E5 - A Monster of the Imagination

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.)
[00:11] Kotoko
    What's Kuro-senpai doing here?
[00:22] Kotoko
    His steps are so clumsy.
[00:25] Kotoko
    He basically has no sports
    or martial arts experience,
[00:28] Kotoko
    yet he looks completely unfazed
    taking that monster on.
[00:31] Kotoko
    That's undoubtedly Kuro-senpai.
[00:35] Kotoko
    I figured something like this might
    happen, but right now? Really?
[00:42] Saki
    Hey!
[00:44] Saki
    What the hell do you
    think you're doing?!
[00:46] Saki
    You have a monster summon me and then
    leave the place we're supposed to meet,
[00:50] Saki
    and you leave a ghost with a message?!
[00:53] Kotoko
    Why couldn't you have just
    waited at the restaurant?
[00:55] Saki
    Say someth—
[01:00] Saki
    Hey, we need to save him.
[01:02] Kotoko
    We can leave him alone. He'll be fine.
[01:04] Kotoko
    I'm sure even he's prepared to have
    his head smashed in at least once.
[01:09] Saki
    Huh?!
[01:16] Saki
    K...
[01:18] Saki
    Kuro-kun!
[02:53] Saki
    Why is Kuro-kun...
[02:56] Kotoko
    If you get any closer,
    you might get caught in the middle.
[02:58] Kotoko
    Let's just watch for a bit.
[03:04] Saki
    But it looks like he could
    go down at any moment.
[03:08] Saki
    He's tripping over his own feet!
[03:09] Kotoko
    Yes, but it doesn't seem like
    she's that much stronger than he is.
[03:13] Kotoko
    It should be simple, then.
[03:15] Kotoko
    Especially if he's willing to
    take a steel beam to the face.
[03:20] Kotoko
    Even if he's close to death,
[03:22] Kotoko
    he'll be able to get back up immediately
[03:25] Kotoko
    thanks to the immortality he gained
    by eating mermaid flesh.
[04:00] Kotoko
    Is this the first time you've
    seen Kuro-senpai die?
[04:04] Saki
    Of course it is.
[04:06] Kotoko
    Then why did you break up with him?
[04:08] Saki
    I saw a cut on his hand
    disappear immediately.
[04:12] Saki
    I saw his severed fingers grow back.
[04:15] Saki
    And yet Kuro-kun acted like
    nothing even happened.
[04:19] Kotoko
    Well, he is immortal. You should expect that.
[04:23] Kotoko
    An able-bodied boyfriend.
[04:25] Kotoko
    Couldn't she just accept that he
    would've made a great husband?
[04:28] ---
    That she'd never have to worry
    about him being injured or sick?
[04:31] Kotoko
    The way she's acting now, I guess not.
[04:35] Saki
    Is it so strange to suddenly
    feel scared at the thought
[04:38] Saki
    of becoming family with someone like that?
[04:40] Saki
    Am I not allowed to reconsider marriage?
[04:44] Saki
    Dozens of his relatives and extended family
    have died of illness or unusual causes.
[04:50] Saki
    Kuro-kun's the only one living a decent life.
[05:01] Kotoko
    Looks like Kuro-senpai's back.
[05:20] Saki
    I-If he gets that close,
    he's going to get killed again!
[05:39] Saki
    He stopped right before the
    steel beam could hit him.
[05:43] Saki
    Kuro-kun and Steel Lady Nanase look
    like they're following a script.
[05:48] Saki
    Everything seems calculated.
[05:50] Saki
    I can't believe he grabbed her so easily...
[05:53] Kotoko
    Well, Steel Lady Nanase is mostly just
    swinging the steel beam without thinking.
[05:57] Kotoko
    The probability of something like
    this happening is rather high.
[06:01] Kotoko
    And if it's likely to happen,
[06:04] Kotoko
    it's not hard for Kuro-senpai
    to set that future in stone.
[06:09] Kotoko
    That's another one of
    Kuro-senpai's abilities.
[06:12] Kotoko
    The powers of the prophet beast,
[06:14] Kotoko
    the kudan, whose flesh he ate
    along with the mermaid's.
[06:17] Kotoko
    The ability to determine the future.
[06:20] Kotoko
    He said that he hadn't
    told Saki-san everything
[06:25] Kotoko
    about the secrets of the Sakuragawa family.
[06:30] Kotoko
    It all started ten odd generations
    before Kuro-senpai, with the head of
[06:34] Kotoko
    the Sakuragawa family at that time.
[06:37] Head
    If your liver is bad, eat the liver
    of a creature with a strong one.
[06:42] Head
    If your eyes are bad, eat the eyes
    of a creature with good vision.
[06:46] Head
    Then, perhaps, if you ate the flesh of a kudan,
[06:49] Head
    you could acquire its prophetic powers!
[06:52] Head
    If I could freely see into the future,
[06:54] Head
    I could gain an unfathomable
    amount of wealth and knowledge!
SIGN    Kudan
[06:59] Kotoko
    The kudan.
[07:02] Kotoko
    A yokai with the head of a
    human and the body of a cow.
[07:06] Kotoko
    It can speak human language,
    and once it predicts the future, it dies.
[07:10] Kotoko
    On occasion, it would predict good futures,
[07:13] Kotoko
    such as a good harvest or
    prosperity for a family,
[07:15] Kotoko
    but most of its predictions would be
    misfortunes, and they were 100% accurate.
[07:20] Kotoko
    He got his hands on kudan meat and
    had several in his household eat it.
[07:24] Kotoko
    Some died instantly after having
    a bad reaction to the meat.
[07:27] Kotoko
    Some died after being
    bedridden for a month.
[07:30] Kotoko
    And others died after
    they predicted the future.
[07:34] Kotoko
    They say those predictions
    turned out to be accurate.
[07:39] Kotoko
    The head of the household
    continued this over and over.
[07:41] Kotoko
    But even those who obtained the ability
    to see the future died immediately...
[07:47] Kotoko
    Just like the kudan.
[07:52] (Flashback) Head
    I'm so close... I'm so close, and now...
[07:58] (Flashback) Head
    Damn it!
[08:08] Kotoko
    And then he realized...
SIGN    Mermaid
[08:09] Kotoko
    Those with the ability to predict
[08:11] Kotoko
    the future just needed
    to have immortal bodies.
[08:14] Kotoko
    So then he started having people consume
[08:17] Kotoko
    mermaid flesh along with the kudan meat.
[08:21] Kotoko
    But the number of victims skyrocketed,
[08:24] Kotoko
    and the experiment never worked.
[08:31] Kotoko
    Time passed, and such nightmarish
    experiments were forgotten.
[08:36] Kotoko
    But...
[08:38] (Flashback) Grandma
    Kuro.
[08:41] (Flashback) Kuro
    Grandmother.
[08:42] (Flashback) Grandma
    Dinner is ready.
[08:45] (Flashback) Kuro
    Okay.
[08:46] (Flashback) Boys
    Let's eat.
[09:00] (Flashback) Kuro
    Nii-san?
[09:02] (Flashback) Kuro
    What?
[09:11] (Flashback) Kuro
    Grandmother, they're all...
[09:18] (Flashback) Kuro
    Th-They all seem to be in pain!
[09:21] (Flashback) Grandma
    Ah, Kuro...
[09:23] (Flashback) Grandma
    You feel completely fine?
[09:26] (Flashback) Grandma
    Do you have a fever?
    Do you feel nauseous?
[09:28] (Flashback) Kuro
    No, I'm fine...
[09:30] (Flashback) Grandma
    It's come true! It's finally come true!
[09:34] Kotoko
    His grandmother was
    still chasing the dream.
[09:37] Kotoko
    She had been secretly gathering
    kudan meat and mermaid flesh.
[09:41] (Flashback) Kuro
    Grandmother.
[09:43] (Flashback) Kuro
    They're suffering. Please help them!
[09:45] (Flashback) Grandma
    Let's see...
[09:48] (Flashback) Grandma
    I would love to know what the
    weather will be like tomorrow.
[09:51] (Flashback) Kuro
    Huh?
[09:52] (Flashback) Grandma
    You should be able to tell me that, Kuro.
[09:54] (Flashback) Grandma
    I need you to die once and go see...
[09:57] (Flashback) Grandma
    the future!
[10:02] Kotoko
    And then, his insane grandmother
    tried various experiments.
[10:06] Kotoko
    To see if he was immortal,
    and if he could predict the future,
[10:10] Kotoko
    she cut up his body and made him
    suffer mortal wounds repeatedly,
[10:14] Kotoko
    until he stopped feeling
    pain almost altogether.
[10:17] (Flashback) Girl (Rikka)
    Kuro.
[10:23] (Flashback) Girl (Rikka)
    There are lots of fireflies
    by the river out back.
[10:26] (Flashback) Girl (Rikka)
    Want to go see them with me?
[10:28] (Flashback) Kuro
    Sure.
[10:31] (Flashback) Girl (Rikka)
    Well, come along, then.
[10:37] (Flashback) Girl (Rikka)
    Is something wrong?
[10:39] (Flashback) Kuro
    Nope. It's nothing, Nee-san.
[10:43] Kotoko
    The dream of the Sakuragawa
    family had finally come true.
[10:46] Kotoko
    But the abilities obtained were
    slightly different from what they desired.
[10:53] Kotoko
    While he is still human,
[10:55] Kotoko
    he became something inhuman.
[11:35] Kotoko
    Ah, Kuro-senpai...
[11:36] Kotoko
    The way he can do something
    like that with no hesitation
[11:39] Kotoko
    is another one of his charms!
[11:40] Saki
    I don't need a boyfriend who
    can snap a ghost's neck.
[11:44] Kotoko
    Now, this is the real question.
[11:47] Kotoko
    Will this truly be the
    end of Steel Lady Nanase?
[12:01] Kotoko
    I figured that wouldn't work.
[12:04] Kotoko
    This means we only have one option.
[12:15] Kotoko
    Kuro-senpai, that should be enough.
[12:19] Kotoko
    We'll need a different strategy
    to defeat Steel Lady Nanase.
SIGN    A Monster of the Imagination
[12:45] Kuro
    Saki-san, what are you doing here?
[12:50] Saki
    I work as a police officer in this city.
    What are you doing here, Kuro-kun?
[12:54] Kuro
    Well...
[12:58] Kotoko
    Of course, if your dear girlfriend
    asks you to show up,
[13:01] Kotoko
    you'll show up, even if it means
    fighting a monster, right?
[13:07] Kuro
    Something like that.
[13:09] Kuro
    Though I wasn't informed that
    you'd be here, Saki-san.
[13:11] Saki
    I also had no idea you'd
    show up, Kuro-kun.
[13:14] Kotoko
    Well, I had no intention of
    letting you see each other.
[13:18] Saki
    So she really is your current girlfriend?
[13:21] Kuro
    Yes... She really is my current girlfriend...
[13:24] Kotoko
    Kuro-senpai! Why do you sound
    like it absolutely pains you?!
[13:27] Kuro
    Because it does absolutely pain me.
[13:29] Kuro
    I'm sorry, Saki-san. I'm pretty sure
    Iwanaga caused you some trouble.
[13:34] Kotoko
    Kuro-senpai! I actually saved Saki-san!
[13:38] Kotoko
    I don't deserve this kind of treatment—
[13:40] Kuro
    Just apologize.
[13:42] Kuro
    There's no way you didn't cause trouble.
[13:46] Saki
    It's fine. I'm sure we both
    caused each other trouble.
[13:49] Saki
    What we should be worried about
    right now is Steel Lady Nanase.
[13:54] Saki
    So anyway,
[13:56] Saki
    it's good to see you, Kuro-kun.
[13:58] Kuro
    Yes. It's good to see you, too... Saki-san.
[14:07] Kotoko
    Let's go somewhere else.
[14:09] Kotoko
    Lingering in a vending machine's
     light for so long is way too sad.
[14:12] Kotoko
    It's not as if we're moths!
[14:15] Kotoko
    I knew I shouldn't have let
    these two see each other.
[14:21] Saki
    How did this happen?
[14:25] Saki
    It's not like we could've talked
    about this at the restaurant,
[14:27] Saki
    and I was scared to go home alone, but...
[14:32] Kotoko
    Kuro-senpai.
[14:34] Kotoko
    Why are you staring at your
    ex-girlfriend from behind
[14:36] Kotoko
    when your current girlfriend
    is sitting right next to you?
[14:39] Kuro
    You're just imagining it.
[14:40] Kotoko
    I am not! I just saw you!
[14:41] Kotoko
    "Oh, she's lost some weight.
    I hope she's been eating right.
[14:45] Kotoko
    I wonder if she looks like
    skin and bones because of me.
[14:48] Kotoko
    Wow, her hips look nice, though."
[14:51] Kotoko
    I know that's you were thinking.
[14:53] Kuro
    I'm impressed.
    That's exactly what I was thinking.
[14:57] Kuro
    Saki-san's beautiful.
[14:58] Kotoko
    Don't admit that!
    How dare you admit that so quickly?!
[15:01] Kotoko
    And how dare you take that
    attitude with me after
[15:03] Kotoko
    leaving your poor girlfriend
    alone for a whole week?!
[15:06] Kotoko
    Why didn't you reply to any of my messages?
[15:08] Kuro
    Oh, so those were from you.
    I thought they were spam messages.
[15:13] Kotoko
    At least look at me!
[15:14] Saki
    I see you two get along great.
[15:17] Kotoko
    Of course we do!
[15:18] Kotoko
    Just so you know, we're usually
    even more lovey-dovey!
[15:21] Kuro
    Saki-san, are you still not
    able to eat fish or beef?
[15:26] Saki
    I can eat some now.
[15:29] Saki
    My job is the reason I lost weight.
[15:32] Kuro
    I'm sorry.
[15:34] Saki
    Again, this isn't your fault, Kuro-kun.
[15:37] Saki
    We broke up without straightening things out,
[15:39] Saki
    so I thought I'd be more
    shaken up if I saw him.
[15:41] Saki
    I wonder if I'm able to stay
    so calm because of her.
[15:49] Kotoko
    Anyway, let's get to the matter at hand.
[15:51] Saki
    Though she's still pretty intolerable...
[15:54] Saki
    Yes, you're right.
[15:56] Saki
    Kuro-kun, were you fighting Steel Lady
    Nanase on orders from Iwanaga-san?
[16:01] Kuro
    Uh...
[16:05] Kuro
    I did come to Makurazaka City
    because she called me,
[16:09] Kuro
    but I just happened to run
    into Steel Lady Nanase.
[16:12] Kuro
    When I got to the station,
[16:13] Kuro
    a goblin cat that had been attacked by
    Steel Lady Nanase came to me for help.
[16:18] Kuro
    These creatures would usually do
    everything they can to avoid me,
[16:23] Kuro
    but after spending so much time with Iwanaga,
[16:25] Kuro
    they started to see me as
    someone they could rely on
[16:28] Kuro
    in place of their lady
    of one eye and one leg,
[16:32] Kuro
    and started asking me for help, as well.
[16:35] Kuro
    I didn't have time to contact Iwanaga,
[16:38] Kuro
    so I went to where Steel Lady
    Nanase appeared by myself.
[16:44] Saki
    Oh, that's good.
[16:46] Saki
    Maybe the kappa won't run
    away from you next time.
[16:49] Kuro
    Having them rely on me all
    the time isn't much better.
[16:52] Kuro
    More importantly, Steel Lady Nanase
    didn't fear me when she saw me.
[16:56] Kotoko
    Well, Kuro-san does look like
    a horrifying, evil, jumbled mess
[17:00] Kotoko
    of a creature that's some unsightly
    mix of a human, mermaid,
[17:06] Kotoko
    and kudan to those who aren't human.
[17:08] Kotoko
    Apparently, even the monsters
    consider him a monster.
[17:11] Kuro
    Huh?
[17:13] Saki
    Then, Iwanaga-san,
[17:14] Saki
    what does that make Steel Lady Nanase,
    since she doesn't react to Kuro-kun?
[17:19] Kotoko
    She's a monster.
[17:20] Saki
    Well, I can see that. Let me rephrase.
    Is she something that can be exterminated?
[17:25] Kotoko
    She is.
[17:26] Kotoko
    The reason I wanted to see you
    tonight is to discuss that.
[17:30] Kotoko
    Steel Lady Nanase is different
    from a normal spectre.
[17:33] Kotoko
    She was created from the delusions
    and desires of modern-day humans.
[17:37] Kotoko
    She's a monster of the imagination.
[17:40] Kotoko
    I hadn't planned to tell her
    all of this, but at this point,
[17:44] Kotoko
    I'll tell her as much of the truth
[17:46] Kotoko
    as I can so she'll understand how
    different our world is from hers.
[17:50] Kotoko
    I'll show her just how different
    we are. That's the best plan.
[17:56] Kotoko
    The yokai, monsters, ghosts, mononoke, and beasts from urban legends
[18:00] Kotoko
    that we're familiar with
[18:02] Kotoko
    have monsters of the imagination
    hidden among them.
[18:06] Kotoko
    It may start as something trivial.
[18:08] Kotoko
    For example, someone might say...
[18:10] Kotoko
    A creepy pale lady wearing
    a mask came up to me,
[18:13] Kotoko
    but she was scary, so I ran away.
[18:15] Kotoko
    That's how the story would start.
[18:17] Kuro
    Huh? And then?
[18:19] Kotoko
    But that's not a very interesting story, so...
[18:22] Kotoko
    And when I took a closer look,
[18:24] Kotoko
    I realized her mouth was
    split open under the mask.
[18:26] Kotoko
    I got scared, so I ran away,
[18:28] Kotoko
    but then she came running
    after me as fast as she could.
[18:30] Kuro
    Wow, that's really scary.
[18:33] Kotoko
    And now there's a lie added to the story.
[18:35] Kotoko
    Eventually, that story will spread.
[18:38] Voice 1
    A woman wearing a mask...
[18:40] Voice 2
    ...asked, "Am I pretty?"
[18:42] Voice 3
    Under the mask, her mouth was...
[18:44] Voice
    Under the mask, her mouth was...
[18:47] Kotoko
    This is all still just a story.
[18:50] Kotoko
    It becomes a problem when
    this is given a name.
[18:56] Kotoko
    The slit-mouth woman.
[18:58] Kotoko
    They give that story a single name
[19:01] Kotoko
    that manages to generally
    describe what it looks like.
[19:04] Kotoko
    That puts together all of these
    vague rumors and solidifies them
[19:08] Kotoko
    into a uniform image.
[19:12] Kotoko
    At first, it was just make-believe,
[19:15] Kotoko
    but now that the fiction
    has a name and a shape,
[19:18] Kotoko
    it implants itself into the minds
    of thousands, tens of thousands,
[19:21] Kotoko
    and millions of people's minds,
[19:23] Kotoko
    which gives it flesh and blood,
    turning it into something real.
[19:28] Kotoko
    People's imaginations manage
    to create a monster.
[19:32] Saki
    Do you expect anyone to believe
    this happens every day?
[19:35] Kotoko
    Are you really asking that after
    seeing a kappa and a ghost?
[19:39] Kotoko
    Usually, monsters of the
    imagination are nothing to fear.
[19:44] Kotoko
    They're popular for a short time,
[19:45] Kotoko
    and even if they gain a form, they're weak.
[19:47] Kotoko
    They usually disappear soon after.
[19:50] Kotoko
    The slit-mouth woman and human-faced
    dog eventually disappeared.
[19:54] Saki
    But in that case, isn't Steel Lady Nanase
[19:57] Saki
    rather different from the monster
    of the imagination that you speak of?
[20:00] Saki
    It's been given the name
    "Steel Lady Nanase,"
[20:04] Saki
    but she's so powerful.
[20:06] Kotoko
    Yes, exactly that.
[20:07] Saki
    Huh?
[20:08] Kotoko
    Why did it manage to gain a form not
    even a year after Nanase Karin's death
[20:13] Kotoko
    and become that powerful?
[20:15] Kotoko
    There is a way to make that possible.
[20:18] Kotoko
    Usually, rumors take time to spread.
[20:21] Kotoko
    So what can spread them instantly
[20:23] Kotoko
    where countless eyes can see them?
[20:25] Saki
    Only certain media outlets even
    bothered reporting the accident.
[20:29] Saki
    It's really only popular on the Internet...
[20:35] Kotoko
    Exactly. The culprit is the Internet.
[20:38] Kotoko
    The Internet can relay information
    all around the world in an instant,
[20:41] Kotoko
    and many people have access to it.
[20:44] Kotoko
    And it's able to gather an endless
    amount of varying ideas in one place.
[20:50] Saki
    In one place?
[20:52] Saki
    Oh, like that Steel Lady Nanase wiki?
[20:55] Kotoko
    Ah, so you know of it.
    That'll make this easier.
[20:58] Kotoko
    That site is the reason her name
    and description have been defined,
[21:02] Kotoko
    and why it spread at such an alarming rate.
[21:05] Kotoko
    And the illustration of
    her on the top page...
[21:09] Kotoko
    That gave her a from that's
    hard to get from rumors alone
[21:12] Kotoko
    and defined what she should
    look like in an instant.
[21:15] kotoko
    Do you remember what
    the picture looks like?
[21:18] Saki
    Yes.
[21:19] Kotoko
    Don't you think that
    the Steel Lady Nanase
[21:21] Kotoko
    on that page looked exactly like the
    one we saw, down to the finest detail?
[21:25] Saki
    Now that you mention it, yes.
    What about it, though?
[21:28] Kotoko
    Do you think it's really possible
[21:30] Kotoko
    to illustrate a ghost made up of rumors
[21:32] Kotoko
    so precisely, when there's never
    been a solid eyewitness report?
[21:36] Kotoko
    Of course you can't.
[21:37] Kotoko
    What happened is the opposite.
[21:39] Saki
    The opposite?
[21:41] Kotoko
    That drawing wasn't
    modeled after the ghost.
[21:44] Kotoko
    But because so many people
    imagined Steel Lady Nanase
[21:47] Kotoko
    to look like that from that illustration,
[21:49] Kotoko
    it took that form.
[21:54] Saki
    Huh?
[21:55] Kotoko
    Everything is backwards.
[21:57] Kotoko
    The wiki wasn't created
    because there was a ghost.
[22:01] Kotoko
    The ghost was born because
    the wiki was created.
SIGN    Steel Lady Nanase Wiki
[22:06] Kotoko
    You could call this website
[22:08] Kotoko
    the true identity of Steel Lady Nanase.
SIGN    To Be Continued
SIGN    Preview
[23:45] Kotoko
    Steel Lady Nanase maintains
    her immortal form thanks to
[23:48] Kotoko
    many people's imaginations.
[23:49] Kotoko
    To defeat her,
[23:51] Kotoko
    we need to think up a story that'll
    surpass an actual story of a spectre.
[23:54] Kotoko
    The thing we need to face her head-on is...
[23:56] Kotoko
    Next time, "Logical Fiction."