All essays

25 essays · 2026. 06 —. One character at a time, read through four lenses.

2026. 07. 06 The Boy Who Kept Coming Back — Shinji Ikari of Evangelion On a Sunday afternoon I spent a long while watching a child learn to ride a bicycle in the park. The training wheels had come off not long … 10 min 2026. 07. 06 The Woman Who Came for Him — Mari Makinami of Rebuild of Evangelion Last week I had new glasses made. You rest your chin on the machine and the optometrist clicks lenses in and out, asking: better with one, … 12 min 2026. 07. 06 The Boy Who Meant to Pay It Back — Toji Suzuhara of Neon Genesis Evangelion I had a friend who couldn’t stand being treated. Buy him a meal and he would insist on the coffee next time; if he couldn’t, he … 9 min 2026. 07. 06 The Boy Who Came in Order to Leave — Kaworu Nagisa of Neon Genesis Evangelion There used to be a Chinese restaurant near my home, the kind that had been there twenty years. Last spring it closed. I didn’t know … 13 min 2026. 07. 06 The Man Who Stayed Beside — Kozo Fuyutsuki of Neon Genesis Evangelion On a weekend afternoon I sometimes take out the janggi board — Korean chess — and play with my daughters. They know only half the rules, so … 11 min 2026. 07. 06 The Woman Who Could Not Finish Her Hatred — Misato Katsuragi of Neon Genesis Evangelion When a person dies, their things remain. But the things do not all remain with the same weight. The belongings of someone you loved well … 10 min 2026. 06. 29 The Man Who Flowed to the End — Ryoji Kaji of Neon Genesis Evangelion There is a kind of planting a man does knowing he will never eat the fruit. The old man who plants a roadside tree does it; so does the … 11 min 2026. 06. 29 The Woman Who Lived Her Mother's Life — Ritsuko Akagi of Neon Genesis Evangelion Sometimes a sentence comes out of my mouth that isn’t mine. I say something offhand to someone and then catch myself. The tone, the … 11 min 2026. 06. 27 The Girl Who Lived On and Moved Away — Asuka Langley Shikinami of Rebuild of Evangelion There’s a thing that happens when you see a film at twenty and then meet its sequel past forty. The strange part isn’t that the … 10 min 2026. 06. 27 The Girl Who Said She Needed No One — Asuka Langley Soryu of Neon Genesis Evangelion There is a kind of person who says “I don’t need anyone” often. Offer to help and they say it’s fine; show concern … 11 min 2026. 06. 26 The Man Who Tried to Melt the World — Ikari Gendo of Neon Genesis Evangelion In my practice I have come to watch where people put their hands. Words can be dressed up; hands are harder to dress. The at-ease let their … 11 min 2026. 06. 25 Vanished in Order to Remain — Ikari Yui of Neon Genesis Evangelion There is a piece of test footage. A woman walks into a vast machine, and a few seconds later nothing is left where she stood. An empty … 12 min 2026. 06. 24 Set Up Without an 'I' — Ayanami Rei of Neon Genesis Evangelion When I first saw the rows of identical faces floating in the tanks, what came to me was less fear than a very old picture. One breaks, and … 11 min 2026. 06. 23 The Man Who Did Not Escape — Oedipus the King, Oedipus There is a scene one sometimes witnesses in a meeting room. Something has gone wrong, and when you trace it, no one is at fault. The rules … 7 min 2026. 06. 23 The Man Who Could Not Escape — Oedipus the King, Oedipus Ever since word got around the family that I am handy with machines, my seat at holiday gatherings has been fixed. The dishes are cleared, … 10 min 2026. 06. 23 The Man Who Doubted He Deserved to Be Loved — Othello, Othello These days the word “self-esteem” turns up everywhere. Raise your self-esteem, love yourself. And yet it is surprisingly hard … 8 min 2026. 06. 22 The Man Who Sent the World a Bill — Richard III, Richard of Gloucester On the late-night subway there is a certain moment. The window goes black, and the glass turns into a mirror. You are staring blankly at … 7 min 2026. 06. 20 The Man Who Could Never Raise His Hand — Hamlet, Hamlet For several days I had been putting off one reply. Nothing difficult about it. I had known from the start what I wanted to say, had drafted … 11 min 2026. 06. 19 The Woman Who Could Not Be Washed Clean — Macbeth, Lady Macbeth I once watched, up close, someone finally reach a position they had wanted for years. They had given years to it. The evening the decision … 9 min 2026. 06. 18 The Man Who Did Not Harden — The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, Okada Toru I thought of this man again while boiling spaghetti. Waiting for water to come to a boil does not leave you much to do. Drop in the … 13 min 2026. 06. 16 The Boy Who Is Chased the Farther He Runs — Kafka on the Shore, Kafka Tamura I once saw a boy at a bus stop late at night, carrying a backpack larger than himself. Fifteen, maybe sixteen. The pack was so heavy he … 10 min 2026. 06. 15 The Man Who Would Not Let Go of One Hand — 1Q84, Tengo Some memories ignore duration. That something which lasted perhaps ten seconds can come to occupy forty years—I find that strange … 10 min 2026. 06. 15 A Hand Held Once, Held for a Lifetime — 1Q84, Aomame I sometimes think about holding hands. The time it takes for two people to clasp hands is, at most, a few seconds. A handshake: two or … 10 min 2026. 06. 15 The Woman Who Does Not Sink — Norwegian Wood, Midori Someone is always in the kitchen. The person who gets up before the family sits down at the table, who heats the soup and dishes out the … 9 min 2026. 06. 15 The Woman Who Could Not Stay on This Side — Norwegian Wood, Naoko You can tell at the swimming pool. Some people let go of tension and stay floating on the surface without effort; others, no matter how … 10 min