ふりだし（清家 美佳）/ Starting Over (Mika SEIKE) 

なるほどね

I don’t think that they are trying to challenge themselves, I think that walking blindly/with eyes covered represents unconsciousness,(another interpretation could be naiveness or having faith), they fall over and over because of the cat(which represents part of themselves, their own negativity, flaws and/or self doubt), each time being more and more damaged and unable to receive(perhaps love, or acceptance), the cat always looks at how things turned up horribly and goes back to the person, then at the end the person opens their eyes, stands on their own and picks up the cat in their hands(perhaps representing acceptance or acknowledgement of one self), but the music doesn’t suggest something too positive so perhaps they are just showing their negative side on the outside now(as damaged people in real life seem to be horrible people sometimes)so in the end people can’t accept them anymore, then the cat does the same movement as they did when they made them fall earlier. It’s all open to interpretation ofc, I’m not sure about the end, would love to read other people’s point of view.

@@EclipseOfGod I immediately loved this animation when I first saw it at the Geidai graduation screening and it has always stayed with me, without fully "understanding" why. Both your interpretations resonate with me and it encouraged me add to it and connect some of the dots. "The hands are offering water, a crucial ingredient for life. In a psychological sense, it could represent the love, attention, or appreciation that every person needs to develop and thrive in life. The empty glass is there to accept and maintain the water. But every time the door opens, the person carrying the glass is startled and unable to face whoever is on the other side of the door, hence covering their eyes. Perhaps the main character is the product of emotional neglect, forced to rely on themselves and afraid of their own dependency needs. The "self" that they are conditioned to rely on is represented by the sneaky, devious, and jealous cat (a typical companion of a withdrawn person). The cat makes the main character trip every time they reach for the water that is offered. The empty glass (the capacity to accept and trust) is broken again and again. At first, the glass is able to partially heal itself, but it gradually loses this ability. The broken pieces that are left behind leave a mark on the protagonist's world(/worldview). When the water finally reaches the broken glass, it has lost its effect and meaning. At this point, the protagonist has nothing else to offer in return except their own compulsive self-protection mechanism."

@@rijpmajohan I rewatched it and yeah, I agree with your interpretation of it. Except for one point, the “they are startled and unable to see the person on the other side,” I think the main character has their eyes closed to represent unconsciousness(the cat was always there making them trip, but they don’t see the cat and they keep falling, unaware that they are self-sabotaging, because the cat is part of themselves[trauma, insecurities, as you said, defense mechanisms,etc.]).

@@EclipseOfGod Our self-protection mechanism is an intimate part of our identity. It is the lens through which we see, but a lens that we cannot see ourselves. So I think you are right that the hand covering the face could also point at this subconscious aspect of the self. My interpretation was not that the protagonist couldn't see the person behind the door, but that he/she couldn't "face" and open up to them (because of this subconscious pattern of behaviour).