Afterword
HELLO, this is Syuu. Thank you for picking up the second volume of Soup Forest. The basic setting of Soup Forest remains almost the same in this volume, detailing things as if a fixed camera has been placed on the edge of the forest to record what’s going on there. The camera follows and records Olivia, who lives on the edge of the forest. Meeting and parting with various people, Olivia continues to make soup on the edge of the forest with the animals. The forest animals live determined lives, sometimes relying on and sometimes using Olivia. In a world where nature plays the leading role, the animals are dedicated to surviving and passing on how to live to the next generation. Olivia is a woman who respects such animals and lives in both their world and the human world, keeping a certain distance from both.
This time, Lara, who’s not afraid of others, appears in the world captured by the camera. Although Lara grew up being confronted with the ugliness of the human heart, she has almost no fear of people. Lara’s heart is always open to the outside world. By interacting with such a bright and strong woman, Olivia once again reconsiders how she interacts with others. In the main story, Olivia expands her world on the human side, and the biggest change is that instead of reading other people’s minds one-sidedly as before, she comes to understand them through interaction.
Furthermore, being recognized as having knowledge equivalent to that of a royal apothecary is an unexpected boon. A new door has opened in Olivia’s human world. What kind of world is on the other side of the door? Please look forward to how this unfolds in the main story.
Soup Forest is the story of Olivia, whose interactions with others help her grow as a person. Even as the seasons and the people and animals who come and go from Soup Forest change, the camera remains ever-focused on Olivia’s growth as a person. This volume sees the appearance of a parrot, the golden deer, rabbits, robins, the cats, Dale and Snow, the horses, Annie and Greta, and a fox. It’s a lot of fun to write the animals’ inner thoughts. The pure and tough animals liven up the main story.
Soup Forest is a fairy tale for adults, to soothe their hearts. Please enjoy this story of humans and animals that unfolds on the edge of the forest, along with Muni’s beautiful illustrations.
On this lucky day, October 2023.
Syuu