- Things are much slower. If you've read the synopsis, you'll think, "and just when the hell are they going to get together?" They will. Very eventually and with many, many obstacles.
- It gets worse before it gets better. I think putting characters through utter misery is a trademark of Narise Konohara. The journey to the end will be gut-wrenching.
I’ve done nothing wrong.
After two weeks of newcomer training, Takafumi Douno was assigned to Factory 8 of N. Penitentiary. He was ordered by a prison guard, clearly years younger than him, to spend the morning observing the routines. So he obeyed, and stood to the left of the two desks lined up beside the manager’s station. The factory area was about the size of two classrooms put together. The room was divided into four sections by two walkways intersecting in a cross. The work areas were raised about twenty centimetres higher than the walkway.
Factory 8 mainly handled sewing, and several dozen sewing machines were placed in neat, equally-spaced rows from the front of the work area to the back. A steady dut-dut-dut echoed in the air, like the rumbling of an earthquake.
It was the beginning of September, and the temperature was still high. Douno could feel the sweat slowly drench his back just by standing on the spot. The distinct smell of a gang of males, a scent that mingled with body odour, irritated his nose. The barred window to his left was thrown open wide, yet there was no breeze. There were, of course, no fans in this factory. To top it off, these men in their mousey grey factory uniforms were perspiring at the brow, frantically sewing none other than ladies’ fur coats.
