u/AnimeAnyway

It has been half a year. This is Kinugasa.

I have continued writing while taking care of my health, and thankfully I am on the road to recovery. I’m finally able to set aside a solid amount of time for work again.

Now then, let me talk a little about the main story.

In the previous two school-year arcs, Volume 4 marked the end of the first semester, and Volume 5 took us into the next stage. That had become something of a tradition. This time, however, in the Third-Year Arc, Volume 5 will begin while everyone is still aboard the ship on the return journey. I expect the story will involve the first- and second-year students as well. The next volume is currently planned for an October release. I’ll do my best!

As a bit of behind-the-scenes trivia, deciding which characters would grace the cover of each volume was actually a source of constant agony for me until about midway through the Year 2 arc. Sometimes, the slate would remain completely blank until the absolute last minute. But for this Year 3 arc, the cover characters have actually been mapped out far in advance.

A few volumes from now, some rather unexpected characters are scheduled to appear on the covers. When that moment comes and you find yourself thinking, “Oh?”, please remember what I mentioned here.

Also, the anime is currently airing, so please be sure to check it out. Watching it has become a massive driving force for my own writing, and I eagerly look forward to the new episode every single week.

And this time, although it has nothing to do with Yōjitsu, I have one rare announcement.

Moving on, I have a rather rare announcement to make today, one completely unrelated to Classroom of the Elite.

A brand-new work of mine is set to be released this September!

Once again, I’ll be teaming up with Tomose-san. I treated him properly at an izakaya the other day, so I’m sure he’ll put in the effort and give us some wonderful illustrations for this project as well.

Now, to those of you reading this and thinking, "Wait a second, didn't you just say you were in poor health?"

Well, you would be correct. The truth is, I’ve been quietly chipping away at this new project, little by little, for a very long time. Had things gone according to plan, we would have announced and published it ages ago. Unfortunately, my ongoing health issues dragged the process down, which is why it has taken this long to finally see the light of day.

(If you read carefully through my past afterwords, you might even spot a few hints I dropped along the way!)

This new series is a project that holds a very deep, almost fated personal significance for me. I’m hoping to delve into the circumstances surrounding that history at another time, in another place.

I humbly ask for your continued support.

Well then, let's meet again before the year is over. In the meantime, everyone, please take good care of your health!

It has been half a year. This is Kinugasa.

I have continued writing while taking care of my health, and thankfully I am on the road to recovery. I’m finally able to set aside a solid amount of time for work again.

Now then, let me talk a little about the main story.

In the previous two school-year arcs, Volume 4 marked the end of the first semester, and Volume 5 took us into the next stage. That had become something of a tradition. This time, however, in the Third-Year Arc, Volume 5 will begin while everyone is still aboard the ship on the return journey. I expect the story will involve the first- and second-year students as well. The next volume is currently planned for an October release. I’ll do my best!

As a bit of behind-the-scenes trivia, deciding which characters would grace the cover of each volume was actually a source of constant agony for me until about midway through the Year 2 arc. Sometimes, the slate would remain completely blank until the absolute last minute. But for this Year 3 arc, the cover characters have actually been mapped out far in advance.

A few volumes from now, some rather unexpected characters are scheduled to appear on the covers. When that moment comes and you find yourself thinking, “Oh?”, please remember what I mentioned here.

Also, the anime is currently airing, so please be sure to check it out. Watching it has become a massive driving force for my own writing, and I eagerly look forward to the new episode every single week.

And this time, although it has nothing to do with Yōjitsu, I have one rare announcement.

Moving on, I have a rather rare announcement to make today, one completely unrelated to Classroom of the Elite.

A brand-new work of mine is set to be released this September!

Once again, I’ll be teaming up with Tomose-san. I treated him properly at an izakaya the other day, so I’m sure he’ll put in the effort and give us some wonderful illustrations for this project as well.

Now, to those of you reading this and thinking, "Wait a second, didn't you just say you were in poor health?"

Well, you would be correct. The truth is, I’ve been quietly chipping away at this new project, little by little, for a very long time. Had things gone according to plan, we would have announced and published it ages ago. Unfortunately, my ongoing health issues dragged the process down, which is why it has taken this long to finally see the light of day.

(If you read carefully through my past afterwords, you might even spot a few hints I dropped along the way!)

This new series is a project that holds a very deep, almost fated personal significance for me. I’m hoping to delve into the circumstances surrounding that history at another time, in another place.

I humbly ask for your continued support.

Well then, let's meet again before the year is over. In the meantime, everyone, please take good care of your health!

Enjoy your read!