Signal

Can anyone hear me ? Is anyone left out there ?
If someone out there can hear me read this text.
You're not alone any more.

"If we can love this world will change"

In a deserted world, am I still human ?

CROSS†CHANNEL is a highly atmospheric story about a fractured friend group. Behind its sequential slice of life scenes lies a deeper topic ; the longing to connect to someone, to feel understood, to know you'll be taken care of and that you'll take care of the Other in return.
For some reason, I find it highly difficult to talk about the deeper meaning of CC. It is something deeply rooted in me, in all humanity, yet it feels so difficult to talk about it properly.
What is highly enjoyable about Cross†Channel is the fact its philosophy isn't rambled about, but rather all of the story and little moments portray the core of its main ideas.
Cross†Channel's philosophy is rooted in Human Nature as something inherently dependent, something that exists in relation to others, endlessly reaching out in a world that feels both meaningless and scary.
Its about the paradox of human connection: the fact that we are fundamentally dependent on others, yet forever separated from them.

Can someone fully understand me ?
Can I overcome my past, can i love through my trauma ?
Is any human connection possible for the outcasts ?

Cross†Channel takes a slow and melancholic approach to treat those subjects, which is mainly why i think a lot of people won't click with it. The amount of slice of life scenes may seem redundant and insignificant at first, but they all participate to the emotional building of the story. Light moments that always have a deeply tragic undertone, as we know connection will never fully be established between people.
No matter what, I am alone, people are around me, we can talk, interact, I can change a thing or two to present myself more likeable, and whether or not we become closer (and even, almost merge as my body embraces the other's), it feels like there's still this gap between us, this tension born from the desire to merge together and the impossibility for me to embrace someone.
Suddenly, even the joyful moments become filled with sorrow and meaninglessness.

"Make no mistake Touko. I'm not leaving you. I promise."

Every character deals with the world in a unique way. Some of them are stressed out by the world and the people. A lot of them hurt others despite wanting to heal. A majority of them hurt themselves despite wanting to feel happy. Almost all of them want to be seen, to feel safe.
Everyone of them does their best at trying to reach out to others.

Cross†Channel doesn't stop at this hopeless affirmation. In fact, it transcends it to somehow give meaning to our attempt to connect to others, despite knowing it's impossible.

Much like Serial Experiments Lain, it feels like Cross†Channel builds on previous works and expands its horizons to a beautiful light-hearted but still quite mysterious story. Compared to other Denpa works, which follow similar ideas/concepts, Cross†Channel takes a different approach. Whereas Denpa elements are used to distort reality and create fear, here they express something deeply human. Denpa waves aren't a symbol of madness, but one of our desperate attempts to be heard, for someone to acknowledge us as another human being. By extension, an attempt to feel human.
Communicating is what defines Humanity!

In its attempt to draw the outlines of humanity, Cross†Channel presents people with various mental illnesses and disabilities as a way to portray another characteristic from what it means to be Human.
Self-harm, codependent tendencies, oversensitivity, difficulty understanding others’ emotions, difficulty expressing our own... these traits define the cast.
They are placed in a special school, separated from the world. Perhaps to protect them from it, or to protect the world from them.
People who don't fit in, people who are excluded from society, people who are called monsters. People whose humanity is often denied.
Setting aside its critique of normative institutions (which Cross†Channel handles remarkably well), I love how, to portray what it means to be human, we are left with a cast of outcasts.
Even with good intentions, all of the characters may hurt each other, they make mistakes, get highly emotional, let their first impulse push through what's socially acceptable.

But even then, not once are they monsters. Not once did they stop being human.
Humanity isn't something you can gain from being Good or lose from being Evil.
Being human means being capable of the greatest and the worst. It means helping without asking anything in return and with no remorse hurting someone else.

"So what's the right way to love someone?"

"From now on, I would have to treasure my memories. And use them to keep on living."
Humanity's greatest weakness - the failure to connect - can make moving forward feel discouraging.
However, it is with others that we can manage to find strength.

The send-backs routes hit hard every single time. They offer speculative futures to each character.
Will Youko accept someone getting close to her ? Will Miki grow up to be herself ? Will Kiri become strong enough to face the Evil parts of humanity ? Will Touko see the value of herself, instead of waiting for someone else to do it ? Will Misato push through her suffering and confront it ?
The ending isn't a simple resolution of all their problems, but we can only hope Taichi's words reached their hearts strongly enough for them to stand up for themselves.

They wouldn't be able to begin healing, to realize the flaws in them, if others weren't there to reflect it.
"-You said it yourself, You needed others.
-To hurt them?
-No. For you to be yourself."
For you to grow, For you to achieve who you are meant to be.

"Friendship is not asking anything in return."
The memories made with our friends will grant us a promise for a better future.
In loneliness, all there is to do is to remember those who mattered for us.

And even if it always ends with us collapsing under our own mistakes, I will rebuild that antenna.
I will give it everything just to hope for our paths to cross. To meet at the intersection of that X,
to feel, even for an instant, that fragile glimpse of unity.

Destruction, Jealousy, Hate. In the end, they are all unconscious attempts to reach out, to get someone to look at us, to get someone to open their ears and listen to us.

I want to believe that reaching out will give our existence meaning,
I still want to believe that reaching out matters

"The wall that keeps me from the world
Has become my cell, my cage.

And so, from loneliness I reach out
As we gently wound one another.

And so, from loneliness I reach out!
And embrace this ragged world."

I will live until this sky is gone 　　　　 So let there be a Cross between the world電 and .̷.̷]̷ ░yourself██-.-. .- -.█░░ ᛝ　　　　　It will become　　　 A channel 　　for words to pass through\\\ █▓▒ -.--　　 --- ..- [[[ ╋━Then someday go and spread your hands　　　 out of this loneliness 　　　　　　⟟̷̡̛̤̠̦̖̼̺͚̬͍̼̪̹̠̘̓̓̓͐͒̚͜͝͝⟟ 　　　And embrace this rusting world波 as it fades away
See you next week.