When I was 24, 24 years old, I saw for the first time in my life, I saw an image of clarity. I saw a Tiktok video, a 15 second tiktok that, though simple as it seemed, changed me, changed my being, changed who I am. Made me who I am.
Enlightened me.
The video--the Tiktok--was new. No more than maybe a month since inception, since, since coming into existence, and there it was before me, I saw her. A girl. What was she called?
Bonbi.
The story here is of a girl, an anime girl. She is Jiro, but she is more than that. I will get to this later, but first let us say that she's Jiro, an anime girl.
And then there is the girl behind Jiro: Bonbi.
This is the nature of the world here. When I see the world, the politics, the future, the satellites in space, and the people who put them there.
You can look at everything as a girl and another, truer girl. Two beings, in harmony and at war.
So this video I saw; this anime girl, Jiro, and the reality, Bonbi, you see...
Yes. It is about everything. This little video is, o lo and behold, not so little anymore.
So when I was 24 I saw this video and it hit me all at once, its power. I downloaded it, and every day I looked at it and I said "OK, let me look at this here. What's this doing to me? Why is this so powerful?"
Kyoka Jiro, she stands, confident in front of the camera, and the first notes begin--a song--and then the camera zooms out quickly. The vocals are starting, and in barely a second's time.
What is it? She's about to say something important.
And then the camera zooms in, her eyes locked on it, and she sings, or rather lipsyncs but I'll get to that, and she sings this:
Hard times.
This. I always come to this, because I was a still a young man. I'm older now, and I still don't have the secrets, the answers, so these words still ring true, Jiro looks up and she sings.
Hard times.