| Rejecting Classroom | |
|---|---|
| Information | |
| Romaji | Utsuro no Hako to Zero no Maria |
| English | The Empty Box and Zeroth Maria, Vol. 1 |
| Release Date | January 7, 2009 |
| Volume Number | 1 |
| Volumes | |
| Next | Volume 2 |
| Spoiler warning! This section contains plot details about the novels. |
The first volume of Utsuro no Hako to Zero no Maria or The Empty Box and Zeroth Maria.
Plot[]
Kazuki Hoshino, a teenager in high school, cherishes the "everyday life" he shares with his friends Haruaki Usui, Kokone Kirino, and Daiya Oomine, as well as his crush, Kasumi Mogi. This normalcy is shattered, however, by the sudden appearance of a mysterious female student who transfers to his school in the middle of the year--a change that Kazuki is inexplicably already aware of. After introducing herself as "Aya Otonashi," the girl interrupts the class abruptly and orders everyone to write her name on a piece of paper. When Kazuki writes the name "Maria" on a whim, Aya, surprised and angered, accuses him of toying with her and drags him out of the classroom.
She explains to Kazuki that she, he, and the other students are trapped in an alternate reality she calls the "Rejecting Classroom" where the same day, March 2nd, repeats indefinitely; she has already transferred to Kazuki's class 2,601 times. By writing the name "Maria," which Aya used on her first transfer, Kazuki has unknowingly revealed that he can remember previous iterations, an ability which only Maria and one other person, the owner of the wish-granting "box" that created the "Rejecting Classroom," should have. Aya's goal is to identify the owner and obtain the "box," but she has failed countless times, resorting to the name-writing ploy out of desperation. Enraged that Kazuki has risen to such bait after thwarting all her genuine plans, Aya accuses Kazuki of being the owner and orders him to give the "box" to her. When Kazuki explains that he does not know how to, Aya resolves to pursue him relentlessly until he does and also reveals that the "Rejecting Classroom" can end another way--through the death of the "box's" owner.
Later, Kasumi Mogi is revealed to be the owner of the box which created the Rejecting Classroom. Prior to being confronted by O and obtaining the box, she was hit by a truck, entering into a state of critical condition. Realizing that she wasn't ready to die, now that she had finally found a reason to keep living, she wished for the Rejecting Classroom In order to be able to tell Kazuki how she felt about him. The Rejecting Classroom repeated the same day for thousands of days. Inside the box, everyone forgot their memories each day and perceived everything as simply a normal everyday life. There were however four people inside this box that could remember. Kasumi Mogi, the creator of the box could remember each day, though she never made it known to the others in order to hide that she had created the box. Being the center of the box, even if someone else did find out that Kasumi created the box, they would forget about it the next day, even if they did remember everything else. The other person who could remember is Kazuki Hoshino . The reasons why Kazuki could remember are not entirely specific, other than it is Kazuki's will to continue living an everyday life. Because Kazuki longed for the everyday life more than anything else, he was able to notice that he was not living an everyday life. Aya Maria Otonashi could also remember, due to the fact that she herself was a box. The last person who could remember was O who was impersonating Haruaki Usui in order to observe Kazuki from up close.
After Kasumi Mogi was unable to bear her failed attempts to confessing to Kazuki, ultimately being unable to get Kazuki to accept her, she kills herself after killing Maria and stabbing Kazuki. O, however, wants to observe Kazuki inside the box for longer, and so he continues the box, this time with Maria Otonashi as Kasumi Mogi. Everyone else, including Kazuki thought that Maria was Mogi this time, and saw it as completely normal. Maria knew otherwise, and after explaining everything to everyone else, they conceived a plan. Kazuki however had realized that Haruaki was actually O and made up his own plan to go against him. After they threatened O using Maria's box, O decided to end the rejecting classroom, but he told Kazuki that his everyday life would never be the same again. After talking to Mogi again, Mogi confessed her love one last time and accepted her fate in the real world. Kazuki finally ended the Rejecting Classroom as he broke the box.
After the box ends by Kazuki's hands, he still remembers what happened in the Rejecting Classroom, but doesn't feel the emotions he did back then. Mogi ended up surviving the car accident, but is still in the hospital from her injuries. Despite not loving her anymore, Kazuki visits her in the hospital. She belives the events of the Rejecting Classroom were just a dream.
Otonashi no longer tranfers to Kazuki's class and he misses her, but ultimately he's just glad he got back his normal life. When next schoolyear comes and Kazuki becomes a sophomore, it turns out Otonashi is a freshman at his school. She decides to stick with Kazuki with hopes to find a box she could use.
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