Personal highlights from the fifth chapter of the fanbook!!! You can read the entire chapter translation here :)
Thank you so much @/1000sunnygo for the translation!!!!!!
Forgive me for this got so long, but really there was pretty much nothing not interesting in this chapter ;;;;;;
The comparision between Shirai's draft and Demizu's finished piece pfftt- they make such a great team.
Shirai confirmed when meeting Norman again was the first time Emma cried since the first chapter: “Emma tried her best not to cry all along for the promise she made in chapter 1 ("I won't cry anymore") but ended up crying when she met Norman.” ;;;;;;
T/N: The last sentence wasn't present in the final version of the chapter: “I let you go away, it was me. To a place where you won't return from.”
This omitted sentence left me?? Shocked????????? I always thought it was Norman's choice to let himself be shipped, so I never put much thought into what it could have meant for Emma (beyond the feeling of betrayal). But to think that she kept blaming herself for his death is so heartbreaking... Besides, her never bringing it up again, refusing to look back at what's done and can't be changed but still keeping blaming herself for it is also very Emma pffft. This girl is too good for the world!!!!!!
The “1000 years ago” setting was inspired by the fact that about 1000 years ago people used to believe in demons; the existence of demon-like creatures makes a parallel between TPN's world and the real world. I find it nice, it's like Shirai is giving his own in-world explanation to way 1000 years ago demons disappeared from the human world.
This bit: “The reason why Norman admired Emma caused their ways to diverge at the same time”. It's at the same time sweet and tragic you know- the reasons why Norman admired Emma, like her determination in wanting to save all the children or her confidence for being able to change the world, ended up setting Norman down a path Emma herself would have never chosen 🥺🥺🥺
Shirai notes that Norman had a short lifespan and couldn't build the world Emma desired without killing the demons. Norman wanted to ensure a safe world for Emma and everyone. Shirai thinks Norman might have chosen a slightly different method if he wasn't running out of time.
I feel like we shouldn't overlook this??? I've seen so many people arguing that it was ooc for kind and good-hearted Norman to choose such a bloody way; however, Shirai himself said Norman would have probably gone for another way given more time. Norman prioritized ensuring a safe world for his family while he still could, and I think we should give him credit for at least that?
In the initial concept, Shirai wanted Norman to reappear as a different person and gave him a slightly different design. But Norman in Posuka's arts seemed to follow a natural growth of his younger self, so Shirai discarded the idea. The storyboards had some leftovers of the old design. [...] [Rephrased] traces of the old design are still visible, such as the longest bangs through chapters 119-124.
... Maybe this explains why Norman looks so different post time skip? (“Natural growth??????” lmao Shirai)
Shirai and Sugita praising Ray's growth, so true besties 🤧🤧🤧
Sugita notices how the trio ended up saving each other in rotation: Ray was saved by Norman and Emma in the first arc; Norman was saved by Ray and Emma in the Royal Capital arc; Emma was saved (more like, found again?) by Norman and Ray in the last arc. I love how it all came to full circle :')
Hayato, Jin, Cislo and Barbara were all modeled after Bartolomeo from One Piece to add comedic elements
(About chapter 124) “Shirai wished they [Barbara, Cislo and Vincent] could interact with Emma's side more.” MH-MH TELL ME ABOUT IT BRO
“Unlike most demons who wear dark-colored clothes, Geelan wore white”. I never noticed before, but I think it's s a very cool detail! Somehow foreshadows his past of a just and morally noble demon, different from the other black and corrupted regent houses and royalty.
Geelan's old (pre-decaying) design had yet to be set at the time of his first appearance. Shirai says that if Geelan's royal and elegant past appearance had been decided from the very beginning, he would have made Geelan's speaking in chapter 125 “a little cooler” pfffttt-
Shirai says it was particularly hard to write Emma and Norman's confrontation because Norman was correct. However, reading back Shirai says that “Emma didn't lose the argument at all and had her own way of being correct” which warms my heart :')
THIS WHOLE PARAGRAPH THAT LEGIT MADE ME CRY WHEN I FIRST READ IT:
Norman was capable of doing various things, so his weakness was his tendency to fight alone. In the old stories, boys carried certain responsibilities on their backs. Saying something soft was considered as a weakness. From all TPN characters, Shirai thinks Norman's mindset was the closest to such beliefs - “mustn't be uncool in front of a girl”, “never whine or complain”, and “must be strong”. To save Norman was to save him from these self-imposed principles. Even before starting TPN serialization, Shirai decided to make him say “help me” as a part of his growth.
It's so true that TPN is a Shonen manga like no others.
Shirai says he requested the 'god or devil' panel because everything becomes cool when drawn by Posuka.
THIS PART IS SO HILARIOUS TO ME BECAUSE LIKE
Anime Norman: Edgy, overdramatic, uncool
Manga Norman: Cool, stunning, iconic
Lambda's seizures where inspired by Shirai's own experience, who started suffering from severe headaches daily. It says that “Following Sugita's suggestion, he had to tone down the depiction of pain in the storyboard” like bruh king you ok????? (The Lambda seizures seem already painful enough????????)
Additional details on the five regents houses leads personalities!!!:
Dozza was an arrogant upstart. Yverk was an aristocrat who had been around for a long time. Bayon Jr. was Bayon's serious natured son. Pupo had the image of a harmless old man; Shirai and Sugita wanted to make him flashy and dumb like the World Nobles from One Piece. Noum had the image of a young, serious and excellent Patriarch (like a character from Game of Thrones).
And on the queen:
Leglavalima was Leuvis's sister. She's the strong, fearsome and charismatic queen who held dignity and beauty. Her design was a mixture of royalties from Europe and China.
Legravalima my beloved ☺️☺️💕💕✨✨❤️❤️
The first concept was having a king rather than a queen, but apparently “ "Leuvis's older sister" gives off a scarier image than "Leuvis's older brother" ” (??). Legravalima was set to be female also to tie, as one of the final enemies of the story, with Isabella, who was the first.
Chapter 134 had only 11 pages. Shirai had a cold for 4 months that worsened even after taking care of his health, so he had to take a week's break. Mangaka who draw their manga themselves can take a week's suspension if they fail to complete their manuscript due to sickness. Author-onlies have to submit a leave application. Shirai admits that he cried in frustration, as it was hard for him to make his own decision and ask "please let me rest."
Bruh I had no idea they overworked authors so badly, this is?????? Horrible???????? I'm upset authors have to go through this and severaly angry at SJ too- no author deserves such treatment.
Apparently writing Ayshe's side centric chapters was “healing” for Shirai :')
Ayshe's first design was drafted right after the first arc. At first, she was supposed to have the appearance of an older woman; the design was then changed to the one of a wild girl with furry arms. Although she had a scar on her face in all versions, how she got the scar was unknown.
The amount of times during the serialization Sugita intervened asking to "make it pretty" is quite funny pfftt. (He did it for Geelan's old design, Ayshe's wild design, Leslie's design... )
Ayshe was thought to mirror both Norman and Ray: Norman, as someone who was similarly raised by demons, yet didn't hate them; Ray, as someone who had a “monster” as a parent.
Shirai considered Ayshe to be a partner for Ray, but then thought that was unfair because apparently Ayshe is too pretty for Ray PFFFFTT
There isn't any specific story behind Ayshe's dad's scar; the deformed face is an accidental abnormality. Ayshe's dad was a former aristocrat, and that's why he knew the demon language ("former aristocrat who fell in disgrace" feels like a recurring trope for Shirai lmao). Once his face structure collapsed, he couldn't stay at home anymore and started living an hidden life.
The firstborn child of the Bayon family is a girl. As reported in the exhibition booklet interview, Demizu told that the most shocking request she faced was learning that the Bayon children were going to die too soon. It seems like Demizu drew a girl while imagining various things, like her becoming friends with Emma. But then the girl died in a second. “How cruel was that? If I heard it beforehand, maybe I would've made her appear more” (Shirai). This was so cute and wholesome, Demizu is such an angel I swear (╥﹏╥)
About the fancy suit Vincent wore in chapter 137, Shirai says that Vincent is “fashionable and picky with his clothes”
The Seven Walls' cube was supposed to be a 4-D hypercube, how cool is that!!!! Seeing it in motion makes me appreciate Demizu's depiction even more.
Demon god's appearance transforming when Emma reached the Seven Walls was a remnant of Shirai's unused setting according to which Scribbles' appearance changes based on the time of day (looking like a child in the morning, a young person in the daytime and an old person in the evening).
Shirai doesn't think Julius was a bad person, but rather a pure and serious man who hadn't been able to rest in a long time.
(Pretty obviously), the ancestors were designed with a rebirth-like theme.
Lewis looking so old and Sonju looking so much younger is because Lewis received many wounds and regenerated too much: the more of a warrior-like a demon was, the faster they would age. An early concept had a note that Lewis was a “combat enthusiast”, and didn't eat as much as Legravalima. Shirai says that “contrasting to Lewis, Legravalima was like “a beautiful witch who would do anything to keep her beautiful appearance” 🥰🥰🥰
Sonju's chapter 144 quote “I'll turn you into meatballs" was a line Shirai had wanted him to say even from before the series began.
About the matter of Yverk and Julius reaching the Day and Night so smoothly, Shirai reports that a secret passage exists, but only the queen and Yverk know about it. Shirai answering my 2019 old questions :')
Barbara and Cislo were random picks for Lambda
Like Hayato, Jin's ability is his superhuman speed
Norman made Zazie's paperbag. Since Zazie grew up in a dark room, he hates lights / electricity.
Like Norman, Vincent was brought to Lambda because his test scores were exceptionally good. Once at Lambda, he was forced to undergo brain surgery to determine if he could be pushed further to Norman's level (that’s the reason behind the scars on his head). Though his scores improved after the surgery, he never managed to reach Norman.
Ray's “huh / what?” in chapter 117 was because of him seeing the farm's mass produced children- seems like once again Shirai asked “is anyone else going to add trauma to this kid” and didn't wait for an answer (个_个)
