by Mamare Touno
Come to think of it, I was talking with Ms. Fta the other day: “Time goes by so quickly lately, and I just can’t seem to remember things.” “Yeah, I know exactly what you mean.” So I asked her, “By the way, Ms. Fta, what did you do over the past six months?” and she said, “I went to America! (*for a work-related event).”
“Anywhere else, besides America?”
“……I went to America!”
“Did you do any other work?”
“Hissss…? Hissss!” (Jumps.)
She ducked the question.
All my young readers are sensible people, so I doubt you have any real expectations for adults, but as you suspected, this is about all grown-ups are. On the other hand, even if you’re this half-baked, apparently you can still get by. A life lived at a full sprint will easily get you slapped with a “bad work practices” certification, so it’s important to take little breaks. That’s the secret to holding on to your humanity. Parenthetically, I personally have almost no memories of the past six months. Hissss.
And with that report on recent events, this has been Log Horizon, Vol. 8.
I’m getting on in years, so my student days are in the distant past, but even so, I did spend them in a peaceful district far from the heart of the city. I wasn’t a great student, but I do remember hanging out in the club room after school with my friends and telling really dumb tall tales for hours on end.
Volume 6 was a story about women’s friendship, while Volume 7 was about men’s friendship. This one, Volume 8, is a story about coed friendship. I want the people living through that now to think, “Oh, right, that’s right, that’s how it is. Dumb stuff,” and I’d like readers for whom those days are past to smile in nostalgia.
I think youth is a time when you’re either frustrated by your own helplessness—worried about what you’re going to become, and are crushed by that pain and unease—or you don’t think at all and just get through it on enthusiasm and momentum.
(That said, it’s not as if you “become somebody” when you’re an adult. You think, “It doesn’t matter how far I go; there’s no finish line for ‘becoming somebody.’ In other words, the only thing to do is do the work that’s in front of me,” and give up—or accept it—and that state is called being an adult.)
I think it’s a tough time to have dreams. If you set the wrong goal and fail to reach it, it’s embarrassing, and there’s no telling what other people will say to you. It’s also a time when just having a huge dream is enough to get people telling you, “You really think you can do a thing like that? That’s the sort of thing that a handful of people with talent are supposed to aim for.” Still, although the world is a harsh place, on the other hand, it’s also a pretty random one. The fact that I’m managing to get by is proof. As I wrote The Larks Take Flight, I was thinking, I can’t irresponsibly glorify dreams, but I don’t want to run down the people who are getting ready to take that first step right now, either.
When they’re acknowledging boys and girls, adults are generally tepid. You can’t openly praise them, but I’ve done awkward stuff like that myself and there’s no help for it. It’s when you’re thinking, You can do it! and sneaking glances at them, even as you pretend to ignore them that things are good… So I think it’s fine for boys and girls to sponge meals off middle-aged men and women. It’s a fair transfer of income.
I don’t ordinarily do these, but I’m including acknowledgments this time.
I had the story in Log Horizon, Vol. 8—a story about having a fixed number of songs—planned when I began the serial, but it’s thanks to the anime that it ended up with the structure it has now. In part, I was influenced by the brightness and optimism of the voice actors for the younger group. Ms. Matsui’s Isuzu is bound to be a font of girlish emotions on the screen. Mr. Kakihara’s Rundelhaus will watch over her warmly. In that case, Ms. Tamura’s Minori, Mr. Yamashita’s Touya and Ms. Kuno’s Serara are sure to use their innate power to create the story. Because I believed that, I was able to really come to grips with this story as I wrote it.
I’d also like to thank one other person: Yasuharu Takanashi, the composer. I used him as a model for Isuzu’s dad, who appears in the story. His passion for music, his stoicism, his cheerfulness. On the pretext of interviewing him, I pestered him for all sorts of stories, and he taught me about the difficulties and joys of making music, not as a hobby or a job, but as a way of life.
Mr. Takanashi’s team created forty-two pieces of music for season one of the Log Horizon anime. Since season two is beginning, they’re making even more music for us. The world of Log Horizon has been given new music. That’s world-class magic, and I’m sure the readers of Log Horizon will recognize it for what it is! Thank you very much.
This time as well, the items listed on the character status screens at the beginning of each chapter were collected on Twitter. I used items from @5_case, @aiirorakko, @az_val, @Dateryu, @dharma0430, @dok_0015, @gubei_muho, @hidukikou, @hige_mg, @hpsuke, @iron007dd22, @kazamasa504, @kaze_syuki, @makiwasabi, @nyamato299, @root4253, @shisei_ssi, @ssyamono, @telutelute, @touya1818, @usui_takao, and @yutask. Thank you very much!! I can’t list all your names here, but I’m grateful to everyone who submitted entries. I actually got submissions from overseas, too. Lately, people are watching Log Horizon in Taiwan, France, and all sorts of other countries. Anime is mighty!
For details, and for the latest news, visit http://lhrpg.com/. You’ll find information about Mamare Touno that isn’t Log Horizon–related there as well. There’s also information on the anime. The TRPG that was released in April is really jumping.
Finally, Shoji Masuda, who produced this volume (OreShika 2 now on sale); Kazuhiro Hara, the illustrator (I’ll come over to hang out again); Tsubakiya Design, who handled the design work; little Fta of the editorial department! Oha, I’m in your debt yet again! And Tosho Printing! Thank you very much!
Now all that’s left is for you to savor this book. Bon appétit!
Mamare “Once summer’s over, I’m taking a trip” Touno
About the Authors
AUTHOR: MAMARE TOUNO
A STRANGE LIFE-FORM THAT INHABITS THE TOKYO BOKUTOU SHITAMACHI AREA. IT’S BEEN TOSSING HALF-BAKED TEXT INTO A CORNER OF THE INTERNET SINCE THE YEAR 2000 OR SO. IT’S A FULLY AUTOMATIC, TEXT-LOVING MACRO THAT EATS AND DISCHARGES TEXT. IT DEBUTED AT THE END OF 2010 WITH MAOYUU: MAOU YUUSHA (MAOYUU: DEMON KING AND HERO). LOG HORIZON IS A RESTRUCTURED VERSION OF A NOVEL THAT RAN ON THE WEBSITE SHOUSETSUKA NI NAROU (SO YOU WANT TO BE A NOVELIST).
WEBSITE: HTTP://WWW.MAMARE.NET
SUPERVISION: SHOJI MASUDA
AS A GAME DESIGNER, HE’S WORKED ON RINDA KYUUBU (RINDA CUBE) AND ORE NO SHIKABANE WO KOETE YUKE (STEP OVER MY DEAD BODY), AMONG OTHERS. ALSO ACTIVE AS A NOVELIST, HE’S RELEASED THE ONIGIRI NUEKO (ONI KILLER NUEKO) SERIES, THE HARUKA SERIES, JOHN & MARY: FUTARI HA SHOUKIN KASEGI (JOHN & MARY: BOUNTY HUNTERS), KIZUDARAKE NO BIINA (BEENA, COVERED IN WOUNDS), AND MORE. HIS LATEST EFFORT IS HIS FIRST CHILDREN’S BOOK, TOUMEI NO NEKO TO TOSHI UE NO IMOUTO (THE TRANSPARENT CAT AND THE OLDER LITTLE SISTER). HE HAS ALSO WRITTEN GEEMU DEZAIN NOU MASUDA SHINJI NO HASSOU TO WAZA (GAME DESIGN BRAIN: SHINJI MASUDA’S IDEAS AND TECHNIQUES).
TWITTER ACCOUNT: SHOJIMASUDA
ILLUSTRATION: KAZUHIRO HARA
AN ILLUSTRATOR WHO LIVES IN ZUSHI. ORIGINALLY A HOME GAME DEVELOPER. IN ADDITION TO ILLUSTRATING BOOKS, HE’S ALSO ACTIVE IN MANGA AND DESIGN. LATELY, HE’S BEEN HAVING FUN FLYING A BIOKITE WHEN HE GOES ON WALKS. HE’S BEEN WORKING ON THE LOG HORIZON COMICALIZATION PROJECT WITH COMIC CLEAR SINCE 2012.
WEBSITE: HTTP://WWW.NINEFIVE95.COM/IG/
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p; Mamare Touno, The Larks Take Flight
