It was mid-February.
In the domestic animation market, Hunter × Hunter and Arcane had become direct rivals.
The two series ranked first and second in viewership for the season, airing on the two largest television stations, one in Ion TV, the other in the Capital TV, that had been locked in rivalry for years. To Rei, which one edged out the other hardly mattered.
To the fans, however, it meant everything.
Most of them followed Shirogane and watched both shows, yet lines were inevitably drawn. Comparisons, arguments, and flame wars erupted across forums all the same.
On the manga side, after the New Year, Hunter × Hunter's average per-volume sales finally surpassed 19 million copies, making it the second-highest-selling ongoing series in Japan. It now trailed the top-ranked Echoes of the End by fewer than 600,000 copies per volume.
With an average of 19.3 million, Hunter climbed to eighth place on Japan's all-time sales chart.
Yet because news about Rei's anime and manga projects had been nonstop, even this milestone barely caused a ripple in the industry.
"Eighth…" Rei murmured, scanning the data sent over by the Hoshimori Group. He let out a slow breath.
Next week, the Chimera Ant arc would officially begin serialization.
He wondered how far the numbers could still rise. Surpassing Echoes of the End seemed feasible, but breaking into the top three, or even reaching first, looked daunting. He shook his head lightly at the chart.
The titles dominating the upper ranks came from Japan's golden age two decades earlier, when the teenage demographic was at its peak. Those works were etched into history, not necessarily because they were better, but because time and circumstance had given them an almost insurmountable advantage.
Hunter was excellent, but Japan's manga market had never been short on masterpieces.
"Whatever… one step at a time," Rei muttered.
At nineteen, time was firmly on his side.
Opening another drawer in his study, Rei reviewed documents related to the IPs under his name. He personally managed them, hiring professionals only where necessary.
Most were licensing contracts, sign here, stamp there. Between One-Punch Man, Hunter, Arcane, and his older works, his monthly income routinely reached Hundreds of million.
He'd long stopped keeping close track. Investing for profit bored him, and he knew his limits. When the time came for another major production, the money would be there.
After finishing the morning's paperwork, he exhaled and picked up his phone.
Earlier, he had congratulated Miyu on Touch of Glass breaking into the season's top ten. She replied with a voice message:
"It's hopeless. Your two shows sucked all the oxygen out of the season. No one's talking about mine anymore… I wanted first place! My dream is shattered!"
Rei chuckled, thumbs dancing across the screen.
...
At last, satisfied that his work was done, Rei decided to call it a day early.
He opened his creator account and, for the first time in three months, posted across every major platform:
"Next week, Hunter × Hunter begins its greatest arc yet, the Chimera Ant Arc. Thank you all for your continued support."
If anime could have trailers, then manga deserved hype too.
Within minutes, fans flooded the comments.
"Ant Arc? That's a weird name."
"Best arc ever? Shirogane-sensei, don't lie, there's no way it beats the Yorknew City Arc!"
"How strong is Gon's dad anyway? Razor from Greed Island felt strong enough to solo the Phantom Troupe, yet Ging caught him like it was nothing. That's insane."
"I thought Chrollo Lucilfer was top-tier, on par with the Hunter Chairman. Turns out, not even close."
"So who's appearing this time? I thought Gon would teleport straight to Ging, nope, we get Kite instead!"
"Hahaha, Sensei trolled us again! This cliffhanger is cruel, can't wait for next week."
"Sensei, while you're on ants, how about One-Punch Man Season 5? That IP prints money, why the pause?"
"Forget the side projects. Just give us more Hunter chapters. That's all I care about."
One post.
Two hours.
Tens of thousands of comments.
Within half a day, "Chimera Ant Arc" shot to the top of every major forum's trending list, no bots, no marketing tricks. This was simply the weight of Hunter × Hunter's influence.
A few days later, Arcane Episode 6 aired.
And it hurled the story straight into its first major climax.
The sisters finally reunited, but the moment Jinx saw Caitlyn standing beside Vi, she assumed the worst. To her, it looked like Vi had sided with Piltover to hunt her down.
Meanwhile, Jayce and Viktor's hextech research reached fruition, only for Heimerdinger to discover it. Recognizing the danger, the centuries-old founder ordered their work sealed and destroyed.
Jayce struck first.
With the backing of Councilor Mel, his lover, and leveraging the council seat Heimerdinger himself had helped secure, Jayce expelled the professor from the council and stripped him of his authority.
Coming right off the previous episode, where Jayce indulged in luxury and romance while Viktor destroyed his health in the lab, Episode 6 branded him as profoundly ungrateful.
His intentions weren't evil.
But his cold pragmatism ignited the fiercest backlash Arcane had seen yet.
For an entire week, Jayce sat atop "most hated character" rankings worldwide.
Never before had a character earned such universal disdain so quickly, and so thoroughly.
The controversy only fueled the fire.
Episode 6 surged to a 6.31% viewership rating, taking first place for the week.
Jayce was roasted nonstop across the internet, and Arcane's overall score climbed to 9.5.
Less than two months had passed since the series premiered.
And Arcane was already unstoppable.
...
STONES PLZ
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