A Dream of Shimmering Stars — Interview with Nasu Kinoko

[mewarmo990]

Public Google Docs link.

These interviews with Nasu and Takeuchi by a pair of literary critics were first published in Visual Novels Annual in 2011, prior to the release of Mahoyo and shortly before the Fate/Zero anime. They were edited and compiled in July 2012 on NETOKARU (now defunct) to celebrate TYPE-MOON's 10th Anniversary. In it, Kinoko discusses some of the creative process of visual novels, thoughts on the state of the otaku entertainment industry in 2011, and even some self-examination of forces that shaped his work, such as sexism and the Japanese economic bubble.

When I first read this interview years ago, it cemented my conviction as an avid reader that "yeah, I'm probably going to follow this writer for life." A couple years later, I translated about 80% of the article and forgot it existed for about 5 more years. Yesterday, I dug it up, did an editing pass to fix a bunch of errors, and finished the rest. You may have seen snippets of it posted here and there by other users too.

I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did. Do let me know if you spot any typos.

Link to source is at the bottom of the doc.

[Dullahan]

Interesting and prescient, those comments on 'individualism'. Thank you for translating.

[Leftovers]

Thank you, it's good to have an alternative to Tobias' translation :^)

[mewarmo990]

Thank you, it's good to have an alternative to Tobias' translation :^)

I wonder how it would turn out if you ran it through DeepL today. The output has been pretty impressive from what I've tried.

[TwilightsCall]

That was a really good read. I didn't really want to read the whole thing at 4 AM, but I guess here we are. Thanks for putting this up!

Only typo I saw:
p22 - "The greatest change in contempt consumption..."

[Serrak]

Is "Stars" a Nasu buzzword? Just wondering, because he also used it at the end of Mahoyo as parting words while teasing for a potential sequel.

[Kamera]

I want to ask myself and my audience, in the future of the otaku industry, are we going to see a world where strories are crowdsourced with increasing speed and breadth, or will people gravitate towdrs cultural symbols?

...

Right now, social-network games are gaining momentum. Once they become inexpensive and only the ones with enough variety can succeed, Nasu Kinoko will be but an obstacle to the industry. Because I'm too deep.

blackpill

[pinetree]

That was a very interesting read, thanks for the translation.

[SpoonyViking]

Oh, hey, mewarmo is still around! Thanks for the translation!
Do you want to restrict access to this interview only to BL, or can I divulge it somewhere else?

[mewarmo990]

Oh, hey, mewarmo is still around! Thanks for the translation!
Do you want to restrict access to this interview only to BL, or can I divulge it somewhere else?

The doc is viewable by anyone who has the link.

Nasu Kinoko will be but an obstacle to the industry. Because I'm too deep.

I should note that there are a number of ways that Kinoko referring to himself as 味が濃すぎる [lit. too deep/rich in flavor] could be interpreted, but I stuck with the context in which it was already used elsewhere; generally, contrasting the trend of complex, visceral fiction in the 1990s to the move towards lighter and more casual content of the mid 2000s and onward.

[SpoonyViking]

Cool, thanks!

[mewarmo990]

Only typo I saw:
p22 - "The greatest change in contempt consumption..."

Fixed, thanks.

[LJ3]

Thanks mew!

[aldeayeah]

To the next 10 years!

[mewarmo990]

To the next 10 years!

Look forward to a 15th anniversary interview to commemorate TM's 20th anniversary!

[JusticeAmongSwords]

It's great to see how content creators actually discuss otaku stuff, like Madoka and Touhou, makes me change my opinion on the industry in general, kinda.