"..."
Reading through the comments, Akifumi Mugiho couldn't help but chuckle. "This is the first time I've received this much criticism."
"Did I step on someone's toes?"
Well, maybe that was an exaggeration.
Most likely, people just couldn't accept that an animated script could achieve such outstanding results.
Just like the comments suggested, in less than a day, CLANNAD had surged into the top 100!
If Akifumi weren't aware of his own influence and the situation firsthand, even he might suspect some kind of vote manipulation.
Beyond that, there was the status of anime in Japan.
Even though it was one of the country's three major cultural industries, its core audience was primarily the younger generations.
As a result, just like how adult illustrators were at the bottom of the manga hierarchy, anime was considered inferior to TV dramas and films.
Status was never dictated by logic, after all.
And then there were the usual internet trolls or perhaps even rival authors deliberately stirring trouble.
Having seen plenty of industry drama by now, Akifumi remained calmutterly unfazed, even slightly amused.
Not convinced? Don't like it? Think there's a problem?!
Then I'll make sure to advance.
Watching me qualify will probably make these haters explode in rage!
Just imagining it was entertaining.
Akifumi had never been the type to wallow in self-doubt just because of a few anonymous insults.
Besides these negative voices, the rest of the comment section consisted of fans defending him and urging him to release a printed edition.
Otosuna Mihari wouldn't waste his time on meaningless arguments with internet trolls.
"So, it's about the physical edition now?"
Shifting his focus, Akifumi dialed Otosuna Mihari's number.
"Editor Otosuna, I've finished reading through everything."
Mihari laughed. "I knew it! With your personality, something like this wouldn't faze you at all."
"Who do these people think they are?"
Akifumi chuckled. "Why would I let some nameless strangers affect me with just a few words?"
"If only all our authors had that mindset."
Mihari sighed, then seriously added, "Akifumi-sensei, you can just ignore the haters.
"They were never interested in your work's quality in the first place."
"Speaking of which, how's CLANNAD coming along?"
"If I said I only had an outline?"
Mihari paused. "That doesn't sound like the Akifumi-sensei I know."
"You wouldn't bring out a script unless you already had at least one volume's worth of material."
When did this guy get to know me so well?
Akifumi scratched his nose and admitted, "Busted.
"I wouldn't say I have a ton written, but I do have enough for one or two volumes."
"I knew it!"
Mihari grinned. "Then I won't hold back!"
Akifumi sighed. "Isn't it risky to publish a physical edition before serialization?"
Mihari waved it off. "Didn't Akame ga Kill! prove otherwise?"
"Besides, just look at the comments on your SNS accountyour fans are eager to buy it."
"Only an idiot wouldn't seize this momentum!"
"Alright, alright. If it flops, I'm blaming you."
"Come on, don't jinx it."
After hanging up, Akifumi laughed helplessly.
Now, he just had to wait for Mihari to pick up the first volume's manuscript.
The story competition didn't have strict rules against selling scripts beforehand.
Many publishers scouted promising scripts and approached the authors to discuss potential deals.
There were also cases where authors entered the competition despite already having contracts with companies, as long as the work hadn't been published yet.
Akifumi's approach was completely within the rules.
"Once I confirm everything's in order, we should be able to release it in July."
"Of course, given your skills, I doubt there'll be any issues."
"When did Mihari become so superstitious?"
"Because Warrior of Love and Hope is a brand that nothing can replace!"
Time flew by.
June was coming to an end.
Akifumi's SNS account remained lively, with countless new comments appearing every day.
Looking at them, one might think the reception was overwhelmingly negative.
Yet, the competition results painted a different picturebrilliant as ever!
In just ten days, CLANNAD had surged into the top 10!
Had it been released earlier, it might have already taken the number one spot.
As for how many new fans CLANNAD had brought Akifumi, there were no concrete numbers yet.
"CLANNAD and Akame ga Kill! are both launching on July 13th?"
"Got it, thanks for your help, Editor Mihari."
After hanging up, Akifumi smiled and murmured to himself,
"What a perfectly timed release."
It just so happened to be the day after summer vacation begancoinciding with the announcement of the competition's top 128 rankings.
"They must really believe in me."
Even within the top 128, rankings mattered.
If CLANNAD didn't make the cut, the haters would surely celebrate like it was New Year's Eve.
Even if it qualified but ranked too low, they'd claim the votes were manipulated and scoff, "That's it?"
The only way to shut them up was to achieve a top ranking!
However...
"As long as the judges have eyes, CLANNAD shouldn't place too low."
While it might not take first place due to industry biases, a top-three finish seemed realistic.
After reading the other top-rated scripts, Akifumi had only one thought:
When it comes to the theme of 'life,' Not a single one could measure up compare to Clannad!
[Note]
Today, I could only upload one chapter today. I got a bit of writer's block and feel a little sleepy now. I'm sorry, but I need some sleep...
[220] Idealistic Story
It wasn't that the other works were bad.
After all, if they had gained so many fans, how could they possibly be lacking?
When Akifumi said that "not a single one could measure up," what he truly meant was that while these were good stories, calling them representations of "life" felt somewhat forced.
Some lives are short, others are long.
A short life isn't necessarily unremarkable, and a long one isn't always extraordinary.
"Life" is a vast and abstract concept.
It can be interpreted from countless angles, and every story could, in some way, claim to be about life.
Was there "life" in Puella Magi Madoka Magica?
Undoubtedly.
Madoka's choice, Homura's endless cycles, Mami's transformation from fear to courage, Sayaka's self-destructive devotion to love, Kyoko's sacrifices for familyall of these reflect facets of life.
What about Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day?
Absolutely.
Menma's childhood tragedy was a kind of life.
Jinta's self-imposed isolation and eventual redemption was another. Each character's choices reflected different shades of existence.
And Your Lie in April?
Even more so.
Struggles, setbacks, perseverance, fleeting moments of hope, the loss of loved ones, the weight of regretthese are life itself.
Yet, despite their brilliance, only one story had ever been described as CLANNAD is life.
Why?
If we reflect on our own lives, they are rarely filled with so many kindhearted people, nor do we live in peaceful little towns untouched by chaos.
More importantly, our lives don't have a reset button.
There are no second chances. Once someone is gone, they return to dust and leave only an empty space behind.
So why, then, is this seemingly "idealistic" story called life?
What gives CLANNAD the right to be labeled as such?
The truth is, no single story can truly encapsulate what life is.
Even the longest mangawhether it spans 10, 20, or 30 yearsmust one day reach its conclusion.
And once it ends, a sequel can always follow.
But life doesn't work that way.
For some, life is over in a single day. For others, it stretches across decades or even a century.
Yet once it reaches its conclusion, there are no sequelsonly finality.
It is precisely because reality is so merciless that we cling to fairy tales.
Fairy tales where angels spread their wings to protect us.
Fairy tales where no matter how cruel the world is, the prince and princess will always find their happily ever after.
CLANNAD is a fairy tale as wellthough not quite like the others.
It begins with uncertainty, confusion, and the turbulence of youth, slowly leading the protagonist toward maturity and self-discovery. This is how most fairy tales unfold.
But where CLANNAD surpasses other fairy tales is in the question it dares to ask:
What happens after the "happily ever after"?
This is what makes it groundbreaking.
Beneath its seemingly whimsical exterior lies a story that is painfully real, one that echoes our own lives in ways we never expect.
That's why CLANNAD is not life.
Rather, it is a fairy tale that resembles lifeone wrapped in both the warmth of human connection and the mysteries of fate.
People gravitate toward uplifting stories, but there are countless feel-good narratives out there.
And no matter how they are told, if they merely celebrate the same hopeful ideals, they risk becoming predictable and clich.
Much like how the first pioneers leave us in awe, but those who follow without innovation are seen as imitators.
Without After Story, CLANNAD would have been just another well-crafted but ultimately forgettable tale.
It was After Story that elevated it to greatness.
Any story that attempts to balance reality with idealism inevitably faces a difficult choice:
Should it remain true to life, or should it offer solace in fantasy?
By choosing one, it must inevitably forgo the other.
But CLANNAD does something rareit refuses to choose.
Instead, it presents both.
It first offers a harsh, unflinching reality.
Then, it grants a miraculous second chance.
And in doing so, it hands the decision back to the audience.
Do you embrace the fairy tale, indulging in the comfort of a perfect ending?
Do you stop at the bitter truth, unable to move beyond grief?
Or do you walk with them through an entire lifetime, slowly uncovering the deeper meanings behind both endings?
A story that leaves room for personal interpretation is a rarity.
And if life itself is absurd, then CLANNAD captures that absurdity in its characters.
The improbable ways people meet, the surreal image of Fuko carving starfish alone in an empty classroom, Kotomi's quiet refuge in the library, the inexplicable tragedies that befall Nagisa and Ushioevery moment is steeped in a strange mix of realism and absurdity.
Much like our own lives.
At first, we believe everything in the world is real.
Then, we start to question if anything is real at all.
Later, we realize that life is both real and illusory.
And by the time we truly understand, we find that the distinction no longer matters.
That is why CLANNAD isn't life.
It simply comes closer to capturing the complexity of life than most stories ever do.
Its characters and their experiences embody the emotions, relationships, and struggles that shape our own realities.
And because it takes the time to lay such a profound emotional foundation, After Story delivers a level of impact that few other works can match.
The competition, however, lacked that depth.
Each of the other submitted works merely skimmed the surface, using a single theme as their foundation and expanding it into a so-called "story about life."
Understanding this, Akifumi had no doubt in his mindnone of them could compare.
Of course, that was only from a literary perspective.
As for the competition itself
Well, Akifumi had no illusions about fairness.
Even knowing that no other story surpassed his, he wasn't nave enough to assume he'd automatically take first place.
Nor did he care.
He had never been one to seek validation from rankings or judges.
Fame meant little to him.
What truly mattered was something more tangible.
As long as he could make enough money, that was satisfaction enough.
And so, amidst the chaos of the past month, June finally came to an end.
July had arrivedthe month Akifumi had been waiting for.
"Akifumi-sensei, it's been a while!"
The voice on the other end of the phone was overly polite, as if deliberately putting on an act.
Akifumi sighed, already exasperated.
They had just spoken yesterday to go over the promotional events for July.
And now, after only a single day, Otosuna Mihari was acting as if they hadn't talked in ages!?
Could she be any more dramatic?
Damn it.
Suppressing a groan, Akifumi replied in a flat tone, "If you're just calling to say pointless things, I'm hanging up."
"Ahem! Of course not!"
Tch.
No sense of suspense at all.
Mihari clicked her tongue in annoyance before getting to the point.
"Actually, the sales numbers just came in."
[Note]
Today it's still one..... maybe if I got more time at the end of today I will upload one more, I'm sorry
[221] An Astounding Monthly Sales Figure!
As expected.
Akifumi wasn't surprised by Otosuna Mihari's words. In fact, before even answering the call, he had already guessed it.
After all, Mihari had mentioned last time that the sales figures over there were calculated on a monthly basis.
Now that exactly a month had passed, and given that they had just discussed the promotional plans for his new work the day before, what else could this call be about?
"The numbers?" Akifumi's tone lifted slightly with anticipation.
In Japan, a top-tier manga might sell around 200,000 copies a month at most.
Not because the works weren't excellent, but simply because the market size imposed a natural limit.
Unless he shifted away from niche themes and catered more to mainstream trends, breaking that ceiling would be nearly impossible.
Even then, an absolute peak of 400,000 in monthly sales was the best he could expect.
At 400,000 copies, the royalties alone would amount to approximately 35 million yen.
But things were different in foreign country.
With other country population, even if only 1% of people outside enjoyed anime and manga, that would still mean tens of millions of potential buyers.
And the actual percentage of anime enthusiasts was undoubtedly much higher.
In this parallel world without piracy, this place was every creator's ultimate dream!
Although releasing ten different works at once might have seemed like competing against himself, even with some overlap in readership, the sales figures were bound to be staggering.
