My name is Bubu.
I came from the “Rural Forest” to the “Urban Forest” because I wanted to become a first-rate illustrator. But the city is tough. There are so many illustrators who are better than me that I couldn’t find the kind of work I’d hoped for.
Before I knew it, the money I’d brought to live on was running out. If things carried on like this, I wouldn’t even be able to survive. So I decided I’d take whatever job I could find for now.
One day, as I flipped through a job listings magazine I’d bought at a bookstore, a headline caught my eye:
“Illustrators Wanted! Video games are the new gold rush!”
It was an advertisement from a video game company looking for illustrators.
“Bubu—! Yes! I finally found illustration work!” I was overjoyed. But there was one thing that bothered me.
The company made video games.
“Because… I hate video games.”
Here’s why—
A long time ago, back in my hometown in the Rural Forest, a small arcade got a new game called Man-Vaders — a video game where animals defeat evil humans.
After that, the friends I used to play with became completely obsessed with it. They shut themselves away in the arcade day after day just to play.
I tried playing along with them once or twice, but I was terrible at it. I kept getting Game Over almost immediately.
(What’s so fun about this? Playing outside together is way more fun…)
As I watched my friends’ rounded backs while they were hunched over Man-Vaders, I thought that. And from that day on, I started to hate video games — because they had taken my friends away from me.
You could call it resentment, I suppose.
(Still, just because I hate games doesn’t mean I should throw away a chance to get work…
Hmm…)
I thought it over carefully and came to a decision.
(If this keeps up, I won’t even be able to live. I should stop being picky. Video games are supposed to make good money, so I’ll work there for now. Then, once I’ve earned enough, I can quit and use that money to live on until I find the illustration work I really want.)
It felt a bit underhanded. But I told myself I had the right to survive by being a little shrewd.
And so, for the time being, I decided to go to the interview at that company.
Notes
“Man-Vaders” is obviously a pun on the worldwide phenomenon “Space Invaders” – instead of humans fighting against aliens, Man-Vaders has the heroic animals taking on evil invading humans.
