NOVEL NEXT Chapter 301
Hello, I’m Marple, the author of ‘The Basement Nerd VTuber.’
300 episodes. In terms of word count, that’s ‘1,471,746 characters’…
If we roughly calculate that as a book, it’s a total of 12 volumes of ‘The Basement Nerd VTuber,’ which finally concluded on the evening of May 7, 2023.
Before diving into the main postscript,
There’s something truly amazing.
The completion date of my previous work, ‘I Possessed the Villainess’s Childhood Friend,’ was May 7, 2022.
And the completion date of my second work, ‘The Basement Nerd VTuber,’ is May 7, 2023…!
Exactly one year later, I’m here to greet you with a postscript.
It’s really a curious coincidence.
Anyway, just like the end of my previous work, I have a lot of mixed emotions about the conclusion today.
I’m happy, a bit sad, relieved…
Will I be able to finish it properly?
I think I must have asked myself this question dozens, if not hundreds, of times.
And from August 5, 2022, to May 7, 2023.
The journey I shared with Izumi for 276 days has now ended with this 300th episode.
On October 5, 2022. October 16, and October 17.
I did stay up past midnight a few times, but in reality, during those 276 days, there were only 3 days of hiatus…
Clearly, when I first started serialization, it was supposed to be an irregular release without a set schedule. So why did it turn out this way?
Anyway, I’m truly glad that I could finish it properly until the end.
And that’s undoubtedly thanks to the readers who loved the work and Izumi until the very last moment.
Thank you so much.
Now, before we jump into the main story…!
I know that authors should only talk through their works, but still, feeling a bit anxious, I’ll write a few more things.
I finished it properly, so please bear with me…!
The Basement Nerd VTuber is a story about Kayanoh Mina, a socially awkward nerd girl with communication impairment, who grows as she challenges herself to become a VTuber.
And while preparing for the piece, I set two main themes.
The first is that no matter how many memories of her previous life she has, ultimately, she recognizes that she is not the 25-year-old man from Korea named Han Seo-jun but an ordinary girl from Japan named Kayanoh Mina.
The second is a story about Mina moving forward to find her dream after watching Natsune, the person she admires.
The first realization comes when Mina has her awakening during Izumi’s birthday live stream.
Despite having memories of her previous life, her mental age is not in her 40s, and she’s ultimately Kayanoh Mina, who turns 18 this time, not the 25-year-old Han Seo-jun.
I personally think I expressed this part very well, and I’m quite satisfied with it.
And if I could mention one thing with the help of this postscript…
Since that episode, Mina has never referred to herself as having a mental age in her 40s, or ever claimed to be a man or male.
To be exact, she did say she has a manly character… at least once.
And the second is that Mina graduates from Star’s Flow to find her dream, then experiences various things over 3 years, realizing that she wanted to be with the Star’s Flow members.
I’m quite disappointed about this part.
What she likes, wants to do, and can do.
All three are different… Mina often believed she wouldn’t take VTubing as a serious goal.
But due to my inadequacy, that fact didn’t transmit well to the readers, and many felt it was a sudden leap, which I find truly regretful.
I’m not trying to blame the readers!
If the depiction in the work didn’t convey it well, then that’s my fault as the author.
I’ve really come to realize how lacking I am.
So, while writing the graduation episode, I had a lot of thoughts.
If I were to write everything I wanted to express and end it in a rush, it might have been easier…
But from the start, the conclusion of ‘The Basement Nerd VTuber’ was set to be ‘Izumi graduates to find her dream, then returns for a live performance at the end.’
So, it was even more disappointing.
If only I had controlled the tempo better! I often scolded myself like that.
Still, I think the ending turned out well, so I’m truly relieved.
However, if I could give just one excuse…
Honestly, I think the length of the story was the biggest problem.
Now that I think about it, ‘The Basement Nerd VTuber’ was originally planned to conclude between 150 to 200 episodes.
But for some reasons, it stretched to 300 episodes…
In other words, it nearly doubled the initially expected length.
While my previous work had its length reduced by about half, ‘The Basement Nerd’ doubled up.
Such a foolish author, right?
When I said to myself, “Why did you have to write so much?” at episode 250, I was dead serious.
Anyway, since the length grew like this, the foreshadowings we set up before slowly faded over time…
Thus, merging with the light-hearted atmosphere of the web novel format, the content turned out to feel like a sudden leap.
I’m sorry; in the end, it’s my shortcoming as the author, but that was quite a long excuse.
Still, one last excuse…
Our third-year student, Atlas, was a major plot point.
Aoba made a noteworthy statement in episode 210.
Sakuya and Izumi are shining people, she said.
But to Izumi, that wasn’t the case, and though she was unaware of her feelings during the Star Fest, she comments on it.
Yet for some reason, she couldn’t muster a smile.
Even in such a bright atmosphere, she couldn’t bring it up.
(Skip) like Kaguya Aoba.
To Izumi, Aoba, who seemed to shine, was also one of her objects of admiration.
Yep… my excuse got long again. I’m so sorry.
But who cares if the length increased? Shouldn’t the author have adjusted the tempo accordingly?
You might think that way.
But truly… it was unavoidable for me to extend the length.
Not because of any other problems… related to illustrations and artwork…
As mentioned above, the conclusion of ‘The Basement Nerd VTuber’ was decided upon Izumi making her re-debut.
And I was preparing the end illustrations, but things took a turn.
Out of the three illustrations I intended to prepare, two got delayed and postponed…
And in the end, I was unable to secure an illustration for the conclusion…!
What do I do, what do I do! I kept worrying alone until I heard the PD’s reply that I could use the 1 million views commemorative cover as an illustration, so I requested it to feature Izumi returning to perform live.
Thus, at the end of February, I applied for the 1 million views cover support, and this cover arrived on April 19.
April 19… already piling up with delayed updates, now it’s episode 276!
Without anticipating the illustration schedule would get tangled, I had already dropped all the foreshadowings I could throw out as an author!
…Alright. Since I’ve already thrown out the foreshadowing, let’s proceed with the last episode!
And if that’s the case, let’s just try to go until episode 300!
That’s how ‘The Basement Nerd’ wrapped up with 300 episodes…!
What’s this? Harvesting my own fruit? But are you making excuses again? Plus, it’s a lengthy excuse…?
… Yes! I got nothing to say! I’m truly sorry!
Anyway, that’s all I’ll say about the conclusion and themes…
Moving on to another story.
Actually, ‘The Basement Nerd VTuber’ wasn’t just a growing story of a socially awkward nerdy girl named Mina.
Originally, Natsune was the protagonist.
And the VTuber style back then wasn’t live-streaming; it was an early video upload format.
However, after much reflection and consideration, I eventually decided on Mina as the protagonist, thus transitioning to the live VTuber style.
And for the question of why there weren’t any yuri tags until the end, despite many episodes giving off that vibe,
I believe many readers might have that question.
The answer is simple.
When I was laying out the setting for ‘The Basement Nerd VTuber’ and when I initially planned the story, it wasn’t solely a coming-of-age genre.
To bring up a conversation with a friend who assisted with ‘The Basement Nerd,’
There was a character who, though vulnerable when attacked due to being a complete loner, would show a male persona when the atmosphere was casual, acting without awareness, then get scared and run away when it felt like he would be targeted. He kept repeating this, thinking, “It’s okay because we’re just friends~.” This led the surrounding members to be enchanted by Izumi, but upon that, Mina, the socially awkward nerdy girl, would immediately flee, causing catfights among the others…
Yeah. That’s how it is.
Originally, ‘The Basement Nerd VTuber’ was supposed to be a coming-of-age story plus Izumi’s unawareness of her yuri harem…!
But I opted to remove a large portion of the yuri harem aspect.
I thought if I incorporated it too much, I wouldn’t be able to conclude it properly…
And hence, the yuri tag disappeared.
However, due to the influence of the initial plans, there remained many yuri-oriented episodes.
And personally, I have some regrets about certain settings that I planned to include but ended up cutting.
The first is Mina’s previous life.
Han Seo-jun’s childhood friend Ha Yeon was supposed to appear one more time.
Mina will return to Korea and, by chance? meet Ha Yeon, realizing she is not the 25-year-old Han Seo-jun but a Japanese high school girl named Kayanoh Mina.
Yet as I organized the storyline, it felt immensely contrived, so I boldly deleted Ha Yeon’s portion, leading to the current narrative.
I mentioned this in the author’s note at the time, but personally, I feel much happier with how it turned out now!
And the second could be about Mina’s school life?
During the graduation ceremony, the principal, who briefly showed up, was originally set to be a supporting character that appeared quite often, and the homeroom teacher, Kaname, was supposed to play a leading role in school life, appearing even more than Miyauchi, Tateyama, and Onodera, but I reduced the length.
Had I used all of that, perhaps we could have gone to episode 400…
Lastly, it relates to Mina’s character…
I’ve mentioned that Mina is a born socially awkward nerdy girl with communication impairment several times, but there was an initial setting concerning that.
Originally, Mina had discovered her previous life’s memories at the age of 5.
However, upon regaining her memories and becoming mature, she became an incomprehensible figure to younger children, ultimately leading to amnesia due to the aftermath of bullying.
That led to issues with her personality, becoming the pro-socially awkward nerdy girl…
And various episodes connected to rediscovering those memories were preparing too…
Honestly, I felt extremely sorry for Mina.
I mean, her father, Yuzuru, died of pancreatic cancer on her 7th birthday, and now having her memory loss due to the aftermath of bullying at age 5?
That’s just too much despair for her…
So, I deleted that setting.
Besides that, I’ve cut several minor settings, but I think those are the main significant settings that were dropped.
Now, here’s the Q&A!
The previous Q&A can be checked in the notice!
Q1 – Is it really over?
A1 – Unfortunately, it’s really over…
Q2 – Any plans for the next project?
A2 – I will write about it later.
Q3 – Among the Star’s Flow members, is there anyone who sees Izumi in that way? (Yes/No)
A3 – Yes.
Q4 – What would Izumi have done if she hadn’t become a VTuber after graduation?
A4 – She’d have lived as an NEET until 25 and then joined the management team of Star’s Flow.
Q5 – Is the yuri relationship after TS normal or yuri?
A5 – Both.
Q6 – Probability of If spin-off where Izumi is in trouble?
A6 – Absolutely none.
Q7 – Do you plan to show illustrations of all characters?
A7 – I, I’m sorry… my wallet…
Q8 – Has Izumi’s awkward personality and communication impairment improved?
A8 – As a born loner, her life probably won’t change much. The communication impairment has improved greatly, but the innate nature still prevents complete recovery.
Q9 – Do the members like Izumi as a potential partner?
A9 – As mentioned above, there are members who like Izumi as that kind of partner.
Q10 – Is Izumi’s house spacious?
A10 – Quite spacious.
Q11 – Is Izumi wealthy?
A11 – Quite wealthy. However, Mina and Yuki’s personalities limit their spending, so they barely feel it.
Q12 – What happens to Ha Yeon, the childhood friend in Korea?
A12 – Ha Yeon truly loved Seo-jun, so she never marries. However, she ends up living with a girl Ha Jun saved before he died, becoming closer like siblings, and devotes herself to taking care of children in an orphanage until the end.
Q13 – Do the Star’s Flow members know about Izumi’s father passing away? And if so, when?
A13 – In the setting at the end, most except second-year students, Natsune, and Hikari know about it.
Q14 – Why did you name Izumi’s mom and sister similarly?
A14 – I wanted to hint that they are really close like real sisters.
Q15 – Can Izumi play any instruments?
A15 – She can skillfully play castanets and harmonica.
Q15 – Can Izumi cook?
A15 – Living alone, she’s quite good at it. But usually, she sticks to noodles…
Q17 – Is Izumi good at sports?
A17 – Based on talent alone, she’s below average.
Q18 – How about Izumi’s yuri power?
A18 – Off the charts…!
Q19 – How do you come up with names for characters?
A19 – It varies by character.
For instance, Izumi Kainoh contains kanji that means “sea” (海) and “spring” (泉), relevant to her as the Water Avatar. Yukari Akabane has “red” (紅) as she believes she’s the ‘red witch.’ Natsune Nanase has “sound” (音) and “star” (星), in line with her being a singer who loves music.
Kurokami Hikari is a pun. She has “black” (黒) in her surname aligning with the ‘villainess’ setting, but her first name means “light” (光).
So usually, it matches the VTuber’s setting + sometimes adds puns.
In other cases, like Suzuha Koga and Ayaka Utsumi, they were chosen just because I thought the names were pretty.
And sometimes, I stick to their VTuber persona when naming them or just choose pretty names, and there are also cases of puns.
The surnames for Kayanoh Mina and Kainoh Izumi were deliberately made similar for consistency.
Kayanoh Mina and Yeon Minah share phonetic similarities in their names.
Kurokami Hikari is a pun; her VTuber name is Kurokami (黒神) while her real name is Shirazaki Shiro (白崎 白)…
That’s how it goes.
Q20 – What motivated you to start writing?
A20 – I began watching VTubers to relieve stress while serializing my previous work, and I found inspiration from VTuber novels.
Q21 – How well do you know Hololive members?
A21 – I certainly know all the JP/EN members, and I know almost all the ID members. Iroha, Munna, Lisa, Ollie, Reine, Anya, Kobo, Zeta, Kaela… Oh wow, I know them all.
Q22 – Songs you listen to when writing?
A22 – I often play songs on repeat from my playlist or just keep listening to certain songs.
Some of the continuous listens include:
Hoshimachi Suisei’s Starry Jet / Hoshimachi Suisei & AZKI’s The Last Frontier / Official HIGE DANDISM’s Yesterday / Official HIGE DANDISM’s Destiny / Comet (Hoshimachi Suisei)’s Suichan’s Maintenance Song / Shirakami Fubuki’s Hi Fine FOX!! / Shirakami Fubuki’s KONKON Beats / [Alexandros]’s Flash / Jyukai’s The Forest Where You Were / AZKI’s Life / Bonds Band’s If I Can Become a Star…
Honestly, I listen to a lot of Korean songs too, but I feel like readers hope to hear about these sorts of songs, so I’ll stick to mentioning these.
Q23 – Good midnight snacks?
A23 – I don’t usually eat anything at dawn. If I snack, it’s probably just cereal?
Q24 – Did you want to quit writing when there were major VTuber events?
A24 – I’ve never felt that way!
Q25 – If Izumi became a serious pro gamer?
A25 – Based on her looks, she’d attract many male fans, and with her skills, she would gain female fans.
Q26 – Has Izumi stopped stuttering?
A26 – It’s a disappointing tale, but she still stutters a bit.
If you have any additional questions, feel free to leave them in the comments!
I will respond after the epilogue and side stories are concluded!
Lastly, regarding my upcoming project…
I already have my next project prepared, but it seems publication will depend on the circumstances.
If things go well, it’s set to begin at the end of May; if not, possibly in July or August.
So, how do you feel about dungeon stories?
I absolutely love them.
I really love them.
Hence, my next project is a dungeon story.
And there’s TS mixed in it.
At one point, I thought ‘The Basement Nerd VTuber’ would be my first and last TS work, but a great story suddenly struck me, leading me to plan out a TS dungeon narrative.
So, starting tomorrow, I should return with the epilogues and side stories… I’d love to jump right back in, but preparing for my next work and resting means daily serialization might not be possible.
I’ll likely be posting around 3-5 episodes a week, I suppose.
Though, saying that, it may turn out like ‘The Basement Nerd’ with daily postings…
That’s the mindset I have.
Now, the truly lacking author…
Was about to write that, but I heard some great advice from the author who serialized the webtoon ‘High School Dragon.’
She said to take pride in your work for the readers.
You might feel it odd for me to say I’m lacking and disappointed so much and then transition to mentioning this.
But still, let me conclude like this.
A masterpiece of the century…
A once-in-a-thousand-years TS VTuber masterpiece.
A timeless piece created by a genius.
Thank you for reading 『The Basement Nerd VTuber』.
And to be honest, I really enjoyed it even though I wrote it myself.
So, I’ll finally take my leave.
Thank you sincerely.
I wish you all health and happiness.
See you in the epilogues and side stories!
Marple
First Epilogue Preview…!
《Izumi’s Alcohol Broadcast…?》