Kimishima Hayato is an ambitious business analyst at Tokiwa Motors who pushed his luck too far and got demoted to a rural factory subsidiary. He finds out on his first day of work at Fuchu Factory that not only is he the general manager of the factory, he is also the general manager of the Tokiwa rugby team, the Astros.
It just so happens that President Shimamoto Hiroshi loves this Astros team, as much as Vice President Takigawa Keichiro hates it. Its existence blocks Takigawa from becoming the next president.
Yoshihara Kinji, the old GM, tells him that his first job is to submit a budget estimate for the Astros. That’s when Kimishima realizes that the company spends an outrageous 1.4 billion annually on the team! And makes near-zero profit because the team ranks dead last year after year in the Platinum League. So as any business analyst would do, he submits a budget estimate of 0 and recommends that the company disband the Astros.
When Sakura Tae, the team manager, hears about this, she demands that he gives an explanation to the team. So Kimishima challenges the team captain, Shiwada Tetsu, if he’s willing to work hard to earn the 1.4 billion yen budget. But it’s not Tetsu, but rather Hamahata Jo, the Astros’ star player, who gives the motivational speech needed to push the team.
Translation Notes/Trivia
- Johnan University is a fictional place. (There is Jonan Junior College in Osaka, but that’s not related.) Judging by the similarities of the rugby uniform, Johnan is rumored to be based on Waseda.
- Keio University (Hamahata Jo’s alma mater) is an actual, top University in Japan with a very strong rugby team. This is also the team where Sakurai Sho’s younger brother played rugby for.
- Astro-katsu is a fictional food made to support the Astros. Literally, -katsu means “deep fried” (like tonkatsu is deep fried pork), so that’s why you see a plate of deep fried food. However, -katsu is also a pun for “to win” so people are ordering Astro-katsu as a way to support the team– “Astros for the win!”
- The New Zealand All-Blacks do actually perform the Haka before every match. You can see the difference in the original Maori-to-English translation versus the Maori-to-Japanese-to-English translation! It’s quite fascinating.
- Rugby terms: a try is a 5 point goal.
Watch Online
Download
No Side Game EP01 [EN][Blitz].mkv
(1280×720| 1:07:59 | 916MB)
Thank you so much!
Never knew rugby is a thing in Japan ..
Never knew rugby is a thing in Japan..