Aniverse:This Managaka is Black hearted

Black Mangaka 029: Negative Results

After a while, a mournful cry echoed outside the door.

"I'm such an idiot!!"

The Next Day

Nakahara Hiroshi, who had arrived at the classroom early, immediately lit up when he saw Shiina Mahiru enter the room.

"Shiina-san, where did you buy those desserts yesterday? Can you give me the address?!"

Even thinking back on it now, those cakes were exceptionally delicious!

If only I hadn't been so sleepy at the time, I might have sent a message to Shiina Mahiru.

However, what he received in response was a look of pure resentment from the girl.

---

Time Flies Like an Arrow

Seven days is but a fleeting moment in the grand scheme of things.

Taking a leave of absence last Monday wasn't a big deal.

With thousands of students attending this school across all grades, it wasn't unusual for at least ten or twenty people to take a day off. Sometimes, even hundreds did.

Expanding this to all of Japan, or even the entire world, the numbers would be astronomical.

Unless it involved close acquaintances, nobody would particularly care about someone taking a few days off.

But for the manga industry, these seven short days had been anything but peaceful.

The ripple that created this tsunami came from Japan—or rather, from the simple act of taking leave, something universal across the world

Basking in the morning sunlight, Nakahara Hiroshi strolled along the academy's main road, surrounded by fellow students dressed in the same uniform.

Groups of two or three, both boys and girls, gathered to chat about their weekends, TV dramas, entertainment gossip, and late-night anime—carefree, their faces adorned with the simplest and purest smiles.

Though Nakahara Hiroshi was alone, without anyone to share in these conversations, the smile on his face was just as bright.

In fact, his grin hadn't faded since waking up that morning.

And the reason was simple...

"By noon today, the royalties from the single volume release, the prize money from the Tezuka Award, and the serialization royalties for Madoka Magica will all be deposited into your account!"

That was the news Nakahara Hiroshi had received the night before.

At first, he remained calm.

Then, after running some quick calculations, he nearly lost it.

The retail price of the Madoka Magica volume had been set at 740 yen (purely fictional for this story). This price was determined based on page count and printing costs.

With a 12% royalty rate, that meant he earned 88.8 yen per copy.

After discussions and deliberations, the initial print run was set at 30,000 copies!

Regardless of how well the series performed after release, this initial batch alone meant 2.664 million yen in royalties!

Adding in the Tezuka Award prize money, his total earnings shot up to 3.664 million yen!

Oh, and let's not forget the royalties from his serialization in Weekly Shonen Jump.

With his increased artist fee of 30,000 yen per original drawing, and 20 pages per chapter, that was another 600,000 yen!

At this point, every bit of income counted—even the so-called small amounts. But honestly, with numbers like these, it was hardly "small" anymore.

"4,224,000 yen!"

Of course, after taxes, that first digit would drop from 4 to 3, but even over 3 million yen was an incredible sum!

And with reprints, his income would only grow from here.

Making more than 3 million yen isn't just a dream—it's reality!

Realizing this, he couldn't contain his excitement.

Even now, his emotions hadn't settled.

As for how he'd spend the money?

He hadn't thought about it yet.

Simply knowing he had earned it was exhilarating enough!

--

"...By the way, that Magical Girl manga that's been trending online lately—it's getting a single volume release today, right? Is that true?"

The voice caught Nakahara Hiroshi's attention.

Turning slightly, he spotted three younger students in Toyonosaki uniforms.

From the style, he could tell they were underclassmen.

Encountering fellow Toyonosaki students on campus was nothing unusual. It was just everyday life.

In response to the question, the student in the middle scoffed.

"Are you serious? Who would joke about something like that?"

"With all the money poured into promotions, there's no way it wouldn't release. What do you think would happen if it didn't?"

At those words, the third student, who had been silent until now, shuddered involuntarily, a look of fear flashing across his face.

The other two exchanged knowing smirks.

"The rage of online fans is no joke!"

"Oh, by the way, what was that manga called again...?"

"Magical Girl Madoka Magica."

"Right, that one! It's out today, right? You guys wanna buy it?"

"Are you kidding? I don't have the money for that. Several of my favorite series are getting sequels this month. My pocket money's already stretched thin—I can't afford to waste it on something like that."

"No way, no way. There's no way a high school guy would be interested in magical girls, right, Tanaka?"

"Idiot! We're in high school! Who the hell would be into that kind of thing?!"

"Then why'd you ask if we wanted to buy it?"

"Because it's a Tezuka Award-winning work! I figured you guys might be curious."

"Curious? About a manga that got an award and went from announcement to book release in barely over a week? That screams shady business to me."

"Yeah! Normally, it takes at least two months of weekly serialization to gather enough chapters for a single volume! No way they made this in just one week. I don't even wanna know how they managed that."

"..."

Hiroshi didn't hear the rest of their conversation—he had already reached the teaching building, heading in a different direction.

"Not exactly optimistic reviews."

Despite saying that, Nakahara Hiroshi remained unfazed.

The internet had been flooded with Madoka Magica speculation and debate all week.

Normally, in this age of fast-moving information, trends faded quickly.

But every time Madoka Magica started losing traction, another announcement from Shueisha reignited the hype.

"Shueisha's Strongest High School Rookie!"

"100% Talent, 200% Effort—The Birth of a Legend!"

"Madoka Magica Single Volume Releases Next Monday!"

With headlines like these, the buzz around Madoka Magica never died down.

The discussions had been constant.

If those three students had been overheard by online fans, they'd probably be labeled "heretics" or "trolls" instantly.

If Hiroshi let every little comment like this get to him, he'd be sitting in a psychologist's office instead of attending school.

"I wonder when the first reprint will be."

Every reprint meant more royalties in his bank account…

"Damn, that's exciting!!"

---

Afternoon—After School

"Damn it! Didn't you say you weren't gonna buy it?! Then why is it already sold out?!"

Walking out of the bookstore, Tanaka's face twisted in frustration.

For this manga, he had sprinted out of class before the teacher could even finish dismissing them.

Tomorrow, he was probably getting called to the office.

He had also turned down an invite from two friends to karaoke—where girls would be present!

If things went well, he might've even gotten a girlfriend!

But instead…

"Damn it! I came all this way, and it's still not enough?!"

He had chosen a different path.

And now, he was about to chase that elusive volume to the next bookstore.

The young man was sad.

　　You may be unfamiliar with this Tanaka, but you should have an impression of him when you mention the three junior students that Nakahara met on the way to school this morning.

　　Being promoted to the first grade of college means that he can be called a mature man!

　　All things that make him look childish should be discarded!

　　The toys that he packed and sealed during the holidays, which recorded every little detail of his life from childhood to adulthood, represent Tanaka's determination to let go of the past!

　　This is what growth is like, it always comes at a price!

　　Among the many synonyms for "childishness", magical girls are the most typical one.

　　"That's something girls like."

　　Actually.

　　When girls reach 5th or 6th grade or enter junior high school, they probably will no longer like the "magical girls" who grew up with them when they were young.

　　I am more obsessed with celebrities, makeup, clothes, and bags.

　　This also makes the status of magical girls even more embarrassing.

　　Tanaka has disliked magical girls since he was a child, being naive and childish.

　　If the world were really so beautiful, wouldn't the world have been peaceful long ago?

　　"It's just to fool the kids."

　　So if he doesn't like magical girls, why would Tanaka spend time, money and energy to buy them?

　　"Damn it! Why did you choose to draw magical girls when you have such a beautiful style?!"

　　It just happened to hit his XP perfectly!

　　This is damn beautiful!

　　Even if you hate the magical girl theme, you can't help but want to buy one for your collection!

　　Passing by a subway station and looking at the promotional posters, Tanaka couldn't help but complain. Then he lowered his head to look at the map displayed on the navigation in his hand and hurried to the next bookstore.

　　This time, because this store had a phone number online, Tanaka made a special call to inquire!

　　Only after getting a definite answer will I choose to go.

　　This time, he is determined to win!

　　...

　　Tanaka walked into the bookstore.

　　With a quick glance, I quickly discovered that "Magic Circle" was in the center position today!

　　After all, this is the Shueisha Tezuka Award.

　　No matter how negative the online reviews are, the book's past reputation and strength are there, and everyone is willing to take the book and even give it a good position.

　　If it were a smaller publishing house, faced with this overwhelming pace, no matter how good the content was, there would be a risk of it dying out.