Before mailing Weathering with You to Hisashi, as agreed, he first let his assistants enjoy the fully illustrated version of the manga.
Although the assistants had seen the storyboard version of the story before, when the story was combined with the exquisite visuals that Akira had poured his heart and soul into, it was a completely different reading experience.
For example, in the climax at the end, Hodaka also reaches the world above the sky, grabbing Hina's hand in mid-air as the two of them fall continuously.
In the storyboard, these scenes were simply drawn to show the relationship between the shots and the positions of objects; the specific visuals had to be imagined.
But with manga, you definitely have to see the art to feel the work's greatest charm!
And Mochizuki-sensei's art was far more shocking than anything they could have simply imagined!
While the assistants were gathered around reading the manga, Hisashi's call came through, informing him of the shōsei rankings for Chapter 11.
Unsurprisingly, Chapter 11 returned to the top, successfully securing 1st place.
After all, if the content of this chapter couldn't take first place, then there was nothing more he could do.
"Oh, right,"
After discussing the shōsei results, Akira smiled at Hisashi and said, "Regarding the one-shot manga I mentioned before, I've actually completed one recently."
"The manga will be sent to you along with this week's Fsn manuscript. Please keep an eye out for it."
"A one-shot?"
Hisashi was somewhat surprised by this, mainly because he hadn't expected Akira to be so cooperative, and to have drawn a one-shot so quickly.
But on second thought, over a month had passed, and considering Akira's abilities, it didn't really count as fast.
But it was indeed good news; at least he could use this one-shot to appease the Editor-in-Chief.
So he smiled and said, "I understand, I'll look out for it."
"By the way, what kind of story did you draw for this one-shot? It's not another one like Emiya Kiritsugu, is it?"
"Of course not."
Akira replied with a smile, "It's just a simple story about a boy and a girl falling in love."
Something was wrong.
Something was very, very wrong.
Hisashi stared solemnly at the document envelope on his desk.
A serialized manga chapter is usually around 20 pages, and a standard one-shot is typically around a few dozen pages.
But can someone tell him why a single chapter plus a one-shot manuscript could bulge the envelope to the thickness of two fingers?!
What on earth was that brat Akira up to now?
He carefully opened the envelope and took out all the manuscripts inside.
Then, he set aside the Fsn manuscript and looked at the remaining one-shot titled Weathering with You, his eye twitching slightly.
Judging by the thickness of the manuscript alone, there had to be at least 200 pages, right?
You call this a one-shot?
Uh——
He suddenly paused, thinking that if judged by the standards of a serialized volume, it wasn't exactly wrong to call it that.
Alright, never mind.
But at least he finally knew why it took Akira over a month to produce just one one-shot.
He had originally thought the boy was slacking off; he had misunderstood him this time.
In just over a month, while ensuring the normal updates of a serialization, he managed to draw a one-shot of over 200 pages—how was that any different from a superhuman?
Hisashi let out a breath, trying to calm himself down.
After all, he should be getting used to it by now.
Anyway, let's take a look first.
He was also curious what kind of story could be told in a 200-plus page one-shot.
Phew—
"6"
An unknown amount of time passed. After finishing Weathering with You, Hisashi sat motionless at his desk, falling into a long silence.
The main plot of Weathering with You was indeed as Akira had said: a simple story of a boy and a girl falling in love.
But beyond the main plot, this story contained so much more.
A fantasy setting blending mystery and folklore;
A familiar yet strange near-future sci-fi urban background;
Attention to marginalized groups in society;
The personal growth of individuals;
The balance and coexistence of civilization and nature;
Akira perfectly combined these complex elements, hiding countless topics worth discussing and pondering beneath a simple main story, leaving a lasting impression.
——
Not only that, he also utilized extremely exquisite background art to create a unique and beautiful world with a great sense of realism and immersion, elevating the manga reading experience almost to its peak.
To make the character designs fit the story better, Akira even went so far as to abandon the cool and sharp handsome style of Fsn, designing more ordinary-looking characters.
This approach could almost be described as audacious.
However, although the character art style changed, Akira's signature clean visuals—brought about by his nearly flawless lines and brushwork—remained present in Weathering with You.
This was probably Akira's unique art style, which was difficult for ordinary people to imitate.
To this, what else could he say?
He could only manage a bitter smile and sigh in admiration, "Incredible."
Regardless, this Weathering with You was undoubtedly a masterpiece among masterpieces.
As long as he handed this manga to the Editor-in-Chief, after the man read it, it would probably be hard for him to say anything more against Akira, right?
Thinking of this, Hisashi immediately stood up from his desk.
He needed to see the Editor-in-Chief!
"
,"
Just like Hisashi's reaction earlier, Kazuhiko also fell into silence for a while after reading Weathering with You.
First, he really wanted to know: was the person who could finish such a 200-plus page manga with such a massive workload of art in just over a month truly human?
Secondly, he really wanted to know why Akira had so many whimsical ideas.
Setting aside the plot of Weathering with You, just the world-building—a mix of fantasy and near-future sci-fi—was enough to make him find it interesting.
At the same time, he also felt it was a pity.
If there were a good overarching plot, this could have easily been attempted as a serialized manga!
What, you say he already has a manga in serialization?
Then never mind.
Suppressing the stray thoughts in his mind, Kazuhiko spoke with some resignation: "——This Weathering with You is indeed very interesting."
"That kid Akira truly lives up to the title of 'genius manga artist'."
Furthermore, his attitude towards Akira might indeed need to change a bit.
Although the boy's tendency to wander from his main business annoyed him, there was no helping it; the kid's talent and brilliance in manga seemed truly unquestionable!
Hisashi understood the implication and couldn't help but curl his lips into a slight smile.
But next, there was another question—
How on earth should this 217-page one-shot manga be published?