Chapter 313 - 312: Planning and October

Chapter 313: Chapter 312: Planning and October

By mid-September, the conclusion of the first season of Code Geass essentially signaled the end of the current anime market cycle. From the start of the autumn season to its finish, the industry had been dominated by Code Geass.

At this point, almost no one questioned the series anymore. Critics could argue that the plot had holes, that it didn’t hold up to scrutiny, or that the protagonist’s enemies suffered from convenient lapses in intelligence, but the popularity of the show was an undeniable, objective fact.

With the first season’s broadcast finalized, Haruto’s studio began focusing on the Blu-ray and DVD release. The first season was slated to be released across ten volumes. As for the timing, Haruto scheduled the first and second volumes to hit the shelves during the first week of October. Given the scale of the manufacturing partners Haruto worked with, he technically had the capacity to release all ten volumes at once. However, considering that fans might find it difficult to stomach the cost of ten high-priced collectors’ items at the same time, he opted for a slow and steady release strategy to maximize long-term revenue.

In his final year of university, Haruto was experiencing the most relaxed period of his academic life. For his graduation project, he had chosen a topic related to the light novel industry, a field he knew like the back of his hand.

This meant he didn’t need to spend excessive time on research. With over six months left to complete the work, there was no reason to rush, especially since his relationship with his thesis advisor was quite harmonious.

This was only natural; Haruto was no ordinary student. As Japan’s leading mangaka and light novel author, and the chairman of a top-tier animation studio with a personal net worth in the billions of yen, he was a titan of industry. While his commitment to his studies was less intense than that of his peers due to his workload, no sane professor would make life difficult for a student of his stature during graduation.

Animation, manga, novels, and academics, everything was progressing like clockwork. As graduation loomed, Haruto felt a sense of ease and joy that he hadn’t experienced in years.

Sword Art Online and Hunter x Hunter were projected to run for several more years, so he didn’t have to worry about the future of those sectors.

As for the anime industry, Haruto admitted to himself that he was tired. Moreover, a company with hundreds of employees couldn’t rely solely on his personal creative output to survive. Aside from Code Geass, Haru-Yuki already had two or three original animation teams working feverishly on their own projects.

Haruto still had plenty of masterpieces locked in his head, but simultaneously serializing a work in three different mediums was his absolute limit.

He had no intention of increasing his workload further. During a morning meeting, he made it clear to his senior management that once Code Geass concluded, he would be taking a temporary hiatus. He encouraged his staff to start thinking about the company’s independent direction.

"So, you’re planning to transition from a pure creator to a full-time executive?"

In his private office, Yukino sat next to Haruto’s chair, her eyes tracing his profile with curiosity.

"Not entirely," Haruto replied.

"It’s just that serializing two works at once is my maximum capacity from now on. I’ll rotate between novels, anime, and manga, but I won’t do all three at once. Look at the life I’ve lived this past year. It’s been exhausting." He gave a wry smile. "I’ve made all this money, but it’s just numbers in an account. I haven’t even had the chance to attend a single fan convention. I love contributing to the industry, but not like this."

Haruto put his arm around Yukino’s shoulder, idly twisting a strand of her hair between his fingers.

"That’s probably for the best," Yukino said after a moment of thought. "Money is infinite, or rather, given your spending habits and the royalties your current works will generate over the next few decades, you probably have enough to last a thousand years. Once you graduate and have some free time, we can travel across Japan or even see the rest of the world."

"The rest of the world, huh?" The idea clearly piqued Haruto’s interest.

"Besides, you’re on the verge of claiming the top spot in all three fields," Yukino added, leaning her head on his shoulder. "All you need is a final push for Hunter x Hunter and SAO. In my opinion, once you hit that peak, you could just announce your retirement."

"It would save you the trouble of having a slump later and being overtaken by some newcomer looking to make a name for themselves by using you as a stepping stone. Some media outlets did a survey recently; kids in elementary and middle school who want to join the industry all cite you as their target. They’re all vowing to surpass you."

Haruto laughed at that.

"What’s so funny?" Yukino asked.

"What about you? You seem quite happy talking about people surpassing me. Do you want to see me lose?"

"Of course! From the day I scouted you into the novel industry until now, I haven’t seen you fail once." A look of reminiscence flashed across her beautiful face. "I’m genuinely curious if there’s anyone in this country capable of outperforming you."

"As the industry evolves, someone will eventually create something better than SAO or Hunter x Hunter," Haruto said, his voice brimming with confidence. "But surpassing me? I think the probability is near zero. I’m only stepping back because I’m tired of the high-intensity schedule, not because I’ve run out of ideas. If a newcomer creates something that beats my past work, what makes you think I won’t just pull out a new project that beats theirs?"

Haruto reached out and playfully tapped Yukino’s nose before pinching her cheek.

"Hey, Haruto! That’s rude," Yukino pouted, her face flushing slightly as she shot him a glare. "I’m older and more mature than you. You should show some respect instead of being so flippant."

"Really? You weren’t thinking about ’maturity’ when you were calling me ’Dear’ at home last night," Haruto teased.

Yukino immediately pinched his waist in retaliation.

"Alright, alright! I surrender!" Haruto laughed, ending their playful bickering.

"But seriously," Haruto said, his tone turning reflective.

"How I got to this point is beyond my wildest dreams. Back then, I just wanted to write some stories and earn enough to get by. I wanted to make money, sure, but I never imagined becoming a mega billionaire."

As a high schooler back then, Haruto hadn’t possessed such a massive imagination. He had even doubted whether works from another world would translate well to the market.

"You’re satisfied with that? There are people in Japan with hundreds of billions," Yukino teased, getting her revenge for his earlier comment.

She wasn’t actually mocking him; like Haruto, she was quite content once her needs were met. If it weren’t for the fact that Haru-Yuki was a company they built together, she would have long since sold her shares to live a life of leisure.

"That’s why I’m only twenty-one," Haruto laughed. "I’ve got seventy or eighty years of hard work left in me."

In his memory, massive franchises like Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh! and Dragon Ball were still waiting in the wings.

If managed correctly and if he maintained total control over the copyrights, building a multi-billion dollar entertainment empire was a very distinct possibility.

"You’re so sure you’ll live to a hundred," Yukino giggled.

"I have to. Otherwise, if I die and only get to spend forty years with you, I’d be losing out. I definitely need to make it to a hundred."

The sudden, cheesy romantic line caught Yukino off guard. Her face turned red again, and her eyes sparkled with a quiet joy. They sat in silence for a moment before Yukino cleared her throat to change the subject.

"Anyway, back to business. I came here to discuss the promotion for the Code Geass Blu-ray launch in early October."

"Let’s keep it simple," Haruto said. "With the current hype, there’s no point in me doing five fan meetings a week like I used to. The company needs to get used to my absence anyway. No other chairman in the industry is as busy as I am, flying to three different cities in a single day for events."

"Also, tell Kiyozawa Library and Prime Manga that unless it’s absolutely necessary, they should turn down any minor requests for my time. I only have one year of university left. I want to enjoy it so that I don’t look back and realize I spent the whole time buried in manuscripts and storyboards."

Haruto’s schedule was finalized during this casual conversation. Yukino would relay his instructions to the staff and partner companies, ensuring maximum cooperation.

By late September, fans noticed a sudden change. The usually hyper-active Haruto had gone quiet. In the past, every new volume of Hunter x Hunter or SAO was accompanied by a massive promotional tour across major cities.

Now, there was no such news. Even for the highly anticipated Code Geass Blu-ray release, Haruto only provided a short promotional video.

However, as Haruto had predicted, his personal absence didn’t hurt sales.

When a creator reaches his level of fame, his name alone is the most powerful marketing tool. The latest volumes of both series broke industry records in their first week. Furthermore, with the first season of Code Geass finished, millions of anime fans were desperate for high-quality content and turned their attention to Haruto’s other works.

In late September, both titles saw a massive surge in sales.

In just ten days, total sales across all volumes of Sword Art Online topped thirteen million copies. The printing presses were practically smoking as they struggled to keep up with the overwhelming market demand. Hunter x Hunter, which had fewer volumes in print, saw an increase of nearly seven million copies in the same period.

Crucially, the "average sales per volume" for both titles jumped by nearly a million copies.

This was exactly what Haruto had planned for. He had been working with Haru-Yuki, Kiyozawa, and Prime Manga to ensure his fans cross-pollinated between the three mediums. While almost every fan watches anime, not all of them read manga or light novels.

This massive surge was the result of those anime-only fans finally giving in to the brand power of the Haruto name.

By the end of the month, Hunter x Hunter had climbed to the sixth spot in historical manga sales. Sword Art Online reached an average of 26 million copies per volume, making it the second best-selling light novel series in history. It was now only 500,000 copies away from taking the number one spot. In September, the two titles were the first and second best-selling books in the country.

The entire industry was watching in silence. Six months ago, there were still doubters. Now, the only question on everyone’s mind was: "When will Haruto officially claim the throne?"

October arrived, and the first two volumes of the Code Geass Blu-rays were released across Japan.

Simultaneously, the first episode of the second season aired. The premiere of Season Two pulled a 6.45% rating, proving that the three-week hiatus had done nothing to dampen the enthusiasm.

The plot started with a bang. A new character named Rolo appeared, and it was revealed that Lelouch was being used as bait to lure out C.C. His father, the Emperor of Britannia, had used a Geass of his own to rewrite Lelouch’s memories, making him forget he was ever Zero. His real sister, Nunnally, was being held captive while a "fake brother," Rolo, had been inserted into his life to monitor his every move. This high-stakes opening sent the fandom into a frenzy.

While the television ratings were massive, the Blu-ray sales were the real bombshell.

The first volume sold 690,000 copies in its first week, while the second volume sold 680,000. These two releases alone accounted for over 70% of the entire anime home video market for that week, crushing over a hundred other titles combined.

If this momentum continued, the average sales per volume for Code Geass were almost guaranteed to surpass the record held by Puella Magi Madoka Magica.

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