Time moved into mid-September.
As Hunter x Hunter continued its serialization, the Trick Tower arc finally reached its climax.
Tonpa, once regarded by readers as an almost godlike troublemaker, was quickly defeated at the very beginning.
Gon won the candle game against an ordinary opponent.
Kurapika defeated the muscular fighter who had impersonated a member of the Phantom Troupe. However, adhering to his own principles, he refused to kill an already defeated opponent and was therefore judged to have lost.
Leorio, tempted by psychological manipulation, fell into a trap and lost his match as well.
Then came Killua.
With a calm and terrifying move, he ended the battle by tearing out his opponent's heart in a bloody and ruthless fashion.
Despite this, the overall team battle still ended in Gon's group losing. According to the rules, they were imprisoned inside Trick Tower for dozens of hours, wasting precious time.
Yet with the continuous serialization of this arc, especially Killua's shocking display in Chapter Fourteen and Kurapika's knightly code of conduct during his fight, the popularity of both characters skyrocketed.
At the same time, the voting numbers for Hunter x Hunter on Dream Comic surged again.
The latest popularity vote had already exceeded 820,000, catching up to Source War Chronicle, which still held first place in the magazine.
That Hunter x Hunter could achieve such results after only fourteen chapters completely dispelled the doubts of major investors across Japan.
One collaboration proposal after another followed in quick succession. In-manga product placement discussions, anime adaptation negotiations, novel adaptations, game tie-ins, and merchandise planning were all launched rapidly.
For Hikaru no Go, it had once been difficult to find suitable IP collaboration partners.
But for a work like Hunter x Hunter, everything moved with astonishing ease.
Japan's manga industry already had a mature system for expanding and monetizing successful IPs, so Rei hardly needed to concern himself with operations. Multiple departments within Hoshimori Group coordinated closely, determined to elevate Hunter x Hunter into the next core pillar of Dream Comic.
As for Rei himself, his schedule during this period was completely packed.
As a freshman, he already had a heavy course load. As a public figure, it was not appropriate for him to skip classes casually.
Fortunately, the academy understood his situation as a popular manga artist, and his requests for leave to attend signing events and partner ceremonies were usually approved without difficulty.
During the day, he dealt with his studies and commercial obligations at both the university and Hoshimori Group.
At night, he transformed into something resembling an octopus, drawing manga at a frantic pace.
At times like these, the assistants he had hired proved invaluable.
On top of that, he still needed to set aside time to supervise the production of the One-Punch Man anime.
His overall workload far exceeded a typical 996 schedule.
Yet Rei adapted surprisingly well.
Perhaps due to his transmigration, his mental endurance was far stronger than that of an ordinary person. Even with so many responsibilities piled on him, he did not feel especially exhausted.
After a full night's sleep, he would wake up refreshed and ready to continue.
Time soon reached late September.
In the manga industry, because each company serialized its works within its own magazines, conflicts between fanbases usually remained internal.
For example, fans of Hikaru no Go and Source War Chronicle frequently argued with each other, but those disputes never extended to Monogatari Comic.
The anime industry, however, was fundamentally different.
Once manga were adapted into anime and released as tankōbon volumes, their industry status became largely determined by sales figures and broadcast performance.
Manga was, at its core, a commercial product.
No matter how strong a work's reputation was, if it failed to earn as much as competing titles, its standing would inevitably be lower.
Likewise, if a manga's popularity declined after its anime adaptation aired, its industry position would suffer significantly.
Anime reached a far broader audience than manga. If the anime performed poorly, the work would be limited to volume sales alone, and there would be little point in dreaming about merchandise or broader expansion.
Among the anime scheduled to premiere during the October autumn season, friction had already begun to emerge.
Fans of Shinji, the creator of Burning Sin, and fans of Shirogane had started clashing.
Shirogane's fans knew only one thing.
Hikaru no Go had won the viewership championship in two out of its three broadcast seasons.
Naturally, they held extremely high expectations for One-Punch Man.
They believed that this new anime would once again dominate the autumn season's ratings.
Such remarks naturally provoked strong dissatisfaction among Burning Sin fans.
After all, the first three seasons of Burning Sin's anime had all exploded in popularity after their premieres. In two of those three seasons, it had unquestionably been the dominant anime of the season.
The only season it lost was when it aired head-on against Echoes of the End, the top-ranked manga in the same magazine, during its third anime season. Losing to Echoes of the End was something Burning Sin fans could accept. After all, they had been losing to it in magazine rankings for years, so losing in anime viewership as well felt natural.
But Shirogane?
What was this supposed to mean?
So what if he was the top manga artist of Dream Comic? Did that mean he could suddenly step into the battlefield and provoke them, while his fans spoke so arrogantly, giving no respect at all?
For fans of Monogatari Comic, Japan's manga world was divided into only two categories.
Monogatari Comic and everything else.
Their mentality was similar to how, in Rei's previous life, many manga fans paid attention only to the pillar works of Weekly Shōnen Jump. A considerable portion of fans on both sides had already reached the point where merely encountering each other online was enough to trigger hostility.
"The reason Hikaru no Go topped the ratings back then was simply because there were no real competitors at the same time. This time, Teacher Shinji will let Shirogane understand how deep the waters of the manga world really are."
"By the way, Burning Sin is an anime adapted from a manga, while One-Punch Man is an original anime. Why are these two fanbases even arguing?"
"Isn't it because Shirogane's fans keep spreading those claims online that One-Punch Man will dominate the autumn season? I've realized Shirogane's fans are completely unhinged. They dare to imagine anything."
"Isn't it normal for people to have dreams? Are fans supposed to expect their favorite anime to perform poorly instead?"
"If Shirogane wants to compete with Teacher Shinji, let him first take first place in Dream Comic. Maybe after the anime adaptation of Hunter x Hunter tops the popularity charts, its ratings could compete with Burning Sin. But One-Punch Man? Forget it. An original anime without a massive fanbase backing it is almost guaranteed to flop."
"Shirogane has potential, sure, but that's all it is. Potential. If an original anime wants to challenge Burning Sin, and it actually wins, I'll eat my words. Does he really think that just putting his name down as the screenwriter will make everyone watch this weirdly named anime? If it were that easy, Japan would already be in an era where manga artists switch to anime screenwriting en masse."
"You Burning Sin fans sure laugh loudly. I've followed Teacher Shirogane's works ever since Five Centimeters per Second. I've noticed a pattern. Every time his works are about to break out, it's always nobodies like you who show up to belittle him. Don't think Burning Sin is guaranteed to win. There have been plenty of cases in Japan where original anime surpassed popular manga adaptations."
"It's the same old conclusion. Burning Sin is the undisputed ruler of the October season. If Shirogane fans aren't convinced, come back in October and slap me in the face. I won't delete this post. You're welcome to dig it up then."
As October drew closer and Japan's anime market began to heat up after the end of the summer season, the major anime forums across the country grew increasingly active.
At the same time, the conflict between Shirogane's fans and Shinji's fans continued to escalate.
Many media outlets in Japan had already taken notice of this brewing storm.
Just as Miyu had predicted.
The media had officially entered the fray.
...
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