[Announcement] After meeting you and parting with you—beyond the point where the narrative broke down
Introduction: About this series
This series did not begin with the intention of telling a specific story.
Rather, it arises from the experience of the words I tried to speak breaking down within a relationship, and what lies beyond that.
We believe in words.
Ideas and theories provide us with important clues for understanding the world and engaging with others.
In 'Yofuke no Culture Bin' (Late Night Culture Mail), we have handled such words through many books, films, anime, and games until now.
However, at the same time, words can sometimes be too strong and too direct, cornering the other person right in front of us.
A narrative intended to be righteous or sincere can become an inescapable responsibility or burden for the other person.
Or, in the attempt to respond to another, one may fail to notice that they themselves are on the verge of breaking down.
This series aims to address that very point.
What happens when theory takes precedence and the narrative loses its place in daily life and the stages of a relationship?
And, after the narrative has broken down, how can we still continue to engage with others?
Not as a personal confession, but as a structure of narrative
At the starting point of this series lies my own experience.
It is the experience of meeting someone, feeling that we understood each other, eventually drifting apart, and reaching a breakup.
There, we both hurt each other, and while trying to be sincere, we reached a moment where we hit our limits.
However, this series is not intended to tell that event like an 'I-novel' (shishosetsu).
I will not describe a specific other person, recreate the details of the relationship, or fully recount the other's inner thoughts.
What is told here is not the event itself, but the structure of the experience of
how the narrative fell apart.
Therefore, the center of the narrative is consistently placed on 'the me who spoke.'
This does not mean that I am receding into the background to anonymize the other person.
Rather, it is a first-person perspective to take responsibility for what kind of narrative I constructed and where I deprived the other person of their escape, without fixing the other person as an object of the narrative.
I consider anonymity here not as 'my disappearance,' but as
not consuming the other person and not exhausting the narrative.
Theory is tested in daily life
In this series, I will also touch upon the subjects covered in 'Yofuke no Culture Bin' so far.
In anime, games, films, and books, figures who take on the response to others to the extreme and then break down have been depicted repeatedly.
These are by no means distant fictions.
They show in a poignant way what kind of tragedy can occur when theory and ethics lose their place in daily life and the pace of a relationship.
What is important is not to deny theory itself.
Theory was originally born from the experiences of living human beings.
However, when it loses its place and stage, and is brought into the center of a relationship all at once, it can become an unbearable question for the other person.
In this series, I will think about how theory can be handled in daily life and within relationships, rather than brandishing it.
About the paid series
Except for the [Announcement], this series will be published as paid articles starting from the first installment.
This is not to provide answers or conclusions.
Nor is it to sell off special knowledge.
Thinking about broken narratives and wounded relationshipsinevitably takes time.
It is not a story that can be easily organized, nor one that can be immediately recovered into a positive narrative.
In the first installment, rather than speaking about the specifics of the relationship, we will begin by accepting
the very point where the narrative has broken. It will likely be content that places a considerable burden on the reader as well.
That is precisely why I would like to position this series not as something that can be read casually for free, but as a time to pause and face these issues.
Therefore, I would like to position this series not as something that can be read casually for free, but as a time to pause and face these issues.
In lieu of a conclusion
We cannot pretend that the broken narrative never happened. The existence of the other person we hurt, and the relationship we passed through, cannot be easily settled.
Even so, we end up meeting the next person in our daily lives. At that time, what kind of ingenuity or techniques might exist to ensure we do not repeat the same mistakes? And,
even if we cannot understand each other, or even if we end up hurting one another,
is it still possible to try to engage
?
This series will proceed slowly while holding onto that question. If you feel like stopping at any point, there is no need to force yourself to move forward. And I would be happy if you could return whenever you feel the need.
The first installment begins here.