FUYUMI ONO: I never really gave much thought to becoming a professional novelist. It was only after I'd become a writer that I wanted to do it professionally.

When I was in the middle of my career at graduate school, my tuition suddenly ran out and I had to drop out. I was without a goal and felt completely lost. It was then that an editor who had read some novels I wrote when I was in college suggested I try writing for a living.

I'd never imagined myself becoming a writer, so everything's really turned out quite unexpectedly. There's no part of that I'd like to change, and I'm quite happy with how things are.

As for what I'm most proud of, it happened back when I was first writing novels aimed at young girls. It made me happier than anything to hear so many of my small readers say that it was the first time they'd read a novel all the way through to the end.

I'm embarrassed to say this, but I hardly ever read fantasy novels. It was mostly because I was asked by publishers to write fantasy novels that I somehow ended up in this genre. It was once I started writing that I discovered books like C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia and Roger Zelazny's Nine Princes in Amber, and found the kind of ideal fantasy series that I strive to achieve.

In any case, because I'm a bit tone-deaf when it comes to the fantasy genre; I honestly consider Twelve Kingdoms to be more of a mythic story. Or maybe more like a historical drama set in a fictional world. That's why I'd say that the biggest influence I got was from novels about Japanese history.

How did you create the wonderfully complex world of the Twelve Kingdoms? How long did it take you to develop all the history and character in the universe?

Originally, the world of Twelve Kingdoms was created for a previous series of mine, Demon Child (Masho no Ko). This was another series created at the request of the publisher when they wanted more fantasy, but now I'm not too sure it could be classified that way, but rather as a horror story with fantasy elements (at least, I hope so). That's when I roughly created the world and its history.

Ever since my childhood, I've enjoyed thinking up stories that had a strong link to plausible reasons. (For example, because a river flows here, the country would be invaded from there. Or, because of this certain event in the world's history, this sort of legend was left behind.) Part of it was just for fun, so I'd play around with maps and timelines I drew, so I'm not sure exactly how long I actually worked on it. Even after I've finished an important work, I still recall adding onto it and playing around more with the idea. The real reason I do series is because with every story I write, I add more and more details.

There are a lot of different meanings to the word “like,” but as for which character I enjoy writing the most, it'd have to be the townsfolk who rarely have names. I'm not sure how to explain it, but it may be because I feel that they are the most similar to me, and down-to-earth. They're fun to write, and I get the greatest feeling of accomplishment when I pull them off well.

Having read the first volume, Sea of Shadow is for me an incredible story about a young girl who is pushed beyond her limits physically, emotionally, and mentally. Was the character based on anyone you know and/or have you ever been in a similar position as Yoko?

Recently I've been writing novels aimed at young girls. Many of my readers end up writing to me and they often share their personal problems. I was never able to write back to them, so instead, I wrote Sea of Shadow. As for the events that befall Yoko, I feel that all people end up experiencing, to a greater or lesser extent, the kinds of mental and emotional trauma that Yoko does as they grow and establish themselves in the world. I've experienced the same things in the past, and I was able to overcome them somehow. There's no set answer, but I just hope to arouse the feeling that you, too, have been like that some time.

I never had a single moment of realization that it was a success. I had my first story published back in 1992. When I first finished writing it, I was told the story was too heavy for readers, and it was rejected. After several ups and down, it finally made it to publication, and I was so happy to receive the overwhelming support of my readers. Thanks to that, I was able to write the continuation, and here I am now. It's been almost 15 years since that day, with my readership slowly growing to the current level, little by little, so overall it doesn't feel like anything terribly surprising has happened regarding Twelve Kingdoms.

Since the anime was released in the U.S. several years ago, what are the differences between the anime and the novels that readers should know about?

Aikawa-san wrote the script to the anime, and being the amazing scriptwriter he is, he excels at being very aware of the differences between the unique characteristics of the media he's working with as well as those of other mediums. The best of a novel is not necessarily the same as the best of an anime. If you aim for the best, you cannot avoid changing the original work. I think it's best for fans of the series to keep that point in mind.

The Empty Battlefield illustrates the tragedy of war, but more than that, it illustrates the tragedy of an epic anime series crushed into three haphazard movies. This first one is barely comprehensible.

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