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In the market, the Blu-ray sets for the Madoka Magica television series and its theatrical sequel, The Rebellion Story, were still selling at a feverish pace.
However, the internal focus of Haruto's studio had already shifted toward his two new animation projects: 7 Years From Now and Cyberpunk: Edgerunners.
7 Years From Now was a supernatural mystery romance specifically designed to tug at the heartstrings and deliver emotional gut punches. Because its production requirements were relatively standard, Haruto allocated a budget of 400 million yen, a respectable mid-tier investment by the standards of the animation industry.
He knew that if a story of this genre was executed well, it could generate massive discussion and popularity. However, since it was based on a pixel-art narrative game, Haruto had no existing data on how such a specific title would translate to the mass market. Consequently, he remained cautious and prudent with the initial investment.
Although Madoka Magica had generated massive profits, that money represented every yen Haruto had earned since his debut two years ago. He hadn't adopted the mindset of a reckless tycoon just yet; he wasn't about to throw hundreds of millions away on a gamble without a safety net.
Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, on the other hand, was the true heavyweight of the studio's production schedule.
Conveniently, this world lacked the original game to set expectations or potentially taint the brand with its initial bugs.
This gave Haruto a high degree of creative freedom.
Inside the company, the staff had already split into two dedicated production teams to begin the preliminary stages for both series. As for Haruto himself, he had finally checked off a major item on his personal bucket list. He placed an order for the high-end sports car he had coveted since entering university and commissioned an agent to find him a suitable luxury home. With his personal affairs in motion, he locked himself away to focus on his next novel.
Haruto put pen to paper and wrote the title.
Sword Art Online.
When discussing great works, Sword Art Online might not reach the same artistic heights as Initial D or Madoka Magica in a vacuum. However, the impact it had on the global community of fans was no less significant. Furthermore, its commercial value was astronomical.
In the other world, it had spawned multiple television seasons, high-budget movies, and video games. A large part of this was due to the heroine, Asuna, who became an absolute icon in the community for a variety of reasons.
The original light novels were among the top three best-selling series in the history of the industry.
Moreover, a fantasy adventure featuring a boy-meets-girl romance and a high-stakes survival game perfectly matched the mainstream tastes of the light novel market.
Unlike To the Moon or Parasyte, which, despite their critical acclaim, were somewhat niche in their appeal, SAO had the potential to transcend demographic boundaries. While his previous works had high reputation scores, their subject matter made it difficult for them to seize the number one spot in a prestige magazine like Kiyozawa Library.
Sword Art Online was different.
Haruto began organizing the plot, adapting the narrative style to better suit the reading habits of the audience. He never intended to copy the original works word-for-word; he had learned that subtle localization was the key to success. For instance, the original SAO novel experimented with shifting between first-person and third-person perspectives.
In the current literary scene, first-person narration was often a polarizing choice for many readers.
He primarily used the anime's pacing as his blueprint, supplemented by the details of the original novels. It was a tedious process, and if he hadn't delegated the Initial D storyboards and the lingering Madoka business to Yukino and Reina, he wouldn't have had a single minute of peace to focus.
One day, two days, three days passed. Aside from attending his essential university lectures, Haruto spent every waking hour in his room.
To meet his one-week deadline, he needed to produce at least four chapters so that Ms. Hime could present the series at the next serialization meeting.
It was a grueling pace.
However, just as he thought he could secure a few days of quiet for his writing, an unexpected disruption arrived as scheduled.
In late September, he received a call from the head of Sugar Man Pictures. The animated movie adaptation of To the Moon had been finalized and was set for a nationwide theatrical release in early October.
The news was a bolt from the blue. Back in May of the previous year, while Haruto was still a high school senior, To the Moon had pushed him to fame after winning a major award.
A month later, Yukino's father's company, Sugar Man, had purchased the rights for over 40 million yen to produce a high-budget animated feature.
A year and a half had blurred by since then. Haruto had transitioned from a student to a university sophomore, evolving into a famous novelist, a chart-topping mangaka, and a premier animation scriptwriter.
Staring at the notification, the title To the Moon triggered a wave of nostalgia. After a year of intense production and negotiations with cinema chains, the movie was finally set to premiere on October 3rd. There were only two weeks left.
Technically, since Haruto had sold the rights for millions of yen in a one-time deal, the success or failure of the movie wasn't his direct concern.
If he wanted to claim he was too busy to help, he could. But as the creator, he felt it would be incredibly dismissive to do nothing. He felt an obligation to attend the promotional fan events and the gala premieres in Tokyo and other major cities.
"I guess I'm losing sleep this week," Haruto sighed, glancing at the Sword Art Online manuscript that was only midway through its second chapter.
Between promoting the To the Moon film, drawing Initial D, and writing the new novel, he needed to churn out extra chapters just to stay afloat.
Meanwhile, Madoka Magica still reigned supreme over the market. Two weeks after the release of the movie's finale, the supply shortages had finally cleared, and the long lines outside hobby shops had vanished. Total sales for the first and second volumes of the movie had surpassed 4.5 million copies before the growth rate finally began to plateau.
Even a legendary hit eventually reaches market saturation.
The following day, Ms. Hime arrived as promised. She was dressed casually in a light-green floral sundress, a baseball cap, and high-heeled sandals, her long hair flowing over her shoulders.
Haruto rarely saw her out of her professional business suits; in this outfit, she looked less like a stern agent and more like a charming older sister from the neighborhood.
She hadn't come alone.
Accompanying her was Haruto's new editor at the Kiyozawa publishing house, a man named Mr. Naoya.
He was in his mid-forties, slightly portly, with a kind and approachable expression on his face.