Editor: We’ve talked about the new characters, but I believe you’ve drawn many illustrations for the second-year edition. Do you have any favorite illustrations from the light novel?

Tomose: My favorite is the illustration from volume 1, where Hōsen and Ayanokōji are fighting each other. It’s rare to get a chance to draw a fight scene. I was really glad to be able to do such a cool finishing scene. Right, Kinugasa-san? I want more scenes like that (laughs).

Kinugasa: Yeah, I like them (laughs).

Editor: There was also an illustration where Ryuuen is beating up Hōsen.

Kinugasa: On the deserted island.

Tomose: Yes, he was on top of him.

Kinugasa: It’s something you can’t easily do at school.

Tomose: Because there are cameras (laughs). Will there be fewer fight scenes from now on?

Kinugasa: I’d like to do them. I love them.

Tomose: I want to draw Ayanokōji doing a dropkick.

Kinugasa: Dropkick (laughs). But if that’s the case, it’ll turn out similar. Not just in volume 1, but also, I love the scenes like when Amasawa is running on the deserted island, or chasing… I love those scenes. And the one where he’s grabbing Tsubaki by the hair. Those are the moments where I’m really doing what I want to do.

Editor: Those scenes are intense, aren’t they?

Tomose: That’s right. I do want to draw scenes where characters have emotionally moved on. It seems like there will be a lot of scenes with Tan-chan and Amasawa-chan (laughs).

Editor: Tan is really good at facial expressions, after all.

Tomose: Exactly. Speaking of Tan, it’s the one from volume 8 (frontispiece) of the second-year edition, where he’s at the hot spring inn feeling nervous. That one is really special to me. I think I did a great job with that angle (laughs). I’m quite proud of how it turned out.

Kinugasa: It’s great because you can understand the conflict in just one illustration.

Tomose: I really like it as a picture. I always want to draw from unusual angles. It’s hard to come up with ideas sometimes, so I end up drawing from the side, but being able to draw from below was fun. I was very satisfied with it.

Editor: It’s an illustration with a composition that’s not often drawn. The way you put the shadows must have been incredibly difficult.

Tomose: It’s hard to draw, too (laughs). There’s not much in the way of reference material (laughs). It was tough because I had to rely on my imagination.

Editor: Speaking of compositions, the recent illustrations related to Ichinose are amazing.

Tomose: I was about to say that myself, but my favorite is the umbrella picture (frontispiece of the second-year edition volume 9) (laughs). I also want to draw pictures where the face isn’t shown.

Kinugasa: Right, right. It’s nice not to show the face sometimes.

Tomose: Like telling a story with just the mouth. I’m happy to be able to draw a full-color single illustration like this.

Editor: Recently, there are more frontispiece illustrations that are too amazing to put any text on. Frontispieces usually have dialogue with the design, but when you first open the page, it would spoil the story… There are scenes that are too impactful and great, but we can’t write anything at all.

Tomose: It makes you guess a lot of things.

Editor: It’s the same with other illustrations. For example, the illustration of Sakayanagi’s confession scene (frontispiece of the second-year edition volume) can’t have any dialogue.

Tomose: If we wrote it, it would spoil the best part, like finding out the most delicious part from the frontispiece.

Editor: Ichinose has changed since the first-year edition, and we’ve started to see more incredible illustrations. On the other hand, there are more and more cute pictures of Sakayanagi.

Tomose: Sakayanagi-chan is the cutest when I draw her. She’s a great character, and she really looks good in pictures. Her hair color is close to silver.

Editor: The cover of the second-year edition volume is amazing, too.

Tomose: I’ve been wanting to say this, but someday I want to say thank you to the background people (laughs). I don’t often get the chance to say it.

Editor: It would be good to pass that message on to Kinugasa-san (laughs).

Kinugasa: Okay.

Editor: Are there any scenes from the second-year edition that left an impression on you?

Tomose: Ichinose changing drastically is amazing. From the tearful scenes to gradually becoming a stronger character (laughs).

Editor: The illustrations are amazing, too. Ichinose is really something.

Tomose: It’s fun to draw her. I can draw so many different expressions.

Editor: It’s the opposite in the first-year edition, with characters like Sakayanagi creating tension, and Ichinose being like a hotspot, always a save point where you can relax. But in the second-year edition, it’s all about Ichinose (laughs).

Tomose: It’s true. I used to think of Ichinose as a healing character during the first-year edition, but she’s not very soothing lately.

Kinugasa: It’s the opposite for me. Ichinose in the first-year edition was tough for me.

Tomose: Kinugasa-sensei always has that kind of perspective.

Kinugasa: (laughs).

Tomose: They say good kids are hard to handle.

Kinugasa: Good kids are hard to handle, yeah. I think there are plenty of people who are good at it, but I’m not one of them.

The child felt awkward, but now that he could finally handle Ichinose, it felt the most natural.

Tomose: That’s right (laughs). It’s fun drawing such a tumultuous story.

Editor: For me, the hotspot is Sakayanagi. Right now, Sakayanagi has taken over Ichinose’s spot (laughs).

Tomose: Sakayanagi-chan feels a bit ominous, doesn’t she? (laughs).

Kinugasa: By making it ominous, there might be an unexpected happy turn waiting ahead, you know?

Tomose: Eh? Did you say something?

Kinugasa: No (laughs).

Editor: Related to the earlier appearance spot, according to the reader survey for the second-year volume, Sakayanagi finally took first place, with Karuizawa in second. These two are at the top now.

Tomose: I haven’t drawn many frontispieces for Karuizawa-chan recently (laughs).

Kinugasa: Does that mean their character spotlights are over? Right now, it’s Ichinose and Sakayanagi’s spotlight turn.

Editor: Lately, it’s been Sakayanagi and Ichinose, right?

Kinugasa: Exactly. It will be like this until the end of the school year.

Tomose: I’m happy I can draw a lot of Ichinose. I’m rooting for Ichinose.

Editor: You always talk about Ichinose in the art collections. Speaking of popularity polls, Shiina is also quite popular.

Tomose: Shiina is popular despite only appearing now and then.

Editor: Actually, there are very few illustrations of Shiina. This is only the fourth color illustration in the paperback, for the frontispiece of the volume.

Kinugasa: She’s difficult to handle.

Tomose: After Kinugasa-san’s reaction earlier, it seems like Shiina is also tough to handle (laughs).

Kinugasa: I don’t dislike her. I don’t dislike her, but she’s difficult to handle.

Tomose: Shiina seems like she’s hiding something. She has an atmosphere like she’s about to cause trouble.

Editor: In the second-year arc, there’s also a focus on Horikita’s growth.

Tomose: Her character is becoming more and more attractive. She’s gaining more humanity.

Kinugasa: At first, I couldn’t fully utilize her, but now I feel like I’m getting the hang of controlling her.

Tomose: At first, she was a bit stubborn, but gradually she started to listen to others (laughs). Sudō too (laughs). Sudō’s growth is incredibly amazing (laughs).

Kinugasa: There are actually people like that in real life. Those who change dramatically. Most don’t change, but some do, and some should.

Editor: Speaking of illustrations, the hair has been gradually growing, and that’s being depicted little by little, isn’t it?

Kinugasa: That’s what I requested.

Tomose: How far will it go? Will it return to the original length?

Kinugasa: It will grow until the chronological end. If there’s no event to cut the hair in the main story, it will just keep growing. It’s rare in works to show hair growing over time. I thought it would be interesting to do so.

Tomose: It’s interesting, but by the end of the third-year arc, it won’t have grown down to the feet, right?

Kinugasa: It won’t grow that much in a year, will it?

Tomose: I see. That’s okay then.

Kinugasa: If it’s long again, we’ll cut it.

Editor: I was wondering how many centimeters hair grows in a year… It seems it won’t reach the feet by graduation.

Tomose: That’s good. Although it might still be interesting.

Editor: Otherwise, it would seem like they used some hair growth product (laughs).

Kinugasa: That would be ridiculous (laughs).

Editor: Next, I’d like to ask about illustrations other than the paperbacks. You’ve also drawn various covers for Comic Alive.

Editor: At first, you were just drawing the characters normally, but then you started changing their outfits, and everyone started looking forward to the covers of Alive. It was a chance to see something you don’t normally see.

Tomose: Some people might prefer uniforms, but ALIVE is often said to be about freedom, so it seems like we went with complete freedom this time.

Editor: For the linked campaign, if you buy the ALIVE issue of the month and the latest volume at Toranoana, you often get a clear file as a bonus, but they sell out quickly.

Kinugasa: Doesn’t it come with a clear stand?

Editor: That was a bonus included before. It featured Nanase and Karuizawa in yukata illustrations. That issue sold really well.

(Note: September 2023 issue)

Tomose: I was curious, but did the issue with Ayanokōji-kun and Ryūen-kun (December 2022 issue) sell well? (laughs)

Editor: It was fine.

Tomose: It was fine? (laughs) There wasn’t a sudden drop in sales?

Editor: It was fine.

Tomose: That’s good. I was worried about that (laughs). I mean, there aren’t any covers with just boys, right? Doing something we haven’t done before is good. I thought Kinugasa-sensei would be pleased.

Kinugasa: I am pleased.

Tomose: Also, I secretly drew a cat as a symbol of freedom. I really want to own one.

Kinugasa: Why don’t you get one in real life? (laughs)

Tomose: I can’t have pets, so I have no choice but to draw them in ALIVE… Also, I’ve been meaning to thank you. The person who designs the covers for ALIVE always leaves space for the cat.

Kinugasa: (laughs)

Editor: Despite the magazine cover being filled with text (laughs).

Tomose: Right. They always make sure the cat stands out, and I’m always thankful for that. When the cat was getting cut off, they even moved it up for me. I noticed it was higher up.

Kinugasa: A big thank you to the person in charge of the cover background and the ALIVE covers.

Tomose: Really, I appreciate it.

Editor: The clear stand also featured just the cat, right?

Tomose: Yes, that’s right. I have it on display, just the cat.

Editor: So, we can expect various cats to appear in the future (laughs). In the main story, there are illustrations where even the eyes aren’t drawn, so these costume changes and cute illustrations are like the only source of healing.

Tomose: That’s right. Personally, I can draw them really relaxed (laughs). I shouldn’t get too relaxed, but it’s fun to draw. It’s the only place I can draw cats.

Editor: On the contrary, we’re grateful. Even if people want to see Karuizawa and Nanase in yukata, it wouldn’t turn into such a wonderful story, so it’s better to get that element here.

Tomose: That’s true. Even if they wear yukata in the main story, it’s likely to be a grim development (laughs). I want to show their brighter sides on the ALIVE covers.

Editor: This time, the character appeared on the ALIVE cover in a color illustration first. (Note: Morishita Ai’s color illustration debuted on the December 2023 cover)

Tomose: Is that okay? That’s quite a promotion (laughs).

Tomose: I see… (laughs). That’s great. Is “this Ranobe” not going to come out anymore starting this year?

Editor: That’s right. It’s been inducted into the hall of fame.

Kinugasa: The protagonist has won four times in a row, so I think that’s enough. I don’t have any regrets.

Tomose: So it’s a win and run, huh?

Editor: It feels like they stirred things up until the very end. Also, what I found interesting about this illustration is the height difference between Karuizawa and Ayanokōji.

Tomose: I drew that ad-lib, so is there really such a height difference…

Kinugasa: It was ad-lib? (laughs) You didn’t calculate it? (laughs) I guess I’ll have to be careful from now on (laughs).

Editor: But I thought it looked really good, you know.

Tomose: I had a similar image in mind, too, but I think Ayanokōji-kun has grown taller as well.

Editor: Ayanokōji has really grown taller, hasn’t he? But when you think about it calmly, there are kids who grow a lot taller when they go from first to second year of high school.

Tomose: That’s right. I’ve personally started to draw him with a more solid build, like broader shoulders.

Kinugasa: It’s because we’re going for realism.

Editor: We should probably set the heights at the end of the second year arc, right?

Tomose: I don’t know anymore. Even with Sakayanagi-chan being small, I’m just guessing how small she is when I draw her.

Editor: I thought Hiyori was really tiny in the anime, and when I checked the height settings, she was shorter than I imagined. There’s an image, isn’t there?

Tomose: Really? (laughs) Like the walking together part in the last art book, is that accurate? (laughs)

Kinugasa: That’s just for fun, right? (laughs)

Tomose: It’s all just for fun, kind of like “this is probably how it is” (laughs).

Editor: It’s okay to say that some high school students grow taller and some don’t, right?

Tomose: We might have to correct it later (laughs).

Editor: An unexpected fact has come to light, but the cover illustration of the art book was also a wonderful illustration centered around the leaders of each class. Was there anything you were conscious of when drawing it?

Tomose: Really, the patterns for group pictures are running out (laughs). I’m wondering what to do… There are also BD packages, right? Those are tough (laughs).

Editor: There’s also the BD storage BOX. But the moe-moe feeling has been disappearing, and it’s finally gone to zero. In the first art book, Ayanokōji wasn’t even there.

Tomose: I started drawing with a bit of a gal game mindset, but it’s gradually getting darker (laughs).

(TL Note: “Gal game” refers to a genre for romance games (Dating sims))

Kinugasa: Finally, my true nature is starting to show.

Editor: This time, the men are drawn in full, but the women are only drawn from the upper body. That’s the kind of cover we have.

Tomose: I have to make sure not to deviate from everyone’s requests (laughs). I can’t just go with my own tastes (laughs).

Editor: No, no (laughs). But the nature of the work is that way, so you’re gradually deceiving the readers and making corrections, right? As if everything before was a lie (laughs).

Kinugasa: Exactly.

Tomose: I guess I have no choice but to drag them into the darker side (laughs).

Kinugasa: What is demanded and what one wants to do are often different.

Editor: Rather, listening to you, I think it’s better to plant the seeds properly considering the future. If we keep the image from the first year, we’ll get in serious trouble. We have to go dark, dark, dark (laughs).

Tomose: We might receive some scary messages (laughs).

Kinugasa: (laughs).

Editor: In this art book, illustrations that Tomose-sensei drew on Twitter (now X) were included. What prompted you to draw them?

Tomose: It’s the need for approval, the need for approval (laughs). Simply put, I had some free time because of the coronavirus. So I thought, what should I do? And decided to draw. Lately, everyone’s drawing on Twitter and getting praised, and I’m jealous, so I thought it’d be nice if I became popular too (laughs).

Kinugasa: It’s the need for approval, isn’t it? (laughs).

Editor: There are three types of illustrations for Yō Jitsu, starting with the main light novel illustrations, then the freely created Alive covers, and finally the completely free Twitter illustrations. It feels like there are three stages.

Kinugasa: Purely speaking, it’s gratitude to the fans. We have to thank them for their support and occasionally provide a service.

Editor: I hope everyone will have the chance to witness more of this when they have time. I never imagined it would ultimately be included in an art collection (laughs).

Tomose: Yes, it’s been used for merchandise and such.

Editor: We just couldn’t leave such cute illustrations alone.

Tomose: I didn’t draw them with any expectations, but I’m grateful (laughs).

Editor: The Angel Sakayanagi is also incredibly cute, isn’t it?

Editor: Aside from the characters we’ve talked about so far, there’s a theory that Chabashira has been getting cuter lately. What do you two think?

Kinugasa: I feel it too.

Tomose: She’s getting cuter in the story, right? She’s completely opened up her heart, hasn’t she?

Kinugasa: Right. I even think an ending where Chabashira gets together with someone would be fine.

Tomose: That wouldn’t be bad.

Kinugasa: I think she’s a heroine with more potential than some of the less skilled ones.

Tomose: I like that idea (laughs). I think it would be nice to have an ecchi manga about it, but I don’t know if everyone would agree (laughs).

Kinugasa: No, that’s a good idea. I might even go down that route.

Tomose: The difficult part is whether it will develop into a romance.

Editor: Ayanokōji is quite mature mentally, so in that sense, a somewhat childish 

Chabashira might be just the right match (laughs).

Kinugasa: It’s a good balance.

Tomose: Hearing that makes her seem even cuter.

Editor: Since this illustration (※Editor’s note: Volume 7 of the second year edition) came out, she’s just become a cute girl, and we even got a bunny illustration (※Editor’s note: Drawn for MF Bunko J Summer School Festival 2023).

Tomose: Right. Why did you choose a bunny? (laughs).

Editor: The bunny itself was the theme for this year’s Summer School Festival illustrations. When we requested a bunny illustration, we asked which character should it be.

Tomose: It was surprising that Chabashira-sensei came up there (laughs).

Editor: Chabashira hasn’t appeared on the cover of Alive, has she? Surely not.

Kinugasa: Then let’s do it next time. The moment it was decided is right here.

Editor: She’s 29 years old, right?

Kinugasa: But she’ll be 30 next year.

Tomose: Then there’s quite an age difference. Almost double, isn’t it? (laughs).

Editor: 30 and 18, 17, so it’s just right, isn’t it?

Tomose: What kind of standard is that? (laughs).

Kinugasa: It’s just right (laughs). Let’s go! Let’s go, let’s go!

Tomose: (laughs). Do we have to do it? Make it adult (laughs).

Kinugasa: Maybe Ayanokōji is the other one? Like this is a hidden message to the fans.

Editor: Like hinting at a coupling (laughs).

Tomose: Like collecting on a foreshadowing.

Kinugasa: I heard a good story!

Tomose: Please stop (laughs).

Kinugasa: Why? It’s a good thing (laughs).

Tomose: There are others like Sakayanagi-chan (laughs).

Editor: Let’s look forward to what comes next (laughs).

Editor: Finally, I’d like to ask about the two of you. Have there been any changes in your recent situation? The pandemic was a big deal, wasn’t it?

Tomose: Because of the coronavirus, I stopped going to events, and my work suddenly disappeared (laughs). I stopped receiving messages out of the blue, so I ended up with a lot of free time. With that time, I was able to relax and draw more, and I started posting my drawings on Twitter. I also paid more attention to my health, got into cleaning, and developed more hobbies than before. I started walking more and became healthier. It’s quite the opposite of what happened to Kinugasa-san (laughs)… So, my mental state has actually improved. I used to draw in difficult times.

Kinugasa: You seemed to be having a hard time while making games.

Tomose: It was crazy. I think I was drawing two to three times more than now. As I’ve gotten older, I can’t draw as much. In a sense, the pandemic changed my way of thinking for the better, and I’ve started to save my work efforts.

Editor: How about you, Kinugasa-san? How have you been recently?

Kinugasa: My child has grown up, and with the pandemic, people have stopped crowding… Thanks to that, I’ve been going out more. I’ve done things I never would have done in my life, like going to amusement parks, climbing hills, and visiting farms. I feel like my lifestyle has changed drastically in the last one or two years.

Tomose: That’s nice. Having a child takes you to various places.

Kinugasa: I would never have gone before, but I went to a farm just last week.

Tomose: Are farms that nice?

Kinugasa: Well, it’s more like a children’s park, but you can experience milking cows.

Tomose: It’s nice to have new experiences.

Kinugasa: Exactly. I’m doing things I’ve never done before.

Tomose: I’ve also started visiting shops I never went to before. I walk a lot more and try out new eateries.

Kinugasa: I’ve been doing more of that too.

Editor: So there’s been a change, huh? Last time we talked about how much had changed since you started this work, like getting married and having children. It’s like a continuation of that.

Kinugasa: It’s like a sequel (laughs).

Tomose: It has become a series (laughs).

Editor: We were talking about both Kinugasa-san and Tomose-san.

Kinugasa: It’s because of the work.

Tomose: Lately, I feel like I’ve regained my humanity with the increase in leisure time (laughs). I wasn’t living a human life 10 or 5 years ago.

Editor: Even you, Tomose-san?

Tomose: It was terrible. I would wake up, draw until I was tired, and then sleep. I’d only go to the convenience store. But now I cook too. I’ve realized humans do all sorts of things (laughs).

Kinugasa: I was going to say, I cook a lot too.

Tomose: It’s fun, isn’t it?

Kinugasa: It’s fun. Today I’m excited about making hotpot, I went to the supermarket to buy ingredients for tonight.

Tomose: That’s nice. Before the pandemic, I only cut my hair about three times a year, but now I do it monthly (laughs). I also didn’t buy clothes much, but now I do.

Kinugasa: Do you go shopping for clothes on your own initiative?

Tomose: Yes. I research myself and look up recommended clothes on YouTube, like “recommended for men in their 40s” (laughs).

Kinugasa: Wow, that’s amazing. I leave it all to my wife. She tells me what to wear, what to buy, and I just say yes, yes.

Tomose: When you start researching fashion, it becomes easier to draw.

Kinugasa: It can be applied to work.

Tomose: Exactly. You understand how clothes work. And when you start cooking, it becomes easier to draw cooking scenes.

Kinugasa: It’s reflected quite a bit in the story.

Editor: Indeed, without going into details, there are many parts that make sense (laughs).

Tomose: Indeed, that’s true. Such things really do show up in the work, don’t they?

Kinugasa: Yes. It’s important to gain knowledge from daily experiences. And that definitely gets utilized in our work, doesn’t it?

Tomose: It does, it does. I really should have had a lot more varied experiences.

Editor: That’s something we both did later on. Since we were working on 14 volumes during the first-year arc, I think we had used quite a bit of what we had in terms of resources.

Tomose: I was running on empty, you know (laughs).

Editor: We’ve moved on to a good topic from recent updates.

Kinugasa: Except for health (laughs).

Tomose: I’ve even started exercising (laughs).

Editor: Lastly, the second-year arc’s third term is ongoing, and the third season of the TV anime is currently airing. Could you say a few words to the fans?

Tomose: You’ve already mentioned everything (laughs). I think the story is going to get really intense from the latter half of the second-year arc. As a reader, I’m looking forward to it. It’s scary, but I think it’s going to be something amazing, wondering which class will win. Also, I think the series has gotten long for the readers. I’m grateful that they’ve continued to follow us this far. I’ve been drawing for about 10 years, so I’m thankful. And I’m happy about the third season of the TV anime; I’ve been thinking lately that everyone involved is really working hard.

Kinugasa: That’s very true.

Tomose: They’re even doing events for us, right? When you look closely, they talk 

about the work in detail.

Editor: Of course (laughs).

Tomose: It makes me happy to think that they read and understand it, and talk so much about it. I’m grateful for them setting up events and for creating this art book.

Kinugasa: You can feel the effort. It’s like we’re not alone.

Tomose: It’s really appreciated. Chiba-san, who plays Ayanokōji, really loves the work (laughs). I’m happy to feel the seriousness in his storytelling.

Kinugasa: We might lose some precious characters in the future (laughs), so it’s a bit strange to say I’m looking forward to it, but I’m determined to keep going without faltering so that people will say it was interesting. Let’s keep up the good work (laughs). Also, I think it’s about time we had an Ayanokōji-kun figure. I’ve been wondering why there isn’t one.

Tomose: It’s because there are no buyers.

Kinugasa: I want to believe that’s not the case (laughs). Well, maybe for men…

Tomose: Maybe it would sell.

Kinugasa: (laughs).

Thank you both very much!