But in reality, it is a quite delicate coming-of-age novel that depicts "understanding others," "what it means to be normal," and "returning a little from loneliness."
This story, "Uncertain Days," at first glance,
appears to be
looked at the sky
went to the library
ate cake
just a very quiet daily life.
But in reality,
"understanding others"
"what it means to be normal"
"returning a little from loneliness"
it is a quite delicate coming-of-age novel that depicts these things.
For those who are curious, I will delve deeper into each theme.
1. The meaning of the title "Uncertain Days"
"Obotsukanai" (uncertain) means
unstable
unclear
somewhat unreliable
.
In other words, the protagonist of this day
is not yet emotionally stable
.
I can't sleep. I overthink. I feel vaguely anxious. But even I don't fully understand what I'm anxious about.
This "vague anxiety" is quite realistic during adolescence.
(2) The "sensory sensitivity" at the beginning
The first sentence.
If I close my eyes, the sounds become noisy; if I close my ears, the light becomes noisy.
This is quite important.
The protagonist is currently
in a state where their mind cannot rest
.
Normally, when people sleep, their senses gradually quiet down.
But the protagonist is the opposite.
Sounds bother them
Light bothers them
The ticking of the clock is loud
Only their mind is alert
In other words,
they cannot effectively shut out the outside world
.
This is a sensation that easily occurs when loneliness and anxiety are strong.
(3) "Stars" = the desire to connect with someone
The protagonist wanted to see a meteor shower.
But they couldn't see it because of the city lights.
There is symbolism here.
They actually want to see "beautiful things."
That is it.
But in reality, the city lights—the noise of reality—get in the way.
That is why the protagonist,
counts the stars in books
In other words,
they are escaping into books and memories rather than reality.
That is the reason.
4. The sunrise scene is a moment of "sharing."
This is the core of this novel.
The protagonist looks at the sky and suddenly wants to show it to someone.
That person is "Yuka."
What is important is,
that it is not about the excitement of romance itself.
That is what it means.
The essence of this scene is,
"looking at the same thing."
things.
Moreover, the two are in separate places.
But,
purple
pink
the sky as it turns to morning
are shared.
In other words, the author is saying that,
even if people cannot fully understand each other,
they can share the same scenery
is what they are saying.
This is a very quiet "connection."
⑤ The reason why the photo was not taken
In a typical novel, the "photo that was taken" would become a memory.
But in this work,
not a single photo had been added.
This is important.
In other words, the author,
values "experience" over "records"
is what they value.
No photos remained.
But,
seeing the same sky
spending the same time
was, in itself, real.
This is the opposite of the modern feeling that "everything must be recorded."
6. The "Only One Person in the World" Delusion
The protagonist thinks,
"What if I were the only one left in the world?"
This is a feeling that many people around middle school age can strongly empathize with.
In other words,
the feeling that
"I feel like I'm the only one out of sync with the world."
But immediately after that,
descriptions follow of
elementary school students playing games
cars driving by
as well.
In other words, the author is saying,
"Even if you feel lonely, the world is continuing just fine."
That is what it says.
This is a bit of a relief.
⑦ Library = A place where "normal" gathers
In this work, the library is not so much a place of knowledge, but rather
"a place where various values are quietly lined up"
as it is depicted.
In it, the protagonist finds a book about "Ozoni" (zuppa di mochi).
This is the greatest theme of the work.
⑧ Ozoni = A symbol of "normal"
Ozoni is completely different depending on the region.
But all of them are,
"This is normal"
to those people.
The author here,
"Normal" is not just one thing
expresses this theme through food.
This is quite clever.
Because food culture strongly reflects one's "home."
In other words,
the place where you grew up
Family
Habits
Memories
Everything is included.
⑨ "I want to know her normal"
The protagonist here isn't just simply in love.
He wants to understand the other person's world.
That is what he thinks.
This is close to what it means to truly love someone.
It's not just about looks or having fun,
what kind of home they grew up in
what they consider normal
what kind of scenery they have seen
he wants to know.
In other words, the protagonist is
starting to move from "romance" to "understanding."
That is what is happening.
⑩ "The body was normal"
This part is super important.
The protagonist,
I am surprised that my body felt normal even when I thought of Yuka.
In other words, before, I suppose
it was too painful,
my emotions were running wild,
my heart was unstable.
But now it is different.
I suppose.
But now it is different.
Even though I like her, I can breathe properly.
This is recovery.
In coming-of-age novels, "intense emotions" tend to be portrayed as if they are justice, but
this work is the opposite.
It depicts being able to think of someone calmly
as growth.
It is a quite mature work.
11. The meaning of the year-end blooper special
The protagonist
is not good with programs that laugh at people's failures.
is not good with them.
Why?
Because the protagonist himself
"knows the pain of being on the side that fails"
.
That is why,
he thinks his own life might be nothing but failures
.
This is low self-esteem.
⑫ But in the end, eating the cake
This part is quiet but super important.
The gateau chocolat is in a
"not okay by normal standards"
state.
It's dry. It's late at night. He's half asleep.
But the protagonist eats it.
This is
"it's okay not to be perfect"
acceptance.
Life is not all successful scenes.
There are failures. There are sloppy days. There are sleepless nights.
But,
It is an ending that says
we will go on living anyway.
The true theme of this novel
This work is
a story about trying to understand
someone with a different sense of normal little by little.
And one more thing.
It is also a story that says,
"Loneliness does not disappear. But people can return to others little by little."
The protagonist starts out
in a state of
being unable to sleep,
having hypersensitive senses,
and being disconnected from the world.
But by the end,
they have reached a point of
sharing the sky,
wanting to know the normal of others,
and being able to think of someone calmly.
This is the story.
In other words, this day is
the day the protagonist returned a little bit to the "world's side"
.