"Eh, so it's true that Shonen Jump forces authors to continue serialization?"
At the dining table, after learning about the conversation between Akira and Hisashi during the day, Rin looked astonished.
It seems this rumor is quite deeply rooted in people's hearts; even Rin had heard of it.
Akira smiled upon hearing this and said, "But 'forcing' or whatever, I don't think it's that serious."
After he came down, he thought about it carefully and realized that when it comes to deciding whether to extend a manga's serialization, the author is actually the dominant party, while the Shonen Jump Editorial Department is the weaker one.
If an author does not accept the request from the Shonen Jump Editorial Department and insists on finishing according to the original plan, the Shonen Jump Editorial Department actually has no way to stop them.
After all, the Shonen Jump Editorial Department doesn't have the authority to kick the original author to the curb and find another author to ghostwrite the continuation.
And the only means the Shonen Jump Editorial Department has to counter, or rather, to retaliate, is to forcibly cancel the original manga ahead of schedule.
But this only means is almost impossible to implement in actual situations.
The reason is simple—
The Shonen Jump Editorial Department, at the end of the day, is just a department under Shueisha. The editors are essentially employees of the company, and the editor-in-chief is nothing more than a high-level employee, a high-level salaryman.
Companies prioritize profits, and Shonen Jump itself is a manga magazine that pursues extreme commercialization.
The works that Shonen Jump would try to persuade an author to extend are only the massively popular manga, and they would never be the ones that have already started to decline, but rather the currently trending hit works.
Such works are undoubtedly a major cash cow for Shonen Jump, and even for Shueisha.
Therefore, forcibly cancelling such a work would not only lead to an outcry from the fans of the work, but would also cause real, tangible economic losses to the entire company.
Furthermore, if it truly reached that point and both sides became completely hostile, the departure of the author would become another major invisible loss.
After all, authors capable of creating these manga are naturally talents who receive attention and are sought after by the industry; if Shueisha doesn't want them, Shogakukan and Kodansha on the sidelines would be quite happy to take them in.
Speaking of this, there is actually a ready-made, typical case that just happened recently—Inoue Takehiko.
As the last work to finish among the three platinum giants, 'slam dunk' also received a request from the Shonen Jump Editorial Department at the time hoping for the work to extend its serialization.
Unsurprisingly, this led to conflict between the two sides.
It's just that until before he transmigrated, neither Inoue Takehiko nor Shonen Jump had explicitly made any statements, so no one knew how serious the conflict between the two sides had become at the time.
But what could be seen is that in the end, Inoue Takehiko still achieved victory, and 'slam dunk' successfully finished according to his original plan.
Not only that, by 1998, Inoue Takehiko did not submit his new work 'Vagabond' to Shueisha, but instead turned to Kodansha's 'Weekly Morning'.
Given Inoue Takehiko's fame at the time, it actually wouldn't have made much difference which magazine his new work was submitted to.
Therefore, it is hard to say that this move was not influenced by the conflict between the two sides during the conclusion of 'slam dunk', and it could even be considered a small retaliation by Inoue Takehiko against the Shonen Jump Editorial Department.
And looking at the performance of 'Vagabond' afterwards, such a loss was quite painful for Shueisha.
But even so, the two sides eventually reached a reconciliation, and Inoue Takehiko began to cooperate and conduct activities with Shueisha again.
In short, for works with poor performance, the Shonen Jump Editorial Department is indeed the dominant party and can easily decide whether to cancel the work.
But when facing popular manga with excellent performance, the power of the Shonen Jump Editorial Department is greatly diminished, and it is even in a weaker position.
Therefore, the saying 'Shonen Jump forces authors to continue serialization' is likely just an exaggerated statement formed by mixing the two situations above.
"So that's how it is."
Rin nodded lightly in realization: "If that's the case, does it mean that when it comes to deciding whether to extend serialization, it depends more on the author's personal wishes?"
"Hmm—"
However, regarding this, Akira pondered for a moment and said, "Actually, it's hard to say."
Combining it with his own personal experience, he believed that when the Shonen Jump Editorial Department hopes for an author to extend serialization, they more often choose to play the emotional card and use pestering tactics to achieve it.
It sounds like it doesn't have much offensive power, but for Shonen Jump authors, it is actually more troublesome.
And this brings up the one-on-one responsibility system between editors and authors advocated by Shonen Jump.
After an editor discovers a new author, they automatically become the author's first editor, accompanying them from before they officially enter the industry, sometimes even accompanying them until the new author's first serialized manga concludes.
During this process, the editor not only reviews manuscripts and provides advice for the new author, but also teaches them industry knowledge they wouldn't normally encounter, introduces them to other professional Manga Artists to work as assistants, and helps them grow as quickly as possible.
Some of these authors who make it and start serializing manga also need to frequently communicate and discuss with their editor, and many ideas might even come directly from the editor.
And in private life, the editor also provides a considerable amount of care to the author.
Therefore, for the vast majority of authors, their first editor is their mentor who discovered and cultivated them during their newcomer period, a companion who fights alongside them during the creative process, and a good friend who takes good care of them in private life.
For example, Toriyama Akira and Kazuhiko, Watsuki Nobuhiro and Hisashi, Masashi Kishimoto and Yahagi Kosuke are all typical cases of the above situation.
One can imagine how deep such emotional bonds are.
At the same time, it is also imaginable that when such a person starts pleading with you, and at the same time presents a reasonable solution, how many people can completely ignore past relationships, harden their hearts to refuse, and insist on proceeding according to the original plan?
At least Toriyama Akira definitely couldn't resist.
"If that's the case, it's indeed very difficult to handle."
Rin thought about it carefully, and her brows furrowed slightly unconsciously, looking very conflicted.
If it were her in that situation, she would indeed feel very troubled.
Then she thought of something, looked up at Akira, and said with a serious face, "No matter what Akira chooses, I will support you."
Akira was slightly taken aback, and looking at her serious expression, he couldn't help but reveal a smile: "Thank you. However, wiping the rice grain off the corner of your mouth might look more convincing, don't you think?"
"!!"
Rin's cheeks instantly turned bright red, and she hurriedly grabbed a napkin to wipe her mouth. Akira amusedly watched her cute, flustered appearance; he hadn't expected her to have such a slightly dazed side.
Of course, he did indeed receive her sentiments.
So after the teasing, he pulled the conversation back to the main topic and smiled: "Don't worry, I shouldn't have any major problems on my end."
First of all, regardless of how the conversation between Hisashi and Kazuhiko goes after he goes back, his decision will not change.
And unlike the examples he mentioned above, he had no conflict about this in his heart, nor did he feel he owed Hisashi anything.
Because he had considerable confidence in 'Fate/staynight' and the entire fate series.
He could even boldly say that as long as the fate series could continue to develop, it would most likely achieve a more successful commercial status than in his previous life.
This is not because he is better than Nasu Kinoko, Takeuchi Takashi, and others, but because the origins of the fate series in his previous life were truly too poor.
As everyone knows, the game market for Galgames (including visual novels) during its most glorious period was only a relatively niche segment compared to the entire game market of the same period.
Although 'Fate/staynight' in his previous life sold well as soon as it was released and had excellent word-of-mouth within the circle, it could only be considered a niche masterpiece.
This situation only changed after the anime of the same name produced by 2DEEN was broadcast, when Fsn truly began to enter the public eye and began to advance rapidly on the road of commercialization.
But in reality, even among the huge fan base in his previous life, those who had truly played the Fsn original were probably very few.
In addition, for Fsn in his previous life, there was another serious problem, and that was adult content.
Although it is well known that Nasu Kinoko's writing for adult content is very bizarre, even using abstract vocabulary such as "bench vise", "water pump", and "furnace", thereby earning the title of "Type-Moon Heavy Industries".
Therefore, many fans also believe that this kind of thing is better left unwritten.
And from his personal experience playing it, looking at this stuff is indeed not as good as just reading doujinshi.
Moreover, the adult content present in Fsn did indeed become a major obstacle in the commercialization path of the later fate series and even the entire Type-Moon Series.
At the end of the day, no matter how popular adult content is, it is destined to never be presentable, and it cannot truly be aimed at the general public.
Compared to the fate series of his previous life, the starting point of the fate series in his hands is incomparably higher.
As a manga serialized in Shonen Jump, there is no need to mention how high the floor of the platform and audience is.
What pleasantly surprised him was that the commercial attributes of Fsn were unexpectedly compatible with the commercial attributes of Shonen Jump, so much so that even now, the shōsei ranking of Fsn has remained high.
More importantly, after completely eliminating the existence of adult content, the potential ceiling of the fate series in his hands has undoubtedly become higher.
That Type-Moon was able to start from a doujin circle and eventually grow into a top IP in ACG culture is indeed a commercial miracle that is almost impossible to replicate.
But its own various flaws made it almost difficult to break through further.
And the Type-Moon in his hands has the opportunity to truly become a top-tier commercial IP that can reach the general public!
Precisely because of this, he was not too worried about the subsequent development of this incident.
Perhaps the fate series can never become a work of art, but as a product, he believed that Kazuhiko, who would become the chairman of Shueisha in the future, should be able to see its commercial potential.
Thinking of this, he smiled at Rin: "So, let's talk about your situation next. Like, about the album."
Mentioning this, Rin revealed a smile: "The songs included in the album have all been recorded, and next is the promotion."
Nowadays, the unit price of a single is generally around 1000 yen, while the unit price of an album can reach over 3000 yen.
Therefore, album sales are the main source of profit.
According to the logic of general production companies, as one of the core profit points, the promotion for an album would naturally be more frequent and intensive than that of a single, and the singer's workload would also increase.
But fortunately, they signed with Being, which is known for being "anti-mainstream" and believing that "quality is king".
Escorted by the two million-selling singles 'Marigold' and 'Snow Flower', the sales of the album already have the most basic guarantee.
And under these circumstances, Being's promotion for the album tends to be relaxed, so for Rin, the next period of time will become her relatively idle days.
It can only be said that this anti-commercial approach might also be one of the reasons for Being's gradual decline in the future.
But for them, who signed with Being, this is quite comfortable.
Besides that, regarding the upcoming first album, Rin was happy and excited, but also a bit nervous deep down.
Because this album also includes her original song 'unfinished dream', and she didn't know what the reaction would be when the listeners heard this song for the first time.
Compared to her complex mood, Akira's thoughts were much simpler. He sighed: "I wonder how much money we can make this time."
Upon hearing this, Rin was speechless and rolled her eyes at him: "Really, does Akira only think about making money?"
"Of course not."
Akira said seriously: "I was also thinking that since everyone has time next, maybe we can discuss where to go to hang out. Just the two of us."
Where to go to hang out? Just the two of us?
—Doesn't that mean a date?!
Rin, who reacted, instantly blushed again.
Come to think of it, indeed, after officially becoming lovers, they hadn't been on a date yet.
The kind at home doesn't count.
However—
At this moment, Rin suddenly thought of something, her expression suddenly became conflicted, and she said embarrassedly: "Um—sorry, I already have plans this weekend—"
"Hmm?"
Seeing Akira slightly taken aback, she hurriedly explained: "It's Utada Hikaru. She asked me to go shopping in Akihabara this weekend."
"So it's her."
Akira realized, and then became a bit curious.
He had long known that Rin and Utada Hikaru had become friends, and they had even talked about her during the New Year, but until now, he had never seen her with his own eyes.
As for their date, he certainly didn't think there was any problem, or rather, he was all for it.
Since he and Rin met, he had already gotten to know many people and made many friends.
But on the contrary, Rin, besides him and Haruka, didn't seem to have met anyone who could be called a friend.
Therefore, when he learned that she had made a friend in Utada Hikaru, he was quite happy for her.
So he smiled: "Then you two go ahead, I hope you have a good time. As for us, there are still many days ahead."
"Akira—"
Rin was a bit touched upon hearing this, and then revealed a bright smile: "Yeah!"