—Hm? A translator’s afterword? Who the hell does that?

Bistai, Editor in Chief:

I know, I know. Just bear with us, okay? It’s our first project.

—Fine, fine… Who are you three anyway?

Kheem, Transcriber:

Hello! I’m Kheem. You may or may not know me as one of the admins of the Boogiepop Wiki. I had probably the most minimal role in this translation, to be honest. I was basically an editor, but it’s not like what I was given needed that much work anyway, so it mostly felt like I was getting to read chapters earlier than everyone else. Which is something I can’t complain about, of course.

The Decoder:

Well... If you had to give me a name, you could call me by my codename, The Decoder. Let me make one thing clear. I did not really translate. I merely guided the words down the right path.

—Wait, what? What does that even mean? Did you translate it or not?

The Decoder:

Words dance at the whims of fate. I was merely a puppet--a vessel--through which those words flow. And when such a time comes where the seas may swell and the surf dashes upon our newfound shore, then those words must cede to their ebb and flow. Nothing in this world is permanent. And how beautiful a thing it is, too…

—… Anyway, that’s two. Who’s the last guy?

Bistai, Editor in Chief:

Not to sound super important, but I’m Bistai, the guy who put all this together. I don’t do as much work on it anymore, but I still do quite a bit. I’ve been trying to get this thing done for a little over a year now and, well, now I have. Or, well, we have. It’s a weird feeling.

— A year, huh… is it really that important? Didn’t you have better things to do?

Bistai, Editor in Chief:

Hahaha, I guess. But it was worth it. I don’t regret any of the time I spent working on it. Back when the first Boogiepop anime came out, I could see the writing on the wall when it came to the series’ state in the west. It looked pretty much DOA. All I could think at the time was “I refuse to let that happen. I’ll carry this all on my back if I have to.” I was that determined. And now here we are. I have more people helping out, and we’re done with our first volume. In about a year no less, and we aren’t planning on stopping.

—Hm? Do you really think you saved the series in the west on your own?

Bistai, Editor in Chief:

No, not even close, and it’s not just ‘cause we’re working as a team to translate this. Everyone on the discord, on reddit, and on twitter have been a great help, but we’re not there yet. Someday, I hope we can give Boogiepop the attention it deserves.

—Huh, Anyway, you said something about not planning on stopping. Does anyone else have something to say about that?

Kheem, Transcriber:

I definitely want for us to get to a point where an English speaker could read all of these great stories. The best-case scenario would still be for Seven Seas to continue officially publishing the series, but I feel like that’s too much to hope for as of now. So, I plan to continue helping with this fan translation for the rest of the foreseeable future, even if I can’t do that much to help.

—Well, seeing as you’re just along for the ride anyway apparently, what are your thoughts on this volume?

Kheem, Transcriber:

Being in charge of the wiki, I already knew many things about the plot of this book going in from all the research I did. Even so, I enjoyed this book tremendously. From the first six, my favorite up till now has been volume 4, Pandora, but I feel like I at least like this book as much as that one, if not more. I’ll miss my green ice cream boy.
(ಥ﹏ಥ)

—What about you Mr. Decoder? Any particular part of the story you felt you really connected with?

The Decoder:

(Smile) Are you sure that's not a leading question? Tosuke's story is our story, and the reverse is also true. Sometimes we find solace in our suffering, and we revel in our self-pity because it's the easy thing to do. But easy things cannot be complex, and we need a certain degree of complexity if we're to ensure humanity's future. It's true that sometimes we need to forget our pain briefly to live and function as competent human beings, but innocence and wisdom are two opposites ends on the spectrum of life, and we cannot help but tend towards one. I suppose what I mean here is that we should always look within ourselves from time to time and make sure that something has not been eating us unawares from within.

—Well, this stupid thing’s gone far enough, so last question. This is for everyone. What’s your favorite flavor of ice cream?

Bistai, Editor in Chief:

Hm… probably cookies and cream.

Kheem, Transcriber:

Why, peppermint ice cream, of course! (well, mint chocolate chip, actually, but what’s the difference). I’m also partial to bubblegum flavor.

The Decoder:

My favourite ice cream...? Well, of course. That's... It's…

—Yes?

The Decoder:

...That's strange. It should have been mint chocolate just like his specialty, but no matter how hard I try, I can't seem to recall the flavor…

Bistai, Editor in Chief:

Okay, while you’re thinking on that, really Kheem, bubblegum?

Kheem, Transcriber:

Hmm how should I respond to that…

The Decoder:

extol the virtues of bubblegum flavor.

Kheem, Transcriber:

Ikr? It’s great!

The Decoder:

All the flavour without the chewiness.

Kheem, Transcriber:

Indeed. Oh, how many more lines are we shooting for btw?

Bistai, Editor in Chief:

I'm willing to fill another page. More than that would be too much.

Kheem, Transcriber:

I think that'd already be a bit much.

Bistai, Editor in Chief:

Yeah. I agree. It's just the upper limit.

Kheem, Transcriber:

I was envisioning like, half a page more at most.

The Decoder:

We'd have our fill by then. best not to engorge.

Kheem, Transcriber:

Indeed.

Bistai, Editor in Chief:

By the way, who’s that interviewer supposed to be anyway?

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