Great Mangaka

From behind the skyscraper's glass wall, Shuji, editor-in-chief of Tatsuryū Novel, and the editorial director observed the sales area below the building, where a large number of readers had gathered.

They looked at each other for a moment and smiled.

The editorial director said: "Congratulations, editor-in-chief. Sales of The Legend of Wukong are excellent. At least they are at the level of a prominent author, and could even reach that of a star author. You're right. You don't have to worry about the next evaluation."

The so-called prominent author and star author are the titles of some best-selling novelists in Japan. In fact, they represent novelists classified in the third and fourth tiers of influence in the industry.

Shuji, the novel's editor-in-chief, smiled and said: "I have higher expectations for The Legend of Wukong than you do. Let's wait for the rapid report results to come out. It's useless to say anything now."

But shortly after he finished speaking, an editor quickly approached with the rapid report.

"Editor-in-chief, editor-in-chief, the rapid report is already available."

The editor handed the report to Shuji, wiped the sweat from his face, and couldn't contain his excitement.

"First-day sales exceeded 77,000 copies, and final sales are expected to exceed 850,000!"

The final sales volume was 850,000 copies! This sales volume would undoubtedly be a bestseller in the manga industry, but it's not particularly impressive in the fiercely competitive and talented novel industry.

"Look, I guessed it!" said the editorial director: "With an exceptional performance, if subsequent publicity and promotion are good, there's still hope of becoming a top-tier author. As for anything higher... that's gone."

"It's a shame you haven't reached the third level of influence."

He shook his head and sighed: "If you enter the third level and reach the status of star author, the company will pay more attention to you, as editor-in-chief."

The Japanese novel industry has a pyramid structure. The top three classes are revered as the most prestigious level. Each novelist at this level has a performance that determines the survival of a small company. 80% of Tatsuryū Publishing's resources are allocated to these high-level novelists.

If Shuji finds a writer of the highest prestige level, this year's bonus will be at least 50,000 or 60,000 yen.

"What a shame...".

The editorial director sighed again. If he's a star author, he'll also receive a big reward.

"What a shame?" Shuji smiled after reading the brief report. "Hasn't Mirai-sensei reached the star author level?"

The editorial director was stunned: "What do you mean?"

"You forgot that The Legend of Wukong has been published."

Shuji smiled and said: "Readers can read it for free online, so there's no need to buy it. It's normal for physical book sales to be affected, and this is Mirai-sensei's first work."

Every famous novelist must accumulate fame, and their first work's sales are the lowest. Tatsuryū evaluates novelists' potential based on book content and sales. As long as their true talent is recognized, the first comprehensive evaluation will be two levels higher than sales.

"This rapid report predicts 850,000, and its initial performance has increased by two evaluation levels. Mirai-sensei's potential is evaluated as an author of medium influence. But The Legend of Wukong's exposure has affected sales, so its evaluation must be increased by one level. At the next company meeting, Mirai-sensei will undoubtedly be evaluated as a great author!"

Shuji was a little excited.

Mirai-sensei is a mangaka who has created a miracle in manga. Now no one will doubt that it will be a passing phenomenon. With genuine talent and outstanding market performance, Tatsuryū Publishing will consider him a key object of observation.

"Yes, I forgot, this is his first novel."

The editorial director patted his head and said: "His first novel has had so many sales, he really has great potential! Haha, we are both looking forward to this year's bonus!"

He showed an expectant look.

Shuji nodded and said: "The bonus is fine, but Mirai-sensei didn't agree to dedicate himself to novels, so the bonus is only half at most."

After saying this, the director's face was filled with regret: "Oh, how can a novel genius dedicate himself to drawing! It's so difficult!"

Compared to novels, manga are more difficult and less profitable, and the market and sales channels for manga are much worse than those for novels. In addition to the Kanto and Kansai regions, Japan has five regions with a population of over 300,000,000 people, dominating the world. A novel with sales of 1,000,000 copies is in third place in the country, while a single manga with sales of 1,000,000 copies is unique.

"Do you think Mirai-sensei will leave the manga industry?"

the director asked expectantly.

"I don't know, but...". Shuji frowned: "Manga has been developing for over ten years, and the first generation of people with higher education is about to emerge. These people have a high level of drawing and will revolutionize the manga industry."

"Higher education in manga."

The supervisor, a little stunned, complained: "Are you referring to the manga association created by those capitalists and artists? I remember that Tokyo snatched Osaka's reservation as a manga education center, and this year they also created a manga company."

"Yes, not just Tokyo."

Shuji nodded: "Tohoku, Kansai, Shikoku, Kyushu—there's a manga education center in each of Japan's five regions. The first generation of students is about to emerge, and the manga and animation industries are about to undergo a reorganization."

He sighed lightly and suddenly remembered his last conversation with Takumi. 'The boy had a wonderful fantasy about the future of the manga industry, but those ideas might have been perceived by the capitalists a few years ago and put into practice discreetly.'

If it weren't for Mirai-sensei's sudden rise, Shuji wouldn't have been able to detect that Japan decided to implement higher education in manga a few years ago, with only one school quota per region. It was strange at the time, but now it's full of malicious intent to divide the market.

Both Kanto and Kansai belong to Japan's interior. The manga market in this area is considered a garden by the Tokyo Manga Association. Mirai-sensei is in that garden.

"Come on, young man!"

Shuji applauded enthusiastically. Everything in the cultural industry depends on strength. In fact, it is difficult for Hinotori Publishing, which relies on a single person, to defeat a group of mangaka who have abandoned society. But whatever Hinotori Publishing's situation, Shuji believes that Mirai-sensei will not be defeated.

He is an original mangaka. Those who have received higher education and are only capable of drawing manga cannot do without Mirai-sensei in the development of the manga market. The capitalists who seek money will never harm him.

The outcome can go in two directions. One is that Mirai-sensei changes jobs, or Hinotori Publishing joins the Manga Association. The second is that Hinotori Publishing accepts more mangaka and forms a stronger company centered on Mirai-sensei.

But Shuji hopes for a third ending...

The capitalists attack Mirai-sensei, so he dedicates himself to the novel industry.

However, this possibility is minimal. Now that the war is over, Japanese technology has entered a bottleneck, and the world is in a period of latent development. Humanity will take hundreds of years to break through into the stellar world. In this process, material life will quickly become saturated. To satisfy the social emptiness that humanity is about to enter, the entertainment industry will serve as a pillar industry.

Mirai-sensei's existence will soon attract national attention. As a potential candidate for the godfather of a cultural category with great potential...

He will be protected by the country all his life.

- - - -

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