Editor’s Row

This is Adam Fogle, editor of Kokoro Connect: Kako Random, back for another round. And man, what a rollercoaster it was. If I were a betting man, I’d put good money on this not being the last time we see The Second.

Now, I’d like to start by briefly talking about something near and dear to my heart: the subjunctive mood. The subjunctive has a couple different forms. The present subjunctive is when you use the bare infinitive form of a verb to express desires or requirements, usually after the word “that”. For example, “I require that you listen to my instructions” or “God save the Queen.” Not exactly common, but something that every native speaker understands, even if you can’t explain it.

The past subjunctive is a different story. It’s a lot more common, and yet people get it wrong all the time. This is (usually) when you use “were” or “had been” instead of “was” to talk about something that isn’t the case, that is not currently true, like what I wrote in the first paragraph. You often see it in “if” sentences, but not all of them. On the flip side, even when it is appropriate to use, strictly speaking you never have to use it at all. It’s just an added nuance. That’s why you may have noticed kid Aoki failing to use the subjunctive when he had the chance to. ...No? Nobody noticed? Well, maybe you picked up on the simplified speech subconsciously.

These are the kinds of fiddly rules an editor should know. Not that I learned them in school or anything. I picked up this and lots of other linguistic details from the internet.

I may have become a tedious pedant in my old age.

But speaking of Aoki, that brings me to the main challenge this volume presented: Finding the right level of consistency in the voices of the characters, when the characters themselves were not fully consistent with themselves due to the changes in age. Nagase was the easy one, taking on varying personae at different points in her life, so each stage could be its own thing, but with the same underlying current of knowingness and manipulation underneath. Aoki simply became more basic in speech and manner the further back he went. Inaba went through phases that were more distinct than Nagase’s and told a more linear story. At first she was precocious and observant, then there was a long stretch in the middle of her current life when she barely spoke at all, and just in the last couple years she became outspoken and increasingly rude, at an exponential rate. And then there’s Kiriyama, who lacked her teenageocity, but in its place had more enthusiasm and even hyper-activity at times. Her character was divided into two acts, separated sharply by the moment her trauma was inflicted on her.

How fascinating, to have all that contrast paraded around. When it comes down to it, we really are different people now than when we were truly young. Yet who we become is built upon that old foundation. Some things don’t change. The trick in this volume was to find those common threads that remained the same throughout, and make sure they came through clearly enough that the person was still somewhat recognizable. Simplicity and intelligence. Savvy. Vivaciousness. Finding the opportunities to have them say the words that are their own, even if only in a small way.

Of course, some characters need very little help being distinctive. Like Heartseed. It’s not just the ellipses... Its speech is filled with vagueness and waffling. Although, that seems to be at least somewhat an affectation - an act that it puts on. After all, it presents itself almost like a natural disaster, bound by the behaviors it lays out for its games, but otherwise striking at random, unfeeling and unstoppable. (That’s also why we chose to use the pronoun it for Heartseed and its ilk, to make it more impersonal.) When it gets really serious, though, it drops the habit, as it did in its brief appearance in this volume. When it’s only semi-serious, it dials up its apparent level of not-caring, as it did towards the end of volume 1. It’s a rather dishonest entity, its actions more pointed than it would have its victims believe.

On the other hand, now we have The Second added to the mix as well. Though it is similarly lifeless, it contrasts with Heartseed in a number of ways. Most importantly, compared to Heartseed’s hemming and hawing, it speaks in a very definite way, precise and certain, except when it is deliberately withholding information. It’s fitting, when one considers that unlike Heartseed’s random phenomena, The Second does things on an exact and regular schedule. It is also much more concise, so even though it doesn’t spend all its time moaning about how everything is too much effort, it still goes about things in a more efficient way. Overall, it seems to lack personality and existence compared to the original.

Well, to wrap things up, thanks again to the wonderful translator, Molly Lee. I couldn’t ask for anyone better. Also, to everyone at J-Novel Club and all the readers for your continued support. And of course, to author Sadanatsu Anda. Keep escalating, you shining devil. I’ll hope to see everyone back in volume 4.