I’m just….torn? I’m still thinking about Kenji and what he represents as a character in the book and it’s frustrating that I will never truly know the answer. I’ve faced problems like this in past books, but for some reason, this one is just eating away at me? Because I can definitely see both sides of whether he was used as a sacrificial character to benefit Ichiro’s character development or not. I can also see the whole “the good must die young” issue where he’s almost this purity figure that cannot be allowed to survive or else as the reader we don’t see them as such. And then on a completely different note, I also want to say just how appalling Ichiro’s reaction to his Mother’s death his, and how he treated it as this final inconvenience he has to deal with. Basically I’m all over the place and just a little bit broken.
I just want to know the truth
I feel the same way about Kenji and his death. He serves many purposes in the story by showing Ichiro that there is hope for him yet, even if he still wouldn’t trade places with him. Even when he is on his death bed, Kenji is looking out for his friend, which I think is admirable. I honestly can’t picture the author wanting to kill off such a wonderful character, but I think his death helps bring more weight to his words, which in turn helps Ichiro find the hope he has been seeking.