―― Now that you've read『The Book』, what do you think of it?
Araki: The last scene really moved me. The suspense builds up over the course of the story, the resolution is really intense, and then the ending is quite sad. It's a really rich ending that differs from the usual happy ending of a lot of stories. I think it fits Morioh and Otsuichi perfectly.
Otsuichi: …"Rich ending"… That's nice to hear.
―― How do you feel about your works being turned into novels?
Araki: I think it's perfectly fine. An author with a lot of ability turning one of my works into a novel is extremely interesting. This time in particular I was really able to to enter the world of 『The Book』.
―― Enter the world of 『JoJo』?
Araki: Yes, I was felt like I was able to fit into the world, or perhaps pulled in is a better way to describe it. I was able to become Otsushi-san's Josuke. I haven't read many novelizations of manga, so I may be misunderstanding some authors' intent, but there are times when I think "Well, this is a bit different from the original..." 『The Book』, on the other hand, feels like a properly written and ripened work. How long did it take you to finish it again?
Otsuichi: How long... probably about 5 years? I have a huge pile of rejected manuscripts. I think ultimately I ended up with over 2000 pages of rejected manuscripts. Despite that, these 5 years feel like they've gone by really fast.
―― Writing for 5 years and 2000 rejected manuscripts. That's quite impressive.
Otsuichi: I wasn't using the characters of 『JoJo』 freely enough. In other words, it was as if the characters I was using were like puppets, which made them feel off. It made me realize that I needed to rethink my approach and so I used these manuscripts as a way to refine my strategy for writing. I thought that I would only be able to do something like this once in my life, so if I put something in the book from the manuscripts that I wasn't satisfied with, I would regret it for the rest of my life. So, I kept my head low and went 5 years without releasing anything.
Araki: But I think it really paid off. It's an incredible book.
Otsuichi: Of course I'm really appreciate that you drew brand new illustrations for『The Book』, but I'm also very happy that I can see the characters from Part 4 in your current style.
Araki: It's just in my nature to worry about the little details of drawings, even if it's for a novelization. Details like adding snow in the background because of the book's setting in the winter of Morioh. Or the fact that the book's original villain is someone that Josuke and the others fight, but he's not meant to give off the appearance of an evil, strong enemy. Rather, he's supposed to be like the protagonist in this small town, so his life's background is also important. The reality of that part caught my attention.
[Translated by Eas]