Sora's words carried the sa shape as the "big dreams" corporate suits liked to sell - the kind of inspirational pitch that, coming from an older executive, would've made any seasoned studio worker feel sick. But here, at this table, it landed differently.
Because Sora was the youngest person in the room - and yet he was the one leading them. When he said it with that easy smile, without a hint of embarrassnt at how audacious it sounded, it didn't co off as hollow. It ca off as youth in its purest form: reckless, bright, and unreasonably convincing. The kind that drags mories out of people - mories of when they, too, once believed they could stare the world down and win.
The sa line, spoken by a different person, in a different place, at a different ti, becos sothing else entirely.
And after months of pressure and sleepless nights, no one heard "motivational fluff." What spread across the table was sothing sharper and more alive - ambition with teeth. A stubborn courage that made the room feel warr.
Haruto could practically feel his blood ignite. He was one breath away from grabbing Sora's hand and cheering like they'd just won a championship.
Sumire went still for a mont, a fleeting scene flashing behind her eyes like a reflection caught in glass. She understood her own limits. Becoming a famous animation Kantoku on her own might be too high a mountain to climb. But staying at Sora's side - supporting him, acting as his right hand, growing alongside him - she could do that. She believed in that. And if, one day, he truly beca a na the industry couldn't ignore… then she would be rembered too, even if it was as the steady shadow behind the blaze.
Across from them, Yumi Noriko sat beside Sora, studying his expression with a quiet intensity. At so point - she couldn't even say when - her phone had already found the perfect angle, discreet and precise, capturing the mont: the way he spoke, the contained laughter, the confidence that seed too big to fit inside an eighteen-year-old body.
She'd grown up wrapped in comfort, never needing to understand what it ant to fight for sothing until it hurt. And yet, tonight, inside this team, soaked in this atmosphere… she felt unexpectedly happy.
There was sothing undeniably moving about it - watching people gather not to celebrate money or status, but to celebrate the chance to create an ani the audience would truly recognize as good. Sothing made with care. Sothing worthy.
And deep down, she knew it: Natsu Yuujinchou hadn't been born by accident. If that title had sparked this much discussion, this much heat, then she carried a massive piece of the credit. Pride swelled in her chest so hard it almost surprised her - stronger, sharper than even the day her following on NatsuYu had broken a million and the comnts had flooded in with praise.
This was different.
This was real.
The team dinner celebrating Natsu Yuujinchou's strong opening ran until midnight. When it finally ended, the tight knot of tension that had been twisting in everyone's chest for months loosened at last, like soone had finally untied a cord that had been cutting off their breath.
But the relief only lasted as long as the walk ho.
Because tomorrow… was work again.
And on the way back, both Sora and the rest of Yu Animation felt their emotions surge - excitent tangled with responsibility, euphoria shadowed by pressure. If Natsu Yuujinchou had opened like this, then what did it matter where it aired? What did it matter how much capital backed the competition?
The fear they'd felt toward the four "flagship" titles pushed by Tokyo's major networks this cour had thinned by more than half.
At the very least, in the four prefectures of Shikoku - Tokushima , Kōchi, Ehi, and Kagawa, Natsu Yuujinchou was standing in the sa ring. Viewers could see everything and choose freely.
So who needed to be afraid of who?
Inside the team, the goal had beco singular: give everything they had, squeeze out every last ounce of skill and stamina, and make Natsu Yuujinchou shine - truly shine - within Japan's ani industry.
…
October 20.
The third week of the fall cour market.
By this point, the industry's attention had shifted. It was no longer limited to the four big Tokyo networks and their heavily promoted lineups. Suddenly, everyone was talking about a low-budget ani airing through a Tokushima regional affiliate - an 11-million-yen production that had no business standing where it was standing.
And as always, once sothing "impossible" starts to look real, people go digging for old drama.
The public back-and-forth between Sora and Maki, and the fan war between supporters of Yumi Noriko and Natsuyuki Shirasawa, got dragged back into the spotlight like a greatest-hits compilation. It beca the kind of story people chewed on endlessly - forums, ssage boards, comnt sections, late-night conversations.
"So what do you think Natsu Yuujinchou's ratings will be this week? Last week it jumped by 0.5 points to 3.8%. If it climbs another 0.5 and hits 4.3%, then in Shikoku it'll beat The Dragon King Next Door."
"No way. The Dragon King Next Door can't be that weak."
"The first episode averaged 4.31% across the four prefectures. The second dropped to 4.20%… Even if episode three holds steady, it's still going to be close."
"Seriously though - how did The Dragon King Next Door end up like this? Before it aired, they swore it would be the cour's dominant title. Over 40 million yen in production cost, and this is the performance?"
"Budget mostly shows in visuals. Direction, music, and writing matter too. And it's obvious the rest of it isn't holding up."
"Is it the writer Natsuyuki Shirasawa's fault? When I watch it, the plot always feels… uneven."
"I heard a rumor. Supposedly the original script was really strong, just a bit bleak. But Maki thought audiences only wanted sothing 'for the whole family,' so he forced several characters who were ant to die to survive. Natsuyuki Shirasawa had to rewrite the main line around that - people are saying more than 20% of the story was altered. And the final product turned into… this."
"So the plot problems are Maki backfiring?"
"Who knows? Maybe the original script would've tested even worse. But one thing's clear: as Kantoku, Maki is responsible for everything. If the show's underperforming, the bla lands on him first. And if The Dragon King Next Door loses to Natsu Yuujinchou in Shikoku… that'll be a show. It's been three years since a major-network flagship got beaten in ratings by a regional broadcast. And he even mocked them before the premiere. That's a double slap in the face."
…
Maki pulled his gaze away from the comnt section, his expression dark and strained.
It was already humiliating enough that The Dragon King Next Door - the most expensive ani of the cour - was only sitting at fourth place nationally. But now, the entire industry seed to be waiting with bated breath to watch Natsu Yuujinchou overtake it in Shikoku.
If episode three of Natsu Yuujinchou maintained its quality…
Maki's eyes turned stormy, heavy like a sky before rain.
Still, irritation didn't change reality. Ratings weren't sothing you could control. They belonged to the audience. They were choice - pure and simple.
At the mont, episode three of Reincarnation of the Maou was sitting at 4.27% nationally. The Dragon King Next Door was at 4.21% nationwide, and in Shikoku it was slightly different: 4.22%. anwhile, episode three of Card had fallen to 4.23% nationally, a noticeable dip; the consensus was that the week's story had been too bland.
And tonight…
Tonight was the broadcast of episode three of Akane no Sora and episode three of Natsu Yuujinchou.
Maki's mood was awful. He never imagined he'd live to see the day when he'd be anxious over the ratings of an ani airing on a regional channel like Tokushima TV. If he lost, it would beco the ugliest stain on his entire directing career.
…
That evening, episode three of Akane no Sora aired first. Even after it ended, the discussion stayed scorching hot, climbing to the top of trending lists on major entertainnt sites.
Two hours later, Natsu Yuujinchou aired right on schedule.
Compared to episodes one and two, episode three was gentler - more subdued. It didn't lean heavily into mories of Natsu Reiko, nor did it hit the sa emotional punch as episode two, which had offered viewers a quiet, heartfelt story centered on a youkai. Instead, the episode focused on a student nad Tanuma - soone who could faintly see what most people couldn't.
Like Natsu, he'd grown up isolated because of that gift. Lonely. Quiet. Always standing slightly apart from the world. But in this episode, he finally ca into contact with Natsu, and the two - two teenagers shaped by the sa kind of solitude - recognized sothing rare in each other.
So… he's like .
He can see youkai too.
So I'm not alone. Not in this world.
The story wasn't about spirits this ti. It was about people.
Even so, it still carried tenderness in the details - small monts that landed softly in the chest. The overall impact, however, was a touch weaker than the first two episodes. Fans accepted that kind of fluctuation. A series needed to breathe. It needed rhythm, not constant escalation.
And despite the calr chapter, Natsu Yuujinchou still rose in ratings, and the online reception remained - as it had been from the start - overwhelmingly positive.
The next day, the numbers ca out.
Akane no Sora posted 4.48% nationally and 4.51% in Shikoku. Natsu Yuujinchou averaged 4.22% across Shikoku's four prefectures.
It wasn't as dramatic a leap as the 0.5-point jump from week one to week two - but it was still a 0.4-point increase. And then ca the detail that made the entire industry hold its breath:
That 4.22% matched The Dragon King Next Door's Shikoku rating for episode three exactly.
Maybe, if soone published more decimal places, there would be a tiny difference - enough to declare a winner.
But for now…
It was a draw.
And that's when the talk truly exploded.
If, this week, The Dragon King Next Door and Natsu Yuujinchou were tied in Shikoku… what about next week?
And it wasn't only about The Dragon King Next Door being threatened. Compared to Card, Reincarnation of the Maou, and Akane no Sora, Natsu Yuujinchou's numbers weren't far behind either. Could it really surpass the major-network titles within Shikoku?
And when people followed that thought to its natural conclusion, an unavoidable idea surfaced.
If Natsu Yuujinchou could truly do this, what did it an?
It ant the series wasn't just "king of its own mountain" in Shikoku. It ant the limit wasn't the work - it was the platform. In other regions, plenty of ani fans simply didn't have the sa way to support Natsu Yuujinchou, because of distribution and broadcast reach.
And if, from the very beginning, Natsu Yuujinchou had premiered nationwide on Tokyo's major networks… what kind of standing would it hold now in the fall cour?
Once that line of thinking began to spread, industry insiders couldn't help but arrive at the sa na.
The young Kantoku from Tokushima .
Sora, eighteen years old.
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