Tokyo: Oreimo

Ryosuke chuckled.

"Then, under that apology post, there were more than 300 comments, all of them queuing up to apologize."

Tian Zhongxue added, his voice carrying a sense of shared otaku resonance, "You have no idea, during that period on the Future Dimension Forum, people were posting confessions in the S;G section every day, with the same title format: 'I was wrong, I shouldn't have doubted Gen Urobuchi.'"

"That's not exactly scary, is it?"

Ryosuke said nonchalantly that there are still many predecessors in the industry, and compared to those behemoths, Aniplex still has room for improvement.

"But ANIPLEX has only been around for two years! Takashiro, you haven't forgotten, have you?"

As a seasoned A-fan, Tian Zhongxue knew the company's history inside and out.

"Within two years, every new work he released caused a huge stir in the industry, and the level of discussion on the forum never dropped."

He raised his hand and started snapping his fingers one by one.

"The quality of her artwork is beyond question. Rumiko Takashiro has been recognized as a leading figure in the industry from the very beginning. Her art style is ever-changing and getting stronger and stronger. She is also serializing manga, participating in animation and game production, and her output is exaggerated."

"The script, needless to say, is top-notch, whether it's Kinoko Nasu or Gen Urobuchi, from the setting to the storyline."

"The soundtracks are so good that each of Aniplex's game soundtracks could be sold as an album."

"The voice actors are all impeccable. Kujou Sumika's voice for Artoria is still the number one 'most popular female protagonist voice actor' in the forum poll."

He held up four fingers in front of Ryosuke.

"Two years, a company that has only been established for two years has produced so many works in a row without making a single mistake. This is not a matter of genius or not, this is monster!"

When Tian Zhongxue said these words, he had an expression that showed he was becoming more and more alarmed.

Ryosuke silently took a sip of oolong tea.

Is it really that highly rated?

However, this is indeed the case. As Tian Zhongxue said, according to normal people's understanding...

It's rare for a company that originated from a doujin circle to have such a meteoric rise and consistently produce excellent works like Aniplex, with each work exhibiting a drastic change in overall style.

The consequences of great success are often accompanied by negative effects. Many societies decline or become more stable after such success.

However, there was no indication that Aniplex had reflected this problem at all.

Ryosuke thought for a moment and was about to continue along with him when Tian Zhongxue suddenly changed the subject, and his whole body returned to the excited state he had been in before. He jumped up from the chair, clenched his fists, and his eyes shone.

"but--!!"

"It is because of the existence of companies like this that we doujinshi creators have the motivation to work hard!"

He turned to Ryosuke, his eyes burning with intensity.

"Our manga club's work for this winter COMI will be all out there! We can't let Aniplex steal the show! At the very least, we need to make people in the doujinshi section feel that 'this club's doujinshi is worth reading!'"

"President, you're getting a little too worked up," Ayumi coldly reminded her from behind. "Besides, the last time you shouted those lines in the activity room, you caught a cold the following week."

"Ayumi, why are you always targeting me! I was clearly trying to boost morale!"

"I don't need to yell at people when I've finally finished a drawing and am about to take a break. It hurts my ears."

"sorry."

Seeing Tian Zhongxue's head droop instantly, Ayumi sighed, put down her pencil, and rubbed her ears, which were ringing from the shock.

"However, I do agree with one thing the president said: Aniplex is indeed amazing."

Horiuchi Ayumi lifted her chin.

"However, compared to Rumiko Takashiro and Gen Urobuchi, I am very curious about what kind of person could bring them together."

"Huh? Does Ayumi mean the president of Aniplex?"

Tian Zhongxue looked over unexpectedly.

“Yes, I’ve never thought about this before, but since you brought it up, I’m quite interested.” Horiuchi Ayumi walked to the water dispenser and poured herself a glass of water.

"If you aspire to follow the same path as Aniplex, you should learn from this president. How did he bring together such a group of talented people?"

"The club only has a handful of members right now. If we don't produce some decent results to recruit new members soon, the club might be shut down."

"This is the most urgent task."

As she spoke, she glanced at Ryosuke.

"Right? Takashiro-kun?"

Chapter 240 Victory is assured

"Yes, it's really impressive to be able to bring so many geniuses together."

"However, just as Horiuchi-senpai said, what we need to do now is to stabilize the existence of the club."

Ryosuke noticed that the senior was staring straight at him, but he still echoed her words without changing his expression.

Horiuchi Ayumi looked away. Ever since returning from Akihabara on Saturday, every time she recalled Takashiro Ryōno's superb painting skills, she felt more and more that this brother and sister were no ordinary people.

The shared surname 'Gao Cheng' made her involuntarily think of that teacher.

'Rumiko Takagi'.

Rumors have long circulated online that this talented cartoonist is a blonde beauty.

In terms of physical characteristics, it almost perfectly matches Ling Nai's appearance.

But judging from Ryosuke's current reaction to Aniplex, it seems to be completely different from the reaction he imagined he should have.

If Ling Nai really is 'Takashiro Rumiko', then she shouldn't remain indifferent at this point.

Am I overthinking it?

Horiuchi Ayumi muttered something, holding her water glass, her gaze lingering on Ryosuke's face for two or three seconds, as if confirming something, before looking away.

She did not completely dispel her doubts.

Ryoko Takashiro's drawing skills, along with Ryosuke's high standards for illustration, make it seem like they're from an ordinary high school student.

But with no further evidence at the moment, she has no intention of getting to the bottom of things regarding the club activities.

"Speaking of which..."

Ayumi put down her water glass and looked at Ryosuke.

"By the way, Takashiro-kun, about that thing we talked about before."

"what's up?"

"The manuscript for a fan fiction novel." Ayumi held out her hand, palm up, with a businesslike expression. "Tomorrow's Thursday, you haven't forgotten, have you?"

Ryosuke, of course, hadn't forgotten.

He took a transparent folder out of his bag, inside which was a stack of printed A4 papers, about twenty pages thick.

"Here."

Ayumi took the folder and glanced at the cover.

On the white printed paper, there was only one line of simple bold text: "Kara no Kyoukai" (The Garden of Sinners).

There are no superfluous decorations, no illustrations, and not even the author's name is listed.

"You really are very patient." Ayumi opened the first page, her gaze falling on the first few lines of text, but she didn't continue reading. Instead, she closed the folder.

"Before tomorrow, all the submitted works will be stored here with me, and no one except the creator can see them."

"To ensure fairness?" Ryosuke nodded, indicating his understanding.

"Yes, during the voting, all works will have their names removed and replaced with numbers, and everyone will vote based on the content itself."

Ayumi put the folder in the locker in the activity room, stacking it with several other manuscripts that had already been submitted.

“This is a tradition of the manga club.” Noticing Ryosuke’s gaze, she added, “Well, it’s not exactly a tradition. Our club was just established this year, and this is the first time we’ve had a vote, but I hope it can become a tradition.”

"To dare to set rules in the very first session, no wonder you're the vice president." Ryosuke chuckled.

"Without rules, this club would have been ruined by the president long ago." Ayumi Asada Junior High School nodded.

"Hey, hey, hey, I'm the president, can't you show me some respect sometimes!" Tian Zhongxue protested.

"Sure, when you stop using club funds to buy limited edition figurines."

"That figurine is club property!" Tian Zhongxue's face flushed red, and his voice rose eight octaves. "And I paid for it with my own money! That time the club funds weren't enough!"

"That was because you bought too many doujinshi last month and exceeded the budget."

"Ugh."

Tian Zhongxue was defeated in one blow and shrank back into his chair.

Ryosuke watched the two bickering, a slight smile playing on his lips. This was the kind of atmosphere a club should have.

"But to be honest, I'm really looking forward to tomorrow's vote."

Tian Zhongxue quickly recovered from the setback, crossed his arms, and looked confident. "Several new members joined the club this year, so everyone's submissions should be pretty good, right?"

"Does the president mean you've already got the victory in the bag?" Ayumi raised an eyebrow.

"I didn't say that! But you should know that I spent two whole months preparing this fan fiction, polishing every detail from the world-building to the character design!"

Tian Zhongxue stood up, his tone impassioned, "If there are no surprises, my work should be the number one in the vote. Then we will put all our effort into producing this work. Cover, illustrations, layout, printing—we can't be careless in any of the steps!"

"You should learn how to use typesetting software before saying that," Ayumi said coldly.

"I'm just about to get started!"

“You said the same thing last month, and then you started playing games less than five minutes after opening the software.”

"This time it's for real! I swore an oath!"

"Last week you told Asakura that you swore you would never stay up all night playing games again, but the next day you came to class with dark circles under your eyes."

Tianzhong Middle School was sunk again.

Ayumi ignored the student council president, who was lying on the table barely alive, and turned to look at Ryosuke.

"I'm really looking forward to Takashiro's novel."

"Hmm?" Ryosuke looked up.