On the forums, after the fourth chapter of Hunter x Hunter was serialized, a large number of discussion threads related to the plot quickly appeared.
"Haha, that was surprisingly interesting!"
"I was actually a bit confused. I had to reread the old woman segment twice before I fully understood it."
"This manga is pretty intriguing. I've been reading it for four weeks now and still haven't seen a single hot-blooded battle from the protagonist. I originally thought that if this week was still bland, I'd drop it next week. But somehow, I ended up reading all forty-five pages in one sitting."
"I really like this kind of storytelling. The characters actually use their brains. Unlike some manga where the protagonist always falls into the villain's idiotic traps, then suddenly turns the tables with a loud roar at the last second. That kind of plot disgusts me. Why can't the villain also roar and turn things around? Why doesn't the villain have unwavering faith in victory too?"
"And most importantly, the protagonist isn't a bleeding heart. When he smelled blood on the path ahead, he didn't rush off to save the people who had been with him earlier. Instead, he calmly accepted what that meant and used it to think through the puzzle. If this were another manga, the protagonist would already be lecturing the Hunter Exam organizers about human rights and charging off to save everyone at all costs."
"Haha, the person above is way too real!"
"And that question about saving your lover or your mother if they fall into the water. Just hearing it makes me angry."
"Kurapika is so handsome. I don't even care about the Hunter x Hunter plot. Shirogane-sensei draws Kurapika way too beautifully. He's the best-looking character among all of Shirogane's works."
"The best-looking is still Sai. Kurapika is second."
"I'm honestly confused. I usually don't use my brain when reading manga, but this chapter actually made me seriously think about where I'd fail if I took the Hunter Exam."
"Haha, for me, I'd fail immediately. I'd get off the ship and take the bus. I don't even have Leorio's level of intelligence. I'd probably realize something was wrong halfway through, panic, try to jump off the bus to look for Gon, and then fall asleep instead."
"Is this manga really that good? I've never read Shirogane's works before. I thought a hot-blooded shōnen manga by someone who drew a Go series wouldn't be interesting, but everyone seems to think this week's chapter was great."
"How should I put it? It's the kind of manga that doesn't feel explosive while you're reading it. But after you finish and think about it, you want to go back and read it again. Personally, I really like it."
Overall, the public reception of Hunter x Hunter unfolded almost exactly as Rei had predicted.
Once the Hunter Exam content began to surface, it became clear that readers' interest had truly been ignited.
The next day, the popularity poll for Hunter x Hunter was announced.
Although it still ranked third.
Unlike previous weeks, where the number of voters had declined by several thousand each time, this week saw an increase.
And not by a small margin. By tens of thousands at once.
Its ranking had not changed, but its popularity trend had.
However, at this stage, both industry peers and fans within the Japanese manga world merely regarded this as a normal fluctuation.
In the days that followed, Rei was overwhelmed by a pile-up of responsibilities. College entrance exam results, university applications, and ongoing serialization of Hunter x Hunter all happened at once.
And while Hunter x Hunter was steadily accumulating positive word-of-mouth among readers.
An unexpected piece of news suddenly swept through all of Rei's fan communities.
Shirogane seemed to have quietly created an original animation while serializing Hunter x Hunter.
Illumination Animation Production Company, judged purely by scale, was only a small studio within the Japanese animation industry.
However, over the past few years, the company had repeatedly participated in the production of several popular animations, independently handling the creation of multiple episodes that later received widespread praise from audiences.
As a result, Illumination was fairly well known among animation fans in Japan.
Then, in the early hours of that day, the company simultaneously released an announcement on its official website and across six major online platforms under its management.
"The animation One-Punch Man, with renowned manga artist Shirogane serving as the original scriptwriter, is currently being actively produced by our company."
This was the studio's official promotional announcement for its new animation project.
Accompanying the announcement were several character design images.
A man in a yellow jumpsuit.
With a rather gentle and ordinary appearance.
And unfortunately...bald at a very young age.
This clearly looked like a mob character.
What truly caught people's attention, however, were the other character designs. The mechanical components of the cyborg were depicted with extreme precision and artistry, every detail vivid and meticulous.
There was also the elderly man with bulging muscles and a vigorous presence.
And the serious man with a scar at the corner of his eye, dignified in appearance and clearly positioned as the protagonist.
Most importantly, people noticed the scriptwriter information listed for this original animation.
The production company was Illumination.
And the scriptwriter was listed as Japan's renowned manga artist.
Shirogane?
Were they serious?
There was only one Shirogane in Japan.
And with the prefix "renowned," there was no room for doubt.
Not many people followed Illumination itself on a daily basis, but after the announcement was released, animation fans quickly flooded the company's official website.
"I'm not mistaken, right? Shirogane-sensei is the scriptwriter, and he also did the character designs?"
"One-Punch Man? What kind of name is that?"
"Why isn't Shirogane-sensei just focusing on drawing manga properly? Why did he suddenly become an animation scriptwriter?"
"Huh? This isn't false advertising, is it?"
"How is this even possible?"
"It really is Shirogane. I just checked the official filing information on the national website. Shirogane-sensei's real name, Rei, is clearly listed in the production records for One-Punch Man."
"?"
"So he went to do animation. What about the manga, then?"
"Obviously both. Can't you tell?"
"According to the timeline, when Shirogane-sensei was creating Hunter x Hunter and writing the script for One-Punch Man, it wasn't long after Hikaru no Go was serialized. Wasn't he still a student at the time? Balancing studies while being responsible for two works. Is he even human?"
"No, something feels off. A manga artist becoming an animation scriptwriter. Can that really work?"
"If manga adaptations can work, why can't a manga artist write animation scripts?"
"No, no, no. My head is starting to hurt."
"Looking at the introduction on the official website, this animation called One-Punch Man sounds pretty interesting. A man whose hobby is being a hero, defeating any enemy with a single punch."
"What is the point of that kind of story? Works where the protagonist is invincible are meaningless, especially if he's invincible from the very beginning."
"They've only just announced the project. Why are you all jumping to conclusions already?"
"I'm convinced. Shirogane-sensei really is incredible."
"Why are you all so excited? Have you considered one thing? A jack of all trades is a master of none. Shirogane-sensei is doing everything at once. Is it possible that his studies suffer, he fails to get into university, Hunter x Hunter starts performing poorly, and then the ratings for this One-Punch Man animation also crash?"
"No. You're overthinking it. At least when it comes to Hunter x Hunter, can its performance really be called poor? It's been serialized for four weeks and has consistently ranked in the top three of Dream Comic. Is that considered bad?"
A single piece of news, released through ordinary channels, rapidly spread throughout Japan's manga and animation circles.
Hunter x Hunter had only been serialized for one month.
And Shirogane had already announced new work once again.
...
Read 50+ chapters ahead @[email protected]/Ashnoir