Infinite Dendrogram - Volume 9 - Chapter Aft

Afterword 

Cat: “Time for the afterwooord! I’m the ‘Cat,’ Cheshire! I haven’t been here in a while!” 
Xun: “I’m XunyU, and I’m surprisEd this guy cAn come here after that mAin story.” 
Fox: “I was wondering how to talk with him around, but it looks like I didn’t have to worry. Oh, and I’m the ‘Fox,’ Tsukuyo Fuso.” 
Bear: “Well, the af-ter-word is a law-less waste-land, af-ter all.” 
Xun: “Hm?” 
Bear: “I am the ‘Bear,’ Shu Star-ling. I have not been here fur a long time, al-so.” 
Fox: “I know that, but... why are you talking all stiff?” 
Cat: “Yeah, and why is your suit all metallic?” 
Xun: “Yeah, you’re likE a mech rIght now. Or just an animAted hunk of scrAp, really... Wait.” 
Bear: “Yes. Pre-cise-ly. I am now... an-i-ma-ted.” 
Cat: “Are you about to...?” 
Bear: “PREBEAR YOURSELVES, FOR THE DENDRO ANIME IS HEADING INTO YOUR TV SCREENS!” 
Xun: “He actUally did it... He stOle the announcEment!” 
Cat: “With a crappy pun and set-up, tooo.” 
Fox: “He said this place is lawless, but there are limits, right?” 
Bear: “Mecha suit off! Back to the one I bear-long in!” 
Fox: “Oh, so it really was a suit.” 
Bear: “Yep. And just so you know, that announcement was something the author’s always wanted to do.” 
Xun: “It wAs?” 
Bear: “There are things that can only be said once in a lifetime. It’s basically like shouting ‘WOO HOO!’ at the beary top of the mountain.” 
Xun: “It doesn’t seEm like that at all...” 
Cat: “Anyway, yeah, we’ll have an anime noow. You can read more about it laterrr!” 
Xun: “As in... whEn?” 
Cat: “Thanks to how many pages we got for this volume, we have a much bigger afterword this time. That’s why we dedicated more space for the author’s own words.” 
Xun: “So that’s whAt the ‘Afterword (Characters)’ is about, hUh?” 
Bear: “We got a double afterword to cele-bear-ate the anime. You just can’t beat us!” 
Fox: “Is that really the right thing to dedicate more pages to?” 
Cat: “Volume 9 was really looong...” 
Bear: “And had more battles than any other...” 
Cat: “But there will be a 180 from the other ones, since it will be pretty peaceful for Ray.” 
Xun: “Really? A relaxed Dendro volume? That’s rare.” 
Cat: “You’re getting it wronnng.” 
Xun: “Hm?” 
Cat: “It’s only peaceful for Ray and everyone around him.” 
Xun: “...Suddenly, the volUme sounds the oppOsite of relaxed.” 
Cat: “Anyway, I guess it’s time to announce it. I worked hard in the main story, and I haven’t done this in a while, so I will be the one to...” 
: “I am a bad ?????. Therefore, I am stealing this announcement... Volume 10 is set to come out mid-2019!” 
Cat: “Wh-What...?” 
Bear: “He slipped in here fur-om the next volume!” 
Fox: (This is sooo familiar.) 
: “Now, let us meet again on volume 10.” 
Xun: “Huh? The afterword’s gettin’ even more characters?”

Dearest readers, thank you for purchasing my work. I am the author, Kaido Sakon. 
As you may already know from the cover and the earlier afterword, Infinite Dendrogram is getting a TV anime. 
Having your work adapted into an anime is an important milestone for all light novel authors, and I couldn’t be more overjoyed that Infinite Dendrogram and I have made it this far. 
This certainly couldn’t have been done without support from all of you. 
When the first volumes were coming out, I was always worried about the possibility of cancellation. It’s an industry with hundreds of books coming out every month, after all. Not all can survive, and it wasn’t unlikely that my work wouldn’t make it. 
However, with all of your support, Dendro has made it this far, and I couldn’t be more thankful for that. 
Since I have about eight more pages for the afterword, and since it’s a good opportunity in general, I would like to look back at and tell you more about how things were during and after publication. Consider it a post-volume mini-essay extra, of sorts. 
The first volume of Dendro was released in the year 2016. Around the release, there was a marvelous event titled “The Great Dendro Festival,” in which many artists made art to help spread the word and support Dendro (you can still find this art on the series’ official website.) 
As you certainly know, the one hired to work on the illustrations for these novels was Taiki, and his art is simply out of this world. Then, at the end of the Great Dendro Festival, it was revealed that Kami Imai himself would provide my work with the best manga adaptation imaginable. 
To be honest, I was being a bit too optimistic back then. At the very least, I probably thought that stability was guaranteed. But then I looked at the sales. They weren’t bad at all, but personally, I was worried if they really matched the backing it was getting. 
Did my work really live up the hype? 
Did my novel really match the excellent conditions it was provided? 
What if I still wasn’t good enough? 
What if it was canceled after the first volume? 
A lot was bothering me back then, but after the editor, K, told me that the second volume sold about ninety percent of what the first did, those worries slightly relaxed. 

I also realized that it was better to work than worry, so I simply took to improving the light novel releases, writing the exclusive short stories, and uploading new web novel parts. 
That was when I was writing the extreme, tumultuous Gloria side story. Look forward to it in volume eleven! 
That reminds me... At the end of 2016, I was talking to K by phone, and he said he would go around Comiket to say hi to the illustrators. 
“Will there be Dendro doujins or something?” I asked. 
“Light novels need anime adaptations to get those,” he replied. 
“Ohhh, right.” 
“Doesn’t look like Dendro’s getting one anytime soon.” 
“I know, I know...” 
At this point in time, an anime was nowhere in sight. 
New Year’s passed, and it was now 2017. 
This was a very great year for Infinite Dendrogram. 
The sales of the currently released volumes kept steadily increasing, and then some big things happened. 
First, Dendro won first place in BookWalker’s New Light Novel Awards. Then it won third place overall, and second place for new entries in its category on the “This Light Novel is Amazing!” awards. 
Thanks to these awards, Infinite Dendrogram became more popular than ever. The older volumes received reprints, while the newer ones were now selling enough for me to feel completely safe. 
This was nothing if not fortuitous, and I am certain it couldn’t have happened without support from both the readers and the publication team. 
Thanks to this, at the end of this year, I was a lot more relaxed than the last. 
That was when I got a call from K. 
“Can you talk right now?” he asked, like he always did, before getting straight to the point and dropping this bombshell: 
“We’re getting an anime.” 
Talk about a surprise. I thought my heart was about to leap out of my chest. 
Since 2017 had been such a good year for Dendro, I had mildly hoped that we would get one next year, and here it was coming before 2017 even ended. I felt like I’d teleported right next to it before I could even see it. 
K likes such surprise attacks. He did this when he got Kami Imai on the manga, too. Heartstoppers like these can kill a man. It’s in the word. If that ever happens, I hope it’s after I’ve completed Dendro. 
With that revelation, my relaxed end of the year became one of excitement and nervousness. 
So came the year 2018. 
If I had to sum it up in a couple words, it would be the “Year of Preparations.” 
Now, in addition to helping with the light novel, checking the manga, and putting out new web novel parts, I also had to work on the anime. 
My first job was to provide name lists, character descriptions, key design features and other materials for them to work with. 
My second job to check the scripts, pick and choose the most important dialogue lines, shorten the longer ones, and add any depictions I felt were necessary. 
I recall being surprised by how quickly anime scripts are made. The script wasn’t the only thing I was involved with — I also had a part in the art direction. 
I remember looking at what they gave me and thinking things like, “So this is what noble mansions in Altea look like, huh?” It will probably influence how I depict the city in writing. 
Everyone on the staff was putting a lot of effort into their work, and I really thought that Dendro as a whole was blessed with the best people. 
Now, no anime is proper without voice actors. Since I myself am primarily an anime watcher, rather than a creator, I know next to nothing about this and just assumed that they would be picked by the experts. 
That was when I got another call from K. 
“We’re holding auditions for the main cast. Come participate.” 
That was when I concluded that his calls could only ever be about two things: deadlines or bombshells. I feel like one day he’ll go full zabaniyya on my heart. 
And that’s how I ended up being one of the judges in the auditions. 
Upon seeing the list of people who’d participate, I went, “Eh?! There are so many big names...!” and my heart almost leapt out of my chest again. 
There were two major auditions, and I took part in them both. In both cases, I took a bullet train to Tokyo first thing in the morning, and both auditions lasted until there were no more bullet trains to take me back. The schedule was harsh, but overall, I’m two hundred percent fulfilled and satisfied I was part of it. 
I had to check live vocal performances in the auditions, then return home to re-check the voice recordings, as well as check the submissions from those who couldn’t make it due to tight schedules. I was doing nothing but checking all day long, but it was a fun experience you don’t get every day. 
I also realized that different people read the same lines differently and with varying emotions. That is something I now consider when writing, and I appreciate that. 
Also, I found out that picking the voice actors for monotone characters is actually really hard. I feel like I had the most difficulty judging auditions for Cyco (who’s showing up again in the next volume, by the way). 
In case you’re wondering, the second in difficulty — though in a completely different way — was Babi. 
The auditions passed, and at the point of writing this afterword, the main cast and Franklin have already been decided. 
I am so happy with the casting that I’ve been excited about it nonstop since last year. 
I don’t know whether they’re revealed yet, so I won’t write them here, but I’m sure you, dear readers, will know what I mean when you see them. 
By the way, one day after the auditions, K called me again. 
“By the way, about the one doing the BGM...” 
Yes, he attacked my heart even from that angle. That was how big of a shock it was. I feel like everything I’m writing about K has to do with surprises and my heart, but that’s just how it is. 
Anyway, those have been my days since the release of the first volume until now. 
There are still lots of things I can’t mention, but rest assured that the people involved in the anime are great. I can hardly wait for it myself. 
Oh? What’s this? Another call from K? 
“Hey, about that deadline and the anime exclusives...” 
HA HA HA. What a double punch. 
Anyway, it seems like 2019 will be even busier than 2018 for me. But just like everyone involved with the anime is working so hard, I will also use my writing to make the most out of Dendro’s once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. 
I thank you all for giving me the chance to go all-out, and I intend to continue doing my best. 
Please continue supporting Infinite Dendrogram. 

Sakon Kaidou