I made a picture book for the first time. Please, I beg you, take a look.

I first learned about Kigurumi when I read an article by Odango-san introducing a video he had made. It was a short video, only about three minutes long, with no dialogue and nothing flashy. The video, titled "Recipient," was about how we receive and accumulate various things from the trivialities of daily life until we become unable to move.

Kigurumi had previously been diagnosed with depression and had taken a leave of absence from work. Although he has since returned to his workplace and is working hard, his depression hasn't completely healed, and he still sees a doctor. He writes articles about the suffering and setbacks he experienced, as well as the process of recovering and returning to work. Those articles contain no exaggeration or embellishment; they simply and calmly recount the facts of what he went through.

I have never suffered from mental illness. Of course, I have felt down, but never to the point of needing to take time off work. Even so, when I read Kigurumi's article, I felt that there must be many people who would be saved by reading it. He doesn't offer encouragement or teach ways to deal with depression. It is just an article recording how he spent that period and how he faced his depression. Even so, I felt that there might be people who would read his article and feel relieved, thinking, "I wasn't the only one."

The video Kigurumi made was a gentle work that touched my heart. At the very least, I was deeply moved by watching it. I played it over and over again. I sincerely respected him for creating such a wonderful video. Beyond the video, I found myself getting hooked on his charm by reading his articles and looking at his illustrations.

Not long after watching the video, I had a chance to talk with Kigurumi one-on-one in a chat by some twist of fate.
"I think your illustrations, Kigurumi-san, are wonderful. I especially like that cute, fuzzy character."

He answered happily when I told him that.
"I actually drew all those illustrations on my iPhone!"
"Whoa! Really? That's amazing!!"
Seeing the text he typed, "Hehe," I imagined him looking a bit shy, and it made me happy.

From then on, I became closer and closer with Kigurumi. The fact that we were the same age by coincidence deepened our bond even further.
I had him make me an icon, we combined our handles to call ourselves"Kogurumi",and we collaborated on creative projects; I truly enjoyed the time I spent with him.
The closer we became, and the more I learned about him, the more I grew to like Kigurumi as a person. At the same time, I came to love the illustrations he drew.

I believe that Kigurumi's illustrations, drawn with a gentle touch, move the hearts of those who see them. Whether they are fun, healing, or moving, Kigurumi's illustrations are truly varied, and he possesses a wonderful talent.

I gradually began to harbor the desire to "have more people see" and "have more people receive" Kigurumi's illustrations.
However, with his modest personality, he might not actually want that. I thought that the one thing I must not do is run wild on my own and cause him trouble.

Last March, I met Kigurumi in Tokyo.
At that time, trying not to be a burden, I asked him this as casually as possible.

"I've been thinking, it would be nice if we could make a picture book together 'someday'."

To me, saying it somewhat jokingly, he responded with a smile in his usual friendly manner, "That sounds good, let's do it."
I was actually so happy I could have jumped for joy at his reply, but feeling a bit shy, I just muttered, "Yeah, let's do it someday."

Since then, we both spent our days busy, and time flowed by without any concrete plans moving forward.

It was one such day.
I heard that Odango-san, who brought the two of us together, would be exhibiting at the Tokyo Literature Flea Market again this year, just like last year. Odango-san said this to us:

"You two from Kogurumi should make a book, too."

I don't know what Odango-san's intention was in saying that. It might have been casual, or it might have been serious. But when I heard Odango-san's words, I felt that the"someday"I had promised with Kigurumi had arrived.
"Shall we do it?" At my words, Kigurumi gave me a friendly smile and said, "That sounds good, let's do it."

That was how the picture book creation with Kigurumi began.
The picture book we wanted to create was already decided.
On that day we first talked, Kigurumi said he wanted to turn the furry character he drew using only an iPhone into a picture book.

Kigurumi had already created several illustrations and a rough draft. Based on that draft, I wrote the story. Kigurumi drew the missing illustrations.
We had many meetings and moved forward with the picture book production. Kigurumi carefully drew many illustrations. He even challenged himself with illustrations that were a bit different from his previous work.
I rewrote the text many times. I read it every day and revised it every day. There were times when I didn't even know what the right answer was myself.
Even so, the "picture book creation" with Kigurumi was nothing but a joy for me. It was fun, always and forever.

The picture book we created this way is “Aya and the Fluffy Forest”.

It might be strange for me to say this as one of the authors, but I think this has become the most wonderful work among all the illustrations Kigurumi has drawn so far.
And it might be strange for me to say this about something I wrote myself, but I think we wrote a truly wonderful story.

We will be selling this picture book at the Tokyo Literature Flea Market held this May. I hope many people will buy it, but more than that, I sincerely wish for many people to see Kigurumi's art, to see this “Aya and the Fluffy Forest”.

My best friend is a truly amazing guy.
With Kigurumi, I made a picture book for the first time. Please, I beg you, take a look.

Kossy

#ThankYouKigurumi
#Kigurumi
#AyaAndTheFluffyForest
#ItsNotBL
#LetMeTalkAboutTheSwampIFellInto