Bonus Chapter at 300 PS
Support me at patreon.com/CulturedOne and read 50 Advanced Chapters
_______________________
Three days later, the viewership ratings for the current week were officially released.
Just as everyone had predicted, Madoka Magica secured the number one spot. Mechanical Metropolis fell to second, The Dragon's Treasure took third, and Throbbing Hearts was pushed down to fourth.
If the fact that Madoka Magica hit third place last week hadn't caused enough of a stir in the summer season, its ascent to the absolute throne this week certainly did. There was no need for marketing or press releases at this point; most anime fans are incredibly sensitive to these metrics.
After all, everyone is busy, and few people have the patience to dig through a mountain of low-popularity series to find a hidden gem.
A show that can seize the top spot in a seasonal market is, by definition, a work of undeniable quality.
Looking back at the comments made a few days ago by the producers of the big three studios, the public sentiment had shifted entirely.
People began to realize just how petty those remarks had been. The dedicated fans of Madoka Magica launched a full-scale counteroffensive across social media.
They felt that while they had every right to curse Warrior of Love themselves, these three industry "big shots" had no business being snide toward the show. Having watched the rival series, the fans were convinced that none of them could even compare to a single frame of Madoka Magica.
"Hahaha! I knew those shows were going to flop. The original source material was decent, but the anime adaptations turned into total garbage. Now they've been overtaken by a magical girl show. Jokes just write themselves!"
"Every one of those three shows had a budget at least 5 times larger than Madoka Magica. How did they lose so quickly?"
"If investment always equaled popularity, the anime world would be nothing but a graveyard of big-budget flops."
"To be fair, the production quality of Madoka Magica actually is a bit lower than those three works, but the emotional impact of the story is on a completely different level."
"After episode three, I thought it was a masterpiece. I was wrong. Then episode six came out, and I thought it was a masterpiece among masterpieces. Now that episode eight is here... every single episode challenges my previous evaluation. I'm calling it now. If the last four episodes don't mess up, this will be an all-time legendary series."
"A legendary series? Isn't that a bit of an exaggeration? It's only episode eight."
"I'm not just blowing smoke. People are screaming at Warrior of Love right now, but mark my words. In a few months, the entire anime industry will be praising him!"
"I agree. The reputation of this work needs time to ferment. In a few months, the market's evaluation will be far more objective. By then, those three producers will be nothing more than a running joke in the industry."
Inside the boardrooms of Big Three animation companies, the executives were fuming as they read the mocking comments circulating online.
As businessmen, they didn't mind a small hit to their reputation, but the financial implications were a different story. Each company had poured massive capital into their productions this season. When you added the marketing costs, these were top-tier investments.
It would have been one thing to lose to one of the other giants, but losing to Haru-Yuki Animation? Who even were they?
This startup had come out of nowhere to snatch a massive slice of the seasonal pie. By the time summer ended and the battle for merchandise and secondary market rights began, their shows would likely continue to be suppressed.
If international broadcasters came to negotiate for licensing rights, the offers for the Big Three's shows would probably be at least 10% to 20% lower than expected.
Even though competition is theoretically a fair game of skill, many within the Big Three now harbored a deep grudge against Haru-Yuki. It's a cutthroat world where rivals are natural enemies, especially since that scriptwriter had the nerve to mock them publicly, and then actually back it up with results. They had no choice but to swallow their pride for now, but they were determined to teach Haru-Yuki a lesson if the opportunity ever arose.
As the calendar turned toward the middle of May, Haruto's heat in the light novel market began to gradually cool down. He hadn't serialized a new work in nearly half a year, and readers generally don't dwell on an absent author for very long.
However, Ms. Hime was calling him three times a week like clockwork. She was terrified that Haruto might be poached by another publisher.
Even though Haruto had repeatedly assured her that he would stay with Kiyozawa Library. She remained uneasy. After his sixth-place finish at the Naoki Awards, Haruto was the undisputed king among light novel writers under the age of twenty. There were plenty of eyes on him, and as long as he didn't start a new series, her anxiety wouldn't fade.
Unfortunately, Haruto didn't have any stories currently suitable for a light novel adaptation, so he had to keep playing a game of cat and mouse with Ms. Hime. His primary focus, aside from Madoka Magica, was now directed entirely toward Initial D.
On May 19th, Shizuru finally finished the first three chapters of the Initial D manga. The thick stack of manuscript paper represented her hard work over the past month. Without any assistants, she had meticulously drawn every single line herself.
True to her word, once the initial research and preparation were done, her output was both fast and high-quality. Even though Haruto already knew the story by heart, he found himself instinctively immersed in the world she had brought to life.
With the first three chapters complete, the next hurdle was submission. Normally, mailing the manuscript or dropping it off in person at a publishing house was the standard procedure.
However, Haruto thought about it for a while and decided against it.
Such a method relied too much on luck. If they happened to get an incompetent editor who didn't get the vision, the result would be predictable failure.
A short time later, in a cafe...
Ms. Hime, dressed in a stunning deep-red dress, stared at Haruto and Shizuru in confusion.
"So, you're telling me that while you claim to have no time to write a light novel, you've somehow found the time to create a manga? And now you want to use my connections to introduce you to a reliable manga editor?" Ms. Hime's voice carried an edge of irritation.
Haruto had anticipated this reaction. He quickly explained that because of the technical nature of a racing story, it wasn't suitable for a light novel format. Only after hearing his reasoning did Ms. Hime's expression soften slightly.
"A racing manga?" Ms. Hime hesitated.
Haruto had certainly come to the right person.
The worlds of light novels, manga, and anime are deeply intertwined. The top three light novel publishers, the four major manga houses, and the three titan animation studios have frequent business dealings and often hold cross-shares in each other's parent companies. As a top-tier light novel agent, Ms. Hime's network extended far into the manga and anime industries.
The question was: why should she do him this favor?
Her relationship with Haruto was strictly within the realm of light novels. Helping him find a partner in the manga world seemed almost absurd.
"Why exactly should I help you with this?" Ms. Hime asked.
"Well, it would mean I owe you a significant personal favor," Haruto said after a moment of reflection.
"A favor?" Ms. Hime looked at him intently.
"We've worked together for a long time now, so you know my character. You've always been worried that because I won't sign a long-term contract with the publisher, I might just pack up and leave one day, right?" Haruto continued.
"If you help me with this, I can give you my word. All things being equal, no matter how hard the people at Hoshizora or Azure Books try to poach me or harass me with offers, as long as I'm working in the novel industry, I will never betray you, Ms. Hime."
In the publishing landscape, Azure Books and Hoshizora were actually more powerful than Kiyozawa Library.
Among the Big Three publishers, Hoshizora was first, Azure was second, and Kiyozawa was third.
Haruto's promise immediately struck a chord with Ms. Hime. This was exactly what she had been afraid of. If the two bigger houses offered him a massive recruitment package, it would be only natural for him to leave. Writers are professionals, not saints. However, the industry's valuation of a specific talent is usually quite consistent.
Haruto's value was roughly the same to all three publishers.
To prevent bidding wars where authors could play one house against another to drive up prices, there was a tacit agreement that the offers made to a specific writer wouldn't differ drastically.
But if Hoshizora or Azure eventually decided they wanted Haruto badly enough to agree to his "no long-term contract" condition and threw in extra resources usually reserved for favorites, his likelihood of leaving would skyrocket.
The royalty rates and per-volume shares offered by the Big Three were almost identical. The only real difference lay in internal management.
Kiyozawa was known for being relatively fair, while the other two had heavy politics where you needed a powerful connection to get ahead.
Haruto's promise essentially erased all of Ms. Hime's doubts.
Given equal terms, he would stay under her wing. This promise depended entirely on Haruto's own sense of honor and loyalty.
Ms. Hime sat in silence for three minutes, creating an awkward tension in the cafe. Shizuru sat beside them, not saying a single word. Finally, Ms. Hime looked up. She was willing to bet that Haruto was a man of his word.
"I understand. I will do my best to find you the best manga platform and editor I can contact. However, whether your work actually passes their screening will depend entirely on its own merit. I'll have an answer for you within two weeks. And... I know the rules, I won't look at your manuscript, but I have to ask. What is the title of this project?" Ms. Hime's voice rose slightly.
Haruto smiled and shook his head.
"Let's keep it a mystery for now. Don't go looking for information on it just yet. If you really do find a great platform for it to serialize, it won't be more than a few months before you know exactly what it's called."
"What do you mean by that?" Ms. Hime asked, her curiosity piqued.
"By then, it will be so popular that no one in the entire industry will be able to ignore it," Haruto said with a confident grin.
"..." Ms. Hime stared at him.
"I wish you had this much confidence in the next light novel you write for me, instead of telling me you're going to create a sensation in the manga world," Ms. Hime said, her voice cool, though her slightly puffed-out cheeks betrayed that she was a bit piqued.
Whether the young man's bold claim would come true didn't matter as much as the fact that he had never shown this level of confidence in his own novels to her. It made her wonder.
Are you a manga artist or a light novel writer? Don't lose sight of what's important!
"Next time, then. I'll make sure to write a light novel of the same caliber to repay your support," Haruto laughed, though his tone turned serious. "I'll make sure you feel that choosing to work with me was the best investment you ever made."
Ms. Hime's lips curled into a faint smile. She took one last look at Haruto's partner, Shizuru, before picking up her bag and elegantly exiting the cafe.
Only after Ms. Hime had left did Shizuru finally dare to take a deep breath. The conversation had been so high-level that she felt like a small fish in a vast ocean, unable to contribute a single word.
"Is this the world you live in every day, Haruto?" Shizuru's eyes were shining with wonder.
"Handling these kinds of deals with the big players?"
"What big players? Ms. Hime is just a normal agent," Haruto chuckled. "And she's actually very kind, she just doesn't smile much."
'A normal agent... Kind…' Shizuru remained silent.
She had done her homework on the light novel industry. This was Ms. Hime, the legendary agent from Kiyozawa Library. Countless mid-tier authors would practically sell their souls for a chance to work with her or take her out to dinner just to beg for a serialization slot.
A single serialization in a magazine like Azure Kiyozawa could be worth over 100 million yen to a creator, more than the annual profit of many private companies. And these opportunities were gate-kept by people exactly like Ms. Hime.
And in Haruto's eyes, she was just "a normal agent"?
"Alright, let's wait a week or two," Haruto said.
He didn't know exactly what platform Ms. Hime would find, but he was certain of one thing.
The caliber of industry professionals she could reach was far higher than anyone he could find by simply walking in off the street with a manuscript.