What I mean is that, even a dumb ass like me can think everything’s pointless. Why do I get up and eat? It all ends up shit anyway. Why am I going to school and studying? Even if I happen to succeed I’m going to die anyway. You wear nice clothes, you seek respect, you make a lot of money, but what’s the point? It’s all pointless. Of course,this kind of meaninglessness might suit this crappy nation. But you see, we still have emotions like joy and happiness, right? They may not amount to much. But they fill up our emptiness. That’s the only explanation I have. So these emotions are probably missing from Kazuo. He’s got no foundation for values. He just chooses as he goes. Like for this game, he might just as well have chosen not to participate. But he decided to. That’s my little theory.
—Takami Koushun
