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"Hello everyone. I am Haruto, Chairman of Haru-Yuki Animation, and currently the sole scriptwriter. Though you might know me better by my pen name, 'The Warrior of Love'."
As Haruto spoke, he operated the projector, casting a glow onto the white screen in the conference room.
Although he couldn't reveal the details of the plot yet, since he was trying to recruit these people, he had to let them know exactly what project they would be helming if they joined Haru-Yuki.
Cyberpunk: Edgerunners?
Practically everyone in the room felt a surge of adrenaline.
The Warrior of Love, Shiori Takahashi, and Haruto were all the same person? Are you kidding me right now?
But Haruto didn't give them a moment to reassess their life choices. He began flipping through the project proposal, letting the vibrant concept art and technical specs flash before their eyes.
Five minutes later, though the document was dense, everyone had absorbed one vital piece of information. Haruto's investment for Cyberpunk: Edgerunners exceeded over one billion yen.
The eyes of every veteran in the room lit up. In the world of animation production, what is the most expensive factor?
Labor. Skill. Talent.
It was blindingly obvious where that money would be going.
Specifically, it was going into the pockets of the production staff to ensure elite quality.
Furthermore, they weren't worried about whether Haruto actually had the cash. After all, Madoka Magica was currently moving millions of Blu-ray units across Japan. Between the disc sales and the endless stream of licensing revenue, 1billion yen was practically pocket change for him now.
Seeing their expressions, Haruto felt a wave of relief. Truly, capital is the ultimate persuader.
His plan was simple. The original team would handle the production of 7 Years From Now, while he would recruit a new fleet of industry titans to tackle the high requirements of Cyberpunk: Edgerunners. This was the strategy he had drafted the moment the first Madoka checks hit the bank.
For the next several days, Haruto remained buried in meetings at the Haru-Yuki office, negotiating terms and finalizing contracts with the veterans who were ready to jump ship to his studio.
Meanwhile, the seventh chapter of Initial D was released in Weekly Prime. The showdown between Takumi Fujiwara and the NightKids' leader, Takeshi Nakazato, officially began.
If the first arc against Keisuke had established the series' fame, then this second arc proved that the quality was no fluke. The tension was managed so masterfully that fans finally put aside their lingering doubts and surrendered themselves to the hype.
The reader votes for Initial D surged once more, hitting a staggering 1.7 million. Conversely, the reigning number one, The Forbidden Gate, saw a slight dip in its numbers. The gap between the newcomer and the king was now less than a hundred thousand votes.
A sense of impending revolution permeated the entire Manga Prime headquarters. Initial D was a hair's breadth away from taking the throne.
Katashi, Haruto's editor, was pushing himself to his absolute limit. While Haruto was busy recruiting an army for his animation studio, Katashi was traveling between Tokyo and Osaka with Shizuru, appearing on variety shows and interviews to maximize the manga's exposure.
This August, despite being summer vacation, was officially the most exhausting month of Haruto's entire life.
As two more days slipped by, the first-week sales figures for the fifth volume of the Madoka Magica television series were finally calculated.
As the volume containing the final two episodes of the show, the heat surrounding Volume 5 was undeniably the highest of the entire set.
735,346 copies.
The number was shocking. In a market where selling 50,000 copies in three months makes a show a hit, and 200,000 makes it a blockbuster, a first-week figure of over 700,000 was beyond legendary. It was a statistical anomaly that left industry veterans questioning reality. And that was just the first seven days; the total sales after a few months would likely be double that.
However, the industry didn't even have time to process the record-breaking sales.
The next day was Tuesday.
The sun rose early on a clear, brilliant morning.
In the famous cities, there were specialized shops that focused on anime Blu-ray and DVD sales. Outside every single one of those shops, massive queues had already formed.
Anime fans are nothing if not experienced. They had watched the supply chain struggles of the first five volumes over the last month. The sales were astronomical, but the production capacity was lacking.
On launch day, the discs always sold out instantly, and it usually took three or four days for restocks to arrive, and even then, you had to line up at dawn. If you showed up in the afternoon? Good luck. You were going home empty-handed.
The fans had learned their lesson. They knew the manufacturer Haru-Yuki partnered with couldn't keep up, even if their machines were literally smoking from overwork.
Everyone was operating on the same logic.
"Supply is guaranteed to run out. Better to stand here at 3:00 AM than to spend the next week crying on a forum."
Satori was one of those fans. She arrived at 5:00 AM, only to find that forty people had beaten her to the punch. By 7:30 AM, she looked behind her and saw a snake-like line of nearly two hundred people, making her feel incredibly lucky to have arrived when she did.
This was the sheer magnetic pull of Madoka. While many people online were skeptical about the movie's quality, the silent majority, the people who actually spend money, were ready and waiting.
Another hour passed.
As the morning sun began to bake the pavement, the bleary-eyed shopkeepers finally rolled up the shutters. Satori had been waiting for three and a half hours, and the line behind her had grown by another fifty people.
The queue moved slowly. Satori could overhear the fans around her passionately debating their theories for the movie's plot. Honestly, some of their ideas were quite brilliant. Taking a deep breath, she finally reached the shelves.
Life-sized standees of Madoka and Homura flanked the display. Madoka, with her pink hair and cherry-blossom dress, looked divine and beautiful as she held her longbow. Beside her, Homura Akemi, sporting black wings and a faint smile, watched the Goddess Madoka.
The promotional posters for the movie covered every inch of the shop. This was the kind of treatment reserved only for true cultural titans. Satori finally reached the front and grabbed a standard edition Blu-ray for 6,900 yen. The limited edition, which included exclusive merchandise, was 9,900 yen.
Payment successful. She clutched the disc to her chest and walked out of the store.
Outside, the line still stretched around the block, and cosplayers were already starting to fill the streets. On her walk home, she saw waitresses dressed as Homura, someone in a giant Kyubey mascot suit, and people dressed as the various witches from the show. The popularity was palpable.
The closer she got to her apartment, the more her heart hammered against her ribs. She looked at the movie disc, trying to suppress her excitement. Once home, she frantically tore off the plastic wrap.
Inside the case, the cover art was exquisite. Aside from the disc itself, there were character profile cards and a high-quality poster of Madoka. And then, Satori's eyes widened. On one of the insert cards, she saw the autograph of the 'Warrior of Love.'
Is my luck actually this high? Out of only a limited number of signed copies in the entire country, I actually got one?
She immediately snapped a photo and posted it to social media before rushing to the living room to pop the disc into her player. The screen flickered to life.
"The day of reckoning will come eventually. We are all fighting as we wait for the guidance of the Law of Cycles."
A Soul Gem flickered on the screen, plummeting into a dark abyss, accompanied by a voiceover. Satori recognized it instantly; it was the voice of Homura Akemi.
From the very first frame, she noticed a significant leap in production quality. The art was sharper and more detailed than the TV version.
The story opened with a montage of a neon-lit city at night. Oddly, the streets were completely empty of people.
Satori assumed it was just a stylistic choice. But the scene that followed left her stunned.
A Witch's Labyrinth manifested instantly. Inside, a light-blue figure appeared. Given the unique art style of the show, Satori recognized the character immediately. It was Sayaka Miki, the girl who had died a heartbreaking death.
She was alive, well, and currently hunting down a witch.
What was going on?
Satori sat bolt upright. Hadn't witches been completely erased by Madoka's wish at the end of the show? Why is the concept of a witch still here?
The confusion only deepened. Madoka and Kyouko appeared on the screen, both transformed as magical girls, fighting alongside Sayaka.
What?
Satori's eyes were wide. She didn't understand. How can Madoka have a physical body again? What exactly is this movie about?