Episode 3

Watching a
revue at theInternational
Theater until
this late hour!?
All by yourself!?
You're still inelementary school!

Can you imagine howmuch your mother must
be worried!?

It's alright,dear.

But you evenasked thepolice to searchfor him!

I’m just glad Tsugu
got home safely...

Episode 3

Even while hewas being
fiercely scoldedby his father...

Tadatsugu's mind
was filled withexcitement fromthe revue he hadjust seen.

They say that theInternational
Theater has beenclosed as well.

I heard it's
now a factoryfor making
balloon bombs.

The followingyear, in 1944,
the wargradually
escalated.

It's such a pity...
Yes, all becauseof the war...

All boys are
required to havetheir heads
shaved.
Only Tadatsugu
refuses to do so.
Could you talkto him?
041

Tadatsugu—now
a sixth grader—
had to leave homeand evacuateTokyo like otherchildren, to thecountryside in
Shiobara, Tochigi
Prefecture.

Now, that's
my mom!!

Well...

…If he refuses,
I don’t think
there is much
we can do...

There was aserious foodshortage, andthe children
were always
starving.

Tadatsugu andothers wereevacuated to thecountryside forseven months.

March 1945

Wow!!

Starvingchildren picked
and ate grasson the roadsideand acorns in
the mountains.
Some of themsecretly ate theazuki beans
stuffed inside
beanbag toys.

Don't rush!
Take your timeand chew slowly.

It's good that sixth
graders could comeback to Tokyo earlier
than the otherchildren because of
the graduation
ceremony.

The world isextremelyunequal andunreasonable!!

Your father isdoing work for
the Navy.

What was thepurpose of allthat sufferingand starvation?

So we can get morethings than otherfamilies.

March 10

The house nextdoor caught
fire! The fire iscoming to ourhouse!

About 300 B-29
bombers madea low-altitude
raid on Tokyo.

There's no time!
We have to get
out of here fast!

The bombing
burned twothirds of Tokyo
to the ground.

I'll go andget help!

No, Tsugu! It's
dangerous!

Someone,heeelp!

Please put
out thefire!

Help usextinguish thefire!!
Why is nobody
coming out tohelp!?

Why!? We didbucket brigade
training together
so many times!!

Why!?

Someone,heeelp!!

The war ended inAugust 1945, but
Tokyo had been
reduced to ashes...
…leaving nothing
but a deep distrustof adults and society
in Tadatsugu’s
young heart.

Three months
after the endof the war

Oh, at last...

I can finallysee stage
performances
again....

It's a miracle that
this building
survived the fire...

Thank you,god.

048

It's shoow tiiime!!

Wow...!!

But no.
It's not adream.

It feels like a dream.

The war isreally over.

Oh, it's sobeautiful...

050

Some day...

...some day,I want to be partof this miraculousworld!!

What!?

Timepassed—You want to dostage work!?

Calm down,
dear...

I think it would
be good for him
to pursue art.

I knew mom wouldunderstand.

What do you think
you're talking
about!! Dreamingof working in sucha risky business!

Tsugu hasalways been themost sensitiveof our boys.

Hmmm...

Tadatsugu
would soon
graduate fromuniversity.

Oops!!
Sorry!
They got inthe way!

1955

After graduatingfrom university,
Tadatsugu
joined a stage
production
company.
What are alltheserubber-soled
shoes!!

Since thisperformance is anopera, won't shoesounds on thestage distract theaudience?
I though it would
be good if thechorus wore theserubber-soled shoes.

...Who?
I just thoughtof it myself.

Hey! That's agood idea.
Who told you?

Excuse me.

You'reright.

That new guy
is prettysmart.

It was Tadatsugu's
first step towardrealizing his
future dream.