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Servamp Guidebook Q&A Fan Translation PART 5

Link to Part 1 | Link to Part 2 | Link to Part 3 | Link to Part 4

I need to preface this part by saying there was some guesswork involved — a couple words in the Q&A raws have been blurred to the point I personally cannot read them plus there are some references to manga details/other guidebook that I'm unable to confirm. I'll be pointing them out in my tl notes in case anyone can clarify and will add corrections once I get a hold of the guidebooks/manga myself but until then, please take this section in particular with an extra large grain of salt, thank you.

Disclaimer!!! This is an amateur's attempt at translation, there'll probably be some mistakes so take everything with a grain of salt. If there are mistakes, please let me know!! Also, please double check reblogs for any corrections that may occur after posting.

Please check part 1, 2 and 4 for more notes on my translation style.

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Part 5: About the Production Process Pt.2 (Pg.186-187)

21. Each character's technique name and some character names have an inspiration, and they are generally grouped* by faction (Alicein family, C3, etc.). If there are any characters who were purposely placed in a different faction or character and technique names that cross factions, please tell us.

Mikuni's "Humpty Dumpty". Because he's an Alicein, he has elements of characters that appear in "Alice Through the Looking-Glass" and because he's a magician, he has an element of "Mother Goose**" — it's a combined motif.

Then there's Shamrock who has Kenji Miyazawa's "The Nighthawk Star" as a motif due to being part of team Melancholy, but was also assigned the tarot card of "The Devil" due to him originally being part of C3.

*Kanji for this verb is too blurred for me to read but based on context it's likely something like grouped/decided/inspired — I'll add a note to clarify once I confirm what the word is. Clarification: the word is "collected"/"put together" but grouped is close enough!

**Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes (that would be the Humpty Dumpty reference)

22. Were any technique names based on an inspiration or specific image you had in mind? And which ones made you think "woah, this technique name is too good"?

Maybe "As You Like It (My Fair Lady)"...? I feel like this technique name captures everything about Mikuni.

23. I want to know the difference between the series' first draft and the current version.

Kuro became a laid-back cat.

24. It's become a story where everyone's feelings and schemes have become entangled, so I wonder if you decided everything at the beginning including the ending, everyone's relationships and the side plots.

The general outline [of the story] was decided but there were also parts that were changed while watching reactions to the series.

25. I felt there was a lot of foreshadowing from the beginning, like Mahiru's comments only mentioning his mother or Hugh and Tetsu not having formed a contract! Did you work out the foreshadowing from the start of the series?

There were both things I decided on from the beginning and things I came up with mid-way.

26. I have a feeling that there were many cases of foreshadowing set up fairly early on that were able to be resolved over time (the identity of Licht's friend, etc.). I wonder how far into future events you anticipated during the writing of the story?

At that time there were quite a few elements of foreshadowing I set up while thinking that they might not get resolved (as they were not related to the main story). I think I was able to resolve them to some extent so I'm relieved.

27. Maybe I'm just misunderstanding or missed some information but did the art style change mid-series?

During the creation of the series my back unfortunately got worse and I had to change my way of drawing to something that would let me continue without putting as much strain on my back. I think that's why you could feel the art style change.

28. I felt that the art style and expression* changed during the second half [of the series] — did Tanaka-sensei get influenced by any people or works while writing "Servamp"?

I don't have any particular awareness of being influenced along the way. About my art style, my intention was to consider and change it each time to match the story or side plot of the character I was trying to depict at the time.

*In reference to artistic expression.

29. I heard that "Servamp" was originally supposed to end with volume 2 but I was wondering if the Alicein Mikuni, who had already appeared in volume 2, wanted to rewind the world at that time? Or was this something that was added after the series was confirmed to be continuing?

The details of Mikuni's story such as his goals and feelings towards Misono had already been decided since the beginning.

30. I had a feeling that I read some info before about the original plan to end [the story] after volume 2 but now that there's over ten times the amount of volumes, how much has changed from the initial concept? Also, how much were you planning to write?

Truthfully, I thought that even if I could continue the series to some extent I wouldn't be able to write side plots involving Pride, Wrath and Gluttony so I think it's a miracle that I could write all 7+1 Servamps' parts. I intended to draw as much as I could until the comic's sales dropped and the series got cancelled.

31. Are the extra chapters something you came up with and inserted afterwards? Or were they decided with the main story from the beginning? I really liked the chapter 51.5 extra "Once, We Ate Together".

I come up with the extra chapters when it's decided to include them. It often involves stories that I think may disrupt the flow if they were to be added to the main story.

32. Did you decide what kind of ending [the story] would reach from the time you began the series? Since there were so many sudden plot twists regarding the Alicein family, I have doubts that the details of the Aliceins were decided from the beginning and so I asked this question.

The details of the Alicein family were already decided. If it looks like it was made up afterwards, then it means I've failed at telling the story… I'm sorry…

33. At what point in time did you come up with the meaning of inner-Kuro's reversed speech?

I think it's from the moment of you realising "don't these reversed words have meaning?" (lol)

(T/N) I am genuinely unsure about this question because I don't know if the reversed words have specific meaning? Maybe it just went over my head but if anyone knows what this is supposed to mean, let me know. Otherwise, I'll have to wait until I can get my hands on a copy of the manga to double check. Also I can't quite tell if this is supposed to be the author doing a cheeky non-answer or if they actually mean it and think it's funny...

34. Are there any characters whose names have changed since the initial planning stage, such as Mahiru originally being "Hanamaru*" or Sakuya being "Kiyoharu"?

In the first place, they were the only characters I had in the initial concept. "Kuro" seemed to have been a "Claude" though… (lol)**

*These probably came from a previous guidebook or trivia that I've missed so I've just taken the most common readings — Hanamaru for 花丸 and Kiyoharu for 清春. I'll update this if I ever find out where they're from.

**The Kuro/Claude thing is basically that they sound similar since they share two letters in Japanese — Kuro is 「クロ」 and Claude is 「クロード」

35. There are some locations that can be guessed in the main story, like from the email in chapter 5*, but if there are any areas or buildings that the story's setting is based on, I'd like to know.

I didn't decide on specific places. Roughly this area in Tokyo… this area in London… — it was more like that.

*Lily's email regarding the Servamp meeting mentions a specific location in Japan.

36. What year does the story of Servamp occur?

I think it's better left vague.

37. In the Re:Servamp world, how many loops occurred?

At least a few hundred loops.

38. The spells "The Black Bird of Kensington*" and "Sleep, Little One, Go to Sleep" seem to be drawing emotions from Touma while using Tsurugi's energy, but it seems that [the Tsukimitsu sibling's] "Silver Shoes, Take Them Home" awakens the emotions of all three [siblings] yet allows the person using the spell to set it up freely. I want to know how each one works.

I can't fully explain it but "Silver Shoes, Take Them Home" is a collaborative technique that is only possible because the three are siblings. It's because magic in this world often involves following various "connections**".

*This first spell is a reference to "Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens" — I've chosen to translate it as "Black Bird" rather than "Blackbird" or any plural variants since it's more likely referencing the crow character "Solomon Caw". Crows also thematically tie back to Tsurugi more so I suspect that's the reason for this specific reference and I honestly think it's just another big brain moment from Tanaka-sensei to link Touma's Peter Pan references with Tsurugi's crows.

**Can also be translated as relationships/bonds.

39. Are there vampires and magicians existing in the Asia region outside of Japan?

Yes.

40. Besides werewolves, do species that are different to humans exist?

Yes. The setting allows for it.

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This part literally made me order the actual guidebooks (and I'm currently considering buying the manga once I have enough cash to spare) cos there are actually so many things that I wish I had the JP raws to double check, especially for the spells, names and literary references. I'm hoping to cram all of the "Questions for Tanaka Strike-sensei" into one part but I'll see how I go... thanks for reading!

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