This interview was conducted to commemorate the publication of Overlord in book form for the first time.
Light novels born on the Internet are hot right now. Archenemy and Hero” (Enterbrain), which is being adapted into an anime, and “Accel World,” which has also been made into an anime, were first published under different titles on a novel submission site. Popular works such as “The Irregular At Magic High School” (Dengeki Bunko) have also appeared.
In the midst of all this, another fantasy novel that boasts overwhelming popularity on the Web has been published in book form after extensive additions and revisions. It is Maruyama Kugane’s “Overlord 1: King of the Immortals” (sobin/illustration, Enterbrain).
The online game that caused a huge boom was supposed to end its service that day. However, even after that time passed, he did not log out. Then, a non-player character begins to have a will. The protagonist reigns as Ainz, the strongest “Immortal King” with the body of a skeleton.
To commemorate the publication of “Overlord 1: King of the Immortals,” which marks the beginning of such an epic story, we interviewed the author, Mr. Maruyama.
Overlord 1: King of the Immortals
Citation. 新刊ＪＰ
Aiming to create the “strongest story” I want to read.
-This “Overlord” was originally a novel published on the Internet, wasn’t it?
Yes, it was. It was originally published as a short story (SS) on the Internet novel submission sites “Arcadia” and “syousetsukaninarou. Now, Enterbrain has decided to publish it as a book.
-What was your first impression when you heard about the idea of publishing the story in book form?
The biggest emotion was surprise.
-Did you ever imagine that your work would be published in book form?
Yes, I did not. I wrote them as a hobby and published them on the Internet.
-What inspired you to write “Overlord”?
I had always liked reading SS and novels on the Internet. And the genre I like to write in is the “Strongest Mono” genre, do you know what it is?
-Is this a so-called “hero is the strongest” story?
That’s pretty much it, but it goes a little deeper. In fact, the “Strongest” stories have been around for a long time. For example, “mitokomon” and “touyamanokinsan” are also toughest stories. The “Saikyou mono” genre, now available on the Internet, is made by adding fantasy elements to these elements. “oreTUEEEEEE!” (I am the strongest.) I liked the genre, and while I was looking for the “strongest mono” to my liking, I decided to write one myself.
mitokoumon touyamanokinsan
-I have read your work published on the website, and it is a very long work, isn’t it? You must not have thought at first that you would continue writing for such a long time.
Yes, I started in March or April 2010, so it has been more than two years now. I think the reason I have been able to continue writing for this long is because of the interesting comments and positive feedback I have received from my readers about the novels I have published on the web.
-Did you write novels before “Overlord”?
About 10 years ago, when TYPE-MOONsan was doing doujin activities, there was a time when they were looking for novels for game scenarios to be used in the creation of fan discs. I wrote one and sent it in, and it was accepted, but Kinoko Nasu had written such a wonderful work that when I actually played the game, I realized that there was too big a gap between my ability and Nasu’s. That’s when I thought, That’s when I thought, ‘I’m not suited for this anymore,’ and I stopped writing novels.
Kinoko Nasu is a Japanese scenario writer, novelist, and doujinshi. She was born in Chiba Prefecture. Her representative works include sky Border Title Fate/stay night.
-So, you resumed writing 10 years later.
I’ve settled down at work, and I’ve always liked table talk RPGs, and I like to create stories.
-Oh, by the way, you play TRPGs a lot, don’t you?
I love it. I’m currently playing “D&D” (Dungeons & Dragons), and I’ve been playing since “D&D3. I also used to play “Red Book” and other games. In high school, it was “Sword World”.
-I see that you play some of the most popular games
I take the high road (laughs)! But it’s “Cthulhu” that I play. I like “Cthulhu.
Cthulhu became very popular this year due to Nyaruko-san’s influence.
Yes, it was. But if you read Nyaruko-san and see the picture of “Cthulhu”, you will be disappointed, won’t you (laughs)? TRPGs are interesting. It is published by Enterbrain, so please give it a try (laughs).
The main character gets progressively worse!
-I heard that you made significant additions and revisions to this book version of “Overlord. What were some of the difficulties you encountered?
It was hard work in general, but I did my best so that people who came to the story from the book can enjoy it, without killing the good points of the web version.
-The story begins when a player of the online game “Yucdrasil” is transferred from the world of the game to another world where the service is supposed to end and he reigns as the “Immortal King” of the evil side. How did you come up with the idea for this story?
Basically, I started by writing what I wanted to read. I thought about the story roughly until the end, and then I created the characters with an eye to what kind of characters would make the most of the story.
-You have a variety of characters, including the main character Momonga (Ainz) and his faithful subordinate Albedo, a female demon who loves Momonga very much. Who was the most difficult character to create?
I would have to say the main character. He is the main character, but he doesn’t seem like a main character, so I had to be careful about whether or not he would be able to handle the story. This work is depicted from the evil side’s point of view, and the protagonist is a character who uses his own powerful force for his own desires. In this respect, it is a little different from ordinary light novels.
-The main character, Momonga, is a great magician with the appearance of a skeleton in this world, even if he was originally human. However, when I read the work, I felt that there was a part of him that was not fully tainted with evil.
(Laughs.) Hmm. But it will get worse eventually.If the main character is evil from the first volume, readers will turn their backs on him and won’t pick up the next volume and onward.
-So you were thinking of depicting Momonga as a thoroughly evil character at the beginning?
Strictly speaking, he is a very selfish character rather than evil. He is a bad person who only thinks and acts to satisfy his own greed. But he’s a character who starts out evil, but maybe turns out to be a bit of a good guy in the end.
-As for your other characters, is there anything that you keep in mind when setting up your characters?
For the characters on the protagonist’s side, I try to give them one major trait, and then I use that as the bone of the character and add some meat to it. The people on the side that oppose the protagonist are mostly human at the moment, but I basically try to make them look cool.
-What is the motif of “coolness” as you see it? For example, what kind of things did you find “cool” as a child?
There was a book titled “Gamba and 15 Friends,” which is a story about a group of rats fighting against weasels called the noroi tribe. The coolness of the rats is impressive. The rats fight against the overwhelmingly strong weasels by singing and dancing and inspiring each other, and they are very cool. I think that work had an influence on me.”
-What is your favorite scene in the first volume?
The last part of the first volume. where the enemy plays his trump card. I can’t go into details because it’s the last scene, but I think that scene really embodies the overload.
I want to depict dark joy through “Overlord.
-How do you feel about the addition of sobin’s illustrations to the web novel?
It’s wonderful, really. From the first color illustration when you open the cover, you already know that this is a story about a villain. Anyone would be scared (laughs). The characters are lined up like a secret society of evil. It’s totally different when you add the pictures.
-It adds a lot of depth to the story.
Yes, it does. I think it would be better to just use sobin’s illustrations (laughs). And the novel is about 30 pages long.
-No, no, it makes sense because there is a story (laughs). You also include a diagram of the hierarchy of the underground tombs where the main characters are hiding, don’t you? This seems to be well received.
This illustration is also nice. It looks like the hideout of an evil secret society (laughs).
-I would like to ask you about your reading history and would like you to introduce three books that have influenced you.
The first one is “Kenkaku Shobai” by Shotaro Ikenami. This is a wonderful “strongest mono. He may be old, but he has a young wife, he has money, he lives a comfortable life, and he eats delicious food. It’s great, isn’t it? And he is strong. I know my fans might be angry with me for thinking this way, but that’s the way I read it (laughs). The other one is Michael Ende’s “The NeverEnding Story. It is also a wonderful work. And finally, as I mentioned earlier, “Gamba and His 15 Friends.
The NeverEnding Story Kenkaku Shobai
-So you read a lot of different books.
But these days, I can’t read books at all. I stopped reading after I became a working adult. I think it is usually the other way around.
-Do you ever read other novels to get inspiration for your own novels?
No. I’m rather depressed when I read them (laughs). (Laughs.) I try to keep as little information as possible, because it makes me hurt myself, wondering how this person could write such a great novel. But as long as I’m not influenced by it or it doesn’t stop me from writing, I want to read it. I’d like to read a lot of popular light novels, but I’m afraid I’d put a dent in it.
-What would you like to write about through “Overlord” in the future?
I would like to write about the dark joys of piling up building blocks and then breaking them (laughs). I also want to write a work with a villainous protagonist that I can recommend to those who are fed up with regular light novels and stories that proceed from the perspective of the protagonist on the good side!
-In the first volume, Momonga still has a human side or a kindness to him. I have my hopes up forward to seeing how Momonga will turn evil in the future.
I plan to gradually peel off his skin and make him more vicious (laughs). I hope readers will not run away from the story!
-Then, do you have a message for our readers?
This “Overlord” is a light novel in which the protagonist is rather evil, so I would like it to be read by people who are tired of good protagonists and want to read something different. I’m sure it will suit you.
-Thank you very much.
Thank you for watching, and I’ll see you soon.
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