Durarara!! SH - Volume 4 - Chapter Aft

AFTERWORD

Hi there, I’m Narita.

As you’ve just seen, this volume of SH is a more whimsical and comedic story, in the vein of Volumes 4 and 7 of the original Durarara!! series. Some characters like Anri and Kinnosuke Kuzuhara got to appear for the first time in a while, and their presence made me a bit nervous while writing.

I hadn’t thought that the ultimate final boss for Celty, who tormented her so much in DRRR!!, would make his return in SH—but after seeing the scripts for the anime series, I felt like I needed to write a proper conversation between him and Celty when she was in a rational state, and that’s why I included him here. When Celty said (or typed), “Why are you here?!” that was exactly what I was yelling in my head as I wrote it.

At any rate, I’m hoping to keep writing more commonplace stories in SH that can be contained in a single book, like Volumes 3 and 4. Hope you enjoy the regular life of Ikebukuro!

Now, some of you readers may have noticed that I’ve written this volume of Durarara!! in a slightly different way. As a matter of fact, I’ve been suffering from an ailment called anaphylactoid purpura and some subsequent kidney inflammation since last fall. It’s not that drastic of an illness, but the treatment itself is basically just waiting for it to heal naturally, being careful not to exacerbate it.

Dermatologist: Just make sure you get as much rest as possible until it goes away.

Me: Oh, don’t worry! I work sitting down, so it’s fine.

Dermatologist: No, you misunderstand me. You need to rest.

Me: Huh?!

So this was how I learned that sitting down doesn’t actually count as “resting.” Resting means lying down with your feet up. That means I’ve spent the last few months at home hanging out in bed.

It’s pretty hard to just lie down all the time when your mind and body feel good. As a result, I’ve been writing my novels on an app I found on a particular smartphone company’s OS. In other words, I wrote most of this book on a smartphone app (I’m not mentioning the name because I don’t want to seem like I’m shilling it). Of course, I tidied it up on the computer at the end, so the text itself should be at its usual quality…should! (Although I worry that some people might think, Your writing is actually cleaner than usual when you do it on the phone…)

Anyway, my condition has improved to the point that it’s okay for me to sit up and work again. It was my first time writing a novel on a smartphone, and I have to admit that the overall lesson I learned in the latter half of last year was That was…surprisingly easy.

Still, the process is slower than typing on a computer sitting up, so my schedule had to be rearranged in various ways. All kinds of books had to be delayed, including Volume 4 here.

If any of you out there were looking forward to this book coming out on time, I’m very sorry for the delay.

On the other hand, the process went pretty smoothly once I got used to it, so even though I’ve gotten the go-ahead to continue working sitting up, I can still write when I get into bed at night. Now I’m able to write day and night, I think to myself with a smirk.

Speaking of which, while I was on bed rest, I also used my smartphone to write the special short story for the anime’s Blu-ray and DVD set, featuring the very first appearance of Shinra’s little sister…

Yes…the anime.

In the midst of a stretch of eighteen consecutive months, with a deadline for a special pack-in story, the Durarara x2 anime series is finally in its final cour! The Ketsu cour has begun!

I got to attend the recording of the final episode’s vocal track, and it was such a wonderful performance that I got a little teary to think that Durarara!! was finally coming to an end.

I’m so grateful to director Omori and all the people who worked on the anime, and I’m delighted to know that now people can enjoy the entire story of Durarara!! in animated form from start to finish.

The world of Durarara!! continues in the SH series, of course, as well as the Izaya Orihara spin-off. Nonetheless, I hope that you’ll all enjoy the story reborn in anime form, in its entirety.

Speaking of other media tie-ins, the latest volume of the Durarara!! Re;Dollars Arc manga is in stores the same date as this book, plus the first volume of the Baccano! manga!

Please go out there and check out Durarara!! and Baccano! in both novel and manga form!

Lastly, my usual acknowledgments.

To my editor, Papio, and everyone at the publisher, despite my contracting a strange disease at a very important time for the anime and ruining a very busy schedule.

To the manga artist, staff members, and cast members who bring the Durarara!! anime, manga, merchandise, and other multimedia tie-ins to life.

To the family, friends, authors, and illustrators who support me.

To Suzuhito Yasuda, who gives color to my words by bringing out new sides to even old characters like Anri.

But most of all, to you for picking up the continuation of Durarara!! SH.

Thank you, thank you all! I hope that we meet again soon!

January 2015—Ryohgo Narita (while playing a smartphone game in bed)