Good Luck!Yamaha-Chan (English ver) EP.4 Main Story + Short Story + α

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Good Luck!Yamaha-Chan (English ver) EP.3 Main Story + Short Story + α

”Good Luck Yamaha-chan" is a comedic four-frame manga about the hilarious adventures of Yamaha-chan, a customer-resident programmer working in Tokyo, Japan. It humorously depicts the real troubles, romances, and workplace slapstick of the technical workforce. It is a fun way to learn about the realities of the Japanese IT workplace. Even those unfamiliar with programmers will enjoy laughing along with this lively story.

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2024.04.02

▼Main (EP.4-1～EP.4-31)

▼+α story

This time, the story was mainly about Suzuki‐San.

Personally, while drawing ‘EP.4’, I thought, ‘There’s a lot going on, but Suzuki is doing a great job of switching gears.

The ability to ‘switch gears’ is something that is expected in a professional setting, but I personally believe it’s not always as easy as it sounds.I think it’s truly admirable that Suzuki‐San keeps their true feelings to themselves, compartmentalizes, switches things off, and overcomes challenges without expressing it to anyone. There were many moments like this where I really admired Suzuki‐San.

I wish good luck to Suzuki, who is doing their best.

Regarding Suzuki’s ‘switching gears’ in ‘EP.4-2,’ the scene with the earphones was depicted with the setting of ‘AN○ER’ wireless earphones.

And as for the stamp shown in the communication exchange in ‘EP.4-2’, this is not something I specifically created for the manga. It is actually a LINE stamp that I originally designed and am selling on LINE. It’s been very well received for its ease of use, so please feel free to use it a lot in your LINE chats and have fun!

そして、「EP.4-2」の連絡のやり取りで表示されているスタンプなのですが、これは漫画用に描いたのではなく、私がもともとLINEで販売しているLINEスタンプでございます。使いやすいと好評ですので、是非LINEのトークで沢山使って遊んでください！

For ‘EP.4’, there was a bit of a challenge regarding the background…

The backgrounds for ‘EP.4-1’ and ‘EP.4-2’ were initially based on an actual station in Tokyo, but after drawing them, they had to be completely redone. The reason for this change is due to future story considerations, haha.

Originally, I had planned for the ‘Keihin-Tohoku Line’ to be used, but it was later decided that using the ‘Rinkai Line’ would be more appropriate geographically, so I made the adjustment. Some of the readers who accessed the paid version of the Japanese ‘Good Luck! Yamaha-Chan’ might have read it with the ‘Keihin-Tohoku Line’ background. Below are the Before and After versions of the background that was revised.

The background of this [●● Town] Station was revised not only because of the colors and patterns on the walls, but also because the station announcements differ between the Keihin-Tohoku Line and the Rinkai Line. Additionally, on the floor just after descending the first escalator on the Rinkai Line, the guiding sound ‘Peeen-Poooon’ echoed loudly, and the sound of the train was less rattling compared to the Keihin-Tohoku Line, so I adjusted the sound effects accordingly. By the way, the sheet music shown in the background of the Keihin-Tohoku Line version before the revision is for the departure melody. The song is Vivaldi’s ‘Spring’ from ‘The Four Seasons.’ Apparently, this [●● Town] Station plays ‘Spring’ in the morning and ‘Autumn’ in the evening.

In the ‘Before’ version of the Keihin-Tohoku Line, I had written the loud announcements of the morning station staff using a megaphone. However, on the Rinkai Line platform, the station staff didn’t make announcements like on the Keihin-Tohoku Line, so I completely removed that detail.

This ●● Town Station has a structure where the Keihin-Tohoku Line platform leads outside, while the Rinkai Line platform goes underground. For the Keihin-Tohoku Line, I thought it would be nice to have Suzuki heading towards the morning sun, so I drew it that way. However, with the Rinkai Line going underground, I faced a challenge. The direction of travel seemed to clearly head towards a more sorrowful, deeper place, so I wasn’t sure how to approach it. After thinking about it, I decided to enhance the lighting on the ceiling of the floor right after the first escalator on the Rinkai Line. Since it’s still morning, everyone is a little groggy, and I aimed to create an atmosphere where the bright indoor lights are shining down. I hope that this feeling comes across, even just a little.

This ●● Town station is…

O-imachi Station (in a whisper).

▼Characterization

I am very grateful that I’ve received comments and DMs asking, ‘Aren’t there any character profiles?’ So, with all four main characters now gathered in this ‘EP.4,’ I’ve decided to release them at this timing.

The setup includes two sections: ‘Profiles’ and ‘Skincare.’

I’ve added some fun little anecdotes that probably won’t appear in the main story, so the text is a bit on the longer side.

So… I hope you’ll enjoy it by quickly skimming through, flipping the pages, and having fun.

Here you go!

Profile

Skincare

I’ve selected the skincare products that everyone commonly uses, based on my personal preferences and biases.

The reason I focused on skincare is that I often get comments from GRAVITY followers saying, ‘I want this to be an anime!’ or ‘I want it to move!’ So, I imagined, ‘If it ever became an anime, I’d love the opening scene to show everyone getting ready in the morning.’ If that fantasy ever becomes a reality, I’d want to choose each product again. By then, there will probably be various updates, new products, and this post might become outdated.

Ah, it’s fun to indulge in these little fantasies~ ^^

Now, here you go!

Yamaba-chan has normal skin.

As for her skin, she doesn’t think too much about it, as long as it doesn’t get dry, so she doesn’t really have any noticeable skin concerns. She typically chooses low-cost, large-volume products and is the type of person who uses them without hesitation, pouring them on freely.

Kawasaki‐Kun has oily skin.

To be honest, he finds grooming a bit of a hassle. For his face wash, he prefers a product that dispenses foam directly, because he thinks it’s too much trouble to lather it himself. For moisturizing, he opts for an all-in-one product since he finds it a bother to apply separate toner and serum daily. Despite this, he manages to wash his face and moisturize almost every day. The main reason he sticks to this routine is that, well, he’s an adult now, but the biggest motivator is that Yamaba-chan is always right there beside him.

As for Kawasaki‐Kun’s hair, after considering various hair waxes and balms, he concluded that he doesn’t actually style his hair. Normally, men put a bit of wax on their hair when heading out, but when reflecting on his time as a software engineer (SE), he recalls that engineers without leadership positions were often too busy to care about their hair. This led him to the conclusion that Kawasaki‐Kun doesn’t use any product in his hair. Some leaders or people with positions did use wax, but in general, engineers didn’t seem to bother with it.

Suzuki‐San has sensitive skin.

He is prone to razor burns and skin irritation, so he takes care of his skin. Therefore, he focuses on choosing products that minimize skin irritation and provide good moisture. The reason Suzuki‐San is able to stick to a careful and consistent skincare routine, unlike Kawasaki‐Kun, is that skipping steps or using cheap products causes him discomfort. Many inexpensive men’s products at drugstores have very strong cleansing power to remove oil, or contain menthol, which can feel overwhelmingly cooling, making them too harsh for Suzuki‐San’s skin. Additionally, skipping moisturization before shaving can cause his skin to turn red and become irritated. Men’s skincare is challenging, too…

As for cleansing, Suzuki‐San was unsure whether to include it in his routine. Initially, I set it up so that until “EP.4,” he doesn’t use it. Since he has sensitive skin and occasionally shaves, double cleansing with both a cleanser and face wash might be too harsh for his skin. However, on days when his dark circles are severe, he might use a little concealer. Eventually, he will likely start using men’s BB cream and cleansing products in the future.

Honda‐Chan has combination skin.

Because of this, she chooses products with soothing and anti-inflammatory effects, as well as moisturizing products. Honda‐Chan is the type of person who enjoys switching up the products she uses frequently. So, by next month, she’ll likely be using completely different skincare items than the ones shown in the illustration.

She buys hair oils because she likes their scent, or because the packaging is cute, or because they’re new releases, so she has a collection of half-used products lined up on her bathroom counter. There are also many serums she hasn’t finished using.

But, honestly, it’s kind of fun to line up all her items and choose which one to use today.

▼short story