───Roughly when did Seki-san (producer of “Ojamajo Doremi”) propose the idea of having the characters from “Ojamajo Doremi” appear as teenagers?
I think it was around the end of 2010. Since I had never written light novels before, I wondered if I could write them! But I have a strong attachment to Doremi. I worked on it for 5 years after all. So rather than having someone else write it, I felt “I’ll do it!” (laughs).
Considering the TV series lasted 5 years, with this “16” series it’s now been… Wow, over 10 years huh. It’s rare for a series to go on this long.
───The TV series ends with the graduation from elementary school, but why did you suddenly go to high school without depicting them as middle school students?
I felt that it would be a bit too raw if they were middle school students. I thought it would be better if they were a little more mature, so I went with high school students. At first I was worried whether I could write Doremi and the others as high school students, but once I started writing, to my surprise it flowed surprisingly smoothly (laughs). Doremi and the others start moving on their own in my head. That’s why it doesn’t feel like I’m writing, but rather that the writing is chasing after their actions and describing them.
───Which character was easiest to write?
Doremi, of course. She hasn’t changed at all (laughs).
During the TV series, I often handled the episodes of Doremi and Aiko, and in the novel, I was happy to be able to depict Hazuki, Onpu, and Momoko to my heart’s content. Especially, I feel like Hazuki has grown the most. She was originally a strong-willed girl, but she may have become a better character with the addition of softness.
───I heard you received advice from your daughters as well?
Even during the TV series, I would take inspiration from my daughters sometimes. The setting of Doremi’s love for steak, etc. The character of Pop was inspired by my younger daughter. She’s good at getting things done. There were times when I was rejected in the manuscript. Like Doremi’s kissing scene (laughs).
───Were there any other characters based directly on real people?
Ah yes, Yamaki-sensei. I based him on the memory of a teacher I was indebted to in high school. At first glance, he was a non-serious teacher. He smoked canned “Peace” cigarettes, his teeth were yellowish, and his class was mostly small talk (laughs). But he would touch on the key points, so if you just did the printouts he made, you were guaranteed a good grade. During the school festival in my second year of high school, I got into a fight with students from another school and was on the verge of being expelled for a violent incident. The other teachers didn’t help me, but this teacher defended me a lot, and thanks to him, I was able to graduate. I didn’t have any particular model for Tsukasa-san (laughs). But I figured that’s probably what an “onee” is like. And I really wanted to depict Tamaki more! I love that kid (laughs).
───This series has been a total of nine books over five years, but what were the difficulties?
Probably deadlines (laughs). With the TV series, I made it alongside the director, producer, and everyone else, but with novels you’re alone, which made that hard. Once I get the opening written smoothly, the rest is quick but…
It was also difficult to figure out how to depict scenes without Doremi, since the story basically progresses from Doremi’s perspective. On the flip side, that also made her easy to write since she is essentially me, so I know exactly what she’s thinking and how she’ll act.
───What did you think when you first saw Umakoshi-san’s illustrations?
“Ahhh!” I thought. Everyone had grown in their own ways, but fundamentally they hadn’t changed in a good sense. The novels were the same, so I thought, “I see!”
───The MAHO-do members split up after the elementary school graduation ceremony, but they reunited again. Did you pay attention to anything when drawing the growth of the characters?
The MAHO-do members are all too superstars, aren’t they (laughs)? So I wanted to make Doremi at least the same as the reader’s perspective. Normally, she might pass the university entrance exam smoothly and become a teacher in a flash, but the world is not so sweet (laughs). There may be readers who dislike that, but I wanted to value the reality that the Doremi series has.
───Did you have struggles yourself, Kuriyama-san?
More than struggling, setbacks (laughs). Originally after graduating from university I worked at a trading company in Nihonbashi. About a year and three months in I think? One day, I was on a packed train on the Chuo Line from Koenji Station. When the train stopped at Ochanomizu Station, I looked out the window at the Seibashi Bridge and saw a huge number of businessmen going to work. When I thought, “Ah, I’m just one of them,” I suddenly felt disgusted with everything (laughs). I immediately went to the platform in the opposite direction, jumped on an empty train, went home, wrote a resignation letter, and quit (laughs).
My parents were obviously angry. But I persuaded them, “Just wait three years! I’ll make it on my own!” Of course they didn’t support me financially, so while working part-time handing out towels, I studied to be a screenwriter. When I finally made it as a screenwriter and could quit my part-time job, the ladies I worked with gave me a really warm send-off. That made me happy. I told my parents it would take three years, but I managed to debut in a year and a half I think?
───Your profile says your debut work was “Space Carrier Blue Noah”, but…
At that time, my screenwriting mentor, Matsuoka Seiji-san, became the literary department manager of a company called Shin-Ei Animation, and he was the chief writer of “Doraemon” and another company’s “Blue Noah” program, so I was added as a member of the scriptwriter group. That was the start of my debut. I remember that the first thing that aired on TV was “Blue Noah”.
I was actually called in to work on “New Star of Giant II”, which Matsuoka-san was also the chief writer of, and that was supposed to be my debut work. I was preparing the script for Episode 28 when it suddenly got cancelled right before Episode 26 aired (laughs). The world isn’t so sweet.
───Let’s go back to the topic of Doremi, is there anything that left an impression on you during the five years?
Definitely the Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11, 2011, when I was writing Volume 1. It was a huge impact for me. I thought, if only Doremi and the others could use magic! Doremi and the others can’t use magic because they have graduated from being witch apprentices, but if Hana-chan tried to help with magic, Doremi would probably stop it because it would affect the human world, and they’d work really hard volunteering in reconstruction efforts, etc. But I figured it would be too painful for both readers and writers, so I didn’t go that route. That’s why in this story, it’s set before March 11.
───Do you remember details like the first voice recording session for the TV series?
I remember thinking, “Is it okay?” because at first, most of the cast wasn’t very experienced (laughs). But everyone shaped up nicely! I really felt that watching the CD drama recordings. Sometimes I would poke my head in at TV recording sessions, and I actually participated too. In the final episode, at Doremi’s graduation ceremony, the song “Watashi no Tsubasa” was played, and I was singing along with the staff (laughs).
───Thank you for today. If you have a message for the readers, please.
I’d also like to write something like “Doremi 26”, where Doremi and the others doing marriage hunting (laughs).
I think Doremi is the most familiar character to everyone. I think the readers now have also struggled with many difficult things and setbacks in the real world. At those times, please recall this work and think, “How did Doremi work hard and overcome that?” I’d be happy if it encouraged you. Thank you to the people of Waseda University who cooperated with the research, Matsuoka Yuki-san who supervised the Osaka dialect, Producer Seki who helped develop the plot from the start, and Umakoshi-san who illustrated beautifully every time. And thank you, thank you to Namie-san of Kodansha, who patiently waited for me every time I missed deadlines.
Finally, thank you so much to everyone who supported me over these five years.