This is the first chapter of Silver Mountain, a new series by Kazuhiro Fujita (Ushio & Tora, Karakuri Circus, Moonlight Act, Souboutei Must Be Destroyed) which started in Weekly Shonen Sunday earlier today. It goes off the deep end pretty quickly.
We start with a phrase: "Borrowing time". We are then asked if we know of the tengu, the long-nosed mountain youkai of Japanese folklore. And lastly, we have a boy, who was kidnapped by tengu, taken to a "fairyland"... and who came back.
A man asks him to describe what he saw there. He tells him of a sun shaped like a baby, an old man who walked around despite being just a head, a woman with a long, curved sword, people who controlled evil spirits with their minds... And a large, silver-colored mountain.
We are in Edo during the Bunsei period (1820). This man is Hirata Atsutane, a scholar of Japanese culture currently interested in the mysteries of life after death. He has come to interview the boy who was kidnapped by tengu, but he really doesn't understand what the boy's talking about.
The boy says he hardly believes it himself. Hirata asks if the boy has anything a bit easier to understand for him.
The boy's name is Torakichi, fifteen years old. He's so named because he was born in the hour of the Tiger, in the year of the Tiger (tiger = tora). His father passed away three years ago, and his adult brother now provides for the younger brothers and their mother. He's got sanpaku eyes, and has a very mature way of talking despite having no education, but seems trustworthy enough. He tells Hirata about how he first met the tengu when he went to play at a temple in Ueno.
An old fortune teller promised to teach him fortune-telling, since he had an interest in it.
He asked about a small bottle the old man was carrying. The old man says, for taking him along.
Just when it's getting good, the other man tells Hirata that it's getting late, and they should continue tomorrow.
Hirata's so excited, he asks if Torakichi can spend the night at his place, to which they agree.
Noticing he seems scared of the dark, Hirata thinks Torakichi is just a child, after all. But on the way to his house, they run across a massacre.
The killer is this fellow, who seems to have a problem with the peaceful world he's living in.
A purposeless samurai like him has no place in this world, so he's going to go out with a bang. Hirata can tell that he's genuinely strong, and begs him to spare the child.
Hirata draws his own sword, despite being just a weak scholar, and tells Torakichi to run. The samurai isn't worried, but then...
Torakichi says that, indeed, a peaceful world might have no need for swords.
But if you're going to bare your blade against *him*, you'd better make sure you've had plenty of practice. Hirata is quite shocked, because it's as if Torakichi's suddenly turned into a totally different person, with a deep, adult voice and everything.
When Torakichi asks why Hirata protected him despite clearly standing no chance, he replies that if nothing else, at least Torakichi might have gotten away. Torakichi says that he'll tell him the true story. There's a mountain he wants to climb. A mountain that can't be ascended by mere half-baked ruffians like this man...
The mountain that shines with white light... He's not sure of what it really was, but he wants to climb it, nonetheless.
And now for something completely different. This man is Haigou Ginbee, an 85-year-old massage therapist.
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He tells this young karateka that he needs to take better care of himself and not be so reckless. Sports is all about balancing your body. The young man is dismissive, and starts to get angry at his remarks.
Looks like this isn't your average everyday old man.
A ball's been kicked through his window. A boy tells him that even though he wasn't the one who kicked the ball, the kid who did made him go get it because it's rumored that the old man is a "murderer".
He says he'll get beat up if he doesn't do it, but Ginbee tells him to be bold, to never back down, and to keep moving forward, one step at a time. That way, even getting punched doesn't hurt so bad. The heart's switch is in the legs.
The karateka asks him if he's a martial artist and if he's really killed people, and Ginbee says that martial arts *are* for killing people. But then, that was in the past... It's different these days.
These ladies start gossiping about Ginbee without noticing he's right there. Apparently he's going to close his shop and move away, which they all agree is good considering all the rumors about him. He gives them a good scare, and tells the karateka that martial arts may well make people dislike you these days.
Later, Ginbee is paying his respects to a woman named Kotoyo before leaving. He's entrusted the house to someone else, apparently some fishmonger that wanted to be his pupil. She was always telling him to take this and that person as a pupil, but he just wasn't that kind of guy. Oh well. Life is nothing but goodbyes...
And here we have some papers related to a martial artist called Saeki Hyoudou, who's apparently been picking a fight with Ginbee, challenging him to a duel. What is this, a manga series? No thanks.
At a train station, people are getting spooked by a group of large guys. An old man tells them he specifically didn't want them to come for this reason. They stand out too much.
This fellow is the aforementioned Saeki Hyoudou, 84 years old. He seems to have a habit of saying "I know the secrets of martial arts, but..." His son tells him that the pupils just wanted to see him off since he's retiring and going on a trip. Hyoudou tells him that he's the master of their dojo now.
They insist on seeing him off very loudly, much to his chagrin. Seems like he has a duel under a certain tree in two hours.
He'll be waiting for Ginbee. After all this time, he's finally going to kill him. But now, time to enjoy a station lunchbox...
What a coincidence, they're sitting right across each other. Hyoudou is quite excited to finally get back at Ginbee for something that happened in the past.
Ginbee tells him he's not here for a duel, but other business entirely. They start to argue again, but the train suddenly brakes.
The lights start going out... An accident?
Bam.
The sound of wings...? That same old dream again? He must be sleeping, then. In his dreams he always sees a tengu, which leaves without saying a word.
But this time, the tengu has words. He tells him that he is a sinful fool who prides his strength, and will receive punishment. He will die in this "fairyland".
The tengu tells him it has brought him here due to his strength, and it has taken "years" as payment. 75 years, to be precise. If he does manage to survive and wants to return to his own world, the tengu will be waiting at this land's highest place.
But better you just die quickly, Ginbee.
He wakes up back inside the train.
Something's off, with all the clothes lying around. Better get out first. ...Was the door always this big?
Seems like there was an accident, after all. There's light at the end of the tunnel. Somehow, his body feels light... It feels good.
Hirata is speechless at all this.
They are at Hirata's house, and Torakichi has been telling him his story. Hirata is understandably having trouble processing all this.
Hirata wants Torakichi to tell him what he saw in the fairyland. Kalavinka birds? Well, he did see something flying...
Apparently these folks are fighting some kind of ice dragon. The sorcerers try to hold it down, but it shoots ice all over the place.
Seidda (Seiddha? Siddha? The girl, in any case) is in danger, but then...
Apparently it's very easy to move inside a dream.
Still, this sure is a weird way for a dream to continue...
Haigou Ginbee - 85 - 75 = 10 years old.
Thanks for reading! Apologies for any possible mistranslations on my part.
What did you think? I'm certainly looking forward to seeing where this goes. All sorts of interesting plot threads in the first chapter.
Bumping to read
A Fujita isekai with shota Bai Jin as the mc? sign me in.
before destroying house
now climbing mountain
Fake Shota, he's actually an 80 year old man who was isekaid and also sent into the past.
Hold up. Is that a kid Narumi?