A translated transcript of the Digimon Frontier stage reading “Another Mysterious Message! Who’s the Culprit?!” (謎のメール再び！犯人は誰だ！) read off by the main cast’s voice actors at the DigiFes 2022 night show, at the Tachikawa Stage Garden on July 30, 2022.
(Frontier episode recap music)
Takuya: It’s been two years since we went to the Digimon world and finished things with Lucemon. And I, Takuya Kanbara, am now a middle-schooler. And just a while after I’d entered middle school…
(phone ring)
Takuya: …I got a message from an unknown sender on my cell phone. It told me to take the 5:45 PM train to Shibuya Station and head for that elevator…
Takuya: Another Mysterious Message! Who’s the Culprit?!
Takuya: It was somewhere around here, right?…I think I turn right here, and…it’s gone. It’s gone?! It’s gone! The elevator’s…gone?!
Izumi: Takuya!
Tomoki: Long time no see, Takuya-oniichan!
Takuya: H-Huh? Izumi! And Tomoki! W-What’re you guys doing here?
Izumi: I was gonna ask you that! What are you doing here, flailing around like that?
Takuya: Huh? Oh. Was I flailing around that much?
Tomoki: Yeah! You were flailing around a lot!
Takuya: Eh heh…that much, huh?
Izumi: So? What were you doing?
Takuya: A-Aaaaah, right! Look! The elevator leading to the terminal, it’s…
Izumi: …gone!
Tomoki: Oh! It’s a soba1 shop now! Hm, I wonder what happened…
Takuya: …aaaaaah, I see now. So that’s how it is.
Izumi: What do you mean, “that’s how it is”?
Tomoki: What’s that mean?
Takuya: You guys sent that message, didn’t you? You wanted me to come down and see the soba shop and give me a shock, huh?
Tomoki: No! We’re here because we got a message telling us to come!
Takuya: Huh?
Izumi: I was pretty sure you guys had sent the message, but I guess not.
Takuya: Oh, huh…So then, I wonder who…
Izumi: Oh, Takuya, you haven’t changed your phone either, huh?
Takuya: Ah. Hahaha. Well, I know it’s not a Digivice anymore, but I didn’t have it in me to replace it. But it’s been a whole two years, I guess…
Junpei: Hey, guys!
Takuya: (gasp) Kouji! Junpei!
Kouji: I see you’re all the same as ever.
Takuya: Long time no see!! How’ve you guys been doing?
Junpei: Well, I’m already a second-year, so I can’t say much for myself, but you guys just started middle school, so I imagine you’re going through a lot, right?
Kouji: So? Takuya, were you actually able to graduate?
Takuya: Hey — wait! Of course I did! Shut up!
Kouji: (laughs) I’m joking. Don’t get so worked up about it.
Junpei: Graduation, huh…An important landmark in your lives…
Izumi: Oh! Speaking of graduation! Look at this!
Everyone: Hmm?
Tomoki: Is that a photo of your graduation?
Izumi: It is!
Takuya: You’re wearing…
Everyone: A waistband?!2
Izumi: So on my graduation day, a kid one year younger than me called me over to talk. I totally thought he was gonna confess to me! But then…(imitating boy’s voice) “Izumi-senpai, you’ve always got your stomach exposed, and I thought you might get cold, so please use this.” …(back to normal voice) and he gave me a waistband as a present!
Junpei: So you’re wearing a waistband? Like Bokomon?
Tomoki: Yeah, that’s true, Izumi-san always has her stomach exposed.
Izumi: Kinda hard to tell what he meant by that, right? Was he being nice, or is he just really sensitive to the cold?
Junpei: (softly) I guess a confession won’t get through to her if you do it too indirectly…
Kouji: What about you, Tomoki? Has anything changed for you?
Tomoki: I…am now two years older!
Kouji: I see. Well, we all are, though…
Tomoki: So from now on, I won’t be calling Takuya “Takuya-oniichan” anymore, but “Takuya-niichan”!3 Sounds good, right?
Takuya: Sure! Whatever you like, I mean.
Tomoki: Yeah! I’m as mature as you guys now!
Junpei: Wait, Tomoki, has anything happened?
Izumi: Well, he’s mature now!
Takuya: Hey. Hey, hey, hey, hey. Junpei, were you the one to gather us all here? Or was it you, Kouji?
Kouji and Junpei: Huh?
Junpei: Wait, you guys weren’t behind that message?
Takuya, Izumi, Tomoki: …?
Kouji: Apparently not?
Izumi: So if it wasn’t Junpei or Kouji…
Takuya: …the culprit must be Kouichi!
Tomoki: Hmm…But then, why would Kouichi need to send us an anonymous message and gather us all here?
Junpei: Yeah, you’re right. There’s no need for him to send it anonymously like that.
Izumi: Maybe he’s throwing a surprise party!
Kouji: Kouichi? No way, he wouldn’t.
Izumi: Well, that’s true, he’s not the type of person to do that kind of thing.
Takuya: I got it! See, it’s like this!
(menacing music)
Takuya: Somehow or another, Kouichi managed to get his hands on a secret file from an evil organization. The evil organization learned of their information leakage and came to kill him, and Kouichi ended up trying to escape attempts on his life again and again, going through gun shootouts and car chases, escaping exploding buildings, and finally trying to get in touch with us without leaving traces behind! And as a result, we have this mysterious message!
Others: …Really?
Takuya: So I bet if we decode this message, we’ll find a hidden —
Kouji: No.
Takuya: Ahem! Why?!
Izumi: First of all, how would he even find a secret file?
Junpei: Which evil organization are we even talking about?
Tomoki: Takuya-niichan, that theory is way too much of a reach…
Takuya: Hey! You too, Tomoki?! Wait, wait, you too?! I mean, okay, maybe it’s a reach, but someone here’s gotta agree with me!
Kouji: Anyway, Kouichi came to school today as usual.
Takuya: Huh? Really?
Kouji: And on top of that, he should be having tea with his girlfriend right now.
Others: Whaaaaaat?!
Junpei: Kouichi’s got a g-g-g-girlfriend?!
Izumi: Bravo! Good on him!
Tomoki: Oh, oh, oh! What kind of girl is she? Do you know her, Kouji-san?
Kouji: In fact…I do.
Others: Whaaaaaat?!
Junpei: How do you know her? Did he introduce you?
Kouji: Well, one week ago, this happened…
(romantic music)
Kouji: As I’m sure you all know, Kouichi and I go to the same middle school. I heard someone wanted me to meet them near the school building. I figured someone must have some kind of beef with me, but contrary to my expectations, it was…a girl.
Izumi: That way you just said “girl”…what year is it again?
Takuya: Well, he’s a full-fledged middle schooler now, that’s normal.
Tomoki: R-Really…?
Junpei: So what was the girl there for?
Kouji: She started confessing her love to me. She started telling me everything that was good about me and everything she liked about me, and then after rambling on and on for an eternity, she finally said it clearly: “I like you.”
Takuya: Tch. Wow, you’re showing off.
Junpei: This isn’t even remotely relevant to what you were saying to Takuya earlier!
Izumi: Well, that’s just great for you, isn’t it?
Kouji: Wait, there’s more.
Others: Huh?
Kouji: Once she’d confessed, I was trying to figure out how I should turn her down, but then she added this. (imitating girl’s voice) “I like you! Please go out with me…Kouichi-san!”
Others: …
Tomoki: So in other words…
Izumi: She mistook Kouji for Kouichi and confessed to him?!
Junpei: Well, they say that’s a common twin thing.
Takuya: Why, you…you didn’t end up pretending to be Kouichi and going out with her, did you?!
Kouji: Why would anyone do that?
Junpei: I mean, I would if I were you.
Izumi: You can’t do that, come on.
Takuya: So then, what’d you do?!
Kouji: I did what I had to. I didn’t know how Kouichi would feel about the confession, so I tried not to say anything conclusive and set up a time for us to meet again.
Izumi: So you set up a date!
Kouji: After that, I told Kouichi about what happened and left the rest to him. He should be meeting with her right now.
Tomoki: So that’s what you meant about having tea with her!
Kouichi: Hey, Kouji! What the hell did you do?!
Takuya: Kouichi!
Tomoki: Uh, he seems kinda…upset.
Junpei: Oh, Kouichi, you look like you’re doing well.
Izumi: Very healthy!
Kouichi: Hey, guys, long time no see!…but enough about that! Kouji! What kinds of ideas did you put into her head?!
Kouji: I mean…it was just like I told you earlier.
Kouichi: Okay, but why’d she act like we were already dating somehow and bring both of her parents along?! She was pushing me like we were about to set up a marriage or something! I was just going to turn her down, but then she was crying, and her mom was mad, and her dad was laughing at me, and I was just apologizing from start to finish!!
Takuya: Sounds like you got caught up in something kinda messy…
Junpei: Really? I feel like Kouji knew a little too much about what he was doing…
Izumi: It’s just a misunderstanding, right?
Kouji: Yeah! I just didn’t want to cause too much trouble, so I stalled things for a bit and set up a meeting on his behalf, that’s all!
Kouichi: What did you tell her?
Kouji: Huh?
Kouichi: I’m asking, what did you tell her? Say what you said, word for word, without beating around the bush!
Kouji: …Oh.
Kouichi: Start with the part where you tried to stall. Come on.
Kouji: …For.
Others: For?
Kouji: “For the sake of our future, I can’t give you an answer right away. But I promise you this. If we converse with each other thoroughly and deeply, I’m sure something wonderful will happen.”
Kouichi: How did you not realize that would end badly?!
Kouji: I was just trying to stall…
Izumi: Liar.
Takuya: Yep, you’re a liar.
Tomoki: No doubt about it, he knew what he was doing.
Izumi: But hey, they’re a lot more like real brothers than they were back when we were in the Digital World, aren’t they?
Takuya: Hahaha. Yeah, I guess you’re right.
Junpei: So then, when you set up the date, what’d you say?
Kouji: …For.
Others: For?
Kouji: “For the sake of our future…won’t you come and meet me again? I want to treat you right. Let’s find a place where nobody will interrupt us, and talk about what we’ll do next. One week from now, at Shibuya…”
Kouichi: If you say it like that, that’s just asking for her to take it the wrong way!! What the hell was that about a “future”?!
Tomoki: Yeah…
Takuya: It’s a twin thing…
Junpei: It’s a twin thing…
Izumi: No. This is a Kouichi and Kouji thing.
Takuya: Yeah, you’re right.
Kouichi: Listen up. I’m not letting you off the hook for this.
Kouji: I just did this out of the kindness of my heart! You don’t have to treat me like that.
Kouichi: Oh, so what if I did the same to you, huh? I’ll pretend to be you and go out and confess to all the girls one after another until you’re swarmed with them!
Kouji: Hey, Kouichi, don’t forget! I look like you, so I could do that back to you if I wanted!
Kouichi: Which means there’s always a possibility I could pretend to be you and do whatever I want, don’t forget that!
Kouji: And that means I could pretend to be you too! I could pretend to be you and take your tests so all of them will come back with failing grades!
Kouichi: Then I could pretend to be you, get a job at some huge company, make a ton of money, blow all of it on stocks and horse racing4, splurging all I want, and make you responsible for all the taxes!
Kouji: Then I’ll file a charge with all the proof you’re impersonating me, accusing you of 30% more on top of that!
Tomoki: 30% more…
Kouji: Kouichiiiiiii!!
Kouichi: Koujiiiiiiiiiii!!
Takuya: Okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, both of you, could you put a lid on it?!
Kouichi and Kouji: (grumble)
Takuya: Kouji, are you still trying to pick a fight with everyone like this?!
Junpei: This went all the way from “a mess” to “total chaos”, in too many ways…
Tomoki: Must be hard being a twin.
Takuya: (sigh)
(beat)
Takuya: So that means it wasn’t Kouichi either, I guess?
Kouji: You mean the mysterious message?
Kouichi: Oh, that? Yeah, I came after I got this message from an unknown sender.
Tomoki: Wait, what? That means none of us sent it, that doesn’t make sense!
Kouichi: Yeah, you’re right…
Everyone: Hmmmmmmmm…
Junpei: Oh! Oh, I’ve got it.
Izumi: What did you get?
Junpei: Well, let’s consider the situation. Is there anyone else who knows about us and Ophanimon’s message?
Izumi: Someone else who knows about us…
Tomoki: Probably just my friend Katsuharu or so, but…Katsuharu doesn’t have everyone’s texting addresses.5
Takuya: Yeah, and we haven’t even met him since then. I don’t even remember having any conversation with him by text or something.
Tomoki: So there shouldn’t be anyone else, but…
Junpei: Exactly! There shouldn’t be anyone else. Which means…
Others: …?
Junpei: One of us has to be lying!
Others: Huh?
(mystery music)
Junpei: There it is! We’re about to uncover the truth behind this case! Hah! I, Great Detective Junpei Shibayama, shall uncover every mystery!
Takuya: Who the hell do you think you are?!
Izumi: When’d you become a “great detective”?
Junpei: Don’t worry about it! Anyway, it’s time for Great Detective Junpei Shibayama’s Case Files: Season 3! Hear, hear!
Takuya: How long has it been since I’ve heard that “hear, hear”…
Kouji: Season 3…
Kouichi: When did you find the time to solve enough cases for that…
Tomoki: Things are starting to feel a little shady around here…
Junpei: To all of you suspects! My gratitude to you for taking the time out of your busy lives to gather here. Let’s take this from the top. Among the people here, the liar must be…
Others: Must be…?
(beat)
Junpei: Hmm. Kouichi and Kouji! Both of you!
(spotlight on Kouichi and Kouji)
Others: Whaaaaaat?!
(triumphant music)
Junpei: The key to this case is that Kouichi and Kouji are twins. Both of them conspired to make use of their identical appearances, allowing them to look as if they’re appearing in places they shouldn’t be able to. It’s a trick that allows one twin to create an alibi for the other!
Takuya: W-Whoa! Really?!
Junpei: The details are such. First, Kouichi pretended to be Kouji and met up with the girl near the school building, pretending to accept her confession and promising to meet up with her again at Shibuya Station!
Takuya: What?! Why, you…you two really did that?!
Kouji: Uh, actually, if we’d switched like that, she wouldn’t have have been making a mistake in the first place, right?
Kouichi: And then I’d have just turned her down immediately, and we wouldn’t have gotten into this mess…
Junpei: But contrary to their expectations, once they’d reached the appointed time and location, the girl brought both her parents along, meaning now there were more witnesses. That wouldn’t initially seem like a problem, but neither of the twins must have realized that this would be what resulted in their plan being exposed…
Kouichi: No, seriously, what kind of case do you think this is?!
Junpei: With Kouichi still pretending to be Kouji, they seduced the girl with sweet words while sending us the mysterious message! And so, the “Kouichi” in front of us is actually Kouji, and “Kouji” is Kouichi! In other words, the culprits behind this message are none other than…both of you! Right?
Kouji: Uh, no.
(music stops)
Kouichi: We may look alike, but our voices are totally different. You’d be able to tell right away.
Tomoki: And if it was just to get out of that, there wouldn’t be any reason to switch places or hide or send a secret message.
Izumi: They wouldn’t need an alibi, either.
Takuya: When you put it that way, yeah, you’re right.
Junpei: Grr. I thought it was some perfectly sound reasoning.
Takuya: (sigh) Man, you just came up with some half-baked nonsense there.
Junpei: Hey! I’d like to see your reasoning, then!
Takuya: Sure, why not? I’ll show you my amazing reasoning skills!
Tomoki: (gasp) Takuya-niichan, you’re capable of reasoning?
Izumi: Oh, I’m not getting a good feeling from this at all…
Takuya: (deep breath) The culprit of this mysterious message case is…Izumi! It’s you!
(spotlight on Izumi)
Izumi: Huh? Me?!
(triumphant music)
Takuya: Our current case goes all the way back to the incident with Izumi’s waistband graduation gift. Izumi found that the hand-knitted waistband gift was so comfortable that she could never bring herself to take it off! Deciding that the whole country should wear waistbands, she formulated a plan to make waistbands a trend among young women across the population. In order to execute this brilliant plan, she called us over with this anonymous message!
Junpei: Putting the part about not being able to take the waistband off aside, why would she need to send us an anonymous message?
(music stops)
Takuya: To teach us how to knit a waistband~!
Kouji: (sigh) Okay, yep, forget it.
Kouichi: Next.
Takuya: Wait. Wait! Come on! You don’t have to say it like that!
Izumi: Well, it’d be nice if waistbands got popular…?
Tomoki: Heehee! All right, time for me to try some reasoning!
Junpei: All right, go for it!
Tomoki: The culprit is…
Others: …
Tomoki: Junpei-san!
(spotlight on Junpei)
Junpei: …Huh? Why me?!
(triumphant music)
Tomoki: (clears throat) Well, you see, this is a locked room mystery!
Takuya: A…locked room?
Tomoki: Yes. It’s a mystery in which everyone is securely locked inside, and there’s no evidence of anyone interfering from the outside. And yet, someone was able to send an anonymous message. And you, Junpei-san, are the only one who could have done such a thing!
Junpei: Like I said, why me?!
Tomoki: The culprit used the power of electricity to charge his phone, and used the power of radio signals to send us all messages. Now doesn’t that sound exactly like something you, who possesses Blitzmon’s Spirit of Electricity, could do?
Takuya: Makes sense! You’re related to electricity, after all! We’re on the right track!
(music stops)
Junpei: It’s the Spirit of Lightning, not Electricity! Also, anyone can charge a phone and use signal!
Tomoki: Oh, right.
Junpei: Don’t give me that “oh, right”!
Kouji: Look, none of this waistband stuff or alibi stuff has anything to do with the anonymous message! Doesn’t anyone here have a theory they’ve actually thought through?!
Izumi: Okay~! Leave it to me!
Kouji: …Izumi’s going to be doing the reasoning?
Kouichi: I mean, she does seem like she’d do the best job out of all of us…
Takuya: If you shoot a million times, you’ll have to hit something! Go for it, Izumi!
Izumi: Unlike Takuya, I’ve thought this through very deeply! (clears throat) And so, the culprit is…Tomoki!
(spotlight on Tomoki)
Tomoki: …No, I’m not.
(triumphant music)
Izumi: You see, the core mystery in all of this is: why is the message anonymous? If we assume Tomoki is the culprit, everything lines up!
Takuya: Really?!
Izumi: Yes! And so, the message is anonymous because…
Takuya: Because?!
Izumi: Tomoki is shy!
Kouji: …Shy?
Izumi: Yes, as in prone to embarrassment!6
Tomoki: Um, I’m not easily embarrassed.
Izumi: Tomoki was starting to feel like he wanted to see everyone after such a long time, but he was too embarrassed to tell all of us directly, because he’s shy! Then, he came up with the idea to send all of us an anonymous message and get us all to meet up! Just because he’s shy!
Kouji: Well, it may seem ridiculous at first…
Kouichi: …but she might be the closest to the truth out of all of us.
Takuya: Come on, Tomoki…if you’d just told us, we’d have come running right away…
Tomoki: I’m telling you, it’s not me!
Izumi: And because he’s shy, he figured that we’d come if he pretended to be Ophanimon and sent out a message, so he copied what she sent us before! Right? It’s you, isn’t it, my dear bambino?
Tomoki: Izumi-san, you are falsely accusing me. So in other words, the culprit is actually you!
Izumi: No, I’m not!
Takuya: Okay, but then who’s actually the culprit?!
Kouji: That’s it! The culprit is you, Takuya!
Takuya: Why?!
Kouichi: You’ve been standing there pretending to lead the conversation, but you’ve been looking away with a shady look on your face.
Kouji: Takuya…you have a second personality, don’t you? Or you sent that anonymous message unconsciously. We’ve got you now! Give it up and show your true self!
Takuya: Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait! Look, I don’t know a thing about how to send anonymous messages!
Tomoki: Yeah, how would he be able to send it anonymously?
Junpei: Aaaaaargh! I surrender!
(music stops)
Junpei: Can’t the culprit just identify themself already?! If you do, I’ll give you chocolate!
Izumi: You don’t know, so you’re trying to bribe them?!
Kouichi: Pretty poor excuse for a “great detective” there…
Takuya: Gaaaaaaaaaah, why?! Unless we get a clear answer to this, it’s gonna bother me so much I won’t be able to sleep at night! What are we supposed to do now?
Kouji: Yeah, I agree…
Kouichi: I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep on this either…
Takuya: Hey! Culprit! Hurry up! Culprit! Come on and just admit it!
Everyone: …
Takuya: (sigh) I’ve said all I can, but if the culprit still isn’t gonna confess…
Tomoki: I guess that means…none of us are the culprit?
Junpei: So this case will have to stay unsolved…
Takuya: (crying) You’ve gotta be kidding me…
(silence)
Izumi: But…
Others: But?
Izumi: I’ve been having fun.
Others: Huh?
Izumi: I got to see all of your faces after all this time, and I got to talk with all of you again, so I think it’s all been for the best.
Others: …
Kouji: …Yeah. You’re right, Izumi.
Tomoki: I agree!
Junpei: Who cares if it’s a mystery?
Takuya: Heh. Y’know, I’m starving. We came all the way here, so why don’t we eat at the soba shop over there?
Others: (laugh) Yeah!
Takuya: We’re all in agreement. Let’s go!
(shop door opens)
Shop worker: Welcome!
(phones ringing)
Kouichi: Oh, I got a message…
Takuya: Ah…My phone is…shining…
(“an Endless tale” begins playing)
Tomoki: This glow is…
Izumi: It’s kinda familiar…
Junpei: It’s like the glow of the Digivice…
Takuya: (laughs) Now I get it. You guys were the culprits, weren’t you? Agnimon…
Agnimon: Takuya. It’s been a while. Looks like you’ve been doing well over there.
Wolfmon: Kouji. Sorry for confusing you all so much. In order to ensure you all received this message, we had to get you to gather at Shibuya, from where you initially departed for the Digital World.
Fairimon: Izumi. That waistband suited you very well. It’s so lovely, I’ll make it a new fashion trend here in the Digital World, too.
Chackmon: It’s been two years, but it seems like you’ve grown up a lot, Tomoki. Playtime’s important too, but be sure to work hard at your studies.
Blitzmon: The Digital World is like a completely new place. If you could see it, you’d be so surprised. Junpei! Everyone! Let us all meet again someday!
Löwemon: Kouichi. As long as you all still have the Spirits within your hearts, we’ll be able to see you again.
Agnimon: So until then…
All: Be well!
For you, for me
What can we do?
Guided by something invisible to us
Once again, we were able
to chance upon each other
With a promise that transcended time
Our feelings are clear (that’s right)
to our unchanging smiles
An endless tale
has chosen you as its protagonist
Its many encounters and farewells
are guideposts (guideposts) for us
Translator's notes
- Soba = Buckwheat noodles used in a variety of dishes. A stop-and-go soba shop at a train station isn’t particularly unusual. [↩]
- A haramaki is a waistband worn over the stomach to keep it warm. Of course, Frontier fans will recognize it as Bokomon and Patamon’s iconic accessory. [↩]
- The “o-” in “onii-chan” (“older brother”) is a respectful prefix, so Tomoki’s trying to imply that by dropping it, he’s become a little more assertive and casual, despite the fact that even calling him “nii-chan” is still clingy and affectionate. [↩]
- The horse racing is likely a reference to the fact that the scriptwriter for this reading, Akatsuki Yamatoya (who also served as a regular episode scriptwriter for Frontier), is well-known for being a racehorse owner. Yamatoya is often known for sneaking horce racing jokes into his writing work as a result. [↩]
- In Japan, text messaging is done via special carrier-provided email addresses instead of phone numbers. [↩]
- Izumi uses the English word “shy” to refer to Tomoki, which, while not completely obscure in Japanese, isn’t as frequently used as native Japanese words for the same thing. In other words, Izumi is really just trying to show off. [↩]