'A signing event?' The mention of it made Akifumi think back to an earlier conversation.
It had been brought up by Mihari during the summer, but at the time, due to the hot weather and various other reasons, he had brushed it off.
Now, hearing the idea again, he started to reconsider it.
The goal of a signing event is mainly to connect with fans, boost sales, and increase one's personal fame.
Back then, Akifumi didn't care much about fame.
Money? As long as it was enough, he had a laid-back attitude.
Even though he had Guilty Crown (a successful work) in his hands, he hadn't put in much effort.
His work was always done at the pace of one chapter a week.
But now? Things were different.
Fame and money? The more, the better!
If that's the case, then hosting a signing event definitely seemed necessary.
Seeing that Akifumi was silent, Mihari misunderstood.
She spoke up, "Isn't Madoka set to air in October?"
"That will definitely attract more new fans."
"With that as an opportunity, you could launch a signing event, along with a Madoka limited edition, and it would definitely make a big sale!"
"Of course, this is just my unrefined suggestion; you'd be the one to decide the details."
After hearing her explanation, Akifumi couldn't help but feel a bit surprised.
He remembered when they first met—she was still a newbie who made mistakes even with internal memos.
Now, in just half a year, she had grown so much.
"You've really made progress, huh? Minano-san wasn't wrong about you!"
Hearing Akifumi's genuine compliment, Mihari froze for a moment, then a shy blush crept onto her face.
"Wait... Are you complimenting me?"
"You can confidently drop that '?' mark now. You've grown into quite the capable editor!"
So, this is how he sees me?
Haha, that's a bit embarrassing!
She couldn't help but smile, proud of herself.
Getting recognition from outsiders is always pleasant.
It's even better when it comes from the mangaka you're responsible for.
But after a moment of feeling happy, Mihari snapped out of it and asked,
"So, what do you think about the signing event?"
"You've laid out all the benefits, so why would I refuse?" Akifumi chuckled.
"Though it might be a bit tiring, I'm kind of curious about how popular I am right now."
"I just hope there won't be no one showing up that day, that'd be embarrassing."
Mihari chuckled. "Let's just hope when the day comes, you won't complain about there being too many people."
"Alright, how about October 1st? It's a Sunday."
"Sounds good."
"The event will start at 10 AM. I'll let you know the specific location later, but please make sure to help with the promotion on SNS, okay?"
"Well, I don't want too few people either. That'd be really awkward."
......
After hanging up, Akifumi turned his attention back to his drawing desk.
It was Saturday, and it was time to work on 'WorldEnd'.
He replayed Mihari's words in his mind:
'Madoka limited edition, huh?'
That gave him a bit of an idea.
If a finished manga could be reprinted and upgraded with better quality and extra content for a second sale, why not release a light novel for 'World End' first?
His earlier misstep was thinking only in terms of manga.
As a manga artist, he automatically assumed the work had to be released as a comic.
But after reconsidering, he realized the two ongoing works Anohana and Madoka were still being serialized.
He couldn't start a new serialization until one of them finished.
If he wanted to release a paperback, he'd need at least 9 chapters completed.
The current difficulty of managing these two ongoing series was greater than he initially thought.
In WorldEnd , the story focuses on everyday life, the little moments shared by the protagonist and the "fairy warehouse" girls.
These peaceful moments make the impending death even more poignant.
When adapting this into a manga, Akifumi felt it would be easy to focus on this theme of "everyday life" since that's what the story emphasizes.
The main difficulty came with Guilty Crown.
After thinking it over multiple times, Akifumi finally decided to make some adjustments to the plot.
First, he would set the story's background during the "Lost Christmas" of 10 years ago.
He needed to address this right at the start, or fans who've never seen the original anime would feel disconnected and confused.
As for the method of storytelling, he could use a dream-like format, similar to Madoka, but with more information provided.
Secondly, he would tighten the story's pacing.
In the anime, one episode, excluding OP/ED, runs for about 22 minutes, which is equivalent to two manga chapters.
But there's no need for that much content.
Some parts of the original felt drawn out and unnecessary.
Akifumi remembered that when he first watched it, he almost fell asleep during the first two episodes.
He didn't want to replicate that slow pacing in his manga.
The final version would likely be around 24-26 chapters, much shorter than the 44-episode anime.
The character designs also had to be spot-on.
Cute characters are essential! Only when the characters are lovable will their deaths have the emotional impact needed to resonate with readers.
Lastly, the tone of 'WorldEnd' would also differ.
While Madoka and Anohana are more about daily life with a touch of sentiment, Guilty Crown would be much more action-packed.
He would add more battles, making it a more intense, exciting story that would appeal to a wider audience.
This would definitely not be some kind of "bait-and-switch" to get fans in just to disappoint them.
It was a carefully thought-out decision.
The protagonist's initial weak personality would also undergo a crucial transformation—this is an essential element of a "hot-blooded" story.