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centralgoldstarMany thanks to @/makiharawataru for help with Japanese and @/celestialrand for editing
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Q1: With the exception of Oz, who acts as the teacher, the Central wizards are all young. We think that one of their charms is the contrast between the comedic ‘there's only fools here’ back-and-forths and the serious interactions that display Oz’s temperament. What are your thoughts when you write the Central wizards’ stories and how they act with each other?
A: The Central wizards are typically heroic, thoughtful, model student-like. As a result, fundamentally troubles don’t happen around them. However, from a story writing perspective, there will be no drama if there is no trouble. Then, as we think ‘let’s stir up some trouble’, the Central wizards are on very solid ground, so they won’t be shaken if the trouble doesn’t pack enough of a punch. As a result, when writing a story of Central country, we end up in a dilemma of two extremes: either 0 or 100, peaceful everyday life story or earth shattering scenario. It’s really hard to strike a balance for that, isn’t it? We have come to yearn for Eastern and Western countries, who cause troubles in a moderate amount.
Q2: None of the Northern wizards listen to Snow and White, who act as teachers. Their relationship is such that they will start trying to kill each other immediately because of anything and everything. What do you pay attention to when you write them as a team?
A: Because the Northern wizards have a villainous aspect, we want to ensure that the players will feel a measure of unease around them. They are wizards who possess a strength that is unbounded by any rules, self-willed, and destructive. Their actions appear cool, reassuring, and refreshing when they’re on your side. However, the same strength may turn against you at any time. That’s the way all power, no matter if it’s of violent or social type, works in this world. With such a mentality, they are always on edge among each other as well as when they are with the Sage. That’s the kind of relationship we have in mind for them. When they cooperate with each other, it’s usually out of common interest, in a ‘enemy of my enemy is my friend’ way. What happens afterwards depends on their mood of the day because of their fickleness. Northern Country is the opposite of Central Country in that a simple fork falling down may start a fight between them, so we need to be careful that such tendency won’t shadow the main theme of the story.
Q3: Among the Northern wizards, Bradley has a sharp mind and usually takes care of others. On the other hand, we get the strong impression from what Nero said about the time he was a member of the bandit gang in ‘Etude of the Melancholy Sunflower’ that his past with Bradley has a dark and heavy side. What is important to you when you write Bradley’s smarts and mentality that he must challenge those who are powerful, and someone like Nero getting involved with him?
A: When we write the pride of Northern wizards, their image is that of powerful wild beasts, and we think of Bradley as the boss of a pack of such beasts. Besides the determination to defeat the opponent as a show of strength, he protects his pack from outside threats and grants them benefits. He isn’t so all-loving as to take in everyone who is weak. Rather, there’s the feeling that he’s a stern judge of lives. He’s accustomed to living with a pack like that, and we write him as a character that the Sage, who was initiating a communal life, would find relatively easy to talk to. We can’t really talk much about his relationship with Nero, but we would like to give a glimpse into their lingering attachment, irritation, loneliness, admiration, happiness, resentment, blames for themselves and others etc. among the various uncomfortable relationships at the Magic Manor.
Q4: In Chapter 14 of the main story, the Eastern wizards worked together when they investigated the graveyard. They seemed like a good team with a nice balance between Faust and Nero as the guardians and Shino and Heathcliff as the students. We also have the impression that compared to other countries, dangers often accompany the Eastern wizards in their missions. What is important to you when you write their stories?
A: We want to give Eastern Country an overall gothic atmosphere in battles as well as in investigation of mysteries. The Eastern wizards have the same team composition of two senior wizards and two young ones like the Southern Country. However, if South has a family-like type of trust, then East has the kind of wordless trust between fighters who let each other watch their backs during a battle. Compared to the feeling as if a burden is off your shoulder of North or the resplendence of West, there’s often an aching aftertaste of loneliness to East when the case is closed, which is probably how the Eastern essence is expressed. In the stories, Shino often gets badly injured. That isn’t something we intended, rather a consequence of the plot. It’s kind of sad if the Eastern wizards have to appear in gloomy stories all the time, so maybe we should let another country deal with that for an event from time to time. Something like, the Eastern wizards encounter a cute mysterious being, while the Southern wizards are soaked in blood.
Q5: Since we are discussing the creation of the story, it’s essential to talk about the Curious Affliction left behind by the Great Calamity. In particular, the incident in Chapter 20 when they fought the zombies left a strong impression on us. Because of his fear, Heathcliff transformed into a black panther and attacked Shino and Cain, then Owen appeared to help Heathcliff when he was in such a state. How do you capture such a relationship between Heathcliff, whose Curious Affliction had just arisen, Shino, and Owen?
A: The Curious Afflictions have various meta purposes, and one of those is to create drama in the story. From this perspective, there are many cases of characters who become what they dislike the most, and Heathcliff is a prominent examples, isn’t he? As he is still unaware of his internal complex about being a wizard, he transforms into a beast and becomes a risk to other people, and Shino decides to hide this fact from him. We think that Heathcliff’s learning about his Affliction and Shino’s action are an interesting point in how their relationship will develop. On his part, Owen’s situation, where he has a weak point that he doesn’t really understand and doesn’t want anyone to know, has some similarity to Heathcliff’s. Owen can seal Shino and Heathcliff’s lips, but the two of them know his secret and accordingly have a certain power against him. This way, we can make the drama related to the Afflictions even more complex.
Q6: The Western Wizards all have their own aesthetics while respecting those of others. To us, they seem to make a remarkably stable team. They enjoy terrors and troubles, and they take unexpected events in stride. Thus, the unknown and the bizarre lend them courage. Please tell us about what points you keep in mind when you write the Western wizards as a team?
A: Because Western wizards are Western wizards, their aesthetics are important to them. As a result, no matter how much we want to progress with our story, the moment we force them to do something that contradicts their aesthetics, they’ll stop being themselves. Consequently, we have to let them finish what they want to do. When we think “looks like it’s time we should wrap up this case”, we’ll proceed with the “take your time to get here” approach. The Western wizards are all eccentric, but they are honest to their own hearts. They don’t do things like distort their nature or delude themselves, so when things go their usual courses, the Western wizards won’t feel restricted and chafed. Then we think ‘this is how they will be annoyed’ and proceed accordingly. That’s probably a rather irresponsible approach to writing, however, we feel that we can showcase the charm and sense of wonder in the story better when we let the wizards off the wagon and freely watch the world according to their aesthetics, obsessions, and whims, instead of making them travel linearly on a single track from the beginning to the end. In this fashion, the Western wizards are the polar opposite of the Eastern wizards, as in, when the wizards throw way their personal hang-ups and fight as members of a unit, that’s when the Eastern charm shines.
Q7: The Southern wizards are peaceful and good at communication, who have spent time in close contact with other people and can live together with them. On the other hand, they also have explosive factors such as the prophecy that Mitile will cause the destruction of all Southern wizards, or the fact that Figaro hides from Rutile and Mitile that he comes from the North. Could you explain to us your thinking process about the balance of such a group of characters?
A: By properly portraying how wonderful the down-to-earth, family-like Southern wizards are, we showcase what is beautiful about the world of “Mahoutsukai no Yakusoku”. The flashiness of the Northern wizards or the heroism of the Central wizards tend to draw a lot of attention, so we add thrilling elements such as Mitile’s prophecy or Figaro’s origin. Even so, with Rutile’s kindness, joy, and dauntlessness as well as Lennox’s generosity and patience, we do our best to portray how they are a lifeline to people around them in everyday life, even though they lead quiet, unassuming lives. Through that, the audience will hopefully be endeared to the Southern Country’s people and find them wonderful. And when the readers are immersed in this down-to-earth, warm, and gentle world, and are in love with this country, elements like Mitile’s prophecy or Figaro’s origin will become even more effective.
Q8: On the topic of Figaro, he has the side of a Northern wizard that he has been hiding from Rutile and Mitile and the side of the Southern wizard that he currently is. How do you capture and convey that quality of his? Please share with us what is important to you when you write Figaro.
A: At his core, Figaro is a compassionate person. However, he also knows that kindness is impotent. Because he possesses immense power, terrors and threats are his tools of choice when he wants something to go his way, because achieving his goals quickly and effectively is worth the price to pay to him. In his view, being kind to people won’t get him good results. He wants to treat the people who respect and admire him the right way in a consistent manner, but that takes time and effort. So there’s the impression that he makes the effort while being conscious that he is doing that deliberately. When we portray his two-faced-ness, we don’t go to the extremes. Instead, we take care to maintain the balance, in which he’s kind but prone to giving barbed comments, or brutally blunt but caring for the people he’s dealing with.
Q9: Masaki Akira is the protagonist, who is entangled with the wizards as the Sage. What do you pay attention to when you write them?
A: Their characterization is that they respect the wills of the wizards. The exception is when they want to do something in a particular way, but they don’t excuse themselves with “I thought this was how I should do it”. Instead they insist on asking the wizards about what the latter want to do. They pour their heart into playing the role of a confidante and mediator. If Akira fulfills this role too perfectly, the players won’t be able to put themselves into their shoes. Accordingly, we write Akira as someone who sincerely expresses their fear of scary things, their doubts, and their emotions, and someone who has the flexibility to apologize without rancor and fix things when they make a mistake. For the story as a whole, we’d like to write a figure who experiences diversity and accepts it, so perhaps in some parts Akira will come across as an abstract symbol. It’d be nice if we manage to convey to the readers the vibe of the Sage gently asking the wizards about how the latter feel because the Sage think of the wizards as cat-like beings, who take things in stride but aren't good at listening to what you say.
Q10: In the story, there are times we can see what a precarious place the young wizards are in, such as Riquet’s insistence that what the Chief of the Church taught him was the absolute truth, or Arthur’s unquestioning trust in Oz’ kindness, which leads him to erase the disasters and wars caused by Oz from history. What do you pay attention to when you write about these potential dangers from and for the young wizards?
A: “Mahoyaku” is not only a story about adults giving guidance to children who are in a concerning situation, because there are times the opposite happens when children guide the adults out of problems too.
With that as the premise, we think the concerning situation the characters you named are in comes from the belief that the justice and faith they hold are ‘correct’ while they still lack knowledge and experience. In the eyes of the young children, the shining justice and faith they feel are flawless, aren’t they? However, the longer you hold such justice and faith, even if the luster remains the same, the dirt will gather and overshadow it, as you notice that the other side of those values is unexpectedly tattered and grim. Disappointment is inevitable in that situation, but that’s also when you can look at what you have been holding on with a cool head. Thus you’ll have an objective view of what shape your faith has taken and the beauty as well as twistedness of your justice. That way, as you get older and your experience grows, you’ll be able to make the choice whether to give up your faith and justice and do something else or continue to keep them.
It isn’t necessarily a purely bad thing to know only one part of yourself due to lack of experience, and it is an occasion for learning in itself to find something shiny and wholeheartedly believe in it. To you, this shiny thing can be your guidance, or something you treasure the most or love the most, and through that you’ll grow to have confidence in yourself and enrich your heart. On the other hand, it's probably rather old-fashioned of me to view that as risky. Because we’re currently living in an information society, we don’t have the sheltered life of a frog in a well. In that state, we understand that someone's 'justice' is correct while being unable to agree with their opinion. As a result, even if we don’t intend to hurt that person, we end up doing that simply by stating what we think. Because that’s the environment we’re living in, we suppose many people would share such a view with the long-lived wizards. So, we would like to capture the different aspects of the views held by both the young wizards and the long-lived wizards.
Q11: On the cover of this issue are Riquet, Nero, and Bradley. Please share with us what has changed about them and what stays the same in the many stories they have appeared in compared to the initial characterization in your memory.
A: Riquet: In the original setting, Lennox was to take care of Riquet in addition to his former lord, because he was concerned about Riquet’s situation with the Church. As you can see, while Lennox is caring for other children, Nero has usurped his position. We feel that early on, Riquet had an even narrower mindset and worldview due to his fanaticism. The current Riquet has become much cuter, so we like him more.
Nero: His first setting is an Eastern wizard who keeps to himself because he is tired of dealing with people. He isn’t the kind of cold person who thinks he doesn’t need other people. Rather, he has an inner conflict where he’s tired of dealing with people but he can’t wholeheartedly hate them either. At first, he was someone who got tired of people because of his career in hospitality. Then his characterization becomes such that he is a former bandit. As a result, there’s a certain vitality in his weariness. It’s because he was passionate in the past that in the present he’s a shell of ash after the flame has burnt out.
Bradley: When we were coming up with a bad wizard to put in the company of Oz, Mithra, and Owen, there was the opinion that there should be a character who was a prisoner and mafia boss-like. That’s how Bradley came into being, who was once the boss of a bandit gang and is a prisoner in the present. We think that thanks to the presence of a wizard who is a prisoner, the worldbuilding became more complex, as this is the world where powerful wizards can be put in jail.
Q12: As you said, Nero usurped Lennox’s position. We feel that to Riquet, the food Nero makes is like a dream, and it’s thanks to Nero that he learns the kind of joy he can get from his own food. What are your thoughts on the nature of their relationship, who are neither brothers nor parent and child?
A: We think that they have the kind of relationship where they help each other despite the gap in age, as each of them brings in his unique skillset. In particular, Nero is the kind of person who can revitalize other people when he puts his skill in use. He doesn’t love himself, but he derives his self-confidence and pride from making food. In such a situation, someone appeared, who had never eaten real food and was moved by Nero’s food so much as to proclaim that he tasted paradise. For Nero, that’s a scene where he was given a reason to love himself. On the other side, though he isn’t fully aware of it, Riquet is good at setting boundaries and guiding people. Therefore, when Nero decides to kickstart his life again, even if he’s at a loss, Riquet will have faith in his nature and guide him. We think that they are both people who threw away the place that shaped them, and they share with each other the hope for rebirth into their new selves. They’re the duo that have our personal favorite theme.
Q13: The event “Paradox Droid” was held for April's Fools. The new worldbuilding and story of AssistDroids and humans living together were an instant favorite among the Sages. As the two of you created the worldbuilding of “Paradox Droid” together, could you please share with us your memory of the creative process?
A: Not just for April’s Fools but with events in general, we form the story with the three protagonists in the SSRs as the pillars. In the previous April’s Fools with the high school AU, Arthur is the representative of the academic-inclined school, Mithra represents the delinquent school, and Rutile stands for the art school. Similarly, this time we create the story with Owen representing the lab, Cain representing the police, and Rustica representing the downtown.
Because April’s Fools is a party, we created an elaborate setting so that players who like the characters that don’t appear in the card selection can join in the enjoyment of the AU world too. We think our art director had the hardest job, which was to create pictures of the characters who live in an unexplored world that no one has seen before. It was really nice to be able to use the word ‘promise’ without having to think much about it.
