To Asami, it made no sense.
A 19-year-old newcomer had landed a serialized spot in Shroud Line—already enough to make most aspiring mangaka jealous. That alone should've been a career-defining break.
But then Natsume cracked the top ten in its debut issue.
Anohana? What even was that title?
No manga source. No adaptation. Just an original script by Mizushiro. And they were actually producing it?
Asami couldn't believe it. A studio backing a first-time creator with no track record—writing the whole screenplay himself?
What were they thinking?
Worse, the anime was set to air in February—directly up against Three Sisters Next Door.
"If Anohana outperformed her own series, it wouldn't just sting — it would be a public humiliation for her."
The manga community buzzed with disbelief.
Renji, had been silently pleased when someone finally challenged Mizushiro's rising star. But hearing Anohana was already in production? He was floored.
He remembered asking Mizushiro at the Aurora Awards what he was planning next.
"one year from now, you'll understand," Mizushiro had said.
It hadn't even been six months.
The announcement shook the entire scene. Social media exploded. Editors, artists, and fans split into camps—some entertained, others annoyed, and a few hoping things would escalate further.
By that evening, a group of older artists originally from Kansai publicly sided with Asami.
"Young creators these days think they're above tradition."
"Honestly, Asami was being playful. Mizushiro's the one turning it into drama."
The posts fanned the flames, and by morning, even more industry veterans had chimed in. For a moment, Mizushiro's supporters started to fall quiet.
Back at his apartment, Haruki stayed out of it.
He'd made his stance clear once, but beyond that, he didn't see the point in online bickering. It wouldn't help his work. If anything, it would hurt it.
"In this industry," Haruki said, eyes on his draft board, "the only thing that matters is the work itself."
Naoya and Kenta exchanged looks. His assistants had been tracking the growing online debate, but Haruki hadn't checked his phone once that day. Compared to his firm response yesterday, today he was fully absorbed in his work.
"You're really not going to respond at all?" Kenta asked.
"Why waste time trading insults with strangers?" Haruki said calmly. "I'll let the results speak."
The tide shifted again that night.
At 1:03 a.m., Airi Tanaka—one of Echo Shroud Publishing's top names—posted just four characters online:
Then she tagged: @not_Mizushiro
It was simple, but the impact was immediate. Airi's fans, many unaware of the drama until then, jumped into the fray.
And just an hour later, Kazanami Animation released a new visual on their site.
A silver-haired girl stood beside a boy in school uniform, surrounded by warm spring light.
Below the image, bold text:
"Anohana. Airing this February."
And again, the same tag: @not_Mizushiro
The next morning, Asami checked her notifications and froze.
Her feed had been flooded—by accounts tied to Natsume, Rurouni Kenshin, The Garden of Words… People she'd never seen before.
It wasn't just mangaka anymore. Anime fans had entered the fray, and Asami's followers were being overwhelmed.
She hadn't expected Airi Tanaka to take sides—let alone publicly.
Compared to her, her reputation still had a long way to go.
By midday, Asami had disabled comments on her profile altogether.
At home, Airi sighed as she looked at her bookshelf.
"I've gone and stirred things up again. Haruka's going to give me that look…"
She smiled, brushing a finger across an old Rurouni Kenshin volume.
"But I'm just supporting my favorite creator. That's not a crime, right?"
When Haruki saw Airi's post the next morning, he felt a twinge of guilt.
They'd only met a couple of times. She didn't have to put herself out there .
But he was grateful—and determined to repay that kindness someday.
The online storm died down after three days. Asami's silence, and her disabled comments, marked a quiet retreat.
Most agreed the first round had ended in Mizushiro's favor.
But everyone knew the real contest would be in February—when both anime aired.
Only then would it be clear whose work left the bigger mark.
For now, things calmed.
But the rivalry between Haruki and Asami was far from over.
And as the newest issue of Shroud Line hit shelves, one thing was certain—
Mizushiro's name wasn't going away anytime soon.
Shout out to Ethan medabot, samus3333 for joining my p-atreon! your support means everything to me.
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