Our unnamed protagonist leads an isolated lifestyle, alienating himself from his fellow classmates and always assuming the worst. The way he finds his connections is through fictional characters in novels. He is introverted, uninterested in other people, and passive with his decision-making. The heading quote perfectly illustrates this: The way he lives his life is to simply go with the flow of the water, assuming he is only ever being pushed around by others and therefore has no free will. This headspace all changes when he meets Sakura, a girl from his class. They are complete opposites. Sakura is popular, social and full of energy - the only thing that ties these two character together is that our protagonist is the only person (with the exception of her family) who knows of her terminal illness.
Many times throughout the manga, he is directly confronted with invasive questions, to which he denies any existence of a friendship. As Sakura documents her life in her journal 'Living with Dying', he requests that she does not even mention his name. Their juxtaposing personalities was the most interesting aspect for me, the tug between Sakura's outgoing nature and the protagonist's reserved attitude evokes suspicion and developing scorn from their classmates.
Whenever he questions the significance of their relationship, he concludes that it was always her decision making which dragged him into her life. However, as their bond grows, his mindset changes with it, eventually acknowledging that his own actions have led him to spend time with her. It was never simply pity-hangouts.
The story teaches us how friendship heals. Sakura was the protagonist's bridge to make new connections and have a more uplifting view of living. By the end of the manga, he puts in the effort to make new connections and as a result, he is less self-conscious about his identity. He learns to take interest in people, and then in turn they will take interest in him.
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