The body would turn into a true empty shell!
"This concept gives me the chills just thinking about it!"
Mihari couldn't help but exclaim.
The logic of it all was so tight, it felt right in the deepest part of her heart. It just made sense!
When she took a step back, a half-month after the release of the volume, someone online had already made a logical guess!
The so-called 'Witch' was the transformation of the magical girl!
When the Soul Gem becomes fully corrupted, it turns into 'The Seed of Sorrow' and becomes a 'Witch' that a magical girl should destroy!
Although the plot hadn't clarified it yet, based on all the previous hints, this guess had already been accepted by 99%!
The remaining 1% was just waiting for the official confirmation!
With this in mind, when Sayaka turned into a 'Witch,' Mihari calmly accepted it.
When Kyoko tried to bring Sayaka back to her former self, but could only walk toward a non-existent heaven with Sayaka in tragic silence, Mihari felt a silent sadness.
When Homura's backstory was fully revealed, her endless despair in the repeated loops, still holding on with immense willpower, doing everything for that one person
"I'm from the future."
"I've met you countless times, and witnessed your death countless times."
"How can I save you?"
"To find the answer, I've come back countless times"
"I'm sorry, you probably don't understand, it must be disgusting, right"
As the tears slid down the girl's cheeks and that helpless expression appeared in front of her
"With every repetition, you and my timeline drift further apart."
"Our feelings also drift away, and our words become harder to understand."
"I've probably been lost for a long time, haven't I?"
This monologue, combined with the powerful visuals, left Mihari, despite her editorial mindset, moved to tears.
With the arrival of the Witch's Night, the main character, Madoka, finally voiced her wish:
"I want to eliminate all the witches, even before they appear."
"In all universes, past and future witches, I'll eliminate them all with my own hands!"
"I don't want the people who believe in hope to cry. I want them to keep smiling till the end."
"I'll change the rules that hinder them! I'll break them!"
"This is my wish!!"
By this point, Mihari's tears were brimming, overwhelmed.
A teenage girl, sacrificing herself to give hope to the world, saving others and the world
The price was even more painful than death.
No words could express how cruel this was for the girl.
The world gained new hope, but 'Madoka' was permanently erased from it.
Even her parents, who loved her, wouldn't remember her.
And for Homura, she the only one person who still remembered 'Madoka,' how cruel was this?
Mihari didn't know.
But she truly felt the love and hope through these illustrations.
Even if the "love" and "hope" weren't the endings she wished for.
But
"It's because of the regrets and imperfections that it becomes unforgettable."
From an editor's perspective, this ending was perfect!
"This guy had planned this from the start, is that why he chose such a nickname?"
'The Warrior of Love and Hope.'
Sitting at her desk, Otosuna Mihari thought long and hard, unable to speak for a while.
After some time, she couldn't help but sigh heavily.
"This guy really doesn't give any opportunities for a comeback!"
Clearly, if the focus had shifted to Homura, the content could have expanded much more!
What kind of interactions would the other girls have in different timelines?
Could there have been a better ending?
But this guy wrapped it all up in less than a hundred pages and ended it decisively.
'Sure enough, he still too young!'
Young people often value personal honor over the money that so many people chase after, and aiming for a high level, don't they?
Mihari couldn't help but imagine a reason.
"With such a perfect ending, O can't find any reason to reject it!"
Damn it.
She had just gotten close to him, and now he was disappearing in the blink of an eye?
"Right! He said he drew a new work!"
Even if it doesn't match Madoka Magica, as long as it's half as good, the readers should still love it, right?
With this thought in mind, Mihari picked up the second manuscript from him with a mix of anticipation and nervousness!
As the outer wrapping paper was removed, A girl in a pure white dress, with silver hair slightly disheveled, and a playful smile on her face, gazed at the viewer with a gentle expression as if looking through time itself.
"No matter how many times I see it, I have to admit that this guy's art is just so comfortable."
She sighed, her eyes falling to the title of the work.
"Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day."
Mihari couldn't help but curl her lips.
"Is this guy writing a light novel or what?"
[044] [40 PS] Manga Adaptation! A Bold Attempt!!
Akifumi Mugiho sat on the subway, but his mind kept drifting back to a scene from a few days ago.
...
Flashback
It happened at Monday, at 10 p.m.
"Even if witches never appear in this world again, the curses of human existence won't disappear."
"The world's distortion has changed shape, and now it watches from the darkness, peeking into the obscure."
"Though the world continues to repeat sorrow and hatred, and it's beyond saving, this is still the place she wanted to protect."
"I still remember clearly, I'll never forget her."
"So, I'll keep fighting."
The girl in the image arched like a crescent moon, her face devoid of much expression.
A pink satin ribbon, belonging to someone, tied her black hair into twin tails, but her face showed no emotion. In her eyes, there was an unmistakable sadness.
"Don't forget, always, somewhere, someone is fighting for you."
"As long as you remember her, you are not alone."
Feathers of gods and demons intertwined.
Time seemed to rewind to the day when the wheel of fate first started turning.
A pink-haired girl held the hand of another, with braided hair, her face glowing with a bright smile.
"We're already friends."
"From the past to the future, always."
"Yeah..."
The other girl also smiled back, her eyes warm and full of sweetness.
"Forever."
At the very end, the scene lingered on their backs.
As the final stroke of the pen was drawn, Akifumi let out a deep sigh of relief.
A smile spread across his face, one he couldn't hide.
"Finally finished!"
He had started this work in early April, and now, it was nearing the end of June.
After almost three months and close to 500 pages of artwork, even a full-time manga artist with assistants could only manage such a feat with difficulty!
Not to mention, all of this was completed by Akifumi alone!
A wave of intense accomplishment flooded his heart, followed by a tinge of emptiness and melancholy.
It felt just like when you finish something, only to realize the void that follows.
"Does finishing a manga really have such a lingering effect?"
Akifumi smiled bitterly and shook his head.
He took a moment to adjust his mood.
"Now, I can finally take it easy..."
But before he could finish his thought, flashes of memories suddenly popped into his mind.
It was like stepping into a scorching summer day.
The buzzing of cicadas in his ears, the sound of a game controller clicking, and the scene of a shabby room with no air conditioning, a boy covered in sweat, and a TV playing loud game sounds.
The scene shifted to an old alley.
A pair of high school students, a boy and a girl, walked side by side, chatting.
"I hate it, it's not like that."
"No way, you definitely grew up, huh?"
"Heh... but I like..."
"Nishina."
"Nishina."
"Nishina, Nishina..."
"Don't let your inferior genes survive, you bunch of horny machines."
The boy cursed with frustration.
"Eh~ Is this the Lip Monster?"
A silver-haired girl appeared out of nowhere, leaning close to the boy with a puzzled look.
"No, woman just have low IQ."
The girl didn't mind the boy's snark, rubbing against him like a kitten while explaining.
"But it does look like it, right? Look at those thick lips."
"If you say that, the uncle at the abacus class also counts as a Lip Monster..."
At that moment, the boy suddenly realized something, his gaze snapping to the side.
In the next instant, it was as if he saw something unbelievable, and the popsicle in his mouth fell to the ground.
"But, Nen-tai..."
"Nen-tai?"
The girl looked at the boy in confusion.
The boy put down his game controller and stood up from the tatami mat.
"The summer monster is really quite ferocious."
As the boy spoke, the scene sped by, like flipping through someone's life.
A few minutes later, Akifumi Mugiho rubbed his temples, a tired sigh escaping his lips.
'Is this a sign that I've been taking it too easy with drawing manga? Is the universe trying to challenge me?'
There was no doubtthe scenes he just saw were memories from his past life.
This confirmed his earlier suspicion that whenever a manga ended, more memories would resurface, stored as clearly as data in his mind.
And those memories he just saw were from a very famous anime from his past life, "Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae wo Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai" (Anohana), also known as "That Flower" or "Anohana."
"This is really pushing it," Akifumi Mugiho muttered.
Anohana was an original anime.
He couldn't just jump from being a manga artist straight into adapting an anime, could he? That would be unrealistic.
Though there were other stories in his memories, Akifumi Mugiho wasn't planning on drawing them.
First off, the art style didn't fit, and secondly, the themes didn't suit a high school student like him who wasn't even 18 yet.
So...
"Guess I'll have to try adapting Anohana into a manga."
This was troublesome!
Just thinking about turning a 24-minute anime into a manga made his head spin.
The panel layout, content distribution, how to make the story interesting in just 20 pages...
All these problems would be on him to solve.
"Well, it's a bit of a challenge, but it's not impossible."
Maybe he couldn't have created a masterpiece like "Madoka Magica," but his years of experience in the manga industry shouldn't be underestimated.
As long as he could rewatch a work over and over again, the only challenge would be how much time it would take.
"Alright, let's give this a shot!"
His previous thoughts of slacking off were replaced with a competitive drive.
He began thinking, sketching, and working nonstop, even skipping class when necessary...
Flashback end
"Finally, I finished the first chapter last night."
On the subway, Akifumi Mugiho brought himself back to the present.
It wasn't so much about rushing today, but it was a good timing to submit the continuation of "Madoka Magica" and the first chapter of "Anohana" to his editor.
"I wonder if 'Anohana' will pass the review?"
There was no way to fully tell the 24-minute episode in just 20 pages of manga.
He had only managed to outline some background information and couldn't even get to the main storyline yet.
But...
"With all these hints, they should catch on, right?"
"Besides, Shueisha has the most professional editors in the industry. They won't just reject a chapter right off the bat, will they?"
Akifumi Mugiho was somewhat confident in his artwork, and with the healing genre of the story, there was definitely potential in the market.
As he thought this, a sense of unease started creeping in.
"I didn't feel this way when I submitted 'Madoka Magica.'"
Maybe it was because, in a way, this was an half original creation of his?
The former was like copying answers, but this felt more like reading comprehensionleaving a vague reference point for others to figure out based on their own skill.
He slapped his cheek and shook off the anxiety.
"Whatever."
"If it doesn't pass, I'll take this time to rest and refine the content."
"If it does pass... well, I'll deal with the future when it comes."
[TL Note]
Hey there! If you're enjoying this, be sure to check out
p-atreon.com/InsomniaTL
Please remove the hyphen to access the page normally Just a heads-up, there will be advanced chapters available there! and Thanks so much for reading!
[045] A Date with Kato
Saturday.
"Ding-ding-ding, ding-ding-ding."
The sound of a completely unfamiliar alarm woke Akifumi.
He reached out to turn it off, shaking his head slightly as his still-sleepy brain throbbed.
After sitting up in bed for a while and becoming more awake, he sighed with mixed emotions.
"The person who made this game probably spent a lot of time in a mental hospital!"
Madoka Magica was finally complete, and the first episode of Anohana was done. Now, it was just a matter of waiting for the results to come in.
As for Eriri, that girl hadn't shown up all week.
The reasons? Either she was desperately trying to catch up on work or she was too shy.
He'd promised to help back in May, but here we were, and she hadn't even started yet.
Looking back now, it felt a bit like worrying for nothing.
In any case, Akifumi had no work left to do now!
No work... and it was the weekend! That meant it was time to play some games to reward himself, right?
So, without much time to browse, he bought a game called Only Up on Steam, after receiving a "warm recommendation" from a bunch of online users.
What happened next?
After a whole night of playing, with endless climbing, falling, and torturous gameplay, Akifumi finally uninstalled the game at 1 AM, throwing in a few choice words for the users who recommended it.
Who would've thought that the torment of the game would follow him into his dreams?
In the dream, just as he was about to reach the top, he kept falling back down to the very start.
Even if the alarm hadn't gone off, he would have been jolted awake by the nightmare.
"Stupid game, stupid developer, don't let me catch you in real life!"
After cursing the game one more time to vent his frustration, Akifumi finally got out of bed to start his morning routine.
He made breakfast, brushed his teeth, and ate...
About half an hour passed.
It was now 8:50 AM.
He had an hour before his meeting with Kato at 10 AM.
Plenty of time.
He changed into a white short-sleeve shirt and khaki shorts.
