When I was a raw newcomer, fresh from my debut and without a clue which way was up, my editor at the time asked me, "Teshirogi-san, do you like science fiction?" "Well, I've read H.G. Wells and Jūza Unno, at least…" I replied—and that was what first led me to become involved with Expelled from Paradise.
"If you like sci-fi, then…" my editor said, and what he brought me was an offer to write Expelled from Paradise: mission.0, the prequel novelization to the anime film Expelled from Paradise.
As a newcomer who had hardly read any science fiction at all, I remember racking my brains over how to write something worthy of such a grand and captivating world.
Reading it back now, the novelization is full of rough edges and things I would do differently, but the experience of throwing myself into a genre I had never written before became a genuine source of confidence in my subsequent career as a writer. In that sense, I feel that Expelled from Paradise may well be the work that lies at the very core of who I am as the writer Shotaro Teshirogi.
More than a decade later, I was entrusted with Expelled from Paradise once again—this time in the form of a game scenario. I also had a personal goal: to redeem the inexperienced novice I was when I made my debut.
At any rate, my aim was to craft a story that would allow all of you to simply lose yourselves in a pure sci-fi action-adventure. I sincerely hope you enjoy it.