A bunch of nonsense in the form of questions and answers that my friend asked when we were rewatching zaregoto together, and how everything ties nicely to the prologue. (He stopped at episode 3 because the writing was too serious he needed to revise his life choices)

First we are introduced the concept that is being discussed and reflected through each character in the first volume. Are you a person who needs the world to decide his worth for him? or are you the person responsible for how life goes for you?

My friend actually came this mentality, that he has to work hard for everything because results are everything. Yet the answer from a genius's mind is that efforts are a results on their own and should be appreciated regardless of the ending

this probably can be understood from this quote, a genius who reached the summit of their lives (like someone who takes a noble prize) knows there is no more results, there is no more success to be taken, so the only way from the result is downward,

Thats why a person who focuses on the result, for example focus on the fact that humans will die in the end, won't try to "LIVE". and vise versa, if you focus on the process of living itself, you don't need to wait for a result, you decide your own result and worth through living

A genius is absorbed by the idea that they are the driving force on their world, not the opposite, so every failure they face are not because of other's opinions, its because of their own inadequate to express their opinion, or because they didnt put enough effort into it

Every word spoken from Ibuki Kanami, can be traced back to the prologue and the mind of a genius. If you leave yourself to be influenced by the world, you are in her opinion being led by the world and not the opposite, thats not the right way to live from her eyes

That's why Ii-chan's anger on behalf of others is not a redeemable trait, its because he allowed this situation to happen, and allowed his feelings to be controlled by an external factor (by the world around him) that these words hit so hard

A genius takes responsibility for the situations he faces himself, he doesn't wait for the results of other's people's actions to decide for him how he should act or react. This is the fundamental flaw of Ii, and the core of their own identity thats different from him

Of course, the opinion of sonoyoma akane will be repulsive from the point of view introduced in the prologue, since the is a person who indulges in the world of others, learning from them, which is akin to being led by the world, not influencing the world yourself

A good point my friend made is that even if you dont get affect by the world, You need the world as a "Stepping-stone" to your way of living, thats why kunagisa is symbolized to "recharge" using Ii-kun, as she depends on him to be able relish in efforts and not results

The mood of a person who reached the summit can be warped. Iichan figured that kunagisa is not happy even by reaching the summit (since there is only down from there) so he didnt even put the effort in trying, again letting his efforts be decided by her happiness (the world)

The characters of Zaregoto are so fully developed the only need a 5 minute prologue to be fully established. I was happy by that fact so i asked my friend if he felt the vaccum ibuki felt when she was gone, of course he didnt, because she is still very effective in his mind

Even if ibuki died, her personality is so strong that she was still living in our minds to the point we didn't even feel her death or feel its effect on the ongoing story. But also he added that since she was a person who didnt care about the world, it understandable

If she doesnt care about the world, the world won't care for her. It that simple, so maybe thats why everyone on the island is just so numb to her deaths, they are numb to the outside effects of the world around them, Ii chan included, which is an interesting POV on her death

A genius is unable to express emotion whenever they like, because doing so will mean they are affected by the waves the world around them, indulging in the flow of things instead of being their own character. of course kunagisa is numb to every emotion other than fun

The Genius also may not need a reason, or specifically to get lost in the reason, because that also may mean getting affected by the world, even if it was an internal factor, just the feeling you maybe controlled or absorbed in something that robs you of your will is repulsive

We are still deciding what is the preceding priority, the efforts or the results? and when exactly can a person be called influential on the world or a part of it? my friend is still debating the years he wasted not facing himself and his life choices, thank you nisio isin

Yes we are a bunch of old fools who search into anime for self-discovery xD but its totally worth it. In the end i want again to bring attention to the importance of the prologue in zaregoto, and how its reflected masterfully in the character writing and scenario.

The answer is also there and has no need for going into the story, its not about effort or results or more about the perception of those said results, maybe you dont need to be of a value to yourself or the world, you just need to appear as such, the twist of the whole story

my friend got traumatic because of this line, and how much didn't try to think about this simple concept. That is just twisting his values in order to harmonize with the world, which can only be called accepting, not harmonizing, that you are an unimportant part of the world

Your perception of every one is fundamentally wrong, yet you base your decisions on how you view them, and your own misconceptions of their feelings/efforts/goals. The irony of humanity and Peak zaregoto right here.

That is also how you write the mystery, if you wait for the show to decide the answer to these moral dilemmas for you, you are letting yourself get affected by the show's answer/the world, do not wait for someone to solve things for you, do it yoursel - Your effort is the result