The editorial team at Hoshimori Publishing Group, responsible for Sakura Weekly, were somewhat dazed when they saw the voting results for 5 Centimeters Per Second this week.
Two weeks prior, the magazine had already begun promoting the conclusion of High Score Romance, a series that had been heavily criticized by fans for its plot padding and dull pacing over the past two months. The Editorial Department had hoped to give it a final first-place ranking as a dignified farewell.
In truth, the fans had largely supported this effort. Out of respect, many had cast their votes for High Score Romance, pushing its total to over five thousand this week.
Fan voting in manga magazines is an extremely important indicator of a work's market popularity.
Most manga readers are lazy; after finishing a chapter, they rarely bother to spend even a minute clicking through to vote for their favorite series.
Therefore, a manga's ability to mobilize fans to overcome their inertia and actively participate in voting is a reliable measure of its quality and market appeal.
High Score Romance, with its two-year run and the three-week promotional campaign leading up to its final chapter, had been expected to easily secure the top spot this week.
But 5 Centimeters Per Second surpassed it in a flash.
Not by a narrow margin.
Readers of Sakura Weekly overwhelmingly voted 7,000 to 5,000, giving 5 Centimeters Per Second a massive lead.
"This is absurd."
"I thought it was just a melodramatic romance manga? Why is the market reacting so strongly?"
"The weekly magazine has only been on sale for a day, and nearly all readers who finished it have already voted in support. This data is insane."
"Something's off. The official forum for Sakura Weekly has been completely flooded with discussion threads about 5 Centimeters Per Second. Even though both series concluded this week, High Score Romance's popularity has been utterly crushed by 5 Centimeters."
The editors in the office each harbored their own thoughts, but their gazes frequently drifted toward Misaki Yukishiro.
After all, she was the one who had discovered the mangaka named Shirogane.
And not just Shirogane, but Saki as well.
For a major manga publisher like Hoshimori Publishing Group, only third-tier magazines like Sakura Weekly would sign works by rookie mangaka.
However, once these newcomers demonstrated exceptional talent during serialization, they would quickly catch the attention of higher-ups in the Editorial Department, who would offer them greater opportunities and platforms for their work.
Moreover, Saki and Shirogane were perfect examples of the "genius manga artist" archetype the Hoshimori Publishing Group had been pushing in recent years.
Both Tale of Sorrow and 5 Centimeters Per Second had topped the charts in Sakura Weekly, achieving truly exceptional results.
The colleagues, all shrewd and perceptive, quickly grasped the implications.
Their gazes toward Misaki Yukishiro now held a mixture of envy and jealousy.
At noon, Rei turned on his phone, which he had brought to school, and immediately saw two messages from Misaki Yukishiro.
Opening the first message, Rei's eyes narrowed after only a quick glance.
"Number One!"
5 Centimeters Per Second had claimed the top spot in this week's Sakura Weekly rankings.
This was a result Reihad anticipated, but its realization still filled him with excitement.
He took a deep breath and opened the second message from Misaki Yukishiro.
I remember you mentioning you're working on a new manga. Keep up the good work! If the sales of the 5 Centimeters Per Second collected edition are strong enough, I might be able to help you submit your new work to a higher-tier magazine within the Hoshimori Publishing Group for serialization!
Rei's spirits immediately lifted upon seeing the message.
Sakura Weekly was merely a third-tier magazine under the Hoshimori Publishing Group.
Since there was a third tier, there must also be first and second-tier manga magazines.
The group's flagship manga magazine was undoubtedly Hoshimori Publishing, a weekly publication with a staggering circulation of 16 million copies.
This figure might seem exaggerated, considering that even the peak circulation of JUP, the top manga magazine in Rei's previous life on Sakurajima, had only reached 6 million copies.
However, Japan's population was ten times larger than Sakurajima's, and the anime and manga industry, combined with stringent anti-piracy measures, had achieved even greater market penetration than in his previous life.
Logically speaking, with such a strong manga-reading culture, a single manga magazine could potentially sell 40 to 50 million copies under extreme circumstances.
After all, even in the dire paper manga sales environment of his previous life in China, a magazine called Zhiyin Manke had briefly peaked at 7 million copies.
Yet Japan's current situation differed from Sakurajima's past. In Rei's previous life, JUP had dominated the market, continuously publishing hits like Saint Seiya, Yu Yu Hakusho, Slam Dunk, and Dragon Ball for nearly two decades. It was only during the Dragon Ball era that JUP had achieved its peak circulation.
A monster with peak sales of six million copies.
Meanwhile, the other two major manga magazines, Agaze and Sunday, each sold just over two million copies per week, creating a "one dominant, two strong" dynamic.
In Japan, the six major manga publishers were evenly matched, each boasting popular titles but none achieving the unparalleled success of Dragon Ball in its era. Consequently, their magazine sales remained relatively balanced.
With a fixed market size, this equilibrium resulted in six weekly manga magazines each selling over ten million copies—the only six Tier 1 manga magazines in the market.
Tier 2 manga magazines, on the other hand, were those with weekly sales exceeding one million copies.
Under the Hoshimori Publishing Group, besides Hoshimori Publishing, there were two Tier 2 magazines:
Sky Shadow, averaging around 1.7 million weekly sales over the past year. Fantasy Realm, averaging around 2.6 million weekly sales.
Misaki Yukishiro was clearly hinting to Rei that if the collected edition of 5 Centimeters Per Second sold well enough to bolster the manga artist "Shirogane"'s credentials and prove his talent, his new work would have a chance to be considered at the "Serialization Meeting" for these two magazines!
The Japanese manga industry generally follows this structure: aspiring manga artists submit their work to third-tier magazines. If their work performs well, they can then submit to second-tier magazines.
Only those who achieve exceptional success in these markets, proving themselves to be "manga geniuses," have a chance to serialize their work in the six first-tier magazines.
Otherwise, magazines with weekly sales exceeding ten million copies would never serialize a newcomer's "elementary school-level" work. There are countless manga with promising beginnings, but true creators must at least avoid rushed endings and demonstrate exceptional resilience under psychological pressure.
No one knows how a rookie manga artist will handle long-term serialization. Historically, many newcomers crumble under the pressure of weekly deadlines, fan criticism, or even threats from extremist fans, leading them to self-destruct, disappear, or lose all confidence. Some artists have their self-esteem completely eroded by online trolls, developing psychological barriers that make it impossible to even pick up a pen without feeling nauseous.
After realizing all this, Rei let out a long sigh.
The road ahead is long and arduous!
The manga market is just another capital market.
To achieve success in the Japanese manga industry, one must fight their way through a sea of competitors.
Just then, Rei suddenly heard the rooftop door behind him slide open.