Bunkasai

Saturday was the annual school Bunkasai, or culture day. There were three events, taking up the whole day; a speech contest, with one competitor from each class; a play written and performed by each of the six classes; and a chorus competition, with two songs from each class. It was far and away better than last year's event. The plays were vastly improved by not all being set in a classroom, for starters. Here's my analysis, from what little I understood:
1A: a yakitori stand existing for about 4 seconds, an old lady being run down by a taxi, punch-ups (someone even thumped kocho-sensei!), and swigs of unidentified grog. Quite subversive, really.
1B: something called "cunning paper," otherwise set in a classroom. Dull.
2A: notable only for three boys riding a bike across the stage through a mob of girls. Otherwise, just a bunch of dialogue.
2B: it's a mystery what this slice of Bizarro World was about, but there was a magician, lots of cross-dressing, and absolutely nothing to do with school, which was a relief.
3A: something with someone burning to death after re-entering a burning building to rescue someone or something, as well as the receipt of mysterious voiced-over letters.
3B: a trip to the beach and euthanasia. Your guess is as good as mine.