Just as I announced at the end of the afterword for Volume 4, Volume 5 has been successfully released.
To all my readers, thank you for your continued support. This is the author.
Now then, first and foremost, there's something I have to discuss.
As was announced during the Sneaker Bunko 35th Anniversary live stream on September 24th…
"I Made Friends with the Second Prettiest Girl in My Class" is getting an anime adaptation! The project is currently in progress!
That's the big news.
This announcement comes almost two years after the first volume was published at the end of December 2021. I still vividly remember the moment my editor first told me about the anime adaptation. For any light novel author, having your work adapted into an anime is a major goal you hope to achieve at least once, but I never imagined it would happen to one of my own series… To be honest, it still doesn't quite feel real.
However, I must clarify that this announcement is strictly that the 'project is in progress,' not that an 'anime adaptation has been officially green-lit.' I expect the project will slowly take shape from here, with more information being released periodically. It will likely be a while before we can make a proper, formal announcement to all of you, so I hope I can count on your continued and unwavering support in the meantime.
As for the book series, I believe we've just passed the halfway point of the story. Ripples have begun to form in the hearts of our characters by the end of this volume, with Yuu gradually becoming aware of her own budding feelings as Nina watches over her with concern. For now, I hope you will continue to warmly watch over the two of them, Umi and Maki, as their story unfolds.
Once again, for Volume 5, I am immensely grateful for the cooperation of so many people.
To the Sneaker Bunko editorial department and my editor: With the anime project now in motion, I'm sure I'll be relying on you even more. I would be delighted to have your continued support.
To Hyuuga-sensei, thank you so much for your hard work on this volume as well. In addition to the wonderful illustrations in the book, I was able to see so many adorable drawings of Umi through commemorative illustrations and more, which fills me with joy as the author.
To Ono-sensei of the manga adaptation and everyone at the Alive editorial department, to the proofreading staff, to everyone involved in the anime project, and of course, to all the readers.
The "Kuranika" exists today only thanks to the support of so many of you.
The light novel, the manga, and now the anime.
Let's continue to build up excitement for the series together. Thank you very much.