Interview with Tanigawa Nagaru

This is a translation of an interview with Tanigawa Nagaru (the author of the Suzumiya Haruhi series) on Yahoo! Books in 2006.

You can read the original here (written in Japanese)

If you find any mistakes(Engrish, mistranslations, misspelling, grammatical errors...), please feel free to correct the mistakes.(beforehand discussing is recommended)

Tanigawa Nagaru

Profile

Living in Hyogo prefecture, Japan.

Debuted as a writer in 2003 with a grand prize of the 8th Kadokawa Sneakers Grand Prix.

The latest volume of Suzuhiya Haruhi series is currently Vol.8 "The Indignation of Suzumiya Haruhi".

"Gakkou wo Deyou!" series, "Boku no Sekai wo Mamoru Hito" series, "Dengeki!! Aegis5" series, "Zetuboukei Tojirareta Sekai" are also published from Dengeki Bunko.

Hobby is riding motorcycle, playing mah-jong.

The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi by Tanigawa Nagaru (Published in June, 2003)

"Normal humans don't interest me. If anyone here is an alien, a time traveler, slider, or an esper, then come find me! That is all."

--Suzumiya Haruhi ,the craziest girl in school, who made a blowed-away introduction on the first day of high school life.

The story describes fusses happen around the SOS-dan(Sekai wo Ooi ni moriagerutameno Suzumiya Haruhi no Dan), a brigade established by her.

The series, started with "The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi", sold over 2.8 million in total, expanding its fan base rapidly after made into anime.

Its populaity keeps growing. The story contains SF, misteries, cosplay, etc...

I interviewed Mr. Tanigawa Nagaru, the author, about this school-life story -- the story that blurs the definition of ordinariness and extraordinariness.

(Aug 16. 2006)

Interview

Q: First of all, how did you start to pursue an literary career?

Tanigawa Nagaru: I had wanted to write novels for many years, rather than to be a author. I think it's because some "I wanna write novels by myself" neural networks were gradually established in my brain while I read various kinds of novels in my childhood. I still don't know if I'm a writer or whatever.

Q: You actually became a writer and your works have gained popularity so much as becoming a social phenomenon. Your lifestyle has changed?

Nagaru: I don't know much about the phenomenon, but my lifestyle hasn't chage at all.For now, I'd like to repair my day-and-night reversed life.

Q: Why did you think to write light novels?

Nagaru: Since I don't have a fine understanding about the word "light novel", I don't know what I write is a light novel or not, but I think I write novels for myself of my middle and high school days. I'm not sure if that myself might think they are fun, however.

Q: On another interview, you said "Basically I feel like I'm writing a 'plastic' youth novel, in which characters are not honest to their own feelings." That was impressive for me. For you, Mr.Tanigawa, what is an "orthodox" youth novel like?

Nagaru: A boy meets a girl and they farewell. And the boy and the girl meet again....That's all that I can say to express my concept of the orthodox youth novel. In one sentence, it is like a story of a pair of boy and girl meets each other somewhere once again after they met and parted, I think.

Q: I think Suzumiya Haruhi series is basically "a boy meets a girl" story. (TL Note: it's not "a boy-meets-girl story". this series is no typical romance story.) But whay are not characteres in the series honest?

Nagaru: I'm not intended to describe them in that way. But while writing unconsciously, perhaps I (unconsciously again) think uncompliant characters make more conflictions and disagreements of their opinion and that makes the story easier to develop.

Q: When and how the typical uncompliant character, Suzumiya Haruhi, was born?

Nagaru: I can't remember at all. She had already exsisted in my head when I noticed. In a sleepless night at the beginning of the 21th century, the idea semmed to have came down from heaven into my head at the moment i rolled over in bed.

Q: Haruhi hates boredom the most of all and seek "extraordinariness" in school life. And the one who is always at her beck and call is the narrator of this story, Kyon. He is an oridinally boy with no particular feature, whose name is not even revealed. What do you think abou him?

Nagaru: Though I could give him a decent name, i thought it feels stupid and funny that he is called in that queer nickname from beginning to end. As to feature, I originally planned he would be an esper, but while writing the Prologue, I had subconsciously turned him into an common person. And you said he is an ordinary boy, but I think, in a sense, he is not an ordinary boy, such as his way of thinking.

Q: For example, what in his way of thinking is unusual?

Nagaru: In a sense he considers philosophically though he is a first-year student of high school. And while he quibbles and complains, his actions aren't consisitent with the mind. Perhaps he may be more uncompliant than Haruhi.--After all, he is an opposite person.

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