Soul Announcer
Authorized Personnel Only
Staff Waiting Room
Man, these are hilarious!
It's still just as funny every time.
You'd be in trouble if you watched it on the train!
What are we watching?
Hey, Ruriko!
Whenever the announcer reads our starting lineup,
she always throws in a tease about Nokogiriyama.
Someone uploaded a clip collection.
Go on, look!
Batting third: left fielder,
the player getting a big head thanks to hitting a .400 average
in his last five games, Nokogiriyama.
...the player who swore he'd limit himself to one treat per day
but still ate three cream puffs yesterday, Nokogiriyama.
She's been teasing him like this for five years now.
It's one of the selling points of the MotorSuns ballpark.
She does great announcing, and she's funny, too!
Talk about a double threat!
I can't wait to hear what she says today!
Some customers look forward to that more than the game!
Announcer's Booth
I hear it.
I hear their voices.
The voices of the people looking forward to my teasing of Nokogiriyama!
But I'm out of material!
Chiba MotorSuns Stadium Ballpark Announcer Sato Nagisa (Age 35)
Nokogiriyama Notes
I teased him about his batting success two days ago...
I've brought up the fact that his dog just had puppies, too...
Nothing's coming to me!
What'll I do? What'll I do?
I just... I just...
Chiba MotorSuns 3-Hole Left Fielder Nokogiriyama Ken (28)
Good luck with your announcing today.
Um...
I'm looking forward to it.
R-Right...
Good luck to you, too...
Authorized Personnel Only
So bad, so bad, so bad, this is so bad...
Hey, are you okay, miss?
Oh, yes! I'm just fine!
Sorry to worry you!
She's totally not fine!
When you think and you think, and you can't come up with an answer...
What do you do then?
What did I just say to a total stranger?!
I'm sorry. Don't let it bo—
That's a good question.
I feel like that means the answer's gotta be inside you somewhere, right?
I'm not really sure... but I think she might be right!
Excuse me!
Could I ask you the favor of a lifetime?
Announcer's Booth
Nagisa? Where have you been?!
It's almost time to read the lineup!
Sorry about that!
Um... Seriously, I dunno what to do here...
Where even are we?
What's with the vendor girl?
I've got work to do, too, you know.
I only need ten minutes!
Hey!
Nagisa?!
What's that vendor girl doing in the booth?
No idea!
Anyway, there's no time. Here comes the lineup!
I feel like having you here will give me the strength to get through this.
Hey, wait, don't tell me...
Please listen now for today's starting lineup.
I knew it! She's the stadium announcer!
Batting first: shortstop, Shishio.
Uniform number thirteen.
This is awesome!
Batting second: center fielder, Yagino.
Uniform number zero.
Yeah, here it comes!
Batting third...
B-Batting third...
I can't do it. Nothing's coming to mind!
The answer's gotta be inside you somewhere, right?
B-B-Batting third...
Th-The player who always greets me kindly through the glass...
Nokogiriyama.
What's that about?
Wh-Wh-What did I just say?!
Oh, just keep moving anyway!
Th-The player whose eyes crinkle up adorably when he smiles...
Hey! Is Nagisa blowing this?
W-We've gotta stop her!
Hey! Vendor girl! Open this door!
Come on! Open up!
Never!
How oblivious can you men get?
She's announcing from her soul right now!
What in the world are you talking about?!
Who in the world even are you?!
Th-The player whose last name is so charmingly unique,
wh-while my own is so boring...
A-A-Anyway, batting third: left fielder,
th-the amazing player... Nokogiriyama...
Uniform number twenty-five.
Another fun Nokogiriyama tease today, huh?
I thought it was a hot mic disaster for a minute.
Yeah, I didn't quite get what it was about.
I'm sorry for dragging you into that.
Hey, no big deal.
I've been doing this job for five years now, but I've never done anything like that.
Feels like I really blew it.
Hey...
Y-Yes?
Nothing.
Good luck tomorrow, too.
Th-Thank you...
All of the players and fans look forward to your announcing.
Th-That's nice to hear...
Your soul's cry got through.
It's always been my dream to announce, "The MotorSuns have won the championship!"
Yeah. I hope you get to.
The Suggestion Box Incident (Pt. 1)
Okay, all, that's it for the meeting,
but there's something I'd like to share before we close.
We got feedback in a suggestion box for the first time in a while.
It's been six months, right?
What's a suggestion box?
A lot of people don't notice them,
but they're tucked away in corners of the concourse.
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Suggestion Box
Please give feedback to ballpark staff.
Only a handful of people offer feedback each year, though.
The person in question this time
was kind enough to submit ten sheets of passionate feedback...
All directed to Ruriko.
Huh? To me?!
What'd you do now, Ruriko?
Uh... nothing bad, at least...
I don't think.
I didn't say they were complaints.
"The beer that Ruriko serves is very tasty."
"Ruriko's one more reason for me to come to the ballpark."
"I love Ruriko!"
It's ten sheets of Ruriko appreciation!
Thanks.
She's loving this!
The letters are anonymous, so we don't know who wrote them,
but they must have pretty strong feelings to have written all this.
Looks like you've got a devoted fan, Ruriko!
Yeah?
What kind of person do you think wrote it all?
N-No idea.
Analyzing the handwriting might give us some idea of their age or gender!
Actually, Omatsu screwed that up.
I'm so sorry!
When I was bringing them in, I was also carrying some equipment...
My hands were full, so I put them in my pocket...
which I then ran through the laundry!
I love Ruriko
We could just barely read them, but there's nothing to analyze there.
I'm so sorrah!
What's "rah"?
I trampled on a customer's feelings!
Hey, it's all good.
She still got to hear their words of appreciation.
There, there.
Either way, that's nice for you, huh, Ruriko?
Guess so.
I gotta know who wrote it!
Hey, there's our girl.
We'll take two beers!
Is there something on our faces?
Nah...
Cheers!
Think she's taken a liking to us?
Guess we're still in the game, huh?
Ruriko! I'll take two beers!
Just sit with me for Kojiro's at-bat, please!
'Kay.
When you're with me, I feel like he'll hit the ball!
Ru...
...ri...
...ko!
Girl!
You're as beautiful as ever!
I've been watching your Ninsta!
You barely post, though!
Hey, is she staring at me?
I'm gonna get a suntan from the fire in her eyes!
It's nighttime and I'm burning! Whoo!
Miss!
Thank you.
Miku was so upset that there wasn't a vendor girl uniform in the team store.
I'm gonna be a vendor girl when I grow up!
Or maybe Sun-Shiro!
H-He's staring at me.
Can it be...
Well, I've figured out that I have got no clue.
Seems like anyone might be the culprit...
Or might not be!
By Ruriko standards, this was an impressive analysis.
Besides that...
We're trailing in early innings again.
But we've had a lot more exciting games this year, right?
That's right!
If giving up runs in early innings got me down, I couldn't call myself a fan!
Guess I've finally trained myself into that mindset.
Well-trained
Still, far fewer of our losses this year are blowouts.
Last Year's Loss 8 to 1 (7 Run Gap)
This Year's Loss 6 to 5 (1 Run Gap)
If I apply the Pythagorean expectation...
Pythagorean Expectation A team's anticipated win-loss ratio based on runs scored vs. runs allowed.
The Chiba MotorSuns are clearly getting better!
Hey there.
P-Perfect timing. I'll take a beer.
Hey, mister.
Are you hiding something from me?
Wh-What do you mean?
"I love Ruriko."
Wh-Where is this coming from?
Um... like... what?
Never mind.
But mister...
You can't fool the eyes of Great Detective Ruriko!
G-Great Detective?
Hey, wait!
Where's my beer?!
I'm going to uncover the truth!
Ruriko was starting to enjoy this!
The Suggestion Box Incident (Pt. 2)
My investigation has hit a dead end.
Who could have written those ten letters?
New keg, please.
Hey, Ruriko! Got a minute?
What is it? I'm on a case.
"On the job," you mean?
The truth is, I found out who wrote those letters!
You mean it? That was fast!
It's not an absolute ID, of course.
You wanna know?
Security guard Takimoto here said he saw it while on duty.
The day they came in, I was standing by the suggestion box the whole time.
Huh? And?
Listen, I'm making a special exception here.
Customer privacy is important, so I don't do this lightly.
Yeah.
Those letters were written by...
a woman wearing sunglasses.
"Buying a beer from Ruriko always gives me a winning feeling."
Two old guys.
"I appreciate how hard she works to make the beer tasty."
"That smile of hers always leaves an impression."
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Suggestion Box
Please give feedback to ballpark staff.
Gosh, this is embarrassing.
I love Ruriko
And that lost gi— I mean, a little girl and her mother.
"I love Ruriko!"
I did it!
I'll do one, too.
"I love Ruriko!"
An old guy who's always here.
A trio of playboy wannabes.
"When I first met Ruriko, she took my breath away."
"Please post to Ninsta more often!"
"She's always so beautiful."
And one more...
A salaryman around thirty.
"Ruriko's one more reason for me to come to the ballpark."
Those were the ten that I saw.
I know you work hard, so I'm happy for you.
Takimoto. Time to go.
Sure. Well, later.
So it turns out it wasn't one person writing ten letters,
but ten people writing one letter each!
Working at a ballpark means having a lot of people watching you.
That means a lot of pressure.
But letters like these mean you've got people watching out for you, too,
and that's a motivating feeling.
R-Ruriko?
I'm not crying.
This doesn't count, okay?!
But wash off that face before you get back to work.
Thank you, as always.
Prince Charming's kindness! Yes!
Thank you for coming!
I feel like she's been giving me more chicken lately.
Guess it's a sign that I'm getting old.
Found you, mister.
H-Hey there.
Nice choice on your food today.
Prelude to a shakedown.
Where there's fried chicken, there must be beer.
Nope, it's the strong-arm sale.
I'm running a customer appreciation sale just for you, Mr. Regular.
Yeah? I'll take one, then.
I don't think she's ever done that before.
That'll be 700 yen!
Th-Thank you.
Pretty sure that's the same amount for the same price...
Later!
Wait, what about the appreciation sale?!
Oh, yeah, sorry.
I forgot.
Thank you for everything, all the time, truly.
Wait, that's the appreciation?
Oh, that's right! How old are you, anyway?
Um... I'm thirty.
A salaryman around thirty.
Wh-What is it?
The MotorSuns walk it off for the win!
They trailed at the start, but hung in there and made a strong comeback!
Our players of the game are
Dennis Young, who small-balled the team to a tie game in the 9th,
and Kojiro, who hit that walk-off home run!
Thank you to all of the fans, my teammates and the Goddess of Baseball.
I'd like to thank my fans, my teammates, and the goddess of baseball.
My wife's watching on TV at home. I hope this makes her happy.
Finally fought our way to a comeback!
This win is a big deal.
The MotorSuns have never won a championship before.
This season could maybe... Dare I hope, dare I dream?
I really do love the ballpark.
I get to watch baseball, and the food and drinks are great.
It's such a comfy place to be.
I should be the one thanking everyone here.
Women's Changing Room
They gave me the letters from the suggestion box.
They're blurry and hard to read, but...
Next Time
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"Ticks Me Off!"
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"The Lunch Pack Capriccio"
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"Different Faces"