Yes, the narration is usually done from the author’s point of view, and temporarily changes into a person’s point of view, when the author thinks that it is appropriate.
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That’s probably the wrong term that I used here. I wanted to say that my feeling is that the story is told in a way that makes it easy for us to side with 浅川 (for me it’s rather „to take his position“ but maybe not everybody does that), and as an extension of this we are made to feel the relationship between the two in the same way that 浅川 would feel it?
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I get what you’re saying, and it’s mostly true, although I wouldn’t say that it’s easy for me to side with him at all 
Is it normal that he’d use his last name for himself though? Maybe as a journalist it’s natural, as it’s how he signs his articles.
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That’s interesting! For me, there is not really a choice; I just „become him“ whether I like it or not 
(But I must say so far I mostly like it 
)
In my experience Japanese persons use the last name much more than Westerners, and in situations that are hard to relate to for me, e.g. even schoolchildren use the last name among each other. So I guess they just identify much more with their last names than Westerners. Plus they hear their own name much more frequently because it replaces the second person pronoun in almost all conversations. And from that standpoint I don’t think it’s weird that he‘d use it for himself.
But in the context of the book it doesn’t really feel to me as if he uses it for himself; that’s rather the author’s way of referring to him, while going forward everything switches to his internal perspective, if that makes sense?
I also need to take more care of the situations where we are „inside“ somebody else, and whether that changes anything wrt name usage 
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Finished 第三章 1-3 for this week.
Like everyone else, I find his friendship with Ryuuji really weird. He sounds like he’s crazy since he’s just bragging about raping women so maybe he would be the right person to call on to solve a mystery, but the dynamic is really strange. Didn’t see a character like this coming. I wonder if their weird relationship will be a set up for dramatic conflict at some point in the novel?
Also, I loved how he was able to get people to answer his weird questions on the phone just by saying he’s a reporter. That may not fly anymore in 2023.
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Now done with 第三章 4-7! My thoughts:
So many discoveries during this section! It feels like the horror has taken a backseat and it’s really become a mystery right now (but I guess the super natural element keeps it a horror story).
Ryuuji’s awful but him realizing the black frames on the video are blinking and then deciding to investigate people with supernatural powers from 伊豆大島 is out of the box thinking. I guess Asakawa was right to involve him. What was with that weird scene when his student girlfriend came over, though?
I had no idea when watching the tape scene that this is where the story would go but I can’t wait to see what’s coming next. 
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Yeah, that’s when I really got hooked.
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第三章 4
for what it’s worth, Azakawa seems to really care for his family… in his own way. 
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Guess he’s making sure that they will not suffer after he’s gone … at least not for long
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Chapter 3 section 4:
As expected 
Asakawa’s wife (and daughter!) watched the video. Just when he was contemplating the plans they had together, of selling their downtown apartment, buying a large house in the outskirts, and having a second child.
Ryuuki gets ever more mysterious, as he has established a connection of so-far-unknown quality with a beautiful student of his that makes Asakawa almost faint. Where does she come from, and why does she associate with this weird dude?
5:
Ryuuki has the craziest ideas! Scanning through thousands of books filled with people who seem to have some paranormal abilities, wow 
But he seems to have started out with the right assumptions here, and it finally seems as if they found the right person. Curious to see whether they can indeed talk to her! (Or maybe her daughter? 
)
6:
Admittedly I also wondered why the four did not perform the prescribed thing to ward off the danger of dying. I assumed it was because they did not believe in the story in the first place, and so got caught by surprise. Another explanation might be that it was not the four who deleted the ending but somebody else still… (but who could that be?) - Oh no, that wouldn’t work because the program that was recorded on top of the video was only broadcast on the day they stayed in the lodge. So it must have been them.
7:
At least they found a nice dude who seems to be willing to help them along. Let‘s see what they learn from the lady’s uncle (or something…).
My thoughts as well! But I guess that it will return once we meet our mysterious lady…
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Wondering if this entire experience will turn him into a better husband and father
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3.6:
Entrusting your wife and daughter to a serial rapist. Seems like a good idea.
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So I ended up reading on. My brain really doesn’t do well with switching between books, especially since Medium and this are kinda similar in vibes. 
That 3rd chapter is really, really long.
3.11:
BIG SPOILER! BEWARE!
Just yesterday I started reading IS 1 | L30?? (which is about hermaphrodite people) and Sadako turns out to be a hermaphrodite. What are the odds?
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Likewise spoilers for 3.11!!
Right?!?! Why?! I am wondering if this will somehow be relevant because it felt so random! I gasped! Like let me get this straight - that guy had small pox which made him feel very warm and overcome with the urge to rape her (which…okay plausible I guess…? I guess?!)and then she turns out to be hermaphrodite! I didn’t see any of that coming lol
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Cont. spoilers for 3.11:
Right? I hope there is a point to this plot-twist. [Not a fan of using stuff like this for… shock? value.] I wonder if it means she can’t have children? So she is not the one giving birth? Personally, I hate the “I didn’t know what I was doing” defense. If you notice you are losing control, you remove yourself from the situation or you scream at the other person to run. If you are coherent enough to lure someone to a quiet spot, you are coherent enough to take responsibility.
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I’m also thinking that it’ll be related to the birth scene in the tape if it’s related to anything at all. I can’t tell how things will conclude, the entire story has been really…unexpected!
I thought the shock value factor of that scene felt a little forced… but it’s at least consistent with the rest of the male characters, who all aren’t exactly upstanding humans either.
Still retroactively going to share my thoughts about both sections during the next two weeks to participate since I ended up reading ahead like this.
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It could almost be a feminist novel. “But not all men!” “May I introduce you to a little novel called ‘Ring’.”
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Spoilers from 3.12:
We are just missing the narrator doing something horrible! But he is too busy digging small holes in the ground and rolling around in dirt freaking out (I would also be freaking out in his position too though)
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Also 3.12.
but he lives? huh… that was… anti-climactic… 
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anyone has more experience with this label?
