On this day.
Friday.
The new issue of Shōnen Publishing's comics magazine was released.
In the morning, his mother called him again. She had been nagging him for two days now.
"Are you coming back or not?"
"I'm coming back."
"When?"
"Aiya, I'll be back tomorrow."
"Are you addicted to living in Japan?"
"I have serious matters to attend to here."
"Who are you going to fight with again?"
"Heh, why do I have to fight with others?"
"Isn't your serious business just fighting?"
"Pfft, bye, Mom."
After hanging up, Zhang Ye brought Ha Qiqi, Little Wang, and the others out after breakfast. The group strolled along the streets and walked into a very large bookstore.
Such stores could be seen everywhere in Japan. The scale of the comic book retail industry here was not something that other countries could compare to. Be it bookstores, small stalls, or even supermarkets, comics were sold everywhere. Moreover, they would always leave a very large area in a very conspicuous position. Standalone comics and comic magazines could be seen everywhere.
This was a country of comics and animation.
This was the center of all of Asia's comics and animation industry.
Little Wang looked around. "Why are there so many comics?"
Little Zhou asked, "Which one is from Shōnen Publishing?"
Little Sun spotted it immediately. "It's over there!"
Everyone went over and took a copy each.
Zhang Ye flipped open the magazine and realized that One Piece was not in a very good position. It was at the back and could only be seen after flipping many pages. The magazine was quite thick and had about ten serialized comics. Actually, as a Chinese person, Zhang Ye found it very difficult to accept such a method of serialization. At the very least, if he had to buy comics like this every week, and if he missed an issue, he wouldn't be able to pick up the rest of the serialized content. Zhang Ye definitely did not have the energy to do that. But in Japan, people's reading habits were already set in stone. This was something that had been nurtured over the decades. The national conditions were different.
One page.
Two pages.
Three pages.
The four of them chatted as they read.
Around them, people kept coming over and buying one copy after another. In the blink of an eye, dozens of copies had already been sold. The sales volume was astonishing.
Little Wang asked, "How do you determine whether a comic is popular or not?"
Ha Qiqi asked, "Based on the sales volume?"
Little Zhou said, "But there are a lot of comics in this magazine?"
Of course, we will also look at the sales volume of the magazine as well. For example, a top tier national comic can even double the sales volume of a comic magazine. That's all there is to it, but there's no need to think about it. There aren't many comics that can support a comic magazine with just a single comic. Oh, right, there's also the sales volume of the standalone edition. But we just published the first chapter, so we can't publish the standalone edition yet. "
Little Wang said, "Eh, then why didn't they just release a standalone edition?"
Little Zhou clapped his hands. "That's right! That's so fun! Let's teach it a lesson with ten to twenty sentences first!"
Ha Qiqi said, "With Director Zhang's speed, it's not a problem for him to release two chapters a day. If we compete with them in terms of update rate, no one is a match for Director Zhang!"
Zhang Ye bragged, "Two chapters a day? I can write three sentences! "
Little Wang said, "Right, are there any comic magazines that are sold every day? Weekly magazines are too slow. There's something wrong with their model. It's too immature. "
Day watch?
Three sentences a day?
Do you think that everyone is as perverted as Director Zhang!
Little Sun felt a little tired listening to this bunch of laymen discussing so seriously.
…
At a school.
"Hey, have you read it yet?"
"How's this issue of Shōnen Publishing?"
"I just finished reading it. Martial King is still dragging out the plot."
"This issue of Dark Souls is not bad. It's very exciting."
"I like One Piece."
"Ah, I know, it's that new serialization!"
"Yeah, the first sentence is pretty good. I'm looking forward to it."
"It's very good, but the character design is a little strange."
…
On the light rail.
"Eh? One Piece? A new serialization? "
"This character design is so strange."
"Why are his eyes so small?"
"It's quite good, take a look."
"Yeah, I didn't want to read it at first, but once I got used to this strange character design, the plot and setting were very surprising."
"I like this comic too."
…
At a company.
"Aoi?"
"A pure newcomer? I've never heard of her before. "
"He can even get a serialization with this kind of character design? Motherfucker, the key thing is that I'm enjoying it! "
"Luffy is so cute!"
"Yeah, yeah, I like him!"
"I like Luffy too. It's just that his eyes are a little small."
"How is it just a little small? Hey, they're just a little small!"
…
Noon.
At Shōnen Publishing's editorial department.
Kyoko Seto returned from lunch with her colleagues.
"Kyoko, the comic you're in charge of has been serialized?"
"Yeah, it's One Piece."
"You mean the one with an especially ugly character design?"
"Don't say that. Every cartoonist has their own style. This drawing style is actually — actually quite unique. It leaves a deep impression on people."
"Alright, the popularity poll should be out by now, right?"
"The first batch of statistics should be done soon. Let's see what the rankings are like for this issue. Who do you guys think will get first place?"
"I don't even want to think about it. One Piece is just there to make up the numbers. If there's a second passable comic during the editor-in-chief meeting, it wouldn't even be my turn. The deputy editor-in-chief has already said that if One Piece doesn't do well within ten issues, it will be axed to make room. Hai, heavens, why can't they just give me a good comic!"
"Haha, Kyoko's luck is just too bad."
"Yeah, Kyoko, you're already a veteran editor, but you haven't even gotten first place in the popularity poll in recent years."
"Hey, hey, hey, can you guys stop talking about this?"
The few of them were teasing her.
Kyoko was also feeling very depressed.
Over there, a drawing board was hung on the wall. The statistics for the popularity poll were out.
Many editors gathered around to have a look. They were all very concerned about the rankings of the comics they were in charge of. That was because if a comic's ranking remained at the bottom for a long period of time, it would mean that the comic would be axed and its serialization stopped.
Kyoko also wanted to have a look, but she did not dare to.
Holy Spirit, Earth Spirit.
It wouldn't be last place again, right?
Not far away, a lot of people were already exclaiming.
"Ah!"
"Quick, look!"
"This, uh!"
"Kyoko! Kyoko, come quickly! "
Everyone was calling out to her.
Kyoko was stunned. "What is it?"
She got up and walked over. She looked up at the drawing board.
First: One Piece, 1,023 votes.
Second: Martial King, 986 votes.
Third: Dark Souls, 922 votes.
Kyoko was dumbfounded!
Everyone in the editorial department of Shōnen Publishing was also dumbfounded!
The editor-in-chief was already standing there at some point in time. The two deputy editor-in-chief were also standing behind the crowd with their mouths agape. They had looks of disbelief on their faces!
What?
One Piece was in first place?
That strange comic that they had used to make up the numbers? The first chapter of a new serialization had already taken first place in the popularity poll? Could this be some kind of mistake?
Instantly, many of the editors were looking at Kyoko with envy.
"Kyoko, congratulations."
"You're a dark horse!"
"You've hit the jackpot this time!"
"Congratulations on getting first place!"
Kyoko was so excited that she was close to tears!
A good comic?
A good work?
It's finally here!
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