During the final week of the first season's broadcast, One-punch Man delivered a highly satisfactory report card to the market.
Although it was only the final episode, a viewership rating exceeding 6% spoke for itself.
You could argue that One-punch Man is merely a "power fantasy" work lacking depth, but the audience proved otherwise through their actions. Not only did they continue watching in massive numbers, they also gave the anime exceptionally high scores after it aired.
When Hikaru no Go premiered in the first half of the year, many media outlets commented that while the work was popular, its commercial value was limited. They believed it was unrealistic for Rei to rely on Hikaru no Go alone to secure a high status within the industry.
But now, with One-punch Man achieving such explosive success, who could still find fault?
Naturally, the day after One-punch Man broke the 6% ratings mark, the Hoshimori Group broke from its usual routine. On a Saturday, it summoned a group of mid-level and senior editors, along with several high-ranking operations executives, for a closed-door reprimand meeting.
Misaki also attended, but she faced little criticism.
According to internal records, both she and Editor-in-Chief Han had been strong advocates for allowing Rei to serialize two works simultaneously. The decision had ultimately been vetoed by even higher management. As a result, they were only lightly implicated.
Under normal circumstances, missing an opportunity would simply be chalked up as bad luck. Given the scale of the Hoshimori Group, there would have been no need for such agitation. However, the performance of the One-punch Man anime truly caused the senior executives to lose their composure.
Watching Rei use the One-punch Man IP to collaborate with second- and third-tier mobile games and various minor brands made them feel as though they were witnessing a prodigal son at work. How could such a massive IP be partnered so casually?
In their view, an anime of this caliber should have delayed its second season for three to five years, waiting until the initial hype began to fade before launching Season Two, followed by Seasons Three and Four.
Instead, the first season ended in December, and the second season was scheduled to air in January.
What kind of business sense was that?
What made the Hoshimori Group executives most uncomfortable was this reality:
Originally, One-punch Man should have been the flagship manga of Dream Comic.
Serialized alongside Hunter, the two could have become twin pillar works. Leveraging Rei's popularity over the course of one or two years, the group might have pushed Dream Comic past 20 million copies in weekly sales, surpassing Koken and becoming the undisputed third-largest manga magazine in Japan.
Instead, the more popular One-punch Man became, the more foolish the Hoshimori Group appeared.
Yet regardless of their regrets, following the massive success of Hikaru no Go, Hunter, and One-punch Man, Rei, this eighteen-year-old freshman manga artist and anime screenwriter, had officially entered the top tier of Japan's animation and manga industry.
If asked whether there were local creators whose achievements rivaled Rei's, the answer would certainly be yes.
But those individuals were veterans in their forties or fifties.
How could their future potential possibly compare to that of an eighteen-year-old?
"All right, it's finally over."
Rei typed a message across his creator accounts on multiple platforms, celebrating the conclusion of One-punch Man Season One and reminding fans to tune in for Season Two in January.
In less than twenty minutes, the post received tens of thousands of comments and over one hundred thousand shares.
"Keep going, Teacher Shirogane!"
"I'll definitely watch the second season. Just remember to work with the five major manufacturers next time you choose merchandise partners. The quality is fine now, but the distribution is terrible. My city is only third-tier, but surely they can stock it here, right?"
"How can Season Two possibly top Boros? Will there really be a Monster with an even stronger sense of oppression? Teacher Shirogane, please don't let it collapse!"
"Teacher Shirogane can come up with stories like this at eighteen. When I was eighteen and learning to draw, even my elementary-school brother laughed at my work. The gap between people is terrifying."
"I think there's a problem with the ranking system. King, the Strongest Man on Earth, is only ranked seventh. We won't even talk about Tornado since she's a woman, but why are Bang and Atomic Samurai ranked above King? I hope Teacher Shirogane explains this next season!"
"Keep up the great work, Teacher Shirogane. I watched this anime with my six-year-old son. We both loved it. Truly excellent works should be enjoyable for everyone, regardless of gender or age."
"A rating above 6% is incredible. I hope Teacher Shirogane can maintain this level in the second season. The first season only reached it in the final episode. The second season should hold it from start to finish!"
Looking at the overwhelming stream of supportive comments in his account backend, Rei felt a strong sense of accomplishment.
Even though he was not the original creator, the satisfaction was real.
In his previous life, there had been countless examples of excellent source material being ruined by terrible adaptations.
At the very least, in this Japan, Rei could confidently say that none of the works he had adapted had turned into disasters. Every single one had been met with enthusiastic praise.
Judging by the current popularity of One-punch Man Season One, Rei's investment was likely to return at least ten times the cost, possibly even several dozen times over.
Moreover, the current plot of One-punch Man had not yet reached the most exciting portions of the original work.
Although the characterization of Garou during the Garou Arc had once felt somewhat strange to Rei, the development of the supporting cast in that arc was pushed to its absolute peak.
A large number of Hero Association members would also take action together, producing countless iconic scenes and legendary memes from the original work.
All of this would be fully presented in the second and third seasons of the One-punch Man anime.
And it wasn't just One-punch Man.
Over the past two weeks, the plot of Hunter had also begun entering its true main storyline: the Heavens Arena Arc.
The most fascinating setting of the original work, Nen Ability, was finally revealed to readers.
To be honest, when Rei had first read Hunter in his previous life, he had once suspected that Yoshihiro Togashi only had a rough outline in mind, relying heavily on inspiration and talent to fill in the gaps as he went.
Otherwise, it would be almost impossible to explain how a manga could introduce its core combat system only after a full year of serialization.
That would be like drawing Bleach for a year before introducing Shinigami, Naruto for a year before introducing Ninjutsu, or One Piece for a year before Devil Fruits appeared.
Yet Hunter did exactly that, and it went on to remain popular for over twenty years.
Naturally, after the Nen Ability system was introduced, some readers expressed dissatisfaction.
They had grown accustomed to the earlier, low-powered martial arts style and worried that the sudden introduction of a complex combat system might cause the story to collapse.
The concern wasn't limited to readers.
Editors at the Hoshimori Group shared similar worries. Many of them had Misaki subtly advise Rei to slow down the plot, emphasizing that stability was the safest approach.
All of this information churned in Rei's mind.
He glanced at the date on his phone.
December 25th.
It had been roughly two and a half years since he had transmigrated into this world.
At present, both of the works he was serializing stood at critical turning points in their original timelines.
And yet, their current achievements were still far from their true peak.
Next year would be the real explosion period.
Both works were only just beginning to show their full potential.