Chapter 196

Hello, Mizuki Nomura here. This is the graduation of the Book Girl series! This volume and the next, volume two, will conclude the series. Konoha is getting run ragged all over. But I was afraid to write Ryuto any more ticked off. Originally I thought he was probably suffering more than any of the main characters, but if I wasn’t watching, he would try to go off in the most outrageous directions, so I was always pulling him back desperately, shouting “You can’t go that way!!” It looks like Konoha’s conflicts are going to continue in volume two. The inspiration for both volumes is Gide’s Strait Is the Gate. The delicate emotions expressed by its clear prose make my heart ache. This book makes me feel incredibly restless and every time I reread it, a smokiness builds up in me that makes me feel dismal. As I turn the pages, I think “why?” and even after I close the book I go on thinking, “I wonder why that happened.” I can never forget it. It’s a work with that sort of seduction to it. You should definitely, definitely get your hands on a copy and read it yourself. Changing the subject, wasn’t Tohko adorable on the cover of the special edition? I was captivated by Konoha and Tohko in kimono (à la Yuri and Akira), and Maki on the other side of them in the color pages. That was a book where I could physically taste my joy at having Ms. Takeoka do the drawings. As I wrote in the afterword of the first story, I’m always filled with anxiety when I start a series. I write each story, praying that people will read to the very end. That I’ll be able to reach the conclusion I pictured in my heart with the space I need to do it. I don’t care if the series doesn’t sell a lot; all I want is for it to keep selling well enough that I can get to my goal. So that I can tell the story right. That’s how I feel, so I’m truly thrilled that I’ll be able to bring you the last story next time with all the space I wanted! From the bottom of my heart, I thank every one of you who’s read this far! The Book Girl comic serialization is starting with Gangan Powered in June, and there are plans for a short story collection and side stories, but the series will conclude next time. I hope you’ll come to watch what choices Konoha and Tohko make. See you! Mizuki Nomura March 27, 2008