Youjo Senki - Volume 5 - Chapter Aft

Afterword 

To everyone who picked up Volume 5, I’m sorry to have kept you waiting. To the heroes who bought all of the volumes through 5 at once, nice to meet you. I’m Carlo Zen. 

This came out later than planned, but I would appreciate it if you would believe me when I say, “I wasn’t slacking off! I was doing my best!” …There’s going to be a manga and a TV anime! 

By the powers of a great many people combined, plans for a manga (Chika Tojo’s doing it!) and anime are in the works. 

Back in 2013 when I said how brave Enterbrain is, I never dreamed all this would happen. 

So you’re a hero of heroes, huh, Enterbrain…? 

No, maybe I should have foreseen it to some extent. Every time I had a meeting with them, I did sense this pretty heroic aura. 

Yes, it was…a peaceful holiday afternoon. When I lumbered out to an event—a meeting—what I saw before me was a café where sophisticated people drink tea. 

It was a cheerful meeting. After having the “Do a bit more xx; make it xx” (censored) conversation, we discussed the manga, the anime, my new book, and whatnot. 

If you’re not going to call that heroic, then what will you? 

And so, though I can’t quite believe it, there are manga and anime projects starting up…I think? I’m reflecting on how lucky I am to have the support of so many people. 

And now I must extend my thanks once again to everyone who has helped me out. 

A warm thank-you to Tsubakiya Design for the design, Tokyo Shuppan Service Center for the proofreading, my editor Fujita, and to the illustrator who always does such wonderful illustrations, Shinotsuki. 

And of course, my gratitude goes out to you, the readers supporting me. I hope to see you again next time. 

January 2016 Carlo Zen 

-------------------------------

References:

1 partisan   In this context, it means combatants who are not regular enlisted soldiers but members of an irregular militia. Whether they should be referred to as a resistance, terrorists, or freedom fighters is an extremely sensitive issue, so I won’t deal with it here. 

2 Grouchy   Marshal Emmanuel de Grouchy was Napoleon’s last marshal! The last marshal! It has such a cool ring to it. Except for the part about how he was appointed only because there was no one else… 

He was a general who had forces during the Battle of Waterloo but failed to act on his own discretion (meaning he didn’t make his own call and take the optimal action). 

One hundred percent adherence to orders isn’t right. What’s right is accomplishing the mission the orders are asking you to. He’s a classic example to bring up during such discussions. 

By the way, he was also one of those unlucky types who was actually surprisingly talented but got pummeled in the history books for that one failure. 

3 Davout    Marshal Louis-Nicolas Davout is known as probably Napoleon’s best marshal. 

Not only did his military prowess make Napoleon envious, he displayed prodigious talent in many fields including government and organizational management. Aside from the things that made him a bit too cutthroat of a boss—his uncommon strictness and adherence to the rules, his uncompromising separation of public and private spheres, and his excessive belief in meritocracy—he was perfect. 

4 Desaix   Like Grouchy, he was on an operation with a detachment, but…when he heard the cannons of the Battle of Marengo, he acted on his own discretion, and his name went down in world history. 

Under Napoleon, who was on the brink of defeat, he dashingly rushed forward, shouted, “There is yet time to win another battle!” and charged into the enemy forces. He was a great general who saved Napoleon from defeat and died himself in battle. 

5 Pearl Harbor   “Let’s cross the entire ocean and attack the U.S. Pacific Fleet at their base!” is easy to say, but actually doing it is nuts. 

6 Scapa Flow   Scapa Flow is a natural harbor and was a base for the Royal Navy. It was into that well-protected harbor that the German Navy’s U-47, commanded by Günther Prien, penetrated during World War II. It got past the lookouts and sank the battleship Royal Oak that was anchored there. Captain Prien’s greatest enemy wasn’t the Royal Navy’s warning screen, however, but his own boat’s torpedoes. He fired seven at the anchored ship, but five of them malfunctioned… He was furious and said it was like having a “dummy rifle.” 

7 Luftwaffe   The German air force during World War II.