Kakeru Kobashiri is a well-known name to light novel fans who may know her as Grimoire Zero and The Dawn of the Witch author. Both works also received anime adaptations – Grimoire Zero aired in 2017, while The Dawn of the Witch is currently ongoing. Both stories are set in the same universe, with The Dawn of the Witch serving as a sequel. The author sat down with Mipon to discuss her work, anime and manga adaptations, and the requests she made to the staff – which included making characters’ thighs thicker,
Kobashiri talked about her beginnings as a video game journalist for a magazine because she wasn’t successful at becoming a publisher author during her schooling years. She states that she hoped this job would help her polish her writing skills. The author also spoke about her influences, citing The Lord of the Rings and The Saga of Darren Shan as works that defined her personality and style.
When it comes to her working routine, she says that every day is pretty much the same – she sleeps, plays games, and then works on The Dawn of the Witch (usually from midnight to 7 am). She also noted that The Dawn of the Witch manuscript was ready by the time Grimoire Zero ended and that her publisher immediately picked it up.
When it comes to writing characters, Kobashiri jokingly says she only chooses to write easy characters. As far as her involvement with the manga adaptation goes, she states that she mainly only checks the storyboards and that she was amazed by Tatsuwo’s art ever since she first saw her editor’s suggestion:
“The editing department asked me to look at Tatsuwo-sensei’s art and character designs, and asked me “Would you be OK with them?” and I thought, “What author in their right mind would refuse?!” I could only say yes.“
Kakeru Kobashiri is very involved with The Dawn of the Witch anime (studio Tezuka Productions is working on the adaptation). She jokes about asking the light novel illustrator Takashi Iwasaki, Tatsuwo, and the anime’s character designer (Reina Iwasaki) to make sure Holt’s thighs were properly shown, as she is quite gifted in the area.
Her next story will be a fresh start and feature new characters. In the meanwhile, she suggests watching The Dawn of the Witch even if you haven’t seen Grimoire Zero. “If you want to know more about the story and characters, go read or watch Grimoire of Zero... Then you’ll have all those “Ah-ha!” realizations. That’s the kind of experience that I’m going for with this series.“
The full interview can be found on Mipon’s website.
©Kakeru Kobashiri, Kodansha/Dawn of the Witch Production Committee
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