August 26th, evening.
The sun had set, and Shiga Taka finally left his house to go to the nearby convenience store. He bought a bottle of cola, a bag of chips, and, on a whim, a copy of Monthly Shōnen Ace for 540 yen.
Compared to Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump, Monthly Shōnen Ace wasn't quite as exciting, but it still had a few decent manga worth reading.
Besides, 540 yen was nothing—sometimes a casual meal outside cost more than that. And since it was a monthly magazine, only released once a month, it wasn't exactly unaffordable.
Back home, Shiga Taka flipped through the magazine.
"A new series, Death Note?"
He'd originally planned to read the manga he was already following, but since there was a new series, he decided to take a look first.
If it was interesting, he'd read the new series first. If not, he'd stick to his usual manga.
He turned to the page corresponding to Death Note and casually began reading.
Soon, he let out a "Hmm?": "This manga..."
...is a bit unusual.
The manga in Jump usually emphasized friendship, effort, and victory, with protagonists overflowing with positivity. But this Death Note protagonist was acting more like a villain.
Yet it was precisely this that made it so intriguing.
With that thought, he straightened his posture and began reading in earnest.
August 30th, the editorial department of Monthly Shōnen Ace.
Editor Arakawa Akira was somewhat bewildered after reviewing the reader survey results for the latest issue of his magazine.
Out of over a dozen manga featured, Death Note not only ranked first in the reader survey, but it had also secured a commanding lead with over seven hundred votes.
The manga ranked second received just over three hundred votes—less than half of Death Note's total.
This result was simply explosive!
No, wait!
This situation was downright bizarre, even making him suspect a data error.
The manga in Monthly Shōnen Ace weren't as strong as those in Weekly Shonen Jump, and some were even still being serialized after their TV anime had concluded. But how could the other manga be so utterly outmatched?
Even in previous issues, the disparities had never been this extreme.
"The data must be wrong."
"Right, it has to be."
With this thought, he took the reader survey report to Editor-in-Chief Wada Shohei's desk and asked, "Wada-san, does this data seem a bit off?"
Wada Shohei glanced casually at the report and smacked his forehead. "Ah, speaking of which, we'll need to hold a meeting to discuss this later."
Only then did he answer, "I was wondering if there might be an error in the data myself. I specifically asked the team responsible for data tabulation, and they assured me the figures have been verified and are accurate."
"So, Death Note really received over seven hundred votes?" Arakawa Akira still couldn't quite believe it after confirming the data's authenticity.
Wada Shohei nodded. "It's true. And I heard from the sales department that our sales for this issue are up slightly compared to previous ones. It's likely due to the Death Note manga."
What a shame.
This was just a prequel manga for an original TV animation. If an original manga could achieve such success, their Monthly Shōnen Ace might just make a comeback.
While they couldn't exactly challenge Shueisha, Kodansha, and Shogakukan head-on, they could at least hope to restore, or even surpass, their peak circulation of 300,000 copies.
This would be more difficult for non-original manga. The first two chapters could still be previewed in their magazines, but from the third chapter onward, the animation's progress would outpace the manga's, and the gap would only widen.
Moreover, they couldn't guarantee they could maintain the same quality in the long run. The later content wasn't under their control. As partners with L.S Production, they had to serialize whatever content L.S provided, as long as it wasn't too outrageous. They had no right to make any changes or exert any influence, leaving quality completely unsecured.
Still, if the animation proved successful and the manga was drawn well, they could leverage the popularity of the hit anime Death Note to boost sales.
To achieve this, they needed to make significant adjustments for the next issue on September 26th, hence the need for a meeting.
L.S Production, President's Office
Lin Zhiyan reviewed the second chapter of the Death Note manga, submitted by the company's artists.
After verifying that everything was in order, he asked Nanase Mayumi to scan it into an electronic format and send it to the editor at Monthly Shōnen Ace.
The magazine was released on the 26th of each month.
This meant the first chapter of Death Note would be published on August 26th, the second on September 26th, and the third not until October 26th.
The animated series, on the other hand, was scheduled to premiere on October 4th, with the fourth episode releasing on October 25th.
Since he wasn't part of the editorial department, Lin Zhiyan had no way of knowing how the Death Note manga was performing. However, in another timeline, this anime had been adapted from a manga published in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump, and the manga had been an immediate sensation. He figured that, even serialized in Monthly Shōnen Ace, the manga should perform quite well.
By the time the second chapter was released on September 26th, it should have built up a solid fanbase. Then, when the anime premiered, it could successfully draw in those viewers.
Meanwhile, the animation's PVs were being rolled out and broadcast across various platforms, including Comic Market, where they met with considerable success. Even the "Big Three" animation magazines—NewType, Animedia, and Animage—mentioned Death Note, though their views differed.
One magazine considered it worth watching, while another expressed skepticism. The third focused on Lin Zhiyan's multiple roles, confirming with industry professionals that he was indeed handling scriptwriting, music composition, and directing. However, they doubted whether such a multi-talented individual could produce a quality animation, given his lack of experience in scriptwriting and music.
Regardless of these differing opinions, the extensive pre-release promotion had transformed Death Note from an obscure, unhyped animation into something people were talking about.
Yet Lin Zhiyan still felt it wasn't enough.
He planned to have a voice actor host a radio show on the day the animation premiered to further boost its promotion.
Inviting Tanaka Rie would suffice. At the time, she wasn't yet a major star, and her background as a singer made her perfect for the role—she could sing and entertain, adding a lively touch.
As for variety shows, those were too expensive. The animation hadn't even aired yet, so it lacked the popularity and reputation to make such appearances effective. At the very least, they'd have to wait until the animation had built a solid reputation and gained some traction before considering them.
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