Mr. Kawahara, who is famous in the industry for works such as "Sword Art Online" and "Acceleration World", launched a new light novel "Absolute Lonely" in June this year, and the animation "Sword Art Online 2" was launched in July. What is the story behind such a groundbreaking development? In this article, let's interview one of Japan's most successful light novel writers, Rishi Kawahara.

Starting in August this year, the "Evolution Manifesto!" will be held for 10 months! Dengeki Bunko FIGHTING Exhibition" was officially held, and the writer interviewed for the first time in the Dengeki Online special feature was Mr. Kawahara. Mr. Kawahara, who is famous in the industry for works such as "Sword Art Online" and "Acceleration World", launched a new light novel "Absolute Lonely" in June this year, and the animation "Sword Art Online 2" was launched in July. What is the story behind such a groundbreaking development? In this article, let's interview one of Japan's most successful light novel writers, Rishi Kawahara. So before revealing the specific content of this interview, let's review the three works that Mr. Kawahara is currently serializing.

"Sword Art Online" - a well-known light novel series created by Kawahara and illustrated by ABEC, it can be said that it is also the most influential of the three works currently serialized by Kawahara Ran. Originally, "Sword Art Online" was a novel written by Rishi Kawahara in order to participate in the 2002 Dengeki Game Novel Award, but it was not able to participate in the competition due to the length of the article. However, Kawahara did not give up this work because of this, but continued to serialize it on the Internet under the name of "Jiuli Shisheng", and the specific serialization time was November 2002 ~ July 2008, and it began to receive a lot of attention in 2004. After successfully transforming into a commercial work, "Sword Art Online" is even more out of control, in "This light novel is amazing! In 2011, he finished fourth, in 2012 and 2013, he won first place for two consecutive years, and in 2014, he finished fifth. As of the 15th volume (the 17th in the series), which was released on August 9 this year, more than 10 million copies have been sold, making it the second light novel in Japan to have a cumulative circulation of more than 10 million, following the Catalogue of Forbidden Books of Magic. But in all fairness, the success of "Sword Art Online" in the past two years is inseparable from the TV anime of the same name adapted by A-1Pictures. As soon as the TV animation of "Sword Art Online" was launched, it can be said that it became popular from beginning to end. It is not a problem to become the sales champion of the season, and even in many fandom exhibitions since then, there has been a phenomenon of "model workers" (heroine Asuna) slaughtering houses, and using this as an opportunity, the sales of the original work of "Sword Art Online" have also exploded. But then again, "Sword Art Online 2" is currently on the air, and the overall impression to the audience is tepid. The reasons are probably mainly concentrated in two points, one is that in recent years, there have been more works of the same type, which makes the audience feel aesthetic fatigue; Second, because the original work is a big seller, many viewers have a detailed understanding of the content that is about to be animated, and it is inevitable that they will not be interested. But in any case, "Sword Art Online", as one of the most successful light novels in recent years, is bound to leave a strong mark on history.

"Accelerating the World" - a well-known light novel series created by Kawahara and illustrated by HIMA, although this work is not as brilliant as "Sword Art Online", it is still in a pivotal position in Kawahara's three works. Compared with "Sword Art Online", which appeared in front of the world in 2002, "Accelerated World", which only began to be serialized on the Internet in 2007, has a more solid writing and a more active plot, and the 15th Dengeki Novel Contest Award also confirms that this is not an ordinary work. Although the protagonist Haruyuki Arita does not have the strength of Kirito in "Sword Art Online", he defeats the enemy with his unremitting efforts and his companions. "Acceleration World" is also one of Kawahara's animated light novels, and it received mixed reviews after the anime started. But in terms of final sales, this is still a pretty successful work.

"Absolute Lonely" - Kawahara Li's latest work, illustrated by シメジ, in June 2014 in the Dengeki Library (ASCIIMediaWorks) officially released the first volume of the work. The history of this work can be traced back to 10 years ago in 2004, when "Absolute Lonely" was just a work written in his spare time for Kawahara, and the online serialization was soon after it was shelved and gradually faded from everyone's memory. According to Mr. Kawahara himself, the newly released library version of "Absolute Lonely" will be a refurbishment of the online serialized version ten years ago, and many places, including the character design and story plot, have been fundamentally modified.

The above are the three works of Mr. Kawahara. In fact, it has been more than ten years since Kawahara began writing novels in 2002. Even if you compare many light novelists in recent years, the total number of works by Kawahara can only be described as pitiful. But the persistence of daring to pour all the heart and soul into two or three works for more than ten years has to make every reader and audience have a sense of admiration. Kawahara made his official debut as a business writer in February 2009, but only 3 years and 11 months later, he became a "10-million-level writer", shocking the entire industry, and it is conceivable that this is absolutely inseparable from his perseverance over the years. Okay, now that we've covered everything we need to do, let's dive into the interview!

■ "Absolute Lonely" is a work that renovates more than ninety percent of the web version of the novel of the same name

Q: Whether it's the release of the anime "Sword Art Online 2" or the release of the new novel series "The Absolute Lonely", you seem to have been very active. So frankly, how are you in your state of mind right now?

Rishi Kawahara: Today is the sixth year since my debut, and I'm getting used to my job as a business writer, and I don't dare to call myself a "newcomer" anymore (laughs). But in fact, in my heart, I have always worked hard with the aim of "being a newcomer for ten years after my debut".

Q: "Sword Art Online" and "Acceleration World" are being serialized, why did you choose this time to release "Absolute Lonely"?

Rishi Kawahara: At the end of last year, I talked to the editor about this year's schedule, and we decided to release a total of five novels in 2014, unlike the previous six volumes. Since I want to reduce the number of publications, I simply put the already written "Absolute Lonely" on the table, so that I can not only maintain the publication of 6 novels a year, but also let everyone see my new works. "Absolute Lonely" is the same as "Sword Art Online", and it used to be a novel serialized on the website, but I naively thought that it would be possible to make it a library with a little modification (laughs). In fact, it took me a long, long time to renovate this work, and I even had a feeling that it was trickier than Sword Art Online and Acceleration World......

Q: Tell us about the future of the three series that are currently in circulation.

Rishi Kawahara: "Sword Art Online" will release its 15th volume in August, breaking into a new chapter of the "Alicization Chapter". The "Underworld War" that has been running through the series so far is about to break out, and this will be a high point in the Sword Art Online series. The story will be bold, and many familiar characters will also appear. Since Sword Art Online is a work that has ended in the web version, Dengeki Bunko hopes that it will also make it to the end.

"Acceleration World" is about to release its 17th volume in October, and the story will usher in a new unfold. Since the previous volumes are all about the story of June, this 17th volume will depict a summer with clear skies. As for "The Absolute Lonely", I can only say that I will do my best to get the second volume out (laughs). In the web version, there is a content equivalent to the number of 3 volumes of the library, so I will present the 2 volumes to you as soon as they are processed and renovated, as before.

Q: What are some of the main changes to the web version of Absolute Loneliness Volume 1?

Liri Kawahara: There are a lot of them. The most obvious ones are "the master no longer wears glasses", "the enemy has changed from a jobless to a food critic", and "Dianjiang's identity has changed from a stepmother to a sister-in-law". "Wait. I also mentioned in the afterword to "The Absolute Lonely" that almost more than ninety percent of this work has been rewritten by me, and it can almost be regarded as a new work.

Q: Has the original web version of Absolute Loneliness been taken back?

Kawahara Li: No, it's still on my homepage. However, there are many changes to the story in the library version, and readers who have seen the web version will also be able to enjoy the library version.

Q: "Absolute Lonely" is a different type of combat work than "Acceleration World", what theme do you want to express in this light novel?

Rishi Kawahara: To be honest, I didn't think much about it when it was serialized on the web. After the characters and world view were decided, I started writing with momentum. If you have to say something unique about this work, maybe the protagonist's ability is not an offensive system, but a defensive system; And the characters of the opposing faction will use guò to carry out the strategy in various ways.

Q: I've heard that you went out to pick up scenes when you were writing "The Absolute Lonely", but have you done this in other works?

Liri Kawahara: Generally speaking, I don't go out to the show. However, when "Sword Art Online" and "Acceleration World" were animated, I heard from the staff that they often needed to go out to collect materials, so maybe it was influenced by it, and I also went out to pick up a scene when I was writing "Absolute Lonely". If I could, I would like to take a scene from the roof of the Saitama Super Arena (laughs). However, after knowing that ordinary people could not enter the place, I had to give up filming on the rooftop of a nearby building.

Q: When writing multiple works at the same time, what is the order of release?

Lishi Kawahara: As I said earlier, at the end of the year, I usually meet with the editor to discuss the schedule for the next year. The manuscript will be concentrated on the volume at hand, and will not be written in other series during this period.

Q: Do you negotiate with the editors about the number of works published each year?

Lishi Kawahara: Well, that's true (wry smile). I hope that all three works will be published this year, but the editors also have their own considerations and progress. To put it bluntly, it's the inside story of the adults (laughs).

Q: Is any of these three works particularly easy to write?

Liri Kawahara: There are extant manuscripts for Sword Art Online and Absolute Lonely, while Accelerated World is written from a blank sheet of paper, and that's the difference, but in fact, it takes the same amount of time to start writing. What hurt me more was the transition from writing one work to another.

Q: What is the difference between web fiction and written fiction?

Rishi Kawahara: After writing a web novel, you can submit it immediately and listen to the reader's impressions, so that you can improve your work at any time. Written novels, on the other hand, cannot be published until a volume is written, and readers' impressions will lag behind, which is the biggest difference from web novels. In my days when I was writing web novels, readers were mostly interested in making well-intentioned comments, and the environment was very friendly for writers.

Q: To ask a more private question, what does Mr. Kawahara look like when he writes the original manuscript?

Kawahara Li: I took my notebook to the family restaurant to write. I've been writing at home occasionally this year, but it's more efficient to write in the family dining room. I usually enter the store in the early afternoon, and I write about it in the evening. I was really well taken care of at the restaurant I frequented (laughs).

Q: Do you usually play games to relax?

Kawahara Li: Occasionally. I'm still playing SAO-HollowFragment, but I can't get into it even with a big update (laughs).

■ In the anime "Sword Art Online 2", you can feel the potential of Matsuoka Zhencheng

Q: Kawahara's novels have been heavily animated and gamified, so how did you get involved as the original author?

Rishi Kawahara: I attended script meetings and even wrote and rewrote the scripts myself, and I was involved in a lot of animation. If necessary, he will also participate in post-recording to make final adjustments to the lines. Sure enough, sometimes the lines come out of the mouths of the voice actors, and after they come out, I will make new discoveries. As for the game side, I was involved in relatively few parts, and most of them were supervision work. After all, the amount of plot is very large, and I usually only pick some parts of the modification that I care about. 《SAO―Infinity? The script that was shown to me when I was making Moment was quite brutal, so I told the person in charge to make it easier to make the story easier. In fact, SAO-Infinity? Moment―" was supposed to be a lucky story, but it was eventually put into the second installment of "SAO-HollowFragment―".

Q: What is the response to the currently airing "Sword Art Online 2"?

Rishi Kawahara: I also found it very interesting as a spectator! I also attended the preview screenings of "Sword Art Online 2" held in Roppongi, Japan, and Los Angeles, USA, and the enthusiasm of the American audience was particularly high. When a character appears or says a line, they will boil over it, and I think this is a very good folk custom in the United States. One of the more impressive things is that Kirito suddenly burst into laughter (laughs) when he said "You won't die" to Yukito, and I am afraid that Kirito's flag poked their laughter.

Q: Kirito in "GGO"...... Commonly known as "Kiriko", it is very eye-catching in appearance and acting skills.

Lishi Kawahara: Regarding Kiriko's acting skills, Matsuoka Zhencheng is said to have prepared four dubbing plans. One of the voices was so cute that it scared me. In the end, I chose a more neutral voice, but the incident of Tongguò made me realize the strength of voice actors. Kiriko is indeed very much like a girl in terms of personality, and according to Matsuoka's voice changes, she can even be real with fake.

Q: In recent years, VR (VirtualReality) technology has been advancing, and it feels like the worlds of Sword Art Online and Acceleration World will appear in the near future. What are your thoughts on this?

Kawahara: It's not really practical to directly interfere with the system in the brain, but the technology of head-mounted displays is really evolving. I was also very surprised when I watched the news.

Q: Recently, even a VR headset called "OculusRift" has been released.

Kawahara Li: I'm also very concerned about OculusRift. This is just my imagination, and with a head-mounted display, a number of gloves with feedback functions, and a motion interface, maybe Sword Art Online can be recreated. But I've worn a head-mounted display to experience a virtual roller coaster before, and I feel like it's easy to get dizzy in 3D (laughs). I'm going to do some semicircular canal work (laughs). And I've heard that the OculusRift may work with Samsung, so if the OculusRift can be connected to a mobile phone, there may be a lot of ways to use it.

■The sooner you debut, the better! Then please be friendly with me (laughs)

Q: Mr. Kawahara is currently celebrating the 5th anniversary of her debut, is the ultimate goal being the 10th anniversary of her debut?

Rishi Kawahara: It's my goal to survive the 10th anniversary first (laughs). I think it's great to be able to survive for 10 years.

Q: Imagine what will happen to the three titles in five years' time?

Liri Kawahara: In five years' time, the part of Sword Art Online that will be released on the web should be over. "Accelerating the World" I can't quite think of. Whether "Absolute Lonely" is still serialized is a question...... (laughs). In short, I hope in five years that I am also a writer who keeps writing.

Q: Have you changed anything since your debut?

Kawahara Rishi: I used to think that writing novels was purely enjoyable. Now, because I am a business writer and have an editor on it, the way I write novels and my thoughts are different from those before my debut.

Q: By the way, what types of books do you like to read as a reader?

Liri Kawahara: I read a lot of books. However, lately, I have been reading books by my favorite authors a lot, and I hope to find many of my favorite authors this year.

Q: Who exactly is your favorite writer?

Liri Kawahara: I love Tom Clancy's Jack? Rennes" series, I will read his works for the first time. His novels are imaginative and memorable. I was really sad to pass away last year.

Q: Will you read other works in Dengeki Bunko?

Kawahara Li: There is a ...... But when I read an article, I can't help but wonder who the writer is and what is going on in my mind, which makes me feel very distressed (laughs). Knowing only a little bit of it makes it difficult for me to enjoy the works purely.

Q: Mr. Kawahara believes that there are many fans who aim to be novelists, have you given them any advice?

Lishi Kawahara: My motto is "the sooner you debut, the better". I was in my 20s when I started writing novels, and now I want to be a novelist and make my debut in my teens. In addition, seniority is highly valued in today's industry, and a variety of experiences and knowledge will open up shortcuts for everyone. Finally, if you make your debut at Dengeki Bunko, please be friendly with me (laughs).

Q: What would you like to say to our readers?

Lishi Kawahara: "Sword Art Online 2" will gradually rise to a climax in the future. Including the enthusiastic performances of the voice actors, please don't miss any of them. The original light novel will be presented to you according to the rhythm of the past. I hope you can give a lot of advice with the new series "The Absolute Lonely".