Tokyo: Earth Online Manga Artist.

Chapter 104 is on the list!

12 month 4 day.

2007 is almost over; in about 27 days, we'll be welcoming the new year.

Year-end promotional flags have been hung up on the streets, convenience stores are displaying New Year's shimenawa decorations, and the TVs are repeatedly playing previews for the Kohaku Uta Gassen (Red and White Song Battle).

The weather is nice today, but there doesn't seem to be anything special about it.

The sky was unusually clear for the first time in a while; the sunlight was a bit dazzling on the road, and the wind was still cold on my face.

Actually, today is a bit special because a special magazine will be available for sale on the shelves of major bookstores.

"This comic is amazing! 2008".

This is an annual magazine that has been published since last year. It includes 100 comics selected by industry professionals, including editors, well-known comic artists, bookstore staff, and reader representatives.

The comics on this list are selected without regard to real-world popularity, focusing only on the more essential aspects of comics to identify truly outstanding ones.

The rankings are not based on sales figures or reader votes, but rather on the choices made by people who actually work in the industry.

For example, Naruto, Bleach and One Piece, which are incredibly popular in real life, only ranked between 10th and 20th in last year's "This Manga is Amazing! 2007", and did not become the first or second work.

Conversely, Death Note came in second place last year. At that time, the work had not yet been adapted into an anime. Although the sales of the collected volumes were high, they were not on the same level as Naruto, Bleach, and One Piece. However, people in the industry recognized its intellectual battles and storyboarding.

Because of this, "This Manga is Amazing!" has actually faced a lot of criticism. Some people feel that it is too professional and belittles the three major shonen manga too much. Others feel that it is just self-entertainment within the industry, and what is so interesting about a group of editors voting behind closed doors?

However, this list is still quite valuable overall. The works on the list are not so niche that they have no popularity. Even the most niche works are the mainstays and popular works of their respective magazines.

The huge success of the Death Note anime can be seen as proof that The Manga Is Amazing! is not just something the industry is having for fun; they genuinely have the ability to predict which works have the potential to become hits.

Furthermore, Eri Aragaki's previous work, "Attack on Titan," topped the 2011 "This Manga is Amazing!" ranking before its anime adaptation, which also proves the value of this list.

However, at this time, it seems that most comic book fans are not very interested, and only a few people will specifically buy it to read.

Most readers are more concerned with the weekly JUMP serialization and the release dates of the collected volumes; they might as well just flip through a magazine full of rankings and reviews.

Only professional editors like Masaya Sakurai and manga artists would pay attention, and the Taiwanese society even sent a "sample" to those who participated in the vote.

Shueisha, needless to say, had almost everyone involved in the voting, except for the new editors, with each editor having six votes to allocate.

Early that morning, the sample of Takarajimasha's 2019 issue of "This Manga Is Amazing!" magazine was delivered to Shueisha.

"Sakurai, this is this year's issue of 'This Manga is Amazing!' sent by Takarajimasha. Here you go."

Lin Shiping went up and got his copy and Sakurai Masaya's copy. He walked over from the front desk, holding two magazines in his hands, and handed one of them to Sakurai Masaya.

"Okay, thank you, Shiping."

As soon as Masaya Sakurai arrived at his workstation, he put down his briefcase and took the magazine, placing it on the table.

He pulled out a chair, sat down, and picked up a magazine to start flipping through it.

At this moment, many people couldn't wait to open the magazine, and they were all somewhat curious.

Last year, the results of this list sparked a lot of discussion in the editorial department, with everyone wanting to know where their votes would rank.

Everyone started discussing it.

"I think the first one should be '81diver'."

"Judging from last year, everyone prefers works that are intellectually stimulating and have good drawing skills, and even more niche works."

"We're at a disadvantage here, since Death Note has already ended and is no longer within the scope of the selection."

"Then we can only be optimistic about 81diver."

"That's true!"

Everyone had already seen the information about the first comic book on the first page.

The left-hand page features a double-page color illustration and a large black-and-white image, with close-ups of the chessboard and characters dominating the main layout. The title is "81diver".

This is a shogi-themed manga serialized in Weekly Young Jump.

Because shogi is quite popular in Japan, and the manga's plot combines competition with a touch of absurdity and humor.

The "duel" scenes in particular sparked heated discussions, making it a fairly popular comic this year.

Moreover, the author, Shibata Yushin, is also a very good artist. He is best known for drawing physique-based fighting manga, and his works include the famous fighting manga for girls, "Airmaster".

Given that last year's votes mostly went to comics featuring intellectual battles and niche genres, it's worth noting that...

Therefore, everyone is guessing that it will compete with Kodansha's "Sengoku Onsen," which also ranked very high last year and has generated a lot of discussion this year, for the number one spot.

It's not entirely speculation, after all, one of the main forces behind the vote is industry editors, and Shueisha's editors also ranked first...

The second vote was given to these two comics without any bias.

Sakurai Masashi cast his vote for "81diver" because he really likes shogi, and "81diver" is indeed very well-made and has a great storyline.

The intellectual game of shogi blends perfectly with the passion and excitement of shonen manga.

In addition to including color pages and iconic scenes from the comic in the list, "This Comic Is Amazing!" also includes a series of information.

For example, it will include information such as which magazine it was published in, who the author is, the points it received, as well as an overall rating, short comments from some well-known judges, and various data about the comic.

In the overall review of "81diver", Takarajimasha also gave it a very high rating.

[A story interwoven with shogi games and gambling contests, this is truly a pinnacle of the new generation of youth comics!]

"It's 81diver!"

Lin Shiping, who was standing to the side, seemed a little surprised. He spread his magazine on the table, flipped to the same page, and said in astonishment.

"This isn't surprising, is it? I saw quite a few people voted for '81diver'."

Masaya Sakurai replied immediately, his tone very calm, "I also voted for '81diver'. Before the vote, I thought it had a high probability of winning first place."

"7

Aren't you going to vote for the Giants?

Lin Shiping immediately asked curiously.

"I cast my vote, but it was the second-place vote."

Masaya Sakurai said calmly, flipping through the rankings at the back of the magazine, "Because Attack on Titan can only be second place for now, it's not quite there yet."

"A work with only twenty chapters, its world-building has just begun, and the main characters' arcs are less than halfway complete. Compared to works that have been serialized for several years, its level of completion is at a disadvantage."

"I personally think that Riko-sensei's Attack on Titan is very good, so I voted for first place."

Lin Shiping said, "Pear Teacher's drawing skills are too good, and the story of the giants is not vulgar at all. The sense of despair and the passion of mankind fighting back in the face of adversity are feelings that other works cannot give me."

However, it seems—no one thinks the Titans will make the list; it looks like no one voted for them.

"Let's see."

Masaya Sakurai remained calm as he flipped through the magazine pages.

At this point, everyone quickly flipped through the approximate rankings.

The second place goes to Kodansha's "Sengoku Genshin Impact," another well-known intellectual battle manga this year. Furuta Oribe's unique aesthetic sense and obsession with the tea ceremony are depicted vividly.

Next up are Yotsuba no Mikoto, Shiroi Shoujo, and Ace of Diamond, all of which are relatively niche popular manga works, leaning towards literary and youth-oriented themes, with relatively few action and competitive genres.

Moreover, none of them are works from the JUMP series; they come from various different publishers and magazines.

As everyone watched, they chatted amongst themselves. Some read out the names of the works they had voted for, some were surprised that a certain work ranked higher than expected, and some felt sorry for the top ten works chosen by a certain tribe.

I flipped through the top twenty, but I still didn't see the name "Attack on Titan".

Lin Shiping flipped through the pages faster and faster, quietly counting the ranking numbers.

Until they were almost at the thirtieth place, someone suddenly exclaimed "Hey!"

"Huh, number 27—Attack on Titan?"

One editor exclaimed incredulously, "Attack on Titan is on the list!"

Everyone is naturally familiar with Attack on Titan, after all, it is a manga serialized in their flagship magazine, Weekly Shonen Jump, and its popularity has consistently ranked in the top ten since October.

That name appears at the very end of the top ten every week, as consistently as if it were welded there.

It would be a lie to say that no one pays attention to a work by a new author that can soar into the top ten.

The fact that a newly launched serialization could surpass a bunch of established works in popularity rankings has led editors to privately discuss the potential of this comic.

But Attack on Titan has only been serialized for a short time.

It only started serialization at the end of July this year, and the current storyline is only up to chapter 20.

A comic book's 20 chapters usually don't even finish the first arc, and the depth of the characters and the full picture of the world haven't been fully developed yet.

In terms of completeness, it's simply not enough.

A comic with only twenty chapters has virtually no chance of winning against comics that have been serialized for several years.

With dozens or even hundreds of chapters already built up, their world-building is already quite extensive, and the emotional arcs of their characters have been developed multiple times. It's hard for judges to ignore this difference in scale when voting.

However, many manga that have been serialized for several years failed to make it into the top 30, but Attack on Titan did.

Not only did it make it, it ranked twenty-seventh.

27th place —

Lin Shiping saw this too and excitedly said, "Ya-yes, the Giants are really on the list!"

It has 25 points, and the rating is not bad either.

Humanity was imprisoned within triple walls, facing the threat of their natural enemy, the giants.

With its superb drawing skills and overwhelming sense of despair and tension, this work constructs a dark epic of youth rarely seen in the 21st century.

With a grand world view and dense foreshadowing, the combat depiction of the 3D Maneuver Gear is extremely impactful. Although there are only 20 episodes so far, it is an undisputed new monster, and its future development is highly anticipated.

Listen to that! The development is attracting a lot of attention; that's setting very high expectations!

"Is it number 27?"

Sakurai Miyabi looked at the color page of "Attack on Titan" and the famous scene "On that day, humanity finally remembered the fear of being dominated by Titans." The image of the Colossal Titan peeking out from above the city wall was enlarged and displayed separately on the list page.

He immediately smiled, the curve of his lips much wider than usual, and then reached out and folded a corner of that page.

On the other side, Koike Hitoshi's expression was only slightly stiff as he watched "Attack on Titan" climb the charts.