Afterword

Good evening once again, this is Wataru Watari! Wait, not like this! Please put up with all those antics as well (after all, I’m Wataru Watari)!

The season is now summer!

I’m sure you’re all enjoying the season and thinking, Hey, it’s summer! I’m doin’ good, just like summer praying mantises, but I’m working. Don’t get close to me…

Now then, though this book is set in autumn before jumping to the Christmas season, this volume of My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong, As I Expected consists of the prelude to the latter part of the series, and then a half-time break during that latter part.

The publication timing of the volumes numbered x.5 are all over the place, so if that makes it hard to understand, I’m very sorry to all readers who are reading it in publication order.

Truly, I’m sorry for lots of things.

Okay, so about the sports festival story in Volume 6.5 here—it’s been improved and revised based on the story that we wrote behind the scenes for the TV anime extra number one.

With the anime, there are time restrictions and visual considerations to take into account when they adopt content and put together the scenario, but behind the scenes, we were working on something like this.

There are unseen parts to everything, not just this one story. It’s very common that you’ll just take the parts that are well-done and pretty to show to others. Even if you do get a peek behind the curtain, you may find an abyss.

This is also something that can be said about characters, too. In particular, since this series is written in first person from Hachiman Hikigaya’s perspective, his depictions change with his values as time passes. Depending on his degree of understanding, his portrayals will change. Whether that will be digging too deep into the hidden side of things or piling up a mountain of mistaken beliefs will be up to him, but whatever the case, I think he may not give a one-sided portrayal. Although it’s often the one looking who decides which side is the surface and which is the reverse.

Now then, since everything has a reverse side—a hidden side—of course even Wataru Watari has a hidden side. Normally, I’m just putting on this nonchalant face as I carefully ensure you only see a flawless version of me, you know… Huh? I don’t look flawless at all? For real? Crap. Oh crap. If even this flawless Wataru Watari that I’m normally showing doesn’t look flawless, then oh crap.

Well, not everyone who’s dirty behind the scenes is clean on the surface.

The fact is that Wataru Watari also has a heck of a lot going on, behind the scenes…

For example, behind the scenes of My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong, As I Expected, I’ve been steadily working on a new series! (Shameless plug.)

And so Wataru Watari’s new book is going to be published by Shogakukan Gagaga Bunko, and I’m presently hard at work getting that ready. So before anyone can be like We don’t care; hurry up and get the next volume out, or I’ll kick your butt, you useless piece of junk! I am also working super-hard on the new volume of Youth Romantic Comedy. I think new information about it will probably be available around New Year’s. For example, information about an extension or something like that! So I would be glad if you would check later for further news.

Work makes more work, and the spiral continues, but I’ll try to do my best. Man, I have way too much work, so I’ve been thinking about my life, wondering what I should do and if I should get some advice, but then this would turn into an ad for the life-advice TV anime Jinsei (Life), which will start airing in July on Tokyo MX and others, so I won’t. It’d bug me to do anything for Kawagishi-san, its author.

So this has been Volume 6.5 of My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong, As I Expected.

And the following acknowledgments…

Holy Ponkan: I never thought the day would come when Kawa-something would be on the cover… I never would have expected such rapid progress back when I was writing Volume 2, and having conversations with my editor, Hoshino, like, “This girl will show up in later volumes, right?” “No, she won’t…” “I see… But she will show up, right?” “No, she won’t…” “Oh-ho, I see… But—” “No.” Your wonderful cover illustration has touched me so deeply, I can’t stop crying. The cover of the special edition and internal illustrations were also the best! Thank you so much.

To my editor, Hoshino: I never thought the day would come when Kawa-something would be on the cover… Now I can say thank you for sticking to it, that time. Thanks to you, I reconsidered and thought, Maybe this character is actually important… Sorry for doubting. At the time, I thought, It’s just that she’s your type, huh? This is why I can’t stand people from Yokosuka… Hey, there’ll be plenty of room for Kawasaki to show up next time! Ga-ha-ha!

To all the cast: Thank you very much for your efforts in recording the drama CD. I’m very sorry for writing hopeless scripts every time. The recording was about a year after the lines for the anime were recorded, but all your performances were even better than last time; thank you so much. I’m very much looking forward to seeing you for the second season of the anime. It’ll be great to work with you again.

All right, so this is about where I’ll lay down my pencil. Next time, let’s meet in Volume 10 of My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong, As I Expected.

A certain day in June, in a lukewarm breeze, while drinking a lukewarm MAX Coffee,

Wataru Watari