August
Good job, Rice Kate.
He's looking good!
Arimura, nice riding!
You're like a whole new person!
He's in good shape!
Yes. His hesitation has flown away!
He's breaking through toward improvement!
Of course!
Saionji Let's talk about the next step of the plan.
Huh?
What's wrong?
I forgot something.
Do you understand how serious this is?
You're at the limit of the allowed weight.
I'm aware.
Your body's growing, making you unable to maintain your weight.
I hear you've barely been eating lately.
What are you trying to say?
The training's only going to get harder. Your body won't—
Is that...
Is that your opinion as an instructor?
Or your concern for your son's health?
Father.
Episode 5 Setting Sun
Everyone, we'll be starting monkey riding lessons today!
Yes!
Finally! Monkey riding!
Don't get so excited!
Class 39 has a public mock race in two months.
You're going to be doing a jump demonstration
and a monkey demonstration with wooden horses.
Your score there will be a crucial factor in determining if you
go on to the next stage of the curriculum.
You'll be showing off all you've learned over the past six months.
I want you to show me everything you've got. Don't disappoint me.
Yes!
This'll be fun!
Yeah, I've been looking forward to the monkey!
We'll finally look as awesome as real jockeys!
Not cool at all...
Drop your hips and keep that pose!
This is...
Rough.
My legs can't take this...
Oh, god! This is hard! Crazy Japanese!
Monkey riding uses a short stirrup and requires you to sit up off the saddle.
It's a basic stance for maximizing speed.
Maintaining it requires knowing the proper position and keeping your balance.
You need strong lower body muscles.
It'll put a lot of stress on your body.
You okay?
I'm fine.
I can't move...
My calves are a mess.
It's totally different from all the training we've done before.
My muscles are gonna burn tomorrow.
I don't want to eat.
This is great!
Shun, you've got so much endurance...
You kept your balance too, though, huh?
You guys were both good!
How did you pick it up so fast?
Hey, I had a great idea for how to practice when we're monkey riding!
What?
A new lesson?
Tell me!
I'll do anything to be able to do the monkey!
Right, Hayato?
There are no shortcuts to getting better.
Again.
Again?
Hosho's barely been eating lately.
He's worried about his weight, I think.
He was over the limit a while ago.
Well, it happens.
A little dieting and he'll be back on track.
DOSUKOI!
Oh! Sumo?
What are you doing?
Check this out!
That stance...
Drop your hips and lift up your upper body to stabilize.
It's like the monkey, right?
Dosukoi! Dosukoi! Dosukoi!
What?
We started doing the monkey today.
It's really rough!
But I think I'm starting to get it!
I can't wait to monkey ride on you!
I want to share that feeling with you.
I can't wait!
That's what Rice Kate's saying!
Stop being silly.
Hey, Yu, what did you mean by "feeling"?
Masaki, this is the spot, right?
Dormitory
Yeah, I think so.
Hello? Is anyone here?
Coming!
Visitor
Are you visitors?
Sorry! Someone should be by soon!
Just wait somewhere and...
The horse's rhythm, huh?
It's like your heart becomes one with the rhythm of the horse's hooves.
Do you understand?
For me, it's more like I can hear their voices.
They say, "The wind feels good!" or "I want to stop!" or "I'm hungry!"
So you become one with them in your heart, huh?
Maioka Kyoshin didn't want to run today.
I'm sorry.
Arimura!
H-H-...
Here you go.
Thanks!
Don't worry about us.
Wel-Welcome... Y-Y-You're!
Do you know us?
I'm a member of the Mr. Doctor Fan Club, Patient Number 77623!
Aki Kyoriki!
We don't have many male fans.
Who's your favorite?
Before, it was Yu!
Now, it's everybody!
But as a classmate, I'm making sure not to behave inappropriately around Yu!
I see. So, have you seen what Yu's really like?
Really like?
He's actually a huge sadist.
Yeah. He made us and the rest of the staff call him King Yu.
That's surprising!
Oh, it's King Yu!
Hey there.
Kosei! Masaki!
Japan 12 Matches 10 Victories
Record
Overseas 1 Match 1 Victory
Sex
Male
Color
Chestnut (Flaxen Chestnut)
Mile Championship 2 Times
Major Wins
Sprinters Stakes
Yasuda Kinen
Jacques Le Marois
Amane, what is this?
Is this...?
Yes! Surfing-style riding!
I've heard that timing and balance are important for monkey riding, but...
We're not really surfing, though.
The wave's here. Turn!
Turn!
Good!
What are they doing?
I see.
So this is where you spend your days, huh?
You're good at that.
Thanks. I do it every day.
Um, why are you—
Why are we here?
We wanted to see the place you live.
I'm glad you're doing well.
I see.
It was a mess for a while, but it's calmed down.
We're doing better than we expected with just the two of us.
People like our regular program.
And we got a new commercial, too.
That's right! We both get more dialogue now you're gone!
Kosei, Masaki...
I know it's too late, and nothing I can say will really make up for it,
but I'm sorry for being so selfish!
You were right to be angry, Kosei.
I know I caused so many problems for both of you.
Why? Why are you quitting now?
Stop it! Yu thought a lot about this!
I thought I'd never see you two again.
That I didn't have the right to.
So...
I'm happy you came. Thank you!
Come on, we're friends. Don't bow like that.
It's fine, Yu.
We know how serious you are about this.
You weren't playing when you came here. Ms. Saionji told us.
The company president did?
Yeah, and she told us the plan, too.
Plan?
We had you all wrong.
Of course you'd never quit being an idol.
Let's go back to making Mr. Doctor a success!
Yeah! Yu Otonashi returns!
Mr. Doctor was so cool!
I'm glad you met your heroes, Aki.
I didn't realize you were such a fan.
I wish I could've seen them.
Hayato...
He looks pretty stressed.
Arimura! Did Mr. Doctor leave?
What's his problem?
Is he mad about something?
Did he go back to being no-sense?
King Yu the Sadist!
Class 41 Schedule
Yu Arimura Shun Kazanami Aki Kyoriki Sojiro Sakuraba Eri Shimotsuki Hayato Hosho Kota Maki Amane Grace
Out of Building Out of Building Out of Building Out of Building Out of Building
Should you be working this hard on your day off?
Weren't you on a date?
She stood me up.
Can you believe she stood up the future #1 jockey?
You're still doing that?
You look tired.
Hey, Hayato.
A friend of mine won't open up to me.
He's locked himself inside his shell and is trying to solve his problems alone.
How do I get him to relax and open up?
I'm sure...
I'm sure he doesn't want to tell anybody what's going on.
Telling people wouldn't help him.
He'd just feel miserable.
Is that why you're refusing to let Instructor Nohira, your own father, help you?
I've had differences with my dad, too.
Tell me what's on your mind.
I didn't tell anyone because I didn't want you to make assumptions about me.
My parents are already divorced.
Is that really all?
Your dad's not worried about what people will think.
He's worried about you!
Thank you for coming all the way to see me on your day off, Yu.
Kosei and Masaki came to the school.
I see.
It must've been nice to talk to them again.
What's this "plan" for me coming back?
They told me you're trying to bring me back as some kind of idol jockey.
That wasn't the deal!
You weren't supposed to interfere with me being a jockey!
You were supposed to shoot the documentary of my life at school,
and then I'd never hear about Mr. Doctor's lost sales again!
Did I ever make a promise like that?
What?
The documentary was my idea, yes.
But the goal was to bring you back as an idol.
I can't just let all your talent go to waste!
You have a special talent as an idol.
Do you know what that is?
The fact that nobody can forget you.
You've been gone from the entertainment world for months,
but constantly remained in the public eye.
Am I wrong?
If you want to be a celebrity, you don't need to be universally loved.
You do need to be universally remembered.
You have that talent.
And you have no talent as a jockey!
That's not true!
I'm doing a lot better!
I'm going to be a jockey!
Can you?
This is...
This footage is going to be uploaded to our company's channel
as a serial documentary.
When that happens, the world's going to start wondering
how you got into the Horse Riding School, considering your lack of talent.
Ma'am!
And then they'll realize Yu Otonashi belongs on the stage!
Yu, think about this again.
You can be a jockey with no one cheering for him,
or an idol who will never be forgotten.
People belong not where they want to be,
but where others want them to be!
Can I use that?
Sure, sorry.
Sorry. I want to get the movements down before the exercise tomorrow.
Yeah, it's fine.
Hayato.
I... I went to my old agency today.
From when you were an idol?
I went and talked to the CEO for the first time in a while.
What she said really hit me hard.
Hit you hard?
She wants me to go back to being an idol.
She's putting the documentary Tako made up online
to make everybody think I'm not cut out to be a jockey, she says.
Really?
She was always like that.
She doesn't care what I want.
That's not...
Whenever I want to do something, she gets in my way.
If I just keep this up, I can be a jockey!
Just keep this up...
I'm sick of it.
I wanted to be able to focus 100% on becoming a jockey.
If anything, being a former idol is a handicap.
She wants me to go back where everyone wants me to be.
But I want to stay where I want to be!
What do I do?
Don't be such a spoiled brat.
You call that a handicap? You think that even qualifies?
Hayato?
No matter what anybody says, you still get to make the choice.
Make the choice and you can have what you want!
You don't understand how wonderful it is to be able to choose your own future!
Do you understand how it feels to lose all access to the place you want to be?
If you don't... then give me your body!
I'm sorry!
Don't apologize!
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This really is hard.
You did great, Shun.
You just have to move like the horse moves!
Like when you're moving along the floor as a sumo?
No! Like you're surfing!
Both are wrong!
Next! Arimura! Hosho!
Okay!
What's wrong?
Something's wrong with Hayato's Yellow April.
Is it angry?
Start!
Hayato!