Hime-chan and Pokota are watching TV in the living room, eating potato chips, drinking juice, and laughing together. Pokota likes watching TV, and Hime-chan says it's Sunday so they can do that together without being disturbed [ie there is nobody around to see Pokota speaking]. Then on TV, the announcer introduces Hijiri Yuka, Hime-chan's classmate. Hime-chan says that Yuka is very cute, but Pokota says to Hime-chan that she shouldn't worry because she is very cute too.
As she thanks Pokota, they hear a noise from behind, and Hime-chan's father comes in. Hime-chan and Pokota are startled, and Pokota quickly returns to his "stuffed animal" stance. Hime-chan was expecting her father to come back in the evening, but his work was over so he came back sooner. Then he asks what Hime-chan is doing there. She quickly gets up [she was sitting on the sofa] to prevent her father from coming closer [and notice Pokota] and says she is just watching TV, but he has already spotted the two glasses on the table [a "drop" is falling on the back of Pokota's head].
Hime-chan is very embarrassed, but her father takes Pokota and says that she was probably "playing house" with her stuffed animal. Hime-chan is even more embarrassed, but jumps at the chance and quickly nods. Her father says, laughing, that even though she gets older, she's still playing like a kid [and he gives Pokota a kiss on the cheek].
Then he notices Yuka on TV. He says she is very lucky, she is going to become a star because Shirosawa-san, a very famous producer, is looking for a heroine for his next movie and will probably choose Yuka.
On Monday morning on their way to school, Hime-chan tells Manami and Icchan what her father said. Icchan points out that Shirosawa-san might make his movie abroad. Manami then says that she didn't like Yuka because she took Peter Pan's role from Hime-chan, but after all she is kinda nice. Icchan teases her for changing her mind all the time.
When Hime-chan enters her classroom, her classmates are gathering around Yuka. They have seen that possible heroins for Shirosawa's next movie have their pictures printed in newspapers and Yuka's picture is the largest. But Yuka says that the audition isn't over yet. Then Hibino Hikaru strikes in and says that she will support Yuka with all her heart and will take care of Daichi when Yuka will go abroad. Hime-chan doesn't like Hikaru's attitude.
Then one of her classmates notices that it's written in the newspaper that Yuka's birthday is tomorrow. Everybody congratulates her. Daichi comes by and asks everybody why they congratulate Yuka. Before anybody answers, he remembers that her birthday is tomorrow. Yuka is so happy that Daichi had remembered her birthday, and his classmates keep teasing him. He says that it is normal for friends from childhood to remember their birth dates. Hikaru isn't very pleased at that and yells at Hime-chan, who retorts that she has nothing to do with that [although she doesn't look very pleased either that Daichi and Yuka are so close].
At lunch time, Daichi and Tetsu hurry downstairs to get yakisoba-pan [sandwich with noodles fried in soja sauce] before they are all gone, then Yuka comes by and thanks again Daichi for having remembered that her birthday is tomorrow. But she is a bit sad when she notices that it's all that he could remember: he seems to have forgotten a very important promise. But she gives him until tomorrow to remember, and leaves Daichi wondering what it was all about.
In her crystal ball, Erika has watched the scene and wonders what that promise could be too. But Chappi is rather interested in the yakisoba-pan.
Hime-chan, passing in front of the principal's room, hears him saying that he is very sad that "somebody" will leave the school in just one week. As she wonders who that might be, Yuka opens the door and is face to face with Hime-chan. Both are startled, and Hime-chan can't believe that the principal was talking about Yuka.
While they are walking back home side by side, Yuka talks to Hime-chan:
[--It took me more than 40 minutes and I re-listened more than 30 times to their speech to get it in full. tsukaretaa-- :) P-chan ]
Then she tells Hime-chan about a place she wants to show her.
As they sit on a see-saw in the nearby park, Yuka tells Hime-chan that she is very afraid of her future: movie, recordings, TV drama.. She might not be able to see much of this city any more. So Hime-chan cheers her up, since her father has told her that Shirosawa-san was a nice producer. Then she wants to teach Yuka a way to feel happy again, rises her right arm, and does the "ike ike go go jump". Yuka looks bewildered, and Hime-chan is embarrassed, thinking Yuka found that stupid, but soon Yuka smiles at her, saying that Hime-chan is doing her best for other people just as if it was for herself.
Then they get up and walk around in the park. Hime-chan shows Yuka a very tall tree that she likes a lot. Gazing vacantly at the tree, Yuka says that she likes this tree a lot too. When she was very young, she and the other kids used to say that if you climb atop this tree, your voice can reach the sky and gods can hear you. Hime-chan has climbed up that tree many times, but although Yuka wanted it very badly, she hadn't been able to. With a sad look, she sees ghosts of young Yuka and young Daichi, climbing up the tree.
Back at home, Hime-chan tells Pokota about Yuka's fears. She would probably feel like her [ie running away] if she had to cope with such big responsibilities. Since there's just one week left, she promises to support Yuka the best she can.
Back at home, Yuka's aunt tells Yuka that the chief and the manager of the production team have come to meet her. They tell her that Shirosawa-san has decided all of a sudden that tomorrow would be nice for the audition, instead of in one week. Yuka is now scared even more, and stays awake all night, looking at a picture of her and Daichi, when they were kids. She murmurs "Dai-chan, please help me.. Dai-chan.." and a tear drops onto the picture.
[CM]
Next morning, Hime-chan runs because she is late, and is rejoined by Daichi who is running too. They find Gori-sensei at the entrance gate. He, the chief and the manager of the production team, and Yuka's aunt were all waiting for Daichi. Yuka's aunt tells Daichi that Yuka had run away early in the morning, and all she found was a message:
"I'll be at the place where Dai-chan and I made the promise. - Yuka"
Daichi reads the message, but still can't remember what this promise was. Since the audition will start at 11 o'clock, they all split to look for Yuka. Daichi and Hime-chan want to go too, but Gori holds them back, saying that they have a lesson to attend. Hime-chan has an idea and tells Gori that she wants to go to the restrooms. Daichi wants to go too, but Gori holds him back.
In the restroom, Hime-chan uses her palette to make a copy of herself, and asks Hime-copy to attend the lesson instead of her, so she can try to find the place where Yuka was hiding. On his way to the classroom, Hime-copy wonders [in a feminine voice] what the lesson will be about today, and thinks it will be fun.
Outside, Hime-chan is running in the streets, trying to find where Yuka is, and suddenly remembers what Yuka has told her yesterday about the park being a very nice place.
In the park, Yuka is resting on the tree, waiting for Daichi. But she thinks he might have not remembered since they had made the promise a long long time ago. But she smiles again when she hears footsteps nearby, and turns back. But she saw that it wasn't Daichi, but Hime-chan. Hime-chan is glad to have found Yuka. Yuka apologizes to her.
At school, Hime-chan's classmates are playing volleyball. Hime-copy doesn't really play and complains to herself that today's lesson was gym class. As the other team throws a powerful smash, Hibino Hikaru [in the same team as Hime-chan] tries to wake her up but when Hime-copy sees the ball coming at her at full speed, she chickens out and retreats behind Hikaru. Hikaru scolds her for acting stupidly and Hime-copy replies [in a very feminine voice] that she hasn't done that on purpose. Hikaru now REALLY worries about Hime-chan.
On the play field, the boys team is training on a vaulting horse. Daichi is still trying hard to remember what the promise was, and when his turn comes [he hasn't heard his teacher calling him], he suddenly remembers and rushes away.
At the park, Hime-chan asks Yuka if she can tell her what the promise was about. Yuka says that's OK, and tells her: it was to climb atop that tree. Daichi and she had made that promise just before her 7th birthday, when she was about to move to another city. She was afraid of moving to another place, with no friends there, so Daichi had met Yuka under that tree and told her:
But the day of moving came sooner than her father expected, and Yuka had to leave the city before her birthday. From inside the car, leaning over the door, Yuka spoke to Daichi:
Yuka feels the same today as when she left the town on that day. At that time she was afraid of moving to another city, but now she is afraid of the entertainment world she will have to face. So she thinks that if she could climb atop the tree, she might feel relieved and get some strength back.
With a determined look, Hime-chan gets up [she probably wants to transform into Daichi and take his place] and tells Yuka that she will meet Daichi and make him remember, but Yuka stops her and asks her if she would like to climb atop the tree with her. Now she wants to be with Hime-chan. She would like to become as full of energy as her. Hime-chan agrees, so they start to climb.
Soon Daichi arrives at the park, and stops as he hears their voices coming from the top of the tree. They have climbed halfway up, and are already very tired, laugh together [they have said "I'm tired" at the same time] and decide to stop there. They have a very nice view of the city, and Yuka swears that whatever her future might turn to be, she will never forget that view.
Then Hime-chan spots Daichi, looking at them from the ground. They are both very happy that Daichi has remembered the promise and has come there. Yuka has tears in eyes. Daichi asks them if they have already asked the gods to fulfill their wish. They say they have almost forgotten, so soon they shout to the sky :
Yuka says it was the best thing ever to have come back to this city then have met Hime-chan. Now Hime-chan calls Yuka "Yuka" [instead of "Hijiri-san", a sign that they have become very good friends] and they both start to do the "ike ike go go". But since they were up in the tree, Hime-chan finds the "jump" to be too dangerous, so they clap their hands and say "fight" to each other instead. Then they laugh aloud.
Daichi remembers that it's time for Yuka to go to the audition. In front of Yuka's aunt's house, Yuka's aunt, the chief and the manager of the production team are all worried about Yuka, and hope she will make it in time. Just before she goes to meet them, Yuka and Hime-chan swear that they will write postcards to each other. When Daichi shouts "Do your best!" to Yuka, Hime-chan says it will be all right, because she has climbed atop the tree and has already become friends.
In the Land of Magic, Erika agrees with Hime-chan, and as she closes her notebook, says she will support Yuka with all her heart too.
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Questa pagina è stata progettata da Daichi
Ultimo aggiornamento: 01-01-1997