The second season of the TV anime adaptation of the manga "Wisteria of the Wand and Sword," based on the original work by Fujino Omori, known for the popular light novel "Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon (DanMachi)," will begin airing on April 12th. The series, illustrated by Sei Aoi, has been serialized in Bessatsu Shonen Magazine (Kodansha) since December 2020. It depicts the battles of Will, a boy who challenges a world where magic is supreme, with a single sword. Aoi was a newcomer with no serialization experience, but Omori was so adamant that "she was the only one who could do it," leading to the birth of a powerful collaboration. Ahead of the broadcast of season 2, we spoke to Omori and Aoi about the behind-the-scenes story of the series' creation and their involvement in the anime.
◇Tackling geniuses through repeated failures
-How did this powerful team of Omori and Aoi come about?
From the beginning, Omori-san had a clear goal of "drawing a boys' manga," and his editor was a very enthusiastic person who approached me and Aoi-sensei. However, there were many twists and turns before it became a reality. If the editor had been transferred to another department, or if the timing had been off in even one way, I don't think it would have turned out this way.
Aoi: From my perspective, Omori-sensei was picked up by the person in charge at the magazine's editorial department, and brought over (laughs). After that, when they were looking for an illustrator, I happened to go to the editorial department with my idea, and they suggested, "I have this story," and that's how it all began.
- Had you been drawing manga and bringing them in before then?
Aoi: No, actually, at that point I had only drawn about 30 pages of manga. So, with all these big names flocking to a newbie like me, I initially thought, "Am I being tricked?" (laughs).
Omori-san and Aoi-sensei are humble, but looking at "Wisteria" now, it's proven that we weren't mistaken (laughs)! The quality is so high you wouldn't believe it's a newcomer's first serialization. With the feeling that "I can't let it slip away," I kept telling my editor that I really wanted to ask Aoi-sensei to take on the role.
-What led you to choose Will, a boy who can't use magic at all, as the main character?
At the planning stage, Omori-san had ideas leaning more towards dark fantasy. But, if we were going to compete in a boys' magazine, we decided to go with the "mainstream" approach. It may be considered cliche, but the vision of "a boy with a sword who can't hold a wand" came to mind first. With the Terminaria Festival and the graduation ceremony in mind, we worked backwards to reach our goal, and Will was born.
--The fact that the main character is a minority is also one of the appeals of the work.
Omori: In today's world, when you watch video streaming, you immediately see people who are overflowing with talent. I think there must be a moment when everyone sees that and feels frustrated, thinking, "I don't have any talent." There are some overlaps with my own life as a writer, but what do you do when you admit, "I'm not a genius?" You accumulate failures and then challenge geniuses. That sort of "weed mentality" is reflected in Will.
Aoi-san, Omori-sensei's stories are just so much fun to read. I was originally a fan of "DanMachi," so I'm happy to be the second person in the world to read his latest work, but every day I'm reminded that "this guy is on a whole other level." He has an incredible talent for entertaining people.
◇The trust between the two
-Do you write your original works in text form?
Omori: I can't draw, so I give him the text. But I don't write in a script style that's just a series of stage directions; I try to write something somewhere between a novel and an anime script. When I go off on a tangent in the narrative, Aoi-sensei perfectly picks up on it and translates it into Will's facial expressions.
Aoi-san: When I read Omori-sensei's manuscripts, I often find that when I think, "I want to draw it like this," the next line is written as an instruction, "Please draw it like this." I get the feeling that we're looking at the same thing, and there's a strong link between us. It might be unrequited love, though (laughs).
Omori-san: No, no, it's mutual (laughs). Aoi-sensei is someone who can "read between the lines," so I leave a lot of things to him. We have a relationship of trust. Ever since Aoi-sensei said, "I want you to write more like 'DanMachi,'" the stage directions have become more like the novel. As I mentioned earlier, there are times when the stage directions and narration go off-topic, but those digressions lead to Will's facial expressions, so I've been able to write without hesitation.
Aoi: When I first read the original "DanMachi" manga, an image played in my head, and I'm trying my best to portray it in that same style. Omori-sensei's original work is truly wonderful, and although I don't know if it's a calculated part, I think he's overflowing with "the talent to entertain people."
Mr. Omori is being praised to death (laughs).
--The quality of the animation was also a hot topic.
Omori- san and Aoi-sensei's drawing skills are incredible, so I thought it would be tough for the anime staff (laughs). But the staff were also really wonderful, and I think the original work and the anime have become a great relationship where they stimulate each other.
Aoi: I've always loved anime and have been greatly influenced by it. I'm an otaku who enjoys checking out the animators' drawings, so I also liked Director Yoshihara (Tatsuya). I'm overwhelmed with emotion that such an amazing person is working on this. I was aiming to create a manga where you can hear sounds and see movement even though the pictures are still, so it felt like I was going back to my roots.
◇The last-minute rush to make a deadline
-How are you involved in season 2 of the TV anime?
Omori-san is more deeply involved in this series than he was in the previous one. He continues to attend script meetings, and the amount of original scenes he writes for the anime has increased. Because of the trust he built in Season 1, he's not holding back and is packing in the things he wants to do.
Aoi-san: In Season 2, I also took on a new challenge, drawing the opening storyboard for the first episode and some of the key animation. However, I didn't contribute at all. Omori-sensei writes an incredible amount, so I wonder if there are actually two of them? (laughs)
Omori-san, I'm nothing special. There are much more amazing people out there, and compared to manga artists and animators, I really haven't done anything special... I feel so sorry.
Aoi-san, that's not true!
Omori: I'm just happy because I'm having fun. Of course, there are tough deadlines... and it's hard too. When the deadline is almost up, my brain juices start to flow. It's not a good thing, but I tend to come up with better work right before the deadline.
Aoi-san, you have the strength to act in an emergency.
Omori-san, you shouldn't rely on that though (laughs).
--What would you like us to pay attention to in Season 2?
Omori-san, is it all there? When the director greeted the cast, he said, "Season 2 is the climax from the beginning," and I think that's everything. The Terminalia arc is being made with the intention of it being like a movie. We've been heading towards this point since the first volume. What happens next... please look forward to it! (Anima Mitsuru/MANTANWEB)
