October ended, and November arrived.
During this quarter, the Hunter x Hunter manga and ani could only be described as basking in boundless glory, with popularity reaching the highest level since the series began.
Of course, much of this montum ca from the strength of the Greed Island arc.
One of Hunter x Hunter’s most remarkable traits is that the comparatively weakest arc of the entire series is its opening, the Hunter Exam arc. Every storyline that follows surpasses it.
As long as a reader finds the first arc even moderately engaging, disappointnt is almost impossible later on.
So although the card-battle system of Greed Island drew early criticism, once readers truly imrsed themselves in it, the tone online shifted dramatically. Praise flooded forums, and many fans even claid that this unfinished arc was already more exciting than the Phantom Troupe arc.
As a direct result, Hoshimori Group’s stock price climbed steadily. Senior executives were in exceptionally high spirits, frequently accepting dia interviews. In closed high-level etings, so even boldly spoke of catching up to Monogatari Comic.
Although Dream Comic’s weekly circulation surged to 21 million copies thanks to Hunter x Hunter, it still trailed Monogatari Comic by more than four million.
And yet, a strange sense of confidence perated the entire group.
Naturally, Hoshimori Group spared no effort in developing Hunter x Hunter’s derivative products.
Its global channels were fully activated, design, manufacturing, distribution, sales, promotion, every link in the chain moved at full capacity. The scale and intensity of Hunter’s rchandise rollout far exceeded what one-punch man had seen just months earlier.
This was the greatest advantage of collaborating with an industry giant like Hoshimori Group.
Although the creator might earn slightly less, Rei didn’t need to exhaust himself managing the IP, everything was handled with ruthless efficiency.
As a result, compared to the frenzy of earlier quarters during one-punch man’s broadcast, Rei was unusually quiet throughout autumn.
And under these conditions, November arrived.
The ninth volu of the Hunter x Hunter tankōbon was released, and its first-week sales shattered records, 7.03 million copies.
Not only did it surpass the eighth volu’s performance, it also broke the long-standing first-week record of 6.95 million copies set by Echoes of the End volu thirty-two.
However, discussion around Hunter’s sales only dominated the internet for three days.
Imdiately afterward, Illumination Animation and Rei’s official accounts across platforms began releasing dense streams of information related to Arcane.
Soon, television networks, online platforms, and ACG comrcial districts across large, dium, and small countries outside Japan were plastered with Arcane promotional posters.
Then ca November 21st.
The official Arcane trailer, one minute and thirty seconds long, was released globally through every channel collaborating with Rei.
In Japan, Rei barely needed to invest in promotion at all. Ani dia outlets and fans spread the trailer voluntarily, flooding forums and tilines.
Overseas, however, the situation was different. While one-punch man was hugely popular, Rei himself lacked strong na recognition abroad. He did not hesitate, promotional funds were deployed aggressively.
For a ti, Hunter x Hunter’s montum was partially eclipsed in global ani circles.
And Arcane, despite not yet airing, vaulted to beco the most anticipated winter ani among Japanese fans, purely through trailer quality and sustained promotion.
The trailer also ignited intense discussion among Shirogane’s fanbase.
"Whoa... I’m not used to Arcane’s art style yet, but the character models and visual quality are insane!"
"It gave chills. This trailer’s production value is terrifying."
"I still don’t fully understand the Upper City and Lower City setup, but Caitlyn is ridiculously cool."
"Shirogane-sensei has finally awakened! A female protagonist?! In his past works, won barely even existed!"
"That’s not awakening, he’s just returning to form. Wasn’t Tonight also led by a girl?"
"Heh... I don’t see anything special. The plot looks cliché, just throwing money at visuals. You Shirogane fans are too naive."
"Exactly, what’s so good about this kind of work? It even made the trending searches. I seriously don’t get it!"
"This Western fantasy art style is garbage. Is Shirogane out of his mind? Why not make a proper Japanese-style ani instead of this Western nonsense? This thing is definitely going to flop."
"There’s still more than a month before Arcane even airs, and the anti-fans already can’t sit still? Crawling out this early? Co on, how much did soone pay you to sar Shirogane-sensei’s new work?"
"Fa always attracts trash. Shirogane-sensei is probably numb to this by now. Just ignore them."
"I knew people would complain about the art style. All I can say is, it’s amazing. I fell in love at first sight."
"January, hurry up already. And while you’re at it, bring one-punch man Season 5 too. This month, aside from Hunter, I can’t stand watching anything else."
"Sa here. Between Hunter and Arcane, I still prefer one-punch man Season 5. But since Arcane is Shirogane-sensei’s work, I’ll at least give the first episode a try."
"You brainless Shirogane fans just keep shielding him. Dumping that much money into a Western fantasy ani in Japan, what, another ’isekai demon king vs hero’ routine? Heh. It’ll be a miracle if it doesn’t crash and burn."
"These comnts have existed since Shirogane-sensei debuted, and they’re still here. I’m honestly getting sleepy reading this stuff."
Rei had only released the Arcane trailer globally in mid-November.
What followed was pure internet chaos.
Anti-fans, diehard fans, casual onlookers, and dia outlets all piled into the fray, hurling insults and argunts at one another in an unending stream.
Amid the noise, another piece of information began circulating rapidly:
Production cost-900 million.
Overseas promotional budget-another 100 million.
Even ani fans who had never paid attention to Rei before were forced to take notice.
In Japan, soone actually dared to invest over 900 million into a single ani?
Who exactly was this Shirogane?
Was he really not afraid of losing everything?
Even if one-punch man had been a massive success, revenue from ani IPs is notoriously slow to recover. rchandising, licensing, overseas distribution, all of it takes ti.
900 million...
That was likely a substantial portion of Shirogane’s current assets.
After working relentlessly for years, he was staking it all in one go.
Did he truly have that much confidence in Arcane?
Over the following days, Illumination Production Company’s official website updated daily, releasing new Arcane posters one after another.
Rei himself began appearing frequently in dia interviews, steadily building general awareness for the upcoming premiere.
Ti flowed on.
November ended.
December arrived.
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