Takashi Natsume — memorable quote from Natsume's Book of Friends

“There are things I don't want to forget... Memories of time spent with friends. Memories of time spent with her alone. Memories are important. But there's something even more important... That's to continue making memories.”

“All the people I saw from my cage...All the things I saw from my cage, that was the whole world to me. At first, all I could sense was the hostility of the people looking at me from outside...And their feelings of fear. Piercing gazes, hurled stones, whips, sticks...Everything outside the cage was frightening, a source of pain...But eventually I began to realize something. I began to see their other emotions, not just their hostility and fear of me. They were the emotions of families, lovers, and friends who came to the sideshow...Emotions meant for each other.”

“Re-explaining my memories through words made good memories easier to savor, and bad memories easier to accept.”

“A city far away from my homeland. There, after becoming acquainted with strangers, have I changed, perhaps? That uncontrollable impulse I harbored within me...Has it faded away now, I wonder? What exactly am I doing here in this city?”

“Making sure I have no regrets... that would just be self-serving, nothing more. It's all right. I mean, this is a great memory in itself, right?”