All about Love

"You would risk the fate of the entire universe for the sake of a fleeting emotion?"

Just to put things in context, the emotion in question here is, of course, love. Why do I love this quote? I think it's mostly because of how well it places love in the grand scheme of things: it's nothing but a fleeting emotion that lasts for a passion of a second, and generally brings a lot of pain and suffering. 

I also think that this quote was placed very poignantly, too. It was used to taunt the protagonist in the anime that it came from, and suddenly I realised something: it might not apply to most shows/movies/books/manga, but it certainly does apply to a lot of them - there are many antagonists who do the things they do because of love. Mr. Freeze (Frieze) for example, became the bad guy because he wanted to revive his wife.

So, from a completely different point of view, Simon really is a bad guy - he's jeopardising the fate of the entire universe just for a girl that he will eventually spend a grand total of 7 days with. Of course, from the other point of view, that's the power of love - between 7 days with a person you love and the entire bloody universe, you'd pick those 7 days.

"The person I love needs me..."

But one of the times that you enjoy the experience of being loved is when you feel that the person you love needs you. It's a feeling that I can't really explain, but I find that it's very, very true. I have not been in love before (proper love, anyway), and so I can't really comment on this, but heck, I figure that if you feel good helping that old lady cross the street, then you'd love helping the person who love with whatever they need help with.

It's a very special feeling to know that you're needed by someone. Not like in a sports game, when you're being pressured to win. No, this feeling is completely different, when someone special to you is relying on you to help him or her do something important...heh, it's kinda weird. I've never experienced it before, but I can imagine what it must feel like! 

"I'm sorry...I just wanted to see my family again..."

This quote actually links back to the first one. This quote came from the antagonist of a manga that I read, and I must confess that I completely broke down when it came to this part of the manga. Heh, this kind of quote is why there are no true good and bad guys in the world. There are very few purely evil people - I won't say that there aren't, but there are definitely fewer than we give the world credit for.

In any case, most people do crazy, terrible, or downright foolhardy things in the name of love. And it doesn't have to be romantic kind of love. Platonic love does the same thing (perhaps to a lesser degree) and the love for a family provokes the exact same reaction. So love can usually bring out the worst in people, guiding them to do terrible things, such as blowing up entire cities and contracting themselves to all manner of dark gods.

Ending Scene of 5cm/s

Admittedly, this isn't a quote. But I couldn't really put "..." there, could I? In any case, for those of you who've watched this show, please continue reading. If not...well, you could always move on to the final quote. 

Anyway, this ending scene of 5cm/s reminds us that love doesn't always work the way we imagine it to. It's a stark reminder of how the world isn't fair, how things don't go as planned, and how life doesn't end happily ever after. Ahh, life is sad, isn't it? I too, have had my first taste of defeat when it comes to life, and am right now picking up the pieces of my world. But well, you get used to it - I guess it's a test of your mental strength when it comes to things like this. Do you just sit on the ground and whine, or do you pick yourself up and keep going?

In the end though, you'll never be the same again...

"Perhaps we'll meet again in another 12,000 years."

When I first heard these words, I was shocked - not because of the physical impossibility of this task, but because of the fact that you're willing to wait 12,000 years just for someone to return. I can't even imagine the pain that you'd have to go through, waiting and waiting on the belief that you'll finally meet again in another 12 millienia. How can you even take such pain and suffering? 

You have no idea if he'll return. You'll have no idea what he'll be like if he returns. You'll have no idea if he'll exist by then. But still you keep waiting. Why?

"I don't want to die alone..."

Because you never want to die alone. This is possibly the greatest truth of mankind. No matter where you are, no matter where you're from, the last thing you want to do is to die alone. In the manga where this quote came from, I can't help but tear up everytime I read the story. It's hard to explain the context, because the quote comes at the very end of the story...but I don't think you guys need the context to understand the truth behind this quote.

It's terrible to die alone. It's even more terrible to live life alone. I can't imagine living a life without someone by my side - it's just not possible. Sure, for some of you, getting married and having a family is something to be avoided at all costs. But I don't know if I can survive without getting married. It's probably just me, but I think the greatest joy in the world is being surrounded by people who love you. 

The world, after all, is all about love.