2025/9/7 No.6 Reunion Asano-sensei Q&A event overview - PART 2/3
This is part two of my digest of the Q&A talk event Asano-sensei did on Shion's birthday last month. Part 1 here. Third and final part coming soon.
This post contains mild spoilers for volumes 1 and 2 of No.6 Reunion.
The next question is from a fan who read Macbeth and saw the city of No.6 in the character of Macbeth and Nezumi and Shion in the characters of King Duncan’s sons who fled Scotland after their father’s murder at Macbeth’s hands. They ask if Asano projects any elements of Macbeth onto characters in No.6. Asano says that she doesn’t think so, but she saw a Japanese performance of Macbeth a long time ago, and the mood of the play has stuck with her ever since. She thinks that acting in tragedies like that suits Nezumi perfectly. As she writes volume three of Reunion, she wonders what Nezumi would be like performing in Phantom of the Opera. In an aside, she says that she thought Macbeth was interesting, but Phantom of the Opera not so much! Maybe the play is more interesting than the novel. She apologizes to Gaston Leroux (TN: the author of Phantom of the Opera) for thinking so.
The next question focuses less on No.6 and more on the writing and editing process itself. It asks about what to do in a scenario when an author with mediocre sales is told by their editor to take their work in a direction that doesn’t match their vision for their world and characters because it will sell better, and if Asano has ever experienced such a situation. Asano replies that it takes a certain kind of editor to even be able to say such a thing to their writers, and jokingly asks her editor to say that to her right now. Her editor says she can’t! If editors were so attuned to the market that they knew exactly what would become an instant hit, everyone would be writing bestsellers. Asano says, however, that if an editor were to say such a thing to their writer, it’s important for the writer to carefully consider their words and discuss together with the editor, asking them why they suggested such a thing. Your relationship with your editor must be one of equals—you have to be able to tell them why you want to write your characters in the way that you do. If you can’t have these kinds of conversations with your editor, and if they just hand down judgements to you without allowing for discussion, you should find a new editor, and if at the end of those discussions you just don’t think you can write something, you certainly won’t be able to.
Her editor chimes in and says that she is exactly right. As an editor, she will never instruct her writers as to what they should write, but will make suggestions.
The next question is also about the writing process, asking if Asano plots out her stories before she starts writing, or if there is anything she keeps top of mind while doing so. Asano says it depends on the story. Some stories she can start writing after just a month, and other take her years—she needed fourteen years for No.6 Reunion! As for what’s important to her during the writing process, she says that being true to herself is essential. Going back to the previous question, she says that you won’t write something well if you’re not interested in it. You should always love your characters, no matter how horrible they are in the story. In the second volume of the original No.6 series, Shion tells Nezumi that he will never become his enemy—Asano believes this to be true regarding the relationship of the author to their characters as well, and is how she approaches her characters.
The next question asks if there is anything in No.6 that no one seems to have picked up on yet. Asano says that an example that comes to mind is that she’s never written Karan actually baking. Asano doesn’t know how to bake at all—she hates cooking! She tells a story about how a friend recently brought her a no-bake cheesecake, and had said that it’s easy to make because you don’t need to bake it, but Asano was still astonished that she was able to make such a thing. The same friend has also made konnyaku (TN: a firm flavorless jelly made from the konjac plant) from scratch, which Asano thinks is incredible. While there are plenty of occasions in the text where Karan is doing bakery-related tasks, there is not once instance where you actually see her baking.
Her editor interjects that she herself hadn’t even noticed that, and then comments that the food Asano describes in the text seems so delicious. Asano replies that while lamb stew makes an appearance in volume two of Reunion, Asano actually personally hates lamb. When there is food in the text, she will do some research on it.
The next question asks where Asano first encountered cravats (the baked good) or if she’s ever eaten them herself. Asano says she has never eaten one, but that if she recalls correctly, they’re a German sweet in the shape of a necktie, and she might have seen them in a magazine. She liked the sound of the word “cravat,” but felt it better suited an animal than a human. The dogs in No.6 don’t have names, so she gave it to one of the mice. She jokes to be on the lookout for limited edition Karan cravats on sale from Kodansha.
the vindication i feel right now is insane i feel like i could run a marathon and fight god
like WE'VE known all of this for so long but to hear it come from nezumi himself?????? he really has grown and reflected during his 2 year sojourn and i'm so proud of him for expressing it to shion so honestly.
he really fucking panicked at the idea of living a life for something other than revenge and destruction, and as he thinks a bit later on in the chapter, shion IS hope and healing in nezumi's eyes. always has been. he wasn't ready to embrace either of those things without the backdrop of his goal of destroying no. 6 to fall back on, so he ran away. how could he want something other than retribution when it's all he's allowed himself to desire for his entire life? how could he stay with this boy who changes and challenges him without even TRYING when remaining emotionally stagnant is the main thing he's clung to for survival? how could he allow himself to discover all the layers of shion when it would mean being discovered in turn? has he already been? is he the one lagging behind? (yes)
it's petty but i do find it hilarious that shion might have been imagining nezumi frolicking through fields and bathing in oases 24/7 when in fact, he had likely spent most of his time alone having SEVERAL mental breakdowns. shion has been physically worn down by the stress of staying (and definitely also mentally worn down but the physical stuff probably seems more obvious), but i think it's clear from nezumi's monologue that he's been mentally worn down by the stress of leaving
oh my god and then THIS PART??????? after nezumi has his whole speech about how scared he was (is) of shion because he has the power to change him so deeply and allow him to heal and isn't he such an asshole for running away like a coward, shion is just like hm yeah idk about all that. you came back. you kept your promise. you're here with me right now, and i can touch you and it's not just a memory, and that's everything. the rest is irrelevant in this moment, the billions of questions and apologies can wait. reunion has come
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