"Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars."
Yuuko: "You’re going to save humanity, right?"
Takeru: "Yes."
Yuuko: "And you want to do it with your own strength, right?"
Takeru: "I will… all on my own."
Takeru (internally): "She’s right. It’s not about whether we can’t or can’t. We simply have to do it."
Takeru: "Yes."
Yuuko: "And you want to do it with your own strength, right?"
Takeru: "I will… all on my own."
Takeru (internally): "She’s right. It’s not about whether we can’t or can’t. We simply have to do it."
"When you get to the point where you can laugh at your mistakes, you'll find new things to replace what you lost."
"Our best efforts, truly all of our resolve has been in vain. Countless lives and valuable pieces of equipment have been lost.
However... look around you. Look at how our home is being reborn, just as the cherry blossoms at the main gate bloom proudly, even on this dying land. Look at your comrades by your side. Look at the passion still burning bright in their eyes despite our plight. What is it that drives us on?
What makes us rise back up when our whole bodies are battered and bruised? It is the fact that devoting our whole bodies and souls to fighting despair is the duty given to those of us still alive, and the fact that doing so is the one and only way to honor those who have given their lives for humanity's victory.
Listen to the voices of those sleeping in the Earth.
Listen to the voices of those who met their end in the sea.
Listen to the voices of those lost to the sky.
....The time has come for their dying wishes to be fulfilled.
Listen to the voices of those who met their end in the sea.
Listen to the voices of those lost to the sky.
....The time has come for their dying wishes to be fulfilled.
And now, these young soldiers are about to set off. They will carry on their backs the wishes of us, and of those long gone, as they depart to face the enemy alone and without backup.
Whether history chooses to glorify them or not... we will remember them.
We will engrave into our hearts the noble deeds of those who are not permitted to reveal even their names.
Departing young ones...
I pray that your act of bravery will form the cornerstone of a world where we no longer send such young men and women into battle."
— U.N.Brigadier General Paul Radhabinod's Address at the start of Chapter 10 prior to the launch of Operation Cherry Blossom
...And as for music, it was a life or death struggle.
And I myself, came close to giving up many times...
But then a miracle happened.
In a world that had been swallowed by profound darkness, a ray of light appeared.
That light wasn't just any light. It was a hope for mankind to hold on to.
A light of hope...
It is because of that, that we can have this concert.
I do not know who you are, but to those who saved this world... I am thankful.
— Takumi Touma, protagonist of the visual novel Owarinaki Natsu, Towa Naru Shirabe, paying tribute to the unsung heroes of Operation Cherry Blossom in that VN's true ending.
