"I burst out laughing! This anime is too interesting!"
"When the Rhinoceros Beetle activated Asura Mode, I thought Saitama couldn't handle it and got stunned. I really thought his character design was about to collapse, with the protagonist completely suppressed and unable to fight back. I never expected Saitama was only stunned because today was Saturday, and by fighting the monster here, he missed the supermarket sale. When he roared that line and punched the Rhinoceros Beetle into minced meat, I was stunned too."
"I really love this anime. There's no deep misery, no scheming or plotting, just a lazy protagonist whose response to being provoked is punching you into oblivion."
"The end of the world isn't as despairing as Saitama missing the supermarket sale!"
"Speaking of which, Saitama is so strong and has defeated so many powerful monsters before. Why isn't he famous? Even these weak monsters cause massive disasters to the city. Saitama's past actions should count as saving cities, right? Why is he still so poor that he needs supermarket discounts just to eat?"
"I don't get it. Maybe Saitama is the type who just leaves after the deed is done."
"If I were Saitama, I'd already be the richest man in the world and the King of Everything, not buying discounted groceries. I guess you shouldn't expect that kind of moral standard."
"Saitama's dream is to be a hero without constraints. Only someone powerful enough to act on personal principles can be called a hero. Being a hero doesn't mean having morals imposed by an organization or law. Anyone who uses force to dominate the world is called a 'Monster' in this anime. Get that straight."
"This is the most satisfying anime I've watched in the last three years. It's just a shame the production company is unknown and the merchandise partners are terrible. The ratings and popularity are so high, yet the official site doesn't even have a merchandise preorder page. Not a single hero or monster figure exists. I want to spend money, but I don't even get the chance."
"After all, it's not produced by Hoshimori Group, so the industrial chain can't keep up. Teacher Shirogane has to manage HUNTER X HUNTER, oversee the ONE-PUNCH MAN anime, attend university, and negotiate cooperation deals on weekends. Give him a break. Saitama is superhuman, but Shirogane is just eighteen."
"Eighteen years old…"
"I feel embarrassed complaining now. When I was eighteen, I was still asking my mom if I could open a carton of calcium milk. Shirogane has already reached this level. Enough said. Since there's no merchandise preorder page, I'll go to Opinion Hub and give it a high score."
"Damn it, I only started watching from Episode Three. This is torture. When will the Blu-ray discs be released? I need to catch up on the first two episodes."
"Same here. The title didn't interest me at all at first, but a friend forced me to watch tonight's episode. I won't underestimate flashy anime titles ever again."
On Friday night, after Episode Three of ONE-PUNCH MAN aired, the discussion frenzy far exceeded that of the previous two weeks.
Even the best works need time for word of mouth to ferment.
The extremely high ratings and reputation of ONE-PUNCH MAN over the past two weeks had already spread among the anime community, and many casual viewers joined the binge-watching crowd out of curiosity.
This episode happened to feature the battle between Saitama and the Asura Rhinoceros Beetle, and the "Saitama Training Method" instantly became a viral meme. The discussion heat generated after this broadcast far surpassed previous episodes.
The next day, Saturday, the viewership ratings for Episode Three of ONE-PUNCH MAN were announced.
5.35 percent.
After this data was released, major media outlets stopped holding back and began praising ONE-PUNCH MAN enthusiastically.
For an anime with strong word of mouth, high ratings, and overwhelming praise, no media outlet would be foolish enough to publish criticism at this moment.
Compared to the previous week, the ratings for Episode Three surged again.
It also became the highest single-episode anime rating recorded since the start of the Autumn Season.
Another day passed, and Sunday arrived.
After Episode Three of the season's former "hegemon anime," Burning Sin, aired and its overall rating settled at 5.29 percent, it was effectively confirmed that ONE-PUNCH MAN had surpassed Burning Sin in just three weeks.
Even if the rankings change later, Burning Sin's preclaimed title as the seasonal hegemon had already vanished.
Even if it lasted only one week, can a work that has been overtaken still be called a hegemon?
Moreover, will it really be only once?
In the fourth week, fifth week, and beyond, can Burning Sin truly reclaim the lead?
As expected, many works crowned "hegemon" before airing collapse spectacularly.
It's just that ONE-PUNCH MAN, this dark horse, was far too overwhelming.
Only three weeks.
As the media frantically reported on both works, Shirogane's fans inevitably clashed online with fans Burning Sin.
Neither side yielded, and verbal warfare intensified.
This large-scale fan conflict inevitably produced another result.
One side represented Shirogane, the most successful manga artist currently under Hoshimori Group.
The other represented the author whose work consistently ranked second in popularity at Monogatari Comic.
The dispute was quickly exaggerated by media outlets into a commercial rivalry between Dream Comic and Monogatari Comic.
Although One-Punch Man had absolutely no connection to Hoshimori Group, never underestimate the media's ability to gossip.
[The Rise of Genius Manga Artist Shirogane, Strongly Challenging Monogatari Comic's Industry Hegemony!]
[Although the weekly sales of Dream Comic have climbed to 19 million copies, there is still a huge gap compared to Monogatari Comic's 25.5 million copies.]
[While Hunter x Hunter may not lead Dream Comic Journal to surpass Monogatari Comic in total sales, will Hunter x Hunter achieve a crushing victory over the Monogatari Comic Big Three in terms of the average sales volume per collected tankōbon volume of its own work?]
[One-Punch Man Becomes the Hottest Anime of the Autumn Season. Perhaps, it will also become the hottest anime in Japan this year!]
[Japan's anime market started this year with Hikaru no Go, winning the January Winter Season ratings championship. Will it conclude with One-Punch Man, taking the October Autumn Season championship? Who exactly is Shirogane, and why are all his works exploding in popularity!]
[I can already see the blueprint for the Best Anime of the Year in One-Punch Man!]
[Fans across the entire network are calling for Shirogane to quickly open a merchandise store for One-Punch Man figures. Unlike Hikaru no Go, which was critically acclaimed but lacked mass market appeal, Hikaru no Go's profit channels were very limited due to its subject matter. However, if One-Punch Man continues to develop as it is now, it is highly likely to become a major IP anime!]
[In the same week, Hunter x Hunter topped the popularity charts on Dream Comic. One-Punch Man topped the ratings and scores in the Autumn Anime market. Shirogane showed all creators in the Japan animation industry what a true genius is!]
[Shirogane is absolutely the greatest genius in the Japan animation industry in the last thirty years!]
The frenzied reporting and praise from the news media even influenced reality.
The Animation College where Rei studied immediately posted Rei's photo in the college section of the official school website.
They grandly and vividly introduced Rei's achievements studying in the Animation Department of Vocational University in a ten-thousand-word feature for the following year's recruitment materials, completely ignoring the fact that Rei had been enrolled for less than two months, hadn't finished his basic courses, and frequently took leave to handle various matters.
But now, none of that mattered.
Almost every subject teacher would cast a benevolent gaze toward Rei when teaching in class.
When Rei needed to take leave to handle matters, his counselor not only gave him the green light the entire time but also clearly hinted to Rei that he didn't need to worry about final class participation scores or credits. He wouldn't fail or receive low marks just because he took leave to handle things, provided he participated in the final exams on time.
After all, among all the institutions in Japan offering animation production majors, you would be hard-pressed to find a second student as outrageous as Rei.
Two months after starting school, Rei, a freshman, the screenwriter and investor of One-Punch Man, who also deeply participated in the anime's music production, saw its ratings reach the top.
This was publicity capital and teaching performance. It didn't matter what connection the birth of One-Punch Man had to the school; as long as Rei was a student there, that was enough.
The massive popularity of One-Punch Man led to Vocationa; University becoming a gathering spot for large numbers of One-Punch Man anime fans. They and the Hunter x Hunter fans often teamed up to wait by the school's front and back gates for Rei as he left for Animation Production Company.
"This is truly exhausting!"
Inside Illumination Production Company.
After Rei and the producer Himari finished watching the completed sixth episode of the One-Punch Man anime, he couldn't help but sigh.
"Exhausted? Are you tired just from watching one episode of anime?" Himari asked curiously.
"I was talking about the journey from school to here," Rei replied.
"I was blocked by over two hundred fans at the school gate. Taking photos and signing autographs left my hand aching."
"Others would be envious if they were in your shoes," Himari shot Rei a look.
"Look at me, I wish one day hundreds of fans would surround me when I step out of the company gates and praise me. But unfortunately, most anime fans only care if the voice actors are pretty or handsome, and then they focus on the screenwriters and directors. Many people are not even interested in the names of producers like me."
"Miss Himari, if Illumination were to publicize your photo, you would probably gain many fans," Rei said.
Hearing this, Himari's eyes shifted. She simply smiled and steered the conversation elsewhere.
"Speaking of which, Rei, what are your plans for one-punch man?"
"Plans?"
"Yes, plans," Himari said.
"For example, how long do you plan the content of this work to be? To what extent will you develop its IP? Haven't you thought carefully about this as the creator and copyright holder?"
"Let's break even first," Rei said with a chuckle.
"For the past three years, most of the money I earned drawing manga was poured into this anime. Once the work recoups its costs, I will naturally establish a related animation company to manage the IP."
If one-punch man were serialized by Hoshimori Group, all operations and IP promotion would be funded, staffed, and executed by the group. Rei could simply collect commissions each year. Although the percentage would be small, it would be stable and hassle free. Moreover, Hoshimori Group has international distribution channels, allowing merchandise to be sold overseas.
Managing the IP independently meant bearing profits and losses, investing money, manpower, and time, and consuming significant mental energy. As for market expansion, that depended entirely on the quality of the work.
Fortunately, given the current popularity of one-punch man, the financial pressure for merchandise promotion and advertising would be far lower.
"As for the length of this work…" Rei mused.
"It will last at least three to four seasons. I mentioned this before. I am not interested in the model where companies spend seven or eight years dragging out a single work. I plan to finish it in one go. It will probably air continuously for about a year."
"Furthermore, I am currently negotiating with Capital TV Station about moving one-punch man to a prime time slot next season."
Himari was taken aback.
She hesitated for a moment before asking, "Rei, while you are responsible for the hunter x hunter manga serialization, can you really maintain such high intensity script creation for one-punch man?"
"As for that…" Rei smiled.
"You'll find out over the next year. What I can guarantee is that the later plot of the one-punch man anime will be far more exciting than the early stages."
"Although one-punch man is doing quite well now, this is just the beginning."