This video is sponsored by Book Walker.
If something happens that forces you to confront your own mortality...
Where do you even start with that?
Who can you even turn to?
That's not a question I hope any of you will have to face in the near future,
as I'm sure most of us are pretty content with just living our daily lives.
But if something like that were to happen,
in the face of death, how desperately would you search for that meaning in your life?
((SFX: Rewind)) Wow, that was a really morbid start to the video...
You know, you know, I'm sure there's a better way to put this.
Michael, you explain it!
Hey! Vsauce, Michael here.
When will you die?
Today, I wanted to talk about "I Want to Eat Your Pancreas",
which is a story that explores exactly that.
A cute anime girl searching for a meaning in life,
just before her own death.
And I would call that massive spoilers if it didn't open up with her damn funeral.
This is a title that comes in the form of an anime, a manga, or a light novel, and a live-action movie!
So, yeah!
Just... Just take your pick really.
Do you like animation? Pictures? Words?
Or weird creatures who inhabit this strange world that looks like a less aesthetic Makoto Shinkai movie.
Now, for those of you who have never heard of this anime before,
I'm sure there's a bunch of raised eyebrows of what the title of this movie implies.
As in the medium where just every niche kink is accounted for.
One wouldn't be blamed for thinking: "Finally, the anime I was waiting for!".
A story about the human desire to consume the insulin organ!
But fortunately, this anime has nothing to do with the consumption of body parts
and joins the ranks of "Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai".
In the latest trend of anime titles trying their best
to literally clickbait an audience into watching them.
So, three years down the line. Don't be surprised if posters start looking like this.
The story actually revolves around two people,
The cheerful Sakura and our gloomy main boy.
- Who I can't name due to small spoilers -
Who one day by chance, happens upon Sakura's diary in a hospital.
Wholesomely titled, "Living with Dying".
Where she explains to him that she's a normal girl living her pretty normal life,
where she goes to school and hangs out with friends,
and doesn't do anything out of the ordinary.
Oh! Also, she has the C A N C E R.
Well, it's never actually explicitly stated that it's cancer,
and refer to it as some sort of "pancreatic disease".
But who the hell is knowledgeable about terminal pancreatic diseases?
It's not exactly the S-tier power ranking of the terminal illness world,
where like lung and liver are the cancer rockstars with all the attention they get.
Upon finding out this fact, he agrees to keep it a secret.
As she hasn't told any of her close friends,
and through this shared secret, they find a small bond that slowly grows.
As we follow the duo in the final months leading up to Sakura's death,
and the precious time they spend with each other,
as she searches for a conclusion in her life.
The quote: "I Want To Eat Your Pancreas",
comes from an old superstition that if there was something wrong with a certain body part,
if you eat that same body part then it'll get better.
So that's where the name comes from.
Nothing too ridiculous.
But in my mind, I still find it amusing that some non-anime fans out there,
will be searching for the lyrics to "I want to break free" on Google
when they randomly see: "What the fu-"
Terminal illnesses isn't exactly a topic that's new in film and television.
Given that it's a pretty easy issue to revolve drama around.
Someone has a disease that will cause them to die?
Then they die.
And it's sad!
Death is Sad.
Who knew?
So many aspects can now be seen as clichéd given the popularity of teen cancer romance dramas
like "The Fault in Our Stars".
Which tries its best to tug at my heartstrings,
but I can never quite shake the feeling of points
that the writing seemed more garnered towards the preteen twilight demographic.
Which is why it never fully connected with me.
"I should probably go to sleep."
*deep sigh*
"Okay."
"OK."
"Okay."
"oK."
((Distorted)) Perhaps "OK" will be our "Always"
"OKAY."
So how does Pancreas separate itself from its predecessors?
Well, on the surface, not much.
I mean if you look at the plot description,
it does have its clichés.
To the point where you'd be able to spell out the basic plot points in some cheesy early 2000s trailer voice like:
"I have cancer."
"That's cool, I don't."
"Oh my god, we have like NOTHING in common!"
"I know you're like, dying. And-... And stuff."
"But, wou-... would you go to homecoming with me?"
*giggle*
"Of course I will."
"I wanna eat your pancreas!"
"Wait, wait-... Wait, wait. What-"
"What the hell did you just say?"
"Perhaps I wanna eat your pancreas will be our always-"
So, there's nothing overly complex I can really say about the plot.
Aside from one thing, the movie plays out pretty much exactly the way you think it would,
and even though there isn't an attempt to shake things up.
It doesn't change anything of consequence in the grand scheme of things.
But, I thought it worked in spite of this because of subtleties.
This could have easily divulged into the cheesy romance cancer drama we've all seen before.
But one of the aspects I enjoyed was the fact
that the relationships that was explored between our leads
was way more complex than purely a romantic one.
Sure, there's a bit of romance involved.
But this isn't the tragic story of the socially awkward guy
finding the dying Cancer Bae love of his dreams.
It's far more focused on human connection and what we yearn for
with our relationships with other people.
And, the dynamic between our leads is what this is entirely focused around.
They are the backbone of everything.
The entire story revolves around them,
and they are what the movie,
excuse the morbidly accurate pun:
"LIVES AND DIES BY"
The story portrays them as polar opposites that intrinsically balance each other out.
Our main guy is someone who doesn't care for other people.
So much so, he's never had anything close to resembling a friend
or even a personal connection with anyone.
While Sakura is the confident, outspoken anime girl,
whose never afraid to share her mind.
Yes, he was an introvert. She was an extrovert.
Can I make it any more obvious?
It might not be a new idea to have two polar opposite people
form an unlikely friendship, but the character development here is handled absolutely beautifully.
That, I wouldn't have it any other way.
What more can I say?
(Okay sorry, I'll stop doing that now.)
She is his first real connection he's ever had and he brings her a sense of normalcy in her life.
But while there might be the initial reason they hang out, you see a subtle shift
as they slowly start to depend on each other, influence each other, and without noticing it,
reach a point where they aspire to be like one another.
He learns the value of forming a bond with other people
and she envies the ability to have your own allure without the need for anyone else.
Together, there's a sense of completion.
Like, two sides of the same coin.
Never quite able to grasp to the other side
yet intrinsically linked forever in an existence of perfect balance.
In the end, the relationship they share isn't one of romantic partners.
But, it's not one of friendship either.
It's a complex connection that's hard to put into words.
Though suffice to say, they become two people very important to each other who also rely on each other.
And, it's in seeing the connection form, and the beautiful imprint it was able to leave on both of them,
that in the end, was a huge factor that moved me to the point of tears.
Because despite the fact I've been using humor in this video,
and more or less talked about everything in a lighthearted manner.
I'd be lying if I said it didn't hit me.
Because it did.
The thing I related to was the main character's journey.
As someone who grew up as that awkward anti-social kid who'd rather spend all his energy watching anime
rather than making friends.
Seeing someone find the beauty of discovering that right connection to another person
certainly made me reflect on every life
I had encountered that shaped me into the best person I think I am today.
And how every one of them had left their own mark on me in some way.
It's when I started to understand what the film was trying to say
that the huge elephant in the room, slowly crept its way out of the shadows.
Into plain sight.
She's going to die.
And, it's only a matter of time before it happens.
Call it a trope, call it a cliché.
But it doesn't change the gravity of that fact.
Whether it'd be in real life or in a fictional story.
Knowing this, we start to mirror the main character,
we erect towards, prevent ourselves from getting hurt.
And yet, as they spend more time with each other and you cautiously open yourself up.
Something seems off.
It's not the fact she seems like someone who's going to die.
It's the fact that she doesn't.
There's just something about her infectious charm that makes you impossible not to fall into her flow.
You know you shouldn't grow attached.
But, as the finites runtime presses on.
Like him, you realize: "Crap."
You don't want that inevitable thing to happen.
And even though you know it's going to,
in the moment as you see her joyfully smile.
It just doesn't feel real.
What truly moved me with this movie wasn't her impending fate.
For a film about terminal illness,
little was actually spotlighted about the physical toll of living with that illness.
Instead it was seeing just how much a life can change a person.
How the right connection can give you the conclusion you were looking for.
Because despite the topic that the plot revolves around,
this isn't a story about dying.
It's one about finding out what it means to be living.
I'm sure many of us now won't be in a stage,
where you have to ponder about something as gloomy as our own mortality.
But whether it'd be the sudden death of someone you know,
an old relative you realize you will have to say goodbye to soon.
Or yes, finding out someone has a terminal illness.
There are times in life you encounter that can serve as a heavy reminder that,
no matter how far away it may be, this is an inevitable fate for all of us.
And, as morbid as that sounds, it doesn't have to be.
Sometimes that presence of death is the wake-up call we need to reflect on life.
And, the kind of mark we were able to leave.
In the same vain of attending someone's funeral,
looking around and being able to see the invisible footprint of everyone who've left a mark on
in the time they've spent on this Earth.
This film was the story of how two people were able to leave a footprint on each other's lives.
In the short time they were able to have.
The death of a loved one, is never an easy thing to face
and everyone processes it differently.
Sometimes you hear the news, or you're standing there at the funeral
and it hasn't properly hit you yet.
You logically know they're not there anymore.
But it still feels like some ethereal dream you're going to wake up from
and everything is going to be as it was.
But, there will be a point when the gravity of the reality truly hits you.
Maybe it's seeing their empty room for the first time.
Randomly getting a whiff of the scent they used to have.
Or feeling the grooves on the couch they used to sit on,
and knowing, you'll never see them sit in that same spot ever again.
Sometimes it's not until that moment of crushing realization
that you're able to truly appreciate how deep a footprint that person was able to leave on your own life.
*music*
Hey guys! Hope you enjoyed that video.
Thank you to Book Walker for officially sponsoring this.
"I Want To Eat Your Pancreas" is available on their website, both manga and light novel form.
So, if you want to experience this beautiful story,
you can do so by clicking on the link in the description.
If you're a first time user, you can use coupon code: "GIGGUK".
You know how it works now.
You get $5 off so you can get the entire story for just a few bucks.
And I think that's definitely worth it for a title like this.
Unless, you don't like feeling stuff.
Anyway, that's it from me.
I've been Gigguk, I hope you have a wonderful day and I'll see you all next time.