Chuukan Kanriroku Tonegawa Episodes 3 & 4

How every man should end his day

Teiai makes some very compelling TV ads

Since when did Donald Trump ever work at Teiai?

Episode 3 starts off with our title character recollecting his past interactions with his team and trying to figure out ways to get closer to them. He's even shown reading some kind of corporative publication on this subject! It eventually dawns on him that he needs to step out of the box and try something to make him stand out from his peers. Next we are treated to Tonegawa acting as some kind of compassionate compère on a company tour bus and orders Teiai's human assets to read page 3 of the camping manual they were given. Their whole trip is scheduled with just one activity: have fun! Everyone looks bewildered at first, but they soon warm up to the idea that maybe Tonegawa just wants to get on their good side. Except Yamazaki, who is distrustful of his superior and thinks that he has some ulterior motivation. It's already hard enough to feign ingratitude when someone is being so generous to you (at least I think it is hard. the world is a vast and unknown place on so many levels, and there are people who just want to take without giving. I'm sure that a Fukumoto character has more integrity than some people IRL). Back to where we left off. Where were we? Yep, Yamazaki's suspicions start to gnaw at him and he's unable to enjoy himself, even trying to ruin the barbecue planned for by his boss. The latter still finds a way to grill that delicious-looking Kobe steak though, and hauls in a contraption that will do the trick. Yamazaki senses something is amiss and, amidst his recollections of his time working directly under Hyodou, recognises the whimsical device as a wicked construct used on people who were late with their payments. According to his memories, that was meant for making people perform a forced kneeling ritual on a sizzling hot plate. This was done both as punishment and as a means to make them apologise in a more sincere way. His respect for Tonegawa goes through the roof and all is well at the end. Everyone returns to Teiai full of beans and ready to take on the dreaded project. With the gap between leader and team narrowed, confidence and satisfaction start yielding the first fruitful results. First a young team member shows off his power point presentation skills and suggests a game of janken-po (rock-paper-scissors). Only that the gestures are printed onto cards and after using one up it's permanently discarded, forcing the player to balance his choices. This set-up also adds a strategic edge, which draws Tonegawa's attention. Tonegawa had thought of implementing Mahjong and using real people rather than tiles.

The elements of success

 
The expectation was that discord would soon start brewing about whom should be discarded and kept, providing Hyodou with his much-needed entertainment. Tonegawa's previous idea suddenly started to sound lackluster compared to this young man's plan. Defying everyone's expectations, Tonegawa ditches his original design and adopts rock-paper-scissors in card format as the official proposal for the chairman. There's a whole scene about Tonegawa making "an adult decision", but at least it served another purpose: show Tonegawa as a humane leader who can appreciate other people's efforts while at the same time recognise when his own weren't good enough. The chairman is shown as someone who is prone to falling asleep often. This time he can sleep peacefully knowing someone reliable enough is in control.

Guiding one's team to victory