It was announced on August 25th that Shige’s serialization in
Shosetsu Shincho, “Alternate”, will be published as a novel on November 19th. This will be his 7th published work and 5th long-form novel.
It’s a coming of age story about the interlacing stories of 3 young people through a dating app for highschool students called “Alternate”. Shige said that, “Now that I’m in my 30s, I felt that I wanted to write something about the rawness and pains of youth. When I was writing ‘Pink and Grey’, there was a rebellious part of me that wanted to shock the reader; it’s hard to believe that I would be writing a novel like “Alternate” now. Thinking about how to write a pure confession scene that would make the reader swoon makes me realize that I’ve aged.”
“Alternate” was originally serialized from the January through September editions of
Shosetsu Shincho, and the January edition was the first in the publication’s history of more than 60 years to have a second edition printed.
Shige was quoted as saying that he hoped that this would be made into a live action of some kind, but when asked if there was a possibility of him playing a teacher role, he joked, “All the teachers that appear in the novel are women. I messed up the setting.”
The article also touched upon Tegoshi’s recent departure and how NEWS performed their new song,
Kanaria (Canary), as three on 24Hr TV on August 23rd. Shige said, “We’ve experienced the fear of being compared (to our past) a few times. In order to protect our fans, choosing to disband could have been an option as well. But the feeling of wanting to continue even as three was strong. Singing as we share the same goal, I felt a huge sense of satisfaction after the performance.”
In response to the question of if he would make his experiences into a novel, he answered that he might be able to write it as fiction in a few years’ time. He also added, laughing, that all that creators have to draw on is their own experiences, and he’s in an environment where he doesn’t lack that.
Sanspo・
Sports HochiThe novel's
official site and
twitter account are also up, so do check them out for more information!
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