Aniverse:This Managaka is Black hearted

Black Mangaka 031: First Week Sales

Yinsha, who was gradually coming to his senses, was shocked by what he saw.

Then, unable to help himself, he continued reading the comments—only to be stunned.

Why was the tone of the comments completely different from what he had expected?!

"Damn it! The host got there first!!"

"Even if I were nailed in a coffin, I'd still shout at the top of my lungs: Madoka Magica, my God!"

"This isn't enough! Where's the sequel? Keep drawing!"

As he scrolled, Yinsha was surprised to find that over 90% of the comments were overwhelmingly positive.

Even the few dissenting remarks—such as "Has Shueisha increased its investment in internet trolls?", "Brother, where did you get this money? Help me out.", and "100 yen per post, delete after reading!"—weren't particularly destructive.

What the hell was going on?!

Where were the usual forum haters who were always so active?

Something felt off. Yinsha quickly returned to the main page and refreshed.

"The most shocking and surprising work I've seen this year—Puella Magi Madoka Magica!"

"Manabu's nominee for the Tezuka Prize—well deserved!!"

"I apologize for ever doubting Shueisha's editorial department. Thank you, Warrior-sensei, for bringing us such a masterpiece of love and hope!!"

"We all owe an apology to the Warrior-sensei of Love and Hope!!"

"The story behind this is terrifying. Did we ever really understand the magical girl genre before? Why were we so obsessed with the idea that magical girls had to be childish?"

Looking at the new post titles, Yinsha's eyes widened.

Some comments, like "Maguro no Madoka, my God," were a bit ambiguous, making it hard to tell if they were genuine praise or sarcasm.

But the flood of newly posted threads made one thing undeniably clear—

Praise!

High praise!!

The sudden shift in reception was so unbelievable that Yinsha couldn't help but question if this was really the same forum where, just a day ago, everyone had been criticizing Magic Circle.

But data doesn't lie.

Clicking into a few posts, Yinsha found that the comments were filled with deep discussions and enthusiastic praise for the plot.

Of course, there was also plenty of resentment over Tomoe Mami's turnaround, and heated debates about the cruel truths revealed by the deceptively cute Kyubey.

Yet, judging by the sheer emotional engagement of these fans…

"Magic Circle is really taking off!!"

---

Earlier that day, after buying the book, Tanaka had rushed home.

"I didn't expect to run into those two guys in that situation."

Fortunately, the three of them had come to a silent understanding—not exposing each other.

But that didn't stop Tanaka from laughing at his two friends in his heart.

"Those two immature idiots! They're already high school students, and they're still interested in magical girl stories?"

After all, he had only bought the book because he liked the character designs—not because he cared about the story itself.

"740 yen...!"

That was almost enough to buy two other manga volumes.

Tanaka knew that, for a 230-page comic in a deluxe 32-page format, the price wasn't expensive at all.

But considering he had bought it purely for collection purposes and had no intention of actually reading it, it still felt like a waste.

As he mulled over his regret, a dangerous thought began creeping into his mind—

"Why not take a quick look…?"

"No, no! What a horrible idea!"

"Tanaka, you're a man! How can you watch something meant for little girls?!"

…

…

"Hehehe, my wife, Tomoe Mami, is so cute!"

"This transformation… SAIKO!!"

Tanaka, now completely immersed in the plot, let out a laugh so eerie that his parents nearly called the police.

Fortunately, he was alone in his room, with no witnesses to his disgraceful behavior.

Looking back on this dark history, Tanaka knew that if anyone had seen him, he would have been so ashamed he might have just ended it all right then and there.

"There's nothing to be afraid of anymore!"

"Ohh! What a gorgeous line!"

"Memories, transformation! And becoming stronger!!"

"Go and bring about a magnificent victory!!"

With excitement and impatience, Tanaka flipped to the next page.

…?

Tanaka's expression froze. The light in his eyes faded.

Such a powerful senpai… actually…!?

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!"

The shock was too much. Tanaka screamed uncontrollably—resulting in an intimate conversation with his concerned parents, who rushed over to check on him.

---

The next day.

The trio met at their usual meeting place.

"What the hell happened to you guys?"

Tanaka was shocked to see his friends limping.

In response, he received two exasperated eye-rolls—along with the exact same rhetorical question.

"What the hell happened to you?" ×2

It would be unfair to say that their identical walking postures were a mere coincidence.

At this moment, everything was clear without words.

The three of them exchanged a look of mutual understanding and walked toward the academy in silence.

…

…

After a while, Tanaka lost patience and snapped, his face contorted with rage—

"MAMI TOMOE, MY MAMI TOMOE!!"

"WARRIOR OF LOVE AND HOPE, YOU DESERVE TO DIE! DON'T LET ME FIND OUT WHO YOU REALLY ARE!!"

At that, the other two stopped pretending.

"Love and hope?! How dare you call it that when you throw knives so mercilessly?!"

"I can't go back. I CAN NEVER GO BACK! GIVE ME BACK MY INNOCENT IMPRESSION OF MAGICAL GIRLS!!"

---

"How much? How much!?"

Yinsha's eager face was met with a helpless expression from the statistician—an expression mixed with deep shock.

"Total first-week sales: 63,648 copies."

"HOW MANY?!"

Yinsha shouted in disbelief. Then, before the other person could repeat, he muttered to himself—

"63,648 copies…?!"

"Even with all the pre-release promotion, isn't this an insane number?!"

He vividly recalled the first-day sales—just 3,243 copies. Typically, sales decline after the first day.

Following that trend, reaching even 30,000 copies in the first week would have been uncertain, let alone 10,000.

If sales had at least reached 30,000, it would have been a respectable number for a Tezuka Award nominee—nothing to be ashamed of.

But if it had fallen below 10,000…

Shueisha would have become a laughingstock.

All the prestige they had built over the years would have taken a heavy blow.

Fortunately, that didn't happen.

The day after release, word of mouth exploded. Sales soared higher and higher every single day.

Sure, there were plenty of comments like—

"Damn you, old thief!"

"Old thief, give me back my senpai!!"

"Someone send a razor blade to the old thief!"

But, ironically, these complaints only proved just how much people cared about the story and its characters.

Otherwise, why would they be this emotional?

---

Back in the office.

The moment Yinsha returned, other editors immediately crowded around.

"How was it, Otosaga? What were the first-week sales?!"

"Judging from the online buzz and Yinsha's insane overtime lately, it has to be over 30,000, right?"

"30,000? Be bold—I'm guessing 40,000!"

"No way! Kinoshita-sensei's latest volume sold close to 38,000 in its first week, and he's a top-tier mangaka!"

"Yeah, without an existing fanbase, I'd say 35,000 at most."

"Hah! Yinsha, what's the actual number?"

"You're all wrong~"

Grinning, Yinsha announced—

"Final count: 63,648 copies!"

"WHAT?!"

"HOW MANY?!"

"63,648!!"

Everyone inhaled sharply—successfully contributing to global warming.