[1989: pp. 18–19]
[2003: pp. 22–23]
STARRING CAST 1
THIS IS YOU!
It doesn't matter if you're a kid or a grown-up, or a guy or a girl: during your adventure you're a lone, sprightly young boy. Just like it is with good ol' Indy Jones.
NINTEN
Age: 12
Height: 152 cm [about 5']
Weight: 42 kg [about 92.6 lbs]
Blood Type: A
Hair Color: Black
Defense Position: Right Fielder
Mick was His Very First Friend
Ninten's Scrapbook
You are a young boy named Ninten (if you have something else you like better to go by, then you can make that your actual name).
When you — that is to say, when Ninten was born in the rural American town of Mother's Day, the family dog Mick was one year and five months old. When he got to meet the zero-year, zero-month-old Ninten, who was raising his first cries, Mom and Dad felt like they could have kissed God. It wasn't long before Ninten got kind of big, climbing up onto Mick's back and vice-versa.
And, when Ninten was five, his two lookalike sisters were born. You guessed it — Mimmie and Minnie.
It was right after this that Dad would go far away somewhere, probably on business. Yet Ninten got really big, both helping out his mom and making things hard on her. In his class he was voted Leader. He was even an experienced regular on the junior baseball team.
The occasional asthma attack also gives his mom something to worry about, but Ninten, ever cheerful and caring about his friends, and doing things like playing and anything other than studying, seems to lead a very busy day-to-day life.
When Does He Do Homework?
A Day in the Life of Ninten
What Ninten thinks about first thing in the morning is after-school baseball. Taking care not to forget Will Clark's home run he saw last night on TV, he brushes his teeth. And once he gets to the breakfast table where his sisters are starting in on their milk, Ninten makes his mom certain promises. A home run and a whole bunch of fine plays!
At school, Ninten is an honors student... sorry, I meant he's popular even with the honors students. There have been some girls telling him he looks like Luke from Star Wars, but he seems like he'd rather live like Capt. Han Solo. Piloting a light-speed ship from planet to planet... he mulls this over and his oh-so-hated science class is over quickly.
Then, the last bell! Overjoyed, he falls right out of his chair (apparently this is one secret to his popularity). His after-school activity is of course baseball. If it's a rainy day and he has to give up on that home run, he runs straight home.
He invites Mick into his room (unbeknownst to his mom) and gives out an earful of the electric guitar his dad sent him. The evening meal Mom prepares is her once-a-week Prime Rib, Ninten's favorite (if you have some other dish you enjoy better, then you can make that your Favorite Food).
Speaking of food, quite recently his dinner-time spoons have been bending like rubber. I guess according to his mom, it just means: "My, how unbelievably strong you are!" ...
Once dinner is over, and the San Francisco Giants win (or lose), Ninten's day is Game Set.
MY FAVORITE THINGS
Baseball Cap
Ninten's generally-recognized trademark. Save for the times it slips off when he whiffs out a big strike (which was meant to be a home run), or when he's in the shower, he pretty much never takes it off. It's the beloved cap he had his dad buy for him.
Nagashima-Signed Ball
One day, Ninten went to see a Major League game, when he realized that there, in the seat next to him, was a Japanese baseball star. It was Shigeo Nagashima, who he'd seen featured before in a baseball magazine.
Giants Tickets
A long time ago, when Dad took a trip to Japan, he came back with these. Ninten apparently believes the Tokyo Giants to be the sibling team to his favorite San Francisco Giants.
Bent Spoon
Coming home from school, Ninten sometimes stops by the hot dog wagon. One day, he was still full when it came dinner-time, so, unable to contain himself, he took a spoon and played with it, until...!?
Great-Grandmother Photo
In Ninten's desk drawer there is a photograph he keeps dear. The beautiful woman in the sepia photo, which is cut into an oval shape, is Ninten's great-grandmother Maria when she was young. The right half, which appears to show her husband George, is cut away. When George came suddenly back to his home from unknown whereabouts, the only thing he had on him was this picture of his wife.
Penguin Toy¹
For as long as he can remember, Ninten has loved penguins. The day penguins came to Choux Cream Zoo, after he'd only seen them in photos and on TV, was a day he'll never forget.
¹ Biozilla has identified the toy in the picture as a vintage Happy Penguin toy from the Japanese manufacturer, ALPS.
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