[Book Review] On 'Tainted Pilgrimage'
Speaking of pilgrimages, they are usually visits to sacred places.
However, when you add the word 'tainted,' you have to wonder what kind of story it is.
That is why I picked up this book, and indeed, the characters seem to carry quite a bit of taint themselves.
The protagonist is the YouTuber Chan-Ike, also known as Ikeda.
There is Kobayashi, the editor, and Hojo, whose family runs a temple and who claims to be able to see ghosts.
The three of them end up making a fan book together, but
Kobayashi is quite the ruthless guy.
He believes that as long as it's interesting, it's fine, and suggests that it's better to write realistic, fabricated articles.
Ikeda agrees with this.
Of course, Hojo is much the same.
The three of them butt heads like this, but Ikeda is blunt and doesn't mince words.
Despite it being his first time meeting Hojo, he mocks him.
Hojo has had a miserable past because he has been able to see ghosts since he was a child.
As for Kobayashi, he had his own days as a fledgling editor who couldn't get things right,
and he has experienced the bitterness of that.
In other words, it seems that everyone has a painful past.
It is precisely because of that past that one learns how to live in their own way.
If you didn't have the experience of pain in your past, you couldn't expect to grow.
However, Ikeda's past was a little different.
Suffering because of his past, he reached the extreme conclusion that ghosts don't exist,
and he steps into ruins to stream his content.
While boasting that he isn't scared, he uses the word 'scary' for the sake of his viewers,
sometimes saying,
'It's not actually scary at all.'
But, the hidden side of him is—
Interspersed here and there are horror stories.
I don't know if these are true stories or not.
I assume they are probably made up.
No, I have to think that, otherwise it would be too scary, wouldn't it? lol
In any case, human resentment takes on an incredible form.
Furthermore, the idea that 'I am the reason she died'—
that kind of obsession creates ghosts.
Feelings of remorse,
and being frightened by one's own mistakes, can make a willow tree look like a ghost.
That is certainly true.
Depending on human psychology, one can see things that aren't there.
I think this is actually very plausible.
So, do ghosts not exist?
No, I think they do.
If they didn't, I would just be a coward, wouldn't I? lol
Besides, a world where things that can't be seen exist—
that is more interesting, isn't it? lol
Title: On 'Tainted Pilgrimage'
Author: Sesuji
Publisher: KADOKAWA