Kareno Interview
Q: Please tell us about your future goals and ambitions.
A: I'd probably go and write other stories. For the past 7 years, I haven't been writing anything else, so I don't have that much confidence. During this time I've also been polishing my writing style for Sukasuka, so apart from novels, my writing skills for other media have dulled quite a bit. There's still one month till the series' completion, and the conclusion of this world's story. However, there is room for lots of extra content (presumably dealing with the setting and making of the sukasuka world, or even side stories), so I hope I can present all that to you in a different form.
Q: What, in your view, is the main theme of the Suka series, and where do both series stand with respect to each other?
A: The main theme for both series is "A rather unimportant tale that happens to take place after the main story's conclusion". Sukasuka was set against the backdrop of Willem's battle [against Ebon Candle], so it's something like a hypothetical novel's continuation. Because we aren't shown the "central struggle" of Willem's fight, the story becomes more profound and melancholic. Therefore the ending of Willem Kumesh's story was Sukasuka's main focus.
On the other hand, Sukamoka only started off similarly. Originally, Sukasuka's main idea was getting [readers] to focus on the here and now, using the vaguely remembered past as a backdrop. I thought Sukamoka wouldn't be able to reuse that idea after reversing it, which is why there's a turnaround in the style [of Moka's story] midway through. From the 1st series' perspective, Sukamoka is its sequel, while from the 2nd series' perspective, Sukasuka is its prequel. Which is why Sukasuka is a story with an impenetrable past, while Sukamoka is one with an uncertain future. By weaving these two elements together, I wanted the reader to treat the respective works as the fulcrum of the timeline at that point.
Q: For the 1st series, it goes without saying, but in the 2nd series Kutori was very much a figure of admiration for the fairy soldiers. What sort of figure is she like to Kareno-sensei, then?
A: What sort of figure, huh... She's something like a cute child that I spent a lot of effort to create. For the heroine of a light novel, it's common to write them as "that girl whom you intend to be the love interest", but for Kutori, the emphasis was not on her romantic feelings. Rather, she was written as a child who always, always tries her best, and then somewhere along the way you start to find yourself rooting for her. For better or for worse, she's a girl who lived a pure and beautiful story. Naturally, the world of Sukasuka and Sukamoka aren't entirely pure and beautiful places, so her existence is akin to a miraculous singularity. I think that's why she continues to be loved as a sort of mascot for the series as a whole.
Q: The 2nd series began with Tiat, and in it there are a lot of fairy soldiers who look up to Kutori. To them, what sort of figure is she?
A: I'd say she's their picture of an ideal adult. At the time, Kutori was fifteen, so in the eyes of the ten-year-old Tiat, Kutori had already attained a fixed place [as a figure of admiration]. Even if Tiat stood on tiptoe, she could never stand taller than someone five years older than her. Existing in the shadow of a flawless superhuman, the fifteen-year-old Tiat would still view Kutori the same way. In fact, the older Tiat would still cling on to the impossible idea of catching up [to Kutori] in age. Developing a complex about their aspirations is a very common frustration that modern ten-year-olds have when they grow to become fifteen anyway.
Q: In Tiat's eyes, Kutori's a rather dazzling figure. Would you say she's a distant, unattainable figure as well?
A: To begin with, Kutori lived in a pure and beautiful story, so in real life someone could never catch up to her even if they wanted to. Strictly speaking, it's not about "catching up" to [Kutori], but rather a story of personal growth in the process of the pursuit, and in the process of moving through life one step at a time. Some spoilers ahead, but while Tiat might think it's pathetic how she always tries her hardest to do something, everyone else would definitely find it admirable. So, no matter how [the fairies themselves] look at it, their thinking inevitably becomes intertwined in the common, continuous aspiration to be like their seniors.
Q: I see. Although it's not mentioned in the books, but surely there are a lot of fairy soldiers who admire Tiat as well?
A: The children who continuously look up to Tiat while chasing after their own aspirations will, undoubtedly, have others who follow in their footsteps. That's one of the essential tenets of Sukamoka's story.
Q: Looking back at the whole series, who would your favorite character be?
A: Undoubtedly Willem and Feodor... but it's not just because they're the main characters. Both of them are the kind of person who'll do something completely unexpected when you leave them alone, and they'll come up with all sorts of ways to keep your eyes glued to their stories, and the stories of the hardworking girls as well (laughs). If this were a romance game, both of them would definitely be the capture targets. That's one way to think about it, but in truth both of our main characters are hard to empathize with. I mean, their pasts are unclear and their motives are pretty incomprehensible too. As rather haphazard creations, the two of them almost read like those stereotypical mysterious heroines which happen to carry a dark past. Though, of course, in the role of the [traditionally male] MC there are also fairy soldiers who, little by little, get closer to our two protags and start understanding how the two of them feel. It's an older trope, and heroines these days aren't really written like that, but it really does work as a vehicle [for the two protags] to emulate heroines. Leila from the Iden series, who as the main character has her hands tied when it comes to her "heroine", is quite cute as well (laughs).
Q: Conversely, if I asked who your favourite MC was, who would it be then?
A: Definitely Tiat. While this series is chock-full of taglines like "a man who died long ago" or "the girls who are resolved to die", that child's the only character in her world who unabashedly dreams of the future, and gradually experiences [personal] growth. From a certain perspective, she's almost like a rebel against the absolute rules of her world. We could call it the MC's special privilege, to be both the weakest [character] and the strongest joker in the pack at times. In her world, where everyone's always down in the dumps, she always brings a sense of optimism to whichever scene she's in. So from my author's perspective, [the world] has already been saved. Naigrat's also a similar kind of figure, but instead of looking towards the future, she's more occupied with her present responsibilities (laughs).
Q: That's how they're written as protagonists, but please tell us more about Willem and Feodor as characters.
A: They're both realistic idealists. That contradictory phrase, by the way, is explored in the final volume of the Spriggan manga. In my younger days, I'd look at that phrase and think: When someone's got lofty aspirations, it's not out of the ordinary for them to act on it with realistic considerations in mind. I'd also ask myself what that sense of ambivalence is trying to get us to do. Because when you want to write and publish an intriguing story, you'll find yourself gravitating towards [writing] protagonists who're pretty heavily influenced by those thoughts. That's why Willem exists as a person who'd once failed thoroughly in his past, and Feodor exists as someone who's unable to take a single step forward because all he sees is failure in [his] future. Neither of them are winners at life who're easily understandable, and that's exactly why I think they lead particularly impactful lives.
Massive spoilers for Vol 6 + moka overall
Q: Now that we've covered Willem and Feodor, what about Black Agate?
A: Black Agate is something of a spectator, and the only spectator to both Willem's and Feodor's stories. Even I'm unsure whether he's got anyone he cares about. I don't know if anyone has noticed this, but the first chapter of Sukamoka Volume 6 is "Looking Back Upon the Receding Past -age of scarlet scars-", while the third chapter is "Bringing Everyone Happiness -scam of cowards-". If you play with the English titles, you'd get Sukasuka and Sukamoka respectively. In other words, you can read both of those chapters with respect to the entirety of both their respective series. It's something I did for my own amusement, with Feodor hearing about the events of Sukasuka from Black Agate in Chapter 1, and the closure of Feodor's own story in Chapter 3. Additionally, I also played around with some of the other chapter titles in a very Shakespearan way. I think it would be pretty rewarding for interested readers to check them out.
^ Black Agate is basically Beast Willem
^^ also the "English titles" Kareno's referring to is the english words that come after the Japanese chapter titles. So in this case, it would be -age of scarlet scars-, and -scam of cowards-
Q: Thank you for your time. Regarding the characters, there's still one more I'd like to ask about. What did the Leprechauns entrust to Apple and Marshmallow (Riel), both of whom debuted in the 2nd series?
A: Well, first I'd like to say that Leprechauns are beings that pop into existence and die pretty quickly. At the beginning, there's no chance that Feodor could witness those things, and as readers we wouldn't either... not until the 2nd volume at least. Therefore, no matter how you tried to weave the fairies' life stories, you'd only end up with fairytales that could never measure up to reality. And that's exactly why we, along with Feodor, experience the truth that Leprechauns are simply born at some point, and simply pass on at some point afterwards. Of course, there are some like Tiat and the rest who live on beyond that, and we experience their journey along with them. I think that's the kind of wish that was entrusted to Apple and Riel. And through Riel, I wanted to convey to the readers how a young Leprechaun would live out their life, and what they'd live for.
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Night_Extreme#
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