A young man who feels stuck in reality dies in an unexpected accident and is reincarnated into a fantasy world of swords and magic where he plays an active role. The genre called “reincarnation in another world” has been popular for a long time.

“We live in a time when light novels and anime cannot sell unless they’re ‘reincarnated’ stories. That’s why I wanted to tackle this theme in pure literature.”

Shigure Yokomizo, who started avoiding the opposite sex after the suicide of his boyfriend, accidentally reunites with Morikoharu Miura, who was his classmate for three months in junior high school. However, Du Zichun claims that he is parasitized by the personality Kubin, who was reincarnated from the “Land of Children”. Shigure chooses to start a relationship, accepting that it is just a delusion or a double personality, but one day, Mori Ziharu suddenly disappears. What was left behind was a message that said, “I will be reincarnated again.”

“Pure literature is based on a story of growth that involves facing others properly and facing challenges. I decided to write it in a setting that is not a patterned opportunism.”

The reincarnation in this work is, so to speak, a one-way “reincarnation of consciousness.” Using Moriharu’s diary as a clue, Shigure arrives at the “Reincarnated Person Support Center” and begins to take care of a girl who speaks the language of ancient Etruria, which perished before BC. Accepting the reincarnation that resides in the body of.

“In modern times, the identity myth of the ‘irreplaceable self’ is deeply rooted, while there is a strong tendency to create a ‘self’ that is advantageous in social life through education and training. This is why we focused on people who are maladjusted.”

Anyone can find themselves feeling uncomfortable with the image they had of themselves due to puberty, aging, or discord in interpersonal relationships. “If you think of it as a ‘reincarnation’ where the consciousness of another person has entered into you, I think you can better explain the discomfort.”

He says that he often feels a sense of “reincarnation” even in the borrowed conversations that are exchanged on social media on a daily basis. “In reality, “two minds and one body” is closer to the original human spirit. Rather than trying to forcefully unify them into one personality, shouldn’t we aim for a compromise?” (Kazuki Murashima)

◇

Masahiko Shimada Author, Professor at Hosei University. Born in Tokyo in 1963. Debuted in 1958 with “Yashii Sayoku no Joyukyoku”. He won the Izumi Kyoka Literary Award in 1992 for “Higan Sensei” and the Yomiuri Literary Award in 2020 for “When you were a heretic.”

“The Great Reincarnation Era” by Masahiko Shimada (Bungei Shunju, 2,310 yen)