AFTERWORD
Yes, yes, yes, hiya, I am Tappei Nagatsuki! I am also the Mouse-Colored Cat! This time, I wanted to thank you very much for buying and reading Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World-, Vol. 10!
Huh?! I’m getting déjà vu, like I’ve somehow written a greeting like this very recently?!
So, while I was stricken by a sense of familiarity, it is not déjà vu. It’s that Volume 9 and Volume 10 are being published back to back in November!
With the anime broadcast ending in September, it’s a treat to be able to read about the immediate aftermath in Volumes 9 and 10, but not so great for the author. Truly, the days were spent going from the frying pan into the fire.
From start to finish, this was the fault of the author for blithely saying “Hey, once the anime’s finished I’ll be able to pick up the publication pace!” No, that is not the case! If anyone would be at fault, it would be you readers for saying “That sounds really fun, please do it!” And I would never lay blame like that!
The delight of all the readers at back-to-back publication in November is the fruit of Nagatsuki’s soul as an author! Also, the fruit of the senior editor saying in a great burst of hot energy, “We can do it, we can do it! Mr. Nagatsuki can do it!” And you see? We did it!
Back-to-back publication in November was pretty hard to pull off, enough that I forgot about that silly conversation until just before going to print. Back-to-back publication added various burdens, which of course included Nagatsuki’s own workload.
Furthermore, this time, with Volume 10, Re:ZERO enters a brand-new arc! By a new arc, I obviously mean changes in the scenery and the characters appearing onstage. So that means Otsuka has designed plenty of new characters. Of course, I would call all the characters he’s designed gems, so it was quite an ordeal, even for a superhuman like Otsuka!
Yeah, who was that guy who mouthed off on his own to the tune of “Once the anime’s over I’ll raise the production pace”? Who, me?! It was me.
Mr. Otsuka, I’m so sorry. Maid Petra and School Uniform Echidna are soooooo cute. As this is the general consensus of everyone who has read Volume 10, best regards for Volume 11 and beyond!
Also, the story has changed from the web version, where it got fairly gnnnnh, so if readers also have fun with things besides the illustrations, that is a very good thing, yes.
Even if what precedes them is more of a jumble than usual, things tighten up once the words of praise and thanks begin, so let us begin.
Senior Editor I, thank you sooooo much for your work on Volumes 9 and 10 following the anime! You were a huge help in so many areas! For Volume 9, it related to how to portray the climax of Arc 3, and for Volume 10, how to set up Arc 4 going forward. I intend to race forward at high temperature that is in no way inferior to Arc 3, so let’s look forward to Arc 4!
To Mr. Otsuka the illustrator, I mentioned you in the middle of the afterword already, but thank you very much for the many character designs this time around. The Witch, the punk, the girl, the maid—you gave them all such adorable touches that I can’t help but gush. I’m counting on your fine service during their hardships and exploits hereafter!
To designer Kusano, this marks the fourteenth Re:ZERO-related book you’ve done, but where rankings are concerned, number 10 is right there at the top. Kusano, I’ve come this far because of your sense of how to attract people’s eyes. Thank you very much. Let’s strive to aim even higher in the future!
To Daichi Matsuse and Makoto Fuugetsu, who are in charge of the comic versions, thank you very much for sticking with me all the way to Re:ZERO’s anime finale event. I think it was a really good thing to get us all together right on the verge of it ending. Best of luck on the way to completing Arc 2 and Arc 3!
To others in the editorial department of MF Bunko J, the various bookstore and enterprise-side persons, and the anime staff and cast for whom my feelings of gratitude have yet to diminish in the slightest, and everyone else involved in Re:ZERO, thank you.
And last but not least, my greatest of thanks to all you readers who have followed this tale thus far.
The long third arc is over, and with this volume, the fourth arc begins. If the theme of Arc 3 is “self-awareness,” the theme of Arc 4 is “self-reliance.” New hardships block the characters’ paths, so by all means, watch as they aim to do whatever it takes to overcome these obstacles.
Thank you very much for your time, and I hope to see you again for Volume 11.
September 2016
Tappei Nagatsuki
(Written while challenging the sudden cool spell with a Hawaiian shirt for as long as possible)
“Ha-ha-ha! So there you have it, this is Kenichi Natsuki, magnificent previewer!”
“I am Nahoko. Ah, I’m Ken’s wife… Also, did something happen to you?”
“Suddenly hearing what you called me before marriage threw me off, but you said what you needed to say so it’s all OK, my bride. So let’s get down with this preview stuff!”
“Errr, concerning the next volume of this story…Re:ZERO, was it? This is where you talk about new information, I think. Also, this is Subaru’s story? I wonder what kind of story it’ll be…”
“Ohhh, you really got it, which is a totally super-rare thing! You can do it when you really try, Nahoko!”
“Tee-hee, I can certainly do it when I try. Today was nonflammable garbage day, wasn’t it?”
“There it is, Mom’s beginner-level ‘the first part’s disconnected from the second part’ conversation piece! Let’s set aside talking about the garbage for now and try to keep the conversation focused.”
“Okaaaay. The next book after this one is Volume Eleven, expected to come out in December…the month before New Year’s? Others came out in September and October, too, so it seems to be a rather busy schedule.”
“Well, that just means they’re in that much demand.
“And at about the same time as Volume 10 comes out, disc Volume 5 of the Re:ZERO anime will be out with a novella, and on top of that, there’s talk of a book on the setting called the Re:ZEROpedia, too! Even with the anime finished, there’s lots and lots to do. Feels like Subaru’s won’t be gettin’ a chance to rest anytime soon.”
“Come to mention it, Subaru’s written it’s his dream to become an author, and that ‘I’ll become like Dad, and then marry Mom.’ So adorable.”
“There’s Mom’s intermediate-level conversation piece, ‘sudden resurrection of the past’! All of a sudden, that Subaru guy gets his dark past revealed when he isn’t even here!”
“I just thought, the more everyone knows about Subaru, the more they’ll like him, and the harder that child will try.”
“…Yeah, I suppose so! I think that, too! Why, you truly are perfect, bride of mine! ‘No matter what detours you may take, the final answer is always the right one!’ Right?”
“Of course I am perfect. I am Subaru’s mom and Ken’s wife, after all.”
“That’s my wife for you, and that’s my son. Better keep at it, Subaru… I have high hopes for ya.”
“Yes, hang in there, Subaru.”
No Comments Yet
Post a new comment
Register or Login