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Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5
Part
1 (February 1999): Ringo(Japanese for apple) just entered Shirobara high
school, and she's really looking forward to wearing the great school uniform
that her older sister, Wakaba, wears(she also goes to Shirobara).
But on the first day of school, she sees her sister and realizes that her
sister wears a cool scarf with her uniform, while she has a dorky tie.
She asks why, and her sister says only certain people at sdaf get to wear
the scarf, and leaves for school. Ringo decides to fix the problem
herself, and runs upstairs and replaces her tie with one of her sister's
scarves. She's on the bus a few minutes later, and people seem to
be looking at her in awe. She's trying to stay away from some weird
guy with a headset on, when he suddenly grabs her, gives her a mike, and
tells her to interview people on the bus about the new school year.
For some reason(her scarf), he thinks she has experience in broadcasting.
Well, sadf decides what the hey, and gives it all she's got, and has actually
done pretty well by the time they arrive at school. However, the
boy is angry because he says she deceived him into giving her the mike
by wearing the scarf, and she's a little freaked out by him. Everyone
at school treats her like royalty because of the scarf, until a tough-looking
older girl comes up and grabs her by her scarf. She announces
that her name is Chouko and her nickname is Papillon(French for butterfly)
Chouko asks for Ringo's name, and is surprised when Ringo tells her.
Suddenly there's a commotion as the big TV above the yard turns on and
Wakaba appears. She announces that the tryouts for the broadcasting
club are being held now, and lots of students head over to the studio to
try out. Ringo's scarf is grabbed by Papillon, and Ringo chases her
in the studio's direction to try and get it back.
In the studio, the camera
tests are over, but Wakaba isn't happy with any of the applicants.
This might have something to do with the fact that the cameraman, Oota,
never showed any of the girls' faces, only their legs and torsos(chests).
Oota says he's sorry but it's important, because he wants to show girls'
bodies at their most beautiful, and Wakaba calls him a pervert and tells
Kazama(the angry guy from the bus and the club president) that he should
control Oota and act more appropriately for a club president. Papillon
appears, rather disheveled, and she and Oota remark that recently, Wakaba
and Kazama are always fighting. 
Then
Ringo suddenly bursts in looking for the scarf. Her identity is discovered,
and Kazama calls her a kid for wanting to be like her sister. Ringo
says it was his fault too, he should recognize his own club members, and
she was really surprised at being forced into that situation. She
says that she actually was excited to do it, and that it was fun.
Kazama thinks she's amusing, and asks her if she wants to be the new member
of the club, and Ringo agrees. Suddenly, someone bursts in and says
the club is needed somewhere, and the whole club except Ringo leaves.
Before they do, they leave her with her first job: to clean up the club
room before they get back...
Part 2(March 1999):
Ringo is frustrated because all she ever does in the club is clean, and
she thinks that Kazama just enjoys being mean to her. Wakaba says she should
quit the club, since she probably just wanted to wear the scarf and says
she's a bother to the rest of the members. Ringo wonders herself why she
joined, and thinks that though she liked the scarf, that wasn't the only
reason.
The next day at school, Ringo talks with
the cameraman, Oota, and charms him. He says she's not at all like Wakaba(he
thinks she's scary), and Ringo says people often say that, because she's
not composed and beautiful like her sister. Oota says that's not what he
meant, but their conversation is interrupted by the morning news. Ringo
asks Oota where it's filmed, and Oota brings her to the other studio of
the announceing club. Ringo is impressed, because it looks like a real
TV studio, and everbody is really professional, but thinks that even among
all these people, Wakaba stands out as a really amazing person.
Later, Ringo has cleaned a room but Kazama
tells her to do it better. Ringo gets really mad and calls him a sadist,
and when Kazama says if she's not willing to do her best, she may as well
quit. Ringo yells that she will quit, and runs to complain to Wakaba, saying
that she can't stand being in a club with a president like that, and not
looking where she's going, trips. Ringo is holding a mop, and stumbles
into the announcing booth where Wakaba is doing a newscast. When Ringo
opens her eyes, she's standing behind Wakaba, and the mop is on Wakaba's
head, creating a dreadlock effect^_^. Wakaba loses her cool, and for a
while, the TV screen on campus goes blank. In the studio, Wakaba chews
out Ringo, asking if she's so scatterbrained she'll totally ruin a person's
newscast and bring shame upon Wakaba. Wakaba shouts that that's why she
was against Ringo's entering the club, because she's always messing up
the pace of things. Everyone else in the club seems to feel the same way,
when Kazama starts to chuckle. He says(I think) that it was good that Wakaba
got cut off. Wakaba asks him what he's going to do as the president, since
it's his responsibility, and Kazama says maybe he'll make Ringo a regular
announcer of the lunchtime broadcast. He says starting this week, she'll
do the Wednesday and Friday lunchtime newscasts, and tells Wakaba not to
worry, because he'll take responsibility for Ringo. He takes Ringo and
exits, leaving the rest of the club to complain and Wakaba to stand in
shocked disbelief.
In the hall, Ringo asks Kazama what
he is planning to do. Kazama feels her belly, and then tells Ringo it's
too soft. He then gets Ringo started on a tough training schedule, and
Ringo wonders if Kazama really intends to go through with this. She asks
why he chose her, saying she's not pretty or intelligent like Wakaba, and
says she doesn't think she can become a perfect announcer like Wakaba.
Kazama says he's not intending for her to become like her sister, and says
it's true that she has no obvious good points. He continues, saying that
when she did the interviews on the bus, people relaxed and said things
they wouldn't normally say in front of a camera, and they talked to her
like she was a friend. He says she may not be able to be a cool composed
announcer like Wakaba, but getting people to open up like that is a talent
and she's the only one that can become an announcer who does that. Ringo
remembers how she enjoyed talking to everybody then and letting them communicate
their feelings. Oota suddenly bursts in and declares that the announcers
have declared a strike!
Part 3(April
1999): Some girls tell Ringo they saw the mop incident, and say that they
were surprised at first to hear that she got in the broadcasting club,
but now know that she’s just there for comic relief. Ringo thinks that
she was clearly shown on the television yesterday acting like a total idiot.
She thinks that she can’t deny for sure that she’s not comic relief. Wakaba
made everyone go on strike and isn’t talking to her, and she wonders what
she should do. Then Kazama calls to her, and she asks him how it went with
the rest of the club. He says it seems they don’t like the way he’s doing
things, and says that he thought something like this would happen someday.
He’s surprised to see Ringo start crying, and asks her what’s wrong. She
says it’s her fault, and tells him what Wakaba said to her about how she
should quit. She says it’s only natural that everybody would get mad that
someone like her became a regular, and starts bawling in the middle of
the hall. Kazama says it’s not her fault at all, and asks if she’s still
thinking about quitting. Ringo thinks and says no, she wants to see if
she can be an announcer that is important in her own way. Kazama says she
has to just do it, then, and make Wakaba and the others recognize her.
At a club meeting, Kazama says they’ll have
to broadcast on their own for a while, and says that for now, they’ll leave
Wakaba’s positiong open. He wonders aloud if there are any announcers left,
and ignores Papillon trying to get his attention. Ringo, watching, wonders
what Kazama is thinking. She doesn’t understand him, but thinks that he’s
not a bad person.
Kazama tells Ringo to make up a plan for
her lunch broadcast, with a title, and what she wants to do, and stuff,
and Ringo doesn’t know what to do. At first, she tries to write up plans
for news things like Wakaba would do, but Kazama rejects them all. He says
he’s disappointed, and asks if she really wants to do stuff like this.
Ringo gets fed up, and decides to make one just the way she wants. It’s
called “Love Love Lunch”, and she will be Cupid. The rest of the club(Papillon,
Oota, and some other guy) just look at her, but Kazama likes it. He says
she can do it, and she runs out happily. Oota asks Kazama if it will be
alright, and says that higher ups(school staff?) won’t like it, and Kazama
tells him not to worry. Ringo is really happy that Kazama liked it(ho ho...)
So the Love Love Lunch starts, and Oota
and Kazama are among the first guests. Kazama isn’t too happy when Ringo
asks him what kind of girl he likes, and after blustering about not being
interested in that stuff and almost leaving, he picks the first thing he
sees-Papillon, and says he likes flying women-(quote from the female students-”EH?”)
After, Ringo is laughing, and Kazama says
he’ll never go on her show again. Oota tells Papillon that she’s Kazama’s
type, nad Papillong stares at Kazama for a moment before turning her back
on him. Ringo asks Kazama what his type really is, and he repeats that
he’s not interested in stuff like that, blushing a bit at the same time.
Ringo thinks this is interesting, and thinks that she wants to get to know
Kazama better.
The next say, Ringo is astonished when a
group of girls comes up to her and compliments her on her show. They ask
to be on the next show, and when it will be. When Ringo meets Oota an Papillon,
Oota says the overall reaction was great, and Ringo is happy. Then she
runs into a group of the striking broadcasters, and one of them says she’s
shameless. They say she really has some nerve to displace Wakaba and become
a regular announcer. If she continues to be so cocky, she’ll be sorry.
They say at best, she’ll be dropped by Kazama(I
think).
Part 4 (May 1999):
Ringo has overslept, so she rushes to school.
Getting to the studio, she’s surprised to see that no one’s there.
Suddenly, a boy appears behind her, saying that everyone has gone out looking
for information. She’s never seen him before, and he asks if she’s
a first-year. She says yes, and he says she’s cute and asks if she
has a boyfriend! Ringo doesn’t know what to say, and he comes close
to her, saying if she doesn’t have one, how about going out with him?
Before Ringo has a chance to say anything, the boy is smacked on the head
with a textbook. It’s Kazama, and the boy recognizes him. It
seems the boy's name is Yoshida Yatarou, and until now he was in the hospital.
Oota comes in and has a happy reunion with him, and Kazama introduces Ringo
to him. She thinks he seems kind of unreliable. He says they've
never had an announcer like Ringo before, and says she's his type.
He picks her up and starts to run out of the room with her, saying they'll
go somewhere private and he'll give her a special 'lesson'. Kazama
saves Ringo by grabbing her, and Yoshida asks if they're together.
Ringo starts to deny it blushingly, when Kazama tells Yoshida not to be
stupid, he wouldn't go out with such a flat brat. Ringo is speechless,
and when Kazama turns to tell her to get ready, she's running out of the
room. Yoshida laughs at Kazama, saying he's as clumsy as ever, and
Kazama tells him to shut up.
Walking along in an angry
haze, Ringo thinks that Kazama didn't have to say such a mean thing, at
least not like that, when she runs into someone. It's Wakaba.
The two of them sit down and Ringo tells her what happened. Wakaba
laughs when Ringo calls Kazama an old lech, and Ringo stares at her in
wonder. Wakaba asks what's wrong, and Ringo says it's been a long
time since she saw Wakaba smile. Wakaba apologizes, saying she's
easily upset when it comes to the broadcasting club, and Ringo has been
having a tough time lately as well. Ringo tells her not to worry
about it, and asks her to come back to the club soon.
For the next little while,
Ringo can't shake Yoshida-he follows her to gym class, the bathroom, everywhere.
When she runs away, he asks why, and Ringo says because he's chasing her.
He asks if she's thought about going out with him, and Ringo says no.
Yoshida asks why not, does she like someone already? Ringo stops
for a second, and just then, Kazama bursts in on their conversation, reminding
Yoshida that he told him not to make passes at her. Yoshida says
why
not, she's not Kazama's, and Kazama replies that she is. Ringo blushes,
and Kazamacontinues, saying that he doesn't care about normal times, but
concerning the club Ringo is his pupil. Ringo thinks that she was
shocked when she said that, and her heart is still thumping. Kazama
calls her but she doesn't hear him, so he takes her hand. Ringo turns
around suddenly so she and him are face to face, and then, blushing, stammers
out that she'll go on ahead and runs off. Kazama asks Yoshida what's
wrong with her, and Yoshida smiles and tells him that Kazama has done something
wrong, and that things are going to be sticky from now on. Kazama
looks at him as if he's crazy, and Yoshida walks off happily.
Ringo is walking along,
wondering what's happened to her. She asks herself why she got so
unsettled about such a small thing.
In the studio, Ringo is zoned out.
When Kazama calls her, she turns red, gets up, and trips over a box.
During her show, she answers letters. The first one(which is from
Saotome Kotobuki, for anyone who remembers Drop Kick) has the word 'sukiyaki'
in it, and when Ringo comes to the 'suki' part(which also means to love)
she gets flustered and throws the letter away. Going to the next
one, she has a similar problem with the word 'hasuki', and Kazama and Yoshida
wonder what she's doing. After the show, Ringo finally admits to
herself that she likes Kazama. Walking past the control room, she
hears Yoshida tell Kazama that it's weird that he let Ringo in the club.
He asks Kazama if he truly is only interested in her as an announcer, and
Kazama says of course, other than that he's not interested in her at all.
Ringo, standing outside, is frozen, thinking that just as she fell in love,
it's already doomed...
Final Chapter (June 1999): Ringo goes around
in a daze all the time, depressed because she believes her love for Kazama
is unrequited. The only time she reacts to anything is when Kazama
talks to her or goes near her, and then she just gets embarrassed and runs
away. Papillon and Oota, seeing this, ask Kazama what he did to Ringo,
and he says nothing. On air, Ringo wishes she could act normal around
Kazama but she can't, and thinks that even though she knew he was only
interested in her for the club, it hurt to hear it out loud(when he told
Yata that he had no interest in her). Kazama watches her from the
booth...That night, Wakaba asks Ringo what's wrong, she was sighing all
through the lunch broadcast. Ringo tells her, and Wakaba thinks it's
hilarious. Ringo is upset, and Wakaba apologizes, saying it's something
that Kazama would be likely to say. Wakaba suggests that they find
out Kazama's feelings, because he seems like he's oblivious to love and
might not have noticed his own feelings.
So the next day, Kazama
walks in to the studio to find Yata and Ringo kissing(at least it looks
like it, but they're just pretending). Ringo can't stand it and pushes
Yata away, telling Kazama that its not what it looks like. Kazama
ignores her words, saying more importantly, has she studied her announcements
for today? Ringo tries to pull herself together and says no.
Kazama asks if she's feeling nervous or something, because lately her announcing
has been horrible. He tells her to think of the students who have
to listen to her, and Ringo starts to get pissed off. She thinks
to herself that it's his fault she's acting like this anyways. Kazama
continues, saying he's disappointed in her, he thought she could do better.
He says it's okay if she doesn't come to that day's broadcast, she should
take some time and get her head together. Ringo explodes and hits
Kazama,
calling him an idiot. Totally red, she yells that it's his fault
she's daydreaming, his fault she's worrying so much, everything's his fault!
Shs runs out, and Kazama (finally something got through^_^), stunned, wonders
what's wrong, and why Ringo looked like she was going to cry.
Outside, Ringo is running
away, calling herself an idiot. She thinks that now Kazama will definitely
not want her, and she'll never be able to show her face in the broadcasting
club again.
That night, Ringo goes
to the fireworks alone. She thinks that she was looking forward to
going with Kazama as part of the club, and looks for the other members.
She sees them-Kazama, Oota, Wakaba, and Yata. Yata asks Kazama if
Ringo's coming, and Kazama says how should he know about a baffling girl
like her. Oota asks if they had a fight, and Wakaba tells Kazama
that he'll be sorry if he makes her sister cry. Kazama just looks
pensive. Ringo, watching from behind a mask, thinks that they're
having fun. She decides to give up and go home, when she turns and
faces Papillon, who snatches her mask away. Ringo is embarrassed
and tries to ask Papillon not to tell anyone about her, but Papillon is
off stealing someone's food.
Oota and Kazama get ready
to tape, but Kazama then says he doesn't feel like doing it, and asks Oota
to do the rest because he's leaving. Wakaba and Yata look at each
other and smile knowingly.
Kazama sits down alone
on the grass and wonders what he's doing. He's surprised to spot
Ringo, chasing after Papillon in an effort to get her mask back.
He calls her, and Ringo looks over. When she sees who it is, she
tries to escape but Kazama holds her back. He tells her to stop running
away whenever she sees him, even he has feelings. Ringo doesn't say
anything. He asks her what she was doing, and she says she was watching
the fireworks. There's a silence, and then Kazama lets out a long
sigh and says he doesn't get it. He asks if he did something to make
her hate him so much. He knows he's tough about the club, but that's
how he shows his affection(I'm not sure if this is right, and I think he's
talking about the whole club here, not just Ringo). Ringo calls him
a liar, she says he has no affection for her, as long as she does her job
well that's good enough for him right? Kazama agrees, and Ringo agrily
tries to leave again. Kazama stops her, demanding to know what's
wrong with that, he knows she wants to be an announcer, and Ringo says
no, she wants him to see her as a woman. Kazama is speechless, and
Ringo can't believe she said it. She's crushed when Kazama starts
laughing out loud, and tells him he's horrible to laugh at her feelings.
Kazama, still chuckling, apologizes, saying that's not what he meant, it's
just that she was so cute he couldn't help it. Ringo pauses in disbelief,
and Kazama says he's always been bad at showing his feelings, and he really
likes that Ringo always shows her emotions. He says he's always seen
her as a woman, and Ringo asks about what he said to Yata. Kazama
explains that he didn't want people to think he showed favour to her because
he was interested in her, but if Yata is so obvious about it, he's not
going to worry about mixing his personal life with his club anymore.
At school, Ringo is broadcasting
the Love Love Lunch. She says today they're doing a special report
on the firework festival. When the video clip comes up, she's dumbfounded,
along with Kazama- it's a clip of them kissing! Kazama is really
embarrassed, and the other club members laugh and say their plan worked(or
something like that).
THE END
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