Twice-Exceptional Karasuma

If I had to choose a mascot for twice-exceptionality, it would be Karasuma from Terminating the World by Neru (Oshiire-P). Karasuma expresses feelings of worthlessness, specifically “not amounting to anything” in the song and feels that he needs to “terminate the world.” Karasuma's self-critical remarks and observations of others remind me of how twice-exceptional kids tend to feel about themselves and the world.

The phrase “sainou wa bonjin ikada” (さいのう わ ぼんじん いかだ )

 translates to both “I’m less than talented than average” (MelSubs) and “Talent is worse than mediocrity” (AmeSubs). (I do not understand Japanese, so I cannot explain why the translation came out to mean two different things. Explain in a comment if you know Japanese.) The two translations represent the two conflicting, almost contradictory ideas of a (usually neurologically-based) disability and giftedness. However, another phrase, which translates to “But what is talent/talented anyway?”, follows in all translations. 

Better than any info sheet I have seen, Karasuma unites the two in a refreshing, thought-provoking, and humanizing way. Judging by his clothes (a striped uniform) see in the PV, Karasuma is a prisoner to stress and the conflicting expectations of what society expects of him. The chorus states that Karasuma is “unable to forgive [himself] for being unable to accomplish anything” (MasterSubs). This is a position many 2e (abbreviation for twice-exceptional) people find themselves in.

Heightened awareness is one of the side-effects of giftedness. Karasuma notes that a “Tokyo monster” is devouring others. The Tokyo monster is not a literal being that roams the streets at night, but it does devour people all the same. It feeds on the happiness of others. All too aware of its effects, Karasuma sees the man get devoured while the others are unaware of its effects.

Karasuma expresses guilt over having never achieving anything, but it is unclear what Karasuma’s goal is. Goals and identities are rarely ever static. They change. They fade. They sharpen. They can bleed together into one muddled mess, as is the case with Karasuma. Though Karasuma cannot forgive himself for not accomplishing anything, he never specifies what he set out to accomplish in the first place. 

Throughout the song, Karasuma saves his dreams, but what he has does not amount to one yen. He is told repeatedly to “try again”. However, Karasuma feels that he will fail no matter what. Karasuma notes feelings of isolation, a common feeling for us 2es. However, Karasuma vows to spread his “awkward love” or “talentless love” while terminating the world.

What Karasuma means by “terminating the world” is unclear. I take it to mean Karasuma intends to terminate the ways of the world’s operation by taking it out at the core. It is common for the twice-exceptional to be sick of tests, sick of numbers, and sick of having an incongruous spread of abilities. I headcanoned Karasuma as being twice-exceptional for these reasons. 

This is the AmeSubs translation of Terminating the World.

This is from Baka Weebs, but it is the same translation as MasterSubs.