Interview with Katsuharu Nagata, President of Overlap, on Launching a New Light Novel Label [1/2]

Nowadays, Japanese anime are very popular even abroad. But did you know that for most of them, there is an original work? Before, most anime were based on comics, but today, that popularity is divided between comics and light novels. A light novel is a kind of novel that uses anime-style images for the cover and illustrations, and is written in a light literary style that makes it easy to read even for younger readers, such as middle or high schoolers. Their popularity has become established in Japan to the point that publishers, regardless of company scale, each have a specific label for light novels.

In April, Overlap established the new light novel label Overlap Bunko. They announced the release of the newest issue of Izuru Yumizuru’s IS 1, which became a big hit coupled with the anime adaptation in 2011, and the production of Occultic;Nine 2, the first novel of Chiyomaru Shikura, the creator of many games including Steins;Gate 3 and Robotics;Notes 4. Moreover, thanks to the rich variety of authors outside of the publishing business, such as scenario writers and producers of anime and bishoujo games, this label is getting a great deal of attention. Overlap Bunko has been gathering attention in and outside the publishing business even before it was launched.

Today, we had the opportunity to interview Katsuharu Nagata, who is the representative and managing director of Overlap and also the chief editor of Overlap Bunko.

TOM: Congratulations on launching Overlap Bunko!
Nagata: Thank you very much.

TOM: Ever since launching the label in April, you’ve been announcing new light novels one after another. How are the readers’ reactions?
Nagata: We were lucky enough to have many readers from a wide range complete our questionnaires. We are very grateful for receiving such a reaction.

TOM: I heard that it took you a year and four months after starting up your new company to launch Overlap Bunko. Was there a change in the company’s surrounding environment before now?
Nagata: Since the establishment of this company, rather than growing, the publishing industry showed a declining tendency, and in the period until launching Overlap Bunko, there was no change in the industry. I was aware from the start that starting up a new company and launching a new label under such circumstances would be a difficult challenge. However, when I was at Media Factory 5, my previous workplace, taking part in publishing books, I believed that there was more we could do. Fortunately, everything at present is going according to the initial plan, and we were able to launch Overlap Bunko.

TOM: As you said, the publishing industry is experiencing stagnation, so why did you choose this timing to create a new company and a new label?
Nagata: It is precisely because we’re in such times that there is some chance for us. That’s one reason. The other, well, maybe that I wanted to try and start all over again? In my previous job at Media Factory, I was involved with the production of not only light novels, but other content such as anime, comics, and games for more than 10 years. I couldn’t stop thinking about how I could make those contents more and more interesting by leaving the framework of the media of anime or games with the synergy of making them into a media mix. That’s why to reflect that we proactively promote media mixes in the company name, I named it Overlap.

TOM: As a company, the first task you embarked on was the launching of Overlap Bunko. What significance does the establishment of a new label have to you, besides aiming for future media mixes?
Nagata: I want Overlap to be a company that publishes content of various kinds. Overlap Bunko is the first step toward having all those contents. We are merely at the starting point as a company, so we’d also like to include various content such as comics and anime besides light novels. However, even though we promote media mixes, light novels are still going to be our key content, and we have various expansions planned for the future.

Continued in Part 2

Overlap Official Home Page (Japanese)

Occultic;Nine Official Home Page (Japanese)

Notes:
^1^ IS : Takes place in a world where a flight-powered exosuit that can only be handled by women, called Infinite Stratos aka IS was developed. It is a school life story centered around the protagonist Orimura Ichika, the only boy who has succeeded in activating an IS, and the heroines.
^2^ Occultic;Nine: This is a story revolving around nine idiosyncratic characters who know each other from the blog of the high schooler Gamon Yuuta. This is scheduled for release from Overlap Bunko.
^3^ Steins;Gate: An adventure game taking place in 2010 Akihabara, in which the fates of the several characters are jumbled together. Due to its popularity, it was also imported to other game consoles. It has many spin-offs, and it was also adopted into an anime series and an anime film.
^4^ Robotics,Notes: An adventure game that takes place in 2019 in a high school of Tanegashima, a place famous for launching rockets. It is themed around the drama of the boys and girls aiming to win Robo-One, a competition for fighting robots.
^5^ Media Factory: The publisher that owns MF Bunko, the label under which the The Familiar of Zero and the Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai series belong.

This is a Tokyo Otaku Mode original article.