“Getsu-Asa! ~The Indie Sentai's Road to the Majors~” Episode 1 [Creative Awards 2024 - Manga Original Story Category Entry]

Synopsis
In an era saturated with Sentai heroes, Rin Amatsu, a native of Shiga Prefecture, was thinking about a challenge she couldn't take on in high school after deciding to attend a junior college in Kyoto.
However, that challenge was nipped in the bud right away... and in the midst of that, she finds a new path.
That path has many rivals, and standing out is not easy. Even so, together with her friends, she aims for a major debut as a “Sentai hero”!

Main Story
Opening
“Ah, geez, it's already this time... Eek!? W-what!?”
A woman in pajamas trying to get out of her bed is pulled by someone. From under the blanket, a woman wearing a skull mask and a full-body leotard appears and pounces on the woman in pajamas.
“Ha-ha-ha, my name is ‘Skull Lady’, and you're going to join my organization, sister!”
“N-no way—!!”
“Stop right there!”
“!”
A woman dressed in a light blue leotard and mask appears from the closet and raises her voice.
“EF Cyan!”
Next, a woman dressed in an orange leotard and mask enters from the door of the next room.
“EF Orange!”
Next, a woman dressed in a purple leotard and mask comes out from the hallway.
“EF Purple!”
Next, a woman dressed in a brown leotard and mask jumps out from the closet.
“EF Brown!”
Finally, a woman dressed in a gray leotard and mask jumps in from the balcony.
“EF Gray!”
The five women in leotards line up, with the light blue leotard in the center, and brown and gray to the right, and purple and orange to the left, though they are stumbling a bit. The light blue leotard raises her voice again.
“The five of us together!”
The five of them each strike a pose and raise their voices, slightly out of sync.
“‘Play Sentai Electronic Force!’”
“...Now, run away while you can!”
“Th-thank you...”
When the light blue leotard calls out, the woman in pajamas leaves the bedroom, looking confused.
“...Alright!”
Confirming that the woman in pajamas has left the bedroom, the five turn back to Skull Lady.
“...This isn't working.”
“Eh?”
The woman in the light blue leotard is confused by Skull Lady's words.
“Don't you think it's weird that you're doing this yourselves?”
“W-weird...?”
The five look at each other. Skull Lady sighs.
“Sigh... there are many things, but first of all, the color choice is weird!”
“Ehh!?”
“That's not something to be so surprised about! Having light blue as the center!”
“Oh, this is Cyan.”
“N-no... that's hard for children to understand, isn't it?”
“Is it? I think it's easy on the eyes...”
“That kind of consideration might be fine, but the others. Orange is one thing, but purple, brown, and gray is...”
“I thought I'd try to bring out some originality...”
Cyan holds the back of her head.
“There's a limit to originality with that combination!”
“It's what you call an accent!”
“It's the same even if you rephrase it. There's no point in combining only accents!”
“Ugh...”
Skull Lady holds her neck.
“...Are you motivated?”
“Oh, we are! Everyone is, right!”
Cyan asks Orange.
“Well, yeah...”
“That's not very convincing! Brown!?”
“I guess so~”
“That's vague! Gray!?”
“I guess I am.”
“That's the kind of thing that isn't! Purple!”
“...Fifty-fifty.”
“Fifty-fifty!?”
“Hey~ you guys haven't unified your intentions at all~”
Skull Lady sits on the bed.
“W-well, certainly...”
“For starters, lining up until you pose was a mess, and the timing of your shouts was all over the place, right? Have you practiced properly?”
“We did it for the first time yesterday!”
“Y-yesterday? Eh, how many years have you been formed?”
“Rather than how many years... it was the day before yesterday.”
“The day before yesterday!?”
Skull Lady stands up in surprise.
“Yes.”
“That won't work!”
“I-is that so?”
“Yeah, you won't be able to survive in this ‘era saturated with Sentai heroes’!”
“But we want to go from indie... minor to major!”
“I'm asked by kids like that, so I'm playing a pseudo-villain like this, and she's playing a pseudo-civilian... and she even lent us her room...”
Skull Lady looks toward the hallway. The woman in pajamas peeks into the bedroom and bows.
“Yes, I saw it on the internet and asked for it...”
“Anyway, the color selection is weird, and the poses and such are all over the place... and the biggest problem is...”
“The problem is?”
“What's with the activity time being Monday morning!?”
“Eh?”
“Usually it's Sunday, right!? Don't you know ‘Nichi-Asa’?”
“Yes, I know... but isn't that exactly the saturated state?”
“That's true, but...”
“That's why we thought we'd go in a slightly different direction... I thought it would be good if we could establish the term ‘Getsu-Asa’...”
“I don't think it will catch on.”
“I-is that so? Monday is the start of the week... I want everyone to spend their days with peace of mind!”
“Heh...”
“...That's the official reason, though...”
“Huh?”
“I'm a junior college student, Orange is...”
“I'm a vocational school student.”
“Purple?”
“I am a university student...”
“Brown?”
“I'm a freelancer.”
“Gray?”
“I'm employed, but I'm basically busy on weekends, so...”
“...So, this is the time slot when it's easiest for everyone to make it!”
“Don't be so sure! It really won't work! Why is such a group...?”
“Oh, you want to hear that? It's a long story, but...”
Cyan starts talking while remembering.

1
“Fighting games? We don’t have those here.”
“Huh?”
A girl with light blue pigtails suddenly lifts her cute face. The woman replies.
“I said our team doesn’t have a fighting game division.”
“Wait? Isn’t this one of the leading e-sports teams in Kyoto? I thought you had a fighting game division…”
“What year are you living in? It’s been dormant for three years and was abolished a year ago.”
“Whaaat!?”
“Hardly anyone plays fighting games these days.”
“N-no way…”
“Um, what was your name again?”
“It’s Rin Amatsu…”
“Oh, right, right. If you’re the Amatsu from Shiga, you’re somewhat famous. What was your nickname again?”
“It’s, uh, Tenshinrin…”
Rin answers, her face turning bright red.
“If it’s that embarrassing, you should just quit…”
“It was a youthful indiscretion, I suppose…”
“You’re still young.”
“It’s spread quite a bit, so I can’t really change it now…”
“Well, selling your name is what matters in this industry.”
“Yeah…”
“I don’t know much about fighting games, but aren’t you pretty famous in other genres too?”
“I was asked to be a ringer for various places during my middle and high school years…”
“I looked at your resume, and those are some pretty impressive results.”
“Thank you…”
“You’ve left great results in every genre… I can tell you’re a possessor of rare gaming sense.”
“I-I don’t really know about that myself…”
Rin twirls her pigtails. She’s blushing.
“So, I think I’ll have you play in a different division for our team♪”
“Huh…?”
“You’ll start as a reserve, but we’re strictly meritocratic, so depending on your performance in our weekly red-and-white matches, becoming a regular is not just a dream.”
“R-really?”
“Really.”
The woman nods. Rin opens her mouth timidly.
“…What game will I mainly be playing…?”
“‘Fortress Night’.”
“Oh, excuse me.”
Rin bows vigorously, packs her bags at high speed, and tries to leave the room.
“T-that was fast!?”
“I apologize for taking up your time.”
“N-no…”
“Unfortunately, it seems we weren’t meant to be…”
“T-that’s my line, if anything…!”
“Excuse me!”
Rin leaves the room, leaves the impressive building behind, takes the subway, and arrives at her apartment. When she opens her device, there is a message from the woman earlier.
(Did I make you mad? If so, I’m sorry.)
Rin, having calmed down a little, replies.
(No, I’m the one who should apologize. I just suddenly ran out.)
(What didn’t you like? My attitude?)
(No.)
(Then what was it?)
(That game…)
(Huh? You mean ‘Fortress Night’? It’s a TPS that’s popular all over the world now, you know?)
(I know. It’s a Third-Person Shooter, right? My high school friends made me play it all the time, like ‘Hirano Riot’ and such…)
(Ah~ so you’re the type who played it too much and got totally sick of it?)
(That’s not it.)
(Huh?)
(I don’t like the game format.)
(Excuse me?)
(Hiding in the shadows to snipe and such is just…)
(Ah…)
(Surely settling things with your fists is best, isn’t it!?)
(Ah… I see, that’s your way of thinking. Well, I guess it wasn’t meant to be…)
The woman’s messages stop there. Rin throws her device onto a cushion. While indignant, she starts up her computer. The words ‘Road Fighter VI’ dance on the screen. Rin operates it skillfully, goes to a place where other players are gathered, and fights everyone there one after another.
“There are so many players here… It’s impossible that the fighting game division was abolished!”
A message arrives from a player who is registered as a friend with Rin.
(What’s wrong? You’re more fired up than usual today.)
(Fighting games are the best, aren’t they!?)
(What are you saying now!)
Rin smiles. Messages arrive from gamers all over the world to Rin.
(Tenshinrin! Today is the last day you will reign at the top!)
(We’ll see about that!)
She mows down the strong opponents who challenged her—though it is just a game—and Rin at least feels relieved. Then, the intercom rings.
“~♪”
“Huh, all my moving boxes should have arrived already… Yes?”
“Package from Yamazon!”
“Huh? Did I buy something? …Yes.”
“Please sign or use your stamp!”
“……Yes, thank you for your hard work… I accepted it… It’s not big, what could it be? I’ll just open it.”
Perhaps because Rin was in a high-tension state, she opens the box. Inside was something like a game controller.
“What is this… It’s different from the Toystation 5 one or the ZBOX one… It’s not a Swing either… Which manufacturer is this? It even has a connector-like thing… Hmm?”
A message from an acquaintance had arrived on her device. It was from a high school senior. They wanted her to come immediately. Rin somehow shoved the controller parts into her bag and left the house again.
“Oh, Rin-chan~ you saved me~”
“A ringer, right?”
“Yes! Can you do it?”
The senior puts her hands together. Rin answers with a small sigh.
“…I can’t say no here, can I?”
“Thank you~♪”
“So?”
“It’s a 3-on-3 showdown, but one person is sick, and another had an urgent matter come up…”
“Huh? And the other person?”
“I’ve asked another acquaintance for that… Oh, over here, over here!”
When the senior calls out, a girl enters the room. She is a girl with orange medium-long hair and camouflage-patterned clothing that catches the eye. Because her hair is messy, it feels voluminous, and she looks taller because of it, but in reality, she doesn’t have much of a height difference from the average-height Rin—though there is a slight difference in style—. Rin stares at the girl. She thinks she is beautiful, but has a somewhat wild look to her, and just as she is thinking that, the girl opens her mouth.
“……What?”
“Oh, n-no, it’s nothing…!”
Rin bows her head. The senior laughs.
“Rin-chan, you don’t have to be so formal. You’re the same age.”
“Huh?”
Rin lifts her head and looks at the girl.
“Yes, this girl also just came to Kyoto this spring. That’s right, introduce yourselves to each other.”
“Y-yes… I’m Rin Amatsu. I came from Shiga. I’m a junior college student. Nice to meet you.”
“I’m Kagayaki Toyama. I’m from Wakayama. I’m attending a vocational school. Nice to meet you.”
Rin and Kagayaki bow to each other.
“Then, let’s get started right away♪”
Urged by the senior, Rin and Kagayaki sit in front of three lined-up computers. Rin asks.
“Senior, what’s the game?”
“It’s ‘Vertex Legends’.”
“Ah…”
Rin gives a bitter smile.
“Haha, Rin-chan, you hate FPS and TPS games, don’t you~”
“Hate is a strong word, it’s more like I can’t stand them…”
“……Why?”
Kagayaki asks, looking a bit annoyed.
“Eh… hiding in the shadows to snipe and such, it just feels so sneaky~”
“That tension is what makes it good, isn’t it?”
“Hmm… I still think settling things with your fists feels more refreshing…”
“Huh?”
“Rin-chan is basically a fighting game specialist.”
The senior adds.
“Ah, a fighting game person…”
“Hey, you just scoffed, didn’t you?”
“Ah, let’s stop that, you’ve chosen your characters, right? Let’s confirm each of your nicknames and characters. I’m ‘Ponpokota’, I’m a healer type, so leave the healing to me.”
“I’m ‘Tenshinrin’, I chose an attacker type…”
“I’m ‘Kirari’, I’m a sniper type…”
“Then, Tenshinrin-chan will be the vanguard, and Kirari-chan will be the rearguard, sound good~♪”
Rin is confused.
“That’s a rough instruction…”
“No problem… Do you need to be told everything from scratch?”
“Excuse me?”
Rin turns her gaze to Kagayaki.
“Yes, yes, it’s starting now, so let’s get along~♪”
The game begins. It is a battle royale game played by up to 90 players, where the battle takes place on a field that gradually narrows over time, and the rule is that the last remaining player and team wins.
“It started…”
“It’s the space station map~”
“Ponpokota-san, I’m going all out!”
“Ah, wait a second!”
“Whoa!?”
Rin’s character is bombarded and her HP hits zero in an instant.
“Haha…”
Beside the senior who is smiling bitterly, Rin is stunned.
“N-no way… just by stepping out a little?”
“At this level, even that is fatal… You’re too careless, Tenshinhan.”
“Tenshinrin!”
“Ah, I’ll heal you, so just wait a moment.”
In this game, if you use a healer’s ability or a recovery item, you can revive as many times as you want within the time limit. Rin’s character also revives.
“……Thank you.”
“You’re welcome~”
“The precision of the aim compared to high school is on a different level…”
“Pros are mixed in, it’s only natural.”
Kagayaki reacts to Rin’s mutter.
“Pros…”
“Amateurs should just quietly back off.”
“Hah!?”
“Let’s get along~”
The senior calms down Rin, who is raising her voice.
“Calling people amateurs… who do you think you are…”
“Just watch with your mouth shut.”
“Hah, let’s see what you can do…”
“Wait, we need to coordinate~”
“No problem.”
Kagayaki answers the senior, operates her character without hesitation, and climbs a skyscraper in the center of the stage.
“Oh, fast.”
“This stage has powerful items scattered in various places, and people get distracted by collecting them, but once you secure the bare minimum weapons, you should just climb to a high place like this.”
“You can see the surroundings~”
The senior nods, checking Kagayaki’s monitor.
“If you snipe from a high place…!”
“!”
“!!”
“!?”
“……Like this, there is no problem.”
“Amazing…”
Rin is honestly impressed. It’s easy to say, but it’s a tactic that would be impossible without solid sniping skills.
“Hmph, you understand enough to be impressed…”
Kagayaki looks at Rin out of the corner of her eye. Rin nods.
“Y-yeah…”
“Well, just watch, I’ll finish most of them with sniping… Huh!?”
“W-what’s wrong!?”
“N-no, the building is starting to collapse…”
“Ponpokota-san!”
Rin asks the senior for an explanation.
“This is… due to a fighter.”
“Fighters shouldn’t have had that much attack power!?”
“No, in a recent update, an item was added that increases power by five times within a certain period.”
“F-five times!?”
Rin is surprised.
“Well, the appearance rate is extremely low, it’s a super-rare item. Besides, when you use it, your defense value drops extremely low…”
“S-still… to be able to destroy map objects…”
“Fighters have decent defense as well as attack power, but their speed was a bit sluggish, so maybe it’s a relief measure.”
“Ugh, at this rate, I’ll be slammed to the ground…!”
“Wait, Kirari-chan! I’d like to say that, but the area around the skyscraper is a chaotic battle. We’ll likely be taken out before I can heal you…”
The senior tilts her head.
“Then!”
“Huh? Tenshinrin-chan, did you pick up a recovery item?”
“I didn’t!”
“Eh? What are you going to do?”
“I’ll silence that fighter!”
“Don’t be stupid, there’s no way you can do that…”
Kagayaki involuntarily gives a bitter smile.
“I can!”
“Ponpokota-san just said it! Other players are swarming in too! You’ll just get bombarded again!”
“That’s not necessarily true!”
Rin’s character moves smoothly and defeats other players. Kagayaki is surprised.
“What!?”
“This is… everyone is distracted by the massive release of items when the skyscraper collapsed. She’s taking advantage of that gap…”
“Even so… in this game where guns are the main armament, to focus on close-quarters combat…”
“This is her specialty♪”
The senior winks at Kagayaki. Rin raises her voice.
“I’ve reached the fighter!”
The fighter stops destroying the skyscraper and turns to face Rin’s character. The senior, who was peeking at Rin’s monitor, clicks her tongue.
“Tch, she noticed! You could have surprised her!”
“No problem!”
Rin makes her character throw away her gun. Kagayaki, who was watching it on her own monitor, is surprised again.
“! She threw away her gun!? Did she lose it!?”
“She made herself lighter! Haa!”
“!”
“Sei!”
“!!”
“Toh!”
“!?”
Taking a series of quick attacks from Rin’s character, the fighter collapses.
“I did it!”
“Wha…”
“That character also has plenty of actions—kicks, punches, etc.—when you can’t use a gun~”
“If I can use kicks and punches, this is nothing!”
Rin shows off her muscles.
“E-even so, it’s just too unconventional…”
Kagayaki mutters as if she can’t believe it.
“Pirori-san! I protected the skyscraper!”
“I-it’s Kirari! Hmph!”
With Kagayaki’s accurate shooting after regaining her stance and Rin’s quick attacks, the other player teams were defeated one after another, and in the end, it was Rin and her team’s victory.
“Yay~! Thank you, both of you♪”
The senior innocently hugs Rin and the others. Kagayaki stands up and approaches Rin.
“W-what…”
“……I’m sorry for acting like fighting games were stupid.”
“Huh?”
“If it weren’t for your actions, we would have lost…”
“N-no, in that case, I’m also… sorry for acting like FPS and TPS games were stupid…”
Rin bows her head. Kagayaki laughs.
“Hmph, the part about being sneaky is true in a sense…”
“But that was amazing, that accurate shooting! You changed the situation all by yourself!”
“Shooting is my way of life, after all…”
“I learned a lot today.”
Rin extends her right hand.
“……Same here.”
Kagayaki also extends her right hand, and the two shake hands firmly.
“Kagayacchi~”
“K-Kagayacchi!?”
Kagayaki is taken aback by Rin’s words.
“Are you in a team?”
“No, there are far more teams here than in Wakayama… I’m thinking of deciding after I look around a bit more…”
“I see…”
Rin looks down.
“There aren’t many fighting game teams, are there?”
“Y-you knew that?”
Rin lifts her head. Kagayaki taps her own temple with her finger.
“I’ve looked up at least that much…”
“R-right, usually people look it up properly before coming…”
Rin looks down again.
“If it’s a fighting game, you could just work individually.”
“No, I’ve always admired the idea of a team…”
“Why don’t you start your own team?”
“Ah! That’s an idea!”
Rin lifts her head again and nods repeatedly.
“Eek! A, monster!”
“Hmm!”
“Whaaat!?”
Where the senior pointed, there was a mantis monster and combatants dressed in green tights. Seeing that, Rin is surprised.
“Heh heh, humans, prepare yourselves!”
“Eek!”
Including the senior, the people on that floor run away as fast as they can.
“……”
“H-hey!? You run away too!”
Kagayaki pulls the hand of Rin, who is standing still.
“I can’t…”
“What are you saying!? Someone reported it earlier! The Sentai will be here soon! You can just leave it to them!”
“T-the elevator isn’t working!?”
“The emergency stairs are… blocked by the monsters!”
“Wha!?”
“Look, the people on this floor will be in danger before the Sentai people get here!”
“Even so, what are you going to do!”
“W-what should I do!?”
Kagayaki slumps at Rin’s words.
“That’s what I’m asking!”
“I’ll do something about it!”
“Don’t be stupid…!”
“No, it must be this!”
Rin takes the controller and connector out of her bag. Kagayaki is surprised.
“! T-that is…!?”
“It was sent to my house earlier!”
“What is that supposed to be!?”
“I don’t know! But somehow… if I do this…”
Rin attaches the connector to her waist.
“Hmm…”
“And if I do this…!”
She attaches the controller to the connector.
“O-oh…”
“And if I press this ‘START’ button…!”
Rin is enveloped in a dazzling light blue light. Kagayaki is surprised again.
“Whoa!?”
Rin covers her face with a light blue mask and her whole body is covered in light blue tights.
“W-what is this…!?”
Rin is confused by her own appearance.
“……It seems to be EF Cyan from Game Sentai Electronic Force.”
“! H-how do you know that, Kagayacchi!?”
“It was written in the manual.”
“T-the manual!?”
“Didn’t you check the box?”
Kagayaki also takes a controller and connector out of her own bag. Rin is surprised.
“T-that is…!?”
“It was sent to me just the other day… I’ve been carrying it around for some reason… I never thought I’d actually use it!”
“!”
Kagayaki skillfully attaches the connector, connects the controller, and presses the button.
“‘Control OK! Game Start!’”
“!!”
Kagayaki is enveloped in a dazzling orange light, and her face and body are covered with an orange mask and tights.
“I- EF Orange!”
Kagayaki strikes a pose, looking confused. Rin raises her voice.
“That pose is lame!”
“S-shut up! I’m just imitating what I saw on TV, so it can’t be helped!”
“But that’s unfair! I wanted to transform coolly too!”
“I don’t know!”
“M-Mantis Monster-sama!”
“Hmm?”
The combatant points at Cyan and Orange.
“The Sentai!”
“I-impossible! Even in the era of Sentai hero saturation, to think they’d be here! Eliminate them!”
“Yes!”
The combatants come toward Cyan and the others.
“K-Kagayacchi! The combatants are coming this way!”
“Don’t panic! Call me Orange!”
“Ah, you’re already totally into it…”
“W-why are you so calm!”
“I just couldn’t really get into it…”
Cyan scratches the back of her head.
“Prepare yourselves!”
“U-whoa!”
“Hmph!”
“Dwoah!”
Orange takes out a gun and strikes down the combatants one after another.
“I never thought I’d actually use a gun…”
“A-amazing…”
“Cyan, if you can’t get into it, I’ll take them!”
“Gwah!”
Orange finishes off all the combatants.
“Now, the rest is just you, Mantis Monster!”
“Who are you people!?”
“We are ‘Game Sentai Electronic Force’!”
“Never heard of you!”
“No need to remember! Because you’ll be defeated here!”
“Hmph!”
“!?”
“……What’s wrong?”
“S-she cut the bullet…”
“It seems you’re a rookie… not knowing the strength of a monster…”
“Damn it!”
“It’s useless!”
The Mantis Monster cuts down the bullets fired by Orange again.
“Tch!”
“Orange, keep shooting!”
“! O-okay!”
“It’s the same no matter how many times you do it!”
“We’ll see about that!”
Cyan gets inside the Mantis Monster’s guard. She took advantage of the opening created by the wide swing against the bullets.
“! I-…”
“‘Strong Punch’!”
“Guh!”
The Mantis Monster is blown away and stops moving.
“My fighting game experience paid off… I’ve decided! I’m going to be a Sentai hero! Orange too!”
“Huh!?”
Orange is bewildered by Cyan’s declaration.