It was the morning of my departure on a one-day business trip to Osaka.
What's our plan... for the marriage ceremony?
Wh-where did that come from all of a sudden'?
We're not going to get married.
Oh shit! I'm going to be late!
Urn... s-sorry! Let's talk about this later!
I'm going to be late for the Shinkansen so I'm leaving now.
Sorry!
Huh?
A man who can work, that's the type she likes
I psyched myself up and got down to business
But I'm always so busy and so bored
The company I work at now is pretty high level
And my dad has a lot of connections there
So there's no way I can quit
I'm always all by myself
I just take a bath and fall asleep
I can't even take the time to admire
Your hair or [he way you walk
If all I can do is sleep
Then at least in my dreams
I want to see you
Princess Man
"Princess Man."
Princess Man
Now that I think about it... what he said...
What's our plan... for the marriage ceremony?
He... he wasn't proposing to me...
He was talking about Kuraki-kun's marriage ceremony that we're attending next month!
I mean, we've been dating for 4 years now... so of course I'd react to the "M" word.
I was also surprised because we generally don't talk about things like that.
But why did I go and blurt out "We're not going to"...'?
Was that just a Freudian slip...?
I wonder if I'm even suited to become a bride...
I've been so focused on work that I've never taken time to even think about it.
Though, it's not as if I don't want to get married.
In fact, I want to, if it's possible.
Someday.
But, all the necessary prep...
And lifestyle changes...
When I think about those, I feel reluctant. And that makes me wonder if I'll ever be ready...
As a woman, isn't that a bad sign?
Welcome back, Senpai.
All the way to Osaka and back in one day is exhausting...
Why didn't you just head straight home?
Well... I have an article to write.
And materials to prepare for an interview.
I wonder if I'll even make it home tonight...
Ah... what a wonderful smell!
What is this?
Isn't it Yumi-san's perfume?
I wonder why... it's like the smell of happiness itself.
Oh, that's right!
Yumi-san got engaged!
Huh?
Engaged?!
Right, Yumi-san?
Huh?
That's great! Congratulations on your engagement!
Thank you.
I see... then it really is the smell of happiness.
Oh... are you going home already, Yumi-chan?
Yes. I have a special meeting with Shimura the baseball player tomorrow.
So... please excuse me for today.
According to Kuhn-chain's network of sources...
Yumi-san's finance was actually... stolen from another woman!
Stolen from another woman?
Apparently, the fiance was already set to marry his girlfriend of 8 years,
but then he broke up with her and got engaged to Yumi-san instead!
Oh?
Stole a man, huh?
Not the other way around...
As a woman, I want to learn from her!
What's wrong?
Yumi-chan... already left, right?
I think so.
Why do you ask?
I wanted to ask her a favor...
I totally forgot.
Vumi-nhank Bleacher Report
Vumi-nhank Bleacher Report Yumi-chan writes a popular column.
Vumi-nhank Bleacher Report
She closely follows the career of Junji Shimura, a young superstar in the Japanese Baseball League.
He hates interviews and makes reporters cry, but he took a liking to her.
So she was allowed to write the column.
"Yumi-chan won him over with her good looks."
That's the dominant rumor at the office... ls there anything you're focusing on in your training now'!
Which is why, well, they probably have THAT kind of relationship. Doing longer runs, I suppose- I've been working on those every day-
Must be nice to be a woman!
All they have to do to get a good article is sleep with somebody.
Normally sports coverage is so competitive, a magazine like ours would never stand a chance.
But she gets "close coverage"... I wonder just how close she actually gets!
Close in bed!
Don't worry about it.
But, Senpai...!
Oh yeah, it must be so great to score a job just by getting in bed.
Well, I doubt anybody's lining up for a shot with you.
Out of the 40 staff in the editorial department, there are only 4 women...
No matter what, there's always some asshole spouting crap like this.
Even so, it still pisses me off!
You blame everyone else for your own damn failures,
which is why your articles always end up being shit!
SAY THAT AGAIN, I DARE YOU!
Dojima-san!
Calm down for a second, Dojima-san!
Please just hold it back!
Let's just go outside and cool off!
When you said "Don't worry about it"... I thought that meant to ignore him!
You are seriously scary sometimes, Senpai!
I intended to just let it go, but...
Dojima-san never lets anything go, so please be careful out there.
Seriously...
I can't believe I did something so stupid!
Is this guy really that incompetent at his job?
Rather than incompetent, I'd just say... he's not the type cut out for a weekly magazine.
I see what you're going for, but you're emphasizing the point way too strongly.
Why don't you try writing it again with more of a softer tone?
Dojima-san has always been a sarcastic person, anyways.
But...
Even though I knew that, in that one instant I just kind of... blew my top.
Regardless of your intent...
Being told off by a ZO-something-year-old woman in front of everyone almost certainly hurt his pride.
I know, right...
I really wish... I could just take it all back.
On top of that... who was the girl, urn, that you said stole a husband?
Ah... you mean Yumi-chan.
Yeah, about Yumi-chan... what's the real story there?
As far as you know, it is THAT kind of relationship isn't it?
Well... yeah, that's true.
That's right... she actually could be sleeping with him.
Gntansha Publishing
Good morning!
She's just the absolute worse, you can't find a woman who's more bitchy! Honestly!
If you become like Matsukata, then there's not a man alive who would touch you.
He's talking about me...
Yumi-chan...?
Nobody would ever think about marrying that kind of crazy!
So Yumi-chan, don't ever start taking after someone like her.
Okay, I'll be careful!
Even though I was partly in the wrong, it still really hurts to suffer the aftermath.
I didn't get angry at him for Yumi-chan's sake or anything, but...
"|'|| be care full"... Is that really the best reaction she should could come up with'?
Good morning.
Urn... Matsukata-san, I heard that you wanted to talk with me'?
Ah, that's right!
I had a favor to ask regarding one of the articles I'm currently working on.
Work is work.
I have to leave my feelings out of it.
I'd really love it if you could get me an interview with Shimura.
Would you mind introducing me to him, Yumi-chan?
Introducing... you?
Huh'? Is that not okay?
Well, if I could just go along with you to one of his practice sessions then I'll handle the rest myself.
Do you have a copy of your pitch I could look at'?
Oh... sure. Of course.
Pitch The Seven Samurai
If you just want me to give this to him, then that's fine.
But Shimura only does interviews with people he's cleared ahead of time.
Which is exactly why I'm asking you to help me get an in!
Then, if you could just give that to him it would really help. Please.
Alright.
Thanks.
Urn... sorry.
I didn't mean to put you in a tough situa...tion...
Is she trying to say that Shimura belongs to her?
Don't think you can just monopolize him!
This is a job!
Don't pretend...
...you're some kind of princess!
Vumi Nogawa (25) Occupation: Magazine Editor
Vumi Nogawa (25) Occupation: Magazine Editor "|'m a working woman who needs no man!"
Vumi Nogawa (25) Occupation: Magazine Editor
Vumi Nogawa (25) Occupation: Magazine Editor I don't get along with people like that.
Vumi Nogawa (25) Occupation: Magazine Editor
Sexual harassment?
If it helps to get me more work as a woman in this business, then why make it an issue'?
I think denying that advantage is not only unnatural, but unattractive.
"The Seven Samurai"...?
What's that?
This is the pitch.
"Japanese people making their way abroad"?
Are you sure this was meant for me'?
Do they think I'm going to the major leagues or something?
I've covered six of the modern day "samurai"...
Just one left.
'Fl-IE Qflllllfifll QPIEITI! Jllnii Shilnllra Triple Play Gnlnllach Hickory!
Shimura the baseball player.
What?!
He won't do it'?!
Yeah.
Shimura isn't interested in doing an interview for "The Seven Samurai."
No way...
Did you explain the main point of the article?
I showed him your pitch.
I wanted you to do more than just show it to him...
I only agreed to show him the pitch that you wrote.
Even if that's true, you know how pointless it is unless you explain the gist of the article first.
I can't do that. The amount of time he has for interviews after practice is limited.
There are other reporters, too. Our company doesn't get any special treatment.
We're both writers for the same magazine, so why can't you be more cooperative?
If you always make it so personal... people start to assume things, you know.
The same applies to you, Matsukata-san. Please don't let your jealousy get the better of you.
Jealousy?!
You're one to talk!
I think I've been more than cooperative with you.
Ah, wait!
You dropped something-
Wait, this is...
Pitch The Seven Samurai
Pitch The Seven Samurai This is my pitch!
Pitch The Seven Samurai
I thought you were a nice girl, so I tried to be modest, but this is...!
Damn it!
Shimura was so focused during today's game! I was drawn in and put on the edge of my seat!
I don't get why this column is so popular...
That's rare to see.
Dojima-san's pitch got accepted.
Oh... that's right!
From what I hear, he's working on something about the illegal dumping problem going around lately.
But that's...!
Senpai?
Narita-san!
Is it true about Dojima-san's pitch?
Oh... yeah.
You submitted one too, right? On the same topic.
So why did Dojima-san...?
He submitted a pitch too, similar to yours.
Huh?
That being said, the pitch he submitted was written from a different perspective than yours.
In the end, we decided to go with Dojima's take on it.
I see... although we wrote on the same subject, he came at the problem in a way I didn't think of.
Well, don't worry about it.
You've got other work to do, right?
How's that one coming, "The Seven Samurai"?
I just need to complete an interview with one last subject.
I see. Keep it up.
Oh'? You sure have unique ideas for your articles, Dojima-san.
Well, you know... those idiots who only think inside the box all the time
always write shallow articles that could never compare to my work. Never.
Oh?
What's this?
"The Seven Samurai"?
I can tell already... another trite piece of crap like that article on the foreign affairs minister.
All showy on the outside, but has no real substance to it at all.
I mean, who even writes a pitch this long? Did they even think about who has to read it'?!
The amount of time he has for interviews after practice is limited.
Well... writers who come up with this stuff always-
What?
Wh-what is her deal?
So I'll go beyond the night and meet with you
Let all of the sadness come to an end tonight
The amount of time he has for interviews after practice is limited. Let all of the sadness come to an end tonight
The amount of time he has for interviews after practice is limited.
The amount of time he has for interviews after practice is limited. Raise that singing voice and let it reach me now
Raise that singing voice and let it reach me now
That's right... with a limited amount of time for interviews, Raise that singing voice and let it reach me now
That's right... with a limited amount of time for interviews,
That's right... with a limited amount of time for interviews, I gut ruck'n roll music
there's no chance he'd read this entire pitch. I gut ruck'n roll music
there's no chance he'd read this entire pitch.
There's no chance he'd read this entire pitch. Ruck'n roll music
But... Ruck'n roll music
So Yumi-chan, don't ever start taking after someone like her.
Okay, I'll be careful!
Shimura only does interviews with people he's cleared ahead of time.
I thought I had thrown away all of my memories
The same applies to you, Matsukata-san. Please don't let your jealousy get the better of you. I thought I had thrown away all of my memories
I thought I had thrown away all of my memories
Wh-where does she get off'?!
Wh-where does she get off‘?! Yet I somehow remembered that and laughed slyly
This is exactly why I hate having to work with women! Yet I somehow remembered that and laughed slyly
Then... does that make me a man‘? Yet I somehow remembered that and laughed slyly
Then... does that make me a man?
I'm sure that I will not know true love yet
No. I'm sure that I will not know true love yet
I'm a woman. I'm sure that I will not know true love yet
A woman who fights! I'm sure that I will not know true love yet
An interview with Shimura... I'll make it happen!
Is he here?
What's up with her?
Why is a weekly reporter here?
Don't just wander around.
You're getting in the way!
It was quite scary.
At first I couldn't make my way through the crowd at all.
But at some point, I realized they act so rough because they don't want to lose to the other guys.
So I simply stopped using force.
If I acted more feminine, I figured they would treat me more like a lady.
Once I started playing the caring young lady role, they became much more receptive and kind to me.
Oh... Shimura just came out!
It's worse than I thought... So combative and no holes in their defense.
It's like a war...
You can't fight the wave.
You must avoid it.
Yumi-chan...
Within a herd of tanned men...
One person carries the floral scent of freesias...
She is a female Hataraki Man.
Excuse me, Shimura!
Excuse me for interrupting.
I'm Matsukata with Weekly JIDAI.
As a pro, instead of going abroad, you've tried to bring Japanese baseball to the world's attention.
I believe that attitude exemplifies a modern day samurai.
That is the focus of my article.
Ah... this is that pitch someone brought up before.
So, that's what it was about.
Please, allow me to interview you.
I...
can never turn down a request from a lady.
I did it!
Junji Shimura (29) Pro Baseball Player - infielder
Junji Shimura (29) Pro Baseball Player — infielder Yes... Nogawa-san really has an eye for detail.
Sung; Shimun I'm-sum an“:
Always tracking my condition...
And that time she showed me the scrapbook of articles
dating back to my high school championship?
I got pretty emotional.
Of course, now she's one of the few reporters who I can really trust.
Thank you.
And I... owe you an apology.
It's okay.
I also owe you... some gratitude, Matsukata-san.
Huh?
I heard that Dojima-san said some really terrible things about me.
And you got angry at him on my behalf, right?
Oh... yeah.
That made me happy.
In my experience, it's rare for other women to treat me as an ally.
But... after that happened, you looked like you were getting along with Dojima-san.
Even if we get seriously upset at them, they just make life harder for us later, don't you think?
Those type of people.
We should just let them fawn over us instead.
Yumi-chan... got married two months later.
All the old men of the office took it pretty hard.
I ended up catching the bride's bouquet, but...
I still haven't been proposed to.
But that's okay.
Spa-mum: “E Saw Slmuni an; 911mm "x m zvugthing m m; puma"
Spccifl Fcsurl: '11:: Sew Sam urli Junj Shinulra: "I an": every-tiling In 111$ per-lull“ Just maybe, my dream isn't to become a bride at an altar.
Just maybe, my dream isn't to become a bride at an altar.
But rather to use my pen like a katana and continue to fight... as the eighth modern samurai.
Shangri-la
Even in my dreams you can't manage a proper smile
I just want to chide and love a hopeless person like you
Today I thought about you and now I can't sleep
Where shall we go'!
Ahh... ahh...
Shangri-la
Let me hear you shout "|'m happy!"
Let me see the tears underneath your tough exterior
Shangri-la
Today I thought about you and now I can't sleep
Please chide and love a hopeless person like me
Shinji Niee Wrk Tday D y-ur hesl. hul dn'! wear yursell ul. -Shinii Please ehide and love a hopeless person like me
Shinji Nice Wrk Tday D gur besl. bu! dn'! wear y-ursell ul. -Shinji
Next Episode: Meticulous Man
Next episode: "Meticulous Man."
Next Episode: Meticulous Man