Date A Live Encore - Volume 1 - Chapter Aft

Afterword

 
Long time no see, or should I say nice to meet you? I am Tachibana Koushi.

 
What do you think of <Date A Live Encore>? I will feel honored if my readers like this book.

 
You must have found out that this is not a sequel. That being said, obviously <Date a Live> isn't over. This is just a short story collection.

 
I wrote this in the afterword of volume seven too. In terms of the story of <Date a Live>, the girls who appeared can't have their stories described with just those stories. Therefore, this time the plan is to focus on each girl with short stories to fill in the gaps. This time specifically covers Tohka, Origami, Yoshino, Kotori, and the yamai sisters that were previously published in <Dragon Magazine> as well as three additional short stories that were created for this collection. Therefore, this is the afterward for my first short story collection.

 
Having said that, the content of this light novel is different, but the afterword isn’t so I originally wanted to write as usual, but a problem came up.

 
I mostly finished the manuscript by writing what was basically a first draft then reducing the length. As a result, each time the page count shrinks, so does the afterword.

 
While there are previously unpublished stories this time, since they are included in the article posted on <Dragon Magazine> it’s very different from the usual. As a result, this afterword has 8 pages.

 
I’ve never written such a long postscript before.

 
Since this is a collection of short stories, let me briefly explain each story. Because how many of the stories will be spoiled, readers who don’t want to see any spoilers should read the novel before continuing.

 
Tohka Game Center

 
This first short story was actually written immediately after the first volume of Date a Live.

 
Tohka is the protagonist of this story, of course, but since it’s also the first time some <Dragon Magazine> readers have read <Date A Live>, the characters and dating system were explained as well. Although it was a basic story, I was still happy that I wrote it. I like the way it came out.

 
In fact, the dream panda bear Ronnie that appeared in this story, also appeared in color of the second OVA episode and shows an expansion in the type of products. Incidentally, it happens to look similar to Tsunako-sensei’s self-portrait.

 
But I digress, the dream panda Ronnie has colorful fur and has two friends: a brown horse with stars named Arnikino and a frog with flowers named Pillar Quack.

 
Origami Impossible

 
<Date A Live> first appeared on the cover of <Dragon Magazine> which published this short story and anime news. I decided “after writing Tohka, let’s write Origami”. Although many parts were conceived this way, it seems that I could only imagine Shidou being swallowed by Origami.

 
I remember the original idea was that Origami was like a “devil terminator” chasing Shidou who was on a date with Tohka. That sounds terrifying, so I decided to write something different just to reduce Origami's scariness.

 
I got really immersed in writing Origami’s scenes, so I didn’t have much awareness, but when I saw the illustration of Origami on <Dragon Magazine> I felt like “I did something that shouldn’t be let go”.

 
Yoshino Fireworks

 
I remember that compared to Tohka and Origami, Yoshino’s story settled down pretty smoothly. It was worthy of being Yoshino, and she was easy to write. On the contrary, when the story was submitted, it was the one that worried me the most, because the editor suddenly called me before the manuscript was delivered and I was wondering what was going on. The other party told me “This kind of manuscript can’t be delivered”.

 
Me: What’s the matter? Isn’t it ok?

 
Editor: No, the last scene is Shidou finding Yoshino wet in the rain and he feels like blushing right? That’s not enough.

 
Me: What do you mean?

 
Editor: I think she should be spanked on the ass here…!

 
That was genius! The illustration is the result of that excellent opinion of the editor. Bravo.

 
Kotori Birthday

 
A short story about Kotori who is fully prepared and waiting for the perfect time to come on stage. When I thought about what to write, the first thing that came to mind was a birthday party.

 
Although this is an absolutely indispensable event, it would be too long for this story.

 
Having said that, it feels lonely to grow older, so the story became the birthday party everyone celebrated together with Kotori. As far as plot development is concerned, most of the stories have Kotori’s hair tied with black ribbons, but this time we can give the white ribbons a few more appearances.

 
Yamai Lunchtime

 
Summer vacation is finally over, so Yamai Kaguya and Yamai Yuzuru have joined the battle. The pair are like a stupid couple, and it was fun to write them, however it was also troublesome to think about the unique way they speak. It’s also a very time consuming job to write for them.

 
The previous short stories are mainly for existing characters, but this time the characters didn’t appear in the main story first. That’s right, the Four Heavenly Kings of the school store. Readers who have read my debut work Soukyuu no Karma may know that I like this type of idiot the most. I think it’s the charm of short stories to bring these types of characters out.

 
Kurumi Star Festival

 
Since I got the news, I wanted to publish a short story about Kurumi as part of the unpublished new manuscript. Since she hadn’t been completely obsessed with Shidou, it’s difficult to describe her daily life not just here but also in <Dragon Magazine>, however it’s necessary to show her girlier side.

 
If Kurumi doesn’t appear, wouldn’t that be deceiving everyone? Since the season was perfect, I decided to write the Star Festival theme for Kurumi. The story was originally called “Kurumi Star”, but that felt sub-standard. Kurumi seemed almost as if she was going to be debuting as a singer, so I changed the name. Since <Date A Live Encore> is usually happy and cute so far, this time the theme was changed slightly to show a sadder side too. I personally really liked how this one turned out.

 
So this book is the same as the story, and it could only be completed after so many people put care into it. Tsunako who always draws beautiful illustrations, everyone in charge of the editing and editorial department, and the many people in publishing and sales. Thank you so much.

 
Since there are many more stories of the girls to add, please continue to read <Dragon Magazine>.

 
It will be my honor to talk to you next on <Date A Live> volume 8

 
March 2013, Tachibana Koushi

Credits

 
Author: Tachibana Koushi

 
Illustrator: Tsunako

 
Translator: Lightning Farron, ABearCat, Koyuki, Baka Tsuki

 
Editor: Ene

 
Epub: OfficeCasual

 
Thanks to: Rhoni, ABearCat, Midgert

 
Disclaimer: Date A Live is owned by Kadokawa and Koushi Tachibana. This is a non-profit fan translation; please support the official release.