Episode 5

## ©2022「アキバ冥途戦争」製作委員会 / Akiba Maid War Production Committee

**Drowning In Red! A 36th Birthday Celebration!** (赤に沈む！三十六歳生誕祭！, *Aka ni Shizumu! San jū Roku Sai Seitansai!*) is the fifth episode of Akiba Maid War. It broadcasted in Japan on November 4, 2022.

## Synopsis

With Oinky Doink Café in dire need of funds to pay the interest on the Manager's debt, Nagomi gets the idea from Nerula to celebrate Ranko's 36th birthday. However, the other cafe staff shoots down the idea rather rudely. Even so, Ranko and Nagomi work on making a birthday event and try going to Creatureland Group affiliate, Maid Sheep, to get some customers. However, Ranko and Nagomi leave after being insulted by the maid Kaoruko and her clientele. Ranko flashes back to her old job in 1985 when she worked in a teahouse and had a code of non-violence. Suddenly, Kaoruko and a few sheep maids attack, and Kaoruko takes Nagomi hostage, forcing her and Ranko into a giant barrel where she plans to drown them for their overlapping birthday event.

As the barrel fills with tomato juice, Ranko tells Nagomi that she spent time in "the joint" for her actions 14 years ago, and was happy that Nagomi tried to plan a birthday party for her. At the last second, the other Oinky Doink maids follow a hint from Okachimachi to Cafe Sheep and free the two from their captivity, fighting their way through the sheep maids. The group then unveils their surprise party for Ranko, despite having no other customers, while Okachimachi hands the Manager the full cash box from Cafe Sheep.

## Characters

### In Order of Appearance

* Nagomi Wahira
* Ranko Mannen
* Yumechi
* Shiipon
* Zoya
* Manager
* Nerula
* Okachimachi
* Kaoruko
* Michiyo (Flashback)
* General
* Suehiro

## Trivia

* At one point, Nagomi becomes flustered after Ranko says that she is unsure where to put a "Coin-tossing game" for her birthday event, as she interpreted what Ranko said as "Coitus". The Japanese term that Ranko said, "Chinchirorin" (チンチロリン) is actually the Japanese name for "Cee-lo", a gambling game that uses three pairs of six-sided dice. Nagomi is interpreting what Ranko said as "Chinchin" (ちんちん), the Japanese word for "Penis".
* The complete list of suggestions that Ranko wrote down for the birthday event read:
	+ コインマジック (koin majikku) – Coin magic
	+ 動物のマネ (doubutsu no mane) – Animal imitation
	+ ひとりしりとり(hitori shiritori) – Solo shiritori
	+ 声が遅れる腹話術 (koe ga okureru fukuwajutsu) – Delayed voice ventriloquism
	+ トランプマジック(toranpu majikku) – Card Magic
	+ 米国アヒルのものまね (beikoku ahiruno mo no mane) – American domestic duck imitation
	+ 手を使わないでコップのジュースを飲む (te o tsukawanaide koppu no jūsu o nomu) – Drink juice from a glass without using hands
	+ モノマネ (monomane) – Impressions
	+ ジャグリング (jyaguringu) – Juggling
	+ おしぼり土下座 (oshibori dogeza) – Performing dogeza for an oshibori
	+ テーブルクロス引き (tēburukurosu hiki) – Tablecloth pull
	+ 空気椅子 (kūki isu) – Air chair
	+ 腹痛り(fukutsūri) – Abdominal pain
	+ 手品 (tejina) – Magic tricks
	+ 人間ポンプ(ningen ponpu) – Human Pump
	+ ヒューマンダンス (Hyūmandansu) – Human Dance
	+ ドジョウすくい (dojyou sukui) – Loach Scooping (traditional comedic folk dance from Yasugi city in Shimane prefecture that mimics squatting and scooping a type of fish called "loach" into a basket)
	+ 南京玉すだれ (nankin namasudare) - Nankin Tamasudare
	+ 早口ゲーム (hayakuchi gēmu) – Tongue Twister game
	+ パンスト相撲 (pansuto sumou) – Pantyhose Sumo (Japanese party game where two people put a pair of pantyhose over their faces and tie the legs together into a single connecting knot between them. They then turn and forcefully move in opposite directions until the pantyhose eventually slips off from one of the participants' faces)
	+ ネクタイ早結び競争 (nekutai haya musubi kyōsō) – Necktie quick tying competition
	+ 円周率暗唱ゲーム (enshū-ritsu anshō gēmu) - Pi recitation game
	+ ジェスチャーゲーム (jesuchā gēmu) – Gesture game
	+ リズム縄跳び (rizumu nawatobi) – Rhythm jump rope
	+ ２人羽織り (futari haori) – Haori for two people
	+ 将軍はん (shogun han) – Shogun han
	+ 花合わせ (hana awase) – Flower arrangement (a variation of hanafuda)
	+ こいこい (koikoi) – Koi-Koi (a variation of hanafuda)
	+ 六百間 (roppyakken) – Roppyakken (a variation of hanafuda)
	+ おいちょかぶ (oicho kabu) – Oicho-Kabu
	+ 大小 (daishō ) - Sic Bo
	+ 丁半 (cho han) - Cho-han
	+ チンチロリン (chinchirorin) - Cee-lo
	+ チョボイチ (choboichi) – Choboichi
	+ 賽本引 (saihonbiki) – Saihonbiki
	+ タブ (tabu) – Tab
	+ 寸劇 (sungeki) – Skit
	+ 盆踊り(bon odori) – Bon Dance
* After the manager receives the money from the Maid Sheep Cafe, she praises Okachimachi and suggests that they can make it in Ueno. Ueno is a district in Tokyo's Taito Ward that is about 2 km (1.3 miles) north of Akihabara and is home to several cultural sites such as the Tokyo National Museum and Ueno Park.
	+ More specifically, she may be alluding to Ueno Zoo, Japan's oldest zoo which uses giant pandas as its mascot, as it is home to several pandas who are on loan from China as part of diplomatic ties between the two countries.
* The Maid Sheep flyer that Okachimachi brought back to the café can also be seen at the beginning of Episode 1 after Nagomi arrives in Akihabara and sees the Sheep Ace Maid and Bear Ace Maid handing out flyers for their respective cafés.

## References

1. ↑ Ueno Zoo: Meet Pandas, Polar Bears & Capybaras at Tokyo's Oldest Zoo!
2. ↑ Ueno Zoo 上野動物園