Irie Quotes

Otonashi finds the band members waiting in the hallway, already prepared to leave. Hisako says they agreed with him, but Irie's explanation prevents that agreement from becoming a story in which he supplied all their understanding. They have lost two vocalists. Sekine names Iwasawa and Yui as irreplaceable, and Irie remembers their days together as fun. Their decision has a history that predates this conversation. Those memories also prevent departure from declaring the time together worthless. The people who are ready to go can still describe what they had as irreplaceable. Otonashi does not need to persuade them to devalue it first. There is a reasonable objection: shared loss can make a group follow one another without examining what leaving means. Hisako's demand that Otonashi see the undertaking through answers part of that concern. She does not merely congratulate the person whose proposal they accept; she gives him a responsibility extending beyond their departure. Agreement therefore includes judgment of the proposer. Irie's modest correction preserves the band's part in reaching the decision, while Hisako refuses to let acceptance release Otonashi from his part. He can have helped them without being the author of everything they now understand.