Toaru Majutsu no Index no Subete/Dialogue:Kamachi Kazuma with Haimura Kiyotaka

This article records the translated dialogue between the original creator of the Toaru Majutsu no Index light novels, Kamachi Kazuma, and the illustrator of the Toaru Majutsu no Index light novels, Haimura Kiyotaka, found in Toaru Majutsu no Index no Subete.

Illustration and images from the franchise occasionally appear with tidbits of trivia as seen from the original book. Moreover, at the end of the dialogue are short profiles for both participants. The subsections that contain questions for Kamachi that originally appeared in conjunction with the images are moved into its own separate article.

Dialogue Proper
——To begin with, tell us what led to the creation of the first Index novel.

Kamachi: It began when I made a submission to the 9th Dengeki Game Novel Award. I ended up being dropped in the third round of selections, but I got a call from the editor a bit later asking me to write something.

Haimura: Why did you submit your manuscript to a Dengeki award? It may be a bit weird to ask that here though.

Kamachi: Because I read Dengeki the most.

Haimura: Was the manuscript you submitted something other than Index?

Kamachi: Something completely different.

Haimura: What led to Index’s creation?

Kamachi: For about a year, I spoke with my editor, wrote, spoke some more, wrote some more, and so on. I think it was when my editor said the novel was scheduled to be published that Haimura-san was contacted.

Haimura: Come to think of it, it was an email from the editor I got first.

Kamachi: So you accepted the job once you got the email?

Haimura: Yes. My work was at a bit of a standstill at the time.

Kamachi: Your work on games?

Haimura: Yes. You could say I was less at a standstill and more completely trapped. There was a huge gap between what I wanted to draw and what I had to draw. When I got the email requesting I work on Index, I had my misgivings but I also thought it might serve as an opportunity to break free of the situation I was in.

Kamachi: What was your overall impression when you first read the manuscript? ...I know that’s a weird thing for me to ask, but the editor is holding up a cue card.

Haimura: Well, I had completely stopped reading light novels once I entered college…I read them the most when I was in high school. My first impression was that they had changed quite a bit from back then. When I had read them, they were novels through and through, but Index seemed a lot more “kinetic”, I guess you would say. It seemed directly linked to media with more movement to them like anime and manga.

Kamachi: Media with more movement, hm?

Haimura: I discussed it with the editor a lot, but it felt similar to a shounen manga in a lot of ways.

Miki: Come to think of it, I remember receiving a lot of roughs soon after first giving you the manuscript. It was before I had even asked for anything.

Haimura: I think it was more that I was offering you some roughs.

Miki: But it was still a lot of them.

Haimura: That was because there were a lot of characters in the text. I think I drew pretty much every character from Volume 1. You even put Komoe-sensei on the table of contents. Still…I think that was only Index, Kamijou, Stiyl, Kanzaki, and Komoe-sensei.

Miki: You had more than one for each character, so it was still a lot!

Haimura: Kamachi-san, how did you feel about the illustrations for Volume 1?

Kamachi: It’s actually a good thing, but it did come to mind that the characters I envisioned, the characters the editor envisioned, and the characters Haimura-san would envision and draw would naturally all be different. But with each character I saw realized, I had something much more amazing than what I had envisioned. I think that is what it means to create something together.

Haimura: Were you ever disappointed in a character?

Kamachi: Never.

Haimura: Thank you very much. I’m the type of person that always sees himself as lacking and having a long way to go, so it’s good to hear that.

'——And in April of 2004, Volume 1 was released. What did that feel like?'

Kamachi: It was amazing to see something I had written for sale at the store. I had of course received a final copy to check over beforehand, but actually seeing it in the store was something else entirely.

Haimura: Were you afraid at all about having people judging your work?

Kamachi: I have that even now. Some things will always be frightening. But I also think it motivates you to push yourself.

Haimura: I see.

Kamachi: Haimura-san, was that the first time to have your illustrations for sale in the medium of a book?

Haimura: Yes. It was a very different feeling. I think that is because it was a much broader medium compared to what I had done before.

Kamachi: A much broader medium?

Haimura: A lot more copies were for sale…and the target audience was much, much greater. I mean, for a PC game, you need to buy a computer, the software itself is expensive, and the rating restricts it. Having all those restrictions removed made a huge difference.

Miki: And after it was released to the public, (to be blunt) it sold like crazy. Shortly after the official release date, we had to do a reprint half the size of the original printing. It was on a Monday. I still remember it now. It was quite an achievement for an unknown newcomer.

Kamachi: It went through 6 or 7 rewrites before it was published, so it was quite a relief to see that those revisions hadn’t taken it in the wrong direction.

Haimura: Did you see any repercussions from this?

Kamachi: I honestly don’t really know.

Miki: Nothing more than me calling him to tell him about it.

Haimura: When I met with my artist friends, they would often mention having Index. I think that was when it really hit home.

——And then Volume 2 came out shortly thereafter.

Haimura: Volume 1 ended on a nice conclusion, didn’t it? Were you worried about what you would do for Volume 2?

Kamachi: When Volume 1 came out, I just assumed it would go no further than that, so I was just really happy when I was told I could write another one.

Haimura: So it was less “What do I do now?” and more “Yes!”?

Kamachi: Exactly.

——To continue, there was a radio drama (Drama CD).

Kamachi: Giving the characters voices had quite an impact.

Haimura: In a way, it was just as I had imagined it.

Kamachi: Yes. I wrote the scenario myself, but when I heard the actor speaking the lines all I could think was, "Ah! It’s Kamijou Touma!"

Haimura: I loved it way more than I thought I would. Shirai Kuroko is definitely a must-hear. (Laugh)

——Now, please tell us about what will happen from now on.

Kamachi: Until now, the boy named Kamijou Touma has been able to deal with the problems on his own, but the problems are going to get bigger. He will no longer be able to handle them on his own. Specifically, Academy City and the Roman Catholic Church will clash.

Haimura: Is that the highlight of it?

Kamachi: Yes.

Haimura: Then I should probably start thinking about what designs to give God’s Right Seat. (Laugh)

Kamachi: Yes, you have only drawn one so far.

Haimura: Right now, I’ve only done Vento. She definitely has one of the most heretical designs of the Index characters so far, so I need to think about how to design characters to match her.

Kamachi: The next one to appear is... Terra I guess.

Haimura: Then I’ll think about him. (Laugh)

——Thank you very much.