[6/4 minor update to 4.1 (Jens)]

I've been keeping detailed scene-by-scene notes on this book, largely to check my comprehension (it's harder to read than Kino), but I thought it would be amusing to post them to allow a better look at how the series was adapted for anime, and to fuel speculation on possible future animation. The numbers will not be useful for anyone who doesn't have my copy of the marked-up text file, though; I did some cleanup on the version I downloaded, to clarify section and scene breaks compared to my print copy.

Warning! This is not only chock full of spoilers, it's also quite long. And there are pictures.

---

General note: chiki, dote, beki, zuru, hyoko, jaki. All of these non-words appear as complete paragraphs at various points, apparently representing sounds. Most are not "well-known" mimetic words, so I wonder if they're common as manga sound effects.

[22] Opening quote:

• お腹が空いているときに、ラヴィオリが出たら、たとえステーキを食べたくてもそれを食べなさい」
  　　　映画「旅情」より。
• "When you're hungry, if there's ravioli, eat it, even if you want to eat steak." (no idea what the original line was)
• 1955 Katherine Hepburn film "Summertime", title translated as "Traveling Mood".

[30] (unlabeled text section)

(TODO cleanup) From the far side of space, the calmly waiting "them" had been sending those words for nearly half a year in a specific direction. What's more, in that planet's many dialects. But there had been no reply. Because it had been determined that on that planet, they were still communicating by radio and cables (copper and synthetic), "they" didn't send signals intended for their own kind, but used equipment that they'd secretly installed near that planet's satellites.

Ordinarily people would get angry (at being ignored), but the bottomlessly good-natured "them" instead began to worry. Perhaps a world war had begun. However, their observation confirmed that while there had been a number of small-scale skirmishes, World War 3 had not started.

(TODO) ついで、メッセージそのものが検討されたが、これは「彼ら」 が検討に検討を重ねた結果のメッセージであることがまた証明 されたにとどまった。

In any case, it was a single phrase. "We're coming to visit!"

Time passed. Still no reply came.

The worried "them" decided to stop knocking on the door and "peek inside".

[52] Prologue: When he met (s.o.) in the graveyard, it was a cat

1. [57] July 18, 200A, America
   • (book is 2003, so "very near-future")
   • Short scene of the military detecting Eris' ship on radar.
2. [76]
   • Boy-meets-catgirl at family ceremony at cemetary.
   • Yuuichi still points out Eris, but it's Dad who hands her a bottle of beer, which she later innocently uses to refill Kio's cup.
   • Kio thinks Eris must be a member of the widely-dispersed Kakazu clan, probably Russian.
   • Kio drinks for the same reason (boiiiin), but passes out not just because he's a cheap date, but because he was up all night sitting vigil.
   • Note that Eris is always referred to as red-haired. The cover artist usually goes for a strawberry-and-gold blonde mix, while the anime is more of a housecat orange. Books 10 and 11 are the only times he colors her hair and bodysuit to precisely match the anime.
   • [174]
     

[204] Chapter 1: He tried to ask "who are you?"

1. [209] July 24, 200A, inside online game Galactic Trader 5
   • Beautiful Contact's chat session is much the same, both visuals and content, adding the detail that they're gathered around the "A.C. Clarke Monument".
   • No clues provided as to the identity of the Japanese representative.
2. [239]
   • Short scene at Manami's house the next morning, where the TV news about the recent mysterious broadcast concerns her less than the "omake" that helped carry a passed-out Kio home the previous evening.
   • Her mom has her take a Tupperware container of soumen champuru along when she goes to visit Kio. I mention this only so I can ignore all further "hey, we're in Okinawa" exposition. Besides, everyone knows that the samurai variety is superior to soumen.
3. [256]
   • Waking up, Kio realizes he's missed his parents leaving for Tokyo, where they live because of Dad's job, and expect to spend most of their time for the next two years. Bummer.
   • Kio does not roll over and get a handful of tit; he wakes up, sits cross-legged on the bed, and his knee lands on her boobs. His subsequent reaction to her is the same.
   • Yes, that's Dad's shirt she's almost wearing. If it wasn't his favorite before, it will be from now on!
   • Eris says his parents invited her to stay the night, telling her she could sleep wherever she wanted.
   • Flustered by the half-naked catgirl, Our Hero flees for the bathroom.
   • Oh, no, the girl he most wanted not to come over right now just showed up downstairs!
4. [333]
   • Short scene of Eris exploring Kio's room, in particular admiring his collection of figurines. "If Command, Analysis Chief, or Professor saw these, they'd be pleased. ... But I want them, too."
5. [349]
   • Manami's teasing is the same (bad French and Morning Coffee), but Kio is too flustered to ask how she knows he has a girl in the house, so there's no "I live next door, so I even know where you hide your porn" line. The rest of their conversation is pretty much identical.
   • What Manami says in both versions when she gets her first sight of Eris' cleavage is "gaikoku-san" (外国産), literally "foreign-made".
   • Itokazu-sensei's reaction ("hakurai" = "imported") was added in the anime. She still chews him out, but doesn't start off stunned by Eris' giant boobs.
   • The rest of the confrontation is much the same, and the chapter ends with the "see, my ears and tail are real; I'm an alien!" bit.
   • Itokazu-sensei is considerably more stylish in the anime. Don't worry, she cleans up nicely in book 6, and it appears that someone hits her with an MCSA. She hits back with an iron pipe.
   • Note: the author mostly calls her by her first name, Maki, and I'll be doing the same, just because "Itokazu-sensei" is a mouthful.
   • [444]
     

[557] Chapter 2: The freeloader had cat-ears

1. [562] Earth Calendar July 25, 200A, near the solar system
   • Short scene on the ship with brunette Chaika and an unnamed silver-haired catgirl, discussing Eris' failure to stock her ship with food before heading out. Loosely:
   • Silverhair: Shouldn't we send some right away?
   • Chaika: Pointless. She's already been gone a week, so she's either self-sufficient or she's starving to death.
   • S: What a terrible thing to say!
   • C: Relax, she's the sort who'll do well whether she has good luck or bad.
   • S: But if she's self-sufficient, doesn't that mean that she's got something other than Soylent Green to eat?
   • C: Oh, yeah; edible plants and animals grown under real sunlight...
   • S: Birds, fish, plants, reptiles, mammals, I bet they're all delicious.
   • C: Yeah...
   • (lost in thought at the possibility of eating something other than food-synthesizer output)
   • S: Foods we've never seen before!
   • C: Sweets we've never seen before!
   • Chaika is clearly identified as a brunette here (チャイカと呼ばれたブルネットの猫耳少女), and this is repeated in book 7 (ブルネットの髪をツインテールにした、ちんちくりんのボディ……チャイカ), but the artist consistently draws her with silver hair, starting with the color cast picture in book 4. Speaking of which, Jens is drawn as a blonde, and Antonia's hair is a bit green.
2. [608]
   • Phone call between Kio and his mom
   • Mom mentions that the whole family thinks Eris is a nice girl. Sure, girl-next-door Manami's nice, too, but isn't someone from "another world" better?
   • Mom makes a point of saying that even the clan's three 100-year-old "great aunts" like Eris. Their names are Nabe, Kamado, and Ushi (pot, hearth, cow), and while that may seem like an odd way to name your daughters, at that time it made sense to name them after the important things in a household, and now you know how they cut this book down to two episodes.
   • However, this actually ends up being useful information...
   • Also brought up in the call is the fact that Dad's notorious for bringing home strangers when he's been out drinking. Eris was definitely a more pleasant surprise than that one time he invited an entire squad of American Marines to spend the night.
3. [656]
   • Slight flashback to the second half of the confrontation with Manami and Maki, which plays out much the same, including the appearance of Ruros.
   • [696]
     
4. [743]
   • The subsequent conversation ("Did you come to invade?", etc) between Kio and Eris is pretty much the same. Orsonions, "everyone calls their planet Earth, but to avoid confusion we call ourselves Catians", etc. The biggest difference is the food: instead of asking how the pork sushi was made, she makes sure that there's no umeboshi in the onigiri.
5. [775] Short scene of Manami returning to her airgun-covered room.
6. [789]
   • More Kio/Eris chat
   • She was on Earth for 8 days before they met.
   • Kio is surprised that an adventurer would forget to stock food when heading to a strange planet.
   • Eris says, "At first I thought I'd live off the land, but I'm uncomfortable killing living creatures, and I'm a terrible shot."
   • First mention of her getting directions to the party from Aura (who is prone to wandering off for weeks at a time).
   • Finally, the "watch the house while I go run some errands" bit.
7. [853]
   • Next scene follows an unnamed woman into an apartment that's absolutely stuffed with bookshelves; not a particularly nice building, no kitchen or bedroom to speak of, just tons of books (think Yomiko Readman's place in R.O.D) and a computer. Definitely nothing like the nice place she's got in the anime.
   • She powers up the computer and addresses it as Hal, logs into the game, and carefully makes her way to a secure chatroom for a Beautiful Contact meeting. Yes, her handle is Ender, and the conversation is basically identical. She's just never identified as Maki.

[925] Chapter 3: 'COMPANY' GIRLS

1. [930] July 25, 200A, Tokyo, a certain place in Kasumigaseki
   • (note: district containing most cabinet ministry offices)
   • Two anonymous voices, one passing on orders from above.
   • If possible, convince it to leave, otherwise eliminate all traces. Voice 2 is concerned that using Momiji might be unpleasant, and the location is also where her cover identity is established, and furthermore, isn't the CIA already moving on this?
   • She's not exactly subtle, so he'd rather have a group of capable men. Unfortunately, due to a recent riot, most of their group is in the hospital right now. The first voice insists that it'll be fine to use Bad-Luck Momiji; between her costume and her skills, they won't have to worry about their camouflage being exposed.
   • (TODO; fuzzy in a few places here)
2. 2. [944]
   • Kio's school film club
   • Maki left the students on their own today, so they're scrapping her boring film plan and suggesting all the cool stuff they want to do.
   • They want some girls in the film. Partial dialogue:
   • "Hey, Kio, you've got that childhood friend?"
   • "Oh, yeah, she's a real beauty."
   • "Right. Kio, bring her along."
   • "Hey, with your uncle out of town, you two are probably already shacked up, right?"
   • Kio sighs, "Manami already has a boyfriend."
   • "Yeah, some guy named Jack. I heard her having an excited conversation with him on her cellphone."
   • "Her old man works at the military base; probably someone she met around there."
3. [1003]
   • back to Eris, who's watching TV. Conversation with Uncle Yuuichi. (TODO)
   • Elderly relative of Kio and Yuuichi stops by to restock the fridge, including... yakiniku!
   • The three of them talk for a while, off camera.
4. [1080]
   • School hallway and street nearby.
   • First sighting of Aoi, talking movies with Kio. Basically identical.
5. [1148]
   • Unhappy Aoi in car with her handler, Endo. Basically identical.
   • [1179]
     
6. [1206]
   • As Manami walks in, her mother tells her Janice called and left a message: "call me online later". First sign of JACK.
   • Manami sets up a Skype-like online call. Jack pretends it's a social call, but Manami points out that she'd just have called her cell for that. She admits it's work, and says she wanted Manami's dad for her partner, but he's not around. Manami says he's in the Philippines in case there are problems with the election there, and volunteers. Jack is (too?) easily talked into it, and explains her target: a cat-eared-and-tailed alien. Manami hooks up her video camera, points it out the window, and gets footage of Kio being welcomed home by Eris. (TODO)
   • Jack's American accent is represented by using katakana to show where she's stressing words incorrectly. This makes her dialogue tricky to figure out sometimes.

[1270] Chapter 4: When she ate 'yakiniku', it was delicious

1. [1275]
   • A voice like a dog's growl filled the large room. "You haven't found it yet?". No name or description (other than an annoyed clattering of sharp nails on the table), but this is obviously Jens, although she doesn't appear by name until book 2.
   • Jens note: Ware-ware = us (dogs), Kimi-tachi = human partners.
   • Note that the dog civilization is not referred to as Dogishua until book 10; mostly they're just "dog people", only used in this book when Eris is talking to her captor.
   • (loose, but mostly complete)
   • Jens: We want this done quickly. You (plural) should exert your full influence.
   • Jens: You're still keeping your president in the dark, yes? What is this, the fifth or sixth one you haven't told?
   • Human: Eighth.
   • Jens: Your judgement that your populace needs more time still stands, then? It doesn't matter to us when this relationship ends and a new phase begins.
   • Human: We understand. We're deeply grateful for your patience.
   • Jens: It's good that you understand. Focus your efforts. 'They' are different from us; they don't think ahead and make careful plans (lit: 深慮遠謀). They're creatures of reflex (lit: 脊髄反射の生物). They'll spread the news to the whole world immediately. An age of chaos and decadence will begin.
   • [6/4:] (at this point, the sound of a wing flapping is heard, then a single white feather falls, and lands lightly on the polished black marble floor)
   • [6/4:] The remaining lines may not be spoken by the same person who growled at the beginning.
   • X: We're your partners.
   • [6/4:] A gentle, strange voice that could be taken as male or female summarizes. (優しい、男とも女とも取れる不思議な声がまとめる)
   • X: We want to extend this splendid relationship a little while... what does your side think?
   • Human: Yes, of course.
   • X: Then hurry. For the sake of the wealth and power you (plural) and your country hold now.
   • [6/4:] (Note that I'm not leaving out any narrative; the scene is almost pure dialogue, with only the four narrative clues I've included. The only other hint is Eris' line in chapter 8, scene 2, which suggests that the human she's talking to is the one from this scene)
2. [1297]
   • Eris discovers the joys of yakiniku.
   • Kio tries to explain about how it's made, but runs out of details, and suggests the Internet for now, and a trip to a library the next morning. She wimps out because it would mean a half-hour walk in the summer heat. Loosely:
   • K: Don't you have some device for that?
   • E: Yes, but it's a big armor-like environment suit.
   • K: Then we'll take a taxi.
   • E: With air-conditioning?
3. [1342]
   • Manami and Jack spying on Eris and Kio at dinner.
   • (TODO)
4. [1361]
   • Kio and Eris: "I forgot to tell you that I planted something in the garden, to help me with my investigations tomorrow".
   • (TODO)
5. [1375]
   • Beautiful Contact meeting in a closed bar.
   • Biggest difference here is that the soldier-type is a black man who needs Maki to translate for him. He's described as very muscular, with a shaved head and a protruding forehead that would make him look a bit like a neanderthal if it weren't for the intelligence and reason in his eyes.
   • At least, the only description of him in this scene gives him muscular black arms (Ｔシャツの袖から伸びる黒い腕も、胸板も、鍛え上げた筋肉が隆々と盛り上がっている), but he's white (白人) in all later scenes.
6. [1418]
   • More Kio/Eris chat:
   • K: Why do your people travel through space?
   • E: The main reasons are sightseeing (物見遊山) and expanding cultural exchange. Because the feeling has become strong that we're at a dead end, culturally and genetically.
   • Longer chat between them, including talk about exploring space, and how Eris got into the business. (TODO)
   • They've met two or three other races; with one, they didn't establish diplomatic relations and were expelled, and with another, they rejected all further contact after an unfortunate incident. It was a planet called Melmack, whose people viewed Catians as food... (yes)
   • (this must be "races you've made first contact with"; we know there are more)
   • The "pay the rent" scene has mostly the same lines, just taking place in the living room instead of out on the balcony. The details of precisely which magazines she found under his bed to acquire her misunderstanding of Earth culture were invented for the anime.
   • [1531]
     
7. [1540]
   • Cut to Manami recording this scene. Snap goes her pencil.
   • Took me a while to sort out the last sentence: 今朝方、「どこまで行ったの？」とかセクハラ中年男まがいのことを口にしたことは綺麗さっぱり真奈美の中から忘れられている。
   • Word-for-word would be gibberish here, so "Manami has completely forgotten talking like a sexually-harassing middle-aged man this morning, saying things like 'how far did you go?'".
8. [1562]
   • * Back to Kio/Eris (TODO: travel and distances):
   • K: What's your world like?
   • E: Mostly the same as Earth. We were surprised that the language and writing were the same.
   • K: So, you're not using a translating device, and this is your native language?
   • E: Yes.
   • K: With vocabulary like (English) "tunnel" and "hyperdrive"?
   • E: Ah, those are engineer's words. There are also parallel translations, but these have fine nuances and coolness, so we use them instead.
   • Kio is WTF-ed into silence at the astronomical odds against any of this. He finally says that he's glad that she's not some kind of alien like an octopus, bug, or giant ball of snot.
   • K: Wait, Eris, your shape isn't 'mimicry', is it?
   • E: What?
   • K: Um, ah, because it's just too convenient.
   • E: We thought the same thing. At first, we thought it was mimicry, but isn't it strange, convergent evolution, us from cats, you from monkeys? Still, it's the truth.
   • E: Of course there are some differences, though; for instance, the gender ratio is completely different.
   • K: Hmm?
   • E: In our species, there are almost no males (男の子が圧倒的に少ないんです).
   • K: So you're polygamous?
   • E: No. The family makeup is one wife, one husband, but men are required to donate their genes. Because our current social system supports it, when single women want a child, they register their egg, and sperm and egg are combined. After that, the woman may bear the child herself or use a machine. Hereditary diseases, genetic flaws, etc are corrected before birth, so it's no problem even if they're close relatives.
9. [1618] Unhappy Aoi in her barely-furnished room, wishing her new targets didn't include Kio. (TODO)
10. [1637]
    • Flashback to their first meeting, when his small act of kindness broke through her professional detachment.
    • She was out looking for a limited-edition DVD;
    • Kio walked up, called her by name, and asked what she was looking for;
    • She almost brushed him off in her usual brusque way, and then was surprised to see the disc in his hands;
    • "Ah, you were looking for this, too? Here you go.";
    • Following orders, she'd been staying aloof from ordinary people, but this honestly pleased her, and she accepted it without thinking;
    • And then he turned up the next day at school and asked her how she'd liked it.
11. [1649] More unhappy Aoi, reflecting on how meeting Kio made her look forward to school. And now, her orders will put her first (and only) friend in danger. (TODO)
12. [1661] Cranky Manami talking in her sleep, still upset about what she saw earlier.
13. [1669]
    • Kio wakes up at 5am on the floor after talking to Eris all night. She's curled up asleep on the sofa.
    • Kio thinks they really need to go to the library, after all the nonsense Eris got out of talking to Yuuichi and the old lady earlier.

[1688] Chapter 5: From out of the ground came CATS

1. [1693]
   • Assistoroids growing in the garden
   • Yuuichi isn't present, and doesn't find out about them until later.
   • They're called Assistorobo in this scene and two others, but never again. Even in this book Assistoroid is much more common.
   • The startup testing is much the same.
   • Kio expresses concern about getting them to the library, and she tells him that Assistoroids can teleport (簡易転送システム).
2. [1748] Manami, watching through binoculars, mutters, "if you could get the license to make those things, they'd sell explosively well."
3. [1756]
   • Break for breakfast, and Eris wants yakiniku again.
   • (He actually managed to hide some from her the night before?)
   • She's literally drooling in anticipation.
   • Surprisingly early phone call from Maki.
4. [1770]
   • Maki's side of the call, trying to act normal.
   • She asks about their plans, and claims she's driving to the school and could give them a ride.
   • Nervously, she fishes for information about their plans for the day. Her comrades are standing behind her, and she tells them their destination is the Yogi District Library.
5. [1786]
   • Aoi, preparing for action.
   • Long description of her waiting in her ready room, yawning repeatedly after not sleeping well. Random comments on how she's qualified to handle any kind of vehicle up to a jumbo jet, despite being underage for a license.
   • Long description of her suiting-up sequence, the first time her powered armor is described. The suit is the same, but we don't get to see her stripping down and getting squeezed into it.
   • The truck driver informs her of new orders. Due to the nearby police station, to avoid notice in the park, the mission time has been reduced by one minute, to three. She has no problem with this.
6. [1818]
   • Kio, Eris, and the Assistoroids at the library.
   • Nobody has a problem with Eris (they just figure the ears and tail are toys), but they can't decide whether to classify the Assistoroids as personal computers, toys, or pets.
   • She convinces the head librarian that they're recording devices, but he insists that they should at least be identifiable, so they draw numbers on their foreheads.
   • The kids on summer vacation are excitedly following the Assistoroids around the library.
   • They finish and leave in two hours.
   • They talk a bit about war, etc. (TODO)
   • Eris complains about the hot, humid day, which Kio insists is cooler than the previous two days.
   • She wants to go back into the library for a while longer, but Kio vetoes it, because if the Assistoroids spent any more time around those frenzied kids...
   • But she can't just have the Assistoroids teleport home yet, because it takes a full two hours to recharge.
   • (but didn't they just spend two hours in the library?)
   • So he gets her ice cream instead.
   • (no reaction shot or indirect kiss)
7. [1869]
   • However, Manami, watching from a distance, is still upset enough to snap her stylus.
   • Counting the previous mechanical pencils she's broken while spying on these two, she's up to nine. Fortunately, she brought a spare.
   • Side note: her outfit (much the same) is described as "black culture-like" (黒人文化っぽい), glossed しすたー
   • [1874]
     

[1897] Chapter 6: Meanwhile, the 'FIRST' was...

1. [1902]
   • Eris reacts to the ice cream. Yay! Still no sharing.
   • Kio announces that he's going to call a cab, and then comes the ambush. They're not as threatening or trigger-happy, but they're still pointing guns.
   • The speaker is not the large military man, but a nervous 50-ish man.
   • Much longer confrontation than in the anime.
   • Eris wants to talk to them, but she also wants to finish her ice cream before it melts, so she stuffs the last of it into her mouth all at once, including the cone, and tries to talk: わはひはひは、ほっはほへいふほほはひゃはひはひひひはわへへふはは、ひふ、ほほほほ、ほほへひふほはははほ、ははひはひほひははほ……
   • Kio tells her not to talk with her mouth full, and the two sides glare at each other while Eris, cheeks puffed out like a squirrel packing away sunflower seeds, finishes off her ice cream.
   • While this is going on, Kio notices that the woman acting as their driver seems familiar, despite the ski mask and sunglasses. Mostly because of her behavior. 妙に騎央を避けるようなそぶりをみせているのに気がついた (TODO)
   • Finally, Eris finishes, and resumes the conversation, politely asking who they are and who they represent.
   • Basically the same dialogue up to the point where Eris catches on that they're a secret organization.
   • In the anime, at this point the leader thinks she's making fun of them, and threatens her, leading Kio to jump in front of the sub-machine gun and get clubbed to the ground, and causing Aoi to intervene.
   • Here, the leader is frustrated, but not violent. He explains in detail why they refuse to accept her race as their first contact, delivering the rant that was transferred to Maki in the anime. He's in tears by the end.
   • While listening, Kio mumbles, "wow, what a bunch of spoiled kids". The Assistoroids nod in agreement.
   • A large delivery truck suddenly pulls up, and a salaryman-like man in a black suit comes out, who Kio thinks he's seen somewhere before.
   • He says hello, and completely ignoring Beautiful Contact, bows to Kio. Calling him by name, he introduces himself as Endo of the Immigration Bureau. He hands Kio his card. "Special Negotiation Department? What's that?" "We arrest illegal immigrants." He tells Eris that she's to be deported, to America. She points out that she's not American.
   • He says those are the orders he received, and insists.
   • A crowd of normal people has gathered around them, since this is all taking place in broad daylight next to a public park.
   • Kio gets a bit pissed-off arguing with the guy, whose behavior is so calm he's almost robotic, despite the river of sweat running down his face in the humid air.
   • Eris politely refuses to go with them, since she still has work to do. As for her being illegal, they're the ones who didn't choose to respond to the radio messages her race sent.
   • Endo bows and very politely says, "Then we'll execute you."
   • The top of the truck begins to open. Noise! Smoke! Hydraulics! Onlookers running away or throwing themselves to the ground!
2. [2090]
   • Aoi in full Momiji gear comes out to kill Eris. Much the same fight. The Assistoroids try and fail to stop her.
   • Then Kio grabs her leg and yells at her to stop; "Eris is not a criminal!"
3. [2141]
   • Kio grimly hangs on as she tries to shake him off.
   • Eris tells him to run away.
   • Finally, he manages to grab both legs. Aoi raises her weapon for the kill...
   • [2145]
     
4. [2164]
   • Aoi can't do it. Previously she's managed to stay cold and mechanical on the job, but not this time. She lowers her weapon, indicates that Kio should go to Eris.
   • Over the radio, Endo asks why she's abandoning her duty.
   • Her answer is, "because of poor health, continuing is impossible, returning to base", shuts off her radio, and leaves. (体調不良につき任務続行不能、帰投します)
5. [2186]
   • ...except the BC gang is still in the game, and renews their confrontation.
   • One of them tries to shoot Eris, but the safety is on, and he doesn't know where it is. They really did only have one pro in this group...
   • Fortunately they hear sirens approaching and leave.
   • Kio and Eris head for the nearby bus station to wait for a taxi. The Assistoroids teleport home.
   • (so, they must have been just shy of two hours? Eris obviously just didn't want to leave the air-conditioned library...)
   • Then Jack shows up and tranqs Kio and Eris.

[2225] Chapter 7: He resolved to intervene.

1. [2230]
   • Jack delivers Eris to an old hangar on the base, where several men in gray suits are waiting. Much the same scene, including their mutual dislike.
   • Yes, she's in ten-gallon hat and cowboy boots.
   • The DIA speaker is described as a particularly short Jew, for no obvious reason.
   • "Careful, she's lighter than she looks."
   • DIA is the gloss for アメリカ国防省情報部
   • Jack: Ah, you're not going to kill her?
   • DIA: No, that's not our "broad interpetation". (拡大解釈)
   • Jack: I see.
2. [2257]
   • Kio wakes up in Uncle Yuuichi's car. Yuuichi says he got worried when he heard the police being called out to a big disturbance at the library, and found him alone on the ground.
   • Note that it's just the two of them, no Assistoroids.
   • Kio recovers from the tranq and remembers what happened. When he asks about Eris, Yuuichi says Kio was alone when he got there, but then remembers seeing a gold corvette peeling rubber away from the scene.
   • K: That was them! Where did they go?
   • Y: Dunno.
   • K: Why didn't you go after them?
   • Y: Idiot. The most important thing was picking you up. Besides, a normal, ten-year-old Jimmy could never catch a fully-tuned Corvette.
   • Kio says he has to rescue her. Same speech.
   • Yuuichi says he understands, and that it's just like great-aunt said. Ushi called him yesterday to say that Kio was in danger, and he should help out.
   • They need to find her, though, and Kio knows who was in the passenger seat of the Corvette. [we don't find out how, yet]
3. [2305] Manami returns home, unhappy. Kio shows up at her door.
4. [2333]
   • Kio asks her to come outside to talk, and asks where Eris is.
   • Much the same scene, but in person.
   • The only significant difference is that Manami was the shooter, and she shot Kio first. As the tranq took effect, he saw the familiar scratched watch on her wrist.
5. [2392]
   • Kio returns home, and tells Yuuichi where Eris is.
   • K: Uncle, I know the location, but now what shall I do?
   • Y: Ah, leave it to me.
6. [2414]
   • Eris wakes up.
   • Imprisoned the same way, but the scientists ignoring her are in lab coats and masks, not hazmat suits.
   • They all ignore her when she calls out.
7. [2430]
   • Kio starts to get into Yuiichi's car, and finds the Assistoroids waiting. He explains what they are, and when he asks them if they want to come along, they all nod. They don't have their cool signboards, so they clumsily scratch out a message. (TODO)
8. [2459]
   • Aoi, under house arrest.
   • Phone call from Kio, much the same.
9. [2502]
   • Yuuichi says, "So, you have another girlfriend besides Eris?"
   • He hasn't revealed their destination yet.
10. [2518]
    • Manami, soaking in her misery, when Aoi shows up at the door. Same basic scene.
    • [2538]
      
11. [2542]
    • Kio, Yuuichi, and the Assistoroids reach the bar where Beautiful Contact meets.
    • Yuuichi grabs a video recorder.
    • He asks if the Assistoroids have weapons, and they nod. Their left arms slide open and they retrieve their hammers. (ピコピコハンマー)
    • * Finally, he hands Kio a gun loaded with tranqs, and pulls out a .45 for himself.
    • Kio: Where did you...
    • Y: わははは、男は細かい事を気にするもんじゃないぞ！ (TODO)
12. [2580]
    • Beautiful Contact back at their hideout.
    • They're a dejected bunch of failures. No dialogue from them.
    • A loud, aggressive knock is finally answered by the owner, who figures it must be annoying religious solicitors.
    • Instead, it's Yuuichi with a pistol, casually saying, "(english) Hello Folks! (japanese) Sorry, but don't move, ladies and gentlemen of 'Beautiful Contact'"
    • Then Kio and the Assistoroids come in.
13. [2596]
    • Confrontation between K/Y and BC.
    • The large muscular soldier is now a white guy. Oops.
    • Yuuichi takes their picture with his camera, and when one of them (likely the soldier) shouts, he fires a warning shot and tells them to keep still.
    • He then cheerfully informs them that he'll post the picture to the net identifying them as BC, which will surely wreck their careers, if not their lives, mentioning specific illegal things they've done in the past (mostly stealing data and items related to UFOs, SETI, etc).
    • Leader: What do you want from us?
    • Yuuichi: You're going to compensate my nephew for what happened earlier. We want to infiltrate the base; it's possible for that white guy, yes?

[2638] Chapter 8: The unexpected guy was tough

1. [2643]
   • Entering the base. Much the same.
   • The soldier is openly disgusted by the fact that the base is full of Trekkies.
   • Yes, the reason it's easy to sneak in is that Star Trek is on, and most of the soldiers on base are watching. This is discussed with Maki and Yuuichi in English; Kio is left puzzled.
   • Yuuichi says that not only that, but tonight's the first episode of the fourth season of both TNG and DS9, so big excitement. [no, Japan didn't get them that late, or at the same time. Presumably they're reruns of these two very popular episodes (rescuing Picard from the Borg, and the Klingons invading Cardassia, respectively)]
2. [2664]
   • Eris and the bad guy. Much the same conversation, with different bad Engrish before she activates her translator.
   • "It looks tiresomely?"
   • "For something, impoliteness is whether there is nothing?"
   • Yes, her lines about the dogs are the same:「ところであなた、犬臭いですよ。」 and 「もしもそうなら、止めたほうがいいですよ、宇宙のルールでは犬の人たちとの交流は『密貿易』になるんですから。」
3. [2707]
   • Kio and company, inside the base. Yuuichi is having fun setting off explosions. "Ta-maya-!"
   • Maki: What are you two going to do next?
   • Yuuichi: As planned. (laugh) The young prince and his elderly retainer are off to save the princess. Sorry, but you'll have to walk from here. You'll be fine; with the uproar and misdirection, going the opposite way won't be a problem.
   • Maki: You're not going to kill us?
   • Kio: Why? Why should I need to kill my teacher?
   • (unable to speak, Maki turns away)
   • Yuuichi: Later!
4. [2735]
   • At the same time Yuuichi hit the switch, a black Ford Mustang smashes through the front gate of the base. Guards shoot after it and climb into their vehicles for a chase.
   • Upgraded to a Shelby Mustang GT500 for the anime, with its distinctive paint job.
5. [2745] Inside of the Mustang, some additional conversation between Manami and Aoi before they both mention the trouble they're in personally.
6. [2784]
   • Kio and Yuuichi reach the hangar where Eris is being held.
   • Y: Now, from here on it's a big action film. Kio, get out.
   • K: What?
   • Y: This is the elderly retainer's big scene.
   • K: Huh?
   • Y: In other words, I draw them off while you slip inside.
   • K: But...
   • Y: It's fine, I'm just going to run around being obvious.
   • K: Uncle...
   • Y: 頑張れよ、ひと夏の思い出にしちゃ少々派手だが……人生、誰かのために命を賭けるのも悪くはない (TODO)
   • ...
   • Y: I'll be fine. But be back here by midnight; a helicopter will be coming.
   • K: Helicopter?
   • Y: I arranged it with a friend from work. It'll be an illegal flight, but he's a good pilot, so he shouldn't be shot down. But if we're not here on time, he'll head back.
   • K: I understand. But Uncle?
   • Y: Hmm?
   • K: What kind of work do you...
   • Y: Now, go quickly!
7. [2813] A large cardboard box sneaks up to the base and cuts through the fence. Small figures pour out.
8. [2824] At the same time, elsewhere, another cardboard box sneaks up to the base and cuts through. Ditto.
9. [2831]
   • Maki and the soldier, reflecting as they walk away. For simplicity, I'll label him as Tony, since that's the name he reveals to her at the end of the scene.
   • Maki: Am I here now as a teacher, or as a member of Beautiful Contact? Or as the person "Itokazu Maki"?
   • Tony: A difficult problem. For me as well. As an American soldier, I think they're terrorists who should be erased. But as Beautiful Contact I think they're pathetic victims of alien deception. And, personally, I can't hate people who head toward that kind of battle.
   • Maki: Because you're American, right?
   • Tony: Precisely.
   • (they smile weakly at each other, and then he roughly pulls her to the ground as a car races past, followed by Hummers; Maki is shocked to see Manami in the passenger seat, and realizes she's there to rescue Kio)
   • After they pick themselves back up, Tony says that when they reach his place, he has another car.
   • She stops walking, and asks to borrow it. They talk a bit, and exchange real names, and then she says, "He's my student, and his life is in danger. I won't abandon him."
10. [2890] Yuuichi shoots out the windows and tires of the guards' vehicle at the hangar, and then heads out. Kio sneaks inside while everyone's distracted.
11. [2902]
    • Eris busts loose; "no reason to go easy on people smuggling with the dogs...".
    • [2930]
      
12. [2934]
    • Additional detail: both Kio and Yuuichi have been tossing around smoke bombs to add to the confusion.
    • Kio in the elevator, then reunited with Eris. Much the same.
    • When she asks if he was responsible for the ruckus outside, she says she thought it was just the Assistoroids. Kio says they're here, too.
    • He only thinks the line about "though from the looks of it, I didn't need to come".
    • Yes, she's so happy she smothers him between her boobs.
13. [2968] Assistoroids stealing a helicopter. (TODO)
14. [2991] Some military group led by a man with a Cuban cigar and an AK-47, who doesn't care that the target looks like a Japanese civilian. He's a terrorist, dammit, and any enemy of America is an enemy of the world.
15. [3013]
    • Yuuichi is rescued by the girls.
    • Same scene.
16. [3035]
    • Kio calls Yuuichi on his cell, and reports that he's with Eris in Maki's car. "What? You're with Manami-chan and Futaba-san?"
    • Same scene.
17. [3049]
    • Yuuichi says, "Ah, Kio, you're quite popular."
    • Same scene.
18. [3064]
    • "What is that idiot Lt. Whitman doing?" asks the base commander.
    • His secretary explains the "terrorist" situation, and the (first-in-his-class West Point graduate) commander is disgusted at the out-of-control shooting, etc, sloppiness that hasn't been acceptable in Okinawa for a good forty years. He says to leave it alone for now, and have the MPs arrest the idiot when it's over.
    • Then he gets a call, from great aunt Ushi.
    • This man who wouldn't even lose his cool in front of the president recovers from the shock, and feelings of great respect and dread cross his face.
    • This section is filled with WTF. Slow going figuring it all out. (TODO)
    • Short version seems to be that Ushi is an honest-to-gosh exorcist, and after seeing her at work, he resolved never to cross this woman.
    • Ah, now I get it! She's a Yuta, an Okinawan shaman. Still a common practice in the real world, but rare enough that neither JMDict nor US Wikipedia had it. The only gloss I got for ユタ was the American state, which added to the WTF.
19. [3093] Unnamed Lt. examining his map and radioing new orders to his troops. (tanks, that is)
20. [3101]
    • For some reason the pursuit has stopped...
    • Ah, Yuuichi does mention his friend's helicopter again!
    • Yuuichi: It's a crop-duster that could only possibly hold four people. Now, if it were a military helicopter...
    • Eris: Incoming!
    • Yuuichi: Who's flying that thing? They're not very reliable.
    • Eris: It's because they're too short.
    • blah, blah, too many details about the damn tanks.
    • The big finish. Similar setup, identical ending, stopping just after the hammers strike.
    • [3176]
      

[3205] Epilogue: That's why "We came to play!"

1. [3210]
   • Short narration of the effects of their weapons on the tanks and lack of effect on the men inside.
   • The base commander shows up and smooths things over, repeatedly shaking Kio and Yuuichi's hands and finally saying "give my regards to your great-aunt".
   • Kio is quite surprised by this, but Yuuichi grumbles that she could have done it sooner.
   • "After that, everything was surprisingly calm." Manami stopped studying for the civil-service exam, Aoi moved into a cheap apartment in Kio's neighborhood, Eris and the Assistoroids kept going to the library every day (stopping for ice cream both coming and going).
   • And so, it became August.
2. [3231]
   • Bye-bye time! Almost identical scene, including "soon it will be my first mating season...".
   • They get a few more seconds together than in the anime, with Eris suggesting a little advance on their promise, then they hear Manami come in and yell out to them about something on TV.
   • The flustered couple steps back from each other, and, absently straightening their clothes, runs out of the room. (guilty conscience only, no action...)
   • Aoi joins them, and they watch the Catian mothership landing, with lengthy quotes from the TV announcer.
   • Then Chaika and Silverhair (who is identified in later books as Chaika's friend Merea) show up at the door. Same, except that the final "asobi ni kimashita" line is spoken only by Silverhair.

[3314] Author's note

(TODO another time)

Book 2 Preview!

As part of the great hair-color controversy, I peeked ahead a bit. Yes, we get swimsuit diplomacy, but with one significant difference: Kuune, Dyureru, and Melwin are in school swimsuits, but Eris and Chaika are in... Maid-fuku! Sadly, they change in the elevator after the meeting, not in front of Kio. Eris' explanation of why they're dressed that way is the same. Chaika finds it hilarious, and teases Eris mercilessly about the sort of ideas she's picked up from Kio's secret stash. This is still in the elevator, so she's not actually looking through the magazine; presumably it got recorded at some point. "What are you saying, Chaika! I can't do that sort of thing when I'm not in heat!" "Oh, yes, we can do it any time, just like males!"