For this post, I wanted to take a different tack to the other post, because that was so clearly done on a time limit, to the point the final sentence doesn’t really make sense in context. So hopefully, now that I’ve had a reprieve from blogging, this post should be good enough for both me and you.

The fact the series starts in the middle of the Scramble Crossing should be notable in itself – it’s meant to be one of the busiest places in the world and thus a difficult place to connect to people at, more so if you’re on a completely different plane of existence. However, this is how people come up with meeting spots such as the Hachiko statue – icons easy enough to make out, even in crowds. The fact it’s set in Shibuya – a trend-setting place by Japanese knowledge – also makes it an ideal place for the extroverted and the street-savvy, but not a guy like the Neku we meet, who wishes to shut people out.

Being able to connect with others means understanding what others want and what motivates them. It means not freezing them out and acting at exactly the right time, every time, so you never hurt anyone. This is not a particularly easy task and the fact even the most seasoned extrovert can get things wrong is why apologies and “making it up to someone” exist – being able to weather out small storms in your relationships with others makes your life, and admittedly their lives, better off, while solidifying that relationship on both ends.

By giving up their most prized possessions, the stars of The World Ends With You learn what it is that motivates them. In some cases, these prized possessions aren’t actually things that physically exist, but rather more abstract concepts, like “hopes and dreams”. From personal experience, figuring out what motivates you is one of the biggest things in life, whether it be what school to go to or what you want your life’s purpose to be in general (if you think you need a “driving philosophy” of sorts).

…So if the world ends with you, at least be aware of the boundaries that have to be broken down in order to connect with others.

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This post ended up a lot more lecture-like than I envisioned it…There is a bit of a story as to why this is, so prepare yourselves:

During my time away from the Animanga Spellbook, I ended up reflecting on an idea I thought up for myself back in 2015 or 2016 or so, which I wanted to turn into an Akoya-centric fic but clearly remember abandoning for a different idea about the same character (specifically, Akoya at a theme park, being scared on the rollercoaster) – “I want to make an impact on the world before I die and leave such an impression people never forget me.” This, which I guess you can call my (rather selfish…?) “driving philosophy”, was the impetus for me finishing this post on the 30th of August 2021 – a few months after the post that inspired this one, plus the airing of the anime for TWEWY.

I was reminded of this when one of the server denizens asked me suddenly, “Do you run magicalgirlsandcerulean?” The answer to that is yes, as you might know from the about page, which led to the guy thanking me for my service to the Binan (Boueibu) fandom and, as well as reminding me of how much of a dork I was in the Boueibu days some years ago, reminded me of this particular “driving philosophy” thought. This, alongside the fact my admin duties on the server as of lately seem to tend more towards counselling and yelling at people to fix their sleep schedules than anything else, was probably what drove it to be such a lecture in the first place.

At this point, I’ve finished some of the series I promised I would, but not enough for another seasonal wrap-up post yet. I’ve gotten back my drive to watch after the enormous backlog killed it, but I think the current summer season will be over before I make enough progress to deem myself able to move on to that…haha.

Anyways, enough prattling from me. Have you found yourself growing closer to people in this time of the pandemic? Or has it gone the other way and you’ve got more time for yourself?