DURARARA!! SHx3 Pro-Prologue
Words of a Certain Information Broker
I like humans.
I have said it many times by now.
Humans, LOVE. I love humans.
You may think it’s a stale thing to say, but I’ve repeated it again and again.
I simply don’t know what else to say, because my love for humans is genuine.
You could say that I’m a fan.
Exactly. A fan of humans.
“I’m a fan of humans!”
…There was a movie with this famous line. You ever heard of it?
The Devil, played by a well-known actor, said this when tempting a serious young man - that he was a fan of humans.
I’m not the Devil, nor do I possess any supernatural abilities. I’m just an ordinary human being who is also a fan of humans.
In fact, all humans fans of humans. Don’t you think so?
To be a fan originally means to be fanatic about something.
Humans are constantly fanatic about other humans.
Some people may refuse to admit it, but still.
It’s only natural. To be human is to be that way.
There are humans who can’t help but hate humans. There are also humans who are not interested in humans at all.
But hate and lack of interest are also forms of fanaticism.
“Fanaticism” in Japanese is the character for “heat” followed by the character for “insanity”. You know that?
People can be rendered insane by heat, or they can be insane about the heat itself.
Or, heat can rage inside them, making them insane. That happens, too.
A heated passion for humans can rage inside you.
If you’re like me, your passion for humans could overheat so much that you end up loving humans themselves.
If it cools down too much instead, you end up hating humans.
If you don’t get a single degree warmer nor colder, no matter what happens around you - then your unchanging temperature is the sign of an insane heat regulation system.
Great views of nature can move us. Being attacked by wild animals can frighten us. Personalities can be shaped by things other than humans.
But only humans can change our passions towards humans.
Suppose a person were to say, “everyone around me is just boring scum. There’s nothing interesting about them.”
Now, if you ask me, that person would actually be very easily influenced by other people.
Why? Because they incite an emotion called “boredom” in him.
To alter emotions on a permanent basis is more difficult than you might think. Do you realize that?
If you grew up hating certain foods, it’s hard to start liking them over some trivial reason.
The way I see it, to keep feeling bored about humans actually calls for a lot of energy.
Think about it.
Watching rocks is boring. But that’s because rocks don’t move.
But humans are constantly moving. The longer you observe them, the more facets they expose to you.
It takes effort to actually keep feeling bored in spite of all that.
Sounds like sophistry to you?
Of course it does. I was trying to be a sophist.
In fact, I couldn’t care less what other people say.
The only opinion that matters is your own, isn’t it?
I love humans. Yes, I do.
I’ve been saying it all along, but humans should also just love me back.
To be in love with the whole human race. How wonderful would that be?
Wrapping me up tenderly in your love is fine.
Scolding me and hurting me violently with your love is fine, too.
Ignoring my very existence with your love is also fine.
Love has no shape or form? You think so? Really?
Of course love has shape and form. It just changes from time to time.
I want to show everyone that it is true.
After all, I just want to stay connected to other people. I want to make more people act, stir the world up like a bowl of fermented beans, and entangle as many threads that connect people to one another as I can.
And voila, this is the human being that such ambitions have made me into.
It’s good to be fanatic about one another. Very, very good.
Even if the law forbids it, or the society condemns it, I will still approve.
So stop worrying about it, and keep being the fanatic that you are.
Love humans. Or hate humans. Or not care at all about them.
For all of those things are equally worth something.
I like humans.
I have said it many times by now.
Humans, LOVE. I love humans.
You may think it’s a stale thing to say, but I’ve repeated it again and again.
I simply don’t know what else to say, because my love for humans is genuine.
You could say that I’m a fan.
Exactly. A fan of humans.
“I’m a fan of humans!”
…There was a movie with this famous line. You ever heard of it?
The Devil, played by a well-known actor, said this when tempting a serious young man - that he was a fan of humans.
I’m not the Devil, nor do I possess any supernatural abilities. I’m just an ordinary human being who is also a fan of humans.
In fact, all humans fans of humans. Don’t you think so?
To be a fan originally means to be fanatic about something.
Humans are constantly fanatic about other humans.
Some people may refuse to admit it, but still.
It’s only natural. To be human is to be that way.
There are humans who can’t help but hate humans. There are also humans who are not interested in humans at all.
But hate and lack of interest are also forms of fanaticism.
“Fanaticism” in Japanese is the character for “heat” followed by the character for “insanity”. You know that?
People can be rendered insane by heat, or they can be insane about the heat itself.
Or, heat can rage inside them, making them insane. That happens, too.
A heated passion for humans can rage inside you.
If you’re like me, your passion for humans could overheat so much that you end up loving humans themselves.
If it cools down too much instead, you end up hating humans.
If you don’t get a single degree warmer nor colder, no matter what happens around you - then your unchanging temperature is the sign of an insane heat regulation system.
Great views of nature can move us. Being attacked by wild animals can frighten us. Personalities can be shaped by things other than humans.
But only humans can change our passions towards humans.
Suppose a person were to say, “everyone around me is just boring scum. There’s nothing interesting about them.”
Now, if you ask me, that person would actually be very easily influenced by other people.
Why? Because they incite an emotion called “boredom” in him.
To alter emotions on a permanent basis is more difficult than you might think. Do you realize that?
If you grew up hating certain foods, it’s hard to start liking them over some trivial reason.
The way I see it, to keep feeling bored about humans actually calls for a lot of energy.
Think about it.
Watching rocks is boring. But that’s because rocks don’t move.
But humans are constantly moving. The longer you observe them, the more facets they expose to you.
It takes effort to actually keep feeling bored in spite of all that.
Sounds like sophistry to you?
Of course it does. I was trying to be a sophist.
In fact, I couldn’t care less what other people say.
The only opinion that matters is your own, isn’t it?
I love humans. Yes, I do.
I’ve been saying it all along, but humans should also just love me back.
To be in love with the whole human race. How wonderful would that be?
Wrapping me up tenderly in your love is fine.
Scolding me and hurting me violently with your love is fine, too.
Ignoring my very existence with your love is also fine.
Love has no shape or form? You think so? Really?
Of course love has shape and form. It just changes from time to time.
I want to show everyone that it is true.
After all, I just want to stay connected to other people. I want to make more people act, stir the world up like a bowl of fermented beans, and entangle as many threads that connect people to one another as I can.
And voila, this is the human being that such ambitions have made me into.
It’s good to be fanatic about one another. Very, very good.
Even if the law forbids it, or the society condemns it, I will still approve.
So stop worrying about it, and keep being the fanatic that you are.
Love humans. Or hate humans. Or not care at all about them.
For all of those things are equally worth something.