TIME (Part 1)

[Originally posted November 30, 2022]

Today we begin our journey through TIME, a 1987 Charma anthology published by the circle G.GRAPHITY/秘密ルート(Secret Route). It’s a whopping 150+ pages featuring novels, comics, and illustrations by many different artists.

Title: TIME

Year: 1987

Subject: Mobile Suit Gundam

Circle: G.GRAPHITY/秘密ルート

Here’s a look at the table of contents. Part 1 covers pages 1 – 30

遅い朝 – レイトモーニン (Late Morning)

The first short story is 遅い朝 – レイトモーニン (Late Morning) by Makoto Tateno (盾乃誡).

–

He is responsible for preparing the meal. I am in bed, listening to the sound of dishes being arranged and the small metallic clang of spoons and forks.

My body is always tired in the morning.

This is our 3rd year of living together, minus a short gap after holding him accountable for what happened.

The initiative he holds in the night is passed to me upon the sun’s rising.

After having his way in the night, of course I had no desire to help out.

Because I hate him –

“It would be helpful if you could learn a dish or two, too.”

With a hateful smile, he spreads orange marmalade on buttered toast and hands it to me. He had memorized my food preferences before I even realized it.

That’s right. It’s been three years since that unfortunate reunion with him.

Those who were about to be killed, and those who failed to kill.

By the time we met, the “murderous intent” was no longer there. I, who was about to be killed, and he, who failed to kill me. I believed that the murderous intent that had enveloped us no longer remained.

However…

“Are you sure?”

The knife I’m holding in my hand speaks to me. Blue, shining sharply.

“If you stare at it like that, the knife will get sharper and sharper, won’t it?”

His voice brought me back to my senses, and I found that he had already finished his breakfast and lit a cigarette. Grayish purple smoke partially dulls the incoming morning sun.

His eyes, smiling.

“You shouldn’t. If you stare too much at it, it seems like it’ll jump out of your hand and fly over here.”

With that said, he ran a line around his throat with his index finger.

A single line directly across. I was strangely fond of that gesture.

I felt as though a little bit of the morning lethargy had lifted. I thought that today would be a comfortable day.

Char’s eyes glowed a dull blue.

When I met him, I was going to kill him. “Murderous intent” doesn’t just dissappear naturally.

It’s morning, and he and I sit around the table. And, “murderous intent” for two.

I am sure that as long as I have this, I will be with him. I’m sure he will as well.

And yet, we like this life very much. I’m really starting to enjoy this.

A sneer escapes from my lips. With his eyes he asks, “what is it?”

Oh, you. I love you.

I really don’t know why.

It’s funny, it’s sad. Smiling, I rose from my seat and went around to his side, embraced his neck and went to suck on his lips; as if to show the “murderous intent” that should also be by their side.

…And then that’s when I realized I was crying.

TIME -out of mind-

Next is another short story titled TIME -out of mind- written by Seri Kinoshita (木下芹) and art by Matagama Yatsude (八手又蒲). It’s a bit longer than the previous one, so I’ll summarize:

A man wakes up in an unfamiliar place. He gazes for a while at the crumbling ceiling above him, bits of sky visible through the cracks.

Behind him, he hears a woman’s voice.

“Oh…you’ve noticed. That’s good.”

His head aches as he tries to recall where he is or why, but he can’t remember anything.

How long have I been here? Who is that voice? What should I do? Those were the questions the man asked himself.

The girl says she’s happy he opened his eyes, as he’s been asleep for a long time. There isn’t any fighting going on at the moment, but she can’t be sure how much longer that will last.

As she comes over to his side to check on him, the man finally sees what the girl looks like for the first time. She’s young, only about 15 or 16, with frizzy red hair and large eyes that are quite striking. Of course he doesn’t recognize her, as he can’t even remember who he himself is at the moment.

The girl brings him a cool towel, explaining that her grandmother was a nurse and she thankfully learned a thing or two from her.

As she tends to his wounds, the man realizes he can’t even remember how he got them, though they seem pretty severe. Suddenly feeling drowsy, he closes his eyes and falls asleep once more.

He doesn’t wake up until a full day later. The girl, who he learns is named Reina, seems a little annoyed by this, but leaves to go get him some soup.

The man’s headache is gone but his mind is still fuzzy. He can remember that he is a soldier in the middle of a war, and this is some kind of battlefield.

Reina then returns with the soup and helps him sit up so he can eat.

Reina reassures him that the people who lived in this house before have long since fled, and it’s now just the two of them. She asks if he’s perhaps a fugitive, but he says no. Reina apologizes for the question, and explains that she thought he just seemed a little different and was hoping he could help her, but not to worry about it.

Noticing how she turned away suddenly at his reply, the man admits that he doesn’t actually even remember who he is, what he was doing, or really anything at all. Shocked, Reina asks if he’s serious, but it’s the unfortunate truth.

The war has been going on for a long time, but this was the first time Reina has ever met a soldier who lost his memory. She couldn’t even tell if he was with the enemy since his uniform was so badly burned. Regardless of that, she reassures the man she’ll take care of him, as he seems like a good person.

The man isn’t sure how he feels about having to rely on a young girl like this, but at the moment has no choice. He thanks her in a quiet voice. Reina goes on to say she’s not from this town either, but heard it had been bombed.

Reina tells the man how she found him – he was lying next to this house, bruised and badly burned. She wonders if perhaps he was from the warplane she saw flying overhead at the time.

Was he a soldier? Did he have a family? The man responds that somehow, he feels like he was happy. Like some kind of happy dream…

She smiles at this, and the man can’t help but think he’s seen that smile somewhere before.

Reina sadly laments that she was forced to cut his beautiful purple hair because it was burnt so badly. The man says it’s fine, it’ll grow back. There’s many things in war one can never get back, after all.

As Reina puts a hand to his forehead, he wonders if she must be lonely out here too. Otherwise why would she be doing so much to help a stranger? Perhaps wounded hearts can understand each other.

Suddenly, the man wonders if he actually was ever happy. In this moment, he can’t even feel hatred or anger, just a sense of desolate sadness.

Oh… You’re smiling. I can’t remember if it was you or not. But I want you to always be smiling. In the light… forever.

Even if just for a moment, it was a happy dream.

Once the man was well enough to walk with the assistance of a cane, they left the house. There were rumors that this place could become a battlefield again at any moment.

Reina asks over and if he’s sure he wants to come with her, but the man has made up his mind. He still wants to remember his past, but for now, traveling with Reina is fine. He’s had enough of war.

It takes twice as long for them to travel due to his injuries, but four days later at sunset, they come upon a small grave marker.

It catches Reina’s eye and she runs over to it. On the gravestone is a wooden cross with a wreath of flowers hanging off of it.

Strangely, there is no name inscribed on it. Whose grave is it, she wonders.

Then, Reina sees something shining in the shadow of the wreath. It’s a little silver locket with the most expensive workmanship she has ever seen.

And the photo hidden inside…

“Garma Zabi…”

She closes the locket with a snap.

“What’s wrong?” the man asks, as he hobbles over to meet her.

“It’s nothing…”

Reina shakes her head and encourages him to keep walking. The wind whips up a cloud of dust, ripping the epitaph from her fingers. Perhaps even the person who erected the tombstone did not know. There was no way to know the name of the beautiful woman who rested there. And moreover, the name of her lover…

“Let’s hurry, the sun is going down.”

“Alright.”

I always want you to be happy. Whenever, and no matter what, I wanted her to smile in the flowers…

I feel like she was happy. I get the feeling that I myself… was always happy…

As long as I had your smile…

After this are two illustrations by Ai Ushio (潮藍) and Makoto Tateno (盾乃誡).

The text reads:

They were childhood friends
Char’s father was killed by Garma’s father
Char’s real name is Casval Rem Deikun
For the sake of revenge, he approached Garma
And then — Garma was killed by Char
This is the 2 or 3 affairs we know of the pair from TV