After handing off the day's work to his assistants, Haruki made his way to the studio, heading straight for Wes's desk. Since Wes had proposed the new technique called Conscious Motion, the two of them had been working on it together. It was very labor-intensive and time-consuming.
The team Wes had brought in for Code Geass had been practicing ever since he developed the technique. They had already broken out of the habit of traditional drawing methods. In contrast, the animators at Evermark Studio were having a harder time adapting. For them, the new approach felt almost like working in reverse.
Haruki and Wes had to constantly monitor each panel's composition. Though Haruki hadn't formally learned the method, having watched Code Geass himself, he understood Lelouch's character and the rest of the cast, which made it easier for him to grasp the basics. This allowed him to oversee visual consistency, even with limited technical knowledge. He continued learning alongside Wes as they worked.
Wes glanced at the screen and said, "You're getting the hang of it faster than I expected."
"I wrote the story, so I know what kind of person Lelouch is," Haruki said. "Still, this is just the basics."
This new style didn't affect the regular schedule of previously released episodes. A small sub-team worked on it full-time throughout the day, developing it in parallel.
By the time they wrapped up for the day, Haruki felt satisfied with the progress. On his way out, a message notification popped up. It was from Haruka:
"This Friday, Fullmetal Alchemist's ending will be released."
Haruki shared the announcement online: Fullmetal Alchemist will be getting its ending this Friday.
Since Code Geass had aired, his following had grown, especially overseas. Many new fans had started checking out his manga. Though his works were already available globally, they hadn't reached the same popularity as local manga or comics in those regions. But with this new wave of fans, interest in his series began to grow. When Haruki posted the news about Fullmetal Alchemist ending, the reactions came flooding in.
"Everyone get ready for more tears—Mizushiro is going to make us cry again."
"Please don't kill off the characters I like, Mizushiro!"
Many fans shared the same thoughts. Normally, an "ending" in a manga or anime signals an emotional finale, and since Mizushiro had announced it himself, readers were expecting something powerful and probably heartbreaking. Based on his past record, that was never a good sign.
"I'm skipping this week's issue. Someone tell me if I should read it or not after it's out."
"Same. I can't take it anymore. You'd think you'd get used to it after so many times, but it still hits hard every time."
"Do you really think they made a whole ending just for one chapter? I feel like this entire arc is going to be emotional."
"I'm worried about Ling Yao—he's my new favorite character. I don't want him to die, but with Mizushiro announcing the ending, I fear the worst."
In the previous chapter, Ed and Al had worked with Ling to lure out the Homunculus, purposely drawing Scar's attention. Scar had appeared, but the Homunculus who showed up were Gluttony and President King Bradley. Bradley's sudden appearance devastated Ling Yao and Lan Fan's plan, while Winry showed up during the Elric brothers' battle with Scar. The chapter ended there, one of Mizushiro's biggest cliffhangers in Fullmetal Alchemist yet.
Readers had come to expect cliffhangers from him, but lately every chapter had ended on one. Many thought this was the peak of suspense, yet Mizushiro kept pushing each cliffhanger higher, making readers frustrated enough to joke that he wanted them to "jump off the cliff" along with his stories.
As Friday arrived.
Misato had been reading Fullmetal Alchemist for a while now. She was a major shounen fan, but she always felt there were very few series where both male and female characters were properly developed. It wasn't that she was throwing shade at the shounen genre, shoujo had the same problem too. It was more of a demographic issue.
Like many from the newer generation, she'd seen the growing online discussion about moving past gender-based demographics and focus on stories themselves. Many authors had also said the same, admitting that publishers often pushed the idea that "shoujo is for girls" and "shounen is for boys." Because of that, female leads were prioritized in shoujo, and male ones in shounen.
Recently, though, the industry had started leaning more toward plot-driven stories regardless of demographic. Still, it was rare to find under-18 manga in either shounen or shoujo that threw away those boundaries and focused purely on story and character. Misato didn't have a big problem with it—it was more like if it was balanced, great; if not, that was fine too. She enjoyed what she read, and unlike people who spent their days ranting about it online, she didn't have any interest in that.
She had been following Mizushiro for over a year now, and she admired how he constantly switched genres. When JoJo came out, she immediately became a fan—the anatomy, the style, the artistic direction. Everything about it felt bold and distinctive, and the story was great too. At the same time, she also loved Fullmetal Alchemist. Sometimes she wondered how Mizushiro's brain worked—one series being deeply serious and plot-heavy, the other comedic and bizarre. The contrast between them was complete, yet he managed to release both simultaneously.
Still, Fullmetal had grown on her. Not more than JoJo, but more than most other ongoing series.
That evening, she picked up the latest issue of Echo Shroud and loaded the newly released ending theme for Fullmetal Alchemist. She figured they must have timed the release to enhance the emotional impact.
She opened the magazine.
It started with—
(TL:- if you want even more content, check out p-a-t-r-e-o-n.com/Alioth23 for 60+ advanced chapters)