December ended, and January arrived.
During the three-day New Year's holiday, sales of the Hunter × Hunter manga tankōbon officially surpassed 18 million copies.
Although the growth rate had slowed, it was still steadily climbing, and no one in the manga industry knew where Hunter × Hunter's final numbers would ultimately land.
However, compared to the manga world, where the lineup of popular works often remains unchanged for a year or two, the animation world was very different.
This quarter alone saw 12 manga-to-anime adaptations, 27 light novel adaptations, 5 game adaptations, and 41 original animations. While the total number of works was not exceptionally high, setting original productions aside, the overall quality of adaptations from manga, novels, and games was staggering.
All six major manga magazines had anime adaptations airing this quarter. Likewise, several major light novel publishers had multiple popular titles debuting at the same time.
As for original animations;
The new original works released by Japan's so-called "Big Three" animation studios were no longer what audiences were most excited about.
What everyone truly anticipated was Arcane, produced by Illumination Production Company, the most lavishly funded and most closely watched new anime of the quarter, and also the one that attracted the most controversy before airing.
In terms of sheer competition, this winter season was shaping up to be one of the fiercest anime premiere periods of the past decade.
Naturally, no production team entered this market just to make up the numbers.
Although Rei was undeniably formidable, the industry had seen countless examples of talented creators suddenly failing. For most famous creators, only one or two works in their entire careers were truly memorable; the rest were forgettable at best.
The global success of One-Punch Man and Hunter × Hunter did not guarantee that Arcane would succeed as well. As a result, several production teams behind competing high-profile adaptations openly stated in media interviews that their goal this season was to surpass both Arcane and Hunter × Hunter.
After all, the Japanese animation market was a fixed pie.
One-Punch Man's popularity had only just cooled when Hunter × Hunter took over. Now, while Hunter × Hunter was still at its peak, Arcane was about to enter the fray.
Many peers in Japan had long been envious of Rei.
In fact, aside from companies directly aligned with his interests, much of the Japanese animation industry, including even the Hoshimori Group, quietly hoped that Arcane would fail. Their top manga artist was thriving in animation, and Rei was not bound by a long-term exclusive contract, which naturally made them uneasy.
Rei, however, paid none of this any attention.
By this point, Hunter × Hunter had been serialized long enough that the assistant team working under Rei had grown highly proficient. Aside from key battle scenes that required Rei's personal touch, most routine panels could be completed based on his storyboards.
That said, Rei still insisted on personally drawing every character's facial expressions. Thanks to this division of labor, he was able to leave Tokyo in early January to travel and promote Arcane's upcoming premiere.
Then came January 4th.
With the New Year's holidays over, Japan's winter anime season officially began.
From Thursday through Friday, more than forty new anime premiered across various television networks. Late-night shows on smaller stations recorded ratings as low as 0.86%, while series airing on major stations in generally exceeded 3.3%. One post-apocalyptic game adaptation even debuted at 4.96%.
By Saturday, competition intensified further.
Under Capital Television's scheduling, Hunter × Hunter had already secured the prime Saturday 8:30 PM slot. Its new-quarter premiere achieved a 6.16% rating, maintaining a commanding lead.
Later that night, at 10:00 PM, Touch of Glass, a fantasy battle anime adapted from Dream Comic, premiered with a 4.58% rating.
Although Miyu's work featured a female protagonist and leaned into grotesque, emotionally punishing themes, its manga serialization had only ranked around ninth or tenth.
Yet weaknesses in manga did not necessarily translate to animation.
Grotesque and horror manga often test readers' patience, but with strong lighting, music, and committed voice acting, the anime adaptation earned surprisingly high praise. Despite its modest ratings, it ranked fourth among the season's new anime, with an audience score of 9.0.
Naturally, the next morning, after learning about Touch of Glass premiere performance, Rei immediately called Miyu.
"Congratulations! The anime's debut exceeded expectations."
"Thank you!" Miyu didn't bother being modest and accepted the praise with a bright smile.
Touch of Glass's premiere results really were impressive. Even Hikaru no Go hadn't started this strong. That said, Hikaru no Go had suffered from an unpopular theme at the beginning, only to surge dramatically once the story unfolded.
Miyu understood this perfectly, but as a creator, one always had to dream.
"Hikaru no Go also had a weak opening before it climbed to the top of the season," she said. "Rei… you'd better be careful. I have a feeling the dominant anime this quarter might not be Hunter × Hunter."
Rei paused for a moment, then laughed softly.
"That's certainly possible," he said, fully understanding what she was hinting at, before casually shifting the topic. "Or maybe it'll be Arcane."
"…"
Miyu fell silent.
"You really have that much confidence in this project?" she asked. "I'm not underestimating you, Rei, but Western fantasy just doesn't have a large audience in Japan. Isekai hero stories are one thing, but steampunk animation is… well."
She thought for a moment before continuing.
"Given your current popularity, Arcane's premiere ratings definitely won't be low. But surpassing Hunter × Hunter? That'll be extremely difficult."
In truth, Miyu's view matched that of most industry professionals.
No matter how massive Arcane's investment or how aggressive its promotion, ratings and popularity ultimately depended on the story itself.
There had never been a steampunk fantasy anime that became a true nationwide hit in Japan. If not for Rei's prior success with Hikaru no Go, a niche theme that somehow exploded, many Japanese media outlets would probably have already begun mocking Arcane ahead of time.
"And this season isn't weak either," Miyu added. "There are plenty of strong adaptations, from games, from light novels…"
"Even so," Rei replied calmly, "I still believe in Arcane."
"Miyu, just sit down in front of the TV at eight o'clock tonight and watch the first episode. You'll understand where my confidence comes from."
"…?"
That response only made her more curious.
"Then," she said with a smile, "I'll be watching."