In truth, the storm stirred up by the joint promotion of the two works far exceeded what most people in the anime industry had anticipated.
One-Punch Man had reigned as the most popular domestic animated series for nearly half a year.
Hunter × Hunter was not yet the nation's top-selling manga, but it was undeniably the most discussed, and fastest-rising, title in recent memory.
The campaign swept through both online and offline channels. Every major anime shopping district across the country joined in, from themed pop-ups to limited merchandise and street-wide collaborations.
By the end of June, the fanbases of the two blockbusters had fused, carefully, temporarily.
All eyes now turned toward the July anime lineup.
The upcoming premieres groaned under the pressure; the competition was brutal.
This included adaptations of many popular serials from the Six Major Periodicals.
These days, Shirogane might not be the most famous or critically revered creator in the industry.
But when it came to sheer popularity among young audiences, no one could rival his drawing power.
One-Punch Man was already absurdly dominant.
And now it was joining forces with Hunter × Hunter.
Of course, the most awkward position in July belonged to the production team of Echoes of the End.
Since its second season, the series had consistently claimed the top ratings spot every cour.
Even at its peak, however, a single episode had only reached 6.11%, still short of One-Punch Man's current 6.8%.
The producers had long accepted that losing to One-Punch Man didn't really matter. After all, it wasn't even a traditional manga-driven hit, and its success generated far less controversy within publishing circles.
But Hunter × Hunter was different.
The flagship title of Dream Comic, ranked second nationwide, versus the flagship of Monogatari Comic, ranked first.
If Echoes of the End Season 6 were to lose to Hunter × Hunter, the repercussions would be severe.
Comic fandom in this world was far more aggressive than in Rei's previous life. Hunter × Hunter's explosive rise had already put Echoes of the End fans on edge; relations between the two camps had been tense for months.
Now, it had escalated into open warfare.
Rei scrolled through the headlines.
Over at Monogatari Comic, nearly every contracted manga artist had begun publicly rallying support for Echoes of the End Season 6 on their personal social feeds.
Everyone understood that One-Punch Man Season 4 was a monster. Its metrics were outrageous, and surpassing it was close to impossible.
Losing to it was acceptable. There was no rule stating that the country's best-selling manga had to dominate every anime cour. Anime existed to drive source material sales and merchandise revenue. As long as that goal was achieved, first place in ratings was secondary.
But losing to Hunter × Hunter was unthinkable.
This was a clash of prestige between the two largest publishers in the country.
A loss would alter how investors, advertisers, and distributors evaluated the commercial potential of both properties.
Still, Rei thought as he shut his laptop, this confrontation had been inevitable.
There could only be one number one.
Hunter × Hunter had been serialized for a full year.
From the Hunter Exam, to the Zoldyck Family arc, then Heaven's Arena, and now the Yorknew City arc, widely regarded as second only to the Chimera Ant arc in overall impact.
Momentum, fanbase, visibility, everything was in place.
All that remained was the catalyst only an anime adaptation could provide.
Rei intended to use the premiere to propel the manga's per-volume sales to the top of the national charts.
Hoshimori Group understood this.
So did the conglomerate backing Monogatari Comic.
From this point on, it was every publisher for itself.
June ended in the blink of an eye.
July arrived.
On July 1, Hunter × Hunter Volume 6 hit store shelves, and fans turned out in unprecedented numbers.
By seven or eight in the morning, queues were already snaking outside major bookshops.
Second-tier cities handled the surge without much trouble, but in the large metropolitan areas, dense populations meant local sellouts within hours. Restocks couldn't keep pace.
Then came Friday-July 2.
One-Punch Man Season 4 resumed with the second half of the Monster Association arc.
The profits Rei had accumulated allowed him to funnel virtually unlimited resources into the production committee. There were no compromises this time.
The opening episode focused on two hopeless navigators, Saitama and the S-Class hero Flashy Flash, before cutting to multiple battlefields where the Monster Association clashed with Demon-level threats and A-Class heroes.
In terms of plot progression, the episode barely nudged the arc forward.
The core questions remained unchanged.
Could the Hero Association defeat the Dragon-level monsters?
And when Garou completed his evolution, who would finally stop him?
Both threads advanced at a glacial pace.
If Saitama entered the battlefield in earnest, everything would be over in ten minutes flat.
So the script did the only sensible thing.
It sent him the wrong way.
Anime, however, played by different rules than manga. Even minimal plot movement could still overwhelm viewers through side-character spotlights, fluid choreography, and unapologetically extravagant animation.
And overwhelm it did.
Community reviews were ecstatic. The sheer amount of money burning on screen was impossible to ignore.
The following morning, the ratings confirmed it.
6.79%.
After a two-week break, it was nothing short of spectacular.
Anyone who had hoped to see Rei stumble walked away empty-handed.
With that opening, One-Punch Man Season 4 had effectively locked down the cour.
Attention immediately shifted to the next contender.
Saturday night at eight, Echoes of the End Season 6 premiered.
It aired on the same network, Capital TV, as One-Punch Man, just one day later, also at precisely eight o'clock.
By Sunday morning, its debut numbers were in.
6.01%.
A full year after Season 5, the series returned without losing momentum. Though still trailing One-Punch Man, the strength of its source material ensured that ratings would rise as the season progressed.
And once Echoes of the End had taken the stage, the entire industry waited.
All day Sunday, anticipation built toward the final reveal.
Sunday night at nine, Hunter × Hunter made its television debut on Capital Television.
The question hung heavy in the air.
Which would claim the higher rating, Echoes of the End or Hunter × Hunter?
And just how much destructive force would the One-Punch Man × Hunter tie-in unleash?