INDEX
Wonderful World: A Glimpse from the Brink of Death
The film is titled “Where is the Wonderful World?”, but there is also a song called “Wonderful World” on the album released in 2022. I believe this is where you began expressing the idea of “wonderful world.” What led you to start thinking about the concept of “wonderful world”?
Moriyama: In the summer of 2021, I contracted COVID-19. It was pretty severe, and I had a fever of around 40°C for about a week. I was writhing in bed, and my oxygen levels dropped to dangerously low numbers. As my consciousness began to fade, I started seeing hallucinations and nightmares.
Moriyama: During the intense fear of my body deteriorating, I confronted the darkness within me. At the same time, it felt almost like the fever was helping me detox. Physically, all the things I had been suppressing—like taking medication or receiving IV drips—came flooding out in that moment.
I see.
Moriyama: About ten days later, after everything had passed, I felt like I was gently floating on a calm lake, as if the day after a storm, the sky suddenly cleared up. And with that, the way I saw the world completely changed. I found myself crying uncontrollably over things I normally would’ve brushed off—like sunlight shining through the curtains or hearing the sounds of children playing outside. Even something as simple as going to the bathroom became overwhelming, and I couldn’t stop the tears.
It sounds like you truly experienced the essence of being alive.
Moriyama: Yes, exactly. You think you understand that “life is like this” or “we all die someday,” but even then, sometimes we wish we could just die without the courage or will to actually do it. But in that moment, I realized how desperately my body clings to life, and it made me feel an incredible sense of awe. That was when “Wonderful World” came to life.
The “Wonderful World” you saw at that time was a reflection of that experience.
Moriyama: Yes, exactly. When I faced the darkness, which felt like death, and my perception of the world shifted, I realized that “Wonderful World” was something within me. Before that, I had been looking for greatness outside of myself—in society, in my environment, and in the people around me. But then I realized, it was something that only exists inside of me. So, while getting COVID was definitely a bad memory, it also brought a very important process and experience for me.
Do you still see that world now?
Moriyama: No, I don’t see it now. In fact, I often wonder how I can get back to that feeling. When life returns to normal, it’s easy for your thoughts to stop. But I’m glad that by talking about that experience now, after such a long time, I feel like I’ve been able to recall it, even just a little.
