Two days later, the sales figures for the first volume of the HxH manga ankobon were released.
First-week sales: 6.72 million copies.
Before these numbers were announced, the consensus across the manga industry was that the first volume would comfortably clear five million copies in its opening week. No one was blind to the reality of the situation. You only had to look at the massive lines snaking outside every bookstore to see how high the demand was for this release.
However, seeing a first-week figure hit six million, specifically reaching as high as 6.7 million, left many completely stunned.
Generally speaking, the first week of sales is not the final total. A common rule of thumb is that a series will eventually sell roughly three times its opening week numbers over the course of a year or two. For massive hits or light novels with a dedicated fanbase and strong longevity, the final tally often approaches or even exceeds four times that initial week.
What on earth was going on with Hunter × Hunter selling 6.7 million copies in just seven days?
Among the big four manga publishers, everyone except Prime Manga was at a total loss for what to do next. Since Haruto joined Prime Manga two years ago, the circulation of their flagship magazine, Weekly Prime had skyrocketed from around thirteen million to nearly seventeen million copies.
Today, they were locked in a fierce battle with Ultra Comic for the title of the number one manga magazine. Over the past nine weeks, Prime Manga had claimed the top weekly sales spot five times, while Ultra Comic had taken it four. Ultra Comic was already finding itself on the defensive.
With these record-breaking sales for Hunter × Hunter, there was no way Prime Manga would let the marketing opportunity pass them by. This was the highest first-week sales record for a debut volume of any manga created in the last eighteen years.
Everyone could feel that Haruto was engaged in God-slaying. In an era where the audience for manga, novels, and anime is gradually shrinking due to an aging society, he was systematically challenging the milestones set by the legendary masterpieces of the past.
Madoka Magica and Cyberpunk: Edgerunners were already ranked as the top 10 anime of all time. Meanwhile, the Sword Art Online had seen a massive surge due to the content serialized last month. In the latest chapters, the protagonist executed a satisfying counterattack, utterly crushing Sugou. Haruto depicted the protagonist systematically dismantling Sugou.
More importantly, Haruto avoided the pitfalls of the original world's version where the hero, Kirito, was nearly killed by a cowardly backstab while trying to find Asuna in the real world. Haruto felt that such a development didn't fit a strong protagonist. In his version, Sugou's attempt at a real-world ambush remained, but instead of the hero being wounded, Kirito reacted with perfect self-defense, beating the villain into a pulp without taking a single scratch.
Fueled by this wave of satisfying storytelling, Sword Art Online fans responded with their wallets. Many went to bookstores to buy entire sets of the volumes as gifts for friends, pushing the average sales per volume past 24 million copies. This achievement placed the series at number five on the all-time sales list.
Beyond that rank lay only the heaviest hitters in the history of the light novel industry.
Those were products of the Golden Age, when the youth population was at its absolute peak. Yet, Sword Art Online was clearly still gaining momentum.
The current record holder for average sales per volume is The Last Dominion, which averaged 27.3 million copies over nineteen volumes.
In the manga world, the record is held by the phenomenon Dragon Mage from twenty-three years ago, which averaged 26.1 million copies over twenty-four volumes.
Looking at the current situation, both Hunter × Hunter, with its 6.7 million opening week, and Sword Art Online, with its 24 million average, had a genuine shot at challenging these titans.
The only question that remained was whether the Hunter Exam arc in Hunter × Hunter and the GGO arc in Sword Art Online could maintain enough quality to keep fans opening their wallets.
After the latest sales data dropped, the entire industry was left with a single thought.
Can he really do it?
Can he reach the very top and dethrone Dragon Mage and The Last Dominion, pulling those works from their pedestals to crown himself the new King of the industry?
At this point, most people had stopped being jealous of Haruto's success. Who could be jealous of a genius like that? It was like asking a regular person if they were jealous of a legendary athlete.
The gap was simply too wide.
Most people watched his achievements with a sense of awe and longing instead.
As Haruto's direct partners, Prime Manga and Kiyozawa Library were incredibly proactive. The representatives in charge of coordinating with him were constantly checking in on his well-being and creative state.
They even went as far as telling him that if he ever felt uncertain about the direction of the plot, he should feel free to take a week or two off to ensure the story remained perfect. They knew that if these series were to truly conquer the historical rankings, the influence of a publisher wouldn't be enough. Only the quality of the writing could carry them there.
A few more days passed, and the third episode of Code Geass aired. This episode finally clarified the roots of Lelouch's burning hatred for the Britannian Empire. It detailed how his mother was assassinated when he was a child, while his father, the Emperor, remained indifferent.
Lelouch and his sister Nunnally were used as mere political pawns and sent to Japan as hostages to facilitate an alliance. Then, showing a complete disregard for their lives, the Emperor launched a full-scale invasion of Japan while they were still there.
Who wouldn't be embittered by that? It proved that Lelouch's father viewed him and Nunnally as nothing more than disposable trash.
In the climax of the third episode, Lelouch infiltrated the residence of his half-brother, Prince Clovis. Using his power to command others, he interrogated Clovis and discovered that Prince Schneizel and Princess Cornelia were involved in the events surrounding his mother's death.
Without hesitation, Lelouch shot his own brother dead. To him, Clovis was part of the family that had used him and his sister as tools and then discarded them.
The plot then shifted from the high-stakes tension of the battlefield back to Lelouch's everyday life at Ashford Academy.
The episode introduced the important supporting character Shirley, as well as Kallen who was frequently absent due to illness.
In reality, she was the ace pilot of the resistance forces who had become the most powerful piece on Lelouch's chessboard during the assassination of the prince.
Most of the third episode served as a crucial setup. Kallen grew suspicious of Lelouch's voice and identity, leading to a mental battle where Lelouch had to outmaneuver her to clear his name. Finally, the episode ended with Lelouch's friend, the soldier Suzaku, being framed by the Britannian military as the assassin of Prince Clovis. Suzaku was being made the scapegoat for the crime Lelouch had actually committed.
The viewership ratings for the third episode were released the following day: 5.17%. After three episodes, anime fans finally understood the true meaning of the word Rebellion in the title.
"The title makes total sense now. This isn't just a school story; it's the chronicle of how Lelouch plans to topple the entire Britannian Empire."
"Man, Haruto's range is insane. I didn't expect such a sharp shift in style."
"Madoka Magica was pure dark fantasy focused on friendship. Edgerunners was a tragic romance. Now, Code Geass is diving straight into political intrigue and war?"
"I really admire him. What kind of brain does he have? Since his debut, has he ever repeated himself? From Blue Ride to Code Geass, every single project is a completely fresh innovation."
"But honestly, don't you guys think it's a bit far-fetched? How can Lelouch take down a global superpower like Britannia? It feels impossible."
"You have to keep watching to find out! Don't jump to conclusions yet."
"Exactly. The protagonist has the power to control anyone. If he only had his intellect, it would be impossible, but with the combination of genius-level strategy and a supernatural ability, it's not out of the question, right?"
"True. Plus, it's anime, don't get too hung up on the minor details. Like how Kallen just happens to be in his class."
"That wouldn't happen in real life, but in stories, the protagonist is always surrounded by these coincidences. When you combine those lucky factors with his Geass and his brain, overturning a nation becomes a compelling narrative."
"Whatever, let's not overanalyze it. If it's good, watch it. If it's not, don't. Personally, I just want to know if that green-haired girl from the first episode is coming back. Did she really just die like that? It felt so sudden."
"No idea, but she seemed to die after passing her power to Lelouch."
"I guess so..."
"At least Lelouch is showing progress compared to Haruto's earlier works. Even if people nitpick the logic, hardly anyone is calling it boring. The reception is much better than it was for the first three episodes of Madoka, where everyone was complaining about the slow pace and predicting it would fail."
"That's a good point. Looking back, Lelouch's infiltration of the prince's villa was a bit too easy, and his coldness toward his brother was shocking. But while you're actually watching it, the emotional momentum is so strong you don't even care. It's just an exhilarating ride."
"Haha, it's because the chuunibyou energy is on point. Lelouch's dramatic poses and gestures are totally over-the-top, but isn't that why we watch anime? We all had a phase like that. It's a bit cringey, but in a way that feels nostalgic and cool at the same time."
"When you put it that way, you're right."
"I finally get it! I was wondering why I kept watching despite Lelouch's ridiculous poses. It's because it reminds me of the stuff I used to do when I was younger, haha."
"We're only on episode three and we just got the goal revealed. How long is this show going to be? Lelouch has no money, no army, and no technology right now. Taking down an empire from scratch feels like it would take at least seventy or eighty episodes."
"So the rumors about this being a four-cour, year-long series are true?"
"Who knows? But looking at the scope of the plot, there's no way it's just a one-season show. If Haruto can wrap up the fall of Britannia in twelve episodes, I'll literally bow down to him."
For the entire day following the third episode, discussions about the plot dominated the anime community. If you scrolled through dozens of threads about the current season, you'd be hard-pressed to find a single mention of any other show. So far, the consensus among fans was overwhelmingly positive.
Haruto looked away from the online forums and turned his attention to the documents on his desk regarding the multimedia expansion of Code Geass. The production of merchandise, licensing, and brand collaborations were all moving in sync with the broadcast. Plans for novelizations and manga adaptations also needed to be scheduled.
Furthermore, he was thinking about the theatrical films. In his memories, several movies were produced, and he wanted to start work on those now so they could be released shortly after the series concluded. Even if some of those were just compilation films or side projects, they served to flesh out the world-building, and he didn't want to ignore them.
He planned to streamline the content and perhaps set a lower price point to keep the fans happy.
Additionally, several gaming companies had been reaching out, wanting to feature characters from Code Geass, Edgerunners, and Madoka Magica in their titles. Haruto had no interest in turning his stories into cheap, cash-grab mobile games.
However, he wasn't against limited-time collaborations with established, high-quality games. If the fans enjoyed it and the partner companies were happy, it was a win for everyone.
By mid-April, with the first three episodes behind them, the ratings for Code Geass had stabilized around 5%. However, Haruto knew that this was the kind of show that only got more addictive as it went on. The early episodes were restrained because they had to establish the world, but from here on out, things would change.
After all, the show's female lead, C.C., hadn't even revealed her name yet, and the main plot had barely begun.
Haruto finished reading the documents and set them aside. Now, all he needed was for time to let the popularity build. While he viewed Code Geass and Madoka Magica as being on the same level of quality, he didn't want people to say he peaked with his debut. That didn't sit right with him. One way or another, he intended to break the records he himself had set two years ago.
_______________________
Support me at patreon.com/CulturedOne and read 50 Advanced Chapters