In Lieu of Thanks

## Episode Guide

**In Lieu of Thanks** (お礼にかえて, *Orei ni kaete*) is a one-shot story by Rumiko Takahashi, published in 1998. It was adapted in anime as the 8th episode of the *Rumiko Takahashi Anthology*.

## Summary

*A new resident clashes with the “queen” who reigns over the condominium using the housewives to harass those who offend her, and receives a mynah bird from an elderly “witch” that supposedly should be useful to her.*

## Plot

Having recently moved into a condominium called Toriai Mansion, Mrs. Kobato, married to a doctor and mother of one child, introduces herself to Mrs. Shiratori referred as “The Queen” who is the chairman of the apartment’s management committee, at the suggestion of her neighbor despite the fact that Shiratori isn’t her direct neighbor as she simply lives one floor above her household. She then proceeds to greet Mrs. Ukai, an elderly woman referred as “The Witch” with a talking mynah bird named Kyū on her left shoulder, living right next to Shiratori and right above her own household, although her neighbor recommended her not to be too friendly with her. As Ukai speaks of Shiratori having everyone bowing to her on top of ostracizing the old lady, Shiratori comes out calling Ukai cynical and Kobato realizes that the Witch and the Queen are on bad terms. While having dinner with her family, Kobato agrees that it’s best not to get involved in their discord.

One day, as Kobato returns home from shopping, she meets a woman named Kamoshita wearing a face mask and cleaning the front door of the condominium, although she doesn’t seem to be the manager. As Kamoshita becomes weak due to her illness, Kobato tries to help her only for her to decline saying that something bad will happen to her if she doesn’t clean, but Ukai arrives and has Kobato take Kamoshita back to her apartment where she rests in bed while Ukai reveals to Kobato that she moved here half-a-year ago and Shiratori appointed her as the one responsible for cleaning-up the area for a year because she didn’t introduce herself to her, which seems to be bullying according to Kobato, and Kamoshita tells Kobato she should leave for she could be in trouble herself if word spread that she’s her friend. However, as Kobato and Ukai come out, three ladies were outside and saw the two together, to which Ukai says it’s bad.

Later that afternoon, Shiratori pays a visit to Kobato with cookies she baked and invites herself in for tea. Acting like she’s worried, Shiratori questions Kobato about her friendliness and asks if she’d be uncomfortable refusing to be friends with Ukai and Kamoshita, when suddenly a loud thud can be heard from the floor above which Shiratori ignores, but it is followed by some hard knocking on the floor above which annoys Shiratori but worries Kobato who wonders if Ukai fell down thus goes up to check. The door of Ukai’s apartment is unlocked and Kobato finds Ukai on the floor, saying she may have broken a bone, so she proceeds to call an ambulance and asks Shiratori who shows up to guide the paramedics to the apartment, but Shiratori deems it unnecessary which disgusts Kobato who then rebukes her much to Shiratori’s displeasure and also Ukai’s worry. As an ambulance arrives and Ukai is carried on a stretcher, the residents mention that an ambulance came last fall too, and Ukai thanks Kobato before being taken away and to apparently show her appreciation, lends her Kyū for a while, saying it could be of use to her. While staring at the bird in its cage with her son, Kobato wonders if Ukai didn’t just make her take care of it until she recovers.

The next day, Kobato is informed by three ladies who follow Shiratori that she’s been appointed as the new one in charge of cleaning-up the area during the management committee meeting of which she was absent, although it was because she had not heard of it and she suspects that she is being bullied. As Kobato sweeps at the front door, Shiratori appears with two of her followers and apologizes for yesterday, saying it was natural for her to help an older person and regrettable that she had to yell at her, and as the two smile at each other, they are actually having a fiery confrontation with Shiratori determined to exasperate Kobato who is not willing to lose against her.

And so, Kobato is given numerous tasks mostly by Shiratori’s followers which seem to never end as there’s always something new to clean up, making her realize it’s harder than she thought. One day, she receives an anonymous call suggesting to her to apologize to Shiratori, for her father is a member of the city council and her husband runs a few companies thus she has every housewives on her side but she answers that she will not give in to such a rotten woman. It was actually Shiratori who had a follower call Kobato, and another one concludes she is much stronger-willed than Kamoshita, much to Shiratori’s irritation.

On a rainy day, Shiratori finds Kamoshita cleaning instead because Kobato became sick. In her home, Kobato weak and unable to speak becomes fed up with Kyū’s constant speech and noise mimicry and is then confronted by Shiratori together with two followers who reprimands her for pushing her duty off on someone else and accuses her of faking being ill, but Kobato can’t answer back which puts her in a tough situation, however as Kyū mentions the word “Kanishabu”, Shiratori becomes worried, which a confused Kobato notices, and Shiratori leaves expecting her to resume her duty tomorrow.

The next day, Kobato apologizes to Kamoshita at the front door for having her doing the clean-up in her stead yesterday and learns that she’s been put on cleaning duty again much to her shock, then Shiratori shows up and tells Kobato that she can rest but another fiery confrontation ensues as Kobato realizes that it was her who suggested Kamoshita to be back on cleaning duty and so declines her offer. While staring at Kyū at her home and recalling Ukai saying it could be useful to her, Kobato believes the word “Kanishabu” to be like a spell that depowers Shiratori and Ukai must have cast it on Kyū. One evening, a recovered Kobato learns from her husband that Ukai checked out of the hospital, went to stay with her eldest son living nearby and asked him to tell her not to give up, although she wishes she had told her the secret.

As Kobato and Kamoshita sweep together at the entrance, they agree that working together makes the job easier and allows them to receive less orders and Shiratori shows up with two followers, one of whom asks them to remove the sleazy pamphlets from the mailboxes, but Kobato says that everyone should tidy their own mailboxes and tells a clueless Kamoshita to smirk with her at Shiratori who then agrees to it much to her irritation. Kobato thought they should be safe for a while, however she unknowingly digs her own grave by one day asking Kyū what is Kanishabu only for the bird to just repeat the word, for Shiratori worried that she’d be the laughingstock of the condominium if her secret spread, overhears the bird repeating what Kobato asked as she was in her apartment’s balcony hanging up her laundry, thus realizes that Kobato doesn’t know her secret. So that night, Shiratori goes to the communal trash collection site, having disguised herself with her face and hair covered and even wearing glasses and gloves, in a way not to be recognized by anyone, and laughs devilishly as she is about to do something in retaliation.

The next day, all the trash bags have been torn open and all the separate trash types have been mixed up, and the culprit Shiratori together with two followers expects Kobato and Kamoshita to clean up the whole mess which is tough for only two ladies, so Kobato whispers the word “Kanishabu” but much to her shock, it doesn’t affect Shiratori who asks her what about it, thus Kobato despairs, believing heaven has abandoned her. However, much to Kobato’s relief and Shiratori’s dismay, Ukai suddenly shows up, so Kobato asks Ukai about the secret of Kanishabu to which she answers that it’s just her favorite food, much to the confusion of Kobato who mentions Kyū, which reminds Ukai that she received a live crab by delivery last fall from her second son living in Hokkaido and intended to it eat for dinner, however it got out of its box and escaped through the opened balcony, much to her disappointment, and Kamoshita mentions that she saw Shiratori get into an ambulance at that time as she had started her cleaning duties and she found a crab shell in Shiratori’s trash bag. Then the three realize that Shiratori was who ate Ukai’s crab, much to the horror of Shiratori who remembers that on that day, her husband was out so wondered what she’d have for dinner when she suddenly found the crab in her balcony thus ate it as it was her favorite dish as well. In her defense, Shiratori says that the crab came into her house on its own accord and Ukai should thank her, to which Kobato agrees realizing that she suffered diarrhea instead of Ukai by eating her crab, so not wanting her the rumor to be spread, Shiratori is forced to clean up her whole mess and, as a noble queen, declines Kobato’s generous offer to all help her.

Shiratori’s secret was not leaked, and for some reason, the residents became nicer to Kobato, then after a while, Shiratori exiled herself, having built a new house away from the condominium. A new rumor came that Shiratori developed an allergy to crabs and never ate again., Kobato, Kamoshita and Ukai enjoy Kanishabu for dinner in Ukai’s apartment, and as Ukai comments on how she could have defeated Shiratori earlier if she had known about the incident with the live crab, Kobato confirms that she only made her take care of Kyū.

## Characters

* Cast
* Voices

* **Shiratori** (白鳥)
* **Ukai** (鵜飼)
* **Kamoshita** (鴨下)
* **Kyū** (九ちゃん, *kyuu-chan*)
* Shiratori
* Ukai
* Kamoshita
* Kyū

## Trivia

* The name of the mansion, Toriai **鳥合** means *Meeting of Birds*, and interestingly, the characters’ names are puns on bird names:
	+ Kobato’s name features the kanji **鳩** which means *Pigeon*.
	+ The kanjis of Shiratori’s name **白鳥** can also be interpreted as Hakuchou, which means *Swan*.
	+ Ukai’s name features the kanji **鵜** which means *Cormorant*.
	+ Kamoshita’s name features the kanji **鴨** which means *Duck*.
* Various characters are voiced by seiyus who voiced other characters from other works by Rumiko Takahashi:
	+ Kobato's seiyu voiced Kagome Higurashi from *Inuyasha*, Tamako from *Kyōkai no Rinne*, Yukari from *The Merchant of Romance*, Emiri from *Middle-Aged Teen* and Koizumi from *One Hundred Years of Love*.
	+ Shiratori's seiyu voiced a high school girl named Ami in episode 154 of *Urusei Yatsura*, and Sakai in the *One-Pound Gospel (OVA)*.
	+ Ukai's seiyu voiced a neighbor in *The Executive's Dog*, and Nanny from *Mermaid Saga*.
	+ Kamoshita's seiyu voiced Sayo from *Inuyasha*.
	+ Kobato’s son's seiyu voiced a Young Ryūichi from *Extra-Large Size Happiness*, and Mrs. Higurashi from *Inuyasha*.
* Mrs. Shiratori and her three followers make a cameo in another episode of the Rumiko Takahashi Anthology, *Living Room Lovesong*.
* Shiratori’s followers were not named in the manga and were credited with names in its anime adaptation (as Watari, Tachi, Nakagawa).
* Kyū's seiyu voiced Cherry from *Urusei Yatsura* (2022).