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Afterword
Hi, Nimaru here. I’ve been living out days filled with surprise and gratitude ever since Volume 1 first went on sale, thanks to my life’s first ever reprint, a manga adaptation being confirmed and a promotional video being produced et cetera – developments, sales and responses far exceeding my wildest imagination.
Truth be told, for a while now I’ve been quite prepared for criticism, due to many areas of this light novel venturing away from the tried-and-true path taken by romcoms. While I’ve used various devices not commonly found in romcoms, not only to promote the characters, but also in my pursuit of making the plot interesting, the result is a framework consisting of too much information, dragging readers out from comfort and forcing them to think or something. This is true, for example, of the main character Sueharu.
When at the outset it was decided that “Revenge” would be a theme of this series, I figured that I had to make things as light as I could. Otherwise while I could write a “love story”, it would never become a “romantic comedy”, and with that so would go any prospects of this novel selling.
I feel like a lot of modern mainstream light novel protagonists – while accorded relatively low statuses in the works they appear in – are of the wisecracking type, don’t mess up, and have their own brand of philosophy. I wonder if protagonists of the stress-immune mold are just easier for readers to project themselves onto?
Sueharu was at first constructed as a wisecracking type, but for the purpose of making things lighter I had no choice but to make him into a dumb character. If anything he takes the form of protagonists from one or two generations ago, who messed up, were ridiculed, and were unsuited to self-projection. But thinking all the same that a pure idiot was maybe not a fit for the modern age, I ended up incorporating the look and make-up (i.e. having one talent which would ultimately manifest) of a sports manga protagonist.
So, with regards to the Sueharu-kun created in the end…… personally, I like protagonists like him quite a lot.
Of Osamake’s themes another is “The Over-exuberance of Youth”, and if anything it has been and will be the main one for Volume 2 and after. When I think of “Youth”, I get an image of “messing up” and “nothing held back”. People running in anime OPs. Whether it’s “love” or “friendship”, youth keeps on running. This is why the Sueharu born from my desire to make things brighter at some point became the exact embodiment of my image of “Youth”. He holds respect for his friends, and though ridiculed he worries very hard over things in his own way, then stands and faces them with all his might. I’d be overjoyed if you would continue supporting him and his upstandingness together with me.
Oh, and this time I asked and someone kindly made a preview¹ for the next volume!
Previews for light novels personally remind me of “The Irresponsible Three Kingdoms”.² Back then they made me feel super excited, so I was incredibly happy knowing I could now do them too. At the end of the day, of course, it’s just a scheduled preview, but if it makes you just a little excited for the next volume then I’d be very glad.
Lastly, my editors, Kurokawa-sama and Onodera-sama, and the illustrator, Shigure Ui-sama, I’d like to thank you all very much for staying with me after Volume 1. Thank you to all those who cheered me on through Twitter or fan letters – I read them all even if I can’t reply to everything. Then to all those who have supported me – you have my heartfelt gratitude.
August 2019 Nimaru Shuuichi
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¹Was included in the raws but who cares when you can just read the next volume?
²10-volume light novel series which ran from ‘97 to ’98.
CClaw Translations 