Mushi Uta:Volume 15 Afterword

Afterword

Hello, this is Iwai Kyouhei.

Thank you for supporting me for so long.

Now, the Mushi Uta series has been concluded.

Since the first volume had been sold on the fifth month of Heisei 15, the curtain closed on it exactly 11 years later. Thinking back on this time, I can offer nothing but my gratitude.

While thinking that anything else would be superfluous, I want to use this opportunity of the book’s conclusion to look back on various things.

Or well, it’s only personal things.

Mushi Uta is actually the second series I’ve written since my debut.

Just like I wrote during the first afterword, it started with the simple idea to mix up something I love with something I hate: dreams and insects. Also, because I went with something much more logic-based for my debut work, I wanted to go with something more emotional next.

Right after starting the series, my liking of side characters was made even worse, so I started troubling the editor by wanting to do selfish things such as changing the main character every volume, a so-called omnibus format. I’m really glad I was told that “the readers want to read Kakkou’s story, you know” and it became like this. Well, I still ended up straying away from the main story around the middle part and was told the same thing a lot, though.

After this I had nothing but welcome developments; the serialization of the prequel Mushi Uta Bug, as well as the manga and anime adaptations.

Leaving aside those that I could leave to the professionals, the short stories started from a place of confusion and anxiety. Because I’d never written a volume of short stories before. It’s like they say that it’s harder writing short sentences rather than long ones.

Even so, I finally started enjoying it more around the middle. Perhaps because I set my goal to be a battle known to be lost from the main story it, agreed with my strange tastes as a creator.

But as I grew used to it, I got carried away and it ended up introducing a lot of new characters. In that sense, although it was fun to write, it ended up causing many other problems. I ended up troubling my editor by saying I want to put out a Mushitsuki that can drop meteors, and even caused trouble for the illustrator llo-san by creating so many characters. I really do apologize. This serialization became the number one motive and motivation for me to work on writing the Mushi Uta main story.

Looking at it like this, I am only thankful for all these things. Looking back on this happiness, it also makes me realize all the blunders I made on the way, so while I am ashamed, it was also very fun.

Now, including the prequel, the story now has more than 20 volumes in all, but how was its conclusion?

Because it was such a long story, I believe many readers worked their imaginations to try and guess how it would end.

I have received many of your impressions and words of encouragement, but while many told me about your favorite stories and characters, my impression was that most tried predicting future developments.

Among those especially many were, as expected, about the future of Kakkou and Shiika as main characters. And also as expected, most wished for a happy end for them.

Above all else, they wished for a connection to “after” the conclusion.

I believe the best sort of ending is one where you can imagine how it continues after the end.

Many things happened to the author himself during these long years as well.

Not just private things, but I learned a lot about writing as well.

I gained the opportunities to serialize other series, manga and novel adaptations, and each such time I was in the care of readers like you or other people in the business.

After I had the unprecedented experience of Mushi Uta, I think about writing new stories.

Even just in the sense of returning all the favors people gave me, I want to pour my everything into a new series.

Please look forward to it.

Allow me to once again thank everyone related to this series.

Onnai-sama who was in charge of me until now, Yamaguchi-sama, Taiki-sama and everyone of the editorial department all go without saying for all the help you’ve given me. The only reason such a helpless writer who always said the impossible could be controlled and continued the serialization was thanks to you. Thank you very much.

And the illustrator, llo-sama. Despite the fact that I have undoubtably caused you constant problems with so many characters and my slow writing, you have always drawn wonderful pictures for me. So many were rejected especially because of my slow writing and revisions… and you bore the brunt of my schedule… I feel nothing but gratitude for you. Thank you for sticking with me for so long.

There were also many people in charge of design, production work and the like.

I can’t hold enough gratitude for all the multitudes of people who helped me thus far.

And lastly.

I want to exhibit my heartfelt gratitude to the readers who followed Mushi Uta thus far.

Without your support, I never would have managed to continue the series for so long.

Thank you for helping not just me as the author but the series itself constantly evolve. I received countless words of support that gave me strength.

I hope I can continue to encourage you to pick up my works for your reading life.

I await the day we’ll meet again through another work.

Iwai Kyouhei

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Congratulations, it’s finished! Good job. I’m the artist.

Since the 1st Volume was sold on May 2003, we’ve been together for eleven years.

If I were to live to be 110 years old, this would mean that Mushi Uta was a full 10% of my life, you know?

It means that every 2 and a half hours of my life were Mushi Uta. That’s incredible.

Many things happened during this long time, but I want to thank Iwai-sensei, all the editors and, above all else, the readers who accompanied us this far. Thank you very much, truly.

I’ll be happy if we meet somewhere again.

Notes

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