It is the end of December, and most people in Japan have already started to enjoy the New Year holiday. The Hikigaya family wrote all of their New Year cards before December 28th and delivered them to the post office. These cards will be sent out to those who are blessed on the first day of the new year.
For Hikigaya Hachiman, many significant events are unfolding at the year's end. In the realm of literary creation, several prominent magazines and publishing houses will announce their annual rankings soon.
Hikigaya's novels "Malice" and "Confessions" ranked first and second, respectively, in Weekly Bunshun's "Annual Mystery Novel Ranking." While Weekly Bunshun is owned by Sakuraba, the exceptional quality of these two novels alleviated any concerns about external gossip regarding their rankings.
"Whether it's 'Confessions' or 'Malice,' both deserve recognition. There's no need to fixate on who is first or second. We genuinely appreciate Mr. Hachiman and believe he will continue to deliver outstanding mystery works for us," stated a well-known mystery novel critic on his website. He observed that, following the release of the Weekly Bunshun rankings, some fans of "Confessions" were visibly upset, leading to some discordant voices on Japanese Twitter. To ease the tension, he felt compelled to share his thoughts.
Just one day later, another prestigious ranking of Japanese mystery novels, titled "This Mystery Novel is Truly Great!" organized by Tairajima, announced its winners. Once again, "Malice" secured the top spot, while "Confessions" dropped to fifth place.
It is widely known that the list created by Formosa Magazine was established as an alternative to the Weekly Bunshun list. However, this year, both lists awarded "Malice" the first position, indicating a shared consensus regarding exceptional works.
At this point, fans of "Confessions" on Japanese Twitter were incensed. One commented, "Ranking second is acceptable, but what does ranking fifth signify? The combined sales and recognition of the second, third, and fourth places don't match 'Confessions.' Moreover, 'Confessions' has outperformed most novels this year in terms of public acclaim. Why are they dismissing this list?"
Another fan asserted, "That's right! 'Confessions' won the Mystery Writers Association Award, yet it still can't rise above these others. They're so obstinate!" Many believed that "Malice" pale in comparison to "Confessions," which, in the eyes of many, isn't considered a standard mystery novel at all.
The third major ranking, the "Bookstore Award," which is determined by online voting, was conducted by a collective of bookstore representatives from across Japan and was won by "Confessions" without any suspense. The reason is straightforward: this book sells remarkably well.
"Confessions" was published at the end of January this year, and over the past year, a total of 1.44 million copies in both single volume and paperback formats have been sold, creating a sales phenomenon. Moreover, new marketing strategies have consistently maintained its popularity.
"Only when the tide recedes do we discover who is swimming naked. Sales are the ultimate proof; this is the strength of 'Confessions!'" fans of "Confessions" proclaimed enthusiastically, believing that novels endorsed by readers and bookstores are the ones that can withstand the test of time.
Since Hikigaya informed Sakuraba about the plan to officially sell the film and television adaptation rights of "Confessions" in the first half of next year, Sakuraba has been exceedingly optimistic about the future sales of the book, with the most hopeful estimates reaching up to 3 million copies sold in three years.
In summary, the mystery literature scene in Japan over the past year has largely revolved around Hachiman Hikigaya. His popularity has drawn countless readers to the genre, inspiring many new authors to pick up their pens and pursue writing.
Hikigaya's influence resulted in an impressive 70% increase in the average monthly sales of "All Reading" magazine, leading to an astronomical rise in turnover for Sakuraba Publishing House. Although debates about rankings continue online, publishers have begun printing new book covers for his two works, soon finding there isn't enough space to display all the honors and accolades. These are all genuine recognitions, making it feel inappropriate to omit any from the covers.
Given the rapid accumulation of honors, Hikigaya naturally shared his thoughts on Twitter. He expressed gratitude to Sakuraba and Takarajimasha for recognizing his work and thanked readers for their strong support. He also announced that the TV series "Malice," adapted from his original work, would air on NHK on the first Saturday after the New Year, inviting everyone to tune in.
NHK had acquired the television rights for "Malice" from Hikigaya, and they planned to air it weekly. The network took several of Hikigaya's suggestions regarding the actors for the roles of Detective Kaga and Nonoguchi Osamu into account, soliciting his opinions during the casting process. Ultimately, the choices satisfied him; the actor for Detective Kaga was handsome and authoritative, while the actor for Nonoguchi Osamu was portrayed as mean and petty. Both actors were seasoned professionals with extensive experience in similar roles.
"Congratulations, Mr. Hachiman! It's only been a little over a year since your debut, and now your work is being adapted into a TV series airing during NHK's prime time," Imamura said during a congratulatory phone call.
"Editor Imamura, I feel that NHK's choice of broadcast time isn't ideal. Who wants to watch a drama about murder and revenge on New Year's Eve?" Hikigaya expressed his concerns, feeling unable to voice them directly to the TV station.
"Well, most of the viewers will likely be fans of the book 'Malice.' Even those drawn in by the publicity will probably read the book first before watching the series. They already know the plot and will be interested in how it's adapted, so the broadcast time isn't a major issue," Naho Imamura explained.
In reality, neither the TV station, the publisher, Imamura, nor Hikigaya himself expected the "Malice" TV series to achieve high ratings. It likely wouldn't be a flop, but it would probably garner only average viewership. Since most viewers were already familiar with the storyline and the original material lacked any particularly shocking scenes for adaptation, this outcome seemed reasonable.
After wrapping up these discussions, Hikigaya pulled out an invitation to a banquet similar to last year's, but this time, his name was specifically included. This change indicated that he had been recognized as one of the distinguished guests.
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