The Moon’s Ship That Crosses The Night: Afterword
Afterword
Whether this is your first time
reading my work or you’re a returning reader, thank you for picking up The
Moon’s Ship That Crosses the Night.
This story was originally published
in a doujinshi several years ago, but at that time, it was only partially
written. I had planned for it to be somewhat shorter, though the ending had
always been clear in my mind. However, when the time came to turn it into a
novel, the final result ended up diverging quite a bit from my initial vision.
Never did I imagine I would struggle
so much with a mashou-kei (seductive and enigmatic) older gentleman.
Honestly, old man, could you just be a little more straightforward…? I lost
count of how many times I pleaded with him in front of my computer screen. Not
only was he tight-lipped, but he also kept lying, refusing to let the story
move forward. I tried throwing all sorts of tricks at him—What about this?
Or this?—but he wouldn’t budge. In the end, I had no choice but to accept
it: This is just how he is. That’s the kind of person he is, and there’s
nothing I can do about it. And so, a number of planned plot elements sank
into the abyss, never to resurface.
For this novel, I had the privilege
of working once again with Hidaka Shoko-sensei for the illustrations. Her grasp
of the world I was trying to create was unwavering. Kawase, in particular, had
only existed as a vague concept in my mind, but the moment I saw the rough
sketches, it all clicked into place—"Yes, this is exactly what he looks
like." I’m truly looking forward to seeing the finished illustrations.
Thank you so much.
As for the writing process, this was
probably the longest I’ve ever spent holding onto a manuscript. The time I took
with it ended up causing delays and trouble for my editor and everyone else
involved in the project, and for that, I sincerely apologize.
The novel itself is on the longer
side, but if you have any thoughts after reading it, I’d love to hear your
impressions.
I hope we can meet again in another
story someday.
A Certain Day in October
Konohara Narise
I have a conflicting impression of the novel, but it was an interesting read. I liked the way Kawase's thoughts and emotions were described (especially in the first part), and how there is a noticeable difference to them after the time skip. I think their relationship was more interesting before he developed romantic feelings for Shibaoka, but this kind of ending also makes sense.
ReplyDeleteReading about their company was interesting as well, I liked how Kawase was faced with reality of his incompetence right after transferring and dealt with it.
Thank you for the translation!
To be honest, I didn’t like this novel much right after finishing it. Kawase’s change of heart felt unreasonable — he hated Shibaoka for so long, and then wanted to save him. Was it guilt or love? Who knows. Human emotions are complicated, and Konohara portrayed that messiness really well. After a few days to process it, I started to appreciate the story a lot more.
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