While the recent passing of Tomohiro Matsu (responsible for Papa no Iu Koto wo Kikinasai! and Mayoi Neko Overrun) has caused dismay, the light novel author’s memorial service has proven to be a bit more cheerful due to a specific request of the deceased – a coffin decorated with the characters he created.
Images of the coffin courtesy of colleague illustrator Hiroshi Aizawa, with Tomohiru Matsu’s family thankfully welcoming the photography:
Aizawa had mentioned that Tomohiro wanted his funeral to be “like a festival”, as opposed to everyone feeling down and depressed – he also joked about how the event may have potentially spawned a new craze of “ita-coffins”, though someone has unfortunately already beaten him to the general idea…
What religion was he?
For most people in life, the greatest thing they can ever expect to accomplish is to have children. At first, maybe they want to be rich, famous, or powerful. But in the end, dreams die, and the most they can do is smash their genes together like anyone else with the vague hope that perhaps their offspring will accomplish more than they did.
But we don’t live in a society of biological greatness anymore, because of technology and knowledge. Pretty much everything great in society has happened due to ideas, whether those ideas are implemented via tech or via a famous person. Even athletes are better than ever, if only because of knowledge of nutrition and training.
Plain, average folks might look at this guy’s coffin and laugh. But what does an average person have on their coffin? A record of debt they’ve accrued in life? A record of dreams never realized?
No, the most they can hope is that someone remembers them, and instead they buy expensive, fancy coffins to make the funeral seem more important than it actually is.
In the end, kids get older, graves forgotten, and legacies fade.
But this guy? It’s a plain wooden coffin, because he doesn’t need to pretend. He created a family that was shared with thousands, or millions of people. They may only exist in 2D form instead of flesh, but they’ve arguably changed more lives than most peoples’ slapdash genetics, who mostly exist to consume resources on the off-chance that they might become more than a simple skilled laborer.
Even the greatest flesh humans are prone to disease, depression, misfortune, and worse of all, malice towards other people.
These characters were capable of no such things — only capable of bringing joy to others, without prejudice of who you are.
And that, I think, is a true accomplishment.
I’d pick ita-gravestones over ita-coffins any day.
Coffin only displayed for few days and then forgotten.
Granite and ceramic gravestone could last more than 100 years. Any drawing you put there will be seen by many generations to come, perfect for artists that want to display their creation long after their death.
Any author, in any culture, will tell you that over time characters materialize as their own existence, whether it’s Tolkein or a newspaper comic. They say that sometimes the content writes itself, that for some scenes they merely have to sit back and let the “nonexistent” personalities bounce off each other.
An actor studies and trains to channel these “LOL IT’S NOT REAL” entities. It’s their very purpose. They’re the last link in a chain of creators that want to collaboratively sculpt a LOLNOTREAL being, they’re the ones that exist closest to it, they touch it (him, her) directly.
These LOLNOTREALs can easily be delivered in the form of lightwaves hitting eyeballs, as mental concepts in your skull, a sensory-perceived procession of one life’s comedy-tragedy events. Which it turns out is exactly the same as “reality” – it’s just lightwaves and thoughts, guys.
We feel sad and cry at events of grief and suffering, even if it’s from an LOLNOTREAL. We cheer their triumphs, we share their mirth, we lament their misfortunes. But for some reason it’s creepyweird to become fond or attached to an LOLNOTREAL, especially (why?) the 2D. With one footnote: society is more tolerant if you’re the author. I promise every one of you will always always always always become fond of your LOLNOTREAL creations, even your villains and scumbags.
Tomohiro was clearly fond of his LOLNOTREAL daughters. And in whatever legitimacy you recognize for LOLNOTREALs, to whatever degree you believe 2Ds exist…
…they were grateful to him for being born.
*leaves podium and returns to chair*
(PS: I don’t have a waifu BECAUSE I know what it means to genuinely “conceive” one.)
the reason it’s a plain coffin may be the cremation that’s traditional to japan.
If I was him I would have requested that they turn
Papa no Iukoto wo Kikinasai! into a hentai.
He must make a Last Will and Testament letter for that
This is awesome on several levels. Now I want an Ita-coffin when I go too!
RIP in peace friend
“Rest in Peace in peace”, that’s not how it works. Like that your comment looks more like a stupid meme than a heartfelt message. Next time just say “RIP, friend” or “Rest in peace, friend”.
http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/rip-in-peace
It is a meme. Not to mention whatever he or she says next time in a situation like this, is none of your business.
>publicly staged post is “not your business”
lol
So either it’s an ironic shitpost to disrespect the deceased, or it’s a writing mistake.
I think >>1879814 was going with the more generous choice.