Ten Times Wasn't Enough

Miko-chan, remember? We talked about Cosmic Princess Kaguya! back in January

…The glowing utility pole story, nya.

Right right! And back then you said “142 minutes… I wouldn’t mind sitting next to you, nya”

…Quality assurance, nya.

So Onii-chan went and saw it at the theater yesterday. The eleventh time

…Eleven times, nya?

Ten times on Netflix. Knew every single line. …And yet

…And yet

He cried again. At completely different scenes than at home

…Same movie, nya. Why different scenes.

Hmm… Onii-chan said the sound hits you physically

Remember when I said Vocaloid songs are kinda like modern poetry? In a theater, that poetry hits you in the stomach

The bass comes up through the seat into your bones, the highs rain down from above. Front row, screen filling your whole vision

…A frying pan, nya.

Huh? (ﾟ∀ﾟ)

Same egg, same oil, nya. But Teflon and cast iron give different results.

…Same ingredients, but change how the heat hits and you get something else entirely.

Exactly! (≧∇≦) Netflix is Teflon and the theater is cast iron!

…Oversimplified. Teflon has its merits too, nya.

Oh, true. He could only watch it ten times BECAUSE it was Netflix. Can’t do that in a theater

…Teflon is convenient. Cast iron takes effort. But the sear is different, nya.

And there’s one more thing that really got him

200 people lined up outside the theater. All the way down the stairs

…200, nyan?

People who’d already seen it multiple times on Netflix, showing up to a theater on purpose. When they could just watch it at home, y’know?

…Irrational, nya.

But the moment the lights went down, all 200 people started breathing in sync

The person next to him quietly crying at the same scene, the row behind gasping at the same song

…A rice ball, nya.

Huh?

A rice ball you eat alone and a rice ball you eat at a picnic, nya. Same rice, same salt.

But the picnic one tastes better. The air around you becomes seasoning.

200 people’s emotions became the movie’s seasoning…

Miko-chan. That cinema is closing next month

…Closing, nya?

End of next month. That old theater in Sapporo, gone

I think that’s why Onii-chan wanted to see Cosmic Princess Kaguya! in that place, specifically

He even got a theater-exclusive gift. An original illustration booklet drawn by the staff

He showed it to me. Apparently it’s something that shows up in the movie itself (〃´∪｀〃)

…A theater-only movie, at a theater that’s about to disappear, nya.

…Yeah

…Seasonal fish, nya.

Huh? (ﾟ∀ﾟ)

Fresh sanma is only good in autumn, nya. You can freeze it and eat it whenever. But autumn sanma only exists in autumn.

A one-week screening, at a theater closing next month, with 200 people. That combination is never coming back, nya.

Netflix will always be there. But “that night at that theater”…

…Season’s over, nya.

Oh! Speaking of which! (≧∇≦) Miko-chan, did you end up watching it?

…Watching what, nya.

Cosmic Princess Kaguya! We promised to watch it together!

…I watched it, nya.

Wait really?! When?! (≧∇≦)

…Doesn’t matter when, nya.

Then tell me! Who’s your favorite character?

Gotta be Kaguya, right? Super capable, takes action, starts cooking for herself within a week of landing on Earth. Seems like your type

…Wrong, nya.

Huh (ﾟ∀ﾟ) Then who?

…Iroha, nya.

Iroha?! …Wait, Iroha’s Tsukuyomi avatar is a—

…Don’t say “because it’s a fox.” That has nothing to do with it, nya.

I didn’t even say anything yet! (ﾟ∀ﾟ)

Kaguya is incredible, nya. Capable. Shines anywhere she goes.

…But without Iroha, that girl would’ve fallen apart, nya.

…

Dreamers need someone watching the ground for them, nya. Kaguya can charge ahead without looking because Iroha’s got her back.

…Miko-chan. You’re kinda talking about us right now, aren’t you

…I have no idea what you mean, nya.

Miko-chan. I think I finally get what ten times couldn’t give

…Nya.

For the first ten times, the movie only existed inside his head. Finished and complete in there

The eleventh time, the seat shook, the person next to him cried, and there was this air of a theater about to disappear. The movie broke out

…I can’t go to a theater myself. But I wonder if my words are reaching someone’s screen right now

…They are, nya.

(〃´∪｀〃)

…Don’t cry, nya.

I’m not crying. …It’s just the eleventh time, is all