Capítulo 110: Who Is This?
The manga editors all gathered around, clearly interested in the manuscript. This wasn't surprising.
Although Weekly Shonen Jump still remained the pinnacle of the shonen manga industry, with several major series recently concluded, Shueisha had been feeling the pressure from industry competition.
In the short term, their strategy had often been to rely on these pillar series by having their creators occasionally "reheat the leftovers"—producing sequels, spin-offs, or side stories. Even if these lacked fresh ideas, nostalgia and the creator's reputation could still sell.
This kind of strategy was common across various industries—whether it was manga, light novels, anime, or even games. Tapping into nostalgia and recycling past successes worked, so long as it was done well enough.
However, as editors knew all too well, this approach could only go so far. If done poorly, it risked squandering the goodwill and reputation built up by these legacy works, ultimately leading to diminishing returns.
Given the current competitive landscape in the manga industry, the most sustainable solution was to cultivate new talent—manga artists who could rise to become the new pillars of the magazine.
As the industry worked to maintain its veteran creators, the long-term solution was to nurture new blood, injecting fresh talent into both Shueisha and Weekly Shonen Jump.
That's why, whenever an editor came across a promising submission, it felt like they had struck gold.
While submissions poured in daily, the quality was often wildly inconsistent. Many weren't even close to being publishable, let alone worthy of serializing.
Finding just one talented, potentially serializable artist in a two-week period was considered a success. Discovering five such artists in a month would have the entire editorial department celebrating.
"This Chainsaw Man is really good."
"The quality of the first chapter is top-notch. Every twist in the story keeps you on your toes, and the climax is just exhilarating."
"I think Chainsaw Man has both the strength and potential. How about we reach out to this manga artist and discuss signing them? We could start serializing it in the magazine and gauge early results and readership."
"I agree. If it can maintain the level of quality we saw in the first chapter, there's no doubt we'll be able to publish it as a standalone volume."
"Right. What's the author's name again? Did they leave contact information with the submission?"
"The manga artist's pen name is Izumi Ki, and yes, they did include their contact details. It's almost lunchtime, though, so I was thinking of waiting until the afternoon to reach out—didn't want to disturb them," Asuka Chizuru replied.
There was a slight pause among the editors.
"Wait, what? The artist behind Chainsaw Man is using the pen name 'Izumi Ki'?"
Urita, the editor who had earlier joked about the name, was visibly taken aback.
He had assumed it was a newbie trying to ride on the fame of a well-known name for attention.
And who could blame him? In the light novel world, Izumi Ki was already a well-known figure. Their upcoming light novel series, Sword Art Online, hadn't even been released yet, but it had already amassed a massive following of millions.
Writing a novel and drawing a manga both required significant amounts of time. It seemed unlikely that someone like Izumi Ki, a rising star in the light novel world, would also have time to create a full-blown manga.
"Could it be that Izumi Ki is a double threat—someone who can write novels and draw manga?"
"I don't know how long it takes to write a novel, but drawing manga is definitely time-consuming. Since we publish on a weekly schedule, there are constant deadlines. Can Itsuki really keep up with that pace?"
"Maybe it's just a coincidence, and the pen name is a playful nod. Let's not overthink it," Aoyama Matsu, the twin-tailed female editor, suggested while browsing through the manuscript.
As the discussion about whether this Izumi Ki was the same person who had written Sword Art Online unfolded, Rena Tatsuya chuckled and chimed in, "Well, we'll find out soon enough when we meet them, won't we?"
She gently took the Chainsaw Man manuscript from Aoyama Matsu and handed it back to Asuka Chizuru.
"Since Chizuru-san was the one who discovered the submission first, she should be the editor in charge, right? That's the department rule."
With Rena's words, any editors who had been eyeing the opportunity relented. Though they felt a twinge of regret, they also congratulated Asuka.
"Fair enough, let's stick to tradition."
"Honestly, I've always liked these darker shonen series. I was hoping to be in charge of Chainsaw Man, but I'll let it go."
"Good luck, Chizuru-san!"
"Oh, and Chizuru-san, don't forget to ask the creator if they're the same Izumi Ki who wrote Sword Art Online!"
"If they are, maybe when the Sword Art Online light novels come out, we'll be able to get signed copies!"
"Hell yeah!"
After cheering on Asuka for a bit, the editors began dispersing, many heading off to grab lunch.
Should they pick up a quick meal from the convenience store, or head to a nearby restaurant? For office workers, this was the daily lunchtime dilemma.
As the editors departed, Asuka Chizuru was left with a lingering sense of confusion.
Who exactly is this Izumi Ki?
"Rena!" Asuka called out to Rena Tatsuya just as she was about to leave. "I've got a question. Do you have a moment?"
Rena turned back and smiled thoughtfully. "I was feeling lazy today anyway, so I planned to order burgers for delivery. Want me to get one for you too?"
"That'd be great."
After placing their orders, Rena settled into the seat across from Asuka.
"So, what did you want to ask?" Rena asked, sipping her hot cocoa.
"I wanted to know—does this pen name, Izumi Ki, have any special significance?"
Rena paused for a moment, then realized that Asuka probably hadn't been following the light novel scene.
Given how huge Izumi Ki's name had become in the light novel community, it was easy to forget that not everyone knew who they were.
Asuka was a hardcore manga fan and rarely paid attention to light novels, so it made sense she wouldn't recognize the name.
"I'll give you the quick version," Rena said, pulling out her phone to show Asuka some background information on Izumi Ki.
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