ari

“What I mean is, even an ordinary guy like me sometimes can think that everything is pointless. Why do I wake up and eat? It all ends up shit in the end. Why do I go to school and study? Even in the unlikely chance that I become successful in the future, I’m still going to die. You can dress nice and make people envious, or get rich, but none of it means anything. It doesn’t mean a damn thing. Anyway, maybe such meaninglessness is appropriate for this shitty nation.
But—and here’s the ‘but'—you and me, we have other emotions like happiness, right? We can find enjoyment. It’s nothing that amounts to much—but isn’t that what fills the emptiness inside us? At least for me, that’s the only answer I know.”
― Koushun Takami, Battle Royale

“We’re searching for a reason of existence. With our own strength, because maybe the truth is that there’s no reason for life from the very beginning. Everyone hopes and tries so hard to find a reason of existence. The reason of birth, of staying with someone, of existence, believing we have to find them all with our own hands. Like finding a place for ourselves in dreams, in jobs, in people. The reasons we conclude may be indefinite and fragile. We may lose it too, but even so, we want a reason. As long as I’m alive, I want it too. If possible, I want to find a reason of existence within a person, within someone.”
― Natsuki Takaya, Fruits Basket Collector's Edition, Vol. 12

“I want satisfaction. I want revenge. Even if the only result is getting to feel self-satisfied, I want to strike a blow against this country. That's all.”
― Koushun Takami, Battle Royale

“I’m the awkward writer who posts a picture of my book and says, “It’s an okay book. There are words in it. Read it if you want.”
― Colleen Hoover, Verity