Images courtesy of Crunchyroll.

While the premiere of the anime “So I’m a Spider, So What?” is months away, V-CRX gave us a brief but very special chance to ask some questions to series creator Okina Baba and light novel illustrator Tsukasa Kiryu. The two will be in a panel talking about the creation about the series during the digital convention this weekend.

Were there any video games and anime you looked at as inspiration while creating the light novel?
Okina Baba (via translator): “Various ones. For stats we were influenced by various RPGs. In particular the concept of SP was inspired by Monster Hunter. For story flags we used mystery stories as references.”

Did you have a favorite scene that you illustrated in the light novel?
Tsukasa Kiryu (via translator): “I’m rather fond of all the encyclopedia art I did. Also the full-spread insert illustration at the end of Volume 11. The editor proposed the full-spread, and it’s a favorite as both the editor’s and designer’s strengths made it striking.”

To both Baba and Kiryu: What is their favorite monster in the series?
Baba: “I like all the monsters, but the most memorable one would probably be the Earth Dragon Araba.”

Kiryu: “The amur catfish and river snail. I think it’s cute how they’re relaxed even in the cutthroat Great Elroe Labyrinth. I also like the unique dragons like Nia and Hyuvan. And also the baby elroe basilisk Gratin Tori drew for the spin-off comic.”

We thank Okina Baba and Tsukasa Kiryu for taking the time to answer our questions. Many thanks to the staff involved coordinating this online interview.

The panel the duo will be participating in will be Crunchyroll Originals Presents: Talk with the Creators of “So I’m a Spider, So What?”. It will be on Day Two of V-CRX, Sept. 5th from 2-3PM on the Crunchyroll Stage. Head over to Virtual Crunchyroll Expo’s website for more information and where you can register and attend the digital event for free.

English translation of Okina Baba’s light novel and the manga adaptation by Asahiro Kakashi are available for purchase. We’ve previously reviewed the manga back in 2018. There are currently eight volumes of the manga translated and Volume Ten of the light novel will be out this November.