“Movies and Beating the Heat”

Nanase Ohkawa: To everyone listening to the CLAMP Executive Committee Podcast,

Nanase Ohkawa: Thank you for your continued support. I’m Nanase Ohkawa.

Satsuki Igarashi: Thank you for your continued support. I’m Satsuki Igarashi.

Nekoi: Thank you for your continued support. I’m Nekoi.

Mokona: Thank you for your continued support. I’m Mokona.

Nanase Ohkawa: The CLAMP Executive Committee is a podcast hosted by me, Nanase Ohkawa, where we plan to discuss a wide range of topics related to creativity, things we like, and things that interest us.

Nanase Ohkawa: In 2026, we are bringing you four episodes a year: at the spring equinox, in summer, at the autumn equinox, and at the winter solstice.

Nanase Ohkawa: Right at the beginning, this is a bit sudden, but recently the four of us from CLAMP were walking together somewhere when someone called out to us:

Unknown listener: “Are you CLAMP?”

Nanase Ohkawa: That really surprised us.

Satsuki Igarashi: It really did.

Nanase Ohkawa: In Kyoto there are probably a lot of places where something like that could happen, but we happened to be walking past a shrine.

Nanase Ohkawa: We were talking a little about the shrine when a young woman walked by us. She did have a slightly puzzled expression on her face.

Nanase Ohkawa: The four of us were chatting away noisily, so I thought she was just noticing there were people there. Then I realized she’d actually said, “Are you CLAMP?”

Nekoi: I was the one who noticed.

Nanase Ohkawa: Nekoi, you were walking at the back, right?

Nekoi: Yeah. I was a little behind everyone, and she said, “Excuse me… Sorry if I’m mistaken, but are you CLAMP?”

Nanase Ohkawa: Right. Satchan didn’t notice and kept walking ahead.

Satsuki Igarashi: Yeah. I was completely oblivious and just kept walking. Then I realized I couldn’t hear anyone anymore, so I turned around and saw the other three had stopped way behind me.

Nanase Ohkawa: It would’ve been awkward to deny it, so we said, “Yes, that’s us.” Then Nekoi asked her something.

Nekoi: Yeah. I said, “This may be an odd question, but… how did you realize it was us?”

Unknown listener: “By your voices.”

Nanase Ohkawa: Apparently she listens to the podcast, and that’s how she recognized us.

Nanase Ohkawa: We were so surprised.

Satsuki Igarashi: So this is what they call getting recognized by your voice.

Nanase Ohkawa: Exactly. I don’t think any of us have particularly distinctive voices. We’re not voice actors or anything.

Nanase Ohkawa: But it was exactly like what our senior, Kaz Wine, once talked about—meeting listeners in person.

Nanase Ohkawa: I was genuinely happy.

Nanase Ohkawa: Thank you so much.

Nanase Ohkawa: But when I think about it now, all we could say was “It’s okay” and “Thank you.” We should have shaken hands or done something.

Nanase Ohkawa: But nothing came to mind.

Nanase Ohkawa: And she kept bowing over and over before leaving.

Nanase Ohkawa: She seemed really eager to make it clear she wasn’t some suspicious person.

Satsuki Igarashi: The listener, you mean.

Nanase Ohkawa: Exactly.

Nanase Ohkawa: She kept apologizing, saying, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I’m not a stalker or anything.”

Nanase Ohkawa: She was more nervous than we were.

Nanase Ohkawa: We just felt terrible and kept saying, “No, it’s okay! We’re sorry!”

Nanase Ohkawa: So in the end we all just kept apologizing to each other and parted ways.

Nanase Ohkawa: Meanwhile, Satsuki, who was standing a little farther away, was looking at us like,

Nanase Ohkawa: “What on earth are these girls doing?”

(everyone laughs)

Nanase Ohkawa: It really surprised me.

Nanase Ohkawa: To think there are listeners so close to us.

Nanase Ohkawa: We finally got to meet one, and yet we couldn’t do anything special.

Nanase Ohkawa: We’re terribly, terribly sorry.

Nekoi: All we could do was bow repeatedly.

Nanase Ohkawa: That’s exactly what happened.

Nanase Ohkawa: Truly, thank you very much.

Everyone: Thank you very much.

Today’s Theme: Movies and Beating the Heat

Nanase Ohkawa: So, for this Summer Solstice episode, our theme will be:

Nanase Ohkawa: Movies and Beating the Heat.

Nanase Ohkawa: We’ll talk about some movies we’ve seen recently, and also about how we spend our time when it’s hot.

Nanase Ohkawa: There will probably be spoilers for the movies we discuss, so please be careful if you haven’t seen them yet.

Nanase Ohkawa: All of the movies we’re about to mention were watched in their subtitled versions.

Nanase Ohkawa: Whenever the four of us see a movie or a stage play together, photos are usually uploaded to the CLAMP Executive Committee Instagram account.

Nanase Ohkawa: Mokona, who’s in charge of photos, works really hard.

Mokona: Movies are easier nowadays because so much is digital.

Mokona: But with stage plays and posters, there’s always glass in front of them reflecting everything.

Mokona: Taking pictures is surprisingly difficult.

Nekoi: You even try to wear dark clothes to avoid reflections.

Nanase Ohkawa: Wow, you think that far ahead?

Mokona: I try to.

Mokona: Though it depends on the day.

Project Hail Mary

Nanase Ohkawa: First of all, let’s talk about Project Hail Mary, which was also featured on the CLAMP Executive Committee Instagram.

Nanase Ohkawa: To explain a bit:

Nanase Ohkawa: It’s based on the novel by Andy Weir and stars Ryan Gosling.

Nanase Ohkawa: Ryan Gosling is probably best known for La La Land.

Mokona: I’ve never seen it.

Nanase Ohkawa: Who here has seen La La Land?

Nanase Ohkawa: Oh—just me?

Nekoi: Well, it wasn’t one of the movies we all went to see together.

Satsuki Igarashi: If we’re talking about a movie we all saw with him in it, then it’d be Barbie.

Nanase Ohkawa: Satchan is searching her memories now.

Satsuki Igarashi: I remember thinking how completely different he was after seeing both films.

Nanase Ohkawa: Satchan collects movie pamphlets as a hobby.

Satsuki Igarashi: They’re both a collection and a record.

Nanase Ohkawa: I wasn’t familiar with the original novel.

Nanase Ohkawa: I only learned about it after the movie adaptation started being advertised.

Nanase Ohkawa: Shall we each give our impressions?

Nanase Ohkawa: Nekoi, what did you think?

Nekoi: I also had no idea there was an SF novel behind it.

Nekoi: I saw the trailer in the theater and thought,

Nekoi: “Maybe this is an adaptation of some old classic science fiction story.”

Nekoi: But it turned out to be surprisingly recent.

Nekoi: And the author himself appears in promotional videos all the time.

Nanase Ohkawa: He’s still young!

Nekoi: He seems like such a cheerful and fun person.

Nekoi: At the trailer stage, all we knew was Ryan Gosling’s character.

Nekoi: The other character was still being hidden.

Nekoi: So I thought it was going to be a classic SF movie.

Nekoi: Then I saw it and realized it was something quite different.

Nekoi: That surprise was wonderful.

Nanase Ohkawa: Satsuki, what about you?

Satsuki Igarashi: Watching the trailer, I thought:

Satsuki Igarashi: “Ah, this is what science fiction is all about.”

Satsuki Igarashi: A movie with spaceships.

Satsuki Igarashi: Set in outer space.

Satsuki Igarashi: We haven’t had many of those lately.

Nanase Ohkawa: He was wearing a spacesuit in the commercials.

Satsuki Igarashi: Right.

Satsuki Igarashi: We don’t see many movies anymore where someone goes outside the spaceship to work.

Satsuki Igarashi: Nowadays there are more stories about people already living in space.

Satsuki Igarashi: That’s science fiction too, of course.

Satsuki Igarashi: But this felt like Science Fiction in the classic sense.

Nanase Ohkawa: It looked like someone getting on a spaceship and searching for something.

Satsuki Igarashi: And that’s exactly what happens.

Satsuki Igarashi: It was really entertaining.

Satsuki Igarashi: I think anyone could enjoy this movie, whether they like SF or not.

Nanase Ohkawa: Mokona, what did you think?

Mokona: When I saw the trailer in theaters, I thought,

Mokona: “I definitely want to see this.”

Mokona: But it turned out to be quite different from what I expected.

Mokona: I thought it would be a hardcore science-fiction movie.

Mokona: Not necessarily people fighting in space, but something like:

Mokona: “A desperate mission where people risk their lives.”

Mokona: That’s the kind of SF movie I expected.

Mokona: Instead, I got an absolutely wonderful surprise at the theater and became completely engrossed.

Nanase Ohkawa: Before we went to see it, there were people saying,

Nanase Ohkawa: “You should avoid spoilers.”

Nanase Ohkawa: Personally, I’m the type who wants to avoid spoilers as much as possible.

Nanase Ohkawa: So I told everyone:

Nanase Ohkawa: “Be careful of spoilers for Project Hail Mary when you’re on social media.”

Nanase Ohkawa: And until we actually went to see it, none of us knew anything at all about the surprise character we’d mentioned.

Nanase Ohkawa: So from this point on—

Nanase Ohkawa: Spoilers ahead.

Nanase Ohkawa: The alien—

Nanase Ohkawa: Or maybe alien life form?

Mokona: Isn’t “alien” fine?

Mokona: Their whole species is like that.

Nanase Ohkawa: Right.

Nanase Ohkawa: I had absolutely no idea that character would be like that.

Nanase Ohkawa: At the beginning, there’s a scene where the character played by Ryan Gosling approaches another spaceship.

Nanase Ohkawa: It almost feels like a horror movie.

Nanase Ohkawa: You have absolutely no idea what might come out from the other side.

Mokona: It’s kind of scary.

Nekoi: Yeah, just a little.

Satsuki Igarashi: It brought back some bad memories of Alien.

(everyone laughs)

Nanase Ohkawa: Rocky is such an incredibly charming character.

Nanase Ohkawa: And the way the movie gradually becomes something like a buddy story…

Nanase Ohkawa: That was wonderful.

Nanase Ohkawa: At the time, social media was absolutely flooded with fan art for this movie.

Nanase Ohkawa: There were tons of adorable drawings of Rocky.

Nanase Ohkawa: But Japanese fans are incredibly crafty.

Nekoi: The attitude is basically:

Nekoi: “If it doesn’t exist, make it yourself.”

Mokona: There was almost no merchandise at all.

Nanase Ohkawa: That’s true.

Nanase Ohkawa: And there were people saying they wanted the cardigan worn by the protagonist.

Nanase Ohkawa: Some fans actually recreated the knitting pattern from photos and the movie pamphlet.

Nanase Ohkawa: Later, someone in Canada—or somewhere overseas—started selling knitting kits.

Nanase Ohkawa: A lot of people ordered them.

Nanase Ohkawa: Rocky is exactly the kind of character that, in Japan,

Nanase Ohkawa: you’d expect to have cute figures,

Nanase Ohkawa: plushies,

Nanase Ohkawa: all kinds of merchandise.

Nanase Ohkawa: But there was nothing.

Mokona: At the very least I wanted a keychain mascot.

Satsuki Igarashi: There weren’t even acrylic stands.

Nanase Ohkawa: So talented people naturally thought:

Nanase Ohkawa: “If it doesn’t exist, I’ll make it.”

Nanase Ohkawa: And suddenly there were tons of handmade Rocky goods.

Nanase Ohkawa: Some people even shared sewing patterns for Rocky plushies.

Nanase Ohkawa: I’m really grateful to them.

Nanase Ohkawa: Even the official X account retweeted some of them.

Nanase Ohkawa: The movie feels like it’s going in one direction…

Nanase Ohkawa: And then, in the best possible way, it goes somewhere completely different.

Nanase Ohkawa: There are sad moments.

Nanase Ohkawa: And there are scenes that are frightening.

Nanase Ohkawa: But it’s not the kind of movie where you walk out of the theater depressed.

Mokona: You come out grinning.

Nanase Ohkawa: We recommended it to all our friends.

Nanase Ohkawa: We kept saying:

Nanase Ohkawa: “Please go watch it!”

Nanase Ohkawa: The problem was that we’d say:

Nanase Ohkawa: “It was so cute!”

Nanase Ohkawa: We recommended it to a married couple we know.

Nanase Ohkawa: The wife saw it first.

Nanase Ohkawa: Then she came back and said:

Unknown Wife: “It was so cute!”

Nanase Ohkawa: And her husband replied:

Unknown Husband: “Well, that’s basically a spoiler!”

(everyone laughs)

Nanase Ohkawa: But when he actually watched the movie…

Nanase Ohkawa: The thing she meant by “cute” turned out to be completely different from what he’d imagined.

Nanase Ohkawa: So he said he was glad he’d gone in with the wrong expectation.

Nanase Ohkawa: And that’s how the four of us watched Project Hail Mary.

The Sheep Detective

Nanase Ohkawa: Next, we watched The Sheep Detective.

Everyone: It was adorable.

Nanase Ohkawa: Hugh Jackman plays a shepherd.

Nanase Ohkawa: Which means we get this incredibly intimidating-looking shepherd.

(laughter)

Nanase Ohkawa: I actually knew the original books.

Nanase Ohkawa: There are several novels.

Nanase Ohkawa: The movie changes the story a little.

Nanase Ohkawa: Hugh Jackman’s character is married in the books.

Nanase Ohkawa: His wife appears as well.

Nanase Ohkawa: The premise is that sheep become detectives.

Nanase Ohkawa: On the production side, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller—

Nanase Ohkawa: the directors of Project Hail Mary—

Nanase Ohkawa: are involved in this film too.

Nanase Ohkawa: So it has a similar atmosphere.

Nanase Ohkawa: Warm.

Nanase Ohkawa: Gentle.

Nanase Ohkawa: A comforting story.

Nanase Ohkawa: Mokona, what did you think?

Mokona: Before watching it, I wondered if I needed to study up on all the sheep.

Mokona: Like:

Mokona: “Will I remember all their names and who’s who?”

Mokona: But none of that mattered at all.

Mokona: Once the movie starts,

Mokona: the sheep are adorable,

Mokona: and all the characters are wonderful.

Mokona: Though I did keep wondering:

Mokona: “Why is Hugh Jackman here?”

(everyone laughs)

Nanase Ohkawa: But according to social media and the official website,

Nanase Ohkawa: he said he accepted the role after reading only twenty-something pages of the script.

Nanase Ohkawa: There’s a very intelligent sheep named Lily.

Nanase Ohkawa: We watched the subtitled version,

Nanase Ohkawa: but in the Japanese dub she’s voiced by Inokiko-san.

Nanase Ohkawa: Apparently she’s wonderful.

Nanase Ohkawa: I’d love to watch the dubbed version someday.

Everyone: Me too.

Nanase Ohkawa: What did you think about Sebastian?

Nanase Ohkawa: Satchan?

Satsuki Igarashi: He was black and cool.

Nanase Ohkawa: He really was.

Nanase Ohkawa: Apparently he’s voiced by Shigeru Chiba.

Nanase Ohkawa: We tend to associate Chiba-san with cheerful or comedic roles.

Nanase Ohkawa: So I’m curious:

Nanase Ohkawa: Is he cool in this role?

Nanase Ohkawa: I’d love to hear it.

Nanase Ohkawa: Satchan, what about the movie overall?

Satsuki Igarashi: The sheep were adorable.

Satsuki Igarashi: But earlier we mentioned Hugh Jackman accepting the role after reading only twenty-something pages…

Satsuki Igarashi: I think his role probably ends around there.

(everyone bursts out laughing)

Nanase Ohkawa: That’s a spoiler!

Satsuki Igarashi: Sorry!

Satsuki Igarashi: But detectives aren’t born unless there’s a murder.

Nanase Ohkawa: Even the YouTube trailer shows Hugh Jackman dying.

Nanase Ohkawa: He dies…

Nanase Ohkawa: and then the sheep have to step up.

Nanase Ohkawa: Nekoi, what did you think?

Nekoi: In a strange way,

Nekoi: just like Project Hail Mary,

Nekoi: this movie has a very gentle worldview.

Nekoi: Someone dies right at the beginning.

Nekoi: There are lies.

Nekoi: Sad things happen.

Nekoi: But somehow,

Nekoi: everything still feels gentle.

Nekoi: And then there’s that bizarre rule:

Nekoi: The sheep count to three and forget everything.

Nekoi: Do they really forget?

Nanase Ohkawa: I wonder.

Nekoi: Is it more like:

Nekoi: “Okay, okay, now let’s forget.”

Nekoi: Or do they genuinely go blank after counting to three?

Nanase Ohkawa: There’s a sheep named Mopple who can’t forget.

Nanase Ohkawa: She’s the exception.

Nekoi: And the movie never explains why.

Nekoi: So you just have to accept:

Nekoi: “Well, she’s just that kind of sheep.”

Nekoi: Everyone is kind.

Nekoi: And above all,

Nekoi: the sheep are adorable.

Nekoi: Their expressions are wonderfully animated.

Nekoi: Watching their emotions unfold is delightful.

Nekoi: It was a very gentle movie.

Nanase Ohkawa: Apparently, when the actors performed their scenes, they were acting opposite sheep props that barely moved.

Nanase Ohkawa: Even so, Hugh Jackman said it was much easier to act opposite those sheep than opposite tennis balls.

Nanase Ohkawa: But yes, the sheep are basically CGI.

Nanase Ohkawa: And their expressions are incredibly cute.

Nanase Ohkawa: There’s a little lamb named Winterborn.

Nanase Ohkawa: She plays a very important role.

Nanase Ohkawa: At first she’s in a rather sad situation…

Nanase Ohkawa: But she’s adorable.

Mokona: Really adorable.

Nanase Ohkawa: Everyone who watched the movie probably thought:

Nanase Ohkawa: “Surely there’s a Winterborn plushie!”

Mokona: But there wasn’t.

Everyone: There wasn’t!

Mokona: There was basically nothing.

Nanase Ohkawa: Honestly, I’m repeating myself here, but…

Nanase Ohkawa: There wasn’t even a clear file.

Nanase Ohkawa: Please make some merchandise!

(everyone laughs)

Mokona: Maybe they didn’t think it was the kind of movie whose merchandise would sell.

Nanase Ohkawa: I think the official Project Hail Mary store sold lots of T-shirts overseas.

Nanase Ohkawa: Some people imported them privately.

Nanase Ohkawa: The shirts are nice…

Nanase Ohkawa: But I wanted something else.

Nanase Ohkawa: Everyone wants a Winterborn plushie.

Everyone: Absolutely!

Mokona: So cute.

Nanase Ohkawa: Do we immediately become obsessed with merchandise whenever we like a movie?

Mokona: Maybe that’s a uniquely Japanese thing.

Nanase Ohkawa: Japan definitely has a culture of abundant merchandise.

Nanase Ohkawa: I mean, just go to an anime shop.

Nanase Ohkawa: There are thousands and thousands of products.

Nanase Ohkawa: Satchan, was there anything you wished existed?

Nanase Ohkawa: Like,

Nanase Ohkawa: “If they made this, I’d buy it.”

Satsuki Igarashi: Rocky from Project Hail Mary.

Nanase Ohkawa: Ah, Rocky.

Nanase Ohkawa: I think the official site released 3D printer data for him.

Mokona: But we don’t own a 3D printer.

Satsuki Igarashi: Nope.

Nanase Ohkawa: Still…

Nanase Ohkawa: Rocky and Winterborn are exactly the sort of characters that would have tons of merchandise in Japan.

Nanase Ohkawa: And yet…

Nanase Ohkawa: There was nothing.

Nanase Ohkawa: It’s a movie that leaves you feeling incredibly warm.

Nanase Ohkawa: But it also makes you think.

Nanase Ohkawa: The sheep experience sadness much like humans do.

Nanase Ohkawa: There are things you can’t forget.

Nanase Ohkawa: And things you shouldn’t forget.

Nanase Ohkawa: When I saw the trailer,

Nanase Ohkawa: I thought it would be a goofy movie.

Nanase Ohkawa: Sheep making ridiculous deductions,

Nanase Ohkawa: chaos everywhere…

Nanase Ohkawa: That’s what I imagined.

Nanase Ohkawa: But it wasn’t like that at all.

Satsuki Igarashi: They were actually excellent detectives.

Mokona: Really excellent.

Nanase Ohkawa: My worries before watching it were far sillier than anything in the movie.

(everyone laughs)

Nanase Ohkawa: But I’m really glad he said that.

Nanase Ohkawa: By the time you’re listening to this,

Nanase Ohkawa: The Sheep Detective may not be showing in many theaters anymore.

Nanase Ohkawa: But if you ever have the chance to watch it through streaming or some other way—

Nanase Ohkawa: just like Project Hail Mary—

Nanase Ohkawa: I really hope you’ll watch The Sheep Detective too.

Everyone: Absolutely.

Mokona: I want to watch the dubbed version someday.

The Mandalorian & Grogu

Nanase Ohkawa: Next up:

Nanase Ohkawa: The Mandalorian & Grogu.

Nanase Ohkawa: This is the first Star Wars movie to return to theaters in quite a while.

Nanase Ohkawa: Social media has been overflowing with videos and fan art of that adorable little green mochi-like creature.

Nanase Ohkawa: Even people who aren’t interested in Star Wars ended up going to theaters.

Nanase Ohkawa: Grogu is just too popular.

Nanase Ohkawa: Ironically,

Nanase Ohkawa: America apparently has tons of Grogu merchandise.

Mokona: Lucky them.

Nanase Ohkawa: Japan had a few collaborations when the TV series aired.

Nanase Ohkawa: But we didn’t know about them at the time.

Nanase Ohkawa: So now if we try to buy them…

Nanase Ohkawa: They’re all sold out.

Nanase Ohkawa: Originally, The Mandalorian was a Disney+ series.

Nanase Ohkawa: It’s had three seasons so far.

Nanase Ohkawa: Has everyone here watched Star Wars?

Nanase Ohkawa: One, two, three, four…

Nanase Ohkawa: How far did you get?

Nanase Ohkawa: Apparently the original Luke Skywalker trilogy is now called Episodes IV, V, and VI.

Nanase Ohkawa: Then the Anakin movies were made later,

Nanase Ohkawa: but chronologically they’re Episodes I, II, and III.

Nanase Ohkawa: Have you seen Luke’s story?

Nekoi: I have.

Nekoi: And I watched his father’s story too.

Nanase Ohkawa: Luke’s trilogy is the original.

Mokona: I’ve only seen the very first movie.

Nanase Ohkawa: Satchan?

Satsuki Igarashi: I’ve seen Luke’s three movies.

Satsuki Igarashi: As for Anakin’s…

Satsuki Igarashi: I know the story in broad strokes,

Satsuki Igarashi: but I haven’t actually watched them.

Satsuki Igarashi: I loved Queen Amidala’s costumes.

Satsuki Igarashi: I’d read movie magazines,

Satsuki Igarashi: and they always included summaries.

Satsuki Igarashi: So I feel like I know the overall story.

Satsuki Igarashi: I don’t know the episode numbers, though.

Nanase Ohkawa: But everyone knows what happens to Anakin.

Nanase Ohkawa: It’s just too famous.

Nanase Ohkawa: Mokona?

Nanase Ohkawa: So you’ve seen everything?

Mokona: I’ve watched up until Anakin falls to the dark side.

Mokona: I haven’t watched VII, VIII, or IX.

Nanase Ohkawa: Ah, okay.

Nanase Ohkawa: Anakin was voiced by Daisuke Namikawa in Japanese.

Nanase Ohkawa: And the princess who later becomes Padmé was voiced by Maaya Sakamoto.

Mokona: So…

Mokona: a reliable princess,

Mokona: and a guy who makes you wonder,

Mokona: “Is he going to be okay?”

(everyone laughs)

Nanase Ohkawa: Apparently so.

Nanase Ohkawa: Going back for a moment—

Nanase Ohkawa: I just realized Rocky from Project Hail Mary is dubbed by Natsuki Hanae.

Nanase Ohkawa: In the original version,

Nanase Ohkawa: Rocky sounds more mature.

Nanase Ohkawa: Calmer.

Nanase Ohkawa: Not mechanical exactly,

Nanase Ohkawa: but less emotionally expressive.

Nanase Ohkawa: Apparently they used the sounds made by the performer operating Rocky.

Nanase Ohkawa: But in Japan, we get Hanae-san’s voice.

Mokona: I assumed the sounds were generated by his computer translation device.

Nanase Ohkawa: Which does make sense.

Nanase Ohkawa: So…

Nanase Ohkawa: The title is The Mandalorian & Grogu,

Nanase Ohkawa: but honestly,

Nanase Ohkawa: you know from the start that Grogu is going to steal the show.

Nanase Ohkawa: Nekoi, what did you think?

Nekoi: It made me really want to watch the Disney+ series.

Nekoi: I knew nothing about it beforehand.

Nekoi: Even hearing:

Nekoi: “The Mandalorian has existed in Star Wars for a long time.”

Nekoi: I was like,

Nekoi: “Wait, what?”

Nekoi: How does this guy fit into Star Wars?

Nekoi: Even his armor—

Nekoi: I couldn’t tell where he belonged.

Nekoi: Maybe different planets have different cultures?

Nekoi: I had no idea.

Nekoi: Where was this guy all this time?

Nekoi: What period does this take place in?

Nekoi: It made me curious.

Nanase Ohkawa: But even as a first-time viewer,

Nanase Ohkawa: it was easy to follow.

Nekoi: Definitely.

Nekoi: You don’t need deep Star Wars knowledge.

Nekoi: As long as you understand:

Nekoi: there’s a New Republic,

Nekoi: and there are remnants of the Empire.

Nekoi: That’s enough to enjoy it.

Nanase Ohkawa: Satchan, what about you?

Satsuki Igarashi: Watching it reminded me of the original trilogy.

Satsuki Igarashi: Right from the beginning I was thinking:

Satsuki Igarashi: “Oh! I remember this kind of robot.”

Satsuki Igarashi: It felt nostalgic.

Satsuki Igarashi: And in the end, it turned out to be a movie about a tiny creature doing its best.

Nanase Ohkawa: Mokona?

Mokona: Honestly…

Mokona: All I can say is:

Mokona: “It’s adorable.”

(everyone laughs)

Mokona: And—

Mokona: It’s Star Wars…

Mokona: But there are no lightsabers.

Mokona: No vwoom vwoom sounds.

Mokona: None at all.

Mokona: It felt like I was watching a completely new kind of Star Wars.

Nanase Ohkawa: The Force exists.

Nanase Ohkawa: But there aren’t any Jedi.

Nanase Ohkawa: In the Disney+ series there are a few more Jedi characters.

Nanase Ohkawa: But because this is a movie,

Nanase Ohkawa: they focused specifically on the story of the Mandalorian and Grogu.

Nanase Ohkawa: The director said he was inspired by Lone Wolf and Cub.

Nanase Ohkawa: And honestly…

Nanase Ohkawa: it really feels like Lone Wolf and Cub.

Mokona: Daigoro probably didn’t eat as much.

(everyone laughs)

Nekoi: Probably not.

Mokona: Definitely not.

Nanase Ohkawa: But Grogu was adorable.

Nanase Ohkawa: There was even a collaboration with the kabuki adaptation of Lone Wolf and Cub starring Shido Nakamura.

Nanase Ohkawa: It was incredibly cute.

Nanase Ohkawa: There’s also a female warrior character named Ahsoka.

Nanase Ohkawa: She’s amazing.

Nanase Ohkawa: If you have Disney+, I highly recommend watching her story too.

Nanase Ohkawa: I know I keep talking about voice actors…

Nanase Ohkawa: But in Japanese she’s voiced by Shizuka Ito.

Nanase Ohkawa: And then there’s Rotta.

Nanase Ohkawa: I never expected such an amazing character to appear.

Mokona: Rotta is wonderful.

Nanase Ohkawa: His father was known as a crime lord.

Nanase Ohkawa: But he doesn’t become bitter.

Nanase Ohkawa: He tries to live his own life.

Nanase Ohkawa: And apparently he trains so hard he gets abs.

Mokona: He’s ripped!

(everyone laughs)

Nanase Ohkawa: Sorry to bring up voice actors again…

Nanase Ohkawa: But Rotta is voiced by Yuma Uchida.

Nanase Ohkawa: I haven’t heard his performance yet.

Nanase Ohkawa: But doesn’t he seem like such a good person?

Mokona: He feels sincere.

Nanase Ohkawa: Grogu is fifty years old.

Nanase Ohkawa: But he’s still basically a baby.

Nanase Ohkawa: He can’t really speak.

Nanase Ohkawa: Somehow the Mandalorian communicates with him.

Nanase Ohkawa: But I keep wondering:

Nanase Ohkawa: Does the Mandalorian actually understand him?

Nanase Ohkawa: Or is he just guessing?

Mokona: Isn’t Ahsoka the one who really understands him?

Mokona: She gives very detailed explanations.

Mokona: Meanwhile the Mandalorian is more like:

Mokona: “Hmm… I think he’s saying this.”

(everyone laughs)

Nanase Ohkawa: That’s true.

Nanase Ohkawa: He didn’t even know Grogu’s name at first.

Mokona: Right!

Mokona: Ahsoka told him.

Mokona: So he’s basically just a parent who’s learned to understand his child little by little.

Mokona: Like:

Mokona: “I think this means he’s hungry.”

(everyone laughs)

Nekoi: Dad-level comprehension.

Mokona: Exactly.

Nanase Ohkawa: Maybe they weren’t having actual conversations after all.

Grogu Merchandise

Nanase Ohkawa: And honestly…

Nanase Ohkawa: Rather than talking about The Mandalorian & Grogu,

Nanase Ohkawa: we should probably talk about Grogu merchandise.

Nanase Ohkawa: Apparently America has an absurd amount of Grogu goods.

Nanase Ohkawa: Japan has started rereleasing some older products.

Nanase Ohkawa: Satchan is showing us this adorable Ahsoka-and-Grogu figure.

Nanase Ohkawa: I want to carry Grogu around in my bag.

Mokona: So cute.

Satsuki Igarashi: This is adorable.

Nanase Ohkawa: Wait.

Nanase Ohkawa: Wait!

Nanase Ohkawa: Ahsoka is unbelievably cute!

(everyone laughs)

Nanase Ohkawa: So?

Nanase Ohkawa: Don’t you want Grogu merchandise?

Nanase Ohkawa: Yesterday on X,

Nanase Ohkawa: someone posted that they’d finally gotten a Grogu plush.

Nanase Ohkawa: They said:

Nanase Ohkawa: “I didn’t have a bag for him.”

Nanase Ohkawa: But apparently he fits perfectly in one of those crescent-shaped GU bags.

Nanase Ohkawa: And they wrote: “Now I’m going back to see the movie with him.”

Nanase Ohkawa: Apparently Hasbro used to make a lot of Grogu merchandise.

Nanase Ohkawa: But things have become complicated now.

Nanase Ohkawa: I think Shimafuro used to make some too.

Nanase Ohkawa: There seem to be rereleases happening.

Nanase Ohkawa: Burger King even did a collaboration.

Nanase Ohkawa: Not in Japan.

Nanase Ohkawa: In America.

Mokona: It looked delicious.

Nanase Ohkawa: The commercials were unbelievably cute.

Nanase Ohkawa: But by the time we watched the movie and thought:

Nanase Ohkawa: “I want that!”

Nanase Ohkawa: Everything had already sold out.

Nanase Ohkawa: Since it’s Disney,

Nanase Ohkawa: I wish they’d timed the merchandise better.

Nanase Ohkawa: The theater had a claw machine.

Nanase Ohkawa: And there was this tiny Grogu plush inside.

Nanase Ohkawa: It was unbelievably cute.

Nanase Ohkawa: But with my skills,

Nanase Ohkawa: there’s no way I could win it.

Nanase Ohkawa: I just want them to sell it normally.

Nanase Ohkawa: Some of our own characters appear in claw machines too,

Nanase Ohkawa: so maybe I shouldn’t say this…

Nanase Ohkawa: But honestly,

Nanase Ohkawa: some people just can’t win.

Nanase Ohkawa: Please just sell them.

Nanase Ohkawa: Seriously.

(everyone laughs)

Nanase Ohkawa: Satchan is actually the best among the four of us at claw machines.

Satsuki Igarashi: Well…

Satsuki Igarashi: I haven’t played in a while.

Nanase Ohkawa: Next time there’s a Grogu prize,

Nanase Ohkawa: we should all pool our money and send Satchan in.

(everyone laughs)

Satsuki Igarashi: I’ll give it one try.

Nanase Ohkawa: So yes,

Nanase Ohkawa: We watched The Mandalorian & Grogu not that long ago.

Nanase Ohkawa: And now social media knows I’m interested.

Nanase Ohkawa: You know how once you click on something,

Nanase Ohkawa: your whole feed becomes that thing?

Nanase Ohkawa: My X timeline is now nothing but Grogu fan art.

Nanase Ohkawa: Tiny green creatures everywhere.

Mokona: Occasionally Rocky shows up.

Nanase Ohkawa: Right.

Nanase Ohkawa: But mostly Grogu.

Nanase Ohkawa: There are crafts,

Nanase Ohkawa: figures,

Nanase Ohkawa: people doing gorgeous custom paint jobs on Mandalorian models…

Nanase Ohkawa: I even preordered one that’s coming out in July.

Nanase Ohkawa: Oh!

Nanase Ohkawa: And apparently Zara released a Grogu perfume.

Nanase Ohkawa: I have no idea when.

Nanase Ohkawa: It’s long sold out now.

Nanase Ohkawa: But it sounds like it’d smell nice.

Nanase Ohkawa: The ingredients sound refreshing.

Nanase Ohkawa: It contains mandarin.

Nanase Ohkawa: I wonder if that was intentional.

Nanase Ohkawa: And the packaging is adorable.

Nanase Ohkawa: There’s a tiny green Grogu on it.

Nanase Ohkawa: I signed up for email notifications in case they rerelease it.

Nanase Ohkawa: I hope I can get one.

Upcoming Summer Movies

Nanase Ohkawa: So, that’s everything we’ve watched so far.

Nanase Ohkawa: The next movie on our summer schedule is:

Nanase Ohkawa: Chiikawa: The Secret of Doll Island, opening on July 24.

Nanase Ohkawa: I bought advance tickets without even thinking.

Nanase Ohkawa: Entirely because I wanted the merchandise.

(everyone laughs)

Nanase Ohkawa: And I also bought things at Chiikawa Land.

Nanase Ohkawa: Specifically because I wanted Siren-chan’s pochette and hair clip.

Nanase Ohkawa: When I go see the movie,

Nanase Ohkawa: I’m going to wear the Siren-chan pochette.

Nanase Ohkawa: Wait a second…

Nanase Ohkawa: Chiikawa’s Fallen Master is also voiced by Yuma Uchida.

Nanase Ohkawa: Oh!

Mokona: Right!

Mokona: Just like Rotta.

Nanase Ohkawa: So he’s incredibly sincere.

(everyone laughs)

Nanase Ohkawa: Siren is voiced by Minori Suzuki.

Nanase Ohkawa: I’m looking forward to hearing the songs too.

Nanase Ohkawa: Considering the ticket price,

Nanase Ohkawa: I imagine it’s a relatively short movie.

Nanase Ohkawa: And there will probably be lots of children watching.

Nanase Ohkawa: I wonder if they’ll be okay.

Mokona: Adults are the ones who notice all the scary implications.

Mokona: Little kids will probably just think:

Mokona: “Oh! Everyone’s having fun at a summer resort!”

Mokona: That’s probably how they’ll see it.

Nanase Ohkawa: I hope so.

Nanase Ohkawa: At least they’ll understand:

Nanase Ohkawa: “Everyone’s being chased and running away.”

Nanase Ohkawa: But realizing what it really means…

Nanase Ohkawa: That’s something you understand when you’re older.

Nanase Ohkawa: Still—

Nanase Ohkawa: It’s very fitting for summer.

Nanase Ohkawa: Quite thrilling.

Nanase Ohkawa: We already know how it ends.

Nanase Ohkawa: But when the original chapters were coming out…

Nanase Ohkawa: The people on X were absolutely losing their minds.

Nanase Ohkawa: Everyone was terrified.

Nanase Ohkawa: Nobody could sleep.

(everyone laughs)

Nanase Ohkawa: It’s practically a ghost story for the summer season.

Good Boy

Nanase Ohkawa: There’s another movie coming out as well.

Nanase Ohkawa: Good Boy.

Nanase Ohkawa: A one-dog survival horror film.

Nanase Ohkawa: It’s scheduled to open on July 10.

Nanase Ohkawa: I’ve already seen comments from people who’ve watched it,

Nanase Ohkawa: and everyone is praising it.

Nanase Ohkawa: Most importantly—

Nanase Ohkawa: The dog doesn’t suffer.

Nanase Ohkawa: At least,

Nanase Ohkawa: the dog is okay.

Mokona: That’s the important part.

Mokona: Just tell me whether the dog is safe.

(everyone laughs)

Dark Water (Honogurai Mizu no Soko kara)

Nanase Ohkawa: Speaking of summer ghost stories…

Nanase Ohkawa: I really like horror movies.

Nanase Ohkawa: So even though it’s an older film now,

Nanase Ohkawa: I’d recommend:

Nanase Ohkawa: Dark Water.

Nanase Ohkawa: Or, to use its Japanese title:

Nanase Ohkawa: Honogurai Mizu no Soko kara.

Nanase Ohkawa: It’s become one of the absolute classics of Japanese horror.

Nanase Ohkawa: Has everyone here seen it?

Everyone: We have.

Nekoi: I think we rented it and watched it together.

Nanase Ohkawa: Satchan,

Nanase Ohkawa: you don’t like scary movies very much.

Nanase Ohkawa: Do you remember it?

Satsuki Igarashi: Not really.

(everyone laughs)

Satsuki Igarashi: I remember it being…

Satsuki Igarashi: dark.

Satsuki Igarashi: Damp.

Nanase Ohkawa: Exactly.

Nanase Ohkawa: It’s pure J-horror.

Nanase Ohkawa: The music was wonderful too.

Satsuki Igarashi: That was Suga Shikao, right?

Nanase Ohkawa: Yes.

Nanase Ohkawa: Suga Shikao.

Nanase Ohkawa: Nekoi, do you remember it?

Nekoi: The lesson of that movie is:

Nekoi: “You shouldn’t just pick things up.”

(everyone laughs)

Nekoi: Seriously.

Nekoi: Don’t casually pick things up.

Nanase Ohkawa: Exactly.

Nanase Ohkawa: That’s how the connection begins.

Nanase Ohkawa: And from that connection…

Nanase Ohkawa: the horror spreads.

Nanase Ohkawa: If you live in an apartment building…

Nanase Ohkawa: The ending will absolutely terrify you.

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Thank you for reading this post!

The next episode will air on September 23rd, on the Autumn equinox in the Northern Hemisphere.