Tokyo: Earth Online Manga Artist.

After all the statistical work was completed, the editors held a routine meeting in the conference room.

The meeting room was small, with a long table in the middle, around which the editors sat in a circle.

The wall is covered with a ranking chart of all the serialized works in this issue, and the whiteboard still has notes written during the previous meeting.

Editor-in-Chief Masahiko Ibaraki stood in front of the whiteboard, holding a statistical table in his hand, and adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses.

"Is everyone here?"

He glanced around at the editors present and asked.

No one spoke; they all nodded.

"Let's begin with this week's popularity rankings."

Ibaraki Masahiko glanced down at the statistics sheet in his hand, cleared his throat, and said, "Next, I will announce this issue's reader popularity ranking."

"Number one... One Piece."

Oda's editor, sitting by the window, nodded without much change in expression. Someone next to him whispered, "First place again."

This is of course not surprising; everyone is already used to it.

Conversely, it would be quite surprising if One Piece were to fall from its number one position one day, even if the work that defeated it came later...

"Second place, Naruto."

Second, without exception, it remains one of the three major shonen manga, and is the perennial runner-up most likely to dethrone One Piece from its position as the most popular manga.

"Third place, Bleach."

It was another result that wasn't surprising.

The order of the top three works remained unchanged from the previous period. These three works seemed to be welded to the podium, occasionally switching places but never falling off.

Ibaraki Masahiko continued reading.

Fourth place: Gintama.

……

"Sixth place, 'Katekyo Hitman Reborn!'"

……

He read them very quickly, pausing for only a second or two between each name.

Some of the editors whose work was read aloud were taking notes, some were looking up at the whiteboard, and some were leaning back in their chairs with little reaction.

These rankings are largely unchanged from the previous period and are all within expectations.

"Eighth place, The Prince of Tennis."

"Ninth place, Claymore."

……

"Eleventh place, 'Neuro the Brain Eater'."

"12th place, 'The Study of Heroes'."

"Thirteenth place..."

Ibaraki Masahiko didn't pause at all, but Sakurai Masaya suddenly had a premonition, and even felt that the whole world had slowed down because of it.

"...Attack on Titan."

When Masaya Sakurai heard this name, half of the weight in his heart was lifted.

He nodded slightly and wrote the number "13" in the notebook in front of him.

Lin Shiping, who was standing next to him, turned his head and glanced at him. He then smiled and mouthed, "Not bad."

Several editors in the conference room also turned to look at Masaya Sakurai.

For a new author and a new serialization to rank thirteenth in its first chapter is indeed a pretty good result in the cutthroat world of Weekly Shonen Jump.

After all, there are countless new comic artists who drop to the 18th or 19th place or even the bottom in their very first chapter.

For example, the next few...

Ibaraki Masahiko didn't pause for long and continued reading.

The following works are mostly at the bottom and at risk of being canceled.

Those ranked 15th or lower are fine, but those ranked 15th and below...

He read out names from sixteenth to twenty-first, and with each name he read, the corresponding editor's expression turned sour.

"Number twenty-first... *The Eye of Catoblepas*."

After reading it aloud, Ibaraki Masahiko placed the statistics table on the table, glanced around the conference room, and finally fixed his gaze on an editor named Katayama Hide.

"Have a good talk with the manga artist in charge and adjust the direction of the plot as soon as possible."

Ibaraki Masahiko looked at him calmly and said, "If there's no improvement in the next three weeks, you should know the process."

Katayama Hide nodded immediately, without any expression, and simply said, "Understood."

"Kataribes of the Eye" and "Belmonde Le Visiter" (ranked 20th) are both new manga series that started serialization in July, just like "Attack on Titan".

However, their rankings are clearly not as high as those of Attack on Titan, which is also a new work.

The meeting room was silent for a few seconds.

Although it's cruel, that's the rule of Weekly Shonen Jump and the reason it has stood the test of time.

The ranking in the reader survey determines everything; if you consistently rank at the bottom, you'll be cut in half—there's no room for leniency.

Every cartoonist who serializes in this magazine knows this, and every editor knows this too.

No one will offer any words of comfort at this time, because everyone has been through it too many times.

"Alright, meeting adjourned."

Ibaraki Masahiko clapped his hands and said, "Everyone, go back and check the rankings with your teachers. Encourage those who deserve it and remind those who need a reminder."

"yes!"

The crowd responded.

The editors stood up one after another, the chair legs scraping against the floor.

Some people picked up their cups to get water, some walked straight out, and some whispered something to their colleagues.

Masaya Sakurai closed his notebook, stood up, walked out of the meeting room, and returned to his seat.

He put the notebook on the table, picked up the phone, found Eri Aragaki's number in his contacts, and dialed it.

This is also an unwritten rule that new cartoonists must be informed of their ranking regardless of their performance.

Not to mention that Eri Aragaki's work actually ranked quite well in popularity this time, which is quite unexpected.

The phone rang a few times before being answered.

"Feed".

Eri Aragaki's voice came through the receiver, with video game sound effects in the background, like a character unleashing a skill.

"Ms. Aragaki, this is Sakurai."

Masaya Sakurai cleared his throat and said seriously, "The popularity poll results for the first episode are in, I'll share them with you."

Eri Aragaki was actually curled up on the sofa in the living room, playing a game on her handheld console.

The royalties she earned during this period were enough to allow her to splurge a little.

After receiving the Tezuka Award prize money, along with her convenience store salary and weekly royalties from the start of Attack on Titan serialization, she had a lot more money to spare.

She bought a brand new handheld console, bought a batch of comics and anime DVDs that she had always wanted, and even occasionally went out shopping and eating with Ayane Takeda and Akane Natsume.

It's fair to say that she's been living a much more comfortable life lately.

Erina went to work at the bookstore today, so she's home alone.

The air conditioner was on, and on the coffee table sat a half-empty bottle of barley tea and an opened bag of rice crackers. She had placed a sofa cushion behind her back and was slumped in a comfortable position.

Upon hearing Masaya Sakurai's words, she pressed the pause button and said, "Yes, you said..."

"Thirteenth place."

Masaya Sakurai's voice came through the receiver, saying, "Ranked thirteenth out of twenty-one works, this is a very good result for the first chapter of a new series by a new author."

Eri Aragaki merely expressed her happiness slightly, smiling before saying, "Okay, thank you, Mr. Sakurai."

But in reality, she felt somewhat calm, even a little disappointed.