They agreed to meet at a small café that Mr. Sasaki apparently frequented. The menu was a bit pricey, but it was quiet and had few customers, making it a good place to talk business. Akira had been brought there once or twice before.
As soon as they met, Hisashi brought up last week's shōsei ranking.
"The shōsei results for Chapter 24 this week are third place. The performance is still quite good."
"Mm, I see."
However, Akira reacted indifferently, just nodding slightly.
Seeing this, Hisashi asked with a smile: "What, are you not satisfied with this result?"
"Of course not."
Akira shrugged: "It's not about whether I'm satisfied or not; it was within my expectations. Besides, I'm more concerned about another issue right now."
"Mr. Sasaki, you didn't call me out this time just to tell me about the shōsei ranking, did you?"
Although he wasn't the particularly sharp type, being specifically called out for a face-to-face conversation clearly wasn't just about chatting about daily life.
"——Of course."
Hearing this, Hisashi's smile faded a little. He sighed softly, his tone becoming somewhat serious: "I called you out this time to talk to you about the future of "Fate/stay night"."
"The future?"
Akira was a bit confused at first, but the next moment, the words Oda Eiichiro had said to him at the New Years Party suddenly flashed through his mind.
The future of manga——
Thinking of this, his expression became strange. He asked Hisashi hesitantly: "The future you're talking about, it wouldn't be asking me to adapt Fsn into a long-running manga, would it?"
"?"
Hisashi, who had just organized his wording, was stunned for a moment, surprised: "How did you know?"
It really was that.
Akira felt a bit overwhelmed. He didn't know whether to say Oda Eiichiro was prescient or had a jinxed mouth; why did everything he said come true?
However, associating it with his past life, where he often saw news about the Shonen Jump Editorial Department forcing authors to lengthen their serializations, could it be that this was indeed a tradition of Shonen Jump?
But regardless, thanks to Oda Eiichiro mentioning this last night, he didn't have to scramble for a reaction now.
So he quickly sorted out his thoughts, and after confirming that Hisashi was indeed here for this, he immediately gave a firm reply: "I refuse."
"Huh?"
Compared to Akira's quick reaction, Hisashi was completely baffled at this moment.
Dude, I haven't even said anything yet?!
But hearing Akira's reply, Hisashi couldn't dwell on it for now. He said helplessly: "——Um, can you let me say a few words first?"
Although Akira didn't think the other party could change his mind with just a few words, out of respect, he gestured with his hand to "please."
"Then please go ahead."
Seeing this, Hisashi had an even worse headache.
Actually, he wasn't surprised by Akira's answer. What gave him a headache was the current situation.
They hadn't even started the formal conversation, yet he had already fallen into a completely passive position. Was this not too unreasonable?
But there was no help for it. Since things had come to this, he had to bite the bullet and continue.
"In this era, long-running manga are as important to a Manga Artist as long novels are to a writer. Being able to create an excellent long-running manga is undoubtedly more recognized by the industry and the public than creating more short or medium-length manga."
Akira nodded upon hearing this, expressing agreement.
Besides, perhaps people in this era couldn't realize it yet, but they were currently in the golden age of long-running manga.
Because twenty years later, even Shonen Jump would have to change its strategy, no longer pursuing the serialization of long and super-long manga, but instead starting to focus on Training medium-to-long manga.
It stands to reason that because medium-to-long manga have shorter lengths and more concise stories, the plot control should be much easier than long-running manga.
But the reality was that in an era dominated by medium-to-long manga, among the many popular works that could be called pillars, there were still no shortage of works that had poor endings, or even started to go downhill from the middle.
Under such circumstances, if a work could maintain a decent standard from beginning to end, it would be enough to stand out and become a leader among many works.
Thinking about it, it was a bit laughable.
However, it was precisely under such a contrast that people looked back and realized how powerful and precious those Manga Artists who could create classic long-running manga were.
After all, at the point where most current medium-to-long manga had poor endings, most of the past long-running manga were still in a steady upward trend, and hadn't even reached their peak chapters yet.
That said, although the manga industry at the time hadn't realized what kind of period they were in, they already had a clear understanding of the status and difficulty of creating long-running manga.
Although the process of creating a long-running manga was painful, many authors didn't even have the qualifications to understand this pain, and would never be able to touch this honor.
"But Mochizuki-sensei, you are different from "Fate/stay night"."
Hisashi paused, looking directly at him with a serious expression: "I believe you have the talent to serialize a long-running manga, and "Fate/stay night" also has the potential to expand into a long-running manga."
First, the most important point is that one of the greatest charms Fsn currently displays is its core setting, which is the existence of Servants.
The essence of Servants is legendary figures passed down in history and mythology from various countries, which is undoubtedly an extremely rich treasure trove of material, perhaps impossible to exhaust even in a lifetime.
Another point is the combination form of Master and Servant, which can show the charm of the Servant from more angles, and can also shape the original character in the interaction between the two, embodying the charm belonging to the original character.
The two complement each other, simply wonderful.
More importantly, Akira has already applied the above two points quite maturely. At present, it seems there is almost nothing that needs to be changed; just keep it like this.
This is also the potential that Hisashi believes Fsn possesses.
As for the biggest point that needs to be changed, only the main storyline remains, which is the Holy Grail War.
The war launched by seven groups of Masters and Servants fighting for the Holy Grail, the venue was also limited to Fuyuki City. Even if it were expanded, it would be difficult to support the content of a long-running manga.
But in Hisashi's view, this problem was not difficult to solve. He had already prepared before he came.
"I have conceived several developments around the theme of the Holy Grail War."
"For example, since the Holy Grail fought for in the plot is not the real Holy Grail, after this Holy Grail War, the real Holy Grail can appear in the next one, and how about expanding the scale of the war to the whole world?"
"And in such a scenario, the specifications of the Servants can also be upgraded. At that time, not only legendary heroes, but even gods can enter the arena! Besides, the Class may no longer be limited to seven."
"Of course, this is just a rough framework. There are still many directions that can be refined——"
In fact, the Holy Grail War series is essentially a group of people fighting for a treasure.
This treasure can be the Holy Grail, Dragon Balls, or the Spirit King, Shikon Jewel, One Piece, Millennium Items, etc.——
This itself is a very common story framework, and it is not difficult to expand.
Under this framework, as the author continues to fill in his own ideas, it will eventually grow into a unique work.
In short, from a technical point of view, extending the plot of Fsn and moving towards a long-running manga is completely feasible.
On the other side, facing Hisashi's eloquent talk, Akira nodded from time to time, seemingly expressing agreement.
It must be said that the senior editor of Shonen Jump really has something; at least the two points of divine Servants and extra Classes are very prescient.
In addition, he also thought a little about the world-scale Holy Grail War he described, and felt that if there was such a work, it might indeed be quite interesting.
Seeing his reaction, hope emerged in Hisashi's eyes, and he tentatively asked: "So, right now——"
"But, I refuse."
Using a classic line as a reply, Akira then smiled: "Although it sounds quite interesting, this shouldn't be the content of "Fate/stay night". However, if there is a chance in the future, I can consider creating such a work."
"But——, wait..."
Rejected again, Hisashi was somewhat unwilling and wanted to continue the pursuit. However, the second half of Akira's statement made him pause slightly, thinking of another possibility.
So, he said somewhat uncertainly: "Do you mean that in the future, you might create a series work with the same setting as Fsn? Similar to the JOJO series?"
Although Akira just said the second half casually, he thought about the question raised by Hisashi, and then nodded with a smile quite readily: "Mm, something like that."
"But my idea might be even freer."
"For example, in addition to the global-scale Holy Grail War you just mentioned, I can also write about a Holy Grail War that takes place on the moon in the future, a Holy Grail War that takes place in ancient Japan, a Holy Grail War with two factions of 7v7 confrontation, etc.——"
The examples he gave already had ready-made works in his previous life, so he just mentioned a few more and roughly told the settings of these works.
On the other side, although he only heard a rough summary, Hisashi's eyes were shining uncontrollably.
Even when viewed with the professional quality of a manga editor, these stories sounded quite worth watching!
In addition, once he thought that these story synopses were products of Akira's random divergence in a very short time, even he, who was already somewhat numb, had to sigh again—is this what a genius is?
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but confirm with Akira: "Had you already thought about this plan to create a series work?"
"That's right."
Akira nodded with a smile again.
Moreover, although he just mentioned several works of the fate series, this was far from representing the limit of the fate series.
Because in the final analysis, the fate series itself is such an all-encompassing theme, and anything can be put into it.
As long as themes like "Guan Yu fighting Qin Qiong" are still loved by the public, as long as there are still people interested in ancient legends and mythical heroes, and as long as there are still people willing to create works of this type, then the fate series will always maintain its vitality.
So he couldn't help but sigh in his heart, the core setting of the fate series is really too exquisite.
In addition, the fate series is ultimately just a major branch of the Type-Moon Series, and the entire system related to magic actually has a lot of room for deep excavation.
For example, the origin of the Fsn story is actually what the three major magic families of Tohsaka, Matou, and Einzbern created, including the subsequent FGO, which also originated from the mischief of a certain beastly Magus.
So far, the story of the Type-Moon Series cannot see the day of exhaustion. As long as he or others are willing to join in and continue writing, then this series is their inexhaustible treasure trove of wealth.
This is what he values most about the Type-Moon Series.
On the other side, Hisashi was also somewhat unable to curb his inner shock and excitement.
Although he had no way to peek at the full picture of the Type-Moon Series, just based on the future of the fate series depicted by Akira, it already seemed amazing enough to him!
fate series——
If it could really develop as Akira said, then it seems there is indeed no need to let him adapt Fsn into a long-running manga.
After all, the commercial value that a series work can bring is by no means lower than that of a long-running manga, and it is even more exploitable than a single long-running manga!
That said, he suddenly remembered the light novel Kara no Kyoukai that Akira had created before. If he remembered correctly, this was also a work in the same worldview as "Fate/stay night".
Although Kara no Kyoukai is not the same as the "Holy Grail War" series just mentioned, he felt in the dark that this also seemed to be a part of the whole series.
And if this were really the case, then it would seem a bit too scary.
So with such a conjecture, he couldn't help but confirm with Akira again: "Kara no Kyoukai, wouldn't it be a part of the series work you planned?"
"Mm——"
Akira nodded after thinking for a moment this time: "Although it's not quite the same, it can indeed be said so."
To be precise, Kara no Kyoukai is a part of the entire Type-Moon Series, but it does not overlap much with the fate series.
But it's too troublesome to explain the Type-Moon Series now, so let's just leave it at that for now.
"Hiss——"
On the other side, Hisashi, who received a definite reply, couldn't help but gasp, and was shocked for a moment, not knowing what to say.
It turned out that what Akira said was not just a plan, but had already started acting?!
Because the information was too shocking, Hisashi fell into a brief silence. After a while, he showed a complex wry smile and said: "You really gave me a 'big surprise'."
Originally, the purpose of his conversation with Akira this time was to persuade him to adapt Fsn into a long-running manga.
But now it seems that he has become the one being persuaded instead.
Thinking back, every important conversation he had with Akira, he seemed to have never had the upper hand.
Is the existence of a genius really so unreasonable?
Although he felt a bit aggrieved, with his deepening understanding of Akira, he was even somewhat relieved now.
A genius, perhaps, is really just that unreasonable.
"Phew."
Hisashi let out a deep breath, slightly calming the surging complex emotions in his heart.
Since they had chatted to this point, his original task obviously could not continue.
At the same time, he seemed to have a new "task": "I need to go talk to the editor-in-Chief."