Genjitsushugi Yuusha no Oukoku Saikenki

Midword

Thank you for purchasing the thirteenth volume of The Great Kaiju Sea War: Ooyamizuchi vs. Mechadra... erm, I mean Realist Hero. This is Dojyomaru whose favorite Mothra song is the Cosmos version from VS Series.

This volume features the island carrier Hiryuus first deployment, and a fleet battle... or not, because we immediately shift to kaiju slaying. I think the tastes of the author, who has watched every Godzilla and Gamera movie, both Showa and Heisei, are on full display here. No, but seriously, out of all the volumes so far, this was the one I had the most fun putting together.

In writing this volume, I tried to evoke the feeling of the first film in a kaiju movie series. Because its the first one, the characters have no idea what attacks the enemy is going to use.

For instance, in Gamera, the Giant Monster, when Gamera flips over, the scientists say that a turtle cant get up off its back, but then it takes flight by spinning around, and theyre shocked. Thats why even though Souma and the gang could predict Ooyamizuchi couldnt spit fire, they were caught by surprise by it firing blasts of compressed air and pressurized water.

People also talk about the importance of building up to the kaijus appearance. First, you show just a part of its body, then the aftermath of destruction, and let the characters discuss their theories about the creature to stir up expectations about what kind of creature it is. Though, since the audience has seen the movie poster, or the trailers, they already know... (Except in cases like VS Mecha Godzilla, where the design changed between the poster and the film.)

I love how they wreck famous tourist destinations to show off the kaijus power without showing off its true form. In the case of this novel, that was the stone bridge. I put in a number of other elements reminiscent of kaiju movies, too. If youre a fan of them, maybe youll read it with a smile.

Now then, I give my thanks to the artist Fuyuyuki, to Mr. Satoshi Ueda of the manga adaptation, to my editor, to the designers, to the proofreaders, to the people involved with the anime version, and to all of you who now hold this book in your hands.

This has been Dojyomaru.