Rei's words gave Himari a clear understanding of his way of thinking.
Simply put, once a cultural work becomes popular, it almost always expands across four or five fields: manga, animation, games, film, and television.
Animation and film/television are crucial for expanding an IP's visibility and cultural influence.
But merchandise sales and game adaptations, more often than not, are the true pillars of monetization.
Although Japan's animation and manga industries are already massive, the game industry is far larger.
One game alone could rival the box office of an entire national film industry.
Even mobile games adapted from manga like Naruto, which ended over ten years ago, still generate twenty to thirty billion yen annually.
Otherwise, the producers wouldn't keep pushing out the underwhelming Boruto series simply to maintain the Naruto IP's heat. The anime itself doesn't make much money, but by keeping the brand alive, the profits from other derivatives are enough to fund a hundred such anime projects.
Having worked so hard to elevate One-Punch Man to its current level of popularity, Rei naturally had no intention of letting such a massive revenue stream slip away.
"These Japanese game companies know my situation," Rei said calmly.
"They understand that I'm completely new to the game industry. Quite a few major companies have already contacted me privately with very generous offers, hoping to buy out the game rights to One-Punch Man."
He didn't strictly need to share this with Himari. As partners, they worked in animation, not games. But beyond business, Rei regarded her as a friend, and these matters weren't exactly secrets anyway. The major players in the industry were well aware of one another's movements.
"My only condition is simple," Rei continued.
"I provide the IP. They provide the technology and distribution channels. Then we split the profits."
"And if they don't agree?" Himari asked. "Are you planning to build your own game studio?"
Rei laughed.
"Of course not. A person's energy is limited. I'm only interested in the returns the game industry can bring, not in personally developing games."
"Professional matters should be left to professionals."
"Besides," he added, "I'm not worried that no one will accept my terms. I'm not in a hurrym, but these game companies are. They're terrified that their competitors will snatch the One-Punch Man game rights first."
"In today's game market, there are plenty of companies with strong technical capabilities and solid distribution channels. But an IP as popular, and as perfectly suited for adaptation, as One-Punch Man? In all of Japan, you can count those on one hand."
And Rei wasn't wrong.
To many companies, his proposal, licensing only the IP, possibly adding some investment, and then demanding a proportional share of the game's long-term profits, seemed outrageous.
Yet there were always a few companies willing to seriously evaluate the risk and reward.
As a result, by June, Rei's negotiations with several parties were progressing quite smoothly.
Although Rei planned to temporarily put One-Punch Man on hold after completing the fourth season and the Garou Arc, if a game adaptation proved successful, it wouldn't be impossible to release occasional post–Garou Arc side stories to maintain the franchise's heat.
For now, however, all cooperation remained in the negotiation stage, and no information had leaked to the market.
Time passed quickly, and two weeks flew by.
The twelfth, and final, episode of One-Punch Man Season Three ended on a frozen frame.
Tatsumaki, fighting Psykorochi, the fusion of the esper Psykos and the Monster King Orochi, momentarily struggled as she prioritized protecting the other heroes. Exploiting this distraction, the fusion managed to pin Tatsumaki's hands and impale them with energy beams.
Across other battlefields, the remaining heroes were also struggling.
The long-anticipated "world-famous painting" finally appeared, Atomic Samurai being lifted by the hair by Black Sperm.
The final shot of Season Three focused on three figures:
Garou, still evolving, attacking everything in sight, indiscriminately battling both heroes and monsters.
Saitama, still hopelessly lost.
And King, his King Engine roaring, the thunderous pounding of his terrified heartbeat echoing through the Monster Association's corridors, his stiff expression making him look eerily calm… and terrifyingly powerful.
Setting Garou aside for the moment, the instant scenes featuring Saitama and King appeared, the oppressive tension built up by the S-Class Heroes' desperate struggles vanished.
In its place came something else entirely, anticipation.
The anticipation surrounding Saitama goes without saying. The structure of one-punch man is almost laughably simple:
The heroes struggle. The heroes fall into despair. Saitama arrives. The monster is defeated.
It's the same pattern from beginning to end, yet people never tire of it.
After the conclusion of one-punch man Season Three, time officially entered late June.
With more than a week remaining before July, Rei's daily workload began to include new responsibilities.
"Cooperating with press conferences and fan meetings organized by the Hoshimori Group to promote the broadcast of the Hunter x Hunter anime…"
When Misaki came to collect the latest Hunter x Hunter manuscript, Miyu also briefed Rei on his upcoming schedule.
"But my time has been extremely tight lately," Rei hesitated.
"If I spend too much time on anime promotion, the manuscript output might..."
"That's not a problem," Misaki interrupted gently.
"Your weekly page count already far exceeds that of most manga artists. Even if you occasionally draw a little less for a week, it won't affect the manga's popularity."
She then grew more serious.
"Besides, Hunter is at a critical juncture right now."
"The average sales per volume have been hovering around 15 million for several weeks. Without an external stimulus, it'll be difficult for the ranking to rise further, it'll likely just stagnate."
"The anime broadcast is the perfect catalyst. If it goes well, it could push Hunter to an entirely new level…"
Misaki sighed.
"The ideal scenario would be for the Hunter x Hunter anime to premiere in July and take the quarterly ratings championship. Combined with the group's promotional push, the momentum would be incredible."
"But the problem is, Season Four of one-punch man is also premiering next quarter."
She paused, leaving the implication hanging in the air.
"In the next quarter's animation market, the two works with the greatest potential are one-punch man and Hunter x Hunter… unfortunately, they're direct competitors."
"Competitors?" Rei repeated, frowning slightly.
He thought for a moment, then asked calmly,
"Why does everyone assume that?"
Misaki looked at him, surprised.
"Do these two works really have to be in a zero-sum relationship?" Rei continued.
"Why can't it be a win–win?"
"What do you mean?" Misaki asked, already beginning to guess.
"I can cooperate with the Hoshimori Group in my capacity as the creator of one-punch man," Rei said.
"Honestly, there's no faction war between the fans of my two works. If anything, they get along extremely well."
"If the group is willing, the Hunter anime and one-punch man Season Four could even be promoted together as a bundled campaign before they air."
"Fan conversion between the two is completely feasible."
He smiled.
"At the end of the day, they're all Shirogane's fans anyway. The group might draw sharp lines between journals and IPs, but to me… there's no real difference."
In Rei's previous life, crossovers and mutual promotion between popular series were common.
One Piece had collaborated with Dragon Ball.
Toriko had crossovers with One Piece before its anime launch.
At their core, these were Jump titles funneling traffic to one another.
In Rei's case, it was even simpler, mutual traffic circulation among his own works.
For him, this idea had no downside at all.
For the Hoshimori Group, however, it depended on whether they were willing to let some traffic flow between Dream Comic and one-punch man for the sake of Hunter's long-term growth.
Misaki pondered for a moment.
"Your proposal…" she said slowly. "I can relay it to upper management."
"I'll leave it to you, Editor Misaki," Rei replied with a smile.