Musing about volume releases [Special feature End]

And that brings an end to the character spotlights for now.

"And are we here just to do the outro?" Kisha asked.

Yes, but I've also been wanting to reveal my thoughts on how a potential volume release of the series would go.

"Explain."

Gladly. First off, in the event this series is ever greenlit for official publication, there are a multitude of changes I'd likely make. I thought that for fun I'd ramble off some of them. First off, Volume 1. I feel this is where you'd see the most minimal change between versions as it would encompass all of Season 1 as is. Season 1 has undergone some revisions over the course of its existence, and is now at the point where I feel perfectly satisfied. Thus, the only changes I could see being made would be for minor stuff. The story and games would remain the same.

Volume 2 is where things would get shaken up quite a bit. Here, I feel like I'd go with my original vision and combine Seasons 2 and 3 into a single volume. In regards to Season 2, I feel it's the more solid of the two. Season 3 would be where the real editing starts. Considering how the vision for the series has evolved, I'd likely be revising the fallen maestro saga big time. As such, I could see events being moved around like the introductions of all the Japanese SPCMs, but the biggest change would center around Ai and the conspiracy to take out Daria.

With Ai, I feel like her character will end up being merged with Melisha's or at the very least, having her name be transferred to her. This means I'd likely have to turn the old Ai into a new character. The finale would still remain the same though.

Volume 3 is where even bigger changes would take place. For this one, I'd start out with the first half of Season 4 and then combine it with the entirety of Season 5. My reasoning behind this is that I feel things would flow better if the entire London segment is within a single volume. Not to mention, aside from the rearranging, I doubt I'd need to make too many major changes to the overall story. Some changes I have in mind though are having the beach chapter take place at Oarai sun beach instead of Okinawa. The reason for this is mainly so that it better makes sense in the context of the timeline, and makes travel easier for the group.

Following the beach, things would play out the same with Mimoko, Iori, and Carol getting kidnapped and dragged to London. The next change would occur with the Skaberghast encounter where instead of drawing the team match, Okisato and co would win, granting them instant teleportation to London. They would arrive just as Mimoko, Iori, and Carol are warped away to New York. From there, the events of Season 5 would all play out with the only noteworthy change being the ending as now Okisato and co would arrive back home before Mimoko and co.

Then comes Volume 4. This is where you'll see the biggest revisions between webnovel and novel. First thing on the docket is that I might cut Pewler's character entirely. Yes, you heard that right. The reason for that is because I feel like it would make more sense to hoist his role to Fiana Kuuningana, Carol's aunt. I also feel it's better to try and build up the Broadstone family better as Agatha is a major player in the overall story. I could also see the Carol and Theresa match from Season 6 being moved to this volume. I'd try to keep the basic plot outline of Season 4's latter half as the framework for Volume 4. Side Story 4 would also be added at the end, though exclude the Ginji-Sndy match as Ginji would have not debuted at this stage in the story.

Speaking of side stories, I would likely have Carol's and Iori's shared Kirikawa lineage be revealed in a statement by Iori when Carol is first revealed in Volume 3. Not sure what I'd do with the Jester vs Mimoko match from Side Story 1 though.

As for Volume 5, It would start out with Side Story 2 and also include Side Stories 3 and 5 along with a heavily revised Side Story 6. I might also swap around events and have Season 8 occur before the Chess Olympics, meaning I'd need to revise some events in regards to Yuusuke and Hagemi. I might also opt to squeeze Season 6 in instead of Season 8, but a part of me feels it would work best having Volume 6 be Season 6 along with the buildup chapters to the Chess Olympics' first round from Season 7.

With Season 7, I can't make any solid predictions yet without first nailing down how Volume 5 would go as that would set the pace for future volumes. Regardless, I feel Season 7 would be 3 volumes minimum in total.

Following Season 7, the next volume would adapt Side Story 7, Season 9, Side Story 8, and Season 8 at the start, but only if I decide not to rearrange it. I do feel parts of Season 8 are likely to be rearranged the more I think about it, mainly the introductions of Mimoko's friends and Oma. Regardless, the bits with Yuusuke and Hagemi at the chess center would be in this volume regardless.

I'm not sure what things would be like after as I've yet to write out any new seasons, but I imagine this upcoming Side Story, Side Story 9, might end up being rearranged in the grand scheme of things. And that's all I have.

"Wow... You actually talked a lot. Think this might be a record for you on this show."

[Special feature End]