【Interview】“If I were to undress someone, it would be Jinshi (laughs).” What meticulous consideration does author Hyūganatsu give to expression in The Apothecary Diaries?

——So that element helps expand the scope of the story. Changing the subject, due to the multi-media development, as seen in the exhibits at this current exhibition, various collaboration projects are being implemented. Maomao and Jinshi have appeared in a variety of outfits; what are your thoughts on this?

Hyūganatsu：I feel like they own more clothes than I do.

——(lol). Which outfit, in particular, left the strongest impression on you?

Hyūganatsu：I always find the outfits from the Halloween collaboration planned by the anime production to be cute when I see them, and they seem to have put a lot of extra effort into them.

——I assume you check the designs as the original author during collaborations, but what criteria do you use for these confirmations?

Hyūganatsu：I use the criterion of, "Is this desirable or undesirable to others?" rather than whether I personally like or dislike the outfit.

Other than that, I do make judgments on things that shouldn't be featured due to cultural issues. For instance, I felt that a Shinto priest's attire would be out of bounds for Jinshi, so I disallowed Shinto priestly clothes. But apart from things like that, I just say, "If Gaoshun approves, then it's fine" (lol).

——Well, he is his attendant/chaperone (lol).

Hyūganatsu：Also, since there are many young girls among the main characters, I feel it's not good to have them too revealingly dressed. But, by contrast, I'm okay with it for Jinshi (lol).