Hirozawa Furukawa sat stunned for a long time, unable to pull himself out of this cheerful and moving ending.
His eyes were fixed, and his whole mind was occupied by one question—
Old Thief Kohara's game, actually didn't have any angst?
And it even gave such a perfect, happy ending?
Even the BGM during the ending became heartwarming and touching; it didn't feel like Atsushi Shirakawa's style at all, and even less like Tsubakiaki Kogahara's style.
Apart from the script being as good as ever, Hirozawa Furukawa simply couldn't associate such an ending with the name of Old Thief Kohara.
If the game's ending had stopped at the point where Itomori Town was hit and destroyed by the comet, he would have thought it was normal, and would have even applauded it.
After all, that was Tsubakiaki Kogahara's consistent style; he was already used to the angst.
Suddenly, no angst, and it was so heartwarming—it was simply impossible for Hirozawa Furukawa to adapt.
How could this be?!
This must be a fake Tsubakiaki Kogahara, right?
Old Thief Kohara couldn't possibly be this gentle.
There must be something wrong somewhere.
However, after he carefully checked, the game was indeed made by Tsubakiaki Kogahara.
On the list of credits at the end of the game, it clearly displayed—
[Producer: Tsubakiaki Kogahara]
It was the name of Old Thief Kohara, no mistake.
Right after him, the subtitles appeared:
[Scenario Writer: Ishino Mika]
Seeing this, Furukawa Hirozawa's eyes suddenly lit up.
That's it!
So that was it!
He punched his palm, realizing it all.
This ending wasn't written by Kogahara Tsubakiaki; the scenario was by Ishino Mika.
Ishino Mika was a girl, and her thinking was more delicate. Although she had written tear-jerkers like Onmyoji, it was clear that on Your Name, she had secured the final say.
Even though he didn't understand how she had convinced that old thief Kogahara, this was the only explanation that made sense.
Furukawa Hirozawa couldn't possibly believe that the word "comedy" existed in Kogahara Tsubakiaki's dictionary.
This guy was the Demon Lord of Tear-jerkers, after all.
Yeah, yeah, that must be it.
Furukawa Hirozawa tried hard to convince himself.
But when he went back to bed and lay down, he gritted his teeth hard and sat straight up again.
"Baka! Kogahara is the producer; how could the ending be changed without the producer's consent?!"
The logic he had just used to convince himself no longer held up.
At the same time, he realized something truly terrifying—
That old thief Kogahara, being so kind and having such rare tenderness, could it all be because he was really planning to retire?!
"It's over, it's over. Kogahara Tsubakiaki isn't actually retiring, is he? Have you guys played 'Your Name'? How could it possibly have a happy ending? That's not normal at all, okay?"
The next morning, Hirozawa Furukawa gathered with Kinoshita, Hayamigawa, and others to chat.
The topic, naturally, was P Corporation's newly released game, "Your Name."
It wasn't just the three of them chatting on the rooftop anymore; strangers from other companies on different floors had joined in after overhearing their conversation.
They were all fellow gaming enthusiasts, so there was nothing to hide.
In fact, it was precisely because they were fellow enthusiasts that they could talk so naturally.
After Hirozawa Furukawa finished expressing his opinion, the group fell into a silence.
Kinoshita nodded, his brow furrowed, "Yeah, it's too suspicious. I'd rather believe the world ends tomorrow than believe that the Old Thief Kohara could be this kind."
"Exactly. What the hell is a happy ending? This is already an urban legend. It's impossible for it to happen in reality.
I get it now, I must be dreaming.
You guys are all just hallucinations I made up," Hayamigawa said, looking bewildered.
"Are you an idiot?" Furukawa Hirozawa reached out and tapped him on the head.
It made a duang sound.
A great sound for a great head.
"Hiss... are you sick or something?" Hayamigawa said, rubbing his aching forehead in pain.
"I'm trying to make you feel reality," Furukawa raised his voice a little. "This is reality, reality, do you understand?"
"I understand."
Hayamigawa said miserably, "But it's exactly because it's reality that it's scary. Think about it, a producer who only ever dishes out misery, suddenly doing a 180-degree turn? Either Kogahara Tsubakiaki's brain is broken, or he's been possessed."
"Is there any possibility that this is actually Kogahara Tsubakiaki's retirement? There's an old Chinese saying: 'When a bird is about to die, its song is mournful; when a human is about to die, their words are good.' Old Thief Kohara probably figures this is his final work, so he wants to leave a perfect full stop.
His final kindness, considered a way to repay the players and make up for the pain his previous works caused everyone.
What do you guys think?"
Someone from the company next door joined in.
Although they didn't know what this guy's name was, Hirozawa Furukawa and the others had to agree.
"This is likely the most logical explanation."
"But... even though it makes sense, it's hard to accept. Just thinking about Old Thief Kohara really leaving the gaming industry makes me feel like I've just been dumped."
"Who isn't? I'd rather not have this kind of kindness if it meant I could still look forward to Kohara's works every year. Now, even though the game has a perfect conclusion, it's such a pity that we'll never get to play a game by Kogahara Tsubakiaki again."
"Sigh, I originally imagined that Old Thief Kohara would make games for decades, and when my kids grew up, I would introduce them to my favorite producer and games.
['The games you're playing now, your dad was already playing them over 20 years ago.']
Sharing hobbies and interacting with my children—even if the games were tear-jerkers or heart-wrenching—that kind of connection would have spanned across time. How joyous that would have been.
What a pity..."
The group listened, entranced, especially as they imagined the scene 20 years in the future, feeling a wave of sadness.
"It's a pity. From now on, we'll never be able to play a game by Kogahara Tsubakiaki again."
The grand finale of "Your Name" this time, though touted as perfect, left Pokeni players completely heartbroken.
It was even more surprising and distressing than a straightforward tear-jerker ending.
After "Your Name" was released, it quickly fermented and exploded in the gaming community.
"Can you believe it? That old thief, Kohara, actually gave us a happy ending. I never even dared to dream of such a thing before.
But now, it has actually happened, so realistically."
"Exactly. Before I even played 'Your Name,' I had prepared myself for everything. I even had tissues ready because, judging from both the promotional trailer and the introduction, you'd think there was no way such a story could have a happy ending.
I was even prepared to accept Mitsuha's death, or that they would be separated by time and space forever, never to meet again.
But...
Not only did they meet in the vast crowd, they even found each other.
Even though it ended with a blank space, the moment they asked, 'What is your name?', I knew this had to be a happy ending.
However...
This isn't necessarily the ending we wanted.
I would rather Old Thief Kohara just be his usual self; handing out tragedy at least meant he still had some attachment to his games.
Giving us such a perfect ending now feels just like he's trying to bring things to a complete close."
"Yeah, back when I heard that the old thief Kogahara was going to retire, even though it was published in magazines and such, I honestly didn't want to believe it deep down.
Think about it, a person with such high standards for games, his obsession with game quality and his demanding pursuit of scripts—it's obvious he can only do that because he has a love for games.
It's because he loves games that he pours his all into them.
I just don't believe a person like that would leave.
But, it wasn't until I saw the ending that I realized Kogahara Tsubakiaki really wanted to leave.
Damn it."
"I hope he can come back in the future.
Putting aside the whole retirement thing, 'Your Name' really is a fantastic game."
"Indeed. The final ending is actually what the players truly wanted. Otherwise, if it had just stopped at the destruction of Itomori Town and Mitsuha's death, that would have been too painful."
"The game is truly amazing, which just goes to show how strong the old thief Kogahara really is."
"Hey, do you think there's a possibility that the old thief Kogahara just had a sudden change of heart out of kindness, and didn't make this ending because he was actually leaving?"
"Hmm, yeah, that's possible."
Although no one in the group really believed that, it was still a nice wish to hold onto.
Gorotsu was incredibly fast. Just a week after the release of "Your Name," once players had gained a fair understanding of the game, Gorotsu immediately published an extensive, professional review of "Your Name."
"Kogahara Tsubakiaki's swan song?
"Your Name" is worthy of that title.
To evaluate Kogahara Tsubakiaki's work is to inevitably touch upon the two concepts of 'a sense of fate' and 'distance.'
From "Onmyoji" to later works like "The Mermaid's Heart" and "The Entropic Man," everything has revolved around these two core themes.
A strong sense of fate sometimes carries a melancholy hue, which is often misinterpreted as—
Kogahara Tsubakiaki being obsessed with tormenting players.
'Tear-jerker' has become synonymous with him.
But in reality, the core expression of all his works is this sense of fate.
This point is embodied to perfection in the Onmyoji series.
And it is absolutely indispensable in "Your Name."
A wondrous encounter is a preordained arrangement; through mysterious powers, the male and female protagonists swap bodies, and are subsequently linked together despite being separated by two different timelines."
Such a sense of fate—even if the male protagonist originally had someone he liked, and even if the senior accepted this situation—will still be shattered by fate.
As for distance, it permeates all of his works.
The distance between life and death in Onmyoji.
The cross-species distance between humans and mermaids in The Mermaid's Heart.
And then the distance across time and space in The Entropic Man.
These are all things that leave players feeling a lingering sense of regret.
However, only longing remains unchanged.
In Kogahara Tsubakiaki's worldview, the sense of distance between lovers is insurmountable.
This is what is meant by "it is the world that separates them."
He is always depicting an "ultimate narrative of separated love."
Rather than saying Kogahara Tsubakiaki depicts a sense of distance, it is better to say that the sense of distance creates his stories.
But Kogahara Tsubakiaki is by no means just a person who cares about distance; he depicts distance in order to then depict "transcending distance."
To summarize with the classic line from the heroine Tanigawa Aizuki in The Entropic Man:
"You know, A-sei?
I yearn for many things, and it is precisely these things that guide us toward the past.
For instance,
I miss the clouds of my hometown, the courtyard in the rainy season.
The pitter-patter sound of raindrops falling in the yard.
I miss the earthy scent of my hometown.
I miss my mother's smile...
I loved the stars that bloomed in the night sky in the past.
I also loved the feeling of my feet being washed by the receding waves at the beach.
I liked the tranquility of the mountains, with the wind rustling the leaves.
And I liked the flowing crowds after school.
Trains rushing by...
A-sei, I have always, always wanted to experience all of this with you.
But now, even though I possess all of this, I have not been able to cross paths with you.
I have realized that without you to share it with, none of this has any meaning.
Although we are very, very far apart, extremely, extremely far.
But I think,
Perhaps longing really can transcend time and distance.
As long as there are memories, as long as there is longing, it is as if we are together."
As Tanigawa Aizuki said, perhaps longing really can transcend time and distance. In Your Name, "forgetting a name" is the embodiment of a "destiny of inevitable separation."
Due to her Miko lineage, Mitsuha was destined to have a fated connection with someone in this lifetime, but like her mother and grandmother before her, she was also destined to completely forget it.
Yet, like Mikako, faced with a fate as immense as a giant and a looming catastrophe, she chose to run, guided only by a vague longing—falling on the mountain path until she was covered in blood, seeing the words "I love you" on her hand, and crying and laughing even while unable to recall his name.
On a moving train, simply because of a fleeting glance and a memory she couldn't quite grasp, she resolutely got off to run blindly through the city. Even in that world where I am a complete stranger to you, I still rely on instinct to find you.
Creating a vast distance is ultimately to overcome it; this is the romance that Kogahara Tsubakiaki has always brought to us.
Longing is the most powerful force in the world.
Creating a vast distance is, in the end, meant for it to be overcome—this is the romance that Kogahara Tsubakiaki has always brought us, isn't it?
Longing is the most powerful force in the world.
What could be more romantic than "traveling through time and space to save you"?
As for the ending, it seems to have been destined from the very beginning, and this is the sense of fatalism the work has conveyed from the start.
The purpose of swapping bodies was certainly not just to learn of another person's existence only to lose it.
The soul-swapping was about redemption from the very beginning.
This is the destiny of Your Name.
Thanks to Kogahara Tsubakiaki for his gentleness.
But the editor must say—
Kogahara Tsubakiaki has always been gentle, and has never intentionally sought out tragedy.
It is just that in previous works, at that particular moment, tragedy happened to be the most suitable symbol.
Nothing more, nothing less.
This report can be said to be quite on point, and editor Reiko Katayama's writing is also quite beautiful, making countless readers sigh after reading it.
This report can be considered quite spot-on, and the writing by editor Reiko Katayama is truly beautiful, leaving countless readers sighing after they finish reading it.
No, this must be a fake "Old Thief" Kohara.
Themes of fate and distance aren't important at all.
Dealing out heartache is the core essence of Old Thief Kohara, okay?
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