Maegaki (Preface [Illustrator's Note])
Hajimemashite kon'nichiwa. Nekomeishi-desu. Kono 'yorinuki vin-san' o te ni totte itadaki, makoto arigatougozaimasu. Hitorihitori moro tede to o nigitta ageku, dakishimete orei o itte mawaritai nodesu ga, sakkon no konpuraiansu teki ni muzukashii node watashi no kokoro no uchi dake todomete okimasu...!
(Hello, nice to meet you. I'm Nekomeishi. Thank you so much for picking up this volume, "Selected Works: Vin-san". I would love to go around and personally shake each and every one of your hands with both of mine, and then give you a big hug to express my gratitude. However, given the compliance standards of today's world, I'll have to keep that gesture strictly within the confines of my own heart...!)
Watashi wa genzai, FFVII no vinsento mein de nijisousaku - doujinkatsudou okonatte ori, emo bunshou mo kaiteru chuutohanpana monodesu ga, kono hon wa subete irasuto - manga de kousei sarete orimasu.
(I am currently active in the FFVII fan community, focusing on Vincent; while I dabble in both art and writing without fully committing to either, this book consists entirely of illustrations and manga.)
Sono mukashi wa e shika kaite nakatta nodesu ga, maji de karuku seijinshiki ga deki souna hodo nijisousaku kara hanarete ita tame, imasara e nante kaken wa! To omotte bunshou o kaki hajimemashita.
I used to focus solely on drawing, but I had stepped away from creating fan art for so long into my adulthood that I felt I couldn't draw anymore! That's what led me to start writing instead.
Demo kekkyoku koushite futatabi e o kaku dokoro ka honmade dashite shimai, warenagara kanari odoroite orimasu. Soremo kore mo FFVII rimeiku purojekuto no okage... to iu ka, kanzen ni riba‐su de kuruimashita. Vinsento varentain ga katsute jinsei o kuruwaseta otoko no hitori (souheki no hen'yoku) nano desu. Riba‐su de no chouko kaizoudo no saikai ni dai kuudou made buttobimashita.
But here I am, not only drawing again, but I've published a book, which surprises even me. I owe it all to the FFVII Remake project... or rather, Rebirth completely drove me wild. Vincent Valentine was one of the men who turned my life upside down ([lit.] one wing of the peerless duo/ [as to say: he and Sephiroth form and unrivaled duo]). Seeing him again in stunning high-resolution in Rebirth blew me away to the Great Cavern. (To be cute– the translator also said Northern Cave)
Kanzen ni shinda me no otona ni natteta ore wa otaku toshite ikikaeraseru to wa, osorubeshi FFVII, soshite vinsento...!!! (To think that FFVII, and Vincent in particular, could revive me, an adult with completely dead eyes, into an otaku...!!!)
Ato e no dejitaru ka mo ookiidesu ne. Dejitaru no chikara ga nakereba kitto watashi wa mounidoto e o kaku koto nado katta deshou. (The shift to digital art has also been a major factor. Without the power of digital technology, I almost certainly would never have drawn again.)
Kono moto wa ima made SNS ni nagashi tari bunshou sakuhin (shousetsu) no omake ni tsukete ita manga no sairoku o mein ni suru tsumoridatta node 'yorinuki vin-san' to iu taitoru ni shita nodesu ga, igaito keisai dekiru sakuhin ga sukunakute kaki oroshi no kata ga ooku narimoshita (nazenara bunshou no omake e ya manga wa, sono sakuhin ariki no naiyou no mono ga ooinode...)
I titled this book "Selected Works: Vin-san" because I intended it to be mainly a collection of manga/comics I had previously shared on social media or included as bonus material woth my written stories (novels); however, I found surprisingly few existing pieces suitable for inclusion, so the book ended up containing a large amount of newly drawn content (since many of the original bonus illustrations and comics were highly context-dependent...)
Doremo kore mo kudaranai gyagu bakaridesu ga, sando no yori gyagu ga sukina node totemo tanoshinde egakemashita. Iya, sando no meshi mo daisuki desu ga! (They're all just silly gags/jokes, but I like gags more than my three daily meals, so I had a blast drawing them. No, I love my three meals a day, too!)
Maeoki ga nogakute sumimasen. Sore wa douzo! (I apologize for the long introduction. Here you/we go!)
Cloud: "kore kore! Kou iu to‐n no tsukaikata, mukashi wa zeitaku datta yo ne~~~w" ("This is it! Using screen tones like this used to be such a luxury, didn't it~? Haha/lol.")
To‐n tsukai houdai! (Unlimited use of tones/fonts!)
Keshi kasu denai! (No eraser dust/crumbs!)
Te kegarenai! (No messy hands!)
Tore‐su dai fuyou! (No tracing table needed!)
Ikura demo shuusei dekiru! (Endless corrections!)
Saiko‐!! (It’s the best!!/It's awesome!!)
*kono hon o tsukutta no wa kekkou mukashi no hitodesu. (*This book was created quite some time ago.)
Sedai no kata wa 'a‐' to iu koro ga ooi kamo shiremasen ga, owakaita wa '?' da to omoimasu. (People of a certain generation might think "Oh, right", while younger readers might be wondering/thinking "Huh?")
Son'na toki wa 'aa kono hito mukashi no hito nanda na' to omotte kudasai. (In that case, just think to yourself, "Ah, rhis person is from the past/talking about the past/old version.")
