Qingyuan Bookstore is the largest in Osaka. However, more than a bookstore, it is a comprehensive bookstore with a cafe, gym, computer room, and other entertainment facilities. It receives tens of thousands of readers daily.
Miyuki temporarily works in the manga section. Thanks to her freedom to read manga, her vision is very ambitious.
"A good story must be drawn in a revealing way. Is this the only way to sell the characteristics of manga nowadays?" she asked, frowning as she flipped through a manga titled "The Lady Knight."
With the rise of the novel adaptation market, to increase sales of single volumes, artists always prefer to play with the limits of painting. As a result, this has attracted many male readers, but has also displeased some female readers.
Miyuki is one of them. She wants to read manga, not pornographic magazines.
"Best-selling novels are almost all adapted, and the quality is getting worse and worse. It seems there's nothing to read for now..."
Miyuki complained as she put down "The Lady Knight." As usual, she organized the books that readers had lost. When she was about to leave, she found many readers gathered around the weekly manga shelf, which seemed very lively.
"Why are there so many people there?"
she asked. She returned to the counter with doubts. Normally, the weekly manga magazine always lacked readers, and some went there to read industry news: "Is there any popular novel that can be adapted into manga?"
Inside the counter, Aiko, who had just served a customer, laughed: "What popular novels are there? There's an interesting original manga in this issue of Weekly Shōnen, and everyone's talking about it!"
She checked the sales history on the computer and said: "Today's sales of Weekly Shōnen surpassed those of The Lady Knight. Last week, not that many copies were sold in total. The store manager said that the orders were too low and quickly rushed to add more."
Did magazine sales surpass the popular individual volume?
Miyuki was stunned: "What kind of manga is that? The new work of a renowned mangaka?"
"No." Aiko shook her head, with a mocking look: "Do you remember the cover of the last issue of Weekly Shōnen? I told you at the time that there was a mysterious author with the same pseudonym as yours, and that this new manga was his work."
Miyuki remembered the cover of the last issue of Weekly Shōnen, which featured a strange black figure. It was a preview of a new series. 'I remember the name seemed to be "Detective Conan." She wasn't very interested in detective themes, so she didn't pay attention at the time.'
'How could a detective manga be so appealing?' Miyuki couldn't help but feel curious. She wanted to go closer and take a look, but she didn't want to disturb the readers.
Luckily, there was a sticker wall at the entrance of the manga section. This is a prominent feature of Qingyuan Bookstore. The bookstore owner was inspired by the internet. There are free sticky notes outside each section. Readers can post their reviews and impressions of their favorite books on the wall, which improves interaction and allows readers to better understand their psychology.
Miyuki went to the door and found that the wall was already covered with dense sticky notes.
"New Theme Launch: I recommend the new serialization in this issue of Weekly Shōnen. The manga is called Detective Conan. What do you gentlemen think? I believe the author has excellent drawing skills and combines young people's preferences to depict unpopular themes. It's simple and not vulgar. It could become popular. (P.S.: the last image is amazing!)"
"First Floor: I agree that the last image is beautiful, but the story... Is this a detective story? Is the author making fun of us?"
"Second Floor: Thanks for the recommendation! The style is great, the male protagonist is so handsome, it feels like an interesting love manga! But is it really okay to turn the male protagonist into a child in the first chapter? What should my poor female protagonist do? QAQ?"
"Third Floor: Calm down, sister, I don't think it has any effect, the little child on the last page is so cute!"
"Fourth Floor: +1 to the previous floor."
"Fifth Floor: +10086 to the previous floor. The author is very popular with me. Finally, there's a manga I can recommend to my sisters!"
"Sixth Floor: (sweating), ladies above, don't talk nonsense, this is obviously a serious detective story!"
"Seventh Floor: The IQ of the sixth floor is not enough. Detective stories are always boring and dark, and the atmosphere is tense. Do you feel that way when you read Detective Conan? It's clearly a love manga disguised as a detective story. It fills me with love when I read it...".
"Eighth Floor: Smile, the floor above has a high IQ. I absolutely believe this is a detective manga. Although there is only one chapter, the plot is very detailed and the male protagonist's reasoning process is also excellent. A pure love manga would never have such a rigorous structure and thought process."
"Ninth Floor: I agree. This is a detective manga full of youthful atmosphere. It will probably be a hit! The last page is also quite good. I want to buy it and cut it out for my collection...".
"Tenth Floor: Thanks for the recommendation. Is the author really a young genius?"
"Eleventh Floor: Shounen is a word with a broad meaning. It could be a shota or a lolita."
"Twelfth Floor: Maybe it's a foot-picking uncle. Pfft pfft...".
"Thirteenth Floor: It must be a foot-picking uncle or a shopping aunt. Anyway, I don't think young people can draw such a thing. And the last drawing is very well done. It's probably a professional mangaka's pseudonym."
"Fourteenth Floor: You must not have read the last issue of Weekly Shōnen. The outline of the black shadow should be that of a boy...".
After a couple of glances, Miyuki was surprised by the readers' comments. There were many sticky notes at the end. Whatever they said, many commented that the manga was excellent.
'Can it cause such a stir with just one chapter?'
"Hinotori Publishing has signed an incredible mangaka this time."
Suddenly, a voice sounded, and Miyuki was startled. She found that an elder was standing next to her without her knowing when. This is the bookstore manager.
"Manager, I'm sorry, I'll go to work right away!" Miyuki's face paled. 'Didn't the manager go shopping? How could he be back so soon? It would be bad if he thought she was lazy.'
The elder smiled and said, "It doesn't matter. I understand your curiosity."
He wasn't angry at all. He stroked his beard and examined the comments on the sticky note wall. He continued: "Last week, I was surprised to read in Weekly Shōnen why they used black shadows to promote the new series. Today I finally understood that they were deliberately creating suspense to envelop newcomers!"
"Huh?"
Miyuki asked a little embarrassed. She thought she should go to work, but she felt that the store manager seemed to be talking to her. 'Would he be unhappy if she left?'
"It's normal for you not to see it because of your youth." The elder looked at Miyuki and smiled: "I read the manga today. The drawing technique and content are excellent, and the last image shows the author's incredible talent. Perhaps the use of black shadows to promote it in Weekly Shōnen last week is proof of that talent. The more people pay attention to it, the author's identity will attract attention."
When everyone is guessing who the author is, the media inflates it. The manga's author and Hinotori Publishing can complete the promotion without spending money... 'What a powerful method!'
Of course, that's what they say, but as long as the manga isn't popular, Hinotori Publishing's efforts will be in vain.
Miyuki became increasingly curious about the author: "I heard that the author is a teenager. Do you believe that, manager?"
The elder laughed.
"If Weekly Shōnen hadn't written it, I wouldn't believe it." He smiled and shook his head: "But it's clear that they wrote it. No one can remain anonymous forever. Sooner or later, the author will be discovered. Lying is tantamount to destroying one's own reputation... 'Are they that stupid?'"
Miyuki's mouth opened wide: "Is he really a young person?"
"Shounen" in Japan refers to children and teenagers. Although it's unclear how much a mangaka can earn, Miyuki knows that she can't earn as much as the other party's weekly royalties in a month.
"Why do you use Mirai-sensei as a pseudonym?"
She frowned. 'The same name and a similar age, isn't he deliberately hitting on her?' However, the manga completely captivated Miyuki. She wanted to see what kind of detective manga would be praised by people.
At noon, Miyuki took advantage of her break to buy a copy of Weekly Shōnen and was looking forward to reading it.
The rest of the weekly's content remained as bland and boring as ever, but upon finding the page number, a colorful character image appeared.
"Detective Conan," under the large title, an adorable boy with a hat and a smile appears.
"Is he the protagonist? He's so cute!"
Miyuki thought. After flipping through a few pages, she suddenly realized something was wrong. The protagonist was, obviously, a handsome high school detective. This detective was not only handsome and intelligent, but also very good at playing soccer. He was a true Prince Charming. The heroine who appeared later was also very special. She could punch through a wall, and she was also a karate master!
The setting of this manga was fantastic. Miyuki fell in love with the hero and heroine after just a few glances. She read it fascinated. The scene of the hero solving the case was so classic that even she, who had never read detective novels, could read it well.
But the development after solving the case seemed a little strange to her. Miyuki continued reading with doubts and soon saw the last page.
"Huh?" Her eyes widened. The last page showed a little girl with wide eyes.
"How beautiful!" Miyuki had never seen such a beautiful manga image. The overflowing aura and charm emanating from the author's brushstrokes were like artistic paintings.
For a moment, Miyuki couldn't help but wonder if a traditional painter was entering the world of manga.
She shook her head, frowned, and looked through the previous content again.
"How could a child appear...?"
Miyuki flipped through the pages too quickly and didn't know how the last scene ended. After rereading it, she discovered that it was the male protagonist, who was given a mysterious potion and shrunk. 'What exactly was that potion? Who were those two men in black?'
And the male protagonist's body had turned into a child, 'how could he be with the female protagonist?'
"He disappeared at the critical moment." Miyuki gritted her teeth. 'Who on earth could write such a provocative plot? He could have completely manipulated readers' minds in just one chapter. He must be a devil.'
After working in the manga section, Miyuki hadn't seen such excellent manga in a long time.
"Ahhh, I have to wait 7 days for the next chapter! Why is it a weekly issue?!"
The same situation began with the launch of Weekly Shōnen, which unleashed a wave of purchases in bookstores worldwide.