Tokyo: Oreimo

"Ok?"

"You haven't read the latest issue of Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump released at the beginning of the month, have you? There's a work of very high quality in it."

"I've read Death Note, and it's definitely a top-tier shonen manga in the industry, both in terms of its setting and the pacing of the story."

"What does that have to do with the officer getting angry?"

"There's a limit to how stupid you can be! That work was written by Rumiko Takashiro and CLAMP, the authors of Cardcaptor Sakura!"

"It is said that right after switching platforms, his first work won the Tezuka Award, which he hadn't won for several years. That's really impressive. Losing such a manga artist is a huge loss."

"It's not hard to imagine that the editor-in-chief of Shueisha must be grinning from ear to ear. He hired a third-rate editor at Kadokawa, who actually brought in a bestselling manga artist who became a sensation. It's like a pie falling from the sky."

"Nomura, don't let his average skill fool you, he's incredibly lucky."

"Yes, he used to be the closest to Saito. When that guy left, he left him his greatest treasure. Now that he's in Shueisha, with such an ace in his hand, he's sure to live a very comfortable life."

"But so what? There are precedents in the industry, aren't there?"

It's not common for bestselling comic book artists to switch platforms in the industry, but it's certainly not unheard of.

In the past, there have been news reports of famous manga artists leaving Kadokawa in a fit of anger.

"Heh, because Shueisha is using this for publicity, saying things like Kadokawa forced out the two editors of Cardcaptor Sakura, and then discarded them after they had served their purpose."

"Huh? Isn't this unfair competition? Just send a lawyer's letter."

"That's hilarious! Go sit at the kids' table. How could you possibly advertise openly? Of course, you'd do it online. It's all over the internet now."

"There is no shortage of people with extraordinary abilities on the internet. I also saw that the contract for the manuscript of 'Moon Witch Transformation' was exposed."

"In short, there are a lot of negative rumors, saying that Kadokawa Manga has problems, that it severely exploits manga artists, and that there is serious workplace bullying."

"If it's just a bestselling manga artist leaving, it's a negligible matter for the entire massive Kadokawa Manga business. The base is big enough, and as long as we're willing to promote them, we can quickly create a second Rumiko Takashiro."

"But the situation is completely different now."

The editors, who were initially unaware of the situation, immediately understood the seriousness of the matter after their senior colleague explained it to them.

No wonder Shibata was furious about it.

"Editor-in-Chief Yamazaki has worked in the editorial department for over thirty years and maintains good relationships with many officers. He estimates that nothing major will happen, so he will use his connections to retire in a couple more years."

"But someone is going to be unlucky because of this. At least the deputy editor-in-chief who jumped ship from Shueisha took over Cardcaptor Sakura after Nomura left, but he did not protect the author at all. He is probably to blame."

"There's one more person, ha, probably going to be thrown away too."

Listening to the discussions among the editors around her, Iori Setsuna sat at her workstation, her hands clasped tightly together, her knuckles turning white from the force, and beads of sweat appearing on her forehead.

She knew these people were talking about her.

The contract for "Moon Witch Transformation" was signed by her under the pretense of deceiving Rumiko Takashiro, but the executive officer was unaware of this, or rather, even if an investigation were conducted, other editors would avoid discussing it due to the editor-in-chief's confidante status.

Her name was not mentioned by name online.

"As long as Editor-in-Chief Yamazaki doesn't say anything... he definitely won't! He'll protect me, right?"

Iori Setsuna couldn't help but curse inwardly.

"Damn blonde brat, it has to be her."

How can a kid who didn't even graduate from high school create such excellent works one after another?

The appearance of Cardcaptor Sakura interrupted her serialization plans for the series she was in charge of.

After a year of hard work, they finally helped a new writer get their work adapted into an anime, only to be crushed by the other party's "Puella Magi Madoka Magica".

And now, even after leaving Kadokawa, she still has to cause her so much trouble?

"And CLAMP too!"

Iori Setsuna saw a rumor online that Rumiko Takagi and CLAMP are actually siblings.

She recalled the high school student she had met in the conference room a year ago.

His name is Takashiro Ryosuke, right?

I was deeply impressed by Setsuna Iori.

Although she was only a year older than the blond kid, she displayed a maturity far beyond her years. She threatened to take a hiatus from publishing, which scared her so much that she gave up a promotion opportunity and applied for triple pay for "Moon Witch Transformation".

She didn't even accept the prize money at the time.

Now that things have come to this, she is absolutely furious.

"Those two brats have caused me so much trouble!"

“I did nothing wrong. The editor-in-chief will definitely not give up on me. I have given so much. He will not abandon me.”

boom--

Just then, Iori Setsuna was startled awake by a loud noise and looked up to see Executive Officer Shibata coming out of the editor-in-chief's office.

The senior executive appeared calm and even straightened his tie, not as angry as people might have imagined.

He didn't linger his gaze on anyone in the editorial department before leaving the office.

"Looks like everything's alright now?"

Iori Setsuna breathed a sigh of relief.

Judging from her state, she should have calmed down now, right?

She felt the boulder pressing down on her suddenly shatter, and she broke out in a cold sweat.

"So, the editor-in-chief does care about me and hasn't given up on me after all?"

But the next moment, a voice that was all too familiar called out to her from not far away.

"Iori Setsuna, come to my office."

It was Editor-in-Chief Yamazaki, an editor-in-chief in his sixties, who stood expressionless at the office door and waved to her.

Iori Setsuna's face turned deathly pale, and her whole body went limp.

She had worked with Yamazaki for so many years, so she could say she knew the editor-in-chief quite well.

It was something that had never happened before in the office to call her by her full name.

After she walked into the editor-in-chief's office, completely bewildered, and closed the door behind her, she...

All she saw was Editor-in-Chief Yamazaki sitting in his office chair with a cold expression, pushing a document on his desk toward her.

"You understand what I mean. After you sign, I will privately approve a compensation payment for you."

The cover of the document reads: Resignation Agreement.

Chapter 167 Team Building! Celebrating Success!

"Really? You were asked to leave?"

On a Saturday in mid-October, Ryosuke brought Ryouno to the company early in the morning and learned from Ritsu Saito that Setsuna Iori had resigned from Kadokawa.

"Yes, Nomura told me. Apparently, old man Yamazaki abandoned her to protect himself."

When Saito Ritsu said this, he didn't seem to feel particularly relieved, or rather, he no longer cared much about the past.

However, for Takashiro Ryōno, this was indeed something to be happy about all day.

"That wicked woman has finally been punished!"

I still remember how arrogant Iori Setsuna was in the meeting room of Kadokawa's editorial department. Thinking about it now still makes me a little angry.

What's wrong with her? She clearly did something wrong, yet she keeps saying she's just a child.

"In addition, Kadokawa issued a statement, publicly apologizing to Rumiko Takagi and shifting all the blame onto Setsuna Iori."

"She probably won't be able to continue working as an editor anymore; no publishing house will hire her."

Being publicly notified and named like this by such an official source is basically the end of an editor's career.

None of the three people present felt sorry for the other.

Now that you're an adult, you have to take responsibility for the mistakes you make.

"Because of this incident, Yamazaki's future in the Kadokawa Manga editorial department is basically over. He has relinquished his authority, but retained his rank. He will probably retire in two years."

For an editor-in-chief who was deeply entrenched in Kadokawa and held a high position of power, losing power was the greatest punishment.

Saito Ritsu knew that old man; he might be so angry he couldn't sleep at night.

"However, it's all thanks to Shueisha's publicity this time."

This former editor who left Kadokawa actually felt a little strange, because when he worked at Kadokawa, he did not lack research on his competitors.

Shueisha's publicity department has always relied on traditional media, issuing press releases or holding press conferences. This online media offensive is really unlike their usual style.

During his time working at Kadokawa, he witnessed firsthand the fierce competition between the two major publishing houses.

Poaching, hijacking, vying for serializations, and competing for IPs are no secrets in the industry, but everyone tacitly adheres to a bottom line: let things that happen behind the scenes remain behind the scenes.

But this time is different.

The online revelations ranged from the inside story of the resignation of the editor of "Cardcaptor Sakura" to the details of the commission contract for "Moon Witch Transformation", and even the "exploitation clauses" imposed on manga artists by Kadokawa.

The level of detail in these documents is as if someone had turned over the entire drawer of Kadokawa's editorial department and laid it out in the sunlight for everyone to see.

The only people who could know such inside information, besides Hideo Nomura and himself, were Kadokawa's internal staff.

or....

Ritsu Saito glanced at the company president, who was chatting and laughing with Ryota Takashiro.

Ryosuke noticed his gaze and smiled at him.

"By the way, Director Saito, has 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica' wrapped up yet?"

"Yes, it's all finished, a perfect ending."

"How about we take a week off next week? How about we go out for a team building celebration at the end of October? We can start a new project after we get back."

Although "Puella Magi Madoka Magica" has not finished airing yet, the market response has already been overwhelming, and there is basically no further ripple.

The toy factories that Aniplex has connected with have begun mass production of peripheral toys, and many game developers have also approached Aniplex.

Recently, Saori Hououin has been busy both developing a visual novel and handling related matters.