Borrowed Time and Stolen Time: Interface Figures and Temporal Structures in Contemporary Japanese Narrative (An Extension of the Essence–World Interface Model)

This paper extends the Essence–World Interface (EWI) model developed in Evaluating Without Evaluating (2026) and Freezing Memories and Dynamic Contingencies (2026) by examining how temporal conditions shape narrative mediation. Through a comparative analysis of Haruki Murakami's Kafka on the Shore and Tatsuki Fujimoto's Chainsaw Man—which concluded its Part 2 on March 25, 2026 with no continuation announced—the study identifies four structural temporal conditions: open, closed, interrupted, and stolen time. While Kafka on the Shore demonstrates how interface figures stabilize experience across temporal disruptions, Chainsaw Man presents a world dominated by "stolen time," where the subject's future is structurally deprived. Incorporating insights from the series' final chapter, the paper argues that even under stolen time, a fragile form of "borrowed time" can emerge when mediation shifts from internal essence to external recognition.