Mr. Torii has an unusual gift, ever since childhood he has been able to see a flock of birds surrounding anyone who is about to have some serious misortune in their lives. Mr. Torii runs a coffee shop where he sees people making bad decisions each day, but his quiet nature prevents him from getting involved and giving them advice.
Some of his usual patrons include Tsukanai who constantly loses money betting on horse races, Yamada a divorcee obsessed with fortune telling who uses her "skills" to con money out of others and Mai, a naive transvestite who is being bilked by her greedy boyfriend. Soon a new young woman begins frequenting the cafe which reminds Torii of his high school sweetheart, Hiromi Itsuki, a girl who's misfortune's he never tried to stop much to his great regret.
As Torii watches the birds flock around his patrons, he starts to realize it is his responsibility to try and help these potential victims before it is too late.
Published In:
Big Comic Original 2009 Vol. 3.20
Birds of Fate
Publication Date: March 5, 2009
Pages: X (full color) XX (black and white)
Anime Adaptation: None
Notes:
Torii (鳥居) are the iconic red Japanese gates. When literally translated torii means "bird's perch".
Master (マスター) is a common term for a manager of a cafe or bar in Japan. One could also call them a "barkeep" or "manager".
Mai is a transvestite. Transvestism is the practice of dressing in a manner traditionally associated with the opposite sex. In some cultures, transvestism is practiced for religious, traditional, or ceremonial reasons. A transvestite is distinct from a transgender person or a gender-fluid person, as in the case of a transvestite there is no intention of identifying as the gender that the person dresses as.
Male hosts pour drinks and will often flirt with their clients, more so than their female counterparts. The conversations are generally light-hearted; hosts may have a variety of entertainment skills, be it simple magic tricks or charisma with which to tell a story. Some host clubs have a dedicated stage for a performance, usually a dance, comedy sketch, etc.
Hosts' ages usually range between 18 and the mid-20s. They will take a stage name, usually taken from a favorite manga, film, or historical figure, that will often describe their character. Men who become hosts are often those who either cannot find a white-collar job, or are enticed by the prospect of high earnings through commission.
While hostess bars in Tokyo often have designated men out on the streets getting clients to come into their clubs, some hosts are often sent out onto the streets to find customers, who are referred to as catch (キャッチ, kyatchi), but these are usually the younger, less-experienced hosts. A common look for a host is a dark suit, collared shirt, silver jewellery, a dark tan, and bleached hair.
Pay is usually determined by commission on drink sales with hosts often drinking far past a healthy limit, usually while trying to hide their drunkenness. Because the base hourly wage is usually extremely low, almost any man can become a host regardless of looks or charisma (depending on the bar). However, hosts who cannot increase their sales usually drop out very soon, because of the minimal wage. The environment in a host bar is usually very competitive, with tens of thousands of dollars sometimes offered to the host who can achieve the highest sales.
