several of the anime adaptations of manga chapters he appeared in, so people who haven't read the manga aren't getting all the Yuusaku content that they deserve. That's a problem which needs fixing!

Like my previous Rikichi+Komatsuda RKRN guide, I put together a little something showing all the times Yuusaku appears in the manga, with summaries and translations.

Quick list:

Vol 32, pages 31-32, 34, 36-37, 39, 42 Vol 33, page 188 Vol 35, pages 43-49 (voice appears on page 52) Vol 38, page 240 Vol 41, pages 30, 146-147, 154, 161 Vol 47, pages 126, 180 Vol 65, pages 11-15, 63-65, 67-70, 72, 82, 86, 89-90, 102, 107, 109, 119, 127, 148, 221-223, 235

Summaries and translations

Vol 32

Pages 31-32, 34, 36-37, 39, 42

Yuusaku's first appearance - and he didn't even make it into the anime adaptations of these chapters (episodes 11-22~24, 11-76~78)!

Komatsuda comes across a leaflet advertising ninja work and, still hoping to be a professional ninja, goes to find if he can get a job. He brings his brother with and runs into Rantarou, who came with his mother.

They meet up with everyone else looking to find work and are given their task: they must sneak into a certain castle’s outpost and retrieve some hidden documents. Rantarou spots Dokutake ninja among the job-seekers, raising his suspicions. Dokutake ninja would never go looking for other ninja work, he says; according to what Yuusaku has heard, Dokutake castle pays well. Perhaps that's something Yuusaku learned when Komatsuda went to take Dokutake's employment exam?

Yuusaku gets one more line, asking if Rantarou knows one of the ninja they meet. After that, Rikichi disguises himself as Yuusaku and takes the man's place without anybody else knowing. Where did Yuusaku go? Home, most likely. I like to imagine Rikichi pulled Yuusaku aside, explained the situation, and told Yuusaku he'd take care of it. Yuusaku would probably say that sounded fine and to take care of his brother. Maybe Yuusaku knew about Rikichi because his brother had written about him in one of his letters?

Let's take a moment to appreciate all the cool and fun expressions we get to see "Yuusaku" make when Rikichi is disguised as him.

Vol 33

Page 188

Yuusaku was cut from the anime adaptation (episode 12-67) of this chapter as well.

Some of the students of 1-Ha have noticed that Komatsuda has been unusually competent compared to usual. When the students ask Yoshino and Doi, both of them say Komatsuda's been the same as always; Komatsuda even lost the key to the explosives warehouse. Class 1-Ha goes to search for the key and ends up falling down a hole and getting hit by sleeping gas. Isuke, the last to fall asleep, finds Komatsuda kidnapping Shouzaemon.

When Isuke runs into Komatsuda after the incident, Komatsuda claims that he doesn't know anything about Shouzaemon being kidnapped. Luckily, Isuke remembers something that clues him in to the fact that the Komatsuda he saw in the hole was actually a fake. The Komatsuda he saw was wearing a uniform that had the "Clerk" tag sewn into the shirt. But during the last summer break, his family's dye shop got a request from a certain someone.

Yuusaku requested that the tag be directly dyed onto Komatsuda's uniform so the boy wouldn't have to worry about dropping and losing it. "What a sweet big brother," Isuke's mother comments - I agree.

Vol 35

Pages 43-49 (voice appears on page 52)

The anime adaptation of this chapter (episode 13-05) marks the first time Yuusaku appears in the anime - hooray!

It's summer break, and while Rantarou is in town to sell his family's rice harvest, he comes across Yoshino. Yoshino had mentioned conducting a house visit before everyone left for the break, and all the students figured the only person he could have been talking about visiting was Komatsuda. Rantarou asks if Yoshino is still going to Komatsuda's house, but Yoshino says that he's of two minds about the whole thing. Is it okay to tell Komatsuda's family that the boy isn't cut out for clerical work? Rantarou is worried that this means Komatsuda is going to be fired, so he decides to tag along with Yoshino to Komatsudaya.

Yuusaku stays at the store, and Yoshino tells Komatsuda to get ready to head back to the school because there's plenty of preparations to take care of for the next semester. Komatsuda packs a knapsack as big as himself and is crushed under its weight. "Ah, Shuusaku," Yuusaku calls from inside, "are you okay out there?" Komatsuda, still stuck under his belongings, squeaks out, "Oniicha~n."

Vol 38

Page 240

Yuusaku is the star of this volume's 4koma.

Much like how Doi learned to parse what the kids of 1-Ha say, Yuusaku can decipher what his brother means because he had plenty of practice while growing up with the boy. It takes a Komatsuda to understand a Komatsuda.

Vol 41

Pages 30, 146-147, 154, 161

Kirimaru slept through the announcement that the school's autumn break would be starting, so he didn't line up any part-time work. "Why not come work at our place for a bit?" Komatsuda offers. "If you ask my brother, I'm sure he'll hire you on for a little while." True to Komatsuda's word, Kirimaru is hired as a part-time worker for the day.

Kirimaru returns to Doi's house the next day. He mentions that the store received a strange order. To make fans, you fold the paper into a pattern that creates holes that you can then insert the bamboo frame in. However, a customer wanted a large order of separate paper and frames. Concerned, Doi asks if the store took the order.

(Yuusaku appears in this chapter's anime adaptation, episode 16-02)

Doi suspects the customer was someone who plans to use the fans to perform the Kasumiougi no Jutsu, where ninja place poison inside a fan then blow the poison at their enemies. The group manages to track down the customer, a Suppontake ninja, and find out what he's scheming. It turns out the Suppontake are targeting the lord of Chamidareamitake castle. The lord goes to view the autumn leaves every year, and the place he chose to view them is in a valley whose geography would make it easy for the Suppontake to overwhelm him with poison using the Kasumiougi no Jutsu. With this information, Doi devises a plan. Why not fight fans with fans?

While Yuusaku is helping to sell their sightseer disguises, Komatsuda is carrying the "ultimate anti-Kasumiougi no Jutsu weapons," as Niino calls them. The brothers go with everyone to prepare for the counterattack.

The Suppontake begin their attack, though it turns out that Niino has replaced the poison in their fans with laughing gas and eye irritants. As the fumes begin to approach the valley, our heroes pull out the "ultimate weapons" that Komatsudaya made - gigantic fans that they use to blow the fumes back toward the Suppontake.

(Unfortunately, Yuusaku doesn't appear in this chapter's anime adaptations, episodes 16-23~24. He isn't even the one to make the "ultimate weapons" - Niino shows up with giant uchiwa instead. What a waste, to not have Komatsudaya's proprietor in a fan-centric series of episodes!)

The Suppontake's plans are thwarted and the day is saved! Everyone starts heading home.

(Doi is crying out "Ah!" because he just remembered that the autumn break is ending.)

Vol 47

Pages 126, 180

Yuusaku makes two short but sweet contributions to this volume, and appears in the anime adaptations (episodes 19-28 and 19-31).

Ninjutsu Academy's cultural festival is approaching. However, when it comes time to send out invitations, Komatsuda makes a mess of all of Ninjutsu Academy's documents and ends up sending invitations to both friends and foes. But one thing is very strange, the students muse - how did Komatsuda manage to get the invitations sent out so quickly if everything was such a mess?

Two of the festival attendees are the assassins Masukarasu and Dosukarasu. They appear at the festival crossdressing and with fans in hand. The students worry that the assassins could have put poison inside the fans to perform the Kasumiougi no Jutsu. Saburou, however, says there's no need to worry about that. That's because…

There's that entrepreneurial spirit!

Vol 65

Pages 11-15, 63-65, 67-70, 72, 82, 86, 89-90, 102, 107, 109, 119, 127, 148, 221-223, 235

(As of this writing, this volume has not been adapted for the anime.)

School is starting up again after the autumn break, and some of the 1-Ha students have met up on the road to school - where they find Yuusaku tagging along with Kirimaru and Doi. Rantarou asks what Yuusaku is doing there.

Everyone finally gets to school while carrying Shinbei, who gained too much weight on the break and had gotten too exhausted to walk anymore.

While Yuusaku waits in the staff room, the students find out what's been going on with Komatsuda. Komatsuda has become obsessed with getting people to sign in and out of the school, all day and all night, to the point where he won't even take a bath because he doesn't want to be in the tub when an intruder shows up. Even when the teachers volunteer to make the rounds, he refuses to rest and is running himself ragged.

Rantarou finally manages to get Komatsuda to go to the infirmary, where Niino gives him medicine to get him to sleep. The students and teachers will take care of any intruders that appear while Komatsuda is incapacitated.

The ninja looking to scout Komatsuda is Komochi Wakana, who first appeared in volume 15. He technically already met both Komatsuda brothers, as he was one of the job-seekers in volume 32, but neither Komochi nor Yuusaku remember each other. Fushikizou says they should head to the infirmary to see Komatsuda, but Yuusaku says that going there right now is a bad idea.

Shenanigans ensue as Sonnamon shows up to challenge Doi to a battle. Yuusaku gets to learn about ninja tools firsthand when Doi uses a urine-soaked cloth diaper to defeat Sonnamon. The main Tasogaredoki crew, who came to pick Sonnamon up, leave, but not without one last word.

Knowing that his target is elsewhere, Komochi dashes off to find Komatsuda and complete his mission. Shinbei saves the day by using his snot to catch Komochi by the leg.

Komatsuda shows up again, having overcome the medicine he was given. Even worse, a ninja from Hidahatake castle (who'd previously judged Komatsuda's Hidahatake castle employment exam in volume 38) shows up to scout Komatsuda as well.

Just when Komatsuda starts to go with the Hidahatake ninja, Rantarou pulls off Komochi's hood and reveals his lusciously lipsticked mouth. Komatsuda is so surprised by the sight that he snaps out of his trance. Crisis averted!

Yuusaku continues to learn about the world of ninja, as well as why it was good that he got a name in his first appearance.

There's some hubub as other intruders are spotted, but Yuusaku and Komatsuda are busy getting ready to return to Komatsudaya.

"Hey," Shinbei says after the brothers leave, "doesn't something about what Komatsuda's brother just said bother you?" If a ninja hears about someone ordering a large number of fans, of course they'll be concerned about the Kasumiougi no Jutsu. Convinced that Komatsudaya's customer is a ninja squad, everyone heads over to the store.

As the students stand by with bated breath, somebody approaches the store - and promptly falls into a hole that Ayabe had dug in the street. When the mysterious person is pulled out, it's none other than Shinbei's father.

And so ends Yuusaku's appearances - as well as Rakudai Ninja Rantarou as a whole. How lucky, getting to be one of the characters to appear on the manga's last page!

I feel like I have more to personally say about Yuusaku that would make this longer than need be, so I'll probably eventually make another post. In the meantime, I hope everyone who read this enjoyed seeing more of the Komatsuda brothers.

[komatsudaya]

I Want To Know More About RakuRan Q&A Series (1994)

Volumes 12 and 14 of Rakudai Ninja Rantarou contain a 100-question Q&A session with the author, Amako Soubee. Compiled from reader letters and an article published in the Asahi Elementary School Newspaper on October 26, 1993, it goes over questions about the manga's characters, settings, and the author herself. Because it was relatively early in the series, many of the questions are about things that would go on to be included in the manga and anime themselves, such as surnames, the characters' families, and characters' likes and dislikes. However, I wanted to translate some of the more interesting or fun questions.

Questions About the Manga

Q. What is Rantarou's hobby? A. Reading books. Q. What's Rantarou's least favorite food? A. He doesn't have one. Q. Rantarou's favorite word? A. Effort (努力, douryoku). Q. Why did Rantarou develop astigmatism? A. Probably because of reading too many books(?) and genetics. Q. Shinbei's family is rich, so why does he want to become a ninja? A. Because he has such a gentle personality, he was enrolled in the school to teach him to be clever and quick-witted. Q. How does Shinbei produce so much snot if he doesn't have a nose? A. Of course he has a nose. It's just that his cheeks are so puffy that you can't see the nostrils. Q. Will Shinbei still have a runny nose when he's an adult? A. I'm sure he'll be properly blowing his nose by then. Q. If Shinbei's head is so hard, why does he get bumps when he's hit? A. Hmmm. Maybe it depends on where he's hit, or his mental preparedness… Q. What does Shinbei worry about? A. Gaining weight and having bad grades. Q. How many part-time jobs has Kirimaru had? A. An endless number of jobs. At least over fifty by now. Q. What does Kirimaru dream about when he sleeps? A. He dreams about swimming in money. Q. What kind of ninjutsu are Rantarou and his friends good at? A. Tonjutsu, the ninja art of escape. Q. Will Rantarou and everyone become proper ninja? A. I'm sure they will. Q. Is there anything that can cure Doi-sensei's stomachaches? A. Class 1-Ha getting good grades. Q. What kind of women does Doi-sensei like? A. He's got his hands full with the students, so he doesn't think about it much right now… Q. Do Doi-sensei and Yamada-sensei ever teach the kunoichi class? A. They do. Q. Why does Kisanta love slugs? A. Because they're cute. Q. Shouzaemon has good grades, so why is he in the failing Class 1-Ha? A. It's not like 1-Ha is just for students with failing grades. It's a class full of unique kids. Q. Does Ninjutsu Academy have an entrance exam? A. It doesn't have an entrance exam, but it does have a graduation exam. Q. What do the teachers do on spring and summer breaks? A. They do things like study, train themselves, and visit students at home.

Questions About the Author

Q. When do you draw manga? A. In the middle of the night. Q. When do you go to bed and wake up? A. I go to bed at 10pm and wake up at 2am. Q. How long do you draw manga for every day? A. Six or seven hours. Q. How long does it take you to complete one day's worth of serialization in Asahi Elementary School Newspaper¹ (three pages in the manga volumes)? A. About five hours. Q. Where do you get ideas? A. They come to me when I'm drawing. Q. Is it fun to draw RakuRan? A. It's fun, but it's also hard work. Q. What do you pay attention to the most when drawing RakuRan? A. How fun or interesting it is. Q. Are the characters in RakuRan based on real people? A. Most of them aren't, but Yuki, Tomomi, and Ooki-sensei are. Q. How do you create your characters? A. Sometimes their design comes from their personality, and sometimes their personality comes from their design. For example, I designed Shinbei based off of his gentle personality. Q. Who's your favorite character? A. I love all the characters. Q. How do you get good at drawing ninja? A. By carefully studying the movements of athletes as well as ninja characters in period dramas. Q. How do you research the techniques used in RakuRan? A. I read books about ninja weapons, tools, secret manuals, and martial arts. I also read books about things like Vietnamese guerrilla tactics. Q. What's your blood type? A. Type O. Q. What's your astrological sign? A. Sagittarius. Q. How old are you right now? A. Kunoichi don't have ages. Q. Are you married? A. I'm not. Q. What was your dream when you were little? A. I wanted to be a horse racing jockey or vet. Q. When did you start drawing manga? A. When I was around fourteen years old. Q. What subjects were you bad at in elementary and middle school? A. Music. Q. What's your ninjutsu or martial arts specialty? A. Kyuudou (archery). Q. What's your favorite color? A. Navy blue and black. Q. What's your favorite food? A. I like meat. Q. What's your favorite phrase? A. Fighting against the odds (悪戦苦闘, akusenkutou). Q. What songs do you like? A. "Goushuu Ondou," "The Hill Overlooking the Harbor," "When Dawn Breaks."² Q. What manga artists do you respect? A. Artists who can draw interesting or fun manga. Q. What's your favorite work? A. Minamoto Tarou's Soldiers of Fortune (published by Ushio Publishing)³. Q. What do you want the most right now? A. Time. Q. What would you like to do the most right now? A. I'd like to read and travel.

¹ Asahi Elementary School Newspaper (Asahi Shougakusei Shinbun, 朝日小学生新聞) is a daily newspaper aimed at younger children that's been published since 1967. Rakudai Ninja Rantarou ran in its pages for 33 years (1986-2019). ² "Goushuu Ondou" (江州音頭) is an ondou (traditional Japanese dance song) that originated in Shiga prefecture, formerly known as Goushuu. "The Hill Overlooking the Harbor" (Minato Ga Mieru Oka, 港が見える丘) is a pop song released in 1947 and sung by Hirano Aiko. "When Dawn Breaks" (Yo Ga Akete, 夜が明けて) is a pop song released in 1971 and sung by Sakamoto Sumiko. ³ Soldiers of Fortune (Fuunjitachi, 風雲児たち) is a historical comedy manga by Minamoto Tarou that ran from 1979 to 1998; it continued in spin-offs and sequels until the author's death in 2021. It's set in the Edo period and covers historical events starting with the battle of Sekigahara. Like RKRN, it's a gag manga that takes its historical research seriously.

[komatsudaya]

RKRN Rikichi & Komatsuda Moments (w/summaries and translations)

While there's a good amount of information out there in English about Nintama Rantarou, it feels like there's much less about the original manga, Rakudai Ninja Rantarou. To help fix that even just a little bit...

…I put together a guide to all the times Rikichi and Komatsuda appear together in the manga, with summaries and translations.

(I've also got a WIP guide to Rikichi + Komatsuda moments in the anime, which I'll eventually get around to formatting so I can post it on here. For now, here's a shameless plug to the current iteration.)

Quick list:

Vol 21, pages 221, 234 Vol 22, page 238 (in disguise) Vol 23, pages 161-167, 205 Vol 27, pages 100-106, 109 Vol 30, pages 76-79 Vol 32, pages 59-63, 81, 86-87, 90-92, 104, 114 (all in disguise), 119 Vol 44, pages 75, p86-90, 111-112, 118, 120, 132 (111-132 in disguise) 134, 143-144 Vol 57, pages 43, 120-124

Summaries and translations

Vol 21

Pages 221, 238

The first time they appear together is this panel, from the same chapter in which Komatsuda is reintroduced as the school's newest employee. They're entirely across the room from each other, but hey, it counts. They also both appear in a panel at the end of the volume, but they don't interact.

Vol 22

Page 238 (in disguise)

This is the first time they're actually seen interacting with each other, though Rikichi is in disguise at the time.

Komatsuda speaks of Rikichi casually, so they must've seen each other at least a few times before this. I'm sure Rikichi got a surprise the first time he came to the school and had Komatsuda chase after him to sign in.

Vol 23

Pages 161-167, 205

Now we're getting to some real interactions! This story focuses on a plot to get a warship schematic to the pirates; to avoid having it stolen by the Dokutake, the plan is to have each student memorize a part of it then have the pirates put all the parts together and decipher it using an encryption chart. Unfortunately, Komatsuda was the person chosen to deliver this chart.

Rikichi meets up with the teachers and students of 1-Ha to relay what happened when he ran into Komatsuda earlier.

From the way he speaks, it seems Rikichi has interacted enough with Komatsuda to have a pretty clear idea of how the boy tends to operate. On his way to the ocean, Komatsuda spots what looks to be a person laying in the bushes and goes to help them. “Komatsuda is such a kind person,” Rantarou says, to which Rikichi replies, "Kind, sure. But careless."

Komatsuda gets a closer look at the body and finds that it's just a doll. "Komatsuda!" Rikichi calls out, emerging from the nearby trees. "Don't pick up that doll!" When Komatsuda inevitably lifts it up...

(Earlier in the story, a doll resembling Yamada was used as a decoy since Yamada originally had the ship schematics)

After Komatsuda falls in the hole, Rikichi loses his trail. Don't worry, Komatsuda is safe and sound! And he even manages to hold onto the encryption chart.

Vol 27

Pages 95-99 (in disguise), 100-106, 109

This story revolves around explosives master Tadadouzen, who was kidnapped by the Dokuajirogasa ninja because he created a new type of artillery shell. Just when it looks like Komatsuda and Shinbei are going to be captured by a pair of Dokuajirogasa, one of the ninja who'd cornered them takes off his disguise and reveals himself as Rikichi… who is then interrupted by Danzou flying in and knocking the other Dokuajirogasa ninja out.

The kids are excited to go on a rescue mission, but ponder how Rikichi knows where Tadadouzen is. After giving them a murderous glare, Rikichi reminds them that the other Dokuajirogasa ninja just blurted it out: Tadadouzen is under the tea room near the back of the grounds. They go and search the room, but pulling the floorboards up reveals nothing. Shinbei gets glued to the wall by his snot, and when Rikichi pulls him off, it reveals…

For once it's not Komatsuda who causes Rikichi trouble, but Shinbei, who trips when getting into the stairwell. Komatsuda is still technically the one hitting Rikichi, but details. They find Tadadouzen and bust him out.

Rikichi carries the sensei, and Komatsuda is tasked with carrying the shell prototype that Tadadouzen made while imprisoned. From there, the group meets up with the rest of 1-Ha and we don't see Rikichi and Komatsuda together for the rest of the chapter.

Vol 30

Pages 76-79

Somebody ordered a case of fans from Komatsudaya, and Komatsuda was tasked with delivering them to the customers at Mushroom Valley… but he left the store before he learned exactly who the customers were. Everyone suspects it might be ninja who are planning on using them to perform the Kasumiougi no Jutsu (where ninja place poison inside a folding fan then blow the poison at their enemies). While in town, the group runs into Yamada and Rikichi.

The kids of 1-Ha ask Rikichi about his work. When Doi chides them, Rikichi says:

This is one of my favorite panels. The framing of Komatsuda staring blankly into the sky while standing behind Rikichi is beautiful.

Rikichi sheds some light on the situation: while investigating the Dokuajirogasa's use of poison for assassination, he found a group of Dokuajirogasa ninja waiting for someone in Mushroom Valley.

There Rikichi goes, zero to sixty in a second flat. I really like the addition in the anime where Rikichi gets caught up in Komatsuda's pace and cheerfully replies “Take care!” to Komatsuda before he yells at him, but Rikichi is too much of a brat in RKRN to say something like that. He's at least enough of a brat to then sarcastically praise Komatsuda, who's a little too dense to pick the sarcasm up.

Rikichi leaves after that.

Vol 32

Pages 59-63, 81, 86-87, 90-92, 104, 114 (all in disguise), 119

A suspicious leaflet advertising ninja work draws a motley crowd of professional and would-be ninja, including Komatsuda and his brother, Yuusaku. Their task is to sneak into a certain castle's outpost and retrieve some hidden documents. Just as they're all about to start the job, Rikichi disguises himself as Yuusaku and takes the man's place without anybody else knowing.

While it's probably the role least likely to draw attention to him, disguising himself as Yuusaku also means he'll be in constant contact with Komatsuda's, shall we say, personality. It doesn't take the usually professional Rikichi long to start breaking character. Luckily for him, nobody else had met Yuusaku before.

Rikichi does get some professional points back for his intel-gathering, as he's picked up some insider info on the Komatsuda brothers. He also helps throughout the job by supplying his ninja expertise, some of which he justifies Yuusaku knowing by saying things like "I make fans, so I have to be good at measuring angles."

Apart from the Rikichi and Komatsuda content, these chapters are great because we get to see expressions on Yuusaku's face that we'd never otherwise see. He makes lots of grumpy and cool expressions.

This is also the only time Rikichi (technically) calls Komatsuda by his first name:

We also learn the extent of Rikichi's skill and/or Komatsuda's obliviousness, as Rikichi was able to stuff an entire matchlock in Komatsuda's clothes without him noticing.

Rantarou eventually catches on that a civilian like Yuusaku couldn't possibly have the skills and knowledge that the man with them is displaying, and Rikichi takes off his disguise. Komatsuda confesses that he had absolutely no idea that his brother had been Rikichi in disguise, and then Rikichi says The Line.

“イライラするんだ君を見ていると!!”

From there, Rikichi leaves the group to complete a task elsewhere. I'm sad that Yuusaku was cut from the anime adaptation of this story; at least we finally got to see him in ninja clothes in season 31.

Vol 44

Pages 75, 86-90, 111-112, 118, 120, 132 (111-132 in disguise), 134, 143-144

Bouta brings news that something is stirring in Kikurage Castle: bad rumors are being spread about the castle's young master, and a beloved new vassal may actually be an enemy infiltrator. When Rikichi arrives at the scene, he spots a group of enemy Tofuntake ninja waiting for a signal to begin an ambush on Kikurage Castle. Unfortunately, when he leaves to bring this intel to the castle...

...he's interrupted by Komatsuda. They fall to the ground, Komatsuda right on top of Rikichi. And why did Komatsuda come to see Rikichi?

The next time we see Komatsuda, he's been captured by Kikurage ninja who found him wandering around the castle and took him for a Tofuntake ninja thanks to a letter that had been hidden in his collar. Komatsuda claims innocence and ignorance.

After the suspected vassal is exposed as a Tofuntake ninja, Rikichi reveals that he'd been disguised as a Kikurage ninja and had given Komatsuda the letter in order to perform the Hotarubi no Jutsu (wherein a ninja uses a fake document to lure the enemy out). Komatsuda, however, had no idea that he was going to be used for such a purpose. So Rikichi went back to "help" Komatsuda by giving him the letter... purely for his own goals. I adore the way Rikichi spins Komatsuda out of his ropes.

After everything settles down, the group departs. Rikichi is about to leave when Komatsuda drops a bomb on him:

Vol 57

Pages 43, 120-124

While running in the forest, Yamada and Shinbei come across a meeting between two ninja from different castles. After they return to the school, Rikichi briefly comes by to give a message to his father and the two of them set out after the ninja they saw, with Komatsuda in pursuit of their signatures. I love, love, love that Rikichi looks like he's having fun being chased by Komatsuda, like he's playing a little game with him.

The two ninja they saw were from Oomagatoki and Kawataredoki Castle, two castles which hate each other. It turns out the ninja are part of a group of Komatsuda's kouhai who graduated from the same ninjutsu school and are having a reunion picnic despite being on opposing sides. In order to throw off the suspicions of a pair of Oomagatoki ninja who came to investigate, the ninja fake a battle between themselves.

After the fake battle, a certain someone who was forgotten in the hustle and bustle returns to finally get Rikichi to sign in and out. Komatsuda almost manages to sneak up on Rikichi, but the man detects him at the last moment and shouts "Who's there?" before Komatsuda bursts out of the bushes wielding the sign-in sheet.

Some people might say that Rikichi was off his game, but maybe it's just a sign that Komatsuda is improving?

The graduate ninja say they don't think they're really cut out to be pro ninja and want to become "amazing clerks just like our senpai, Komatsuda!" which makes the boy in question blush.

And that's it! That's the last time they appear in the same panel!

I like that the manga and anime have different flavors of Rikichi and Komatsuda. Compared to the anime, their interactions in the manga certainly tend to be a bit more… forceful, I suppose I'd say, though much of that lies in how surly Rikichi is in the manga compared to the anime. Despite that one-sided antagonism on Rikichi's part, he shows an understanding of Komatsuda (though sometimes the boy defies common sense). He knows he can get away with being sarcastic with Komatsuda; he knows that to be subtle with Komatsuda is a losing game - except when he can use that obtuseness to his advantage. He even plays around with the boy because he knows that when he runs, Komatsuda chases after.

Komatsuda, for his part, can show a surprising amount of insight about Rikichi at times - except, of course, when it comes to understanding when Rikichi gets angry at him. The biggest example would be in volume 44 when he busts out the real reason Rikichi is avoiding his father. Komatsuda is someone who tends to forget or overlook things, but he also has good instincts. In the same volume, he can also immediately see that the smile Rikichi gives is all business, even though earlier in the series he took Rikichi's sarcasm at face value. Perhaps he'd observed Rikichi enough to be able to spot the difference.

Rikichi gets mad at, well, pretty much everybody throughout the course of the manga, but he shows a special ire towards Komatsuda probably because every interaction with the boy can turn into an exercise in chaos. When Rikichi says "go," he doesn't know if Komatsuda will go or stop or slam right into reverse. They're like oil and water, and Komatsuda is a flood.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

For completion's sake, two other moments to note:

Vol 22, chapter 8: Both of them appear in the early pages of this chapter and are presumably in the same space, but we never see them in the same panel. Similarly, they both appear throughout vol 27, chapter 4, but only show up together in the same panel once at the beginning.

Vol 43, page 224: Komatsuda brings Yamada a package from his wife, so Komatsuda either a) got it directly from Rikichi, or b) picked it up from where Rikichi left it at the school, which means Rikichi would've needed to sign in/out.

[zenpouji-isaku]

Hama-kun secretly checks on Kema-senpai. However, when Kema-senpai approaches him, he runs away.  He’s being avoided?? Kema-senpai wonders if he did something to make Hama dislike him, but…

Happy Tomesaburou month! I’ve subbed a Hama-centric episode I really enjoy. I’m in the middle of watching Season 30 and there’s a bunch of really cute episodes…I’m chipping at the flashback episodes in the meantime but this episode was sandwiched between them so I went for it too. Kema’s a very sweet character…I love how he’s kind of the honorary big sibling of the entire equipment committee. They’re a big family to me…what am i saying

It's my first time subbing an episode orz...Translations aren’t perfect so if there’s anything off just come pester me about it!

mega link here: (x)

youtube link here (unlisted): (x)

happy watching!

Title and this episode reference Shuichirou’s debut back in the Season 23 (vol 54 in the manga) Hodohodo Castle saga. I really like this arc and I'd totally recommend watching it if you can (x) along with some of the other Hama-centric episodes in S23 and S24. Throwing backstory context below the cut for fun:

Hama's a descendant of Matsuhodo castle's ninjas (his great-grandfather was one of them). It was defeated 70 years ago which left a bit of a stain on their reputation and forced them out of work, so they've fallen out of vogue. Shuichirou's sentiment is that if the main Matsuhodo ninjas had been at the castle when it fell, it wouldn't have been defeated, so he guarded the ruins ever since.

A bunch of rival factions were trying to capture it for strategic reasons, including the Tasogaredoki (a prominent enemy castle on good terms with Ninjutsu Gakuen) so Shuichirou was helping them hold fort until the rest of the army arrives. Plot happens. The castle ends up falling and Shuichirou eventually ends up joining Ninjutsu Gakuen later as a ro-class fourth year. He picks the Equipment Committee to join in Season 24.

He was raised in the mountains so he's a bit inexperienced. His great-grandpa had terrible hearing, so he has a tendency to SPEAK VERY LOUD and is VERY ENTHUSIASTIC! all the time. His main gag is that his sense of humor is terrible and he'll explode laughing over stuff like bad wordplay. he's great i love him

[zenpouji-isaku]

22-44: Carelessness is Forbidden!

The Headmaster has relied on Tachibana to deliver a secret message. He wears a disguise and hides it to pass through an checkpoint. There, Kisanta and Shinbei show up! However, why are these two not coming over like usual?

Hi! I haven't stopped thinking about this genkin trio episode since I posted about it a few days ago, so I sat down and subbed it in one entire sitting. I love this trio with all my heart. Senzou's so exasperated all the time around these two but he does genuinely care about them! daawww

Screencaps are homebrew this time though. Featuring the new font! I changed it this time for ease of watching. Hope its more legible this time around! and not too goofy looking LOL

mega link here: (x)

youtube link here (unlisted): (x)

[zenpouji-isaku]

30-31: Beginnings of Training

Shioe Monjirou is a senior who is always hard on himself. But Senzou Tachibana-senpai says that Shioe-senpai may actually be the kindest to others...

I FINALLY GOT TO SUBBING THESE!!!!! I'm so excited look at these two!! monjirou pre-eyebags era...

I've been procrastinating on working on this arc for a while. maybe because arcs are scary to finish working on but also because I FORGOT HOW GOOD THESE EPISODES ARE my heart...you guys I saw the rokui flashback for the first time back in march or april and it actually changed me as a person. I think the subsequent wail i let out was probably loud enough to be heard from space

I had some trouble with the audio mixing so if it sounds more defined in one ear than the other. my original mp4 was fine but it got messed up when I imported it and i had the same problem subbing ep 32 so maybe lightworks just hates season 30 LOL...hope it isn't too obtrusive!

mega link here: (x)

youtube link here (unlisted): (x)

Happy watching!!

Extra rambling under the cut:

blessed concept art of these two that came with the episode preview. theyre so adorable nnnnnoooooooo ughhhhhh tiny senzou with his shy little smile noooooooo the monjirou expressions nnnnnnnnnnnnnnoooooooooooooooooooooooo

my crops are watered my skin is clear the birds are singing the sun is shining peace and love on planet earth

rip squishy cute monjirou you will always have a special place in my heart. sorry you and chouji got hit with the old man sticks.

Caring Monjirou moments are probably some of my favorite in the show...he's strict and a little eccentric but I feel like he's genuinely really kind. he's so sheepish about his past though lol. the first years carrying on the dinner-making idea is so adorable i love that it's kind of a tradition now. when the first year hagumi five years from show canon i hope they can still hang out and make a nice dinner together. actually, i hope the current six years can also get together like they did when they were younger...the day they get another cute cutscene of them all eating and preparing dinner together with them five years later is the day i can finally be happy...nhk...

[yonkou]

[seabassbitch]

seabassbitch sticking true to brand

[cyberfights]

[hemuhemula]

Nintama Rantaro Sub. Español

¡Hola a todos! Inauguramos nuestro Tumblr compartiendo todos los episodios de Nintama Rantaro que hemos subtitulado. ¡Muy pronto publicaremos más! 

23-54 Peluquero en entrenamiento

24-06 Quisiera que me llamen señorita

24-13 El Orgullo del Grupo I

24-23 El ninja sin nombre

24-25 La alianza del cuarto año

24-63 No te preocupes por los pequeños detalles

[aukives]

Ninja Moms ( wha

[fenesita]

Dobrgo time of day! Could you draw Narukami Kenya? ..😳 Good luck, and thank you in advance! ..

I hope he looks okay! Let the rhythm move your heart, cool anon! 🤟😉🎧

[k-a-n-t-e-t-s-u]

[dekkopachi]

Nintama: Season 1-Season 25 opening comparison

[holyangemon]

[35apollo]

Digimon Universe: Appli Monsters episode 47 in a nutshell.