The 164th Naoki 35th Prize Candidate: Kato Shigeaki's "Alternate". Set in a society where the matching app "Alternate" limited to high school students has spread, it depicts a youth group drama centered on three high school students.
Candidate for the 164th Naoki 35th Prize - Nario Kato "オルタネート". Set in a contemporary society where high school-only buddy matching software is widely available, the story revolves around three high school students.
Shigeaki Kato was born in Osaka prefecture in 1987. Graduated from Aoyama Gakuin University, Faculty of Law. While working as a member of NEWS, he made his debut as a writer in 2012 with "Pink and Gray" (KADOKAWA). The film was made into a film in 2016. Since then, he has published "Flash Scramble" (KADOKAWA) and "Burn.-Burn" (KADOKAWA). The Naoki Prize is the first nomination.
Nario Kato was born in Osaka Prefecture in 1987. Graduated from Aoyama Gakuin University Faculty of Law. Active in the entertainment industry as a member of the idol group NEWS, he made his debut as a writer in 2012 with the novel "Pink and Gray". The work was adapted into a film of the same name in 2016. Subsequently, he released "Shining Crosswalk" and "Burn.-Burning-" and other works. This is his first nomination for the Naoki Award.
Japanese-Japanese name: Alternation
Chinese title: There is no official translation
Author: Seisuke Kato
Genre: Campus Youth; Light Novel
Book Introduction:
This is an era when "alternation", a matching app that requires posting a student ID card for account registration only for high school students, is popular. Nimi Yoru is the cooking manager at Enmei Gakuen High School, an advanced school of a mission school that is integrated between junior high school and university. She was looking for a pair of high school cooking contests. The events of last year's contest are still traumatic for Youo.
"Alternate" is a social software developed for high school students that can match friends, and requires a student ID to register to use. "Akira Gakuen High School" is a high school with one-stop teaching from middle school to university, and Shinmi Rin is the director of the high school cuisine department. She is looking for a partner to compete in a cooking contest for high school students. I still have a lingering feeling when I think of the accident that happened during last year's game...
A girl named Bannazu is absorbed in alternation. In front of Nagitsu who is thinking only about looking for his own fate with the app of looking for a partner by genetic analysis, a boy who is said to be very compatible appears .
A girl named Tsuyoshi Tsutsu recently became obsessed with the "Alternate" app. She hopes to find the other half of her fate on this software through genetic analysis, but then a teenager who is unexpectedly similar to her appears...
Takashi Shikaoka came from Osaka to Tokyo looking for a friend he had been in with. However, he had already quit music.
Naoshi Kajiyama came to Tokyo from Osaka in search of friends who had formed a band together. However, by this time he had given up his musical dreams
Love is friendship and what is a family. The place where the three arrived.
What is love, friendship, and affection? The last choice of the three high school students was....
Recommended for:
While accurately pointing out the situation where values and communication have changed due to the spread of SNS, it was a reality and an excellent youth novel that captured the feelings of high school students who are puzzled by the changes of the times but push toward their dreams or bewildered without having dreams. In particular, high school and university students of the same age as the main characters will have a great deal of sympathy. By the way, he won the 42nd Eiji Yoshikawa Literary Newcomer Award for "Alternation".
The story is a sharp reflection of the contemporary young people's values and communication methods are changing with the advancement of the Internet, and at the same time, the author truly portrays the dazed, but unwavering determination of high school students to pursue their dreams in the face of these changes, or the anxiety of being overwhelmed by the disillusionment of their dreams. This is an excellent young adult novel that can resonate with high school students and college readers to a large extent. Author Nario Kato also won the Newcomer Award at the 42nd Eiji Yoshikawa Literary Awards for his work.