Record of Lodoss War Wiki
Advertisement
Record of Lodoss War Wiki
The Accursed Wiki
570
pages
in: People, Authors, Real world

Ryo Mizuno

Edit

Ryo Mizuno (水野良, mizuno ryō) (13 July 1963) was born in Osaka, Japan. An author and game designer, Mizuno originally created the world of Forcelia, where many of his stories take place, as part of a Dungeons & Dragons campaign with members of Group SNE. The campaigns he was the Dungeon Master and Game Master for were first serialized as RPG Replays in Comptiq magazine beginning in 1986 before Mizuno adapted them into novels, with The Grey Witch novel being based on the first campaign, The Demon Dragon of Fire Dragon Mountain books based on the second, and The Holy Knight of Lodoss books based on the third. The Fire Demon and The Kings' Holy War were the only two novels in the original series not based on the replays.

Ryo Mizuno is his pen name. His real name is Takeshi Enomoto (榎本 武士).[1] He has two older brothers.

A recurring theme in Mizuno's works are his character's motivations to achieve something in life. Between their birth and death, they search for their role in life or the meaning of life. This is a theme that Mizuno has found within himself; he wanted recognition. And because he received recognition as an author, he kept writing.[2]

Mizuno has stated Neese, Little Neese and Leylia are his favourite Record of Lodoss War characters.[3]

Biography[]

Early life[]

Mizuno was born in Osaka, Japan, but grew up in Uji city in Kyoto Prefecture. When he was in college and high school, he loved reading high fantasy by authors such as Patricia A. McKillip.[4] and art collections of Frank Frazetta.[5] After high school, he studied law at the Ritsumeikan University Faculty of Law and graduated in 1986. During his studies he liked to play games.

It was during high school that Mizuno met Hitoshi Yasuda, who invited him to his home in Kobe to play games. The two would have many gaming sessions in the future, and often, after a gaming session was over, Mizuno would use Yasuda's Apple II computer to play videogames such as Wizardry.[5] Yasuda introduced Mizuno to tabletop role-playing games (TRPG). Yasuda suggested Mizuno to play the 1977 TRPG Traveller, and when he did, Mizuno was fascinated by it, saying “Being able to intervene in the story with your own hands! This is exactly what I was looking for!”[5]

When Mizuno was in his fourth year at university, he formed a group of people with whom he played games. At its peak, the group consisted of about 100 people. They organised training camps every once a month. Usually about 30 people would attend the training camps. There were many highly educated members in the circle, including students from Kyoto University. About this time, the people who would later form Group SNE were gathered, including Hitoshi Yasuda.[5] During Mizuno's years at high school the basis for what would become Record of Lodoss War was created. During his years at university it became more refined. After being introduced to TRPG's he, at some point, made the map for Lodoss, with help from a designer's kit by Hobby Japan.

Professional life[]

In 1986 Comptiq magazine began serialization of his Record of Lodoss War TRPG replays.[6]

In 1987 Mizuno was one of the founding members of Group SNE.[6] The company produces role-playing games, light novels, board games and card games.

In 1988 Mizuno's first book, Record of Lodoss War: The Grey Witch, was published by Kadokawa Sneaker Books, when Mizuno was a few months shy of his 25th birthday. Six more Lodoss novels followed in subsequent years, ending with Record of Lodoss War: The Holy Knight of Lodoss 2 in 1993, when Mizuno was aged 30. In 1989, Mizuno's first book in the Sword World setting was published,[6] which was a book on rules for RPG sessions. In 1990, the Leprechaun Tears, the first story-driven novel in the Sword World setting was published, written by Mizuno and several other authors.[7]

After completing the "main" Record of Lodoss War series, Mizuno began working on a sibling franchise called Crystania. The first novel was released in summer 1993. Shortly after Mizuno also began working on a prequel series called Legend of Lodoss. The first novel released in 1994. The series follows the Six Heroes, frequently mentioned in the main Lodoss series, and their heroics in the Demon War. He finished the series 10 years later (at age 41). In 1995, Mizuno wrote two spin-off series about fan favourite Lodoss characters Deedlit and Ashram; respectively called High Elf Forest: Deedlit’s Tale and The Black Knight. The latter connected the worlds of Lodoss and Crystania. It seems Mizuno's involvement with the Crystania series ended in 1997, though the series would continue until 2002 by other authors.

Also in 1997, Mizuno became independant from Group SNE, though remained friendly relations with the company.[6]

Following his departure from Crystania Mizuno began working on Rune Soldier, a novel series following the apprentice magician Louie set on the continent of Alecrast. Mizuno had actually written the first entry in the series in 1993, as part of the Sword World novel series. It wasn't until the release of Rune Soldier in 1998 that it became an independant series. Also in 1998 he began working on a third concurrent project, Record of Lodoss War Next Generation, a novel series that focusses on Spark and his companions. He completed the series in 2006. In 2012, now aged 49, Mizuno completed Rune Soldier.

Mizuno also wrote Starship Operators (2001-2005), Galaxy Angel (2002), Bladeline (2009-2012) and Record of Grancrest War (2013-2018), which are not set in the world of Forcelia. He also wrote a short story for Shared World Novels: Nocturnal Demons. In 2019, he returned to Lodoss with Record of Lodoss War: The Crown of the Covenant.

Personal life[]

Mizuno has a son (born 1990) and a daughter (born 1992).[6]

Bibliography[]

  1. Record of Lodoss War: The Grey Witch (1988)
  2. Record of Lodoss War: The Fire Demon (1989)
  3. Record of Lodoss War: The Demon Dragon of Fire Dragon Mountain 1 (10 January 1990)
  4. Sword World short stories: A Leprechaun’s Tears (19 January 1990)
  5. Record of Lodoss War: The Demon Dragon of Fire Dragon Mountain 2 (20 June 1990)
  6. Record of Lodoss War: The Kings’ Holy War (1991)
  7. Record of Lodoss War: Holy Knight of Lodoss 1 (1991)
  8. Sword World Short Stories: Labyrinth For Two (1991)
  9. Sword World Short Stories: Lomar’s Trap (1991)
  10. Sworld World Novel: Rune Soldier in the Kingdom of Swords (15 February 1993)
  11. Record of Lodoss War: Holy Knight of Lodoss 2 (27 March 1993)
  12. Crystania: Legend of the Drifters 1 (1993)
  13. Crystania: Legend of the Drifters 2 (1993)
  14. Sword World Short Stories: Just One Miracle (1993)
  15. Legend of Lodoss: Prince of the Fallen Land (1994)
  16. Crystania: Legend of the Drifters 3 (1994)
  17. High Elf Forest: Deedlit’s Tale (February 1995)
  18. “The Kimono” in Shared World Novels: Nocturnal Demons - The Devil Whispers (28 April 1995)
  19. The Black Knight (27 July 1995)
  20. Crystania: Legend of the Sealed ~Prelude~ (August 1995)
  21. Crystania: Legend of the Drifters 4 (1996)
  22. Legend of Lodoss: Knight of the Sky (1996)
  23. Legend of Lodoss: Prince of the Sun, Princess of the Moon (1996)
  24. Sword World Short Stories: In the Sea Where the Rainbow Dances (1996)
  25. Legend of Lodoss: The Glorious Champion (4 April 1997)
  26. Crystania: Legend of Mercenaries ~Prelude~ (April 1997)
  27. Rune Soldier in the Lakeshore Kingdom (25 August 1997)
  28. Legend of Lodoss: The Legendary Hero (1998)
  29. Record of Lodoss War Next Generation: Lord of the Dark Island ~Prelude~ (1998)
  30. Record of Lodoss War Next Generation: Horror of the Forest of Darkness (1998)
  31. Louie the Rune Soldier 1 (21 October 1998)
  32. Louie the Rune Soldier 2 (18 February 1999)
  33. Record of Lodoss War Next Generation: Inheritors of the Flame (17 May 1999)
  34. Louie the Rune Soldier 3 (14 June 1999)
  35. Legend of Lodoss: Eternal Returner (24 December 1999)
  36. Louie the Rune Soldier 4 (13 December 1999)
  37. Louie the Rune Soldier 5 (10 April 2000)
  38. Louie the Rune Soldier 6 (25 August 2000)
  39. Starship Operators I (10 March 2001)
  40. Louie the Rune Soldier 7 (16 March 2001)
  41. Record of Lodoss War Next Generation: Rebirth of the Evil Empire (29 March 2001)
  42. Louie the Rune Soldier 8 (19 July 2001)
  43. Starship Operators II (10 November 2001)
  44. Record of Lodoss War Next Generation: The Evil Black Dragon (30 November 2001)
  45. Louie the Rune Soldier 9 (20 February 2002)
  46. Starship Operators III (10 June 2002)
  47. Legend of Lodoss: Saint of the Supreme God (31 October 2002)
  48. Louie the Rune Soldier 0 (20 March 2003)
  49. Starship Operators IV (10 June 2003)
  50. Rune Soldier in the Dust Country (25 September 2003)
  51. Farlam’s Sword: Rune Soldier in the Sage’s Country (20 August 2004)
  52. Record of Lodoss War Next Generation: Fated Demonic Ship (30 October 2004)
  53. Starship Operators V (10 November 2004)
  54. Farlam’s Sword: Rune Soldier in the Island of Spells (19 March 2005)
  55. Starship Operators VI (10 May 2005)
  56. Record of Lodoss War Next Generation: Unholy Apocalypse I (29 October 2005)
  57. Farlam’s Sword: Rune Soldier in the Pastoral Country (18 February 2006)
  58. Record of Lodoss War Next Generation: Unholy Apocalypse II (30 November 2006)
  59. Farlam’s Sword: Rune Soldier on the Island of Gods (20 December 2007)
  60. Farlam’s Sword: Rune Soldier in the Stormy Sea (20 August 2008)
  61. Bladeline: Asian Sword Chronicle (29 August 2009)
  62. Bladeline: Asian Sword Chronicle 2 (26 December 2009)
  63. Bladeline: Asian Sword Chronicle 3 (30 June 2010)
  64. “Kastuul, the Kingdom of Sorcery” in S BLUE: The Sneaker 100th Anniversary Anthology (30 June 2010)
  65. Bladeline: Asian Sword Chronicle 4 (30 November 2010)
  66. Farlam’s Sword: Rune Soldier in the Smokefire Island (20 January 2011)
  67. Bladeline: Asian Sword Chronicle 5 (31 August 2011)
  68. Farlam’s Sword: Rune Soldier in the Rune Land (20 June 2012)
  69. Bladeline: Asian Sword Chronicle 6 (30 June 2012)
  70. Record of Grancrest War I (20 August 2013)
  71. Record of Grancrest War II (20 December 2013)
  72. Record of Grancrest War III (19 July 2014)
  73. Record of Grancrest War IV (20 January 2015)
  74. Record of Grancrest War V (18 July 2015)
  75. Record of Grancrest War VI (19 December 2015)
  76. Record of Grancrest War VII (20 May 2016)
  77. Record of Grancrest War VIII (19 November 2016)
  78. Akashic Records (15 June 2017)
  79. Record of Grancrest War IX (20 October 2017)
  80. Record of Grancrest War X (20 March 2018)
  81. Record of Grancrest War DO Genealogy of Heroes (20 September 2018)
  82. Record of Lodoss War: The Crown of the Covenant (1 August 2019)

References[]

  1. ↑ Notice of Convocation of 14th General Meeting of Shareholders (page 16), Bushiroad Co., Ltd. Accessed 20 June 2022
  2. ↑ 【特集】『ロードス島戦記 誓約の宝冠』発売記念「水野良×暁なつめ対談：ファンタジーの種族変遷を語る！ エルフを奴隷にしたい人は多い!?」. In-news.com. 30 July 2019.
  3. ↑ 原作者の水野良氏が次期新刊テーマをポロリ!? 『ロードス島戦記オンライン』公式オフ会リポート. Famitsu. 25 June 2018.
  4. ↑ Mizuno, R. The Black Knight. Afterword by Murakawa.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 ゲーム好きの少年が考えた世界観が「ロードス島戦記」へ。日本のファンタジーシーンに大きな影響を与えた水野 良氏にインタビュー. 4Gamer.net. 29 December 2018.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 Mizuno, Ryo. Profile, accessed 9 April 2022, <https://mizunoryo.net/myprofile/>
  7. ↑ レプラコーンの涙 ソード・ワールド短編集. KADOKAWA.
Community content is available under CC-BY-SA unless otherwise noted.
Advertisement