Do you know about the blackest painting in the world?
Mister,
Are you looking for something?
Hm,
We don't normally
get unannounced visitors,
This is pretty rare,
If you're looking for something, let me know,
You know how it is,
I'm gathering information on an art piece,
I wanted to see the real thing rather than a picture,
Information for what? A TV program or something?
For manga,
Oh,,,
Manga, I see!
You're a mangaka,
And are you famous?
I don't know,
I saw my autograph in the corner,
Though I don't remember signing it,
No way,
Well then, if it's just for drawing in a manga, a replica should do the job,
We're honest, We sell replicas as replicas,
This rice bowl is a replica from the Momoyama period,
-It's very well made, -Hey!
I think even a mangaka can afford it,
-Hey, stop! -When it's in a manga drawing
you can't tell if it's real or fake, you know?
Hey, stop that!
This is Rohan Kishibe!
-What? -The famous,,,
-What's with Kishibe? -Are you saying that
I, Rohan Kishibe, cannot differentiate by drawing
real ones from fake ones?
Hm?
If I were to draw that rice bowl
and if an expert were to see that drawing
they would be able to tell that it's a fake, but not because I drew it like a fake,
I would draw the actual color I saw, the shape, the texture
the weight, and,,,
the sound,
I would draw it as it is, the reality of everything that I feel,
What a manga needs is that reality,
I don't just want an art piece,
I'm looking for the reality exuded by an art piece,
Okay,
We,,, we have a real thing in the back,
One more thing, I'd also like to know about
a business to sell stolen artworks,
What?
A fence,
In other words,,,
you, Let me interview you,
How do you,,, know,,,
I don't have the slightest idea what you're talking about,
We don't do interviews here,
-We'll escort him out, -Eh?
-Heaven's Door, -Ugh,
I'm opening the door to your mind,
What the,,,
You see,
This is the power I was given,
I can turn people's mind and memories into a book and read them,
All memories of a person are engraved in a human body,
It has indelible memories, which even that person has forgotten,
These memories cannot be obtained through an interview,
100% reality,
That very reality is the energy that puts life into a work
and makes it the ultimate entertainment,
I'm not the police,
But,,,
Handle all works with the utmost respect,
One can never defy an order that's been written in their book,
And I mean manga too,
Rohan at the Louvre
I'm Izumi from Shumeisha Publishers, We spoke earlier,
Thank you for allowing us to do our research here,
Thank you for your business card,
Sorry for the wait,
We're finished with the registration,
I didn't realize that participating in an auction is this easy,
Just participating is free of charge,
That was also a surprise for me,
I thought only rich people can take part in these things,
So I was thinking about wearing something more dressy
but I didn't because it's work,
It's fine that you didn't,
When I mentioned research for manga
they didn't really give me a great reaction,
But then when I mentioned Pink Dark Boy, they agreed right away!
-Your reputation precedes you! -You mentioned my name?
Please have three autographs ready for later,
You can't give away my autographs every time we do research,
My autographs aren't tissues,
I know that,
But you need to research on art for the new release, right?
You said yourself that you wanted to see an auction personally,
Okay, okay,
Thank you! Oh, this,,,
I received this at the registration, It's a bidding pedal,
You're suppose to raise it like this, “Pop!” if you see something you want to bid on,
Paddle,
Hm?
A bidding paddle,
What's with the sound effect?
Right, Sure,
Are you looking to buy something?
I might as well experience the whole thing, There's also a painting I'm interested in,
Hm?
So black!
Noire,
That means black, right?
Such a mysterious painting,
Painted by Maurice Legrand from France,
Is he famous?
Not so much, but,,,
It's just something that I remembered,
I guess it's natural that we don't see super famous ones,
Something like a Van Gogh or a Da Vinci,
-That would be big news, -Totally,
You know what I've been thinking?
I think you look a little bit like Mona Lisa,
Izumi, how about you go home already?
No way, I want to upload
your research diary on your website
to time it with the release of the manga,
So you just do your research as usual,
And I'll handle the coverage for you,
I'm going with something like “Rohan Kishibe infiltrates an auction!”
I'm sure the readers will love it,
750 000 yen,
The winner for this item is No, 5
for 750 000 yen,
-Excuse me, -Thank you,
Next up is Lot Number 124,
Another piece from Futa Fujii,
Let's start with 300 000 yen, higher than the highest estimate,
I see 300 000 yen by No, 5,
I see 320 000 yen by No, 29,
It's 320 000 yen now,
We have a bid of 340 000 yen from a telephone bidder,
340 000 yen, 360 000 yen,
The atmosphere makes me want to bid,
400 000 yen coming in by telephone,
420 000 yen from No, 29,
The current price is 420 000 yen,
420 000 yen,
If there are no other bids, No, 29 is the winner
for 420 000 yen!
Thank you,
-Next up is Lot Number 125, -That's the one you're after,
A piece by Maurice Legrand,
We start the bidding from 200 000 yen,
200 000 yen from No, 17,
I see 210 000 yen from No, 9,
210 000 yen, 210 000 yen,
No, 17 for 220 000 yen,
220 000 yen, 230 000 yen,
230 000 yen from No, 9,
-Man,,, -230 000 yen,
230 000 yen,
We get 240 000 yen from No, 17,
250 000 yen from No, 9,
250 000 yen, 260 000 yen, 270 000 yen,
The current bid is 270 000 yen by No, 9,
280 000 yen from No, 17,
That guy is so competitive,
300 000 yen, 320 000 yen,
-So annoying! -Hey,
Sorry,
-340 000 yen from No, 17, -500 000 yen,
What, that's sneaky,
-500 000 yen,,, -1 million yen,
1 million yen,
I have 1 million yen from No, 17,
1,1 million yen,
1,1 million yen coming from No, 9,
1,5 million yen,
I have 1,5 million yen from No, 17,
Please don't outbid anymore,
1,5 million yen,
If there are no other bids, No, 17 is the winner
for 1,5 million yen,
I was so worried how high it was going to go,
You know you really like to beat people sometimes,
You did outbid too,
The staff there told me,
Since the painter has died
the value went up a bit
but they didn't think it would be 1,5 million,
I didn't buy it for investment, I simply wanted it,
What's so interesting about this painting?
Rather than the painting itself
I'm more interested in the color,
As in,,, it's basically black,
That's exactly why,
What's going on here?
It's pigment, It's what becomes paint,
Paint? All of these?
I see,
That's amazing,
Wow,
This looks like a thin rice cracker,
Care to eat it?
It was originally cochineal insects just so you know,
This used to be insects?
You crush them, boil them, and use cotton to absorb the pigment,
Gross,
It was commonly used in the Edo period
but it's no longer made,
I see,
It's surprising you managed to find it,
I happened to find it at an antique shop,
That's why it's all dried up!
So cool!
-This is gamboge, -Gamboge?
Oh! This is so beautiful,
Nice,
It's interesting,
It's a wonder how trees and insects can create these colors,
Don't you think it'd be fascinating to draw colored drafts with these?
I'm looking into the compatibility between these and manuscript paper,
I see,
That's why you have so many kinds of these,
You mentioned you're intrigued by the color of this painting,
Black pigment comes from,,,
-Squid? -Squid creates sepia color,
-I see, -Black mostly comes from
charcoal or soot from burning something,
This painter, Maurice Legrand
also tried using all kinds, including Japanese calligraphy ink,
But this isn't what I expected,
What do you mean?
Izumi,
Have you ever seen the blackest color in the world?
The blackest,,,
I would think
calligraphy ink?
You know, notebooks with a black background are in right now,
I have one, and it's so cute!
See? Isn't this pretty black?
Wha,,, it's very black!
Seriously?
It's so black that I can't see its feathers, like a black hole,
It's a kind of bird of paradise,
Their feathers almost completely absorb light,
They don't reflect light, so they're not visible, In person, they're even blacker,
This is the blackest color in the world,
No,
I'm sure that there is an even blacker color
that can never exist in this world,
There's also a black painting made with that color,
The painter's name is Nizaemon Yamamura, About 250 years ago,,,
Yamamura,,,
Nizaemon Yamamura,,,
I'm not getting any hits from search,
No point, There are no records of his name or paintings,
So it's like an urban legend,
Yeah, which is why I didn't think of it anymore,
Someone told you about him?
-I don't remember, -Huh?
Could it be,,,
Has this guy followed me home for that painting?
Izumi!
-What happened? -The painting's been stolen!
Some man suddenly barged in,,,
Ouch,,,
What?
It's not here,
You got it back!
Sort of, It was left behind,
The back paper has been torn off,
This is awful,
There's some writing here,
“At the Louvre I saw the black,”
Hm? “Remorse,”
Are you sure we don't need to call the police?
It'd be troublesome if we called,
I wonder what that “remorse” was about,
It's a shame that the painter's dead,
“The black at the Louvre,”
Could it be that
it has something to do with the blackest painting in the world you mentioned earlier?
I know where we're going for research next,
The Louvre,
You mean,,, the one in Paris?
Is there any other Louvre?
The Louvre Museum,
Not a chance,
There's something wrong with that guy, Rohan Kishibe,
I'm out,
No, this is it!
What?
Right, there was nothing on the back of the painting,
What is this,,,
Paris, huh?
That summer, when I just made my debut
I was staying at my grandmother's to focus on drawing,
That year, my grandfather passed away,
My grandmother decided to rent out each room of this old inn,
She sold everything except for any necessities as if she didn't care,
Mr, Kawadori,
I don't want the wall scroll in the other room either,
Okay!
There were some antique dealers popping in, but there were many rooms
and the spacious building was so quiet,
It would've been an environment where
I could focus on drawing until,,,
-I'm home, -Welcome back,
Sorry, wrong room!
No,
It's Grandma's fault,
It's so hard to distinguish,
The difference between male and female baths is the hair style?!
She was the first renter of this place,
I told Grandma that no one would rent it for the location being so inconvenient,
Grandma laughed dismissively,
Her name is
Nanase,
Is it me that you're looking for?
What is it?
Are you peeping?
What's this?
Hey!
Is this manga?
You draw manga?
No! It's a misunderstanding!
I mean,,, this is manga that I draw,
But I don't peep,
But you were staring at me the whole time,
The other day, the editor at the publisher insulted me
saying that the girls I draw are not cute,
Cute girls have nothing to do with the theme of my work,
But that editor,,,
He's scum who thinks that manga won't sell if it doesn't have girls with big tits,
It's just that he's also a professional,
I need to accept his feedback,
So,,,
I was drawing you for research,
I'm sorry for being rude,
I should've checked with you first,
Are you a mangaka?
Not just yet,
I'm not famous enough to call myself a mangaka,
I don't know
much about drawing or manga,
Still,,,
I like it,
I think,,,
I want to read your works,
She said she wanted to read, but I didn't think she meant it,
So I just left it be,
One night, she said she wanted to see my manuscript,
I entered the room as if I were dragged in,
Come on, Rohan,
On second thought, maybe next time, It's already late,
I have no intention of criticizing,
There's no way I can tell what's good or bad,
I just want to see the drawings you drew with heart and soul,
But it's not completed,
I can't show you unfinished work,
You sure?
Rohan,,,
Have you ever heard of the blackest painting in the world?
It was painted with such black paint,,,
that it doesn't reflect light, meaning you can't even see it,
You can't even see it?
Then we don't know if it even exists,
It exists,
The blackest and most evil painting,
Evil?
It's been 200 years,,,
No,
250 years,
It was drawn by
a painter,,,
named Nizaemon Yamamura,
He was obsessed with the color black,
He found an ideal pigment, but
it could only be extracted from an important sacred tree,
Doing any harm to the tree would have been punished with death,
Still, he,,,
He used that black color to paint, and then,,,
He died,
That's,,,
the blackest painting,
I see,,,
Where is the painting?
At the Louvre,
The Louvre,,, in Paris?
Mirrors that reflect light also project people,
What does the absolute black project?
You must not see it or
touch it,
You are,,,
similar,
I'm sorry, You should go now,
-Hm? -I had fun,
What?! Peeping again?!
I don't know what to do,
Mr, Kawadori whom I asked to organize the storage has suddenly gone missing,
I thought we had a buyer ready,
Then he'll come pick them up,
You think?
Are you here?
Rohan!
I want to help you,
I want to protect you
from all fears in the world,
This is,,,
My manga manuscript I promised I would show you before,
Is this me?
Is this woman,,, me?
It's not the black I want just yet,
Black?
What are you,,,
What have you done?!
You drew me!
It's so suffocating and stupid!
So stupid and cheap!
This stupid,,,
This is just,,,
You,,,
Why did you,,, Why!
Why,,,
Rohan,
I'm sorry,
I,,,
really,,,
She never came back,
I asked my grandmother where she went, but she had no idea,
Nanase?
I don't remember, Was there such a person?
More importantly, the painting in the storage,,,
The buyer will come visit us, so please handle it,
I heard they're some foreigner,
Moving onto the next news,
A male body was found in a junkyard in Kotodai late last night,
Authorities have confirmed that it was Yoshio Kawadori
an antique dealer working in Tsutsujigaoka,
Drowning is the presumed cause of death, but there are no water sources in the area,
The police are still investigating the details of the situation,
This should be it,
-It's already wrapped up, -That's it,
Thank you so much,
Any sign of her was all gone from the room
that barely had any of her belongings in the first place,
By the time I left there, I often wondered
if she was really there,
Why did the memories of her
resurface along with the black painting now?
It could just be simple curiosity,
But I need to go
to the place where the blackest painting exists,
To the Louvre,
Emma, you're supposed to attend the Japanese people today,
You do remember, right?
That's right,
I received some questions via email, but I didn't have time to reply,
I'll look into it,
Then I'll forward you the email,
-Emma, -Yes?
He's a famous mangaka even in France,
You're the only one I can count on this,
I know, Jacques, Don't worry,
I'll be fine,
-You sure? -Of course!
“About the following painters and painting,”
“Maurice Legrand,”
“Nizaemon Yamamura,”
Nizaemon? Who's that?
Seems like a Japanese painter,
Nizaemon,,, Nizaemon,,,
I may have heard of him,
Wow! This is so amazing!
Rohan, let me take a picture of you!
Izumi, I didn't come here for sightseeing,
These are the important part,
The readers will love the research diary in Paris,
I bet you the number of views will increase, and it'll be good advertisement,
Excuse me, have we reached the Avenue des Champs-Élysées?
This is it,
Oh no, Really?
That over there is
-the Place de la Concorde, -He even speaks French,
-Where are you from? -He can do everything,
From Lorraine,
-You're great, -Hush,
Hello,
I'm Emma Noguchi from the Cultural Mediation at the Louvre Museum,
Nice to meet you,
This is Rohan Kishibe, a mangaka,
I'm Kyoka Izumi, an editor,
-Nice to meet you, -Our car is over there,
Thank you for helping us out
on our research,
-You even picked us up, -No worries,
It's our job to show everyone the appeal of the Louvre,
She's so cute!
Even a child is stylish in Paris,
Is that so?
The way she dressed was so casual yet so stylish,
You know, I've been wanting to come to Paris since I was a child,
Emma, have you lived in Paris for your whole life?
Yes,
A true Parisienne,
What would you like to do?
The Louvre is closer than your hotel from here,
-Would you like to check in? -Sure,
-To the Louvre, -Hm?
We've been on the plane the whole time, I'd like to change,
Our time here is limited, Let's get on with the research first,
Wow,
It's so much bigger and more spacious than I thought!
I heard it takes a few days to check everything out,
Right, so be efficient when you do your research,
I'm hoping to see the gardens as well,
I was directed to take you there,
Thank you,
Could you please take a picture of me?
With this pyramid in the background,
Sure,
Is that Rohan?
It is! It's Rohan Kishibe!
Mr, Rohan, can I get your autograph?
I'm sorry,
Rohan is,,, uh,,,
Do you guys like manga?
Yes!
What's with your clothes?
This is where the works of the great artists reside,
Show some respect,
Rohan is working right now,
He can't give you autographs,
Really?
What about the autographs?
I already did, Thank you,
-Hey, look! -No way!
See you,
There's one on your back too!
On my vest?!
This is magnificent,
It's not just the artwork, The buildings are also amazing,
This used to be a fortress,
It was used as a palace as well,
Wow, so cute and fascinating!
You can do that here?
The Louvre has focused on the development of
culture and art since a long time ago,
Reproduction of art is accepted as a part of it,
Of course, there are some strict rules,
Artists who specialize in reproduction,,,
Speaking of which,,,
Your questions in your email,
Yes,
First, about Maurice Legrand,
He used to reproduce a painting like that,
Reproduction,,,
I see,,,
What Maurice saw at the Louvre,,,
Could Maurice have meant that he reproduced the black painting?
I'm talking about this painting,
I think this is his original piece,
After he passed away, I believe his family disposed of everything,
Actually, we thought what he saw was a painting
by the other painter we asked about, Nizaemon Yamamura,
I'm having someone look into it,
It's just that,,,
The Louvre does not have any Japanese paintings,
-Is that so? -Yeah, but,,,
Still,,,
There is a possibility, sure,
Have you ever heard of a project to move the Louvre's
stored items to a newly created storage center?
Something about protecting them from damage by the flooding of the Seine,
The project started a few years ago,
During the project, they found over 1 000 works of art
that were resting in the basement storage,
-Surprising, -That can actually happen?
It was a collection donated at the beginning of 20th century,
The records of it were lost due to the war,
It is a very rare collection,
We also found out there were over 100 Eastern artworks among the collection,
Could the black painting by Nizaemon be one of them?
“Japanese people are fast at drawing,”
“Very fast,”
“Like lightning,”
“This is because their nerves are delicate and their senses are honest,”
Van Gogh wrote this in a letter to his little brother, Theo,
Doesn't it sound just like you?
Mr, Rohan Kishibe,
Tatsumi,
I heard you were guiding some Japanese VIPs,
This is Rohan, and Izumi,
This is Ryunosuke Tatsumi,
He's one of the research members for the Eastern artworks I just mentioned,
Nice to meet you, I'm Tatsumi, Sorry to intrude suddenly,
I saw your work the other day, and I became a fan immediately,
You've read Pink Dark Boy?
No, I just saw the cover,
-I get the gist of it, -I see,,,
Nice to meet you, too,
Isn't it rare to have a foreign curator at the Louvre?
I'm just here temporarily due to a staff shortage,
Hardly, Tatsumi is a very famous connoisseur,
The Louvre specifically asked for him
to cooperate on researching the collection,
I see,
I don't think I've ever heard of Nizaemon Yamamura
but I know about Maurice Legrand,
He was a very passionate painter,
His pieces never really became popular
but he was great at reproduction,
It's sad to hear that he has passed away,
Did he die of an illness?
No, I heard it was an accident,
Jacques?!
Stop!
What is this?!
Stop it, please!
Help!
Someone, help!
Jacques!
Are you okay?!
Someone, call an ambulance!
Jacques?
A spider,,,
Black hair,,,
A spider,,,
Black hair,,,
I can't believe what's happened,
I'm glad that he's okay,
Did he,,, really jump on purpose?
What makes you say that?
Did you hear how he rambled?
He said “a spider,” right?
Yeah,
Take a look at Maurice's painting,
It's a spider, and these lines,,,
Don't they look like hair?
Very observant of you,
-You noticed too? -Yeah,
It's a little too vague to say that these are related, but
Maurice, who made this painting, died of an accident,
There seems to be something,
Maurice painted something he saw at the Louvre, and
he felt some sort of remorse,
“At the Louvre I saw the black,”
“Remorse,”
That French word,,,
It wasn't “regret” like a verb
but it was a noun, “remorse,”
I thought it was a verb because of the flow of the sentence,
You say something useful once in a while,
I mean,,,
I wasn't good at figuring out parts of speech, so I studied a lot before tests,
“Once in a while”?
He meant he saw remorse,
“Saw remorse”?
Marie,
Who used this PC last?
I think Jacques,
He was looking into the Japanese painter you asked him to,
He said he'd heard of the name before,
Thank you for reaching out,
You found a painting of Nizaemon?
Actually, Jacques was looking into Nizaemon Yamamura,
He checked the records for staff eyes only,
There was a hit in the search,
This way,
The title of the painting is unknown, Painted by Nizaemon Yamamura,
Z-13 is a number in the basement storage we have in the museum,
This means a painting by Nizaemon is in Storage Z-13,
Could this be the black painting?
The thing is that Storage Z-13 has been
so run down that it hasn't been used for over 20 years,
Which means there is no way that any artworks are stored there,
It's called the “abandoned storage,”
But if it's there, someone placed it there,
Marie,
Who told Jacques about Nizaemon?
Sounded like some old story, He went out to check it out,,,
He may have gone to Storage Z-13,
Could you check to see whom Jacques heard from?
It must be someone from the museum,
Sure,
Can we take a look at Storage Z-13?
Of course, Let's go,
Emma,
I heard that a painting by Nizaemon was found,
Yes,
It was pretty surprising,
I checked after we'd met,
A painting by Nizaemon was not listed in the found collection,
I'm sure of it, and that painting has now been found,
Emma, let me come with you,
To Z-13?
I can't sit idly by considering that I specialize in Eastern art,
Okay, Let's go,
These are Hugo and Nicolas from the fire department,
The path up ahead is pretty old and maze-like
so the rules dictate that they must accompany us,
You cannot bring cellphones or cameras,
The same goes for anything
that could possibly damage the art, like lighters and knives,
They're not security guards but firefighters,
The Louvre has firefighters on hand at all times,
If something happens, they evacuate the artwork,
They know every little passage in the Louvre,
They also have the keys to all the doors,
The one for Storage Z-13 as well?
Of course,
Let's go,
Storage Z-13 is down here,
Excuse me,
It's from Marie,
“I found out who Jacques heard about Nizaemon from,”
“It was Gaucher Bigotte,”
He was a curator here twenty-some years ago,
According to the records, he registered
the painting of Nizaemon in Z-13,
Is he still around?
He suddenly went missing after that,,,
He's still missing,
Turn on your flashlights and watch your step,
Could it have been that
that painting was by Nizaemon?
Rohan?
Okay,,,
All right,,,
This place has a strange darkness to it,
It's hard to believe that there's a painting left in here,
There's something there,
It must be a rat,
You think?
Yeah,
Tatsumi, take a look at this,
This is,,,
It can't be,,,
Do you know of this painting?
The brushwork is definitely consistent with Vermeer,
As in the famous Vermeer?
He's famous, There's no doubt about it,
But there are no Vermeer works like this,,,
There was, It was in the found collection,
It was determined to be a Vermeer upon examination,
This was going to be big news,
This should have been moved to the storage center by now,
How,,,
Maybe they forgot?
That's not possible,
Then,,, is it a fake?
You're right,
Emma, take a good look at it,
As she says, this is not authentic,
It's a complete fake,
Although it's done so well,
Nicolas, discard it,
Okay,
Wait,
Are you going to discard such a masterpiece?
No way,
This is the original,
That's not possible,
This painting has the genuine reality,
There's no mistake, I wouldn't say it otherwise,
Well, I guess so,,,
But then, what went to the storage center?
“M, Legrand”?
Maurice Legrand, who was famous for reproductions!
If the authentic painting is here, the one that went to the storage center
is a reproduction by Maurice, or rather, a forgery,
Impossible!
When you reproduce a piece at the Louvre
you must abide by the rule to increase the size by 20% compared to the original,
Reproduction is only allowed for the exhibited pieces in the first place,
This Vermeer's existence wasn't even announced, nor was it exhibited,
That's impossible,
That's why he used this place,
No one comes to,,,
this abandoned storage,
Izumi, I just came up with a plot for a new manga,
Hm?
Let's just say that Maurice was part of a group of art thieves,
He creates ingenious forgeries of masterpieces
in Storage Z-13, which is not used,
Then he sends the forgeries to the storage center,
He takes home the originals to hide them
in the back of his own paintings and then ship them overseas,
If you buy a Maurice Legrand painting cheaply in an overseas auction
you will find a masterpiece behind it, How does that sound?
It's interesting, but perhaps that's reaching a bit,
One cannot do all that with just a permit for reproduction,
What if he had someone on the inside?
Someone who can move around freely inside the Louvre,
Someone like a firefighter,,,
or a curator,
It bothered me from the get-go,
You took your time to see a mangaka when you're not even a fan,
You've tried to get close to me to an unnatural degree, but,,,
For a well-known expert to declare an original to be a fake is
just lacking too much reality,
It's such a boring plot, unfit for Mr, Rohan,
Sorry,
I'm disappointed,
What's wrong?
There! It's there!
Why would there be a soldier here?!
What are you saying?
Nicolas!
What's going on?
I don't know, but he's been shot,
Nicolas!
What did you do? What did you do to Nicolas?!
-I didn't do anything, -Don't joke with me!
The guy we hired in Japan told us that you're bad news,
Hugo, shut up!
So the guys at the auction were in on it, too,
Rohan!
No, Hugo!
What were you saying in Japanese?
Tatsumi, could it be,,,
that like Maurice, we,,,?
Hugo, calm down!
What does he mean, like Maurice?
Answer me!
Tatsumi, what is he talking about?
Mr, Rohan, you know something about us
and so you've come to check that out, Am I correct?
You bought Maurice's painting for way above market price
and came all the way to Paris,
No,
I came here just to look for a painting by Nizaemon,
Maurice suddenly went crazy,
He said he wanted to quit
and that he saw something here,
That is Nizaemon's,,,
the blackest and most evil,,,
painting in the world,
Maurice!
How are you here?
You must not see it or,,,
touch it,
-Rohan! -Izumi!
Just keep looking that way, Don't ever look in this direction!
-Why? -Do what I tell you!
Maurice! Stop!
I'm sorry,,,
Pierre?
Is that you, Pierre?
Is it you?
Pierre?
What is this? What in the world is this?
Rohan, what's going on right now?!
Hallucination,
They're seeing a hallucination,
Hallucination?
If only I didn't take my eyes off of you
at the park pond that day,,,
Pierre,
It's my fault,
It's all my fault,
Forgive me,
Emma?
Don't look,
Emma?
Emma?!
Emma?
-Izumi, get out! -Okay!
-Take her and get out of here! -Okay!
-Now! -Okay! Emma?
I'm sorry,,, I apologize,
I deceived you and used you,
But I didn't mean to kill you,
It wasn't on purpose,
Who are you?
What,,,
What are you?
Stay away from me!
Stop!
Don't get close to me! Wait!
I know who you are,
You died at the fire at my grandpa's, right?
Because my grandpa went crazy and sprayed oil,,,
Mirrors that reflect light also project people,
What does the absolute black project?
That is,,,
their past,
What comes at them is,,,
Maurice!
Sins they committed in the past,,,
and remorse engraved in your heart,
That's not just it,
Even the sins committed by their ancestors
come at them,
No one can run away from a blood relationship,
And,,,
Maurice,,,
He drew a reproduction of a Vermeer
while being tormented by his guilty conscience,
The black painting led him,,,
and he saw his remorse there,
While he was on his way to death
he painted,
“At the Louvre I saw the black,”
“Remorse,”
What happened to the original Vermeer?
You think you can quit now?
Where is the original?! Tell me!
The original! Maurice, answer!
Where is it?!
The sins of the past
and remorse will come at those
who have seen the black painting,
Then,,,
What will
come at me,,,
This is,,,
Is this guy
Nizaemon?
Why?
Heaven's Door!
He's dead,
I can't write anything,
I can't,,, get away,
This painting is evil and,,, too strong,
I need to sever
myself from the past,
Forget everything,
Forget,
Everything,
Heaven's Door,
Erase all memories,
Rub off the words on your face,
Pierre,,,
Emma,
Even if you're able to see Pierre
I don't think
it's to blame you for what happened,
I think he,,, just wanted to see you for a bit,
I came to Paris with a similar feeling,
My father,,,
He passed away when I was five,
I heard he loved traveling,
The picture I asked you to take is
this,
It makes me feel a little closer to him,
They look sort of similar,
They're saying the basement was full of some kind of gas
and that's why we were hallucinating,
It was an old, closed up space,
But do you think hallucinations could cause all of that?
Everyone was literally in a panic,
Aggressive behavior isn't uncommon when people hallucinate,
It's why it's called a hallucination,
If nothing else,
it's good that this exposed the switch of the paintings,
I also heard that the storage was completely closed down,
And did you know
that all the pieces at the Louvre
can be seen on the Internet for free?
The collection is meticulously managed via database,
They will never be lost or forgotten again,
Who knows?
In 2016
Water Lilies, Reflections of Weeping Willows by Monet
the existence of which was unknown, was found at the Louvre,
What?
It was entirely forgotten
without being listed anywhere,
It feels like this isn't a museum
that people can handle,
I see,
By the way, she was beautiful,
The lady in the painting,
Yeah,
Izumi, you saw the painting?
Briefly, but yes,
And nothing happened to you?
Hm?
I'm genuinely impressed by you sometimes,
What part?
That part,
This part?
I finally found you,
I'm sorry,
That was the only thing I could do,,,
to stop him and,,,
end everything,
I couldn't read
at that time,
Heaven's Door,
“On a fine day in August, I married into
the Yamamura family, who have been dedicated painters for generations,,,”
and became the wife of the eldest son, Nizaemon,
Stay as you are,
Hm?
Don't move,
Nizaemon,,,
He really loved my black hair,
He sometimes kept drawing as though he lost sense of time,
Nanase, what do you think?
I'm not sure, I don't know much about paintings,
You can at least say if you like it or not,
To be honest, I don't think it's a great painting,
I like that about you,
An imitation of a Dutch-style painting I saw when I went to study in Edo,
A Dutch-style painting?
Nizaemon's curiosity was limitless,
He made paintings from different schools and even ukiyo-e without a care,
However, as an inheritor of the position of dedicated painter
it was completely forbidden,
An heir to the Yamamura bloodline
imitating “Western barbarian” culture,,,
He was severely reprimanded by his father, but,,,
This is a shame that will be passed down for generations!
I don't think I'm painting something I should be ashamed of,
If you don't stop, you'll have to leave,
Understood,
Thus, Nizaemon and I
left the Yamamura family,
He painted on room dividers
and sold them to merchants he knew to earn a living,
Other than that, he drew whatever he wanted,
It was a quiet and calm life, but,,,
I can't,
There is no black paint that can depict your black hair,
What about the calligraphy ink you bought?
I need something even blacker,
A black that could draw you in,
Is that what my hair color is like?
Hey,,,
Nanase! Are you okay?!
My illness changed everything,
I feel very ashamed of my past doings,
What money we had was spent on doctors and medication,
Nizaemon, not knowing what to do
he swallowed his pride and went back to his father,
All right,
If you want to rejoin the family
create a painting better than mine,
Understood,
Since that day, Nizaemon kept drawing
barely eating or sleeping,
If I could get better
such days would be over,
All I could do was
pray to all the gods and spirits,
Then one day,,,
The sap oozing out from the sacred tree was pitch black,
I collected it and gave it to Nizaemon,
This is the black I've been looking for,
Seeing how happy Nizaemon looked
I started collecting the sap every day,
There you are,
I will collect it on my own from now on,
You should be resting,
However, Nizaemon started wanting the black tree sap
as if he were haunted by something,
I began to regret that I had given him the tree sap
but it was too late,
His brother, who was supposed to take over as family head reported to the authorities,
Nizaemon Yamamura,
It is utterly unforgivable to damage the venerable sacred tree!
I didn't damage it, I was just collecting the tree sap,
Shut up! Even touching it is disrespectful!
Please wait!
It was me, I did it!
Nanase, stop!
My husband has got nothing to do with it!
Do not interfere with our work!
Nanase!
Nizaemon,,,
You bastard,,,
The black tree sap
became spider-like creatures and seeped into the painting
along with the grudge of Nizaemon,
Since then, it has become
the most evil painting in the world, killing people
with their remorse and guilty conscience,
I could not leave the painting either,,,
I've been wanting him to stop
for a long time,
I ended up involving you,
I'm really sorry,
It's okay,
That summer was an important part of my past,
I will never
forget it,
Nanase Yamamura,
Her maiden name was
Kishibe,
-Keep the angle of your wrists at 90 degrees, -Hello!
Rohan, I found something awesome,
It's an old pigment,
This is a wholly roasted newt,,,
Huh?
What happened?
Weren't you going to use those pigments for the next manga?
I'd rather use something I'm used to,
If anything, I should get more used to it first,
It would be rude to the readers,
But then,,, what about this?
-I don't need it, -What?!
Well, just use it someday since I got it already,
I'm returning the books I borrowed,
There we go,
I just got here!
You should be glad you're going home so soon,
What?
Nooo!
Rohan!
It's not wholly roasted, It's roasted to black,
Jeez!
A newly written full-colored episode of Pink Dark Boy,
The title of the research trip journal is
“Rohan at the Louvre,”
Keep the angle of your wrists at 90 degrees,
Keep each finger straight,
Put your hands in front of you,
While maintaining the angle of your wrists, bend your fingers one by one,
One, two, three,,,