The moment the new update was posted, within just a few minutes, the number of comments soared to over 99+.
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"Ah!?"
"Writing lyrics and composing music? Am I seeing things, or is this real?"
"It must be a hallucination from crying too much—there's no way the mangaka actually wrote lyrics and composed a song!"
"Huh, you guys saw that too?"
"...So, it wasn't just our imagination!?"
"Is it really the mangaka who made this song, just like the last one?"
"A manga artist, a light novel author, and an anime screenwriter—I can't figure out how these professions are related to writing lyrics and composing music!"
"True, there's no obvious connection, but didn't the mangaka mention learning music as a kid?"
"As a music student, I wouldn't be able to write something like this, no matter how many years I spent studying."
"Ten years? I'd probably never be able to write something like this in my life!"
"Something that others might spend a lifetime trying to achieve, and yet, for the mangaka, it's just another small thing!!"
"Damn it, I'm so jealous!"
"Is it really fair that geniuses can just ignore logic like this!? So frustrating!"
"Others just get lucky, but the mangaka seems like the heavens are literally feeding them their meals!!"
"Seriously, what else can you not do!?"
"Just thinking about how the mangaka specially wrote us this song makes me so happy!"
"Happy?? The song was meant to mess with you emotionally, and you're still happy... Actually, when I think about it, I'm kinda happy too."
"Even though it was emotionally overwhelming, the song really is beautiful!"
"It feels like the entire story gained a soul, it became so much more vivid and alive!"
"Enough said, I'm going back to class, see you later."
"..."
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Watching all the amazed comments below the update, Akifumi couldn't help but sigh.
'Why don't I have a system to collect all these amazement points?'
Even just randomly posting something, to get this many exclamations of admiration—that's something to be proud of!
He shook his head, pushing aside any further thoughts about Your Lie In April.
'Speaking of which, I didn't get a chance to pay attention to Steins;Gate after the release of Your Lie In April yesterday.'
With that in mind, Akifumi opened up an ACG-related forum.
He spent a few minutes browsing, only to close the website in frustration.
The forum was full of discussions about Your Lie In April, and there was not a single mention of Steins;Gate.
'Is this what they mean by 'lifting a stone and dropping it on your own foot'?'
His new work had completely overshadowed the other project!
How should he describe the feeling... It was a bit strange.
Akifumi scratched his head and didn't let it bother him too much.
If there was no news about Steins;Gate on the forum, surely the video-sharing sites would have something, right?
With that thought in mind, he opened a video platform.
Compared to the previous episodes, the latest one had significantly fewer comments.
It was obvious that Your Lie In April was the reason.
The fanbases of the two works overlapped quite a bit, and with the content in Your Lie In April being so intense, many fans were probably still reeling from it, which made it completely understandable that Steins;Gate got less attention for the time being.
The content of Steins;Gate episode 15 was simple enough—something about a broken time machine, fixing it, and helping Rintarou find her father.
Recalling the plot, Akifumi's gaze shifted to the comments below the video.
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"Why does this episode feel kind of boring compared to the shocking one from last time?"
"Not that there's nothing good here, but it just doesn't have the same impact as the previous episodes."
"I kinda get what the mangaka was going for, but spending 20 minutes on this one plot point? Feels like a bit much."
"But next episode should go back to the past, right?"
"Well, since I've already watched this much, I'm going to finish the whole thing!"
"Hope the next episode can return to the previous level."
"..."
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After reading the comments, Akifumi felt a bit more at ease.
Steins;Gate was a work that really needed patience from its audience.
And patience was in short supply in today's world.
"Good thing the reputation built up over time is really coming in handy now."
Otherwise, he'd probably have to wait until the series finished before people would come around.
"By the way, it seems like there are fewer negative comments than before!"
The earlier episodes had received some pretty harsh criticism, but starting from the last episode, the negativity had decreased quite a bit.
"How strange."
Akifumi couldn't help but shake his head.
No matter how much of a genius he was, he couldn't fully understand what went on in the minds of these so-called "haters."
And he certainly didn't know how their mindset had shifted since last week.
Even though some of the recent episodes had given those who had turned against him last week a chance to "change sides" again, the time between episodes was so short that even the thick-skinned ones couldn't do it without feeling a little embarrassed.
"I'll wait to see how the next few episodes play out."
If things went poorly, they wouldn't hesitate to roast him.
But if things went well... well, of course, they will be the first to say, "I knew this work was amazing from the start! What did I tell you, the mangaka's work could never be bad! My taste is just impeccable!"
Talk about being hypocrite.
Akifumi sighed and shook his head.
"Well, whatever, it's all good."
As for whether he was worried about the next episode, he wasn't at all.
After all...
"Episode 16 is where the first big climax hits!"
Having already seen the script, Akifumi knew that, compared to the original, this scene would be even more intense.
The atmosphere of suffocation, breakdown, and despair would be taken to the next level!
And after episode 16, the following storylines would be full of nonstop high-energy moments!
Fans definitely wouldn't be disappointed!
"Speaking of which, what should I do for my next project?"
Should he release it as a single-volume book?
Although WorldEnd light novel was nearing its end, the manga still had plenty of content left.
Your Lie In April was even more so—right now, the content in the magazines had just wrapped up the first volume.
It would be at least a year before Your Lie In April was complete.
WorldEnd would have to wait until the end of the year.
For Akifumi, who now had another new project in his hands, there was no way he'd be idle for that long!
But as for manga serialization in magazines—he'd have to put that on hold for the time being.
"Well, I should find some time to chat with my editor."
Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, a week had passed.
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Saturday, 9 a.m.
"Want to go out tomorrow?" Mashiro's eyes sparkled with excitement.
She was clearly looking forward to it.
Before coming to Japan, the girl who had been consumed with drawing likely never considered the idea of "playing."
"Mashiro, do you want to go to the amusement park, or...?"
Mahiru didn't finish her sentence before Mashiro cut her off: "Amusement park!"
Mahiru squinted, smiling: "Alright, it's settled then. Tomorrow we're going to the amusement park~"
Though she would have preferred to go to the amusement park with just Mugiho, that wasn't really realistic.
At least not before Mashiro left.
So, the most she could do was imagine it in her head.
Seeing the two girls in a good mood, Akifumi's mood also lightened.
"I'm stepping out for a bit to discuss something with my editor. You two can take care of things here."
"Okay." Mashiro nodded seriously.
Her expression was so earnest, it looked like she was taking on some major mission.
Noticing the little playful look Mashiro had, Mahiru couldn't help but smile.
"Don't worry, Mugiho-kun, we'll handle everything here."
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A little later, Akifumi arrived at the Shueisha editorial office's reception room.
He was so familiar with this place by now, it was like his second home.
No need for anyone to wait on him—Akifumi poured himself a glass of water and also made a cup of coffee for the assistant editor, then casually settled into a comfortable position.
After a while, Otosuna Mihari entered the room.
Seeing Akifumi, sprawled across the chair like he was at home, a resigned look appeared on her face.
"You're really not the least bit reserved, are you?"
"Well, I'm not an outsider, so what's there to be reserved about?"
Akifumi's matter-of-fact response made Mihari smile slightly.
"Fair point." She thought for a moment, then picked up the coffee from the desk and took a sip, her eyes lighting up.
"Thanks."
Akifumi chuckled. "You're being way too polite. That's not like you."
"Then what is my style?" She shot back with a question, then quickly switched to a more businesslike expression.
"Though I know you must have something special to discuss today, let me go over a few things first."
"A few things?" Akifumi blinked, surprised.
Of course, the sales for Your Lie In April were probably among them, but what else could it be?
Curious, he leaned forward slightly, waiting for her to continue.
"The first is the sales for Your Lie In April."
"After one week of release, the total sales for volume 4 have reached 428,000 copies."
"Eh? That many?!" Akifumi couldn't hide his shock.
That was an average of over 100,000 copies per volume!
If this were over a month, it would be impressive enough, but within just one week? That was staggering!
Mihari smiled as she watched his reaction.
"I thought you'd remain calm like usual."
After so many times, seeing him genuinely surprised made her unexpectedly happy.
"Well, it's 400,000 copies!" Akifumi shrugged.
With his rebirth, his perspective had shifted, and he wasn't as indifferent as before.
He had once been calm when hearing about sales, thinking it was nothing special.
Take 100,000 copies, for instance—it roughly translated to about 7 million yen.
Converted to US dollars, it was around $50,000.
Not a small sum, but not particularly large either.
But 400,000 copies in a week? That was like breaking the 1 million mark!
Mihari nodded, her expression turning more serious.
"Actually, this number surprised all of us..."
"However, after analyzing the data, the marketing department found that Your Lie In April' story is very cohesive, so it has a strong pull."
"Plus, the cliffhanger at the end of volume 7 left fans with a very high level of anticipation for the next chapters."
"Combined with the buzz online this past week and the long reviews by several bloggers, that's what helped us achieve these impressive numbers in such a short period."
Akifumi nodded.
That explanation made sense.
"Next up is the second piece of good news. The combined sales of the first few volumes of Your Lie In April have already hit 2.1 million copies!"
"And when you add in the sales of your previous works, the total is approaching 10 million copies!"
2.1 million copies? That meant each volume had sold around 300,000 copies?
"Your Lie In April' sales are rising incredibly fast!" Akifumi marveled.
As for the 10 million sales she mentioned, he wasn't too concerned.
"Up until last month, Madoka Magica had sold 4.3 million copies, and Anohana had sold 2.2 million copies."
There was a large gap between the sales of Madoka Magica and Anohana.
The main reason was that the former had already been adapted into an anime, while the latter still hadn't gotten any news.
But it also showed just how much anime adaptations could boost a work's sales!
"If we add up Your Lie In April' sales, we're only at 9 million copies, right?" At this point, there were hundreds of manga artists who had hit the 10 million sales milestone.
So why get excited about it?
Mihari couldn't help but roll her eyes.
"Just 1 million more copies to go, and by the end of the month, we can easily hit that mark."
Although there were hundreds of manga artists in the 10 million club, there was still a significant difference in the weight of that achievement.
"Someone like you, who can hit that mark in less than a year, is among a very small group of artists!"
That was the real reason Mihari was so excited!
"Well, let's wait until we actually hit it."
Akifumi waved it off nonchalantly.
The 10 million club was no big deal.
It might seem impressive, but when you calculate the royalties, it was only about 700-800 million yen.
And when you convert that to dollars...
"After a year of hard work, I haven't even hit half of a small target!"
Of course, this only referred to his manga royalties.
If you added in his income from other sources, Akifumi was already close to hitting that small target.
Seeing his indifference, Mihari sighed.
Shaking her head, she revealed the third piece of good news.
"According to the company's research, Anohana and Your Lie In April have both got a greenlit for anime adaptations."
!!
This was a big deal!
Akifumi's face lit up.
"After waiting for so long, Anohana is finally getting an anime!"
"Well, it's understandable." Mihari shrugged.
"With other editors in the manga section giving up their resources, if we fought for more anime adaptations, what do you think the other editors would say?"
What would they say? They'd probably explode with anger!
If this were in his past life, since the manga and animation studios were separate, as long as a work was good, it would get adapted.
But in this world, companies like Shueisha were fully integrated, handling everything from light novels to manga and anime.
There were limited resources for anime, and every year, there were numerous manga and light novels vying for animation opportunities.
Last year, Madoka Magica had managed to jump ahead of the pack and get an anime adaptation, and if Anohanafollowed suit, the other editors wouldn't be happy.
Akifumi knew all of this, so it didn't surprise him.
But...
"Wait, Anohana makes sense, but Your Lie In April only just finished! How did it already get an anime adaptation?"
Won't other editors have an issue with this?
Mihari smiled. "Well, this is something that can't be helped."
"When the higher-ups speak, even if there are objections, people have to keep quiet."
Akifumi understood now.
That made sense.
"But the production team has limited staff, so the production process might take longer than usual."
"It's still uncertain whether it'll be ready this year."
Akifumi wasn't too concerned about this.
Production always took time, and compared to not knowing when it would get its turn, this was much better.
"Well, that's all I had to say." Mihari continued.
"Now, what brings you here today?"
"Can I release a single volume in May?"
"Are you talking about WorldEnd?"
Akifumi shook his head. "No, WorldEnd has its light novel, no rush on that."
"Then what is it?"
By the time she asked, Mihari already had a feeling.
"My new work."