Kokoro Connect Volume 10

have wanted to waste time setting up names and backstories for
characters he was never going to keep writing about.
Lastly, The Rest of Our Lives is set in December, just a few short
months away from graduation, and told from Iori’s point of view.
Everybody else is busy studying for college entrance exams, but Iori
already got into college on recommendation, so she’s just kind of
There. You really get a feel for her loneliness as she watches all the
other characters from the sidelines. That, more than her physical
appearance, is what makes Iori such a tragically beautiful character
to me. I’ve always posited that Iori is Anda-sensei’s favorite, and I
feel like it really shows here. Still, I’m glad he didn’t shoehorn in any
last-minute romance for her. Not everybody has to find their
soulmate in high school, after all.
Before I go, I’d like to thank everyone at J-Novel Club, particularly my
editor, Adam Fogle—you have been downright indispensable over
these past two years, catching my term inconsistencies and misused
idioms. Kokoro Connect was the first light novel series I ever worked
on, and a part of it will always stay with me. And to the author, Anda
Sadanatsu—I saw you made a website at andasadanatsu.com and I
eagerly await your next update.

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Editor’s Row

I am Adam Fogle, editor of Kokoro Connect: Precious Time, and now
editor of the entire Kokoro Connect novel series. Sometimes these
novels seem like they’ll go on forever, so to have one actually
conclude gives a strange feeling. Very bittersweet. This is my first
project, and the first to end, something I’ve spent over two years of
my life working on. In that time, I’ve met a lot of people, learned so
much about working on teams, grown in skill and confidence as a
wordsmith...

...Delved into arcane secrets of grammar so exacting and so obscure
that they must surely be the key to turning lead into gold, or
something...

I’ve enjoyed working on this series. I’ve had a lot of ups and downs
over the last few years, and while escapist fantasy is a nice way to
take a break from everything, I think a story where people face
hardships, struggle, and ultimately overcome them are more
comforting in the long run, at least in some small way.

I know when a story is drawing me in because I’ll always start
imagining what I’d do in the character’s places. Or at least, what I’d
do in their situation, and how I’d survive it. I might even imagine
talking to them about it, which is a big part of how I developed my
skills at writing characters with distinct voices.

A good story, whether a book, a comic, a TV show, whatever, can
take you places and expand your horizons. Well, everyone knows
that much. But I’d add that it can only do that if you feel a
connection with the characters. And incidentally, the best way to
forge that connection is for them to make you laugh. Amusement,

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after all, is the easiest positive emotion to draw out. Which may be
why so many jerk characters are well liked, come to think of it.
Now, once more, for old times’ sake, let’s talk about one last
character. Rina, the little sister. It’s nice that she got to actually do
something once or twice, instead of just being cute window dressing
for Taichi. She’s obviously a significantly younger character, but not
too much younger. In fact, she’s just old enough that she’s just
starting to grow up, so sometimes she engages the other characters
with a slightly bratty precociousness. My read on her was that she
tended to try to — How should I put it? — punch above her weight
class, dialogue-wise. She wants to interact with the others as an
equal, but hasn’t nearly mastered the tools needed to do so yet. But
she’s working on it. I find that sort of character to be a lot more
endearing than a pure saccharin cuteness.
So, that’s that. For those who have read all the way to the end, thank
you for supporting Kokoro Connect. I may be signing off here, but I
have several other projects ongoing here at J-Novel Club, and I hope
you’ll happen upon and enjoy them too, as well as many others.
Thank you to Molly Lee, our translator. You’ve done great work on
this project, and I’d be happy to lend you my skills again some time.
And finally, thanks and congratulations to the author, Anda
Sadanatsu. That’s a wrap, everyone.

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Copyright

Kokoro Connect Volume 11: Precious Time
by Sadanatsu Anda

Translated by Molly Lee

Edited by Adam Fogle

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product
of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events,
locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
Copyright © 2013 Sadanatsu Anda

Illustrations by Shiromizakana

First published in Japan in 2013 by KADOKAWA CORPORATION ENTERBRAIN

English translation rights arranged with KADOKAWA CORPORATION
ENTERBRAIN

All rights reserved. In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning,
uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the
publisher is unlawful piracy and theft of the author’s intellectual property.
J-Novel Club LLC

j-novel.club
The publisher is not responsible for websites (or their content) that
are not owned by the publisher.
Ebook edition 1.0 November 2020

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