Parallel world Manga Artist-Chapter 216: The Result

June arrived, and the scorching sun blazed like fire.

Because Arcane had only nine episodes per season, after its conclusion, many other new anime series from the same season were still airing at full throttle.

For the first time in a long while, the Japanese animation market was finally able to catch its breath.

With Arcane off the air, well-produced works that had previously been overshadowed finally began to gain discussion and visibility on forums.

Animation studios and projects scheduled for the second half of the year were equally relieved.

Over the past two years, Rei had consistently launched two major works every season, completely dominating audience attention.

But in the second half of this year, only the Hunter × Hunter anime would air. Shirogane’s next new work wouldn’t premiere until January of the following year.

Although no one believed their own projects could truly compete with Hunter in ratings, the Japanese animation market was vast. If only one super-hit aired, the survival space for other series would increase dramatically.

This was very different from earlier seasons, when most anime fans followed only three or four shows per week. Once Hunter and Arcane were excluded, the remaining works had little room to breathe.

After Arcane ended, Rei, aside from his regular weekly work, started binge-watching local Japanese anime again.

On weekends, when he had time, he would answer Miyu’s calls and go sightseeing at major comic conventions with her, cosplaying together.

After all, they were both seasoned otaku.

With makeup and a bit of disguise, Rei wasn’t worried about being recognized. He knew very well that once Demon Slayer began airing, he would be swamped again. Opportunities like this to relax wouldn’t come often.

Then came preparations for the second-semester sophomore exams, followed by finals in late June.

All in all, Rei’s June was unusually full, and pleasantly balanced.

On the very last day of June, when Misaki came to Rei’s villa to collect manuscripts, she brought with her a piece of genuinely good news.

"The executives of Hoshimori Group have agreed to your terms," Misaki said with a faint smile.

"Your new work, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, can be serialized in Dream Comic. You will retain all copyrights to the manga. Hoshimori Group will only hold the publishing rights for the tankōbon volumes."

"They’ll market Demon Slayer with S-Class Work treatment, and the tankōbon royalty rate will be increased from the original 8% to 12%."

Misaki’s face carried a rare trace of satisfaction.

Though it might sound inappropriate, Rei honestly felt she was like a mole he had planted inside Hoshimori Group. After years of friendship, she always seemed happiest whenever the company she worked for suffered a setback because of him.

"Congratulations, Rei."

"Not at all," Rei replied with a small smile. "I should be thanking Editor Misaki. Without you mediating inside the group, this wouldn’t have gone so smoothly."

"I’m also relieved the worst outcome didn’t happen," he added. "I really didn’t want to experience that cliché storyline, where a manga artist becomes famous and then has a messy, bitter breakup with their old publisher in real life."

If any other manga artist, say, the author of Source War Chronicle, had dared to make demands like this of Hoshimori Group, they would have been blacklisted without hesitation.

Despite the fierce competition among the Six Major Manga Groups, they were united on one point: suppressing any attempt by affiliated manga artists to touch copyright ownership or entertain ideas of "serfs turning into masters."

A manga artist blacklisted by Hoshimori Group for such reasons, even if they managed to move to one of the other five groups, would generally receive little support or exposure.

But Rei was different.

His popularity in Japan was simply too overwhelming.

Young, handsome, with fans drawn to both his works and his appearance, and with influence that extended deep into the animation industry, blacklisting him in the manga world alone was meaningless.

No matter how powerful Dream Comic might be, could they really stop dozens of Japanese television stations from cooperating with Rei?

The answer was obvious.

Moreover, Dream Comic currently had a circulation of 25 million copies, five to six million of which were directly boosted after the serialization of Hunter × Hunter.

Falling out with Rei now would truly be an unwise move.

"But if things continue like this," Misaki said thoughtfully, "your relationship with the Group’s executives will become... very delicate."

"I don’t really care about that," Rei replied calmly. "It was never anything more than a relationship of mutual exploitation. We cooperate because it benefits both sides." 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

"Once I stop showing talent, Dream Comic would abandon me without hesitation. And likewise, if they stop being useful, I won’t cling to them either," he chuckled.

"I’m very clear about that positioning."

Misaki paused, then suddenly asked, "Then what about your relationship with me? Is it the same?"

"Of course not," Rei answered without hesitation.

"Besides the cold, professional relationship between a manga artist and an editor racing deadlines, you’re also a friend. Otherwise, I wouldn’t complain to you so bluntly about the Hoshimori Group."

Misaki considered his words for a few seconds, then smiled faintly.

"Alright. I won’t tease you anymore."

"Since the conflict between you and the Group has been resolved this way, it’s a happy ending for everyone, for now. But your new anime, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, is scheduled to premiere in January next year. That means the manga must also begin serialization in January."

"At that point, besides continuing Hunter, you’ll also be serializing Demon Slayer simultaneously. Given your usual update volume... that workload will be absolutely colossal."

"I know," Rei replied.

"I’ll bring in more manga assistants. I’ll personally handle the storyboards, but aside from key pages, most of the final manuscript work will be completed with assistance. You don’t need to worry about hiatuses."

Misaki laughed softly.

"If Demon Slayer’s popularity can even approach Hunter’s, Rei, you’d be making history."

"Decades from now, the Japanese manga industry would still tell your story. Future artists would hear that in this era, there was someone who could serialize two manga simultaneously, at terrifying speed and quality."

"And you’d become the classic case editors use to pressure lazy artists," she added teasingly.

"Matching Hunter’s popularity, huh?" Rei murmured, thinking for a moment.

"What, don’t tell me you lack confidence?" Misaki asked, surprised."That’s not like you."

"Not at all," Rei said.

"What I mean is, while Demon Slayer’s quality might not necessarily exceed Hunter’s, its popularity..."

"I never intended to benchmark it against Hunter in the first place."

Misaki understood immediately.

High quality does not always equal high popularity.

Hikaru no Go had outstanding quality, yet its popularity never came close to Hunter’s.

There was no absolute logic governing popularity. Some works exploded globally despite average reviews; others, critically acclaimed, remained niche. In the end, it was always the market’s choice.

"You’re not benchmarking it against Hunter?" Misaki repeated slowly.

"My meaning is this," Rei said evenly.

"Once serialized, Demon Slayer’s popularity and commercial performance will far exceed Hunter’s."

"Even though the Hoshimori Group executives might feel they lost out by not securing the copyright, in reality... the revenue from tankōbon sales alone will already be massive."

Rei’s calm prediction made Misaki’s expression turn serious.

By now, she no longer questioned his seemingly arrogant statements the way she had years ago.

Setting everything else aside, Rei’s instinct for how his works would perform in the market had proven terrifyingly accurate, he had never been wrong.

Since Rei said so...

Could this new work truly surpass Hunter?

"Then," Misaki said after a deep breath, smiling, "I’ll wait and see."