With the One-Punch Man ani now airing, the original manga’s Monster Association arc had reached its mid-to-late stage, and the most brilliant portion of the source material was approaching its conclusion.
Rei naturally wouldn’t miss this opportunity. As an investor, he was prepared to inject whatever additional marketing budget was needed.
The revenue-sharing adaptation deal between One-Punch Man and the Pacific Federation, leading ga company, was finalized at lightning speed.
Rei not only served as the IP provider for One-Punch Man, but also contributed additional funding toward the ga’s developnt and early promotion. After launch, he would personally support marketing as the original creator, as stipulated in the agreent.
He held partial decision-making authority over the ga. Once it went live, his opinions on operations and content updates carried real weight. In exchange, he received 20% of all post-launch revenue.
At first glance, that percentage might seem low. In reality, most ani-IP gas returned only around 10% to the rights holder. The rest was divided among the developnt studio, the publisher, and distribution platforms, Android and iOS in Rei’s past life, or Steam for PC titles. Securing 20% was possible only because One-Punch Man was white-hot and because Rei negotiated from a position of overwhelming leverage, brandishing his copyright ownership to demand a slice of developnt funding.
Once the contracts were signed and the money wired, Rei could comfortably step back into a hands-off chairman’s role.
Although he retained voting rights over operations, he had no intention of exercising them unless the developnt team steered the project into truly absurd territory.
He understood his role clearly: it was far better to devote his energy to producing more content, continuing to import blockbuster ideas from his past life into this Japan, than to micromanage business operations.
Naturally, One-Punch Man’s ga adaptations would not stop at a single title. Mobile gas, PC releases, even casual mini-gas were already under discussion, and film studios were lining up to inquire about live-action rights. Truthfully, Rei had been devoting more monthly effort to One-Punch Man than to Hunter × Hunter.
"But finally... it’s almost over."
Glancing at his phone’s calendar, Rei saw that in less than two months, the four-season juggernaut that had ignited the Japan, and the world, would pause, its current run temporarily concluded.
anwhile, Hunter × Hunter’s manga still had another month before the Phantom Troupe arc wrapped up and the story transitioned into Greed Island. At the current pace, by January of the following year, the series would reach its iconic Chira Ant arc.
Given Hunter’s popularity, Hoshimori Group had long since scheduled ga adaptations. It was even possible that a One-Punch Man title would launch alongside a Hunter × Hunter ga, pitting the two IPs directly against each other.
Rei considered the thought briefly, then shrugged it off.
Over the next few days, two topics dominated conversations surrounding him.
First, Hunter × Hunter’s ani debut sent tankōbon sales soaring. On Tuesday, Hoshimori Group announced that the series had surpassed sixteen million copies per volu.
Every industry insider had predicted exactly this outco.
Even before the ani aired, Hunter had averaged around fifteen million copies per volu. The adaptation simply poured rocket fuel onto an already blazing fire.
And this milestone had been reached barely a month after the first episode’s broadcast.
On the day the numbers were released, the animation press flooded the airwaves with coverage.
By comparison, Echoes of the End currently stood at 19.5 million copies per volu nationwide.
Despite the launch of its sixth ani season, the boost to its manga sales had clearly plateaued. Everyone who could be converted already had been.
But Hunter, who could guess its ceiling?
After the Yorknew City arc, could Shirogane deliver sothing even more gripping?
With Hunter now at sixteen million copies per volu, could the 3.5-million gap be closed during the ani’s run, allowing it to overtake Echoes of the End and beco Japan’s top-selling ongoing manga? And more importantly, how would the stock-market duel between Hoshimori Group and NeonNest Group, the conglorate backing Monogatari Comic, play out?
If Hunter seized the number-one spot, could it also propel Dream Comic to weekly sales supremacy?
dia outlets sprouted articles on the rivalry like bamboo after spring rain.
Fans of Rei and Echoes of the End finally realized what this race ant for their favorite creators.
Online skirmishes between the two camps sharpened into open warfare.
Yet before the weekend episodes arrived, Friday stole every headline.
That day, every other voice in Japan’s ani sphere was drowned out.
After a week of relentless cliff-hangers, ten million One-Punch Man fans finally got what they had been craving.
From early afternoon onward, the fandom surged online.
"Friday at last, bros, do you know how long I’ve waited?"
"Seven days!"
"Wrong, seven years. Every day felt like a year!"
"Sa! When I started watching, I didn’t care about Saitama at all. Now I only want King!"
"So the ani really ends at six episodes? I refuse to believe it!"
"It’s not ending, just pausing. And honestly, that’s fine. Saitama never grows stronger; every arc fleshes out the side characters. Let Shirogane recharge and co back for season five when inspiration hits."
"Forget seasons, tonight belongs to King! I won’t forgive the show if it disrespects my King!"
"Yeah... I still can’t imagine how King survives this battlefield, but I trust Shirogane."
"Shirogane, please, no tearful farewells, no power-exposure sobbing apologies. Just let King shine!"
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