All You Need Is Kill

Afterword

I like video games. I've been playing them since I was a snot—nosed kid. I've watched them grow up along with me. But even after beating dozens of games on the hardest difficulty mode, I've never been moved to cheer until the walls shake. I've never laughed, cried, or jumped up to strike a victory pose. My excitement drifts like ice on a quiet pond, whirling around somewhere deep inside me.

Maybe that's just the reaction I have watching myself from the outside. I look down from above and say, "After all the time I put into the game, of course I was going to beat it." I see myself with a shit—eating grin plastered on my face—a veteran smile only someone who'd been there themselves could appreciate.

The ending never changes. The village elder can't come up with anything better than the same, worn—out line he always uses. "Well done, XXXX. I never doubted that the blood of a hero flowed in your veins." Well the joke is on you, gramps. There's not a drop of hero's blood in my whole body, so spare me the praise. I'm just an ordinary guy, and proud of it. I'm here because I put in the time. I have the blisters on my fingers to prove it. It had nothing to do with coincidence, luck, or the activation of my Wonder Twin powers. I reset the game hundreds of times until my special attack finally went off perfectly. Victory was inevitable. So please, hold off on all the hero talk.

This is the sort of thing that went through my head while I was writing. Without the help of a great many people, this novel would never have made into this world. It's a dark story, with characters dying left and right, but I'm happy with how it turned out.

I'd like to thank Yoshitoshi Abe for so perfectly realizing the world of the novel in his illustrations; my chief editor, Miyuki Matsumoto, who went above and beyond the call of duty for the book; After Glow's Takeshi Yamazaki for his wonderful design work; Jun Masuda and his incredible friends for their help checking all things military; and finally Chōhei Kambayashıi for his many insightful suggestions.

Oh, I nearly forgot. Thanks to all the good little boys and girls out there sending me those jet—black feeds.

—Hiroshi Sakurazaka