On the night of One Piece's premiere,
"This is too cruel...".
Kenji put down the pen he had written a few lines with, covered his head, and said in pain:
"What's wrong?" After showering, his girlfriend approached. She dried her hair and looked at the magazine on the table. She said: "This is Mirai-sensei's new magazine. Today I saw a lot of people reading it on the street. Is the content cruel?"
She remembered that many people were buying the magazine at the bookstore on their way to work, and it was very lively.
"No... I don't mean the cruelty of the content." Kenji shook his head and smiled bitterly: "The story is very good, or rather, too good."
"What do you mean?"
"One Piece, serialized in Mirai Manga, is a passionate manga. Although it only has eleven chapters, I compared it to Weekly Boutique." Kenji sighed: "Half of Weekly Boutique's manga are also war-themed. Mirai-sensei's drawing skill far surpasses theirs. Do you think that's cruel?"
One Piece's battle scenes, premiered on Friday, are exciting and passionate, which will undoubtedly have a great impact on Weekly Boutique, which will premiere on Saturday.
Others cannot guarantee it, but Kenji, after reading Mirai-sensei's "One Piece", lost interest in several of Weekly Boutique's manga. He believes that, although the number of readers with similar ideas will not have a fatal impact on Weekly Boutique, sales will drop drastically.
"What about Kanto Manga Company? You don't care about them." His girlfriend laughed: "It's cruel, it won't affect you anyway."
"Who said it won't affect me!" Kenji stood up and said sadly: "This incident impacted me greatly. The editor-in-chief asked me to write a report. And he also asked me to disparage Mirai-sensei. This manga is a classic, and they're asking me to disparage it, isn't that cruel to me?"
His reaction stunned his girlfriend, who frowned sadly.
"Why do the media always talk nonsense? Did Mirai-sensei offend you? You've been slandering him lately!"
"He didn't offend us." Kenji leaned his head back and smiled bitterly: "It's mainly because Mirai-sensei is too cold. In our journalistic industry, he's called 'the mangaka who ignores people.' He usually refuses to accept interviews. Do you think Mirai-sensei is too much?"
Osaka's media were furious with Mirai-sensei. He was young, performed miracles, had a good appearance, and was versatile. Any journalist would be interested in this mangaka, but Mirai-sensei was famous for his coldness. He refused all media interviews and refused to listen to either soft or harsh words.
Since his identity was revealed, Takumi only appeared on Osaka Television's interview program. They even intercepted the security camera footage.
He was too mysterious, but he was undoubtedly the brightest person in Osaka that year. Countless readers sought him out. In the eyes of the media, Mirai-sensei was a miracle, a diamond in the rough. All journalists yearned to get close to him.
However, no matter what method they used, they always came back empty-handed.
"Do you think we attacked Mirai-sensei because we hate him, but that's not it?" Kenji shook his head and asked: "Kanto's Aika often appears. Do you think the media likes them?"
"Yes."
His girlfriend nodded. She had always thought so.
"Then you're wrong. The media likes people who can attract attention. Aika's appearance, background, and even age are not as good as Mirai-sensei's advantages. How can the media like her?"
Kenji sighed: "And I'll tell you an inside scoop. The media attention on Aika is not as good as Mirai-sensei's. In fact, among all the news about Aika, the reports comparing him to Mirai-sensei are the most popular."
"This is Mirai-sensei's influence."
It could be said that the news about Aika is a parasite based on rumors about Mirai-sensei.
Perhaps no mangaka can replicate Mirai-sensei's miracle. Since the Osaka Carnival, his popularity has skyrocketed.
There are many reasons for this. Almost all the excellent qualities and talents one can see are in Mirai-sensei. He is naturally attractive. Aika is inferior to him in all aspects and is much less important to the media than Mirai-sensei.
"There's a trend in the Osaka media community, that is, a collaborative effort to break Mirai-sensei's ice." Kenji sat back down and said: "Our praise won't make him come out, but rumors are the easiest way to make him come out and clarify. This method has been proven with celebrities and idols."
To get someone to come out, it's about creating rumors and forcing them to come out and clarify. Osaka's media outlets have been carrying out similar activities lately. They want to bring the stubborn Mirai-sensei out from behind the scenes. Likewise, as long as Mirai-sensei comes out once, we can force him out a second and a third time, and finally completely open up his defenses and turn him into our news source.
Kenji's last words made his girlfriend frown: "You're so disgusting."
"But this seems completely useless?"
He said that the media had been disparaging Mirai-sensei for so long, but he hadn't come out.
"Well, that's why it's problematic..." Kenji sighed: "I didn't expect Mirai-sensei to be so tough." We thought we could persuade him to come out and explain using a two-on-one rumor, but we didn't expect that no one had interviewed him yet... That boy is too calm."
"Of course, I think the most attractive thing about Mirai-sensei is that he doesn't always appear on television like other celebrities."
"Yes, that's it... The most legendary thing about Mirai-sensei is that he can become famous without interviews or face-to-face meetings with readers, and his fan base is growing rapidly." Kenji nodded and replied: "Have you noticed that Mirai-sensei's fans are very radical, crazier than ordinary stars' fans?"
"This..."
His girlfriend remembered what had happened some time ago: "Because of the incident at Kanto Manga Company's entrance?"
"Not just that, there was an even older one, and I think it will appear in the future." Kenji said: "Mirai-sensei's popularity is different from others'. The mystery of his debut has piqued readers' interest, and after his identity was revealed, the image of that perfect boy drove them crazy."
"The less he accepts interviews and the less he appears in public, the more his fans fantasize about his perfection. His fans have a natural pride..." Kenji took out some data from the table and handed it to his girlfriend: "Look at this."
His girlfriend looked at it, but didn't quite understand it.
"It's the result of a study on Mirai-sensei's female fans. They have an important characteristic. No matter how many stars they like, Mirai-sensei is always first when asked. Fans believe that Mirai-sensei is a true talent, not that the media made him famous, and it's not shameful for their idol to be Mirai-sensei."
"And they can also laugh at other fans' stupidity...", Kenji said: "Mirai-sensei's fans have a morbid mentality. They believe they are completely different from other fan groups."
"Of course, I personally think..." Kenji paused and whispered: "Mirai-sensei's fans are also fans with an irrational mindset, and they are quite crazy irrational fans."
Readers who previously didn't seek out stars are now looking for Mirai-sensei. Those who previously appreciated other stars have now turned to Mirai-sensei and look down on those who still appreciate others.
This high-level, brainless fan activity is spreading. Kenji even discovered that the media industry has gradually created this trend. Due to interest in unknown stars, various newspapers and websites go crazy interviewing Mirai-sensei and want to bring him out from behind the scenes. This is an alternative activity to pursue stars.
"Mirai-sensei... he's really scary...". His girlfriend was stunned, but she didn't quite understand. She just wanted to know one thing: "Can 'One Piece' surpass 'Weekly Boutique'?"
"We cannot rule out this possibility...".
Kenji looked at the manuscript with a few lines written on the table: "If this possibility really materializes, they will slap us again. Although it's a pleasure for newspapers to laugh at others, we're not afraid of being scolded, but we're afraid that no one will read it."
"But Mirai-sensei has tricked us so many times. If there's another surprise this time, and Mirai-sensei still refuses to go on stage to give us a chance to interview him...",
Kenji said coldly.
"That makes me uncomfortable...".
Luckily, "Mirai Manga" has only been on sale for one day. Whether Mirai-sensei can surpass "Weekly Boutique" will depend on the situation on the second day.
- - - - - - - -
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