Chapter 263: Victory or Defeat
Shinsei Books Bookstore opened at 7 AM. To sell "The Detective's Son" and "Detective Conan", the staff set up a temporary sales point in the plaza.
It's a common routine. Every time a popular work is launched, they use the plaza to disperse the flow of buyers and also organize interesting activities.
Today's event is: readers who buy "Detective Conan" and "The Detective Sherlock" manga can participate in a free raffle and have the chance to win a five-day tour of Kaiyō Villa.
"This event... it's normal...",
Akemi shook her head. It's not a good event because it's too common and doesn't surprise people.
"Alright, get ready, Akemi...".
The photographer saw that time was almost up and told Akemi. The reporter immediately straightened her face, took the microphone, and faced the camera. After shooting, she began to report on the situation.
"Dear audience friends, good morning..."
The beautiful female voice brought a new day. At Osaka Television headquarters, the news department staff received the images from Shinsei Books Bookstore and got to work.
"Wait. The morning news is about to air. Only keep the key content. It shouldn't exceed three minutes."
"Have you prepared the speech? Can you predict the sales of both?"
"Guo Letong, help me. How do you think this report should be written?"
Guo Letong, from the Osaka Anime Production Group, was also in the news department. He was more sensitive to manga and anime than the department staff, so he was invited as an external helper.
"Well... the number of readers on both sides is more or less the same."
Observing the images sent from the scene, Guo Letong frowned slightly. From outside Shinsei Books Bookstore. The sales scenes of "Detective Conan" and "The Detective's Son" on the left and right. The number of readers gathered was not very different, which made it difficult for him to make a judgment.
"What about other places?"
He turned his head and said: "I want to know the general situation in other places."
"I'll ask right away."
The head of the news department nodded and hurried away. He had to hurry. Osaka Television's morning news was broadcast by the broadcast department. However, the anchor and the news content were from the same departments. They had to prepare today's manuscript in a few minutes.
"Guo Letong, it's alright, other places are very crowded." Soon. The Minister of Information returned and told Guo Letong: "But in general, 'Detective Conan' has more readers."
"More 'Detective Conan'?"
Guo Letong's eyes lit up and he clapped his hands: "Then don't think about it, your information bias is Mirai-sensei... It must be true, this time Detective Conan's single volume sales will surpass The Detective's Son's."
"What!?"
The Minister of Information, stunned, said in disbelief: "No, Weekly Boutique sales are much higher than Weekly Shōnen's. How can The Detective's Son lose?"
"First, you have to understand one thing: 'Weekly Boutique' is not equal to 'The Detective's Son', and Weekly Shōnen is not equal to 'Detective Conan',"
Guo Letong explained. The Detective's Son sales benefited from the high quality of Weekly Boutique's manga, while Detective Conan had lost before. A large part of the reason is that Weekly Shōnen's overall strength is not as good as Weekly Boutique's. If both are neutralized,
The Detective's Son might not be stronger than Detective Conan.
"Furthermore, this is the first time 'The Detective's Son' is being published. It has had a lot of initial publicity, so it should be the most popular now." Detective Conan is already on its third volume, so readers won't be as enthusiastic.
In general, reader enthusiasm and activity will be livelier on a manga's launch day. After two launches, overall popularity will increase, but first-day sales will decrease.
This means that Detective Conan readers are no longer as enthusiastic as when it was first published. Many readers are at home or work and are not as eager to buy it.
The Detective's Son is the first launch. Logically, on launch day, especially this morning, it should be more popular than Detective Conan.
It wasn't, which means its overall popularity is not as good as Detective Conan's, and the same goes for sales.
"Are you sure?"
The Minister of Information's mouth was a little dry. If this were true, Kanto and Mirai-sensei's victory or defeat would be evident. If the news got out, the impact would be like an earthquake.
"It should be true..."
Guo Letong nodded. Indeed, he wasn't a professional mangaka, so he couldn't be completely sure, but he still believed his assumption should be more accurate.
"Well, I'll prepare like this."
The Minister of Information gritted his teeth and turned to leave.
So, on Osaka's morning news, the anchor added this sentence at the end while broadcasting the sales scene:
"The third volume of 'Detective Conan' was launched, and sales were still very good. It is expected to surpass those of 'The Detective's Son', which was launched on the same day." These two detective manga will pique the interest of Japanese fans...
The anchor said it very tactfully. Osaka Television collaborates with Kanto and Hinotori Publishing, so it will not directly reveal who will win or lose. However, even with such a euphemism, anyone with discernment can grasp the subtext at a glance.
Mirai-sensei... wins!
Other media outlets who saw the news were surprised, and some in the manga industry were also stunned. In fact, before this, those above the eighth floor were optimistic about "The Detective's Son".
Given that the sales of the magazine publishing "The Detective's Son" are obviously higher than Detective Conan's, even if it falls behind with One Piece's sudden appearance, people still believe that individual volume sales will not decrease.
When Osaka Television broke the news, many were stunned. Even reporters preparing to say that "The Detective's Son" would win were stunned.
"It's impossible!"
"The Detective's Son lost to Detective Conan, doesn't that mean Aika's two manga lost to Mirai-sensei?"
Before its launch, Mirai Manga sold twice, surpassing Weekly Boutique twice. It surpassed 24 million copies!
Mirai Manga is the number one manga magazine in Japan. No one can deny it. Although the media has heavily criticized it, its popularity is close to that of top-tier novels, while Weekly Boutique is still struggling between second and third tier.
And now "The Detective's Son" can't even surpass Detective Conan?
"Damn it, Mirai-sensei won! Who said the outcome is uncertain?"
Mirai-sensei's sales volume already surpasses Kanto's. If "The Detective's Son" can't even compare to "Detective Conan", then there's no comparison...
"Was Kanto defeated by Mirai-sensei?"
"What the hell are they doing!"
Many media outlets were furious. Kanto was rich and powerful. This was the last competition and the most critical moment. Everyone eagerly awaited it.
They thought Kanto would use some amazing method to turn the tables, but in the end, nothing happened. This gigantic company faded away at the end of the fight against Mirai-sensei...
"When did capitalists become so kind? It's simply unreasonable!"
"Wasn't Kanto very direct with its opponents before? What methods are they unaware of? No matter how powerful Mirai-sensei is, he's just one person, and Hinotori Publishing has no background. Why would Kanto compete honestly with them?"
"What a brain! Kanto will undoubtedly be remembered by its opponents in the future!"
Japanese people are proud of their image. Kanto Manga Company let Mirai-sensei trample them. If something like that comes to light, it would be strange if hostile companies didn't laugh in the future.
However, while journalists complained, Sun-san, Kanto's head, felt helpless. He believed he had done his best.
"Our advertising expenses are five times higher than Hinotori Publishing's... Although I don't know how Osaka TV calculated the results, they weren't wrong. According to preliminary statistics, it's difficult for 'The Detective's Son' sales to surpass 'Detective Conan'...".
Kazuki was reading the report in his office. Sun-san's face didn't change. This result didn't surprise him, but he still felt some bitterness.
"It's not a miracle... This is Aika, and we still have a limit...",
Sun-san remembered the last two months. They can't be called careless. If Mirai-sensei hadn't existed, the world would have praised them. In just two months, a newcomer went from nothing to the top of Japanese manga, from an ordinary graduate to a manga star with a net worth of hundreds of millions of yen. This speed of ascent is enough to amaze everyone!
But Mirai-sensei is still in this world, which means everything Kanto created will be his dowry.
In the last two months, Kanto has deliberately guided and controlled the media's voice, and now it has reached its limit. In a few days, as soon as the sales of "The Detective's Son" and "Detective Conan" are made public, the media will cause a stir.
At that moment, no one will pay attention to Kanto's achievements, but will applaud Mirai-sensei and be surprised by his victory. It can be said that, after this incident, Mirai-sensei will be revered as a god, and his position will be difficult to change in the future, unless... unless he leaves Japan immediately. If Mirai-sensei leaves Japan, even for half a year, Kanto and other manga companies will have the opportunity to launch new mangaka and consolidate themselves.
Otherwise, Mirai-sensei's shadow will hang over Japan's manga industry, and anyone who wants to popularize a newcomer will only find it more difficult than now.
"Why hasn't Duke Anthony made his move yet?"
Sun-san thought of the president's words, and a small flame of hope lit up in his heart.
Saitama
Anthony took a special car to the airport.
"Your Excellency the Duke, we have found out the whereabouts of the people we were following...",
Anne reported beside him. Anthony opened his eyes and his gaze sharpened: "Well done, Anne, help me get a substitute; I want to contact Mirai-sensei in person."
He stayed in Saitama for a long time, but ultimately did not get the old woman's consent.
"My grandson will be Japanese until he dies!"
The old woman was reluctant to let her grandson go, but Anthony did not change his original intention. Whether he went or not depended not on the old woman, but on Mirai-sensei.
There is an old Japanese saying that says "courtesy precedes force"... Anthony went to inform the old woman in person. It was a courtesy. Since courtesy did not work, he could only use force.
The enemy is at the gates; go directly to Mirai-sensei.
- - - - - - - -
Hello everyone!
Thanks for reading this chapter.
This week, we'll have 2 daily chapters for you to enjoy. This is possible thanks to all your support with Power Stones.
To keep increasing our chapters, I'm asking for your support. For every 150 Power Stones we collect across all novels this week, I'll add an extra daily chapter for next week.
If you want to catch up and read even more, you can find over 150 advanced chapters of my novels on my Patreon.
Your comments and Power Stones are what make this possible. Thanks!
@Patreon/iLikeeMikee