I Possessed the Villain’s Childhood Friend – Chapter 129

“Lessons without pain hold no value. Humans cannot gain anything without sacrifice.”

“However, when one surpasses that and makes it their own, they will possess a resilient heart that will not yield to anything.”

Fullmetal Alchemist

The above sentences are from my favorite lines in “Fullmetal Alchemist,” which marks the beginning of my subculture life.

Hello, I am Mapcle, the author of “I Reincarnated as the Antagonist’s Childhood Friend.”

Including the side stories, a total of 677,282 words—if we roughly calculate, that’s about 5.5 volumes—of “I Reincarnated as the Antagonist’s Childhood Friend” finally concluded on May 7, 2022, at dawn.

It’s truly a mixed bag of emotions this morning.

I feel joy, nostalgia, and relief.

I doubt I will ever forget this feeling of finishing my first work.

I’ve dreamed of being a writer since I was a child.

I simply loved reading books and had a vague desire to make a living by writing, a rather childish aspiration in the eyes of adults.

And while I haven’t completely achieved that dream yet, I’ve taken the first step toward it.

Last October, I decided to participate in a contest held by Nobelpia with this work.

From October 1, 2021, to May 7, 2022.

219 days. A period of 7 months and 6 days.

Well, excluding breaks, it was roughly 5 months of continuous posting.

It was both enjoyable and challenging.

To be honest, there were many times I thought about quitting.

Yet, I felt that if I let go of this work as an author, I’d never be able to finish any story for the rest of my life.

So, I stubbornly persevered, updating every day.

Thanks to that, apart from a two-month break after part one’s conclusion and a day’s break for my father’s birthday, I never missed a single update.

Though I was late often, I’m rather proud that I didn’t have to take an unexpected break even once.

And all of this was certainly thanks to the readers who loved this work until the very end.

Thank you so much.

I was, quite literally, an aspiring author.

I attempted various contests like game scenario competitions, fantasy novel contests, and light novel competitions.

While I made it to the final review in several, I had never won.

An aspiring author like me completing a web novel and having nearly 260,000 views by the time I’m writing this review? Last year at this time, I would have never imagined it.

Honestly, it’s a complicated feeling.

I’ve shared quite a lot about my personal journey as a writer.

Please indulge me, since it’s a first-work completion review.

The first is something special.

Now, let’s lightly dive into the topic of the work.

“I Reincarnated as the Antagonist’s Childhood Friend” was originally just a brainless pure love story.

Before Reina’s engagement to Leon, the protagonist reincarnates as Aike, and it was literally just a thoughtless pure romance filled with their cute moments together.

Avatarara?

Well, that’s something Sophia, Leon, Helen, and Atal would handle anyway.

It truly was a sugary pure love story born from that mindset.

To put it simply, it was a work filled only with content that appeared in the side stories.

However, during the planning stage, my thoughts changed.

As I mentioned in the author’s notes at the end of part one, I initially aimed to enter the publishing novel market as an aspiring author.

And the basic characteristic of published fantasy novels is that there’s often a lot of frustration. At least, that’s how I felt about the fantasy novels I read.

That included the Harry Potter series, Percy Jackson series, and the Darren Shan series.

Influenced deeply by those, I completely shifted my planning.

The line I wrote in the first review:

“Lessons without pain hold no value. Humans cannot gain anything without sacrifice.”

“However, when one surpasses that and makes it their own, they will possess a resilient heart that will not yield to anything.”

When I recalled these lines, I thought, “Rather than a thoughtless pure love story, wouldn’t a narrative where the protagonist tumbles and rolls to win love be more interesting and impactful?”

Thus, what emerged is the “I Reincarnated as the Antagonist’s Childhood Friend” we have today, filled with frustration from beginning to end.

…Honestly, I’ve never regretted this choice.

For real.

In other words, this work, set against a romantic fantasy backdrop, was primarily influenced by shonen manga and fantasy works—it’s a terrifying concoction!

That’s why I completely removed the romance tag that was there at the start.

Anyway, even with all the frustration, I truly appreciate all the readers who continued to read it until the end.

In fact, when the planning for “I Reincarnated as the Antagonist’s Childhood Friend” first changed, it was initially about double the current length.

It was supposed to exceed 1.3 million characters across 11 volumes.

To think I nearly serialized this work until October.

I wonder if that version of me is even still alive.

Cutting to the chase, the reason the volume was reduced from 11 to 5 is simple.

I cut out all the side stories.

As I reviewed the planning, I thought this part didn’t need to be in there, or that section felt frustrating, and I trimmed it down to what is now “I Reincarnated as the Antagonist’s Childhood Friend.”

You might be wondering how there could still be so much frustration despite cutting all that content.

But it’s true!

To drop a spoiler that isn’t exactly a spoiler, the original ending planned for the work had Reina and Leon breaking off their engagement only at the very end.

That’s what I condensed into the conclusion of part one.

Originally, Aike was destined to roll about for all 11 volumes before finally confessing to Reina at the end.

Well, that did lead to many problems.

That trimming process happened about when I had serialized up to chapter 20.

That’s when I realized just how many readers dropped off, coinciding with the most criticized Arcana entrance episode.

At that moment, I could clearly see the difference between web novels and published novels.

Honestly, if I had simply kept hammering out every plot point, it may have been resolved, but my writing speed just wasn’t fast enough to do that.

So I had to restructure the entire planning.

I had to push Anna’s episode, which needed a much slower build-up, way ahead.

In doing so, many comments reflected that Anna’s redemption scene and emotions were hard to understand.

I couldn’t help but agree with that.

I’m not saying it’s the readers’ fault!

I read all the comments but have a hard time saying I can readily incorporate readers’ opinions when writing.

That’s why the story was riddled with frustration until the very end.

…I’m sorry.

What matters most to me is whether or not I find this work enjoyable. That’s my top priority.

When I upload a piece, I have the habit of re-reading related episodes from the start, and the Arcana episode felt incredibly frustrating to me, prompting the rewrite.

Please know that I’m not trying to blame the readers!

I actually prefer how it turned out now!

Of course, I absolutely know this piece isn’t perfect and that there are many unsatisfactory points.

The love lines of Leon and Sophia, Charlotte’s story, Michelle and Andrew’s love line, the training sessions with Helen and Arvain, Atal’s struggles as a candidate for pope, and various episodes concerning Avatarara.

Since I cut out all those side stories.

For instance, the final battle with Rex was initially planned to be much longer.

I wanted to describe Rex’s strength more and depict Reina’s brilliance, which was the foundation allowing them to withstand against Rex.

In the original, it required Leon, Sophia, Helen, Atal, and 10 high-class knights to take down Rex. Due to Reina’s genius, they were able to hold him off, a crucial part I wished to emphasize.

But if I included all of that, the story would become significantly heavier, and I wondered if I could manage all that.

So apart from Aike and Reina’s story, I virtually discarded everything else.

Moreover, as it approached the conclusion, many parts might feel abruptly developed.

In fact, that was somewhat intentional.

Throughout, Aike never reaches the pinnacle of the story’s hierarchy.

When taking down Rex, he had Leon’s assistance, and while defeating Dait, it was thanks to his weakened state.

Without those circumstances, “I Reincarnated as the Antagonist’s Childhood Friend” would have certainly had a bad ending.

Additionally, in the side stories, he is referred to as the weakest captain in the central Knight Order’s history.

Considering all of this, I understand if readers feel uneasy.

Nevertheless, Aike defeated the so-called strongest, Rex, and overcame Dait.

While he never reached the very top, Aike’s efforts undeniably led to the victories.

His efforts saved Reina.

He may not have been the strongest, but he was called the best knight by those around him.

Because Aike was weak, cowardly, and often in tears, I wanted to convey that conclusion.

Well, in any case, I’m satisfied with how it ended up now!

That’s why I have no plans to remake it!

I believe that being this first work, while immature, is what makes it all the more beautiful!

I wanted to share that with you!

And regarding side stories.

19+ side stories.

Um.

I apologize.

That’s just beyond my capabilities.

Initially, I thought I might try writing a bit, but considering the last side story exceeded 10,000 characters, adding more 19+ content?

That truly was outside my capability.

“Isn’t it just about writing one more episode?” you might ask?

I’m sorry.

From the beginning, I set Aike Akses’s choice as the conclusion, and after writing that, it just didn’t seem right to continue “I Reincarnated as the Antagonist’s Childhood Friend.”

I certainly had a happy and sweet time, so I hope to be forgiven for that…

Lastly, I want to touch upon future works.

I have dreams of making a living as a writer.

So, I have many stories I want to tell.

For example, a man betrayed by someone learns to smile with the help of a strong girl—a story that really speaks to me.

Or a girl who sees the red thread of fate meets the boy destined for her.

Or the heir of a duke is executed and returns to the past to save the world.

Or the story of a guardian of the world and a frail homunculus.

Or the tale of a hero embarking on a journey alongside the Demon King.

I really have much I’d like to write.

Especially the strong girl story, which I hold most dear, I want to rewrite that for sure.

However, it’s quite impractical to write those stories immediately.

Those tales were all conceptualized when I was unaware of the reality of web novels, and they’re even more filled with angst than “I Reincarnated as the Antagonist’s Childhood Friend.”

I doubt I’ll serialize those anytime soon, probably in a distant future.

So what’s the follow-up work?

I plan to write about a hobby that emerged while preparing to serialize—a virtual YouTuber.

I began watching from the early days of Kizuna AI, but besides that, I had no interest in other virtual YouTubers.

Yet, while searching for a way to relieve stress from serialization, I stumbled into that realm.

I even read a popular work centered around virtual YouTubers on a Japanese web novel serialization site, and it was incredibly entertaining.

I felt inspired to write something like that.

A story about a loser reincarnating as a loser girl to become a virtual YouTuber.

Normally, when writing, I set everything from the planning sheets to the ending in advance, but this time I’ll do it without strict regulations and write it without much concern.

Will someone who writes stories filled with heavy angst like “I Reincarnated as the Antagonist’s Childhood Friend” really be able to write that?

You might wonder.

Honestly, the reason it took me two months instead of the intended one month after part one concluded was that I was busy writing about that!

Upon sharing the draft, it was lamentably met with a much better reception than “I Reincarnated as the Antagonist’s Childhood Friend.”

How cruel.

So, I’m tentatively planning to write a story about a loser reincarnating as a girl to become a virtual YouTuber!

I probably won’t start serializing until around June or July as I build up some materials.

That’s my thought!

Well then, the mediocre author will take their leave now.

I hope “I Reincarnated as the Antagonist’s Childhood Friend” left at least a tiny fragment of a memory in your hearts.

Thank you very much.

I sincerely wish you all good health and happiness always.

Sincerely,
Mapcle