The upcoming finale of a light novel often brings production secrets that shock the community. With the recent release of the twenty-first and final volume of Ryuuou no Oshigoto! (The Ryuo’s Work is Never Done!) in mid-July 2026, author Shirow Shiratori opened up about a dark truth: his original plan was to kill the main heroine, Ginko Sora, right after she achieved her goal of becoming a professional shogi player.

The initial draft of the original work stated the series would end around volume fifteen with Ginko’s impending death from idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura, the same tragic illness that claimed professional player Michiyoshi Yamada. However, Shiratori faced personal tragedy. Before publishing the first volume, he lost his grandfather, and while writing the fifth volume, his mother also passed away. This immense grief left him emotionally devastated, unable to write about the death of a beloved character, forcing him to pause another major work, No-Rin, for ten years.

Shiratori wasn’t the only one against this grim ending. The illustrator of the franchise, Shirabii, strongly opposed killing the character and used his art as a silent but powerful protest. For the cover of volume eleven, Shirabii drew young Yaichi and Ginko holding hands, sending the clear message that the characters should never be separated. In a recent commemorative booklet, the artist admitted designing that composition to make Ginko’s death narratively impossible, pushing the author toward a happy ending with the protagonists’ marriage.

Given that light novels are a collaborative effort where visual art and narrative must perfectly complement each other, do you think illustrators should have more say in character fates, or should the writer always have the final say?