"The world is not beautiful: and that, in a way, lends it a sort of beauty." - Kino no Tabi: The Beautiful World
"Like a man rowing a boat that floats on the tide, we enter the future facing the past. Our eyes see only the landscape of the past; what tomorrow looks like, nobody knows.” - Paul Valéry, paraphrased in Vinland Saga
"Back then...If I closed my eyes, I could be anything, go anywhere, even the future. But...I wonder if the reason my life doesn't quite match that future...is because I left something important behind. Anyway...right now, no matter where I am or what I do...I'm just always lonely. Sometimes I think...If I open my eyes, I'll be a kid again and none of this will have happened. But it has happened...And this is the only me there is." - Haru, Tokyo (Sekai no Owari to Yoakemae)
"I had thought myself to be a special person up until that point. I enjoyed being with my family...and I thought my class in my school...had the most interesting people in the world. But that was when I realized it wasn't like that. The things that happened in what I believed to be the most enjoyable class in the world...could be found happening in any school in Japan. Everyone in Japan would find them to be ordinary occurrences. Once I realized this...I suddenly found that...my surroundings were beginning to lose their color. Brush my teeth and go to sleep at night. Wake up and eat breakfast in the morning. People do those everywhere. When I realized that everyone did all these things on a daily basis...everything started to feel so boring. And if...there were so many people in the world...there had to be someone living an interesting life that wasn't ordinary. I was sure of it. Why wasn't that person me? That was all I could think...until I graduated from elementary school. And from the process I realized something. Nothing will happen if you sit around waiting. So I figured I would change myself in middle school. Let the world know that I wasn't a girl content with sitting around and waiting. And I conducted myself accordingly. But in the end, nothing, ever happened. Before I knew it, I was in high school. I thought something would have changed." - Haruhi Suzumiya, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
"You know what I think, Punpun? There's a loneliness that's part of living as a human being that you can never get rid of. If, no matter how much people seek or hurt each other, they can never find full understanding with one another, then what are they supposed to believe in, you know?" -God, Oyasumi Punpun
"It's pretty hard just to survive as a human being. The world's a big place and there's a lot of stuff I don't understand, but I think there must be something important out there...I mean that's what I want to believe." -Naruo Taneda, Solanin
"People...No, not just people. This world itself and all its mechanisms will betray you. It's only natural. Every individual is different. Nobody can truly understand anybody else." Sada Hinomoto, Hisone to Maso-tan
"I am a cuckoo, standing on top of the lives that were pushed aside. As they sing of spring, I hear a voice calling in the distance... And I think, if I ever really were a bird, then at least I would pass through the days oblivious to such agonizing torment as this." - Rei Kiriyama, 3-gatsu no Lion
"The world has become rather convenient. If you go to a convenience store, food, drinks, cosmetics...even cell phones are sold. But they don't cell relationships there." - Hitomi Kashiwa, Welcome to the NHK
"'He is rich that has few wants.'
'What does that mean?'
'Excepting my family, I'm happy to let all my personal relationships begin and end in my head.
Someone liking or disliking me is all in my imagination.
As long as there's no harm to me,
it doesn't matter if they like me or hate me.
So I don't have any interest in others
and others don't have any interest in me.' - Haruki Shiga and Sakura Yamauchi, Kimi no Suizou wo Tabetai
"People hate liars, but people like lies. You lie, you play along with what people say, and live a BS life. You have nothing to hurt people or to be hurt by. You become worthless. And you become sick of being with other people. That's basically why I quit school too. Liars don't lose anything, but they don't gain anything, either." - Haru Nonaka, Yesterday wo Utatte
"Everyone has something they hold dear, something they never want to lose. That's why they pretend. That's why they hide the truth. And that's why they lie." Hachiman Hikigaya, Yahari Ore no Seishun Love Comedy wa Machigatteiru.
"When you're at a low moment in your life and you still have to interact with your surroundings, it's quite tiresome, isn't it? You're having such a rough time and yet everyone else seems to be having fun. Since they look like they're having fun, you don't want to ruin it by crying or saying something sad by mistake. Even though it's not their fault if we're in different situations, you can't help but be angry, you become unintentionally jealous of them, and when you realize it, you feel pathetic. Then you worry about how pathetic you are and want to redeem yourself. But then you gradually end up distancing yourself from everyone and wind up alone. Then once again, you're alone and can't reach out to those who were around you, and you realize you should have said these simple words back then. You can't help but think you would like to have someone to complain and discuss your troubles with. In the end, you just want to be saved by someone." - An Onoya, ReLIFE
"Please take a look at this. I have created a chart that shows the ratio between pain and fun in life. As looking at this makes clear, individual happy times when you think "this is fun" or "I am happy to be alive" do not amount to even one-tenth of our lives. People who believe in God say God created this world. Thus, they are saying the one who made this world rife with suffering is God. There is no way a God who made this horrible world could be a good person. God is a bad person. That's for certain. Do you have any rebuttals? Since God is evil, he does mean things...That's why I know what I have to do about it. I have to...defeat God. This world would probably transform into something wonderful if such a mean God vanished. The problem is...I don't know where God is, much less how to defeat him. Unlike the others, I can't believe in God, since I have a poor imagination...If an extravagant miracle would occur before my eyes, like in the Bible...I would be able to believe in God. If I had faith, I could blame all the bad things on God. Then I'd be sure it wasn't my fault..." Misaki Nakahara, Welcome to the NHK!
"I was thinking 'happiness' is basically 'something in this current world that lacks unhappiness.' Maybe you could also say it's 'not acknowledging unhappiness.' Or 'not imagining unhappiness.' Or just 'letting go of it.' The times when you think, 'I'm so happy right now!' occur when you're only thinking about the good stuff. It's a stage where you ignore the stuff that could spoil your happiness--no matter what's happening at the time. Looking at it so shrewdly might actually ruin your happiness...but that's just the way it works. Conversely if you're anxious or depressed or exhausted...it can feel like there's only unhappiness in the world. Right at this very moment, people everywhere are dealing with terrifying things. It's almost dizzying. Maybe you just happened to be different, is all. There are missing people out there and people who are looking for them, sleepless with worry...while others are still taking advantage of them. There are scared people and people who think they'd be better off dead...Right now. Right in this very neighborhood. On the other side of that window, there could be a gruesome crime scene. But constantly thinking about that kind of thing gets in the way of life, so people just don't think about it. It's not that they're wrong in thinking like that. When you're 'happy,' you take information in selectively. Your field of vision is incredibly narrow." -Nagata Kabi, My Solo Exchange Diary
“A drama has a logical progression, outbursts of emotion, and a resolution. Our everyday lives are just filled with nebulous and vague anxieties forever and ever.” Kaoru Yamazaki, Welcome to the NHK!
"'Satou...Human beings don't want to admit that they're worthless. So, they're constantly seeking someone more worthless than themselves.'
'That's also why the Internet is overflowing with insults to others. People who couldn't find anyone more wothless than themselves around brand somebody they've never met a worthless human being, because they want to believe they're better than someone.'
'It's hollow, isn't it? It's because while they're badmouthing somebody else, they can feel comforted that they themselves are all right. But that doesn't actually help. Don't you think that if, instead, one would just acknowledge that one is a worthless human being, it might make things easier?'" - Various characters in Tatsuhiro Satou's head, Welcome to the NHK
"People are always lost in their way as they search for the truth that doesn't exist" - Yuuichi Onodera, Oyasumi Punpun
"Lately...I've been scared of time passing...the days have always just made me remember pain, so I've hated every one of them...Even so, right now, I'm afraid of tomorrow coming..I wonder why..."
"It looks like you understand the fear of being left behind..." - Juri and Aunt Monica, Our happy hours
"Things That Pass by Rapidly: 'A boat under full sail. Age. Spring. Summer. Fall. Winter.'” - Sei Shonagon, Quoted in Chihayafuru
"Kazusa, what's your understanding of time? If you compress all the time since the Earth was formed into the span of a year, humans have only been in existence for eleven minutes. If that's the case, then my life is so frighteningly short, I may as well already be dead." -Niina Sugawara, O Maidens in Your Savage Season
"Sometimes, people miss out on things because they're looking out for each other. But that's not something to feel sad about. If anything, you should consider it a source of pride...I'm sure you guys feel like the present means everything, but that's not the least bit true. The scales get balanced eventually. That's how the world works...The present isn't everything, but there are things you can only do now, things you can only find here." -Shizuka Hiratsuka, Yahari Ore no Seishun Love Comedy wa Machigatteiru.
"But lately, I've started to think that very few people really like themselves. I think everyone has an ideal version of themselves within their hearts, but most of the time, their real selves can't catch up to it. Perhaps that's why we grow up and try to look ahead to the future. I think we'll spend our lives chasing that ideal."
"Being alive isn't easy..."
"Is that so bad, though? From the universe's perspective, the few decades we spend living here might as well be seconds. And what's a few seconds of suffering?" -Shingetsu, Granbelm
"Pain is something that people must endure in their hearts, and since the heart feels pain so easily, some feel life is pain."-Kaworu Nagisa, Neon Genesis Evangelion
"It's impossible not to hurt others. Whether they're aware of it or not, people hurt others just by existing. They do it when they're alive, and they keep doing it long after they're dead. They do it by getting involved with them, and they might do it if they try not to get involved, too. But if it's someone you don't care about, you won't even notice that you're hurting them. What's important is being aware of the fact. When you feel you're hurting somebody, it shows that you care about them. That's what holding people dear is all about. It means you're prepared to hurt them." -Shizuka Hiratsuka, Yahari Ore no Seishun Love Comedy wa Machigatteiru.
"You seem pretty evasive about life. Do you think you'd look dumb if you were a tryhard? You're just being self-deprecating to give yourself a way out, aren't you? So that you won't get hurt, no matter where the chips fall." - Kinoshita, Yesterday wo Utatte
"Let me tell you this. You said that the hours of every day are trash. However, that is the way someone lucky enough to welcome the next day thinks." - Monica, Our Happy Hours
"There is no such thing as forever. Everything ends sooner or later. Just as it should. Because now is only now. And this moment...is so precious." - Reki, Haibane Renmei
"'Hey, tell me. Do you really want to spend the rest of your short life in a library?'
'Obviously. Why wouldn't I?'
'I'm not sure what's 'obvious' about it.'
'What else should I be doing, then?'
'Maybe meeting up with your first crush
or hitchhiking in a foreign country
and finding a nice place to die, or something.'
'I get where you're coming from...
but don't you have things you want to do before dying too?'
'I suppose I do.'
'Yet you're not doing them right now.
Even though you never know if you'll drop dead tomorrow!
That's true for me and just as much for you.
Every day is worth the same as any other.
What I did or didn't do today doesn't change its worth.' - Haruki Shiga and Sakura Yamauchi, Kimi no Suizou wo Tabetai
"Why are people so very forgetful? They'll see the end of a life like this so very much, so why can't they live with more of a sense of urgency?
The good fortune of 'a dream coming true,' the hapiness of having life, and living on to a match tomorrow, and despite the miracle that is 'now' born from chilling levels of accumulated fortune...There is this miserableness of having played constantly for years and years feeling the joy of winning and the frustration of losing and then spacing out everything becoming a blur, and not feeling anything anymore...I live a life of admiring others and never myself. A backstage tour of a life. Why can't I shine as if to tear apart the sky like that?
--Living like this, when I die, I wonder if I'll be able to say 'I really lived it to the fullest?' This is how I feel about 'living.' I suppose that living your life carefree, forgetting that you will die someday...is just one of the little privileges that human beings have." -
Izaya Namerikawa, 3-gatsu no Lion
"Nothing will progress while you can't make up your mind. You know why people stress over things? Because there aren't any easy answers. Maybe what you really want is too dreamy and unreal, and you're hesitating because of that. It'll still feel better to try and regret, than regret not trying at all." -Ai, Solanin
"If you have time to think of a beautiful end, why not live beautifully until the last?" - Gintoki Sakata, Gintama
"Everyone is where they are because of the choices they've made." - Sakura Yamauchi, Kimi no Suizou wo Tabetai
"I know that by keeping others at a distance, you avoid a betrayal of your trust. For while you may not be hurt that way, you mustn't forget that you must endure the loneliness. Humans cannot erase this sadness because all humans are fundamentally alone." -Kaworu Nagisa, Neon Genesis Evangelion
"It's easy to give people the cold shoulder. But it's really hard to understand them. Sometimes you'll even find a new side to family you've known for years. No matter how hard you hope, it's sad to think about not understanding anyone your entire life. But I want to understand. I pray I want to keep understanding. I'll find the courage to believe." - Miki Makimura, Devilman Crybaby
"It's not empty words I'm after. There was something else I desired all along. Not mutual understanding, friendship, companionship, or anything of the sort. I don't care about being understood. I simply wish to understand. Understand, know, and rest easy in that knowledge - gain some peace of mind. Wanting to know people inside-out because being in the dark terrifies me is an awfully self-indulgent, egotistic, and arrogant wish. It's downright despicable and disgusting. Having a desire like that makes me sick to the stomach! But if it's at all possible to share that desir - if it's possible to have a relationship where you're free to burden one another with that repulsive self-gratification...I know that it's out of the question! I know that it's out of my reach! Even so, I...want something genuine."-Hachiman Hikigaya, Yahari Ore no Seishun Love Comedy wa Machigatteiru.
"Whenever I talk to Tohru about these things, it feels kinda...depressing. It drives home the difference between 'communicating' and 'understanding.' It makes me realize that the worlds we've lived in are all too different. But maybe that's exactly why I want to treasure our time together." -Kobayashi, Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon
"Living...means having a bond with others. I think that's what living refers to. Paying attention to someone. Loving someone. Hating someone. Having fun being with someone. Taking someone's hand. That's what it means to live.
If you're all alone, you can't tell that you exist. Your relationship with others is what defines being alive. I know my mind exists, since I can interact with others. I know my body exists because others touch me. That's where the purpose to being alive comes from. Just like we've both chosen to live out this moment here and now." - Sakura Yamauchi, Kimi no Suizou wo Tabetai
"The moment the world becomes softer is something I only recently found out. If you persist with a barrier, you wouldn't get hurt and no one could stop you. But you also wouldn't be able to interact with anyone. Neither temperature nor space would you be able to share with anyone. You'd be alone. Surely, I came to want to know what it feels like to be hurt. I want to scoop out the feelings piled up within me. I've come to want to share them with someone." - Mizuho Suga, Piece
"Truthfully, I act nice to others because I don't want them to hate me. The fact that someone could hate me and hold a grudge against me for getting angry at them scares me. It's why I try not to get upset. While it takes time to be on good terms with someone, it takes only an instant to be hated...I want to maintain that balance. That being said, getting close to someone also means exposing your faults." - Sumi Izumi, Nande Ikiteru ka Wakaranai Hito Izumi Sumi 25-sai
"'Well, love is really just a drug to ease the fear and uneasiness of loneliness. But that fear will be waiting for you once the drug wears off. In the end there's really no difference from living alone.'
'Mr. Onodera, is living fun?'
'I can't say it's really fun, but I can't say it's bad either.'
'Then what's living to you?'
'hmm... perhaps redemption.'" - Yuuichi Onodera, Oyasumi Punpun
"What if...and this is strictly hypothetical...What if you could reload your save data to change your previous choice, like in a game? Would it change your life? The answer is a resounding no." -Hachiman Hikigaya, Yahari Ore no Seishun Love Comedy wa Machigatteiru.
"Just by existing, light makes it clear where the darkness is." - Soichiro Arima, Kareshi Kanojo no Jijou
"There are feelings that you don't understand until you get hurt and make trouble. There are feelings you start to understand only when you've hit rock bottom. You rebel against what's pure. But when you're filthy, you start to long for what's pure. You need gentleness to feel pain. You need sunlight before you notice darkness. You can't understand either. And neither is a waste. So even if you screw up sometimes, it's not for nothing. As long as you make sure to think, "I won't let this be for nothing," it's bound to become nourishment for you to grow in life. That's my theory on life." -Kyoko Honda, Fruits Basket
"When someone messes up, we should help each other fix it. Because there aren't too many people who can do everything." -Nariyuki Yuiga, Bokutachi wa Benkyou ga Dekinai
"To achieve something you're not suited for, you need a rebellious spirit that can break through a huge wall." Asumi Kominami, Bokutachi wa Benkyou ga Dekinai
"Learn the pain of creating something. And once you've learned it, resolve to show lenience to others. In poetry, in literature...in everything." - Mr. Fukusaku, Chihayafuru 3
"Ad astra per aspera (a rough road leads to the stars)" - Latin Phrase, quoted in Kanata no Astra
"I love the idea of small actions building up good fortune. When you're lost, why not think about what you want to build up within yourself and try making decisions that way?" - Kanade Ooe, Chihayafuru 3
"Think, writhe, struggle, and agonize. If not, what you're going through isn't genuine." -Shizuka Hiratsuka, Yahari Ore no Seishun Love Comedy wa Machigatteiru.
"When ya leave a dark place and step into the sunlight, its brightness blinds you for a second, right? Then yer eyes get used to it, and ya can see around again. But, ya know, what ya see wasn't created by the light. All of it'd been there all along. And sunlight don't pick and choose who to shine upon. So, as long as ya don't block it yerself, light will make yer world shine all on its own." - Kino Kohinata, Amanchu!
"Memories are pretty fiddly things. Good memories and bad memories can intertwine. And there's no way to just cut out and throw away the parts you don't want." - Akari Kawamoto, 3-gatsu no Lion
"Painful memories are like caves. It's dark and scary and I couldn't get near it. But if I find the courage to push forward, somtimes, I can find the precious memories, like jewels in my past." - Miki Takekasa, After School Dice Club
"Your tears, like a laundry machine, help clean up your bottled-up feelings. In the event your heart can't handle something, just let the tears flow." - Sumi Izumi, Nande Ikiteru ka Wakaranai Hito Izumi Sumi 25-sai
"Let's see, think of it this way. You're surrounded by such a huge mountain of laundry that you can't move an inch. You have no washer, and you have to wash it all by hand. Would you get overwhelmed? You wonder if you can really finish washing them, if you can wash them clean, nad if you're capable of getting satisfactory results. Whenever you think about it, you get anxious. But time continues to tick by. Now what should you do, Tohru-kun? For the time being, you should wash what's at your feet, don't you think? It's important to think about what's ahead, but it's also important to think of what you can do now, in the present. If you continue washing one by one, before you know it...the sunlight will start peeking through again. The worry will still rise up in you sometimes, but in those times, take a break. Read a book, watch TV, or eat somen with your friends." -Shigure Souma, Fruits Basket
"I think you've taught me that if you see the world in front of you from a different perspective, you will find a new answer to your questions that belong only to you." - Sugane Tachibana, Gatchaman Crowds
"For people to continue on living, they need some sort of aspiration. Thinking they will become wealthy eventually...thinking they will become famous eventually...holding belief onto the existence of heaven...everyone believes in their own respective illusions and hallucinations, and they forget the painfulness of reality...There are those who discover value in 2 dimensions and free themselves from the third. There are those who find reality in their work, and free themselves from their families. But I understand there is no actual reality anywhere...everything everywhere is just a stupid illusion. There is nothing that is true...whichever belief, or whatever feeling they're all just opportune bullshit. Me and my feelings are illusions too. Because everyone is living their respective bullshit, they are 'free.'" -Tatsuhiro Satou, Welcome to the NHK!
"People always say they feel awkward about having eighth-grader syndrome. They say that they don't want to talk about it, that they want to forget about it for good. But does that really get rid of our crazy old selves and their wild fantasies...back when we thought we were special, when we thought something greater watched over us? People sometimes tell lies, imagine a completely diffeerent fantasy world, dream about the distant future, or invent a lover's relationship that only exists inside their heads. This process repeats from the day wer are born until the day we die. Forever and ever. It is depressing. It is shameful. But it is dear to us. It is an illness known as self-consciousness. It is something we must all face known as 'ourselves.' Indeed, we carry our eighth-grader syndrome throughout all of our lives." -Narrator, Love, Chunibyo & Other Delusions!
"What kind of adult did you dream to become? What kind of adult is good? An adult who has plans to get a job at a certain age and to get married at a certain age? An adult whom everyone considers...to be good? What is that adult like? If you wish to become such an adult, will you be happy? I don't know." - Il-Deung Na, Annarasumanara
"'I think that shows you've become independent. You've built your own, unique set of values.'
'Does that mean I've become a grown-up?'
'Who knows? I certainly don't. Besides, most people don't grow up because they want to. Life just comes along and forces them to stop being children." - Kobayashi and Tooru, Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon
"But in your case, you can't expect much accuracy"
"...You're right. I never get it right. Of course, it's a pity I can't get it right, but I think it's better that I don't...If the results come true, it's as if there's only one future. But if it fails, we can think that other futures exist. We never know how the future shifts because of the slightest change. I want to believe that in our future ther are many possibilities waiting." - Tomoya Okazaki and Ryou Fujibayashi talking about fortunes, Clannad
"Life can't be calculated. One way to measure it is to say 'The future is a closed book, anything beyond the present is shrouded in darkness,' but the opposite is also true plenty of the time." -Rei Kiriyama, 3-gatsu no Lion
"In order to get stronger, I have to find my weaknesses and correct them one by one. I just have to soberly and unrelentingly keep doing those things that make me feel like I'm going to go crazy. It's simple, really." -Rei Kiriyama, 3-gatsu no Lion
"'Learn to learn to love yourself?' What does that mean? How are we supposed to find something good about ourselves? The whole reason we hate ourselves...is because we can only see the parts we hate. So forcing ourselves to find 'good points' feels hollow, like we're making things up. It's not like that. That's not how it works. I think that it's only when someone says they love you that you're able to start loving yourself. I think when someone accepts you, that's when you start feeling like you can forgive yourself a little and start to love yourself." -Yuki Souma, Fruits Basket
"Or rather, what do you think keeps people from going wild? ... The answer I found is 'family.' When there's family, it's easier to control oneself."
"Not always! There are cases where family causes one to have a wild life"
"The 'family' I'm talking about doesn't have to be a real family. It can even be friends. What it takes is a group that's like a family. I don't mean to force the answer on others, but that's the answer I arrived at...No matter how depressing a place may look, the most important places don't change. I think there's a similar aspect to family, as well. " -Tomoyo Sakagami and Tomoya Okazaki, 'wild' seeming to mean 'troubled' in this context, Clannad
"No matter how cold and distant people may become, on the inside something warm and precious remains something that never changes to me. That's what family is like. " - Tomoyo Sakagami, Clannad
"Real family and friends love you, even when they know your flaws." - Yukino Miyazawa, Kareshi Kanojo no Jijou
"I read it in a book before, that animals don't feel sorry for themselves. That touched my heart. The life of animals, without self-pity and simply devoted to the time given. The life of humans, with sympathy for other living beings. If we can travel halfway between these two paths, don't you think our lives would be wonderful?" -Ju Dong-hwi, Nineteen, Twenty-One
"Life...life isn't so bad. If you keep living, you will someday find something good. And maybe that's no consolation...Because I think there are plenty of bad things in the world. But...I'm sure happiness and kindness are hiding somewhere right nearby. If nothing else, morning comes the same for everyone. It's up to you what you'll take from that." - Inio Asano, Yoakemae (Sekai no Owari to Yoakemae)
"This current Self is the same way, it's not my true Self.
I can be any way I wish to be.
I see, I can exist without being an Eva pilot as well! If you consider that, perhaps this world isn't so bad.
Still, even though the reality itself might not be bad, I could still hate myself.
It's your mind which takes reality and separates it into what's bad and hateful.
It is only the mind which separates reality from truth.
Your view of reality changes your perception of its nature.
It is all, literally, a matter of perspective.
There are as many truths as there are people.
But there's only one truth that is your truth.
That's the one that's formed by whatever narrow point of view you choose to view it from.
It's a perception that protects you from the twisted truth.
That's true, and one can have a perspective that is far too small.
But a person can only see things from the perspective they choose.
One must learn to judge all things via the perceived truths that one receives from others.
For example, sunny days make you feel good.
Rainy days make you feel gloomy.
If you are told this is so, that is what you will believe to be so.
But you can have fun on a rainy day as well.
Your truth can be changed simply by the way you accept it.
That's how fragile the truth for a human is.
A person's truth is so simple that most ignore it to concentrate on what they think are deeper truths.
You, for example, are simply unused to what it is to be liked.
You've never learned how to deal with the fear of how others feel about you, so you avoid it.
But don't others hate me? What are you, stupid? It's all in your imagination! But I hate myself.
One who truly hates himself cannot love.
He cannot place his trust in another.
I'm a coward.
I'm cowardly, sneaky and weak.
Now that you know yourself, you can take care of yourself.
I hate myself.
But I could love myself.
Maybe my life could have a greater value.
That's right! I am no more or less than myself! I am me! I want to be myself! I want to continue existing in this world! I am worth living here!"
"What do you think the minimum value is for one year of lifespan? Take a guess. If your answer's close enough, I'll buy all these books for 100 yen each."
"Okay sure, but I dunno how I'm supposed to know."
"I'll give you a hint. The evaluation's based on happiness, achievement, and contribution. In other words, how happy you'll become, how many goals you'll achieve, and how you'll contribute to others' happiness. Those decide the life's value."
"Aha. That's simple then."
"Yeah? So how much? Not worthy of a price. Zero."
"How'd you figure it was zero?"
"Well, how should I say this? Right basically...Let's try rephrasing your question. If you can't make yourself happy, can't make others happy, can't realize a single dream - simply put...If you're someone like me, how would that life be priced? Comes to the same thing, right?"
"...Go on."
"I thought back through these 32 years of life, and I've never felt any happiness that felt like happiness. Had a bunch of dreams, but never achieved a single one. And forget ever making other people happy - I actively stole their happiness away."
"Stole?"
"Yeah."
"I've had to give it up now for a couple reasons, but 'til recently, I was sort of a con man. By the most optimistic measure, I'd say I've ruined at least 20 people's lives. That said, I had to do it just to survive. Don't regret it at all. But if I was buying, and it was a guy like me's lifespan, I wouldn't wanna offer a single yen for it."
"Well, I'll ask you again now. Do you wanna sell your lifespan?"
"Gramps, were you even listening to a word I said? Who out ther would sell something for nothin'?"
"As far as I can see, I think your lifespan'd sell pretty well. Just selling five years or so, I'm sure you could live comfortably on that money."
"Oh yeah? On what basis are you so sure?"
"Certainly, if we're talking about the past, you might be human garbage not worth a single yen. In the eyes of most people, they might think you're not only worthless, but that it'd be better if you never even existed. Thing is, your lifespan's value is your remaining life's value. So the past's got no bearing on that. It's the future what decides it.
"Okay, I get how the past doesn't affect the value of a lifespan. But still, gramps...Do you see me as having a bright future ahead?"
"...Yeah."
"Well, all the more reason not to sell. No logic in letting those years go if they're worth that much."
"...Right answer." - Old bookstore clerk talking with a 30-something year old man, I sold my life for ten thousand yen per year.
"Maybe you and everyone else are right, and this world isn't that wonderful. But just as familiar sights look different when seen from the sky...just as even when it's raining, blue skies spread out above the clouds...don't you think that the way you see the world can change depending on how you perceive it? Oh what a wonderful world. Even if it's a lie, if you believe it...maybe you'll feel happier than yesterday. Right? Good or bad, or something amazing. It isn't about what you do. It's about living without regret. That's it." - Horita Tomotsugu, Subarashii Sekai
"We're all born with selfish desires, so we can all relate to those feelings in others. But kindness is something made individually by each person, so it's easy to misunderstand when others are trying to be kind to you." - Kyouko Honda, Fruits Basket
"If you think of someone's good qualities as the umeboshi in an onigiri, it's as if their qualities are stuck to their back! People around the world are like onigiri. Everyone has an umeboshi with a different shape and color and flavor. But because it's stuck on their back, they might not be able to see their umeboshi. "There's nothing special about me. I'm just white rice." That's not true. There is an umeboshi -- on your back. Maybe the reason people get jealous of each other, is because they can see so clearly the umeboshi on other people's backs" - Tooru Honda, Fruits Basket
"It's not like I suddenly became stronger, nor did anything change. My body still trembles, but I'll keep facing my fears. What's important is...the desire to improve...which stems from weakness." -Yuki Souma, Fruits Basket
"You don't need that kind of courage! What's wrong with having that nerve? Because...because people are alive. And that's why we can cry or worry--or feel joy! You're looking for that reason. Deep down, you're probably desperately looking for that reason. Looking...for it on your own! I think maybe no one is born already having a reason to be here. Because I think it might be something you need to find and decide for yourself. Maybe...maybe you can find the reason in a dream, or a job, or in others. Sometimes maybe the reason you find feels vague and uncertain and unstable. You might even lose the reason...But as long as you're alive, you want a reason. I get it. I want one, too. And, if I'm able to...I want to find the reason within someone else. To become someone who can live for the sake of others. That's why...Yes, that's why it's okay to have nerve. Because if you have the nerve to live, you might meet the person who wants to be with you most." -Tooru Honda, Fruits Basket
"At the end of the day, those ideas we latch onto aren't enough to motivate us. But when faced with the cruelty of real life, they're the only things that can break through, make the impossible possible, and allow us to continue on. That's what I believe." - Gin, Sora Yori mo Tooi Basho
"In the end, not a single one of our problems has been solved. From here on, too, we'll probably be whispering 'I can't, I can't' every day while we go on living. But still... yeah! I don't know how long it will hold up, but I'll give it a try as best as I can." - Tatsuhiro Satou, Welcome to the NHK
"We overthink things and look back at yesterday...But still, our silly lives go on." - Rikuo Uozumi, Yesterday wo Utatte
"Even now, sometimes, the question 'What is it I really should've done?' crosses our minds with a twinge of pain. But either way, all we can do is swim on, seeking an ending where we can think 'This is what I chose and I was right!' And until the day that we approach the smug-looking face of 'destiny' and while pretending to do a crawl stroke, we ball up our fists and shower it with punches!" - 3-gatsu no Lion
"I thought that the only things I have now are worries I can't overcome, but even as someone who's always looking at reality, the present I got from Kanade-chan gave me some room to look past my worries for just a little. And from there, I might be able to stumble upon an opening. Even if it's just a dead end beyond that opening, even if I don't know where the path leads to, for each path I take, it's okay for me to take a small detour, right? Because that's my way of life right now." - Sumi Izumi, Nande Ikiteru ka Wakaranai Hito Izumi Sumi 25-sai
"Up until now, I had to go to a good high school if I wanted to go to a good university. I had to go to a good university if I wanted a good job. That's what I used to think. But I've started to think that life isn't quite that simple...While you're allowed to be anxious about the future, please don't be too pessimistic about it. I understand how worried you are right now, but there will never be a point of no return. There will always be opportunities in the future to receive help from others. After all, the world is a vast place. I'm sure there will always be a path for someone to take. But sometimes people focus too much on the negative and waste all those precious opportunities. If at some point in life, you make a mistakeor keep failing over and over again, and you can't help but think it's useless and you're a good-for-nothing, remember you're only taking a detour, and I'm sure further along your path will come a day where you think, "It was a good life experience. That's why it'll be fine. I'm sure of it, everything will be fine." -Chizuru Hishiro, ReLIFE
"Don't cry, even if you feel regret! No matter how miserable you are, how embarrassed you are, you just have to keep living!" - Inosuke Hashibira, Kimetsu no Yaiba
"Live with your chest high. If you get knocked down by your own weakness and cowardness, flame up your heart, grit your teeth, and move forward. Even if you stop in your tracks and cower, you're not gonna stop the flow of time. Don't be saddened by the fact that we're all reaching the end." - Kyoujurou Rengoku, Kimetsu no Yaiba
"If you muster up just a little courage and take a step forward, the world you see takes on a whole new hue." - Futaba Ooki, Amanchu!
"It's strange. Even after so much time has passed, something can save you, coming in like a storm from a completely different direction." -Rei Kiriyama, 3-Gatsu no Lion, Second Season
"I was just thinking...this is pretty fun. Yeah, it's like...motion! I feel like my youth is in motion! Yeah...this is what it is. Like anything can happen. Like I could make anything happen! The scenery that surrounds me every day is changing at a dizzying rate." - Mari Tamaki, Sora Yori mo Tooi Basho
"'What do you think becomes of snow when it melts?'
'Let's see...Spring comes! No matter how cold it is now, Spring will come again. It never fails. It's mysterious, isn't it?'" Hatori Souma and Tooru Honda, Fruits Basket
"When you aim to be a better person, even when you'll have to face the overwhelming, dark, unfathomable, and desolate world, you can feel the warmth that will keep you going." -Lee Yun-lee, Nineteen, Twenty-One
"When you go on a journey, there are things you learn for the first time. That there's nothing like enjoying the scenery. That people change, that the world changes, even when you're not looking. That there's no such thing as a nothing day. That your house has its own smell. If you want to learn those things, you've got to get moving. Then just keep moving until you see something you've never seen before. No matter how far you go, the world is so big...you'll definitely find something new. It's a little scary, but I know you can do it. Because...you'll definitely come across people who feel the same way." - Sora Yori mo Tooi Basho
"...As long as you're alive, something good is bound to happen. I'm sure of it." -Subarashii Sekai
“Anywhere can be paradise as long as you have the will to live. After all, you are alive, so you will always have the chance to be happy. As long as the Sun, the Moon, and the Earth exist, everything will be all right.” - Yui Ikari, Neon Genesis Evangelion
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