Time flies; a week has passed.
After a week of preparation, basically all of Japan, readers who love to buy the magazine Shroud Line on weekdays, under the publicity of Echo Shroud Publishing, also know that the new issue of Shroud Line will be released three weeks later. The works will be added to shroud line.
The Thousand Stars Secret Realm by Coffee Bean.
Star Jumper Mouse by Ren Hoshino.
Natsume's Book of Friends by Mizushiro.
After all, it is the flagship periodical of Echo Shroud Publishing. With new works serialized, the publicity is considerable.
In all major provincial capitals and key cities across Japan, posters have been hung up in all relevant bookstores two weeks in advance!
In the bookstore, there are three posters placed where Shroud Line is displayed, each featuring one of the new works.
The first shows a young man with a thunder and lightning epee in his hand, wounded all over.
This is the protagonist of Ren Hoshino's work.
The second features a man in a strange and peculiar setting, his body upside down. Four characters are written on the poster... The Thousand Star Secret Realm.
On the third poster, a teenage boy in a white shirt gazes slightly upward, his lips pressed gently against a folded slip of paper. His hands are clasped together, as if whispering a breath into it. Black, ink-like wisps drift upward from the paper—strange and ethereal. From the edge of the image, a distinctly non-human hand—or more accurately, a claw—reaches toward the boy. The drifting strokes curve toward it, as if drawn by an invisible thread.
In the upper-left corner, four graceful brushstroke characters are written:
Natsume's Book of Friends.
And if you look closely, there's a short line of text beneath the poster:
"From Mizushiro, winner of this year's Aurora Manga Award for Rurouni Kenshin: Remembrance—a story of the quiet bond between humans and spirits."
The simple poster covers all the key elements of the work.
At a bookstore in Tokyo, a girl wearing sunglasses stands in front of the posters, particularly captivated by Natsume's Book of Friends.
"What kind of new work is this?"
"Do we have to wait two weeks?"
The girl takes a picture of the promotional poster for Natsume's Book of Friends and keeps it.
The girl is Airi. Although she is a well-known mangaka in Echo Shroud Publishing, Haruka is unwilling to reveal any information about Natsume's Book of Friends to her, no matter what she asks.
After learning that a poster for this work was hung up in a bookstore in Tokyo today, Airi intentionally left her home, running to the bookstore to gather information from the poster.
Spirits and people...
And it doesn't seem to be a battle manga.
Again, judging by the title Natsume's Book of Friends, Airi wondered what kind of work this could be.
In her experience, these elements either belonged to combat manga or works featuring romance with a bit of fighting. She couldn't think of how this could be portrayed in a different genre.
"Ah! I really hope Mr. Mizushiro creates something like that again. Don't let Rurouni Kenshin: Remembrance be your best work!"
In addition to Tokyo, across all of Japan these days, although only a promotional poster has been released, fans of Shroud Line around the country have become active.
"Mizushiro-sensei has a new series? I'm in, no questions asked."
"I've been re-reading Remembrance nonstop on MangaSteam… Of course I'm picking this up. It's running in Shroud Line, too—I can just grab the latest issue from the bookstore downstairs."
"I still wanted more of Kenshin's story, but… who knows, maybe Natsume will be one of those once-in-a-lifetime series."
"Nah, the guy above me's dreaming."
"Either way, who's seriously saying Natsume's Book of Friends won't live up to Remembrance? Mizushiro's talent speaks for itself."
The Japanese manga industry has numerous publishing house, large and small, and a large population of manga enthusiasts.
Every year, many manga works are produced throughout Japan, and based on this situation, many companies have opened programs to comment on various manga works.
Among similar programs focusing on the Tokyo manga market, Daily Ember is undoubtedly one of the best.
Of course, this is not to say that the review quality of the show is the best, but the host of the show… Daigo Shibata's review style...
This man is considered a wonderful personality in the hosting world. He speaks sternly and is merciless. For promising works, he'll praise them endlessly. For works he doesn't like, he's harsh and dismissive.
Daigo's hosting style still has its loyal followers.
News of Natsume spread fast online, and many of Mizushiro's fans clicked over to Daily Ember, a talk show site, out of curiosity.
The moment they tuned in, Daigo was already in full swing.
"Look, I'll be blunt—there's a high chance Mizushiro's new series won't make it past the first season. Everyone knows Echo Shroud is one of the toughest publishers among the Seven Major Publishers. They do quarterly reviews of everything. If something doesn't perform, it's out. Simple as that."
"Really?" the co-host, Sayaka, raised a brow. "But Mizushiro's track record is impressive. He debuted just last year and already won the Aurora Manga Awards. His new series is running in Shroud Line, no less…"
Sayaka clearly wasn't convinced, but she let Daigo continue.
"Oh come on, awards don't guarantee staying power," Daigo said with a smirk.
"Rurouni Kenshin: Remembrance was tight—well-paced, strong character arcs, action mixed with emotional weight. That's what people signed up for."
"But Natsume's Book of Friends? All we have so far is vague talk about spirits and slice-of-life episodes. Look at this poster—"
The background changed to the promotional image.
"There's barely anything to go on. Even the title's cryptic. It gives off this mellow, introspective vibe—like it's going to be all slow burns and soft feelings."
"Honestly, it feels like Mizushiro's just retreating into something personal. Skipping out on something as promising as Kenshin to work on this? It's… strange."
"I mean, this is Tokyo. The industry doesn't coddle sentimentality. The market's harsh. You don't get a free pass just because your last series was a hit."
He pointed at the paper cup on the table with mock solemnity.
"If this actually becomes a hit, I'll drink this tea—right here, on the next episode."
He chuckled, clearly enjoying himself, though his tone carried more smug certainty than malice.
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