Tokyo: Oreimo

Volume 7 cumulative sales: 12 copies

Author: Rumiko Takashiro

Editor: Hideo Nomura

Because of the anime's huge success, this work has become the king of its genre, and its achievements are hard to surpass.

The work I was in charge of performed far worse than this comic, falling out of the top ten.

"Tsk."

She crumpled the fax paper into a ball and threw it into the wastepaper basket at her feet.

"It's just relying on the popularity of the animated version."

The positive feedback from the animation is fully reflected in this work, which is why it's such a huge success.

In fact, as long as this work never ends, it's enough for the author, Rumiko Takashiro, to live off it for the rest of her life.

But clearly, the other party made a mistake by ending the publication just as its popularity was about to reach its peak. This was not a wise choice.

Iori Setsuna put down her coffee cup and ran her fingertips along the edge of the proposal document twice.

I have plenty of resources at hand right now. When the publicity budget was approved, the editor-in-chief even gave me a special instruction: "Do a good job."

They rely on these to inherit the popularity of "Cardcaptor Sakura".

As the assistants distributed the documents to each editor, many people began to discuss them.

"The magical girl genre is still quite popular recently, and the data keeps rising."

"It's incredible that a shoujo manga genre can be this popular."

"Classifying it as a shoujo manga is too simplistic. Even a man my age can enjoy this kind of subject matter, so it's no surprise that the anime became a huge hit."

"As expected of Rumiko Takashiro, each of her works is better than the last."

"Speaking of that cartoonist, I heard he recently became the art director for an original animation."

"Huh? Really? Where did you see this message?"

"The NHK commercial break, huh? It's probably because that TV station was also involved in this project and promoted it on the channel where Cardcaptor Sakura is broadcast."

"The animation director is Saito. That guy is really capable. It's amazing that a company was willing to take him in after he left his job. It's so rare to start directly as an animation director."

"I've also seen related promotional information on the forum. It's the same theme as the previous work, what was it called again...?"

"Puella Magi Madoka Magica, if I remember correctly, that's the name."

Iori Setsuna was naturally aware of the enemy's movements, and she was also paying attention to this work.

It is said to be a work with a traditional magical girl theme, with love and justice as its main themes.

"Judging from the promotional materials, apart from the slightly novel art style, the content is actually a bit old-fashioned."

"I think that anime was released in July?"

"Yes, it was from the same period as the work edited by Iori, right?"

When her colleague mentioned it, Iori Setsuna nodded without paying any attention.

"What bad luck, Saito. Didn't this clash with Editor Iori's project? And of all things, she chose the magical girl theme."

"If nothing unexpected happens, it will be released at the same time."

"You might lose your job because of this, Saito?"

Hearing the discussion among her colleagues, Iori Setsuna felt a secret sense of satisfaction.

The worse off that guy is, the more it will demonstrate the editor-in-chief's brilliance and indirectly prove his own abilities.

"Because that guy is arrogant, hasn't he always been like that?"

“It is unwise to directly create original animation in the current market.”

Animation and comics are completely different concepts.

In this market, without a background in comics, only a very famous director or producer would dare to do the job of making animation.

Times have changed, and such a approach is too risky.

If it is not recognized by the market, it will probably be taken off the air after only a few episodes due to poor ratings.

"Perhaps it's because they're a small company and don't even have the capital to buy manga licenses that they made this choice. And it's a fool to put someone like Saito, who has changed careers, in such an important position as animation director."

"But with Rumiko Takashiro's popularity, who knows? Saito had a sharp eye when he was an editor, so he might be a dark horse."

Hearing the discussion among her colleagues, Iori Setsuna's heart skipped a beat.

She does have these concerns.

Having worked with Ritsu Saito for many years, and even the editor-in-chief didn't respect him, that guy was quite confident in his judgment.

Leaving her job at the company to switch to animation—even though rationally Iori Setsuna believed that directly creating original animation was very risky, what if…?

She couldn't help but open the proposal in her hand.

"No problem, there's no problem if we have this work."

"Magical Idol Yumi" is a work by her most promising new manga artist.

Although the work that competed with Sakura at the monthly meeting before lost, it was able to make it back to the serialization meeting after several rounds of guidance and revisions from her.

This time, her work stood out among a group of similar works, which also proves that she is a good mentor.

Its current popularity is second only to Cardcaptor Sakura.

Because the author sold the copyright, the treatment he received at Kadokawa was incomparable to that of "Cardcaptor Sakura".

The company has specially approved a publicity budget, collaborated with toy manufacturers on peripheral projects, and Fuji TV has also secured a prime-time slot in advance.

They even decided to use it to capitalize on the popularity after Cardcaptor Sakura ended.

I really have to thank Rumiko Takashiro for creating such a great environment for the work she was in charge of.

From any perspective, Iori Setsuna did not believe that the animation produced by Saito Ritsuna's company could rival Kadokawa's.

But recalling her previous experience at the serialization meeting, she still felt somewhat worried.

Setsuna Iori tried her best to dispel the gloom in her mind.

"There won't be any problems. July will be the month of 'Magical Idol Yumi'."

Chapter 131 Drawing comics is a waste of time

[The latest magical girl anime, with character design and art direction by the genius shoujo manga artist Rumiko Takashiro]

[Puella Magi Madoka Magica is scheduled to premiere on July 1st on NHK General TV]

Love and justice heal the soul—witness miracles this summer with magical girls!

[Produced by: Aniplex, a company dedicated to bringing beautiful stories to everyone in pursuit of dreams]

Watching the advertisements appear on the TV screen, Takashiro Ryouno couldn't help but purse her lips and turn to look at Ryosuke, who was standing to the side without any reaction.

The other person was picking up a piece of fish and putting it in their mouth, chewing intently, their eyes completely off the TV, as if it had nothing to do with them.

Recently, with Madoka Magica's production on track, Ryosuke, with the help of Saori Hououin, successfully attracted some investment by leveraging the name of 'Rumiko Takashiro'.

NHK television is one of them.

The immense popularity of "Cardcaptor Sakura" brought them substantial advertising revenue, with a return on investment much higher than they had anticipated.

So when Ryosuke approached her, as soon as he mentioned Rumiko's name, she readily agreed to take charge of some of the advertising and promotion.

But what's the deal with this kind of advertising slogan?

Love and justice, can they heal the soul?

To be honest, this guy is really not afraid of getting death threats from viewers.

To date, the company continues to receive all sorts of 'cursed items'.

Although Clannad achieved both critical and commercial success, its writer, Gen Urobuchi, was heavily criticized by players online, and his name has become an outlet for many players' emotions.

...

"A new animation?"

Mieko, sitting at the dining table, looked at the rotating advertisements with a hint of curiosity.

The serialization of "Cardcaptor Sakura" has become a regular part of the Takashiro family's dinner time.

The mother also really enjoyed the show and watched it with great interest every time.

Has Rumiko Takashiro released a new work yet?

"Speaking of which, this person's teacher also has the surname Takashiro, and is from the same family as Ling Nai. It's quite impressive that he has achieved so much at such a young age."

This animation is already considered a masterpiece by parents. Its overall warm atmosphere means there's no need to worry about children being corrupted by watching it.

Parents often discuss these kinds of programs.

Overall, it surpasses "Moon Witch Transformation" in quality, since the current cute art style looks more harmless.

"whee."

Ryosuke heard a soft laugh from beside him.

Every time she heard such praise, Takashiro Ryouno would feel secretly pleased, but she couldn't tell her parents about it openly for the time being.

After all, this pen name was used for original artwork in 18+ visual novels. If Takashiro Isao found out, something terrible would happen.

The blonde girl could only turn her head away and chuckle secretly from an angle where they couldn't see her.

Although she had become somewhat desensitized to the compliments at the company, being praised by her unsuspecting parents at home brought her a completely different kind of joy.

"It's alright, it's just that some people happen to like what I draw, there's nothing to be proud of."

Takashiro Ryouko's face was stiff as she gave her seemingly indifferent evaluation.

She actually said that on purpose, hoping her parents would praise her more.

What an impatient fellow!

Seeing this, Ryosuke couldn't help but smile.