Manga readers in the Japan weren't demanding people; they didn't expect a new series to open with some god-tier, unforgettable plot twist in its very first chapter.
In fact, most massively successful manga began with fairly ordinary openings.
So even though the pacing of Tonight's first chapter was a little slow, the new readers who followed over from Five Centimeters per Second didn't mind.
After all, Five Centimeters per Second's pacing was even slower.
By evening, Rei's manga-artist account was flooded with comments, both from new fans and readers who had followed him from Sakura-iro Weekly.
@BlueNightForum: "So this manga is going to be a flashback-style narrative?"
@MangaAnalyst: "From what we know, yes. Māori Hino's amnesia will gradually stabilize, but the memories she's already lost won't come back. She can only rely on the diary entries she wrote before… And clearly, she's already forgotten Tōru Kamiya."
@SnowyDays: "Why did Izumi do that? Is she a villain?"
@PlotDetective: "She doesn't seem evil. Maybe she has circumstances we don't know yet."
@HeartbrokenTheorist: "Maybe Tōru was actually a jerk? Māori got hurt by him, and Izumi didn't want her to remember something painful, so she hid the handwritten diary?"
@KamiyaStan: "That's possible, except Shirogane draws Tōru way too handsome. If he turns out to be trash, I'll be emotionally devastated."
@SighingAtSunset: "Honestly, after finishing Chapter 1, I exhaled in relief. At least it's not heavy angst from the start. I already know the leads won't end up together, so no matter what, I won't be sad this time."
@ColdLogic: "Exactly. If you know from the beginning they won't be together, you won't over-invest emotionally. No matter how it goes, I'm immune."
@ElderFan: "Hehehe… thinking that knowing the ending protects you from the pain… how adorable. You sweet summer children."
@SugarTeaLover: "Anyway, Chapter 1 was great. I'll stick with it! I wonder if Shirogane reads the forums? Please make the middle parts sweet!"
Late at night, Rei sat in his room, scrolling through manga forums on his newly purchased computer.
He wasn't famous yet, not by Japan standards. But the number of readers who had followed him from Sakura-iro Weekly to Ametsukage Weekly wasn't small.
"They seem pretty optimistic," Rei murmured, amused.
In truth, Rei had already dropped a lot of information in Chapter 1.
In his previous life, the original novel Tonight only hinted vaguely that the male lead's mother died from a genetic condition.
But Rei had boldly revealed that detail in Chapter 1.
Still, most readers in this world weren't sharp enough to catch the implications.
Different world. Different thinking.
He had hinted everything clearly. If the readers didn't figure it out themselves, well, that wasn't his problem.
He turned off the computer and walked to the living room area of his room, where the half-finished manuscript pages lay spread across the table.
For serialized works, weekly storyboards and NAME drafts needed to be handed to the editor for review. Editors would give advice based on market trends, and more importantly, prevent artists from accidentally drawing something risky or career-ending.
So every week, Rei had to produce storyboards, even though he technically didn't need them, for Misaki to check. That was why he had gone to Miyu's home earlier today.
It wasn't just the fandom that was optimistic, Misaki was, too.
Rei recalled what Misaki had said after reading the storyboard for Chapter 7 earlier.
"Rei, this manga of yours has the potential to become the pure-love ceiling of Ametsukage Weekly."
Chapter 7 contained the deeply emotional scene of the leads watching fireworks together, one of the highlights of the original.
But a "pure love ceiling"?
Rei chuckled softly, his expression complicated.
The first seven chapters really were like that.
Starting from Chapter 8, things would change.
The next morning, Misaki drove to the Hoshimori Group Editorial Headquarters.
Even though it was Saturday, many departments had rotating schedules and compensatory work days.
For example, the Statistics Division of the editorial department.
The Hoshimori Group's entire manga editorial office occupied an entire floor of the building. Although it managed a complicated variety of magazines and publications, in reality, many editors were tasked with juggling responsibilities across two or three journals at once.
With Lament concluding, Misaki's focus had shifted heavily toward the editorial work of Ametsukage Weekly.
After arriving at the company, she headed straight for the Statistics Division's office.
Other Ametsukage Weekly editors were patient enough to stay home and wait for the statistics team to email the results.
But today, Misaki had absolutely no patience.
This was her first time participating as an editor for Ametsukage Weekly, and the first time seeing the ranking of a series she was personally responsible for.
At least for the first time, she wanted to be here in person.
"You know… you could've just waited at home for this," a statistics staffer she knew said with a smile, handing her a freshly printed sheet.
"We'd send the results to you. You didn't have to come all the way here on a weekend."
"It won't be like this next week," Misaki said softly.
"But this is a memorable first. I want to see it with my own eyes."
She took a deep breath, accepted the warm paper, and sat down on a nearby chair.
Her heartbeat quickened.
Even though she felt it was unlikely, she couldn't help but worry.
'What if Rei's manga ranked dead last in its first chapter?'
The Hoshimori Group's rules were uniform across all magazines:
A manga that repeatedly ranked last in the reader survey would immediately enter the cancellation process.
There had been works canceled within two or three months due to low popularity.
Misaki slowly unfolded the still-warm paper.
Among the 16 serialized manga in Ametsukage Weekly, the ranking was as follows:
Rank 1- "Labyrinth Detective Agency"
A battle-of-wits mystery series. Online fan votes: 10,000+
Misaki nodded.
This series had been running for two years. Its tankōbon volumes averaged 1.4 million copies sold.
Rank 2- "Youthful Rhythm"
A romance manga by the popular female mangaka Kayo Amemiya.
Romance manga were usually short-lived, if the leads didn't confess, fans complained; if they did confess, popularity dropped.
But this series had stable performance, also averaging 1 million+ per volume.
Fan votes exceeded 10,000.
Rank 3 - "Headless Ghost"
A horror series with a niche, dedicated audience.
Its tankōbon sold around 700,000 on average. Fan votes: 7,000+
Misaki continued scanning the list.
Then she saw it, Rank 8- "Tonight, Even If This Love Vanishes from the World!"
Total fan votes: 5,463