Mahou Shoujo Ikusei Keikaku - Volume 7 - Chapter Aft

Afterword

Long time no see. I’m Asari Endou, a lover of magical girls. Of all the magical girls in this series so far, the one with the tenth-highest communication skills is Magicaloid 44. Basically, this is because of my preference as the author to fill my books with characters who are bad at communicating.

This has been Jokers. I got this far in my writing believing the game of Presidents is balanced out because the joker is strong, but not the strongest. However, that might just be a local variant of the game, which is quite astonishing.

This time around, instead of a two-parter like always, Jokers ended up being one volume. But that doesn’t mean there’s less content. What would have been split into two volumes has been combined into one, so price-wise, it’s quite a bargain. Please do buy one.

But there’s no point in advertising the book in the afterword, so allow me to advertise some other things.

A manga adaptation has begun its serialization in Comp Ace magazine. This has been advertised on the book wrapper for a while, but this time for sure, the manga really is starting.

The first Magical Girl Raising Project book, which had been in low stock for a long time, is now available in a special edition. It has additional elements like new short stories, new illustrations, and a four-panel manga, so it’s a very good deal for that edition. The price is also higher. It may not seem like a very good deal, but it really is.

No, really, it is.

Since there was no afterword in that edition, my afterword power has been building up to near bursting. I will unleash it here and now to more than double the afterword for Jokers. This will satisfy the afterword granny that lives inside me, and the discharge of afterword power will keep the peace of the world from being disturbed.

First, the secret factoid that I couldn’t include in the special edition: Of all the magical girls in this series so far, the tenth most dexterous with her hands is Detec Bell.

The following are discussions I’ve had with S-mura.

One day, when my deadline was approaching, we had a conversation that went like this.

“Okay, please finish this by (date).”

“(Date)… What will happen if I don’t finish it?”

“It will be a disaster.”

“A disaster…”

“A disaster.”

There was no disaster. Phew.

We have the following conversation almost like a ritual whenever I write a new book.

“Now then, about the next Magical Girl Raising Project…”

“There’s one thing I’d like to ask, if it’s all right.”

“What is it?”

“Could we have a middle-aged man as a magical girl?”

“No.”

“I mean, you see, there would be this sort of contrast between him being a normal guy, but then when he transforms, he’s a magical girl.”

“No.”

“But—”

“No.”

“Hear me out.”

“No. It’s too niche.”

But it’s my niche!

We’ve also had conversations like this.

“Endou, don’t you have any manga author or writer acquaintances?”

“Huh? No, I don’t.”

“How about illustrators?”

“No, no one like that.”

“You don’t, huh? That’s too bad.”

“Wh-what is it? Is there some reason you’re asking?”

“Oh, I was just wondering if there was anyone who could write a blurb or something on the book wrapper.”

So this is the sort of system they have for blurbs, huh?

We had a discussion like this, too.

“Do you have any preferences for what character to put on the book wrapper?”

“I’m thinking this girl.”

“Oh, but that one gets cut from the story early on.”

“Well, but, she’s my favorite, design-wise.”

“You’re just trying to come up with some rationale for surprising the readers, aren’t you?”

It warmed my heart to think, Wow, they trust me so much.

I have to come up with subtitles, too.

“Okay, let’s have you make some suggestions for this book’s subtitle.”

“Um, but none of the ones I’ve proposed have ever been used, yes?”

“That’s been the case so far. So please do your best on this one.”

“I don’t know…”

“I would appreciate it if you brainstormed a bunch of possible ideas. I’m counting on you.”

As you all may have been guessing, none of my suggestions were used this time, either.

Characters are important.

“There are too many color-themed characters.”

“Yeah, but…”

“Keep the color theme to four characters, tops.”

“But I can’t help it when I’m trying to keep things as varied as possible.”

“Listen, think really hard about it. Every single magical girl is a protagonist. When the protagonist makes her debut, can you love her? There’s no point in adding more magical girls who can’t become the protagonist.”

“I—I see.”

S-mura spoke with such fervor.

I was very grateful when S-mura listened to me.

“Then I’ll tell them about your request.”

“Thank you very much.”

“Oh, no, it really helps me when you’re this concise.”

“They won’t think I’m some annoying author?”

“Don’t worry about it.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. There are many out there who are even more annoying.”

I-is everything going to be all right?

S-mura also helps me out with the afterword.

“Do you have any recent interesting anecdotes?” I asked.

“Interesting anecdotes?”

“Yes, something along those lines.”

“Interesting… Hmm… Well…”

“Anything is fine.”

“Right, yes… Does pulling three all-nighters in a row count as an interesting anecdote?”

“…”

“Yeah, you see, I haven’t left the office at all.”

“I-I’m sorry…!”

I’ll finish the next one sooner.

We also have discussions on what to cut or not to cut.

“Do you have a minute?”

“Yes, what is it?”

“This scene where she stomps on the grave—do we really need it?”

“Oh no, I very much wanted to write that. Seeing her crush the grave of her benefactor underfoot communicates her character to the reader, and the impact of this scene will leave a big impression…”

“I see, I see… Understood. Then let’s not cut it.”

“Thank you very much.”

(One week later)

“Do you have a minute?”

“Yes, what is it?”

“This scene where she stomps on the grave—it’s okay to cut it, right?”

Yes, they cut it.

S-mura checks not only the story, but the afterword as well.

“Endou, about this afterword.”

“Was there some sort of problem?”

“You’re not allowed to write about X.”

“Oh, I’m not? I’ll rewrite it, then.”

“Also, you can’t mention this group.”

“Oh, that too, huh? Can I not make it more ambiguous?”

“Even just a hint is out of the question.”

“But I’ll write it so that absolutely nobody will be able to tell what it is.”

“If you’re going to make it that incomprehensible, then write about something else.”

Indeed.

I will swear loyalty.

“See, if Takarajimasha hadn’t picked me up, I’m sure I never would’ve been published. I feel I owe them.”

“Actually, wasn’t it less Takarajimasha and more KonoRano Publishing’s editorial department?”

“Oh, yeah, you’re right. I’m sure I never would’ve been published if it weren’t for the editorial department.”

“Well… as a matter of fact, you never would have been published if it weren’t for me, Endou.”

Yes, I will swear loyalty to S-mura.

And so, to everyone at the editorial department who has helped me along the way, especially S-mura…

… Especially S-mura!

Thank you very much. Because of you all, Jokers has been published without a hitch.

Marui-no-sensei, thank you so much. And thank you for the special edition, as well. I’ve put the group shot pinup for the special edition into my pillow, and I sleep with it. My favorite magical-girl designs in this book are those of Kafuria and Umbrain. I think I have the freedom to pick two as my favorite.

To all my readers: Thank you very much for buying this book. I hope you will continue to enjoy the Magical Girl Raising Project series, including the manga adaptation.