For the first volume of Clannad, Chris Yamada thought it was a very good novel, but he hadn't found it particularly amazing.
Well, that wasn't quite fair. Compared with other light novels in the same genre, Clannad was obviously superior by a considerable margin.
With his excellent prose, Oikawa Toru told a quiet, heartwarming story at an unhurried pace. Then he introduced the concept of the Light Orbs, giving readers another mystery to wonder about.
But to Chris, it wasn't enough.
There wasn't enough punch.
In his mind, the first volume of Clannad was nowhere near as compelling as the first volume of Your Lie in April.
Your Lie in April simply had more dramatic tension.
Especially when Arima Kōsei confronted the fear buried deep inside him. Readers couldn't help but sympathize with him and eagerly anticipate the moment when he would finally face his inner demons and overcome them.
And Oikawa had been particularly devious.
The first volume of Your Lie in April ended at precisely that point.
It was the literary equivalent of a web novel cutting off right at the climax.
Readers would curse the author for it, but they'd be dying to find out what happened next.
Of course, if the wait was too long, that anticipation would inevitably fade. But there had only been two or three months between the release of Your Lie in April Volume One and Volume Two.
Dengeki Bunko had conducted a survey once.
95% of readers who bought Volume One of Your Lie in April also bought Volume Two.
That was an absolutely ridiculous number. Normally, the number of readers decreases with every volume of a light novel. A continuation rate of around sixty percent was already enough to consider a series successful.
The previous record-holder was Sword Art Online, at 85%.
Sword Art Online had held that record for a full five years. Then Your Lie in April came out of nowhere and broke it.
When Oikawa started writing Clannad, Chris had assumed he'd use the same trick and split the story at a particularly tantalizing point. But Clannad Volume One had maintained its leisurely pace from beginning to end.
Chris had received the outline for the entire Clannad project long ago.
But Oikawa had played a few clever tricks with it. He'd even changed the ending. And some of the developments along the way had left Chris so emotionally devastated that he barely knew whether he should be happy or sad
"Sneaky bastard."
It wasn't until Chris had finished the entire Clannad story that he realized just how devious Oikawa really was.
The more heartwarming Volume One was, the more devastating Volume Two became.
The whole volume quietly established the fact that Nagisa was going to die.
This wasn't some random tragedy inserted simply to make the story sad.
Her death was inevitable. There was no escaping it.
Aside from the initial sweetness, there was nothing left but pain.
Oikawa had spent nearly 200,000 characters developing Tomoya Okazaki. He showed readers his misfortune, drew on his vulnerability, and used the way Tomoya and Nagisa saved each other to make readers grow attached to him.
Readers began to love Tomoya. They began hoping that this poor guy would finally get the happy ending he deserved.
And then Oikawa destroyed him.
Without a doubt, Oikawa had come up with an extremely unconventional approach to storytelling.
If Clannad had been serialized on a web-fiction site like "Shōsetsuka ni Narō," it probably would have been absolutely torn apart in the comments, with readers abandoning the story in droves.
But this was where the advantage of physical books became apparent. An author could tell the story they truly wanted to tell without worrying about readers dropping the series halfway through because the plot had suddenly become unbearably painful.
And then there was Ushio Okazaki.
Oikawa devoted a huge amount of attention to Tomoya's daughter.
Until finally, the story reached its last genuinely heartwarming moment.
Until finally, Tomoya realized that he still had one family member left.
Ushio.
And then... The knife came down again, completely without warning. Just when Tomoya realized that he needed to fulfill his responsibilities as a father, just when he understood that he needed to start living his life properly, fate played another cruel joke on him.
That winter, Tomoya had only just realized that he still had happiness in his life. And then he lost it all over again.
"An incredible command of the written word, combined with masterful storytelling."
Chris's eyes were filled with admiration.
An ordinary author could never have handled Tomoya's changing state of mind so well.
They wouldn't have been able to make readers hate him while simultaneously making them pity him.
But Oikawa had pulled it off.
Without a doubt, Clannad was a tremendous success.
....
At four in the morning, Chris finished reading Clannad for the second time.
He let out a long breath and finally put the book down.
"I used to think Your Lie in April would be Oikawa's masterpiece. Looks like I was still thinking too small. A genius writer really is a genius writer."
Chris should have been exhausted.
But at that moment, it felt as though a fire were burning in his chest.
He desperately wanted someone to vent all his emotions on.
"But... Couldn't you have made the ending just a little better?"
As an editor, saying something like that was clearly crossing the line.
But Chris still desperately wanted to pick up the phone and call Oikawa.
He wanted to beg him to give poor Tomoya Okazaki a happy ending.
Let Nagisa and Ushio become mother and daughter again. Let them be a happy family. Let them smile happily.
Let everything work out.
Chris was genuinely unable to accept this ending.
_ _ _
The next day—
For once, the editor-in-chief of Full-Drive Bunko didn't arrive at the office until noon.
The moment he arrived, he went straight to the editorial department and looked coldly at Chris Yamada, who was sporting a pair of enormous dark circles under his eyes. "Come with me to my office."
Chris staggered to his feet and followed the editor-in-chief out.
The moment the two of them disappeared, the editorial department erupted into whispers.
"What's going on? I've never seen the editor-in-chief look that serious. Did Editor Yamada screw something up? Don't tell me he got on Copycat-sensei's bad side?"
"No way. Editor Chris and Copycat-sensei are practically best friends."
"Then what is it? Chris looks weird today, too."
The editors speculated for quite some time, but nobody could come up with an answer.
Then a voice suddenly came from the corner. "Could it have something to do with Clannad Volume Two? I saw Copycat-sensei's tweet yesterday. Apparently Clannad Volume Two is already finished. Editor Chris and the editor-in-chief should have read it by now."
The entire editorial department suddenly fell silent.
Every editor widened their eyes. They looked at one another, disbelief written all over their faces.
"No way. How could he have finished it that fast? Clannad Volume One only came out recently. It hasn't even been two weeks, has it? And he's already finished Volume Two? Even if he's working himself to death, does he really have to go this hard?" But... even if Clannad Volume Two is finished, the editor-in-chief shouldn't be looking like that. Don't you think... maybe Volume Two isn't very..."
The editorial department fell silent again.
It was clearly a sensitive subject.
"I doubt it." A veteran editor finally spoke. "Chris kept muttering 'Why does it have to be this sad?' over and over while we were eating earlier. I have a feeling Clannad Volume Two might actually be even better than Your Lie in April. And even more brutal."
Another editor chuckled. "Copycat-sensei really hasn't changed at all. If Chris's reacting like that, doesn't that mean it might be even more devastating than Your Lie in April? Now I'm not sure I even want to read it."
Everyone in the editorial department spoke with a certain amount of trepidation.
Clearly, they still hadn't recovered from the emotional damage caused by the ending of Your Lie in April.
And now Clannad was apparently going to hurt even more.
They desperately wanted to read it. But they were also terrified of reading it.
...
Inside the editor-in-chief's office...
"I've finished reading Clannad Volume Two. This book has even greater sales potential than Your Lie in April, and it's extremely well suited to both an anime adaptation and a game. I've scheduled a meeting with the company's senior management this afternoon. I'm going to propose adapting Clannad into an anime first and see how they react."
The editor-in-chief paused.
He took a sip of water, giving himself a moment to settle the lingering sadness in his chest.
Then he continued. "I don't think there'll be much trouble getting an anime adaptation approved. The first episode of Your Lie in April drew a respectable audience, and judging from the current situation, it should at least break even."
"Actually, in a sense, Your Lie in April's anime adaptation was a success. It's just that Dengeki Bunko ended up benefiting the most."
The anime had given Your Lie in April's light novel sales a massive boost.
Dengeki Bunko had basically gotten to sit back and reap the rewards. They'd won without even lifting a finger.
Full-Drive Bunko was understandably a little frustrated about that, but it had been expected from the beginning. Their initial push to get Your Lie in April adapted was primarily intended to build a good relationship with Oikawa Toru.
And judging from the results, it had clearly been worth it.
With Clannad becoming a huge sales hit, Full-Drive Bunko had made a killing in both money and prestige.
"As for a game adaptation, we've never really dealt with something like that before, so things may move a little more slowly. But even I can see how suitable Clannad would be for a game. The executives would have to be idiots to pass up an opportunity to make that kind of money."
The editor-in-chief talked at length about the plans they had for Clannad.
Then he fell silent.
After a while, he looked up at Chris Yamada with a meaningful expression. "Chris, has Copycat-sensei ever told you what he plans to write next?"
"His next book?" Chris froze for a moment.
Then he understood why the editor-in-chief had been speaking so cautiously.
Was he worried that another publisher might poach Oikawa?
Chris smiled calmly. "Don't worry, Chief. Oikawa-sensei's next book will still be published by Full-Drive Bunko."
"I actually talked to him about it over lunch. He was completely relaxed about the whole thing. He told me that if we're worried about another publisher trying to poach him, he's willing to sign a three-year contract with Full-Drive Bunko."
To be honest, Chris had worried about the same thing.
After the explosive success of Clannad, Oikawa Toru had become a walking money printer in the eyes of every major publishing house.
Everyone wanted to bring that money printer home.
"Chris, you're serious?"
"Of course." Chris smiled. "You can relax. Full-Drive Bunko's terms aren't bad, and we've guaranteed Copycat-sensei complete creative freedom. He isn't going to switch publishers on a whim."
"That's a relief."
The editor-in-chief let out a long breath.
If they lost their golden goose, Oikawa Toru, he genuinely had no idea what they would do.
"Then let's draw up the contract for Clannad Volume Two. As for the royalty rate... how does seventeen percent sound?"
Chris raised an eyebrow.
Oikawa had mentioned this before. At the time, he'd asked for fifteen percent.
But if the editor-in-chief was voluntarily offering seventeen percent, Chris certainly wasn't going to negotiate him downward.
"What about the marketing strategy, Chief?" Chris asked.
"Same as before. I don't care how much we spend. Just make sure we get results," the editor-in-chief replied.
"Understood."
The smile on Chris's face grew wider.
Now he could finally go all out.
He wanted Clannad to break out of its niche completely.
Once the release date was finalized, the next step was to discuss the illustrations with the artist.
Tomoya Okazaki and Nagisa Furukawa's adult appearances.
And, most importantly, the central character of Volume Two... Ushio Okazaki.
...
..
More than half a month later, Oikawa Toru once again walked into Full-Drive Bunko.
But this time, the moment he entered the editorial department, he felt countless icy stares land on him.
Every editor looked up at once. Every face was cold.
It was the complete opposite of the warm greetings he'd received during his previous visit.
Oikawa was completely bewildered.
Chris Yamada coughed awkwardly. "Oikawa-sensei, this way. The illustrator is waiting for you."
Chris led him into a small conference room.
Full-Drive Bunko had assigned Oikawa an illustrator named Sōsuke Kiyota, a woman in her forties who was known for being extremely cheerful. Her illustrations were also exceptionally delicate and detailed.
Kiyota had even gone out to dinner with Oikawa and asked him to sign a copy of Your Lie in April for her son after they finished working on the illustrations.
"Let's get started. Tell me what you want." Kiyota spoke coldly and immediately put on her professional expression.
Oikawa looked concerned. "Illustrator Kiyota, are you feeling unwell? We can start the illustration work later if you're not feeling well..."
"I'm not physically unwell." Kiyota's expression darkened. "I'm uncomfortable because I've seen certain people. Certain people who seem cheerful and carefree on the surface, but whose writing is so cold it doesn't have a shred of warmth in it. I feel sick just looking at people like that."
After saying this, Kiyota paused.
Then, with an especially solemn tone, she added, "Copycat-sensei, don't get the wrong idea. I'm not talking about you specifically."
Oikawa forced a smile.
'How the hell is that not about me?'
She might as well have pointed at his face and started yelling.
Now he understood why all those editors had been staring at him so coldly.
Ahem. Looks like he'd really managed to piss off everyone.
During the illustration session that followed, Oikawa had intended to follow the philosophy of "say less, make fewer mistakes."
Kiyota might have been holding a grudge against him, but she was still extremely serious about her work.
Especially when she began working on Ushio.
At one point, she even started crying.
That made Oikawa's scalp prickle.
This time, even if Chris Yamada begged him until the end of time, he absolutely wasn't going to hold another autograph event.
Last time, he'd somehow escaped getting emotionally stabbed. This time, there was no guarantee he'd survive.
It felt like he'd really gone too far.
He'd genuinely managed to get everyone angry.
Oikawa made up his mind. Once Clannad Volume Two was released, he was going to temporarily delete his Twitter account.
Otherwise, he was liable to get mobbed by an angry army of readers.
Sometimes, knowing when to lie low was the smart move.
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