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Special Talk with Katarina [Shangri-La Frontier] and Fujino Omori [Wistoria: Wand and Sword] – Part 2

Interviews #Fujino Omori #Katarina #Shangri-La Frontier

This article was originally published on October 14, 2020

Welcome back to part 2 of this special talk between Katarina and Fujino Omori! Let’s pick up where we left off.

How did you become a creator? First contact with web novels!

――What initially got you into writing light novels online?

Omori:
I’ve always read a lot, including manga, but when I started getting into web novels, such as Sword Art Online, the more interesting stories I read, the more I wanted to write them myself.
Long story short, it all began with posting what became Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? (DanMachi) on a light novel website. How about you, Katarina-sensei?

Katarina:
I was overseas for a while, and I started reading The Irregular at Magic High School during its serialization on Shousetsuka ni narou (online novel submission site). I was inspired by how intriguing it was, and decided I wanted to try writing something myself.
When I did try my hand at it, the “reincarnation” genre was just taking off on the site. Initially, I read a ton of high fantasy and low fantasy stories, but the stuff in the “VR” genre really caught my attention.
I loved the idea of the player being able to die over and over in a VR game scenario, and I ended up starting Shangri-La Frontier.

The protagonist with the most deaths in the history of Weekly Shonen Magazine?!

Omori:
Because I’m publishing my work on a light novel site, I’ve gotten a lot of advice from readers on how to space it out and so on. It was actually really helpful.
I was kind of writing it alongside the readers, if that makes sense.

Katarina:
While I was writing the series, one day I got a message from someone saying that they’d created a Wiki about Shangri-La Frontier.
I went to check it out, and it was super detailed… I was shocked!

Omori:
I think the fans of Shangri-La Frontier are super passionate. I’ve never heard of a Wiki being made before a book has even made it into print before [laughs].

From web novels to official publications, the turning point in your career.

――How did you feel when the print run of your story and the manga version were decided?

Katarina:
At first, when the topic came up, I thought “wait, does Weekly Shonen Magazine have a light novel division?”. I did not expect them to come in with the offer of a manga version [laughs].

Omori:
It is a pretty rare scenario.

Katarina:
Initially, it was going to be serialized on Magazine Pocket (K MANGA’s Japanese sibling), but one day I got a call from the editor in charge of the project and they informed me that it would be switching to Weekly Shonen Magazine…
It was just one surprise after the other… I couldn’t believe it was real [laughs]. What was it like for you, Omori-sensei?

Omori:
I was very happy when it was decided the story would be printed.
I was also a little uneasy though. It’s not exactly a line of work your parents can teach you about or that you can learn in school, so there’s no telling how well you’ll do. But, I trusted my editor and worked my ass off.
I’m very grateful that the series has been able to expand as much as it has, including getting its own merch, but… when I found out my family was using DanMachi phone cases, I was so embarrassed, I thought I would pass out.

Katarina:
One day, my parents randomly sent me a picture. I wondered what it could be, and when I checked, it was a picture of the cover of Weekly Shonen Magazine framed and displayed [laughs].

Omori:
It’s really nice of them to support you in that way.
Thought it can be embarrassing sometimes [laughs]. Speaking of changes to your lifestyle, I spend a lot more time in front of my computer than I did before. I mean, obviously, but a lot more of my time is focused on writing.

Katarina:
My story is being published as a manga, so I do spend time writing the plot for the roughs but I don’t really feel like I’ve suddenly become extra busy.
If we’re talking about changes I’ve noticed, since the manga began, I’ve gotten a lot more questions from readers about the setting on Twitter [laughs].

Omori:
It’s a wonderful thing to see the reaction from readers, isn’t it.

Katarina:
Sometimes, though, someone who’s way more knowledgeable about Shangri-La Frontier than me shows up and points out the inconsistencies, which really makes me break out in a cold sweat [laughs].
It is fun working while having those types of interactions, but what’s the most fun for you to think about while you’re working, Omori-sensei?

Omori:
When I’m thinking about the future of the story!
Like, what kinds of other media will DanMachi see in 3 years, or 5 years time, what kind of versions I think would be cool to see, etc. It’s definitely the most fun thinking about the future possibilities for the series. And then I forget about the looming deadline right in front of me…
Maybe it’s the escape from reality that’s the most fun [laughs]. What about you?

Katarina:
For me, it’s when I’m thinking about what kind of monsters or items to introduce.
It’s a lot of fun making the world of Shangri-La Frontier more complete. Posting stuff that will never actually be included in the main story has kind of become my life’s work. If I take it to the extreme, I’d almost rather spend my time writing detailed descriptions of random pebbles instead of working on the characters [laughs].

A huge amount of background lore has been created for the various monsters.

The future that they’re keeping their sights set on…

――And lastly, tell us about your plans for the future!

Omori:
I’m planning on tending carefully to DanMachi as I work on a new project.
Bessatsu Shonen Magazine will be publishing Wistoria: Wand and Sword starting in January 2021. I hope you enjoy it!
Also, I would love it if you used this as a reason to get into web-based light novels too. There are so many excellent stories out there, so I think there’s definitely something for you in this heaping treasure trove.

Katarina:
I’ve still got no plans of working on anything else right now, but if I come up with something good, I might include it in Shangri-La Frontier as a “trash game” [laughs].
I’m planning on finishing Shangri-La Frontier first, though. It’s because of the support from all the readers that we’ve been able to make it this far, so I hope you’ll see it through to the end with me!

――Thank you very much!

▼Read Shangri-la Frontier here!

▼Read Omori-sensei’s latest work Wistoria: Wand and Sword here!

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