Flower, Sun, and Rain – Official Fanbook

This is a double sided fanbook released for Flower, Sun and Rain.
One side of the book is a 1:1 replica of the in-game Lospass Guidebook, which Twitter user Searcher has reworked into an english version based on the Nintendo DS translation of the game. The other side of the book is made up of original content.

While the book has been out of print for decades, someone took the time to scan a copy and upload it as a PDF through Twitter. That person has since deleted their account thus I am not going to name them in respect of their privacy, but I did upload an archive of it to make sure it’s not lost.

Read Online (Fanbook)

Read Online (Insert)

Read Online (Guidebook)

Download | Archive 1 | Archive 2

Read Online (Guidebook – English)

Download | Archive

Welcome to the world of “Flower, Sun, and Rain”!

An explanation of the contents of the book and its double-sided structure.

Proper use of Catherine

An explanation of Catherine, Sumio Mondo’s suitcase and universal codebreaker, alongside a list of every Jack-in point in the game. The name Catherine is revealed as being in reference to a type of firework, the Catherine Wheel, due to the device’s rotating dial, which also happens to be the name of an English alternative rock band.

Request corner

This section of the book presents the reader with a walkthrough for each of the game’s nineteen requests, complete with screencaps pointing at each required interaction and Catherine’s codes. It also includes two short blurbs, roughly summarizing the premise of each request and the song after which it is titled, and profiles for the characters that appear in the specific request; most of these have been translated and included in the game itself in the Nintendo DS remake.

R-00

R-01

R-02

R-03

R-04

R-05

R-06

R-07

R-08

R-09

R-10

R-12

R-13

R-14

R-15

R-16

R-17

R-18

Someone to Watch Over Me

This segment of the book is dedicated to Toriko’s side of the story, hinting at some of the game’s deeper mysteries. The text has been translated by NewWorldOrder. Four additional character profiles are also included.

Is Toriko crossing time to watch over Mondo? 

After Mondo witnesses the airplane explode, and his consciousness begins to fade, a young girl  named Kusabi Toriko appears. Each day, Mondo meets different people, and experiences a variety of events, but Toriko also meets the people of Lospass Island in an almost parallel manner. However, it seems as hough these encounters occur in within a period of a few hours after Christina runs off. What are these apparent discrepancies in the flow of time? Perhaps these events  are able to occur precisely because the time on Lospass Island is distorted. 

In R01, a flustered Toriko is chasing after Christina when she crosses paths with a mysterious man.  She instinctively feels, “That’s a bad person…”. The place where she stopped was right in front of  room 402, the very room where Mondo was staying. It seems like the mysterious man and Mondo  have some kind of deep connection. 

It appears that the reason Christina runs off in the first place, is to try and tell Toriko that Mondo is  in danger. In R11, we see Christina let out a howl, as if to mourn Mondo’s death. 

In R12, Toriko tracks down the man who shot Mondo and tells him, “I’ve come here to kill you.” After the man makes a proposal, “Now then, young miss, let’s continue the show once again,” the  shooting of Mondo from R11 is repeated in R13. Mondo is unable to move during the encounter,  almost as if time has stopped for him. 

“Why shoot him?” 

“There’s no meaning to it.” 

“If that’s so, then you don’t have to do it.” 

The two make a wager, “If this man (Mondo) can track me down, then it’s your win, young miss.” 

“Is he truly our saviour?”, “Can he really set this world free?” Toriko seems to understand the role  that Mondo has been burdened with, and she has placed her hopes in him. Shortly after, Mondo is  revived. It is not revealed during the story, but Toriko’s surname, Kusabi, is another point of note.

What is the true identity of the mysterious man? 

Now then, who on earth is the man who shot Mondo? Around the same time that Mondo is  approaching Lospass Island on the highway, the mysterious man enters the airport toilets. Perhaps  he is the terrorist, and he is trying to set the bomb at the airport? In R01, the man passes by Toriko  in front of room 403 of the hotel. Which room did he leave from? (Could it have been room 402?)  Later, at the end of R11, he suddenly appears before Mondo and thrusts a gun at him. Mondo is  shot without any grasp of the situation. 

In R12, during the meeting with Toriko, who had come there to kill him, Sundance says to her,  “This man deceives people. Don’t you feel it?” He was surely referring to Mondo. In response,  Toriko proclaims, “You don’t exist… You’re going to die here, Kamui Uehara!” The man doesn’t  

understand why Toriko called him Kamui Uehara. “You’re going to disappear from within Mondo.”  Does this mean that the man actually exists within Mondo? Could that then imply that a person  who has become Kamui Uehara exists within Mondo? 

The mysterious man appears before the revived Mondo in R16, though Mondo does not remember  him. The man makes a request of Mondo, “I want you to search for me. Please liberate this island,  and then set me free.” Being asked to search for the very person right in front of him? Mondo  receives yet another inexplicable request. Despite the bet he made Toriko in R11, it appears as  though the man actually wants Toriko to win. “If you find me, then there will be no explosion. I  myself am the bomb.” 

So, is this man the terrorist after all? In R13, Remy, the federal investigator who had come to  Lospass Island, mumbles to herself, “The mysterious terrorist, Sundance Shot. I will reveal your true  nature.” It seems that the mysterious man’s name is Sundance Shot. As he leaves, he tells Mondo,  “I will be at the airport, and I am going to board flight BJ-210.” But who actually boards the plane in  the end? 

What do old lady Ritz’s words mean? 

There is one more person who bears the name Sundance, old lady Ritz. In R17, Tokio says to  Mondo, “A certain animal was bred here. Long ago, the Sundance tribe raised these animals.  Sundance is the old lady’s name.” Is there a blood relation between Ritz and the mysterious man,  Sundance Shot? However, in R16, Ritz mentions something even more important, the eleven  children. You will recall that in R14, Remy, who had returned from the facility beneath Eleki Island,  says to Mondo, “Have you forgotten about how we escaped? That we were called the ‘Eleven’?” 

Why did Remy come to Lospass Island? 

While she urges Mondo to remember the Eleven, Remy herself does not appear to know about  them in the beginning. For what purpose did Remy come to Lospass Island, and what did she learn here? As a federal investigator, Remy came to Lospass to investigate a certain case, “Many children  are being sacrificed. A modern day spiriting away.” Mati urges Remy to go to Eleki Island, and there  she encounters a strange feeling of nostalgia. Remy also recalls that she was born on this island. While not stated in the game, she may have become a federal investigator because she harboured  doubts regarding the secret of her birth, and sought the truth. 

As soon as she arrived on Lospass, Remy remarks, “It smells of blood.” Come to think of it, Sue tells  Mondo, “I don’t have any memories from before I was six.” However, she has memories of her  birth, “My body was surrounded by a lukewarm substance. It was red and slimy. It was blood.” 

It appears as though Sue and Remy have some things in common. Another aspect to ponder is how  in R09, when visiting Eleki Island for the first time, Mondo feels “This is a strangely captivating  island.”  

What is Sue’s secret? 

Now then, let’s examine Sue. Whether it’s dozing off in R01 or hiding under the bed in R11, her  peculiar behaviour certainly stands out. However, could the origin of this strange behaviour come  from her birth or the experiences of her childhood years? She says a number of things that could  support such a theory.  

In R11, she tells Mondo that she has never left the island since the day she was born, and that Mati  was the one who raised her. But who are her real parents? Leaving aside that question, Sue tells  Mondo that knowing her secret means knowing the secret of the island itself. She makes a request  of Mondo to divulge the truth of her secret. Even though he himself is unaware of it, Mondo is shot  by the mysterious man because he has learned Sue’s secret. (If that was indeed the real reason.)  

Afterward, Sue remains completely calm when the manager, Edo, collapses. Sue’s true nature becomes increasingly hard to pin down. In R16, Sue says to Mondo, “I am the maiden* of this  island. It was my role to inform you.” Was her secret that she was the island’s maiden? Was her  goal to inform Mondo of something? Sue tells Mondo to go and meet with Ritz. 

(*TN: The Japanese uses the term ‘miko’ which means ‘shrine maiden’.) 

The children raised by Mati 

What kind of person is Mati, the woman who raised Sue? Each day, after cleaning the hotel, Mati  goes to the diner by the beach where she prepares the food. She gives off the air of a caring and  hardworking mother. It’s likely because of this that she looks after Sue, who has no other family.  Not only Sue, but Ken, who helps out at the diner, also adores Mati like a mother.  

However, there is one source of worry for Mati, and that is her biological son, Step. Ken says that  Step is a scoundrel who likes to laze about the island and steal the belongings of travellers. Since  Ken and Step are the same age and were raised on the same island, they likely know each other  

quite well. In contrast to Ken, who dreams of one day working in a skyscraper, Step says, “You can’t  lead a prosperous life on this island. There’s only everyday life where nothing changes.” We learn  from Remy’s investigation that Step has apparently been to France before.  

Mati is overcome with grief when Step dies. However, when questioned by Remy, she suddenly  adopts a firm demeanour and says, “There are remains related to that child’s birth that lie on Eleki  Island.” She then urges Remi to go to the island. It seems as though Mati is another who knows the  secret of the island.

Step, a human bomb? 

Step is Mati’s biological son. Though it is unclear why he does it (just his sticky fingers?), Step  ‘borrows’ Mondo’s beloved suitcase shaped all-purpose code input machine and flees to the  supermarket. After being tracked down by Federal Investigator Koshimizu, who suspects Step may  have been involved in Mondo’s killing, Step says, “I was remodelled by my own will. It was for my  livelihood. You can’t lead a prosperous life on this island. There’s only everyday life where nothing  changes. I’m sick of it. So, I’m going to keep moving forward. One more step on the journey  towards tomorrow. Give my regards to my mother.” Following this, he self-destructs. According to  the information Remy received from the Federal Police, Step was a human bomb that was  manufactured on an island in the French territory as a strategic weapon. Ritz’s comments about  the eleven children in R16 are also quite interesting, “The second child was always sarcastic, but  had a pure heart. He had sticky fingers and caused his mother no end of trouble. He’s doing well in  a far-off land. One day you will meet that child.” 

Mondo encounters a man who looks like Step in the depths of the cavern, during R17. Could there  be many of these human bombs, that look like Step, in existence? If Step went to an island in the  French territory and was modelled into a human bomb, then is the real Step still alive somewhere  right now? Let’s keep in mind that the place where Step went to was France. There’s actually one  more character who has a deep connection to France, isn’t there? 

The soccer fanatic professor 

Yes, Stephan, the man who came from France to confine himself to the hotel and write his thesis.  As we learn in R02, his specialty is systems engineering. He’s constantly thinking about how to  create improved automated factory systems. But what kind of factory could he be researching on  an island such as this? 

Is there some connection to the underground factory that Remy discovers in R13? In R18, Stephan  says that he was the one who created the large number of Android bombs that were set up in the  airport. Could Stephan have also been the one who remodelled Step? 

Regardless, what exactly was Stephan scheming? Of all the people who gave Mondo a variety of  requests, it was clear that Stephan was trying to test Mondo. It’s as if he was trying to ascertain  Mondo’s abilities. Mondo sees him as someone to be wary of, but in R06 Stephan provides a  warning to Mondo, “Be careful of Edo. That man is a cunning one… He is the mastermind.  Everything is proceeding according to his will.” 

So, was it all a part of Edo’s scheme? 

Despite being told rather early on by Stephan that Edo was the mastermind, Mondo only begins to  question Edo about it in R15. Mondo says, “It feels as though this guidebook was written under the  assumption that I would come to this island. Trying to tempt me by using this guidebook. You’re  the one who is using me, Edo.” Not only does he readily confirm this, but Edo also reveals that, “I  am the terrorist who set the bomb on the plane. The man named Edo does not exist.” 

If that is the case, then it’s an incredibly shocking truth. What kind of terrorist asks someone find  the bomb that he himself has set? If the bomb gets discovered, then what was the purpose of  setting it?

Edo is certainly an enigmatic individual. As soon as you think he is working to help Mondo, his  demeanour rapidly changes. And after this startling reveal, he loses consciousness and falls to the  ground with a thud! Is Edo okay? 

In R18, the final chapter, Edo finally reveals the full truth to Mondo. Lospass Island is a man-made  island; the hotel employees are the caretakers that stand watch over people who visit the island;  there is a facility beneath the island where hyenas are bred; knowing about the facility, Edo wanted  to blow up the island; the person who wanted to prevent the destruction of the island, moved the  bomb onto the airplane. It is unclear whether it is Sundance who wants to stop the destruction of  the island, but Mondo is being used as a decoy to draw that man’s attention. After receiving Edo’s  final request to blow up the island, Mondo heads toward the airport. 

What is the purpose of the factory? 

What is the objective of the underground factory where hyenas were bred? In R17, the man named  Tokio says, “A valuable object can sometimes be obtained from those animals. That object is the  silver eye. Wealthy individuals all over the world are desperate to get their hands on one. When  two or more silver eyes are present in the same place, the works of God are set in motion. That’s  the source of the current situation.”  

In short, it is due to Tokio, who obtained a silver eye by chance, arriving on the island that absurd  events happen one after another through the power of God. But who is the other person that  possesses a silver eye? There certainly was a man with an eyepatch… 

Old lady Ritz had mentioned that the hyenas were originally raised by a tribe of herders. It was  because her tribe raised these animals, that they were attacked by a certain man. Ritz claims that  the son of that man has come to Lospass Island, but could she be referring to Tokio? It certainly  seemed like the animal that accompanied Tokio was a hyena. 

However, this still leaves many mysteries regarding the underground factory. What exactly was it  that Remy saw under Eleki Island? Wasn’t Stephan researching a factory where human bombs  were being produced? 

Shelter Kids 

Were the Eleven children of the island weapons created in human form that were born or possibly  raised in the underground factory on Eleki Island? That seems like a fair assumption. Seiji and  Yuuri, the couple who appear in R08, say something intriguing, “Yuuri and Seiji were raised in an  orphanage… a shelter. We’re Shelter Kids.” It doesn’t seem as though this couple know much about  anything other than Lospass Island. Based on this, it feels as though Seiji and Yuuri may have also  been a part of the Eleven, doesn’t it? Couldn’t the ‘Shelter’ actually be referring to the factory? 

The man with the name Sumio 

The most mysterious of all may actually be the hero of this story himself, Mondo Sumio. Where on  earth did this man, with the nonsensical job of a ‘searcher’, come from? He doesn’t often talk much  about himself, so let’s look at some of the curious aspects of Mondo.

When talking about why he named his beloved all-purpose code input machine Catherine, he says,  “Well, if I had named it Tetsugoro, then I’d probably lose all motivation to work.” Also, when Peter  and Mondo sit side by side in the driver and passenger seat, there may have been some players  who felt as if they were somehow seeing a familiar sight. 

In R08, Mondo mentions that, due to various circumstances, he is unable to meet with the woman  that he has feelings for. This tells you that Mondo likely has a complicated past, but he does not  elaborate on this. 

In R12, Federal Investigator Koshimizu says, “Mondo, huh…” almost as if he knows him, but is also  suspicious of him. Why is it that Koshimizu only has doubt about his surname, Mondo, but makes  no mention of his first name, Sumio? When he had tracked down Step, Koshimizu mentions, “The  teachings of my master, the vice-chief, Nakategawa…” It seems as though the name, Nakategawa,  has some connection to Mondo’s past. 

The things we have mentioned so far have do doubt sparked some connections in the minds of a certain group of players. But the thing that may be most intriguing of all for these players, may be  the name uttered by Toriko, Kamui Uehara. Haven’t we heard terms such as Tokio, silver eye, and  Shelter Kids, somewhere outside of Flower, Sun, and Rain? 

Is Lospass Island in a time loop? 

Let us return to the fundamental problem. Edo, the manager of the hotel, ‘Flower, Sun, and Rain’,  requests that Mondo find the bomb that has been set at the airport. The day after arriving on the  island, Mondo tries to head to the airport, but trouble occurs, and he is prevented from doing so.  While preoccupied, Mondo forgets about heading to the airport, and when he incidentally looks up  

at the sky, he sees a plane that has taken off from the airport explode. He has no memory beyond  that point, and when he comes to, he is laying on his bed. Like before, he is awoken by a phone call  from the front desk, his legs wobble as he tries to stand, and he falls to the floor. After drinking his  coffee and coming to his senses, he leaves his room and heads toward the airport. However, he  encounters trouble once more, and again the plane explodes. It seems as though the same pattern  is repeating itself. Could Lospass Island be repeating the same day over and over? 

When first arriving at the hotel, Edo explains, “A period of time is continuing eternally.” But Mondo  does not take it seriously, “That’s absurd.” In R02, he starts to believe that the explosion is just  something that happens in his dreams. In R05, Mondo finally starts to notice that time on the  island has become unusual, “What happened yesterday and what happened today. I can’t make  heads or tails of it anymore. It’s like the flow of time has become warped since arriving on this  island. But there sure are a lot of airplane accidents here.” He doesn’t seem to be able to tell the  difference between dreams and reality. He speaks with Mati in R10, 

“The same accident happened yesterday.” 

“There wasn’t any accident yesterday.” 

“That’s strange…” 

In R11, Sue explains, “Only one day has passed since you arrived here.” It seems as though unless  he prevents the explosion at the airport, the same day will never end. That is the reason that Edo  called Mondo to the island. So, the repeated explosions of the airplane were not a dream, but were  actually the same day repeating itself. Mondo finally understands the truth. In R14 Mondo states, “I  died once, and then became bound by the eternal loop of this island.” It’s been nothing but 

incomprehensible incidents so far, but Mondo seems to have finally started to understand what is  happening to the island and to himself. We learn in R15 that time is being controlled intentionally,  but by whom? It doesn’t look like Mondo will ever get to drink tea instead of coffee. It’s always the  same day, after all. 

However, in R16, the mysterious man, Sundance, says, “This island is not repeating the same day.”  Then how do you explain everything that has happened up until this point?! “The explosions you  saw every day were warnings. Do not blindly accept what the manager tells you.” Does this mean  that Edo, Sue, Mati, and the other hotel employees have been deceiving Mondo?! 

In R17, Tokio has this to say about the flow of time on the island, “When two or more silver eyes  are present in the same place, the works of God are set in motion. That’s the source of the current  situation. So, I want to make a request, a request of the searcher. I want you to return time to  normal.” Old lady Ritz also says, “That’s exactly why all these absurd things are occurring on this  island.” 

So, it seems that Lospass island is not in a loop of the same day, but rather, the flow of time is  being thrown into chaos. That is, without doubt, the origin of all these incomprehensible events. 

What if it was all a dream? 

Just as we confirmed, the airplane explosions each day were not a dream. Yet, we still have not  discarded a certain possibility that could turn the entire story on its head. The possibility that the  illogical and absurd events that occur are because everything was just a dream. Those who are  dreaming, know that they are in a dream. Those who act in a play, remark that it is a play. The  entire game is encompassed by this self-aware or meta construction. 

Old lady Ritz says this to Mondo in R17, “Everything that occurs here seems like it is all a dream…  But the most important thing is whose dream it is. Once you know whose dream it is, it becomes a  problem of reality.” So, if this story is truly just someone’s dream, then whose dream do you think it  is? Mondo? Tokio? Sundance? Toriko? Edo? Peter? 

Flight BJ-210 takes off 

At the end, does the passenger plane depart once again? Does it explode? Why was it again that  the plane explodes in the first place? Because the bomb was moved from the airport, right? As  some kind of warning? No, no, there was someone who said it was to terminate the program. But what program was being terminated? 

Readers who have gotten to this point hoping to have the mysteries of the game solved, may have  actually become more confused instead. Mondo’s past, in particular, is not talked about much  during the story, so we have no way of knowing the truth. 

This chapter only seeks to try and arrange the contents of this complicated story. It seems like the  only way to get to the bottom of the mysteries is to play Flower, Sun, and Rain to the end and unravel them for yourself.  

Teach us, Edo Macalister! “F.S.R.”

Hello everyone! My name is Edo Macalister.
I have been asked to be the host for this segment.
I will provide you with detailed explanations of the things you’ll see on Lospass Island and hear from our guests.
Reading this, you might even decipher the mysteries of “Flower, Sun, and Rain.”
So please, take your time and enjoy it. Though these pages do have a lot of text.

R-00

Lost Highway: The Lost Highway, which Mr. Mondo drove through in his car Giggs, is a motorway consisting of oversea bridges and undersea tunnels. Spanning over a dozen kilometers, connecting Lospass to nearby islands, it’s similar to the Tokyo Bay Aqua-Line. Its 9.5 km tunnel is said to be the world’s longest undersea road.
The tunneling was done using one of the world’s largest excavating machines, with an outer diameter of 14m, and involved fighting against the soft ground and high water pressure.
The name ‘Lost Highway’ may be a reference to David Lynch’s 1997 film of the same name.

Toyota Celica: This was the first specialty car in Japan that allowed the user to choose the interior and equipment to his or her liking. It was launched in California in 1970.
The design was adopted by CALTY, a company specializing in Toyota car design in California, and about two-thirds of the cars produced were exported to the USA.
While it was not very popular in Japan, so-called “motorists” held the brand in high esteem.
About two-thirds of the cars were exported to the USA, but the car was not generally popular in Japan.
In the early 1970s, Celicas were seen on trial streets all over Japan.
Mondo’s car is believed to be a 1971 Toyota Celica 1600 GT, which is considered one of the most famous Celicas of all time. As expected of Mr. Mondo, he is truly a man of taste.

Giggs: The name reminds me of Ryan Joseph Giggs, a football player for the prestigious English team Manchester United. So, is Mr Mondo actually a football fan? Or just a general Manchester United fan?
Giggs was nicknamed, among other things, “The Welsh Wizard”.
He left his birth nation of Wales to play in England when he was only 17.

Peter Bockwinkel: A name reminiscent of Nick Bockwinkel, a Professional Wrestler of yesteryear.
The height of his popularity was during the 1970s and 1980s.
Wrestling fans of the Showa era have fond memories of his hot rivalry with the late Jumbo Tsuruta.

Final Answer?: When Mr. Mondo activates Catherine and enters a number, the words “Final
Answer?” appear. Whenever I hear them, I can’t help but think of “Quiz $ Millionaire” on Fuji TV.
The pause between the confirmation of the “Final Answer” as the “Correct Answer” is extremely tense.
Monta‘s subtle and simple performance as the host is also something to behold.

Terrorist: An individual who commits acts of terrorism, which in itself refers to using violent acts to intimidate or attack opponents.
In the 1970s, embassy seizures, kidnappings of VIPs and assassinations by political extremist groups were pretty common. In the 1980s and 1990s, however, political terrorism declined in favor of religious terrorism.
In the case of the Lospass airport attack, the purpose and identity of the terrorists are unclear. However, it still manages to spread terror.

R-01

Bellini: World-renowned architect and industrial designer Mario Bellini (1935~).
He is most known for his designs for Olivetti electronic typewriters, Lancia car interiors and Cassina furniture.
The Museum of Modern Art in New York has selected six of his works for permanent display.
He is also involved in architectural design for resorts.
He’s truly a polyhedric man. He even designed the Tokyo Design Center in Gotanda, Japan. What? Why do I know all this? That’s a secret.

R-02

Architecture, materials and inspiration: “Architecture” is a design idea, and “materials” are what you need to make it a reality. If we apply this to football, we get tactics, players and inspiration.
As per “inspiration”…… Mr. Stephan seems to really like that word.

Romanista: An enthusiastic supporter of the AS Roma (Rome) football team.

All roads lead to Rome: In Roman times, all of the roads that paved Europe led to Rome, the capital. A metaphor meant to infer that there are many ways to achieve a goal.

Trequartista: The person occupying the third out of four areas. Refers to an attacking midfielder in Italian football.
When Ms. Yayoi says ‘one out of four’, she is obviously counting from the opposite side of the field.
You’d be counting from one. When the field is divided into four areas, the third area (from your team’s perspective) is the the most important one.
Speaking of Italian clubs, the Juventus team has recently adopted the 3-4-1-2 system, where the top position is occupied by Zinedine Zidane, who has also shown his prodigious potential playing for the French national team.

La vita continua: “Life goes on,” a saying among football players. It is actually attributed to the wife of Italian fantasista Roberto Baggio.

Alberto Ferrente: A fictitious name, some assume him to be the aforementioned player.

1994 International Cup Finals between Italy and Brazil: Something similar happened during the American World Cup, do you remember?

Italian Fantasista: Speaking of fantasisti, Roberto Baggio is probably the most famous. But of course, the definition of fantasista can vary from person to person.

1998 World Cup Finals between France and Brazil: A memorable game. Zidane scored two header goals, and a third one was scored by Petit during the second-half injury time, sealing their victory with no goals scored by the Brazilian team.

Spanish league: The Spanish football league, “La Liga Spagnola”.

Their dribbling makes me dribble!: In reference to Liverpool and England’s forward Michael Owen. During the 1998 World Cup finals between England and Argentina he caught a pass from Beckham, outpaced two defenders and scored a goal with a right foot shot, a nearly 40 meters long dribbling. That shot was a real stunner, and Owen was only 18 at the time.

Hooligans: Violent football fanatics. The term originated in a 1898 newspaper, where police court records about “Hooley’s gangs” were misprinted as saying “Hooligans”. English Hooligans are well known all over the world.

About Dutch football: The Dutch system is called “Total Football“. Players will replace one another as soon as one position within the formation is left vacant, retaining the team’s structure. This style has influenced football all over the world since the 1970s.

Calcio: It means Football in Italian.

R-03

Japanese wrestling magazine: From what I can see on the cover, it seems to be called “Paper Wrestling”. Oh, I’m sorry, the official title is “Paper Wrestling RADICAL“. It features a lot of interviews about Kazushi Sakuraba’s deflating body, Akira Maeda being broke and so on.

Mr. Pirate: This masked character is likely modeled on that person. The Don of Professional Wrestling and the Martial Arts world, he was even elected in the House of Councillors once. He has a very unique philosophy and manner of speech, with his mysterious “muh-huh” (ムフフ) laugh, the “usual guy” (いつものヤツ) at the end of each phrase. Antonio‘s jokes transcend “nonsense” and reach a whole new level. Yes, he’s a wonderful man.

R-04

Flag: A programming term used in Adventure Games and RPGs, indicating that the player has to complete a certain predetermined action or task in order to move on to the next stage. In programming it is indicated by the number “1”, with its name deriving from the fact that it looks like a flag.

Fallen Angel: It’s the name of a cocktail. Gin with lemon juice and mint to add a bit of zing.
A cool cocktail perfect for a resort.

IT revolution: IT stands for Information Technology. Revolution indicates a major change in the world.
Its aim is to implement the internet on a national level.
The IT revolution is expected to revitalize the economy through the development of high-speed infrastructure, increased demand for PCs, the creation of jobs, and increased efficiency of business transactions and distribution.
In 2000, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori, who had no idea what he was talking about, used the term constantly, and it became a buzzword.

Killer pass: This is a term used in football commentary. Hidetoshi Nakata of Japan’s national team is renowned for his decisive passes.
In contrast, Shinji Ono’s passes used to be called “angel passes”, but it’s not heard very often nowadays.

R-05

TV Programming: Have you ever seen New! Radio Boys Swan Journey (電波少年的スワンの旅)? It was part of the New! Radio Boys (進ぬ! 電波少年) variety show, which aired on Nippon TV (日本テレビ系列). The young comedy duo, R-Mania, crossed the sea on a swan boat to reach their destination. In its sequel, Radio Boys Swan Journey In The World, the swan boat traveled from India to Indonesia, a path of about 4000km. It aired from January 17th to October 24th of 1999 and it was quite popular. The Balboa brothers were probably attempting a similar project. Poor Balboa bros, comedians sure have it tough.

R-06

Lospass Island Sound Guide

Making of “F.S.R.”