Kero Battles the Oni on the Bridge!

Previously…

Sensei: Previously, on Kero Learns Japanese! Three trials could give Kero the power to seal the First Dragon.
Three trial grounds side by side: a roaring waterfall, a mountain path and a dark peak, a small frog silhouette at each.
Sensei: Goro sent the Fin Brigade to stop him.
Goro roars an order from his bathtub, a rubber duck on his head.
Sensei: They thought a trial was a pastry.
The chef fish in his tall hat dreams of a cream-topped pastry while two fish float by.
Sensei: I gave Kero a map to his first trial:
Sensei stands in his doorway while Kero waits outside with the map.
Sensei: the Roaring Falls, and its giant salamander.
A huge dark salamander rises in front of the waterfall, two pale eyes narrowed.

Blocking his way

Sensei: He took the train north.
In black and white, a train runs along a dark valley at night.
Sensei: But an oni swatted the fish off the bridge.
In black and white, the oni swings his spiked club into the Fin Brigade’s washtub on the bridge.
Sensei: Now Kero is alone.
In black and white, a close-up of Kero frowning on the empty bridge.
Sensei: And the oni is blocking his way.
In black and white, the oni glares down with his teeth clenched.
In full colour, the red oni roars at the lens, his club on his shoulder, as a gale of wind and splinters bursts from his mouth.

Scene description: The colour floods back as the red oni roars, blasting a gale and splinters from his mouth.

Here comes the storm

Low on the bridge deck, a churning green wall of dust and flying timber races towards us.

Scene description: A wall of dust and timber rushes down the bridge.

A ripped wooden plank spins out of the storm, filling the frame.

Scene description: A torn plank flies straight at us.

Kero leans into the wind on the bridge, eyes huge and mouth wide open.

Scene description: Kero braces in the gale and screams.

Kero springs backwards through the air above the torn plank and the shattered deck.

Scene description: Kero leaps back over the broken plank.

Not a fair fight

Kero lands on the bridge, wide-eyed, with the storm still swirling behind him.

Scene description: Kero lands, wobbling, as the dust clears.

The red oni charges along the bridge with his spiked club held high.

Scene description: The oni stomps down the bridge, his spiked club raised.

Kero: At least the fish threw CROISSANTS!
Kero faces the oni on the bridge, mouth open in protest.

Scene description: Kero remembers his last fight.

Kero: I LIKE croissants!
A memory: the Fin Brigade’s giant croissant of swirling water curls around Kero under the sea.

Scene description: The Croissant of Doom, from Episode 2.

I like it!

Kero smiles in the lesson circle, two little hearts beside him.
Sensei: No! In Japan, when we like something, we say...
すき Romaji: suki Like

Say it when you like something.

Not that!

Kero:
すき！ Romaji: suki Like
Kero beams in the lesson circle, two little hearts beside him.
Kero: Not THAT!
The spiked shadow of the oni’s club falls across the lesson circle. Kero shrinks back, staring up at it.
The red oni roars at the lens, his spiked club raised over his shoulder.

Scene description: Back on the bridge, the oni roars and heaves his club up high.

The spiked club bursts through the planks beside the oni as Kero flies off his feet.

Scene description: The club smashes the deck and throws Kero into the air.

Missed me!

The oni lands on the bridge with a snarl, club raised, the broken hole behind him.

Scene description: The oni leaps the hole he made and lands in front of Kero.

The club sweeps over the deck as Kero lies flat beneath it.

Scene description: He swings the club sideways. Kero throws himself flat.

Splinters of railing fly over Kero as he lies flat on the deck.

Scene description: The club smashes through the railing above him.

Kero: Missed me!
Kero pops up grinning on the deck. Above him, a broken piece of rail is falling.

Scene description: Kero does not see the falling rail.

What goes up

Kero is squashed flat by the falling rail, which bounces off his head.

Scene description: The broken rail lands right on his head.

Kero wobbles against the railing as the board beneath him starts to give.

Scene description: He staggers back onto a cracked board. It bends under him.

Close on Kero’s foot as the plank under it splits apart.

Scene description: The board snaps.

Kero falls below the bridge among the broken planks, mouth wide open.

Scene description: Kero drops through the gap with the broken boards.

Can we talk?

Kero dangles under the bridge, clinging to the rope with his eyes squeezed shut.

Scene description: His hands catch the safety rope.

Kero: Can we talk?!
Kero hauls himself up the rope as the oni’s red shape looms at the edge above.
Seen from below, the oni glares down through the broken deck and stamps above Kero.

Scene description: The oni answers with a stomp.

Kero: Sensei! Help!
Kero slips lower on the rope and shouts up, eyes huge.

Help!

Kero hangs from the rope in the lesson circle, eyes wide.
Sensei: No! In Japan, when you need help, we say...
たすけて Romaji: tasukete Help!

Call this out when you need help.

The rope gives

Kero:
たすけて！ Romaji: tasukete Help!
Kero cries out in the lesson circle, still hanging from his rope.
The rope’s knot strains around a splintered post, its fibres fraying.

Scene description: At the post, the knot’s outer threads give way.

Kero jolts lower on the rope, mouth open, with the gorge below him.

Scene description: Kero drops lower before the rope holds again.

Beans?

Kame: Kero!
Far below the dangling Kero, Kame swims up the river with a little pouch.

Scene description: Kame calls up from the river.

Kame: You won’t beat him without the beans!
Kame treads water, holding up a small cloth pouch.
Kero: Beans? I’m not British!
Kero dangles from the rope, one eyebrow raised.
A thought bubble rises from Kero’s head: a plate of beans on toast.

Scene description: Kero’s mind drifts off to breakfast.

Baked beans!

Kero: Baked beans! Baked beans!
In his daydream, Kero sits at a breakfast table under a Union Jack, singing at a plate of beans on toast.

Scene description: Kero daydreams.

Goro: Kero! Stop going on about food
Goro cuts in against a crimson background, fangs bared.
Goro: and continue the story!
Closer on Goro, roaring, his eyes narrowed.
Sensei: No!
Sensei interrupts too, deadpan, against a burst of lines.
Sensei: In Japan, we don’t use baked beans to drive away oni.
Sensei stands beside a plate of beans on toast with a big red cross over it.

What beans can do

Kame: Roasted soybeans, Kero. I’ve seen what they can do.
Kame lifts his pouch of beans out of the river.
Close on the pouch, its mouth open on a heap of roasted soybeans.

Scene description: The pouch of beans carries Kame back to his childhood.

Kame: When I was little, an oni came to our village.
Years ago, a wooden box of roasted beans sits on a sunny village porch.
A giant red oni foot lands beside a small wooden gate in the village street.

Scene description: A huge red foot slams down by the village gate.

His roar shook the roofs

Kame: His roar shook the roofs.
The red oni roars in the middle of the village street.
A lantern swings under a porch roof as a broken tile falls to the street.

Scene description: A roof tile cracks and the lanterns swing.

Kame: We all ran.
Young Kame hides behind his grandmother as the oni looms over them.

Grandma Kame stayed

Kame: Grandma stayed.
Grandma Kame, in her purple headscarf, stands her ground, young Kame peeking out behind her shell.
Kame: He raised his club...
The oni bares his teeth and lifts his spiked club.
Kame: and she reached for a little wooden box.
Grandma Kame’s hand reaches into the little wooden box of beans.
Grandma Kame:
おにはそと！ Romaji: oni wa soto Oni out!
Grandma Kame throws a handful of beans and shouts.

Not the nose!

Kame: Oni out!
The beans hit the oni square in the face.
The oni: OW! Not the nose!
The oni’s eyes bulge as he clutches his club.
The oni scrambles away past the gate, beans scattered on the street.

Scene description: The oni turns tail and runs for the gate.

Good fortune in

Grandma Kame:
ふくはうち！ Romaji: fuku wa uchi Good fortune in!
Grandma Kame turns to the house and calls out, beans scattered on the floor.
Kame: Good fortune in. At Setsubun,
Grandma Kame and young Kame stand at the open door of their house.
Kame: we scatter roasted soybeans
Young Kame looks up at his grandmother, determined, the village behind him.

These are mame

Kame: to drive oni and bad luck away,
Grandma Kame’s hand lifts a little pouch of beans beside the wooden box.
Kame: and welcome good fortune into our homes.
Grandma Kame presses a little pouch of beans into young Kame’s hands.
Young Kame clutches the little pouch, chin up.

Scene description: Young Kame holds the pouch tight.

Kame: These are mame. Beans.
Back in the gorge, grown-up Kame holds up the very same pouch.

Beans!

Three roasted soybeans rest in a little dish in the lesson circle.
まめ Romaji: mame Beans

At Setsubun, roasted soybeans drive the oni out.

Tiny problem

Kero:
まめ！ Romaji: mame Beans
Kero, still hanging from his rope, says the word in the lesson circle.
Kero: Great! Tiny problem... I’M STILL HANGING!
Kero dangles from the rope, eyes huge.
Kame: Catch!
Kame swings the pouch back, ready to throw.
The pouch flies up toward Kero, who hangs from the rope far above.

Scene description: The pouch sails up through the gorge.

Oni out. Got it!

Kero hangs on with one hand and holds the pouch in the other.

Scene description: Kero catches the pouch.

Kame: Take a handful. Throw them at him and shout: Oni wa soto!
Kame calls up his instructions from the river.
Kero: Oni out. Got it!
Back up on the bridge, Kero stands ready with the pouch in his hand.

Scene description: Kero climbs back onto the deck.

Wrong way!

The oni glares over the long handle of his spiked club.

Scene description: The oni snarls over his club.

Kero:
おにはそと！ Romaji: oni wa soto Oni out!
Kero winds up and throws a handful of beans.
A gust from the oni’s mouth sends the beans flying back past Kero.

Scene description: The oni blows the beans straight back at him.

Kero: Wrong way!
Kero stares as his own beans fly back past his shoulder.

Wait for his breath

Kame: Wait for his breath!
Kame shouts his advice from the river.
The oni’s spiked club crashes onto the deck right next to Kero.

Scene description: The club slams down beside Kero.

Kero crouches on the splintered deck, gripping the pouch, waiting.

Scene description: Kero holds his ground, pouch in hand.

Right on the nose

The oni draws in a deep breath through his teeth.

Scene description: The oni sucks in a huge breath.

Kero:
おにはそと！ Romaji: oni wa soto Oni out!
Kero throws again while the oni breathes in.
A spray of beans strikes the oni’s nose.

Scene description: The beans hit him right on the nose.

The oni: NOT THE NOSE!
The oni screams, fangs bared, his eyes watering.

For ruining breakfast

The oni backs away along the shattered bridge, dragging his club.

Scene description: The oni stumbles back along the broken bridge.

Kero: That’s for ruining breakfast!
Kero shakes the pouch after the oni.
Kame: Next stop: the Roaring Falls.
Kame nods from the river below.

The Roaring Falls

Kero: Please tell me
Kero stands on the bridge, worried, the pouch at his side.
Kero: the waterfall doesn’t talk.
Low on the deck, Kero’s feet stand on the planks as loose grit starts to bounce.
Under the water, a giant dark shape crouches on the rocks.

Scene description: Deep under the falls, something huge is waiting.

A huge black salamander rises through the waterfall pool, water pouring off it.

Scene description: It rises out of the pool.

Close on the guardian’s dark head as one golden eye opens.

Scene description: One golden eye opens.

Not again!

The giant salamander roars, its mouth wide, as waves burst up around it.

Scene description: The guardian roars, and the pool explodes.

A huge wave rises over the three fish bobbing in the river.

Scene description: A wave races toward the Fin Brigade.

Le Chomp: Not again!
Le Chomp’s eyes go wide as the wave looms.
The three fish fly through the air above the crashing water.

Scene description: The Fin Brigade are blasted out of the water.

Next time

Kero freezes on the bridge, sweating.

Scene description: Kero gasps.

Sensei: Can Kero make his voice heard?
The guardian towers over the falls, its golden eyes narrowed.
Sensei: Find out next time on Kero Learns Japanese!
The guardian looms over the words To Be Continued.

Episode 6 · 3 questions

Japanese Word Quiz

Pick the right spelling for the English and the romaji, then hear it in Japanese. Earn a star for each correct answer.

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