Tsukasa Fushimi (伏見 つかさ, Fushimi Tsukasa, born 1981) is a Japanese author of light novels. He made his debut in 2006 with the novel series Jūsanbanme no Alice. This was followed in 2008 by his well-known novel series Oreimo, which spawned a media franchise encompassing multiple manga, anime, and video game adaptations. In 2013, Fushimi began writing his novel series Eromanga Sensei which ended in 2022.
Career
Originally from Chiba, Tsukasa Fushimi entered the first volume of Jūsanbanme no Alice into the 12th Dengeki Novel Prize in 2005. While the work did not win a prize, it survived through the third selection process and was ultimately published by ASCII Media Works under their Dengeki Bunko imprint in 2006 as Fushimi's debut work.[1] Following the end of Jūsanbanme no Alice with volume four in 2007,[2] Fushimi began writing the first novel of Oreimo, published in 2008.[3] Fushimi would go on to write 12 volumes in total of Oreimo, ending in 2013.[4] Over the course of the series, Oreimo spawned a media franchise encompassing multiple manga, anime and video game adaptations. Fushimi began his next novel series Eromanga Sensei in 2013.[5]
Writing style
His debut work, Jūsanbanme no Alice, despite depicting a violent conflict between two of the female leads, Fushimi's editor Kazuma Miki has said that he enjoys the everyday comedy found within Fushimi's work,[6] and how amusing the male characters within his work interact with one another.[7] According to Miki, Fushimi is a writer who initially keeps backstory and setting to a minimum, and only after receiving feedback from his editors and readers does he integrate it into his work.[8][9]
Fushimi has stated that he prefers tall female characters,[10][11] and that the height of the characters in his writings is a reflection of this.[10] In particular, Fushimi cites Saori Makishima, a 180 centimeters tall junior high school girl character in Oreimo, as his favorite character.[11][12] Fushimi states, however, that he does not give preferential treatment to characters based on his personal tastes.[12] For example, he revealed that he intentionally depicted the central heroine of Oreimo, Kirino Kōsaka, as a detestable person.[12][13]
Fushimi has also stated that Kirino is a character he dislikes but needs to be there to "pull the story along",[13] and he also revealed his personal theory that the critical evaluation of characters from readers also reveals how well they made an impression.[14] When analyzing reader surveys, Fushimi says that he judges the popularity of certain characters by counting negative reviews as half as much as a positive review, and explains that characters with different likes and dislikes can be turned into favorable results if handled well.[14]
In Oreimo, the story is focused on the relationship between a brother and a sister, and within the work, the main character repeatedly complains about the hardships of having a sister and hopes that the reader would agree with him. However, Fushimi says that he himself does not have a sister and that this aspect of the character was purely drawn from his imagination.[15]
^ abc"「俺の妹がこんなに可愛いわけがない」7巻発売記念 伏見つかさ先生インタビュー" ["My little sister can't be this cute" 7th volume launch anniversary / Interview with Fushimi Tsukasa]. アキバBlog. Archived from the original on 2010-11-13. Retrieved 2021-05-29. 伏見：そうですね。お気に入りではありますけれど、自分の好き嫌いでひいきはしません。一番出番の多い桐乃は、いまだに大嫌いです。(Fushimi: That's right. I have my favorite [characters], but I'm not partial [towards them] because of my likings. Even now, I despite Kirino and [the fact] that she takes center stage so often).
^ ab"俺の妹がこんなに可愛いわけがない（５）発売記念 伏見つかさインタビュー＜後編＞" ["My little sister can't be this cute" 5th volume launch anniversary / Interview with Fushimi Tsukasa (second part)]. アキバBlog. Archived from the original on 2010-01-17. Retrieved 2021-05-29. 伏見：ここだけの話、桐乃のことあんまり好きじゃなかったんですよ。[...] 担当編集は「妹がいなくなったことによって初めて表現できる桐乃の魅力」を書かせたかったようですが、話を引っ張っていく強力なキャラがいなくなってしまって、書く方はたいへんでした。(Fushimi: Don't tell anyone, but I didn't really like Kirino! [...] It seems my editor wanted to pin down "the charm of Kirino which could only become clear when she's not around", but it's hard for [us] writers when such an impactful character isn't there to keep the story going).
