บท 67: Become a Magical Girl & Reactions (2-in-1)
Although "Magical Girl Madoka" would actually be better as an animated series rather than a comic.
However, due to limited funds, Ren had to release Madoka as a comic first.
Even though "Magical Girl Madoka" carries the name and tells the story of magical girls, at its core, it's an anti-magical girl story.
In the current world, all magical girl stories are bright and uplifting, but the story in "Magical Girl Madoka" is depressing and heavy.
It has a significant impact on the magical girl genre and greatly affects the audience.
Currently, the audience for magical girl stories is mostly teenagers and children. You can imagine how cruel the impact of this extremely brutal magical girl story will be on their young minds.
Previously, Claire and the others were shocked by it. What about the young kids who love magical girl stories, like little Yueyue?
Thinking about this made Ren chuckle. That little rascal had been getting more mischievous lately, so she needed a little scare—no, a surprise.
So, with Jada's promotion, advertisements for Ren's new work were everywhere—games, websites, Weibo.
"The Porter's new masterpiece 'Magical Girl Madoka' will be grandly launched at Liuli Shrine! The Porter: It will overturn the traditional magical girl genre."
Seeing this news, forums, website comment sections, and Weibo were abuzz with excitement, but some people were confused.
"A new work? Dual releases? Lazy author, why not spend more time on 'Cooking Master Boy'? My family relies on those recipes! How am I supposed to cook without them?"
"Magical girl? My youth is over. Why is the Porter making a kid's work? All magical girl stories are the same. What kind of subversion can there be? But since it's the Porter's work, I'll support it."
"Porter is doing two projects at once. Won't he run out of time? Take care of your health. A comic artist recently died suddenly, and their work was left unfinished."
Readers, half-joking and half-serious, responded to Ren's Weibo.
Although they weren't interested in the magical girl genre, they supported their favorite author.
The key point was that the claim of subverting the traditional magical girl story intrigued them.
However, as always, the internet also had its fair share of trolls.
"Magical girl? Subverting the genre? Is it really okay to brag so much?"
"Probably running out of ideas. Trying a magical girl genre seems desperate. The magical girl market is so small. How can you boast like that? Will he turn magical girls into boys? Or housewives?"
The internet was buzzing with discussion, and people were asking questions in private.
Claire's friend, Xena, was one of them.
During a break, Xena leaned over to Claire and whispered, "Claire, you're an assistant at the teacher's house, right? You've seen that magical girl work, haven't you? Does it really subvert the genre?"
"Of course." Claire perked up at the mention. After all, she had contributed to the work. "I can't spoil too much, but I can say that the Porter is truly amazing. The first two chapters might seem boring, but the later plot explodes! It becomes a classic!"
"Wow, that's great..." Hearing Claire's words, Xena slumped over the desk, looking pitiful. "You get to see the latest works. I wish I could see them too... I should have learned to draw. I think I'm full of artistic talent."
She had grown fond of the Porter's comics, especially the exaggerated expressions in Cooking Master Boy.
...
Meanwhile, at Jiarong.
Warren sneered at the news online. "Arrogant, doing two projects at once, and choosing the most difficult magical girl genre."
To him, the Porter choosing to work on two comics simultaneously was asking for trouble.
A person's energy is limited.
Thinking up two stories is a headache, let alone drawing them.
Now the Porter chose to do two comics, and the new one is a magical girl story!
Since the magical girl genre emerged, it hasn't evolved much.
The only notable change has been the improved artwork.
But now? The Porter claims to subvert the genre?
He saw it as a gimmick.
Could this person be better than so many other comic artists? First, he broke through the food manga genre, and now he wants to break through the magical girl genre?
He couldn't wait to see Ren's comic fail.
It wasn't just about Ren's drawing skills being better... Well, that was part of it.
Mainly it was because of Jada's attitude towards Ren!
According to rumors, Jada created a new magazine just for the Porter!
Whether true or not, he didn't care.
After all, when he worked at Picca Comics, Jada never created a magazine just for him!
...
Many industry insiders shared Warren's thoughts.
They believed the Porter was just boasting to promote his new work.
Could one person consistently create groundbreaking comics? Impossible!
That would make other authors look bad.
So, many in the industry waited for the new chapter to be published.
...
Two days quickly passed.
When the new issue was published, many of the Porter's fans rushed to get it.
Looking at the cover, they saw a cute long-eared creature staring at a pink-haired, round-faced girl with red eyes. Beside them were the words—"Make a contract with me, become a magical girl!"
The cover was typical for a magical girl story. In this world, these cute companions had become a staple for magical girl works. For example, whenever Yueyue played magical girl games with Ren, Little White became her companion.
Having a cute companion not only made the magical girl more attractive but also added another adorable character for merchandising, which was very profitable. Thus, most magical girls had various cute companions.
Almost all creatures, extinct or surviving, had been included in the magical girl genre's luxurious package.
-----
Two weeks have passed since the release of Madoka.
"This is what they call subversion? Laughable!"
"Magical Girl Madoka" had already serialized two chapters. Promoted as a work that would subvert the magical girl genre, Ren's comic drew a lot of attention. This guaranteed that it wouldn't go unnoticed.
Many readers who had high expectations for Ren felt let down after reading the first two chapters of "Magical Girl Madoka."
That's it?
This was the thought in many people's minds.
The first chapter mostly covered mundane daily life, with only a small part at the end where the presumed protagonist, Madoka, encounters a magical girl senior at her school and then meets the mysterious creature, Kyubey.
This made many feel it was cliché. They figured that signing a contract with Kyubey would make Madoka a magical girl, and the senior would be a mentor teaching Madoka how to fight.
Oh, and if there was any subversion, it was that Madoka didn't become a magical girl in the second chapter as expected.
In other magical girl stories, the protagonist becoming a magical girl is usually a given, but in this work, another magical girl stops Madoka from becoming one, as if being a magical girl is terrifying.
But that was it. The protagonist's journey to becoming a magical girl was just a bit more complicated.
There was some curiosity about why Homura was hunting down the creature that made people magical girls.
But to them, this plot seemed predictable. Homura would probably be convinced by the protagonist and join her team by the end, right?
It was a classic magical girl trope, so where was the so-called subversion?
High expectations led to greater disappointment.
From the two chapters released, it seemed like a typical magical girl story!
"Maybe the plot hasn't unfolded yet?"
Even some of the Porter's die-hard fans on Weibo started to have doubts.
After the first chapter, they could say the plot hadn't developed, but could they still say that after the second chapter?
They'd never seen a comic where the plot remained undeveloped after two chapters. And there was never a shortage of trolls, leading to a heated argument in the comments under Ren's Weibo.
"Two chapters in and the plot hasn't unfolded? Are you kidding me?"
"Let's not talk about the plot; the art style is problematic too! The everyday scenes look warm and fit the usual magical girl style, but what's with the art style after entering the barrier? It looks dark, oppressive, and twisted. Is this abstract art? If there's any subversion, it's here. Turning a nice, warm art style into this mess? Does the Porter think subverting the art style counts as subverting the genre?"
"This is hilarious. He's doing two projects at once? Even top artists don't do that. A fourth-rate comic artist trying to handle two projects? This is a disaster."
Comments like these flooded Ren's Weibo.
These were the polite ones. Some, hiding behind the anonymity of the internet, went straight to flaming.
Excluding the bandwagon haters who hadn't even read the comic, the others expressed their disappointment in Ren—where was the promised subversion?
Feeling deceived by someone you like is the worst, and no apology can make up for it.
"I think this might be Picca Comics' own promotion! After all, the Porter is just a newcomer. The company probably didn't consult him before using such promotional slogans."
Suddenly, someone commented this, causing some people to start doubting.
Yeah, no matter how good the Porter is, he's still a newcomer. Newcomers have no say. Maybe he didn't know about the promotional slogan, and after Picca Comics promoted it, he couldn't object.
Soon, people started protesting on Picca Comics' official website, and before long, the site crashed.
This led Jada to call Ren, asking him to explain.
"The promotional slogan for 'Magical Girl Madoka' was my idea. It has nothing to do with the company."
Ren took to his Weibo as the Porter to communicate with his fans.
"Teacher, teacher, is that you? Blink if you're being held hostage by the company."
"Teacher, did the company force you to post this? Or is this account not really you?"
These fans clearly didn't believe him.
Ren seriously replied, "Thank you all for your concern, but it was indeed my idea, and I asked the company to post it. 'Magical Girl Madoka' is truly a work that subverts the original genre. This is beyond doubt!"
He emphasized this point firmly.
However, this online frenzy seemed to be orchestrated rather than spontaneous.
The online furor didn't die down; it only intensified.
...
As Ren's daughter, Yueyue loved magical girls. She even dreamt of becoming a magical girl at night, fighting monster daddies.
These monsters were very nasty, always stealing kids' snacks!
But as her dad's little sweetheart, even though she often smashed her dad in her dreams, she knew her dad had drawn a magical girl comic.
Unfortunately, her stingy dad wouldn't let her see it directly, insisting she wait until it was published!
"Yueyue, your dad's comic isn't as good as the Lilith we read!"
At school, a group of little girls started chattering.
Yueyue, with her big mouth, had spread the news about her dad drawing a magical girl comic all over the class.
Her friends had been so envious!
"Who says that! Don't you think the round-faced girl is cute? And I really like Kyubey!" Yueyue immediately defended her dad's work, upset at the criticism.
She could hit her dad in her dreams, but she wouldn't let others badmouth him!
"Blah, it's true! I even saw your dad say it was a subversive magical girl story!" A ponytailed girl stuck out her tongue. "I asked my mom, and she said subversion means different, but I don't see how your dad's comic is any different from what we usually read!"
"Dad said it'll be different soon!" Yueyue's cheeks puffed up.
At that moment, a little girl snuck over. "Hey, do you want to see the latest comic~~ Ta-da~~"
Saying this, the little girl pulled out a few comics from under her clothes. "I have your dad's comic here too, Yueyue~~"
"Huh? Lily, where did you get those? It's only out today!"
"Hehe, special channels." Lily, the little imp, smirked. "Anyway, do you want to see it or not? If you do, you have to give me your meatballs at lunch!"
"I want to see! Give me my dad's comic!" Yueyue immediately said.
She remembered clearly that her dad told the ladies there would be exciting parts today!
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