Afterword

Spoilers within. Those of you who like to peek at the afterword first, beware.

I’m so, so sorry for the long wait. Terribly sorry. Why was it so late, you ask? Well, I think if I start talking about it I’m going to start crying, so I won’t.

At last, this twelve-year journey is finally over. When FMP! first started in 1998, I bought two bottles of wine (Chateau Latour; the price was... considerable). I kept one for myself and sent the other to Shiki-san with the message, “Open once your illustration work is done.” Out of character for me, I know, but I think it’s okay once in a while.

This series has been like running a three-legged race for twelve years, so this flavor is reserved for Shiki-san and me (laughs). There are a lot of people who played a part in this accomplishment, but these two bottles are ours alone!

We just finished the proofreading, so now I’m writing this afterword while enjoying my freshly opened wine and tasting the sinfully delicious cheese that Shiki-san sent me in exchange. Yes, that’s right. I’m drinking and writing.

And even as I write that, a package arrives. It’s samples of part one! Ohh... On the obi, it says, “The pinnacle of school military action is finally complete!” The pinnacle, eh? I’m not sure about that myself, but I guess it’s okay to exaggerate a little bit. Credit to my editor.

Incidentally, if you combine parts one and two, they form my longest volume yet. But if you break them up, they’re each about the length of a short story collection. Interesting.

I decided at the very start that this would be a ‘boy meets girl’ story, and I told myself I would stick to that rather than straying into prioritizing the mystery of the world, the nature of destiny, the political intrigue, or the fights. At the end of the day, this was supposed to be the story of these two people, and I worked hard to keep the focus on that. Whether or not I succeeded in this endeavor... I guess I have to leave that to the judgment of the readers, and I tremble in fear at your verdict.

At any rate, this is the end of the novels. But it feels a little sad to just leave it at this, so I’d like to write enough short stories to put out a collection of the few that are so far unpublished. Some sequel material also might be nice... but I’m not sure whether to go with it or not. There’s a saying that some things are better left unsaid, but I also don’t feel particularly like what happens after needs to go unsaid. So I’m not really sure. I’ll think about it more once things have settled.

I’m working on a new series now. I hope to get it to you as soon as possible, but I also have the police drama Cop Craft (with Shogakukan Gagaga Bunko) coming out. Renji Murata’s doing the illustrations, and the blue spines really pop on the shelf. If they sell well, it will imbue me with a feeling of “Okay, I can handle other projects!” So please make sure you read it!

Here at the end, let me offer thanks to everyone who’s helped me along the way. The following people have supported me in every way imaginable during the process of expanding the story.

First, thanks to all the members of the editorial staff who supported me. My first editor, Sugenuma. We finally made it through, huh? (cries). Sato, my second and longest-running editor. I ended it just the way we discussed before. Morishita, my third editor. You really helped me make it to the finish line. My fourth, Komatsu. You really hung in there. And you’re still hanging in there! Thank you!

To the staff at Fushimi Shobo and all those who helped me in the editorial department, I’m sorry for all the trouble I always caused you. At least we made it to the end. Thank you so much.

Next, the people on the mecha side. To Masayuki Takano, the mangaka who wasn’t on this officially, but did the initial mecha designs at the ‘friend rate:’ good luck on Blood Alone. Toshiaki Ihara, who did some mecha designs when we got our anime adaptation, especially the second generation AS designs: You really saved me, so let’s grab a drink together some time. And to Kanetake Ebikawa, who handled not only the Laevatein and other third generation designs, but provided support when I was pulling my hair out here on this last volume: you were like Kurz, taking out that enemy machine in the clutch and flashing a thumbs up. It was too darn cool! And to all the people involved in drafting, tweaking, design, printing, bookbinding, marketing, and sales: You all really hung in there through the trouble I caused. Thank you so much.

Now for the three people behind the comics adaptations. Retsu Tateo: I haven’t seen you in a really long time. You really worked hard in the early stages when we didn’t have a lot in the way of setting documents. The Kaname you draw is super cute. Thank you so much. Tomohiro Nagai who worked on the Ikinari! series: It’s been so long since we last talked. Your incredible powers of generating laughs almost made it hard for me to write the short stories (laughs). I’ve rarely seen a comic adaptation that made me laugh that much. Thank you so much. And Hiroshi Ueda, who draws the currently-running Sigma: I’m sorry I keep sending you everything so late (sweats). If there’s a character you want to marry, I’ll happily give them to you. To the respective editorial staff of the comic adaptations: I frequently was so frustrated with my own writing that I neglected to respond to your questions. I’m really sorry, and also, thanks so much.

There are so many people involved with the anime that I’m indebted to as well. It would be impossible to name them all here, but I’m so grateful for everything that all of you did. I’m also extremely grateful to the people involved with each related company. To Atsushi Ito, the producer: you were like my second editor, and were so lenient with me, I really have to thank you. Maybe it was just because of work, but I have a lot of memories of the fun trips we took together. I hope we can head out somewhere for fun again. And thanks to everyone involved at Gonzo Digimation before it had that name. Your studio was so full of surprises for a newcomer to the anime business like me. And thanks to the people at Kyoto Animation, who took the adaptations on starting with Fumoffu!, for not only making me feel welcome, but for creating work of such amazing quality. I’m always happy when I think of the success you’ve had since then.

To Koichi Chigira, the director of the first anime: I meant to play on your baseball team, but I haven’t seen you since you finished Druaga. Invite me by sometime! I found myself doing a Google image search on you, and that first picture...you look like a criminal defendant brought in on some false charge. To Osamu Horiuchi, character designer and animation director: You gave me so much feedback on the original designs, and brought such effortless quality to it. I really owe you so much. Thank you. I’m keeping those Shin Cutie Honey DVDs as a family heirloom. Fumihiko Shimo, series composition and scriptwriter: you really gave me so much careful advice and support when I was just starting out as a creator. You were basically my screenwriting teacher. Thank you so much. And to Yota Tsuruoka, sound director: it’s been too long since we last saw each other. I don’t know how to thank you for humoring the annoying creator who always came to your recording sessions. I tried to follow the diet you recommended, by the way, but my appetite won out and I caved.

The cast has been incredibly helpful, to a degree I can’t fully express. While I was writing, I had the anime cast speaking in my head. Tomokazu Seki as Sousuke. Satsuki Yukino as Kaname. Yukana as Tessa. Masahiko Tanaka as Gauron. Shinichiro Miki as Kurz. Michiko Neya as Mao. Akio Ohtsuka as Kalinin. Tomomichi Nishimura as Mardukas. Rikiya Koyama as Clouseau. Daisuke Namikawa as Leonard. Ikue Kimura as Kyoko. Rio Natsuki as Ms. Kagurazaka. Mamiko Noto as Shinji. Takayuki Okada as Ono-D. Toshiyuki Morikawa as Hayashimizu. Takehiro Murozono as Al. And Tomoko Kaneda as Bonta-kun. I’d like to offer more thanks, but I’m running out of pages (sweats).

To everyone who made merchandise based on my story: I don’t have much space to introduce you, but thank you, as always. I am truly grateful.

And though it might go without saying, to Shikidouji for sticking with me through these truly hellish twelve years: thank you so much!

And here at the end, the greatest of thanks to you, the reader, for coming with us this far: twelve volumes of just the novels; twenty-two volumes if you include the short stories. It’s been a very long journey. Thanks so much for taking it with me.

Goodbye.