Afterword
Long time no see, everyone, I am Tachibana Koushi. The collections of short stories have finally reached the double digits. This time, it’s Date A Live Encore 10. What do you think? I’d be overjoyed if you enjoyed it.
On the cover is Mukuro, as previously announced. Although there are lots of stories written before her haircut, I had very few illustrations after it. The main cover sometimes is twice the fun of the book.
The newly drawn illustration was done with the image of their everyday life after Volume 22. Look, it’s the college versions of everyone! Without a doubt, this is like glancing at a princess’s inner circle.
Speaking of Kurumi, the anime for Date A Bullet has finally been released! The script was written by Higashide-san. It’s a work made with the effort of countless people, so please be sure to give it a watch!
Next, I’ll proceed to the commentary of each story. There will be spoilers, so please be careful.
Kurumi Friend
The setting of this story takes place during Volume 20, in Tenka’s world: the ideal world, where everything is perfect. What Kurumi dreamt of in that world was her best friend—Yamauchi Sawa.
I’ve always wanted to write Sawa’s story at least once, so I’m glad to have been able to write this. Although it’s placed first, due to the chronology of Dragon Magazine, it actually takes place after Spirit Werewolf.
Tohka President
What would happen if Tohka became a president? A story born from the whimsical remarks of the person in charge. Although at first it was difficult to write, it came together surprisingly smoothly.
I especially like the Mafia boss look with the sunglasses and coat, and the management’s autobiographical naming sense of “Yatogami Tohka, Huge Kinako.” Incidentally, what I had in mind while writing this was Kochikame, when Ryotsu tried to start a business.
Mana Again
A story about Mana reuniting with her old friends. Astute readers may have noticed in volume 18 that Mana’s good friend, Homura Haruko, would later become Kotori’s mother, Itsuka Haruko, and Tatsuo-senpai is her father. Since Itsuka Parents was republished in Dragon Magazine and Date A Live Encore 9, I wanted them to reappear and have the opportunity to reunite with Mana—this is that story.
Spirit Camping
“I wanted to see the Spirits’ graduation trip!” This story began with that idea, but since we’ve already been to the snow-capped mountains and an uninhabited island, the only thing left is to go camping.
I liked the illustration of everyone having fun together. I would have liked for each person to have worked alone, but the number of people present would have exhausted the length for a short story, so I decided on team battles. Origami and Natsumi’s technical skills have no limit.
Spirit Werewolf
The second day of camping! But it was raining, so everyone ended up playing a game of Werewolf instead.
I wondered if it would be interesting and difficult to write a Werewolf story, but once the roles were set, the rest came smoothly in accordance with everyone’s personalities. Rather, the role names may have been the most difficult part. The wolf illustration was also very cute. Even though demon fox is a very difficult role to play, it feels great to win with it, so please give it a try.
Tohka After
A story set after Volume 22. The timeline is a bit different from the other stories, as this is the only one set in the real world.
Although I felt there was nothing more to write after Volume 22’s ending, I still had a slight desire to see the story afterwards, so this is a short story about everyone’s life after Volume 22. Being able to write this type of story is one advantage of a long series: we get to see Tohka’s reunion with everyone, and the way she moves forward. Good luck to everyone in the future.
…At this point, the atmosphere feels as if this Encore is the final volume, but in reality, it will continue for a bit longer.
Who will be on the cover of Encore 11?! Please look forward to it in the next volume!
Koushi Tachibana
July 2020
Translator's Notes
[1] The name is originally Marron which means “chestnut” in French.
[2] The joke here is that they’re all named and read as Tokisaki, but written with varying kanji which is based on their clothing/style of choice.
[3] The castle was constructed by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, at the time a minor retainer of Oda Nobunaga, while they were pressing the Siege of Inabayama Castle in the mid-16th century. Hideyoshi used pre-constructed sections to put up the fortress and it was finished so quickly that it gave the impression that it was done overnight.
[4] Amidakuji is a system for creating pairings from two equal sized sets of things. In this case, the spirits would be divided into two groups and then each member of one group would be matched up with one member of the other.
[5] “A form of camping involving accommodation and facilities more luxurious than those associated with traditional camping”, according to Google.
[6] This is specifically referring to Encore 2’s Spirit King Game and Encore 5’s Spirit Snow Wars, which both used similar rules proposed by Origami.
[7] OB “Old Boy” and OG “Old Girl” refer to former students who have graduated from particular schools or institutions. Similar to the idea of alumni/alumnae.
[8] An informal Japanese style bar that serves alcoholic drinks and snacks. These are casual kinds of places where people go for after-work drinking much like a pub or saloon (though I’m pretty sure Origami, Kaguya, and Yuzuru aren’t drinking alcohol).
[9] Mentaiko is a sack of salted cod roe that is marinated in powdered chiles and spices to create an array of subtly different flavor profiles.
[10] Another series. MAL summary: “Ryoutsu, being an underpaid policeman, is always coming up with underhanded schemes in order to make a quick buck. But in the end, his plans (which are ridiculous to begin with) always go wrong and land him in big trouble with the chief.”
[11] Encore 5 - Silver Astray and Silver Murderer, and Volume 5’s Arubi Island.
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