E12 - Equipment for girls has special effects

Source: Crunchyroll
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(Please feel free to edit the speaker names if incomplete or inaccurate. Names are handled on a best-effort basis depending on the info on the source file. Dialogue is left as is.)
[00:27] ---
    I've been knocking, you know.
[00:30] ---
    Oh. What is it? Mealtime?
[00:32] ---
    Yeah. Dinner.
[00:34] ---
    Hurry up already.
[00:36] ---
    Okay.
[00:37] ---
    Hey, why are you turning back
    into a freak, anyway?
[00:42] ---
    Huh?
[00:45] ---
    I'm asking you...
[00:47] ---
    Why did you go back to your old look?
[00:52] ---
    Well... you know.
[00:53] ---
    Ugh! And just when you'd gotten
    so much better, too!
[00:57] ---
    Uh--
[01:13] ---
    When you brought those cool kids over
    and called them your friends,
[01:16] ---
    I was like, "Wait, this isn't my brother."
[01:20] ---
    But playing games with such
    a bored look on your face?
[01:23] ---
    That really isn't you.
[01:32] ---
    And...
[01:34] ---
    You haven't picked your phone up in a while.
[01:37] ---
    Ignoring a girl's messages for two whole days
[01:40] ---
    is a little too cocky, even for you.
[01:42] ---
    Huh?
[01:44] ---
    Oh!
SIGN    "Fuka Kikuchi: I'm thinking of picking up
    Andi's latest, Kind Dogs Stand Alone,
    in Omiya on the 21st. Want to join me?"
[01:49] ---
    Kikuchi!
SIGN    "Sorry! I hadn't looked at my phone in a while! The 21st? Let's go together!"
[01:58] ---
    What?
[01:59] ---
    You must be going through some stuff.
    Just do your best, okay?
[02:05] ---
    "Lv. 12: Equipment for girls
    has special effects"
[02:06] ---
    It wouldn't have been easy for Kikuchi
    to ask out a guy like that.
[02:11] ---
    And here I let her message sit for two days.
[02:14] ---
    This is after defying Hinami, too,
    telling her it's weird
[02:19] ---
    to view human connections
    in terms of tasks and goals.
[02:24] ---
    It's beyond selfish,
    no matter how you slice it.
[02:29] ---
    I just don't want to run away, that's all.
[02:32] ---
    Not when Kikuchi is trying
    to get involved with me--
[02:35] ---
    regardless of how it all began.
[02:38] ---
    Hi, there.
[02:39] ---
    Hello.
[02:44] ---
    S-So, um... should we get going?
[02:47] ---
    Okay!
[02:48] ---
    I'd stopped relying on memorized topics
[02:51] ---
    or looking for opportunities to gain XP.
[02:56] ---
    I wasn't even wearing any of the clothes
    Hinami had picked out for me.
[03:00] ---
    For who I was now,
[03:02] ---
    it was an act of the utmost sincerity
    not to wear those masks.
[03:06] ---
    Our conversations were awkward, halting.
[03:09] ---
    But it was like I was connecting with
    someone using only my true feelings,
[03:13] ---
    and I realized that maybe I
    always had been--until recently.
[03:18] ---
    And Kikuchi, who says
    I'm easy to talk to like this.
[03:23] ---
    It warmed my chilled heart.
[03:27] ---
    "Oseido Bookstore"
[03:29] ---
    I love the way a bookstore smells.
[03:32] ---
    Oh, I think I know what you mean.
[03:36] ---
    Oh!
[03:37] ---
    "If I'd Met You First"
[03:37] ---
    This was really outstanding!
[03:40] ---
    You read those kinds of books, too, huh?
[03:43] ---
    Um... yes. I do.
[03:46] ---
    S-Sorry. It was a little unexpected, that's all.
[03:49] ---
    I-I, um... I'd actually like to...
    write like this.
[03:54] ---
    Oh, really?
SIGN    "Kind Dogs Stand Alone" "Hot Off the Presses" "Michael Andi's Latest Book"
[03:57] ---
    Here it is! Michael Andi's latest!
[04:03] ---
    "Kind Dogs Stand Alone"
[04:03] ---
    Kind Dogs Stand Alone.*
[04:06] ---
    It's a dream come true!
[04:08] ---
    Kikuchi faces her true desires more
    earnestly than anyone I know.
[04:15] ---
    "Kind Dogs Stand Alone"
[04:24] ---
    I'd thought that improving myself
[04:27] ---
    by working toward goals like a player
    on the other side of the screen
[04:31] ---
    wasn't what I truly wanted to do.
[04:33] ---
    So I thought I'd be my real,
    unvarnished self today.
[04:37] ---
    I gave no thought to my outfit
    and skipped the hair wax.
[04:40] ---
    I felt those were made-up skills
    that masked the real me.
[04:45] ---
    And the result?
[04:46] ---
    Without the mask of those skills,
    my expression and my posture
[04:50] ---
    were weak, hollow, and immature.
[04:53] ---
    I made myself sick.
[04:57] ---
    What exactly did I want to become?
[05:00] ---
    I remember seeing myself as a normie:
[05:02] ---
    the strong sense of accomplishment I'd felt
[05:04] ---
    as this Fumiya Tomozaki character,
    living in the real world.
[05:09] ---
    In other words,
[05:10] ---
    while telling Hinami it was pointless
    not to act based on what we really want,
[05:14] ---
    I was happy from the bottom of my heart
[05:17] ---
    when I met the goals she'd set for me.
[05:20] ---
    I worked hard toward set goals
    from a player's perspective,
[05:25] ---
    finding meaning in that growth and development--
[05:28] ---
    so what did that make me?
[05:30] ---
    Did my true desires really
    have to guide my actions?
[05:37] ---
    Say, Kikuchi...
[05:39] ---
    Yes?
[05:40] ---
    I'm sorry. I'm all mixed up again.
[05:44] ---
    You know how, after the movie,
[05:46] ---
    you said I was easy and hard
    to talk to at times?
[05:51] ---
    There's probably a reason for that.
[05:53] ---
    The truth is, someone's been
    giving me... lessons.
[05:57] ---
    How to talk--things like that.
[05:59] ---
    I'd record myself talking
    and listen to it later...
[06:02] ---
    All kinds of stuff.
[06:04] ---
    "Someone"?
[06:06] ---
    And as part of that--
[06:07] ---
    like, you can't start a conversation
    without a topic.
[06:11] ---
    So I used flashcards to memorize various topics.
[06:15] ---
    Before we went to the movies, too.
[06:17] ---
    But at the fireworks show and then today...
[06:19] ---
    I've only been talking about what's on my mind.
[06:22] ---
    And you said I was easier to talk to like that.
[06:26] ---
    So that's what that was all about.
[06:29] ---
    It didn't feel right to be wearing a mask,
    cheating at conversation.
[06:35] ---
    But using those memorized topics
    to talk with people
[06:40] ---
    gave me a sense of accomplishment.
[06:42] ---
    Should I keep making an effort
    to enhance my skills?
[06:45] ---
    Or should I just be myself?
[06:47] ---
    Which one do I really want?
[06:52] ---
    I-I'm sorry. I know this is weird.
[06:57] ---
    The reason I think you're easy to talk to
[07:01] ---
    is because I can picture the things you say.
[07:06] ---
    Picture them?
[07:07] ---
    A lot of times, it's like you're saying
    whatever pops into your head.
[07:14] ---
    And then this image pops into my head.
[07:17] ---
    Just like when I'm reading a novel.
[07:21] ---
    Like a novel?
[07:23] ---
    I feel like you're conveying whatever mood
    and emotions you saw at the time
[07:27] ---
    right into my head as is, directly and honestly.
[07:31] ---
    That's what makes you easy to talk to.
[07:33] ---
    Thanks.
[07:35] ---
    But sometimes the pictures
    don't really come into focus.
[07:38] ---
    That must be when you're using
    your memorized flashcard topics.
[07:42] ---
    Yeah. So chatting with those shortcut skills...
[07:47] ---
    But you know...
[07:49] ---
    The images that came to mind
    when talking with you
[07:52] ---
    were all black and white at first.
[07:54] ---
    Huh?
[07:55] ---
    It was a slightly sad and lonely world,
[07:58] ---
    one that resembled the world I see.
[08:01] ---
    I thought, "Could Tomozaki be like me?
[08:03] ---
    Could we both be seeing a world with no color?"
[08:08] ---
    Maybe so.
[08:09] ---
    Sometimes the world I'd see
    when reading a book
[08:12] ---
    looked so much more beautiful
    than the real world.
[08:17] ---
    And every time it did,
[08:18] ---
    I'd think, "Does the author really see
    the world in such a colorful way?
[08:23] ---
    Lucky them. I'm jealous."
[08:26] ---
    But now that we've met and talked so many times,
[08:29] ---
    the images you've been sending me...
[08:32] ---
    They've been taking on more and more color.
[08:37] ---
    That was a surprise.
[08:39] ---
    Ever since I was little, I'd felt like
    everything I saw was gray.
[08:44] ---
    I figured it would stay that way forever.
[08:47] ---
    But in such a short time, Tomozaki,
[08:50] ---
    you completely changed
    the color of the world you see.
[08:55] ---
    So I think it's really fantastic that you're
    working hard to change yourself.
[09:01] ---
    And if there's someone in your world,
    a magician who gave it these colors...
[09:09] ---
    Then you should treasure that someone.
[09:14] ---
    Thank you, Kikuchi.
[09:16] ---
    Just a token of my gratitude
    for having shown me
[09:18] ---
    that I can still change the way
    I see the world.
SIGN    "Today" "I want to talk one more time. Can we meet soon?" "Read"
SIGN    "I want to talk one more time. Can we meet soon?" "Read" "Talk about what?"
SIGN    "Talk about what? I've been thinking a lot. I'd like to talk again"
SIGN    "Talk about what? I've been thinking a lot. I'd like to talk again" "Read"
SIGN    "Talk about what? I've been thinking a lot. I'd like to talk again" "There's nothing I want to talk about"
SIGN    "You wanted your bag back. It'd be a pain to bring to school--one more thing to lug around. Let me return it over break"
[09:51] ---
    "Just keep it, then"
SIGN    "It'd be a pain to bring to school--one more thing to lug around. Let me return it over break" "Just keep it, then"
[09:55] ---
    "But if you insist, meet by the Beanstalk
    at Omiya Station tomorrow at 6 PM"
[09:59] ---
    All right!
[10:13] ---
    This spot's a little awkward.
    Let's find somewhere else.
[10:28] ---
    Hi! I'm NO NAME!
[10:36] ---
    So listen...
[10:39] ---
    Did you come up with a new excuse?
[10:42] ---
    I like games.
[10:45] ---
    You're telling me this now?
[10:47] ---
    I like Tackfam--along with RPGs and shooters.
[10:51] ---
    I even enjoyed the student-council-election
    game I played against you.
[10:55] ---
    But in Tackfam, I'm always the player.
[10:59] ---
    I'm on the outside with my controller,
[11:02] ---
    moving a character around on the screen.
[11:04] ---
    Well, yeah. Obviously.
[11:07] ---
    But I still poured my soul into it,
    so I could become one with my character.
[11:12] ---
    That made the game world feel more colorful.
[11:17] ---
    There's a reason video games
    are what won me over--
[11:20] ---
    not anime, not novels, not manga.
[11:23] ---
    And that is...
[11:25] ---
    In a video game, I can make
    the characters do what I want.
[11:31] ---
    I don't have to experience my own
    weakness, pitifulness, or self-hatred.
[11:37] ---
    That's what made the game world so attractive.
[11:40] ---
    It's why I thought real life was a garbage game.
[11:43] ---
    I mean, I couldn't do what
    I wanted in the real world
[11:47] ---
    with this Fumiya Tomozaki character at all.
[11:51] ---
    It's not like I meant to mumble.
[11:54] ---
    I didn't want to have that
    gloomy look on my face.
[11:58] ---
    But there was nothing I could do about it.
[12:00] ---
    I was the only one on the outside looking in.
[12:03] ---
    Every day was gray.
[12:06] ---
    But there were ways to add color
    to the world around me.
[12:10] ---
    Ways to control this game called "life,"
    to make it shine.
[12:13] ---
    And you showed them to me.
[12:16] ---
    I want to be a character
    in the game of life, too.
[12:21] ---
    I actually like this game now, thanks to you.
[12:26] ---
    This... this is what I really want.
[12:29] ---
    There's no such thing as what you really want.
[12:33] ---
    You're just drunk on idealism,
    wallowing in sentimentality.
[12:36] ---
    A momentary hangup.
[12:42] ---
    If you're saying it's more than just a hangup,
[12:44] ---
    it means nothing if you can't prove it.
[12:47] ---
    I figured you'd say as much.
[12:51] ---
    True: If I can't prove it, what's the point?
[12:54] ---
    Are you saying you can prove it?
[12:57] ---
    I am. This "what I really want"? It does exist.
[13:02] ---
    Huh? Then I'd like to hear it--
[13:05] ---
    whatever proof you have for
    the existence of your true desires.
[13:08] ---
    What are you talking about?
[13:09] ---
    You really don't understand anything, do you?
[13:12] ---
    Excuse me?
[13:14] ---
    This proof consists of many simple
    rules in combination,
[13:18] ---
    intersecting in complex ways
    that make them harder to grasp.
[13:24] ---
    So... what are you going to do?
[13:27] ---
    You can't tell if a game is godly
    or garbage without playing it.
[13:32] ---
    Which means...
[13:34] ---
    You're going to give it a shot.
[13:36] ---
    That's right. You won't find out
    what you really want
[13:38] ---
    just by asking for proof that it exists.
[13:41] ---
    But by struggling to discover how you feel
    and making sincere progress--
[13:46] ---
    that's when you first learn your true desires.
[13:49] ---
    Why, you...
[13:50] ---
    Listen up, Hinami.
[13:52] ---
    You've only been going through the motions
    from a player's point of view.
[13:56] ---
    You don't know what real fun is!
[13:58] ---
    What's all this?
[13:59] ---
    I'll tell you one thing:
[14:01] ---
    You're a top-tier character, and that's no lie.
[14:03] ---
    And yet...
[14:05] ---
    Right now, when it comes to
    enjoying the game of life?
[14:08] ---
    I've got you beat!
[14:13] ---
    Starting today, I'll show you step-by-step
[14:17] ---
    how to really get into the game.
[14:20] ---
    How to find what it is you really want.
[14:24] ---
    How to enjoy life--more than you do now.
[14:28] ---
    Although I'm not as good as you are
    at putting rules into words.
[14:33] ---
    It'll be a slow process.
[14:35] ---
    Aren't you jumping the gun here?
[14:38] ---
    I don't even believe there is such
    a thing as these "true desires."
[14:43] ---
    Shouldn't you start there?
[14:45] ---
    Maybe so. But what if you think of it like this?
[14:48] ---
    Like how?
[14:49] ---
    My true desires have always fueled my gaming.
[14:55] ---
    That's how I became the top
    Tackfam player in Japan--
[14:57] ---
    and why you can't beat me.
[15:01] ---
    I mean, don't you think it's strange?
[15:04] ---
    Academics, sports, social standing--
[15:07] ---
    you continue to come in first place
    in all these games.
[15:10] ---
    But you just can't take the top spot in Tackfam.
[15:13] ---
    That's the effect--so what's the cause?
[15:16] ---
    It has to do with the amount
    of effort, that's all.
[15:19] ---
    No, that's not it.
[15:22] ---
    What, then?
[15:24] ---
    You must have an idea.
[15:26] ---
    It's what makes me better than you in Tackfam:
[15:30] ---
    I know what I really want, and you don't.
[15:36] ---
    That's why you haven't managed
    to beat me even once.
[15:41] ---
    There can be no better proof
    for the existence of true desires.
[15:47] ---
    I mean, I can see that from where I
    stand as Japan's best Tackfam player.
[15:51] ---
    It's only natural that someone at
    your level wouldn't understand.
[15:57] ---
    If that frustrates you,
[15:58] ---
    just try beating me without
    knowing what you really want.
[16:05] ---
    She uses a super-strong fighting style,
[16:08] ---
    standing in her opponent's ring
    and crushing them head-on.
[16:13] ---
    No one's made that much effort;
    no one has that much in reserve.
[16:17] ---
    But I'm different.
[16:19] ---
    Before the two of us were
    Fumiya Tomozaki and Aoi Hinami,
[16:24] ---
    we were nanashi
[16:25] ---
    and NO NAME.
[16:29] ---
    So on that point alone,
[16:31] ---
    in this ring, where once you master Tackfam,
    you'll understand--
[16:35] ---
    where if you want to complain,
    you'll have to beat me first--
[16:39] ---
    in this ring, where rationality means nothing,
[16:42] ---
    I'm the only one who can be
    victorious over her.
[16:46] ---
    And she's the only one
    who will step into that ring,
[16:49] ---
    no matter how outrageous it may be.
[16:51] ---
    Because no gamer hates
    losing more than she does.
[16:59] ---
    I get it. You really put some
    thought into your empty logic.
[17:03] ---
    But I can't argue against it.
[17:06] ---
    Not that you've actually proven anything at all.
[17:09] ---
    I guess not.
[17:10] ---
    There's no telling who's right.
[17:13] ---
    So I'll meet you halfway:
[17:16] ---
    I don't accept that there's such a thing
    as "true desires" or whatever,
[17:20] ---
    but I also can't definitively
    say that there isn't.
[17:24] ---
    Hinami...
[17:25] ---
    However...
[17:26] ---
    If you're so certain that you're right,
[17:28] ---
    you'd better take the time to prove it--
[17:32] ---
    and convince me beyond a shadow of a doubt.
[17:36] ---
    Got it.
[17:44] ---
    So? What do you want to do now?
[17:48] ---
    Keep trying to conquer life, same as before.
[17:52] ---
    Ah.
[17:53] ---
    I need the skills you've taught me
    to grow into the character I want to be.
[17:59] ---
    You keep setting my goals and
    I'll keep working toward them.
[18:03] ---
    But they might conflict with
    what you really want in life.
[18:08] ---
    Sure. And I'll skip the ones that do.
[18:11] ---
    So you want to use the skills,
[18:14] ---
    but create goals based on what you really want?
[18:18] ---
    Something like that.
[18:20] ---
    In other words...
[18:22] ---
    I'll have a hybrid play style:
    skills plus true desires.
[18:29] ---
    Well, now I really need to see some proof.
[18:33] ---
    Leave it to me, NO NAME.
[18:36] ---
    I don't expect much, but sure:
    I'll leave it to you, nanashi.
[18:51] ---
    I think I'll get the salted mackerel set.
[18:53] ---
    What a coincidence! Me, too.
[18:59] ---
    Oh, right.
[19:03] ---
    That's why we really met today--
    so I could return this.
[19:07] ---
    If you're going to keep
    trying to beat this game,
[19:09] ---
    you may as well keep it.
[19:12] ---
    I'm not inclined to use it myself,
    what with that frayed patch.
[19:15] ---
    Still, take it. I'll buy another one like it.
[19:19] ---
    It's something I want to do.
[19:22] ---
    Ah.
[19:25] ---
    This is...
[19:26] ---
    It hides the frayed part pretty well, right?
[19:29] ---
    You can have that back, too.
[19:31] ---
    But I only got this in exchange
    for the backpack.
[19:34] ---
    Look, it's fine.
[19:36] ---
    It's my thanks for adding
    so much color to my world.
[19:42] ---
    I see.
[19:45] ---
    Well, in that case, I'll take it.
[19:53] ---
    Now for your next task.
[19:56] ---
    What?!
[19:56] ---
    You're still trying to win at life, right?
[19:59] ---
    We've already wasted so much time.
[20:01] ---
    Now to make it up all at once!
[20:04] ---
    What is it this time?
[20:08] ---
    A part-time job.
[20:18] ---
    "Hara" "Ochi"
[20:23] ---
    Huh! You're the guy interviewing
    for the part-time position?
[20:27] ---
    Mizusawa?!
[20:29] ---
    Did you know I worked here?
[20:33] ---
    No--it's a total coincidence.
[20:35] ---
    You set me up, Hinami...
[20:37] ---
    Spicy roe sauce...
[20:41] ---
    S'ghetti Napolitan...
[20:41] ---
    "Narita"
[20:47] ---
    Another part-timer. If you're hired,
    she'll be your senior.
[21:05] ---
    Hey, which do you think is best?
[21:08] ---
    You're overthinking this.
    It's just a date with Shuji.
[21:11] ---
    But I like your first outfit best.
[21:13] ---
    Really? I prefer the second one.
[21:17] ---
    Isn't the third one nice, though?
[21:19] ---
    Aw, c'mon! What do you think, Tomozaki?
[21:23] ---
    M-Me?!
[21:31] ---
    Um, I-I think you look great in all of them!
[21:35] ---
    That's the least helpful answer!
[21:42] ---
    Look at these! Aren't they fabulous?
[21:44] ---
    Totally! They're all so cute!
[21:49] ---
    Are they?
[21:52] ---
    Check this out! It looks just like you, Tama!
[21:54] ---
    It does not!
[22:02] ---
    The heck?
[22:04] ---
    Mimimi likes it.
[22:06] ---
    She does?!
[22:09] ---
    I just knew she had great taste!
[22:11] ---
    Talk about a mood swing...
[22:17] ---
    I'm writing a new novel.
[22:20] ---
    It should be finished before too long--
[22:22] ---
    could I ask you to read it when I'm done?
[22:25] ---
    Of course! If you think I could help.
[22:43] ---
    "Tomozaki"
[22:43] ---
    Your order is ready!
[22:46] ---
    Huh? Army Boy's working here, too?
[22:49] ---
    Yep. And I'm training him.
[22:51] ---
    I expect freebies, Tomozaki.
[23:00] ---
    Your job seems to be going well.
[23:02] ---
    But don't let your guard down just yet.
[23:04] ---
    I know. What's my next task?
[23:07] ---
    Now, hold on. Before we get to that...
[23:13] ---
    As heavy-handed as ever, I see.
[23:16] ---
    Got a problem?
[23:32] ---
    One more game!
[23:34] ---
    All right--
[23:35] ---*
    bring it on!