After Rei and his friend, who was also his manga editor, Misaki, confirmed his future development direction, he fully immersed himself in the adaptation work for Hunter × Hunter and One-Punch Man.
Since both works were set in fictional worlds, Rei no longer had to worry about adapting their backgrounds to this world's Japan. All character names, locations, and terminology could be preserved exactly as in the originals.
The original One-Punch Man was a webcomic created by ONE-sensei, and to be frank, the art quality of the early version could have been surpassed by many talented elementary school students.
Precisely because of this, One-Punch Man failed to gain widespread popularity at first.
It was only later, when Yusuke Murata discovered the story, contacted ONE-sensei, and completely redrew One-Punch Man with his extraordinary artistic skill, that the manga exploded in popularity worldwide.
However, in Rei's previous life, this manga was both elevated and ultimately undermined by Murata.
In the later stages of serialization, Murata insisted on indulging his own imagination, deviating heavily from ONE's original storyline. He introduced elements such as Orochi, a self-created version of Blast, and even a self-created "God," which led to a massive wave of criticism and dissatisfaction among readers.
Rei believed that his current drawing ability already surpassed Murata's. Even if One-Punch Man were not serialized as a manga, he absolutely had to be personally involved in its character design and overall visual direction.
As for Hunter × Hunter, its original art style leaned toward the older side. Rei would need to make careful adjustments.
The characters' facial features and expressions would remain unchanged, but their clothing and overall styling would be redesigned to appear more modern and better aligned with contemporary Japanese aesthetics.
To be honest, this alone represented a tremendous workload.
Time quietly passed, and mid-April arrived.
On this day, Editor Misaki brought Rei some news.
As expected, Hoshimori Group rejected Rei's proposal to serialize two manga simultaneously in Dream Comic. Even Misaki herself was harshly criticized by senior management simply for raising the suggestion.
Their words were blunt and unequivocal:
"Hoshimori Group has no privileged manga artists."
These words were clearly meant to be relayed to Rei as well.
When Rei heard Misaki recount the conversation over the phone, a faint smile appeared on his face.
"Alright. I'm really sorry you were criticized because of me," Rei said calmly.
"I understand Hoshimori Group's rules. For the next stage, I'll focus entirely on Hunter × Hunter and submit it before the late-April serialization meeting."
"You don't need to take it to heart," Misaki replied softly.
"But in that case… what about One-Punch Man? Have you chosen an animation production company yet?"
"No," Rei shook his head.
"But I do have funds. Between last year's Hikaru no Go royalties and various copyright dividends, my capital is still quite substantial. If I have money..."
"That's not the point at all," Misaki interrupted seriously.
"Rei, you're thinking far too simply about the animation industry."
"A high-quality anime isn't something you can create just by throwing money at it. Funding is important, yes, but it's absolutely not everything."
"What do you mean?" Rei asked.
He truly didn't understand how the animation industry operated.
Under Misaki's explanation, Rei finally began to grasp the reality.
Japan has no shortage of animation production companies, many of which have created legendary works in animation history.
But assuming that investing tens of millions of yen into a large studio would guarantee a top-tier anime was a grave misconception.
These companies typically work on multiple projects simultaneously. Their manpower is limited.
So who gets the best director, series composition, animation director, key animators, producers, voice actors, and background artists?
The answer was obvious.
Their own original projects.
Original works belong to the company, allowing them to profit from future adaptations, merchandise, and long-term IP value.
But if Rei entered merely as an outside investor, those companies would only earn a one-time production fee.
From their perspective, there was no incentive to invest their top talent.
More often than not, the work would be subcontracted, then sub-subcontracted again, until it ended up in the hands of a small studio with limited resources.
The quality of the final product was easy to imagine.
Rei's expression immediately turned awkward.
Spending a fortune to create a disaster?
"This is why our group's manga adaptations are almost always entrusted to the same few studios," Misaki explained.
Then she hesitated.
"Rei… if you trust me, I can introduce you to a company."
She paused briefly before continuing.
Strictly speaking, she didn't want to interfere with Rei's business decisions. After all, she was an editor at Hoshimori Group. Helping an artist secure an animation studio crossed professional boundaries.
But she still said it.
Not as an editor.
As a friend.
On the other end of the phone, Rei smiled.
"Miss Misaki, please go ahead."
"You know the anime Dragon Spirit Warrior, right?"
Rei nodded.
It was a popular anime that premiered in October last year, produced by Kuta, a well-known animation production company in Japan.
"The ninth episode, the one fans praised as a 'god-tier episode', was actually outsourced. You can check that episode's quality yourself…"
Rei immediately understood what Misaki was getting at.
"I haven't watched that episode in full, but I've seen clips online," Rei replied.
"It really was extremely well made. So, Miss Misaki… does that mean the episode was outsourced to the company you're talking about?"
"Yes," Misaki answered without hesitation.
"The owner of that studio is my university classmate. I became a manga editor after graduation, and she started her own animation company."
As Misaki continued, the picture became clearer to Rei.
She spoke very frankly: she had great confidence in the production capability of the animation company Illumination, but recommending it to Rei also meant introducing work to her old classmate. She did not hide the fact that she had personal motives.
Small animation studios like Illumination often didn't have steady projects every quarter. Sometimes they went a year, or even two, without producing an independently led anime, relying instead on outsourced work from major studios to survive.
If they accepted Rei's project, they would unquestionably pour all their resources into it.
Rei closed his eyes and thought quietly for a moment.
In Japan, there were certainly many capable animation studios.
But most of them wouldn't take an original anime project like One-Punch Man seriously, especially one without prior market validation.
The studio Misaki introduced was small, but since its founding, it had repeatedly delivered individual outsourced episodes that were highly praised by audiences.
More importantly, Misaki was confident that the studio would treat Rei's project with one hundred percent commitment.
"I understand," Rei finally said.
"I'll focus on the late-April serialization meeting first." He smiled lightly.
"After Hunter × Hunter is officially approved for serialization, I'll ask you to make the introduction. I want to visit the studio personally before making a final decision."
In truth, neither Misaki nor Rei were particularly worried about the serialization meeting.
Rei's previous work, Hikaru no Go, already had overwhelming influence.
For ordinary manga artists, Dream Comic's serialization meetings required them to demonstrate unique highlights and market potential just to earn a chance.
But for someone of Rei's stature, as long as the manuscript had no obvious flaws, serialization was almost guaranteed.
The so-called serialization meeting for Hunter × Hunter would most likely be a formality.
Unless the work itself failed catastrophically, any manga Rei submitted in the future would have an extremely high probability of passing review.
"Understood," Misaki said.
Then she added softly,
"Rei, the college entrance exam is only a month and a half away. I know you've thought carefully about releasing a new manga at this time. The exam may not be especially important in your life plan, but even so…"
"I still wish you good luck."
"Thank you," Rei replied sincerely, then hung up the phone.
He exhaled deeply and closed his eyes.
At this moment, he had only two tasks.
The serialization meeting in late April corresponded to a manga slot that would conclude in mid-June.
Coincidentally, the release date would fall in the second week after the college entrance examination.
That was precisely why Rei had confidently announced at the Hikaru no Go finale press conference that his new work would begin serialization after the exam.
Once the serialization meeting concluded, the next step would be finalizing the animation production for One-Punch Man.
Rei opened his eyes.
It seemed that this year…
He was going to be extremely busy.