After the college entrance examination, a relaxed atmosphere spread throughout Japanese society.
Although the results had not yet been announced, most students had already stopped thinking about them.
Those who wanted to play games played games. Those who wanted to travel went traveling.
Those who wanted to binge anime binged anime.
Spending in Japan's entertainment sector surged noticeably.
As for manga fans who followed Dream Comic and Shirogane, they had been in a state of barely restrained excitement these past few days.
"It's coming. It's really coming, Hunter × Hunter."
"I heard it's a hot-blooded shonen battle manga. Teacher Shirogane has never drawn anything like that before, right?"
"Before 5 Centimeters Per Second, he hadn't even serialized a manga or submitted anything to a magazine. And that still ended up getting a movie adaptation next year. So what if it's shonen?"
"It's just that the title Hunter × Hunter is… kind of hard to accept. His previous works didn't have such strange names."
"Honestly, anyone guessing it's about hunting animals is overthinking it. That kind of content wouldn't pass Dream Comic's serialization meeting, let alone Japan's content review. Hunting protected wildlife is absolutely forbidden. This manga definitely won't be as literal as the title sounds."
"Couldn't he have chosen a simpler name? If this weren't by Teacher Shirogane, I'd lose interest just from seeing the title."
"Only rookie manga artists rely on flashy titles. For someone of Teacher Shirogane's level, just seeing the pen name 'Shirogane' is enough."
"To be honest, it still doesn't feel real. I've followed his work since 5 Centimeters Per Second. How long has it even been? And he's already the youngest first-rate manga artist in Japan."
"In ancient times, there were founders who built empires in five or six years. This is nothing. When it comes to geniuses, you just get used to it."
"Three days. Only three more days until I can read his new manga. I really hope it doesn't disappoint."
"I'm a girl, and I never read shonen manga, but I'm following this one for Teacher Shirogane."
"Girls read shonen battle manga?"
"Of course we do. As long as the protagonist's values are normal, the story focuses on plot, and there's no forced romance, why wouldn't we read it? We like hot-blooded stories too."
"Don't underestimate Shirogane's female fanbase. He literally debuted pretending to be a female shōjo mangaka. Even now, his female readership isn't lower than his male readership.That said… if this new work isn't handled well, a lot of female readers might drop it."
Three days before the serialization date of Hunter × Hunter, Rei's fanbase became more active with each passing day.
A manga with only its title announced had already become one of the most frequently discussed works among Japanese manga enthusiasts.
Then,
June 16 arrived.
From five in the morning, countless Shirogane fans were already active on forums, waiting for bookstores to open after eight.
Hina couldn't sleep at all.
Hikaru no Go had ended three months ago. Shirogane's anti-fans, facing steadily rising volume sales and reputation, had completely lost their footing. They could no longer find angles to attack and had been utterly crushed by his supporters.
Now, they were lying in wait, gathering strength, preparing to explode the moment Hunter × Hunter officially began serialization.
Hina had already argued with several of them early that morning. By the time she noticed the light outside, dawn had arrived.
"Let's go."
She took a deep breath, slung on her backpack, and stepped outside.
A gentle June breeze brushed her face. The cool morning air cleared her head completely.
She quickly arrived at the bookstore near her home.
Before even entering, her eyes were caught by a massive poster hanging at the entrance.
A black-haired boy in green clothing, a fishing rod slung over his shoulder, smiling innocently.
A silver-haired boy with a cold expression.
A red-eyed young man staring seriously at a spider tattoo on the back of his hand.
And a laid-back man in a suit, carrying a briefcase.
The four stood together in different poses, different heights.
Yet at a glance, it was obvious.
They were companions. They were comrades.
At the top of the full-color poster, four bold characters stood out sharply: Hunter × Hunter
The art style Shirogane adopted for Hunter × Hunter was clearly an evolution of the original work.
The older art style from the previous century felt dated now, but the core character designs were faithfully preserved, with only subtle refinements.
Hina's first impression was clear:
Exquisite, but not flashy.
Something female readers would like, and male readers wouldn't dislike.
She liked it immediately.
Taking another deep breath, Hina headed to the manga section.
Just as expected, the cover of Dream Comic for its first serialization week featured the same characters.
Only this time, the image showed the boy in green hugging a gentle-looking woman.
"What kind of manga is this…?" Hina murmured, intrigued.
She paid quickly, sat down in the reading area, and tore open the plastic wrap.
No need to check the table of contents, the first page was already Hunter × Hunter.
The moment she began reading, Aoyama Hina's eyes lit up.
Many manga artists minimized backgrounds to save effort, filling panels with nothing but faces, making scenes feel hollow.
But Hunter × Hunter was different.
Perhaps because it was the first chapter, every detail was carefully drawn.
The melancholic woman on the first page. The tavern behind her.
The furnishings. The lighting.
Everything was meticulously rendered.
"Wasn't Shirogane still preparing for the college entrance exam when he drew this…?" Hina thought.
Could someone really work this hard?
The story moved quickly.
The woman and her mother spoke about a boy named Gon Freecss.
From their conversation, it became clear, the woman, Mito, was Gon Freecss's adoptive mother.
While the two were worried about Gon Freecss, who, at only ten years old, had run into the deep mountains during a raging storm.
"He promised me he'd be back before sunset. I just don't want him to become someone who breaks his word," Mito replied.
The perspective shifted to the depths of the mountains.
A little boy was being chased through the forest by a giant bear-like beast.
At the critical moment, a slender man drew his sword, killed the beast, and saved him.
But after confirming that the boy was unharmed, the man immediately punched him.
"Who goes into the deep mountains at this time of year? Didn't your father teach you? If I hadn't heard those sounds, I wouldn't have had to kill it," the man said angrily, glancing at the fallen beast.
"I don't have a father or a mother. They died in an accident shortly after I was born! I was raised by my aunt…"
This encounter was the beginning of everything.
Hina turned page after page.
Hunter × Hunter wasn't slow-paced, but its narrative rhythm wasn't rushed either, it was steady, solid, and deliberate.
Most shōnen manga liked to throw out their settings right from the start.
But Hunter × Hunter began by introducing Gon Freecss's father, Ging, who was not dead, through Gon's encounter with Kite, the man who saved him.
Kite was actually Ging's disciple. His purpose for being there was to complete the final test his master had given him: to find Ging himself.
And through their conversation, the manga introduced a group of people who would run through the entire main storyline of the work.
Hunters.
A unique class of people in this world, those who searched for treasure, explored ancient ruins, uncovered historical secrets, sought out rare cuisine, accepted dangerous commissions, and operated on the most perilous frontiers of society.
They were officially recognized by nations across the world and possessed immense social status.
"According to this, Hunters feel like secret agents, don't they?" Hina thought.
"But not agents for a single country, more like global agents."
As long as it wasn't literally about hunting animals, she had no complaints.
From this encounter with Kite, a seed of curiosity about the profession of Hunter took root in the heart of ten-year-old Gon Freecss.
After returning home, he asked his adoptive mother, Mito, about his father, but received only vague answers.
When Gon firmly expressed his desire to become a Hunter, he was scolded and flatly refused.
'I want to become a Hunter and find my father!'
'What's the point of finding him? He abandoned you when you were just a baby!'
Hina felt her chest tighten.
The plot of Hunter × Hunter was simple, simple enough for an elementary school student to understand.
Yet it was precisely this simplicity that drew her in so quickly.
Even in just the first chapter, she was already immersed.
The reason was obvious.
The character writing was too good.
Not a single line of dialogue was wasted. Not a single panel felt meaningless.
Especially Mito's portrayal.
The narration didn't spell anything out, but Hina could clearly feel it, Mito opposed Gon becoming a Hunter not out of anger, but out of worry… and fear.
Fear that the child she had raised would leave and never return.
She truly treated Gon as her own son.
In the anime version from Rei's previous life, Mito was set as Ging's sister-in-law.
In the original manga, they were cousins.
Of course, that detail didn't affect the story at all.
'I hate Ging's profession. What do Hunters even do? Abandon family and loved ones! And you want to become a Hunter just to find him?!' Mito shouted angrily.
Under the dim night light, the boy sitting on the windowsill looked at his adoptive mother with unwavering determination.
He said something that struck straight into Hina's heart.
'Then I want to see it for myself. Is being a Hunter really such a great job, one worth abandoning your child and loved ones for?'
Her eyes widened.
A ten-year-old boy, after learning the truth about his father, showed no resentment, no self-pity.
Only resolve.
What kind of profession could make someone choose it over family?
If Ging were truly a terrible person, could he have raised a disciple like Kite, someone who felt guilt over killing a single beast?
If Ging wasn't a bad person…
Then what kind of work was worth such a sacrifice?
Hunter…
'You really are his child…' Mito staggered back, ending the conversation.
At the doorway stood her mother. Mito covered her mouth and broke into tears.
The next day, Mito handed Gon a fishing rod.
'If you can catch the Lord of the Swamp, I'll allow you to leave home and take the Hunter Exam.'
Hunter? An exam?
The manga finally began to unveil more of its world.
The Hunter Exam. The core driving plot of Hunter × Hunter's early arc.
And the first chapter of hunter x hunter clearly grasped its priorities.
In just a few panels, the manga revealed the scene of Gon Freecss successfully catching the Lord of the Swamp a year later.
In the end, Mito agreed to sign and fingerprint Gon Freecss's Hunter Exam application form.
Before Gon left, Mito apologized to him.
'I said many bad things about your father. Some of them… I made up. I'm sorry.'
By the lakeside on the small island, Mito spoke with tears in her eyes.
'I already knew those were lies. Because Aunt Mito never looks at my face when she lies.'
Under the setting sun, Gon Freecss smiled gently.
Mito finally broke down and hugged Gon tightly.
On the last page of the chapter, Gon hugged her back.
'I don't know what a mother's scent is like. But Aunt Mito's scent is just like one. I'll never forget it, no matter where I go…'
'Because Aunt Mito… is my mother.'
Hina's eyes reddened when she read that line.
She turned the page, only to find that there was nothing more.
The first chapter of hunter x hunter barely explained the Hunter profession at all. Instead, it focused almost entirely on developing the bond between Mito and Gon Freecss.
In most manga, the protagonist's family members exist like placeholder NPCs, barely leaving an impression.
But hunter x hunter, in just one chapter, gave Rin a powerful sense of immersion. She could genuinely feel the sorrow of a mother reluctant to let her child leave home.
"How incredible… Shirogane-sensei… are you really only seventeen?" Rin leaned back in her chair, quietly savoring the story.
The first chapter of hunter x hunter contained almost no large-scale combat, unlike most hot-blooded shonen manga.
In truth, whether it's manga, novels, or films, once flashy effects and battles are stripped away, more than seventy percent of the story is about human relationships.
'You can replace his mother, but you can never replace his father…' his grandmother had said.
Battles in hot-blooded shonen manga are merely the result of plot development. What truly captivates readers is the process that makes those battles inevitable.
It didn't matter how powerful the Hunter profession might be. Through his actions in the first chapter, Gon Freecss had already earned Hina's affection and approval.
That alone was enough to make her anticipate the Hunter Exam arc.
"What will the next chapter be like?"
Starting from the daytime, a large number of readers who bought the hunter x hunter issue began leaving comments online.
Naturally, anti-fans didn't miss the opportunity.
"Is that it? I finished the first chapter and still don't even know what a Hunter does. Is Shirogane joking?"
"Why give the protagonist of a hot-blooded shonen manga an adoptive mother? Isn't it tradition in Dream Comic for both parents to die in the first chapter?"
"Isn't this supposed to be a battle manga? Why is the protagonist fishing for the entire first chapter? That's too hot-blooded, isn't it?"
"The manga just started. Why are you all in such a rush? What masterpiece is fully revealed in its first chapter?"
"Aren't the first two or three chapters always meant to build the world?"
"The anti-fans have been holding it in for three months and finally couldn't resist anymore, huh?"
"It's really good. It's rare to see a manga portray the protagonist's family so movingly."
"Isn't the protagonist only ten years old?"
"Twelve, actually. He's ten in the first chapter, but he spends one or two years trying to catch the Lord of the Swamp."
"A ten-year-old fishing in a swamp… Shirogane-sensei really started training fishermen early."
"It's interesting. I'll keep following this manga."
"Same here. And don't forget to vote for hunter x hunter after reading!"
All day long, Rei closely followed the public reaction online.
Discussions between loyal fans, anti-fans hired by rival companies, and ordinary readers were endless.
Overall, there were very few complaints about the first chapter of hunter x hunter.
Even anti-fans struggled to find real points of criticism. The opening chapter was stronger and more emotionally resonant than the first chapter of at least eighty percent of popular hot-blooded shonen manga in Dream Comic.
It didn't rely on flashy action or overwhelming art. Instead, it drew readers in through a sincere and touching mother-son relationship.
Everyone understood one thing clearly, It was far too early to judge this manga's true level.
Only after more characters appeared and the world view unfolded over the next few weeks would answers emerge.
For now, whether supporters or critics, readers weren't focused on the plot itself.
All eyes were fixed on one thing.
Tomorrow's ranking announcement.
After all, Hikaru no go still held the record for the highest weekly popularity votes since Dream Comic introduced online voting.
If the author of Hikaru no go failed to perform well with his new work, that would truly become headline news.
...
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