In the early morning, Rei woke from his slumber.
The fragnts of mories from his past life that he had recalled the night before gradually beca clear.
After transmigrating, Rei’s mories of his previous life were like those of soone trying to recall what they had eaten for breakfast a month ago.
He knew for certain that he had eaten, but as for what it was or how it tasted, the details were completely blurred.
Rei knew which works from his past life had been popular, those were general facts, but when it ca to specific plot details, everything was shrouded in fog. He always felt as though he was on the verge of rembering sothing, yet whenever he tried to force it, nothing surfaced.
However, these periodic mory flashbacks were different.
They were like watching a recorded video of his past. As long as a mory appeared in his dreams, even if it was a book he had only glanced at for a single second in his previous life, it would surge into his mind with astonishing clarity, word for word.
And this ti...
Rei’s eyes first sharpened, then widened in surprise, before finally settling into a solemn expression tinged with pressure.
Because the work he had rembered was "Demon Slayer: Kitsu no Yaiba."
In Rei’s past life, within the Japan region alone, with a population exceeding one hundred million, the manga’s collected volus had sold 170 million copies. Worldwide sales reached 220 million copies, with an average of over nine million copies per volu.
Many people had no real sense of what such figures ant.
In terms of average sales per volu, Demon Slayer sold twice as much as One Piece, eight to nine tis as much as Hunter, four tis as much as Fulltal Alchemist, and three tis as much as Naruto.
Although there were more than a dozen manga in Japan whose average volu sales exceeded ten million, those achievents were built upon Japan’s massive population base of over a billion.
"Demon Slayer: Kitsu no Yaiba..."
Rei recalled piece after piece of information about the work from his past life.
After a long while, he finally let out a slow breath.
This was likely the most heavyweight work he had recalled since transmigrating to Japan.
The comrcial value of Demon Slayer alone surpassed that of all the works Rei had previously rembered combined.
In his past life, ani IPs were evaluated using a relatively simple standard: the total revenue generated by all derivative products since the work’s inception, manga, ani, figures, films, mobile gas, and every other related comrcial product.
By that tric, Demon Slayer’s IP value towered over other popular works of the sa era, such as Aot, Jujutsu Kaisen, and even the much-hyped My Hero Academia. Its total IP value exceeded ten billion US dollars.
Most importantly...
This work did not explode in popularity because of the manga itself.
Rather, it was the exceptional quality of the ani adaptation that caused the initial surge in popularity. That explosion then drove manga sales, which in turn fueled IP expansion, eventually turning it into a global phenonon.
In Rei’s past life, the highest-grossing film in Japan’s box office history was Demon Slayer: Mugen Train.
Second place was Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle – Part One.
Third was the Japan’s classic Spirited Away.
Only after those ca Makoto Shinkai’s works such as Your Na and Suzu.
Rei took a deep breath.
A work capable of cultivating hundreds of millions of fans worldwide in his past life would be extraordinarily difficult to fail if produced in this Japan. The market had already proven its adaptability and appeal.
He got up, washed his face, and then glanced at the Hunter × Hunter manuscript spread across his desk.
After a long mont, his emotions finally settled.
After recalling this title, his first thought was naturally how to produce it within this version of Japan, and more importantly...
How to fully restore, and even maximize, its comrcial value.
For works like Hunter × Hunter and Hikaru no Go, Rei had relied heavily on the influence of the Hoshimori Group for marketing and promotion, which ant sharing a significant portion of copyright interests with the publishing group.
That kind of arrangent, Rei could accept.
But Demon Slayer was completely different.
In Rei’s past life, the manga’s popularity had been sluggish at the start. It survived only because Yoshihiro Togashi suddenly recomnded it, giving it a new lease on life and narrowly preventing its cancellation. Its popularity only began to rise the following year, and it truly exploded after the ani started airing.
So in this world, it would most likely follow the sa trajectory.
There was little value in Rei collaborating with the Hoshimori Group on this manga from the beginning; doing so would amount to giving away copyright interests for nothing.
Instead, this work should begin with ani production first, replicating the path where the ani’s popularity drove the manga’s success.
However...
"If I only request that the Hoshimori Group allow Demon Slayer to be serialized in Dream Comic without ceding any manga copyrights, sharing only the profits from tankōbon sales... would the Hoshimori Group accept such a proposal?"
Rei pondered silently, the pen in his hand spinning without pause.
Judging from his past life’s experience, the serialization of the Demon Slayer manga contributed very little to the IP’s popularity on its own.
But once the ani beca a hit, it drove manga tankōbon sales to an absurd level. If one truly calculated the numbers, the profits were staggering. Given Japan’s market size, if this world could replicate Demon Slayer’s past-life popularity, the royalties from tankōbon sales alone could easily exceed ten figures. Rei could not possibly give that up.
Even if the Hoshimori Group failed to secure other copyrights for Demon Slayer, they would still earn more than Rei from tankōbon sales alone, not less. All they would need to contribute were their global manga distribution channels, they would lose nothing.
But...
Would anyone actually believe Rei when he was essentially "drawing a pie in the sky"?
"Yeah... there’s no way the Hoshimori Group would believe this."
Rei leaned back in his chair and smiled wryly.
"Still, it’s worth trying. I also need to think through the details carefully."
Three days later, Rei personally visited Misaki with the latest Hunter × Hunter manuscripts.
He deliberately brought two gifts with him.
Global limited-edition figures of Jinx and Vi, each limited to one hundred pieces.
"What wind blew you here today? A busy man like you actually ca to my place in person?"
Miyu said this casually, but the mont she received the Jinx figure, her eyes curved into delighted crescents.
By now, the January winter ani season had essentially ended. Her dream of Touch of Glass skyrocketing in popularity, punching Arcane and kicking One-Punch Man had never materialized. Touch of Glass had perford well, but only well. It ranked ninth in quarterly viewership and boosted the original manga to eighth place in magazine rankings.
She no longer muttered those delusional ambitions.
Instead, like thousands of ani fans across Japan, she had beco a loyal Arcane follower.
"After all," Rei said with a smile, turning toward Misaki, who was examining the Vi figure closely,
"I have sothing important to discuss with Editor Misaki."
Miyu looked up.
Misaki also raised her gaze.
Rei had co for more than just delivering manuscripts?
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