Voice 01

Episode 01; Mikkabouzu; 三日坊主
	Sexy Voice and Robo episode
Writer	Kizara Izumi
Original air date	April 10, 2007
Viewership	12.5%
Forum Thread	Thread
Episode chronology
← Previous; —	Next →; Voice 02

Sexy Voice and Robo
Mikkabouzu 三日坊主	Voice 02 >

Plot

After witnessing a violent assault, Niko enlists the help of Robo to find the victim and give him back his box of belongings. However, the victim - a man who loses his memory after 3 days - is not who he seems.

Basically this is Memento the Japanese slice-of-life story.

Guests

Main Guests

Mikkabouzu / Mita Hiroshi - Nakamura Shido → 三日坊主 / 三田広 - 中村獅童

Recurring Characters

Muu-chan - Kajiwara Hikari → むーちゃん - 梶原ひかり

Minor Guests

Reporter - Ishizuka Hatsumi → - 石塚初美

Hotel concierge - Furugoori Masahiro → - ふるごおり雅浩

Organization man - Kitami Toshiyuki → 組織の連絡員 - 北見敏之

Actress - Ujiie Megumi → - 氏家恵

Director - Nakahara Kazuhiro → - 中原和宏

Director's assistant - Tanaka Yasuhiro → - 田中泰宏

Trivia

Mikkabouzu means "3 day monk". It's a nickname that means "one who can't stick to anything", in reference to Mikkabouzu's memory only lasting 3 days. His real name, Mita Hiroshi, is fairly similar.
Mikkabouzu is 35 years old.
Niko has a bird named Rumi-chan that escapes at the very start of the episode. Rumi later visits Mikkabouzu before his death, and ends up delivering Mikkabouzu's message to Robo.
Robo lives above a beauty parlor called Pico.
When haggling with the foreigners for Max Robo, Robo speaks in English, even though the foreigners speak mostly in Japanese.
The poem Mikkabouzu likes is by Saburou Kuroda (1919-1980), a post-war Japanese poet.
In Mikkabouzu's notes, he mentions Tange Sazen, a fictional swordsman, and Ikenami Shoutarou, a writer.
Robo says "I am that kind of man de arimasu." might be a reference to Keroro Gunsou. Then he salutes the way Keroro does.

Episode motifs:

Curry. Niko cooks it at Robo's house. It triggers memories in Mikkabouzu and Robo can't help but eat it since it's delicious. Yocchan also cooks curry, which Robo smells and recognizes during the negotiation scene with Mikkabouzu. When Mikkabouzu decides to give up, he decides to have curry for dinner. Maki rejects Yocchan's resignation letter because he got curry on the envelope.
Maki's services. When Niko buys the drug from her, she offers to wrap it, which she does. When Niko asks Maki to repay her by fetching Max Robo, she also offers to wrap Robo, which Niko declines.
Egg shells. Mikkabouzu keeps his shells as a memento of having dinner at Robo's place. Niko does the same, but one gets smashed by accident, foreshadowing things to come. When Mikkabouzu dies, the only thing left are some charred egg shells.
Working to eat/survive/live. Robo complains about it. Mikkabouzu kills for this. Niko's dad admits he's not free because he has to feed his family. Kazumi buys some clothes, then immediately complains that she'll have to work hard to save up money.
- Kazumi meets Robo through her job. She delivers a package to Robo from Niko, and is surprised that he knows her little sister.
Niko's distrust of adults. She thinks adults only care about themselves and don't like to be burdened with unnecessary things. When she explains to Robo why she didn't tell him about Mikkabouzu, she cites these reasons.
Proof of living. Mikkabouzu has his box of memories and his notepad. Niko's dad has his milk bottle caps. Kazumi-chan has her clothing tags. When Mikkabouzu and all his stuff are blown up, his proof of life becomes his appearance on the drama Niko was in.
Facades. None of the adults that Niko meet are who they appear to be.
- Even the childlike Robo surprises Niko when he complains about having a job and real life, adult hardships.
- The gentle Mikkabouzu turns out to be a killer.
- The violent and scary Yocchan ends up in the kitchen and is kind of silly.
- Maki goes from being an antique store owner to potential victim for Mikkabouzu and a former spy. Yocchan is also revealed to be her employee.

Series motifs:

Yocchan's professional song. Yocchan sings about being professional and doing his job while he's cooking in the kitchen, allowing Mikkabouzu to pull a gun on Maki.
Robo falsely accused. Robo is falsely accused of perving on a woman.
Kazumi-chan's part-time jobs. Here, Kazumi is working as a delivery person.

Continuity

Niko says the line "I'm the only one in the universe who can save him!" 3 times in the show: Voice 01, Voice 06, and Voice 11.

Mecha References

Robots Robo asks Mikkabouzu about:
- Zambot 3 ("Moon attack!")
- Daitarn 3 ("Sun attack!")
- Baldios ("Save the future, Baldios!")
- Blue Gale Xabungle ("Blue Gale!")
- Buster Launcher ("Buster Launcher!")

Uses of Niko's Power

While not explicitly explained, Niko displays her powers from the manga in the first episode.
- At the beginning of the episode, you can hear Niko imitating her teachers voices in front of her laughing classmates.
- She can speak in seven voices. She uses a sexy voice to lure Robo into helping her investigate the violent scene.
- She finds Mikkabouzu in the hotel using her ability to recognize voices from far away.
- She also recognizes his voice from the murder from the surveillance camera, despite his disguise.
- She finds Robo by listening for his voice, even though he's using a Kansai accent. He's using a Kansai accent because it was the second tip from his rule book.
- Niko fakes the voice of a bellhop to get into Mikkabouzu's room.
- She uses the sexy voice to wake Robo up, after he failed to stop Mikkabouzu from leaving his apartment.

Notable Quotes

Maki - "Once you know, you cannot go back."
Mikkabouzu - "When it comes to work, it doesn't matter if you want to do it or not."
Niko - "You're lying to yourself if you think killing is okay just because you'll forget!"
Niko - "Just because it's forgotten doesn't mean it'll disappear!"
Maki - "Because you don't live alone. This world is connected to you. Connected in a way you can't avoid."

Robo's Max phrases:

"Max!"
"With love...and courage...Max Punch!"
"Feeling Done!"
"Max Dash!"
"Max Attack!"
"Max Hurricane!"
"Max Boomerang!"
"Itadakimax!"
"Max Stopping Hit!"
Does karaoke of Max Robo theme song
"Max Start!"
"Switch On!"
"Max Turn!"
"Max Power!"

Comparisons to the Manga

Based on the story Voice 8: Three Days to Heaven from the manga.
Niko also says the line "I'm the only one in the universe who can save him." in the first chapter.
Robo works part-time as a Tele-club (telephone dating service) operator, which Niko calls. In the manga, Niko is the one who works as a tele-club operator. She brings in Robo, as well as a bunch of other men to study their behavior.
In the manga, the mission dealer refers to Mikkabouzu as Mr. Forgetful. The hotel clerk calls him Mr. Kishi.
Niko pretends to be Mr. Forgetful's daughter. She also tells Robo that her "Papa" is forgetful and asks him to try to identify Kishi's past the way he does in the drama (using robos).
- Robo comments "I don't know what kind of Papa he is..." In Japan, teen prostitutes often refer to their clients as Papa. An example of this is in Initial D with the character Natsuki.
Niko leaves Mr. Forgetful with Robo, but he falls asleep on the job like in the drama.
Instead of curry, Niko and Mr. Forgetful bond over unagi.
Mr. Forgetful is assigned to kill the old man, who is the Maki equivalent in the manga. Niko jumps in front and tells him that he'll have to eat his unagi alone if he shoots her, and he drops the pistol immediately.
When Mr. Forgetful decides to leave the hotel, he is caught by the mission dealer. He gives Mr. Forgetful a parting gift. When he opens it, he sees it's a bentou box, and wonders if it's unagi before it explodes. This is the last scene in this story
In Voice 9 of the manga, Niko comes in contact with the mission dealer. At the end she finds out that Mr. Forgetful was killed. The dealer tells Niko that the old man had him killed.
Voice 10 is about Niko dealing with the consequences of the world she's become involved with. She feels partly responsible for Mr. Forgetful's death and is angry at the old man. Niko manages to capture the dealer, who turns out to be the old man's former assistant. He sent Mr. Forgetful out of revenge.

DVD Extra Footage

00:07:10 Also...this is very important... -> Also, do your abdominals show?
00:11:30 But there are no receipts from him staying there -> He ate the morning set.
00:14:10 Mister, your important stuff is here. -> What will we do?!
00:16:57 Then you like birds? -> I don't know that either
00:17:40 This is very wrong. -> Why are a child and a man riding in my car instead of Kazumi-chan?
00:19:25 What a tasteful era. -> This is Buster Launcher.
00:19:43 Don't tell me you used up all the meat? -> This week's meat!
00:32:30 [Niko steps out of Jizoudou]
00:33:52 After the culprit killed the man, he immediately fled -> Hey! Niko!
00:34:16 I...am a killer? -> No...
00:37:58 [Staring at birthday cake] -> Why blow them out after such a dark conversation?!
00:43:09 I stake my life on it.
00:45:24 Captain Nikorin. -> Please just give me a break.
00:54:15 We'll overlook this incident, so... -> I've had enough.
01:06:14 [Voiceover scene changed, Yocchan & Niko's parents scenes added]

Gallery

"I'm not alone."
Niko running GIF