Suo Hayato’s fear: what Being Scared of Manju means:
[Caption: When the class asked Suo what is his weakness, his fear, he answer “I’m scared of manju, I guess!”]
At this point, in the middle of Suo’s arc, we have analysed him in a lot of angles. We know, since he said this, that it was a lie. It’s a white lie, yes, but one that shows us how much Suo doesn’t want to be “acknowledged”. How much he hides from the rest of the school, intentions and reasons aside.
But, what if I tell you that, in a sense, he was saying the truth?
it wouldn’t be surprising, since we know for sure that he tends to tell the truth in strange ways (the line, paragraphing, “The journey doesn’t end until you get home”… now we know he traveled four hours a day to go to school and back).
So…, let’s talk about Suo’s fear of manju and what it really means.
The scene
In the unofficial translation, Suo says: “I’m scared of manju, I guess”.
And the characters react accordingly. Suge doesn’t get it, with a question mark bubble as his answer. We don’t get it either. It’s Kiryuu who gives a little insight. He, as a little comment, says: “That’s the title of a rakugo story”. For all the readers who don’t have deep literacy culture or for us, foreign readers, this is our biggest clue.
The unofficial translator of this chapter adds a note about Kiryuu’s comment: “Rakugo is a style of japanese comedic storytelling in which a single performer sits in front of a crowd and regales the audience with a lively and gripping story, playing all the parts themself. “Manju Kowai” (“Scared of Manju”) is a popular rakugo story about a group of boys talking about their fears”.
This translator`s comment… does it rings a bell?
What Rakugo really is?
Before talking about my ideas and analysis, I want to make a section about what it really is Rakugo and why this scene is so well made.
An article (which tumblr doesn’t let me link it) says:
“Rakugo is a traditional Japanese comic storytelling artform. A single performer sits on the stage and tells interesting stories that are sentimental or humorous”.
And…
“Rakugo is performed by a solo performer who sits at the center of the stage and tells hanashi (Rakugo stories). It is a very simple style of verbal performance, the story often consisting merely of conversations among the characters. The performer thus portrays numerous different characters by her/himself, expressing a variety of emotions and situations with skillful gestures. A hanashi (story) always ends with an ochi, or punch line”.
It goes along the same line as the translator`s comment, doesn’t it?
Of course, Rakugo has a structure, as any other way of storytelling.
- Makura: the warm-up
“Performers do not jump right into the story proper. Rather, it is customary for them to first engage in small talk or share anecdotes that tie into the main story. This is called makura (literally “pillow”)”.
- Hanashi: the main part
“The hanashi span a wide variety of plots. Some have extraordinarily unique characters. Others depict the love between a husband and a wife or among family members […]. Stories feature seasonal events such as the New Year or […] cherry blossom viewing. The length of the hanashi varies, some lasting only about ten minutes or so, while others continue for over one hour”.
- Ochi or Sa-ge: the punch line
“The ochi—a punch line delivered to bring the story to an end. There are various types of ochi—some include witty puns and others bring together hints provided earlier in the story”.
“Manju Kowai”: what is it about?
We should know what Suo is reffering to, don’t you think? Maybe, it has some similitudes with the manga, who knows?
As this web (article without link) says, “Manju Kowai” (“Scared of manju”) starts with five friends talking about what they like. Then the ring leader says, "Well, then, what don't you like?" One by one, they admit their fears: slugs, snakes… Until it’s the turn of the quiet one. He, avoiding eye contact and nervous, admits he is scared of manju. The group is surprised, since they cannot believe his friend is scared of a cake. The quiet one asks them to not make fun of him, since he knows it is a foolish fear.
Later, the other four decide to tease the quiet friend. They buy manju, find the quiet one and throw the manju at him. Expecting a big scene, they are surprised when, peeking inside, they find the friend eating the manju.
The leader of the group says: “You misled us. All right, tell us, what are you really scared of?" The quiet friend answers: “Right now, I think I'm really scared of some tart tea."
Suo and Rakugo: matching points
First of all, let’s compare the Rakugo and the manga scene.
Do you find it funny that Suo is performing the exact same plot as “Manju Kowai”? Am I the only one who considers it another one of his little pranks?
Okay, let’s continue.
The position: in this scene, Suo is sitting down in front of other people, as a rakugo performer. But it’s true at the start of the scene, he is not a performer, although I can not remember whether he participes in the conversation.
The action: they are having a conversation, the whole group. That’s the whole point of the Rakugo: to feel the performer and the audience is having a conversation. Although not a task Suo is doing, the objective of the Rakugo is being fulfilled during the scene.
The structure:
Makura: the warm up. Small talk or share anecdotes, as the quote said. Small talk about others fears, anecdotes about fears… Rings a bell?
Hanashi: the main part. Although we don’t engage in a story told by Suo, he is the main part. When they ask him what is his fear, everybody shuts up and listens. They want to know, they are waiting for the performance (although it would never happen).
Ochi: the punch line. “I guess I’m scared of manju”. What better punch line than that?
Behind scene: what we can conclude with these hints?
It’s obvious, even without knowing about Rakugo, that Suo doesn’t want to talk about himself.
But knowing about Rakugo and specifically, “Manju Kowai” gives us more insight about him.
With this, we know Suo is a person of culture (remember the only person who got what he was saying was Kiryuu, someone from a rich family). Although Rakugo is more or less famous in Japan, it’s still a traditional performance, something that young people may not interested in.
Performing the same story as the Rakugo is, as I said before, the clue that lets us know he is teasing his friends. (Something something, Suo and his love language is teasing his friends, something something). Also, a little note: Japanese people love words plays, words jokes, so it’s probably Japanese readers found it funny too.
Although not stating, this scene lets us know he is afraid of sharing his fears. Not even the original performance gives us a reason. But, since it was a topic imposed by the leader, a forced topic, Suo (and the quiet friend) was not comfortable sharing it without context or preparation.
Remember Suo’s dream is “emancipation of slaves”… so you can imagine how strange his fear could sound without context.
Suo Hayato, my dear emotionally constipated character, didn’t you say anything because it will force you to give context about who you really are, your motives for being in Makochi and your burdens?
