Throughout February, the serialized storyline of Hunter × Hunter revolved entirely around the escalating conflict and tension between Kurapika and the Phantom Troupe.
At the same time, One-Punch Man entered the original arc in which Saitama, tempted by prize money, impersonated Charanko, Bang's disciple who had been severely injured by Garou, and participated in the martial arts tournament.
Both works had reached the climactic phase of their respective arcs.
With the release of the fourth volume of Hunter × Hunter, its first-week sales once again set a new record for the series, reaching 6.12 million copies.
Although the growth rate of One-Punch Man's viewership slowed slightly after breaking the 6% threshold, its ratings continued to climb steadily, eventually reaching 6.69%. The past two episodes stabilized firmly around this level.
In terms of sheer popularity, One-Punch Man as an anime clearly commanded a broader audience and far greater online buzz.
However, the Hunter × Hunter anime was also scheduled to air later this year. In fact, a number of professionals within Japan's animation industry had already begun to sense something important.
If Hunter × Hunter were animated, its single-volume manga sales would almost certainly surge dramatically.
Among the seventeen manga in Japan with average per-volume sales exceeding ten million copies, Hunter × Hunter was the only one that had not yet received an anime adaptation.
Even so, its manga sales were still rising at a pace far surpassing those of the other works in that tier.
It could only be said that the release of the Five Centimeters Per Second movie in February had temporarily drawn public attention away from Rei's other projects.
Now, looking back, it was clear that whether adapted from manga or created as original works, Rei's creations had already dominated the Japanese animation market throughout the previous year.
Among the five nominations for Anime of the Year, Hikaru no Go and One-Punch Man alone occupied two slots, with Hikaru no Go ultimately winning the award.
And this year;
Unless something completely unexpected occurred, the annual animation viewership champion would almost certainly still belong to One-Punch Man Season Two.
But the most critical battlefield was the manga market.
After entering the Yorknew City arc and introducing the Phantom Troupe in full force, the popularity of Hunter × Hunter expanded at an almost exaggerated pace.
Not only were Dream Comic readers showering it with praise online, readers from other manga magazines, influenced by word-of-mouth and reviews, began purchasing the collected volumes and likewise gave overwhelmingly positive feedback.
The media no longer held back.
As March arrived, a wave of reports from anime critics and news agencies swept across Japan.
Hunter × Hunter's average volume sales surpassed 10.9 million copies, ranking fifteenth among currently serialized manga. In less than half a month, its average sales had increased by nearly one million.
The strongest prodigy in the history of Japan's animation industry, eighteen-year-old Shirogane was already approaching the summit of the industry.
Hunter × Hunter's single-volume sales continued to expand rapidly. With its anime set to air in July, could it break into the top ten, or even threaten the top five, or top three?
The explosive rise of Hunter × Hunter drove Dream Comic's weekly circulation past the 20 million mark. Shirogane and Hunter × Hunter had completely become the flagship face of the Hoshimori Group.
When March began and the new semester started, Rei could clearly feel the change.
As he walked around campus, more and more eyes followed him.
Students from other departments and even other colleges began approaching him intentionally or unintentionally.
Professors also started showing unusual enthusiasm, asking whether Illumination Production Company, Rei's partner studio, planned to recruit graduates from the university in July.
Naturally, Rei wanted to avoid such complications.
But the reality was that he frequently took leave for work, and although his final exam scores from the previous semester were solid, strict enforcement of attendance rules could still have put several courses at risk.
In the end, however, Rei passed all subjects in his first-year, first semester.
Even in the two courses where his scores were borderline, the instructors gave him high attendance marks, allowing him to pass overall.
As a result, when faced with these overtures from the faculty, Rei didn't hesitate for long and agreed.
Recruiting a handful of senior students into Illumination Production Company was entirely feasible.
Every company needs entry-level talent. It all depends on whether management is willing to invest time and effort into training newcomers.
And with Rei as an investor, he certainly had enough influence with Himari to make that happen.
However, as time entered March, aside from these relatively trivial matters, Rei, as one of the Hoshimori Group's most prominent manga artists, also began to have more frequent contact with the group's senior management.
Naturally, the relationship between the two sides had become rather delicate.
After Rei rejected the proposal to serialize arcane within the Hoshimori Group, the group's upper management did not express their dissatisfaction openly. Still, Rei had someone on the inside, so he had a general understanding of their attitude.
"Well, there are indeed a few conservative old-timers on the board who are very dissatisfied with you," Misaki said frankly when discussing the matter with Rei.
After knowing Rei for three years, their relationship had long since gone beyond that of editor and manga artist. They were also close friends, so she didn't avoid sensitive topics.
"Many of the senior executives still hold very old-fashioned views. They believe it's the group and the magazine that make manga artists famous, so their attitude tends to be domineering. You're now considered the number-one manga artist among all those contracted by the group, so you'll inevitably have more interactions with them in the future. If you don't like what they say, just don't take it to heart. They're not singling you out, they treat everyone the same way."
"I understand," Rei replied. "Especially since I previously turned down their request… it must be difficult for you, being caught in the middle."
"This kind of situation is actually very common," Misaki said softly, taking a sip of tea. "It's not rare at all for top manga artists from other magazines to clash with their publishers. Some are unhappy about unfair profit distribution, some resent the group interfering with their storylines, and others are furious because the animation studio assigned by the group butchered their work, causing backlash that even affected the manga's serialization."
She paused briefly, then continued.
"And Rei, you're actually extremely lucky. The Hikaru no go anime received overwhelming praise, which directly boosted manga sales. On top of that, you became famous far too quickly. The group didn't even have time to lock you into those high-paying but highly restrictive contracts. That means they can barely control you contractually now. You're free to draw manga, invest in animation, or do whatever else you want. They're annoyed, but there's nothing they can do about it."
"I understand," Rei nodded slightly. "Thank you, Editor Misaki."
"Of course. Since we're already talking about this," Misaki said, looking at him, "regarding the increase in remuneration you asked me to negotiate with senior management…"
"The group has agreed to raise your copyright distribution ratio. However, they're hoping you'll sign a long-term cooperation agreement, one that gives Hoshimori Group priority for your future works, unless the group explicitly declines interest."
"Alright, Editor Misaki, you don't need to continue," Rei said immediately, without hesitation.
"I will never sign that kind of contract."
"I expected that answer," Misaki nodded calmly.
"Most top manga artists in Japan are bound by similar agreements. The highest copyright distribution ratios always come with stricter contractual conditions."
"The price of freedom is reduced profit. That's true not just for Hoshimori Group, but for any manga publisher. If you want the special treatment, you can't avoid restrictions."
"But even so, freedom matters more to me."
"Since that's your decision," Rei continued, "I won't make things difficult for you, Editor Misaki. My contract can remain as it is under the existing terms."
Misaki paused for a moment after hearing that, then gave a small nod.