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HELIO SCANS
[Translator - Hestia]
[Proofreader - Kaya]
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Chapter 9: Gotta go to school~
One Piece, Naruto, Bleach.
These three are called the big three manga—not just in Japan, but worldwide. Each of these series has its own unique flavor.
So what’s their common thread?
Themes, dreams, striving hard—yeah, there’s a lot of overlap if you list them out.
But if you look at the most basic number, the answer’s obvious—they have a ton of chapters.
Every manga published in a magazine is classified as commercial manga. And naturally, editors love the ones that sell well.
Now, imagine if one of those popular series suddenly ended.
The reaction?
‘Uh… can’t you just keep it going a little longer…?’
That’s exactly what happens.
The longer a series runs, the more cumulative readers it builds up. More readers mean a hardcore fanbase.
And those hardcore fans guarantee the series brings in at least a minimum amount of revenue.
From a creator’s perspective, they might want to focus on quality and storytelling, but from a publisher’s side, the goal is to keep selling until nobody buys anymore.
Because of that, in the shonen manga world, there’s this unwritten rule—more like a tradition—called long-running serialization encouragement (though not mandatory).
＊ ＊ ＊
Matsuda, now in his second year in the industry, was starting to shake off the rookie label as an editor.
He still knew more about what he didn’t know than what he did, and the responsibilities he could take on were limited.
But even so, he wasn’t unaware of the industry’s trend toward long-running series or the current tendencies of his editorial team.
Yet, without fully realizing it, Matsuda blurted out a raw, unfiltered thought.
“Let’s just take it straight to the ending.”
That was how perfect it felt to him.
He had redrawn most of the storyboards up to chapter 25. He’d thought the previous storyboards were flawless—no room left to add anything more.
‘Could it really surpass those storyboards...?’
The storyboards covered everything from the already serialized parts up to the prelude of the final chapter.
He didn’t plan to ask how Jung managed to draw all of that in such a short time.
By now, he’d seen too much to get caught up in that question.
“Are you really okay with this?”
Jung Junhyuk knew well enough that wrapping up a popular manga without hitting 100 chapters was unusual.
He understood that suddenly announcing an ending like this could be a heavy burden on Matsuda, so he asked him with worried eyes.
“Jung, your editor is the one who sticks with you for the author’s sake. Not just for the manga’s content, but to help you focus fully on your work—that’s my job. Leave that to me.”
With those confident words, Matsuda slapped his chest like he was making a vow. Then, he immediately called his boss and team leader, Hashida.
“Get your ass here right now, you punk!!”
He was called in without delay.
＊ ＊ ＊
“No way! Absolutely not! Do you seriously think this crazy nonsense makes any sense?!”
Even Hashida, who usually talks calmly rather than yelling, couldn’t stay quiet this time.
“What? This isn’t some 10-year veteran author we’re talking about, it’s a rookie who just started serialization! And he thinks he can just draw this much and end it whenever he feels like it?! Sure, some authors do whatever they want, and Jung’s still young, so fine. But what about you—who’s supposed to keep things grounded? What are you thinking?!”
Matsuda, trying to make a cool exit with a confident “Leave this to me!” vibe, quietly slipped out of the studio. But he was completely frozen, unable to say a word, stunned by Hashida’s explosive anger.
Dragged into an empty, soundproof meeting room, all Matsuda could do amid the storm of shouting was to stammer, “S-sorry!” while nervously handing over the ‘D Note’ storyboards he had brought just in case.
“Huff… Huff…”
After letting out a torrent of frustration, Hashida began to calm down, taking the stack of storyboards from Matsuda.
His glare was sharp as a lightning bolt—basically saying, “If this isn’t good, you’re dead.”
An hour passed.
Two hours.
Hashida kept reading through the storyboards, and after about three hours, finally lifted his eyes off the paper.
He dropped the stack on the table with a thud and sighed deeply, as if the whole world was weighing on him.
“Ha… This is driving me crazy…”
Matsuda peeked nervously, then cautiously asked—
“It’s insanely good, right?”
“You little—! Is that what you’re worried about right now?!”
Matsuda jumped back like a cartoon extra, while Hashida squeezed his eyes shut tightly.
A few seconds later, he slowly opened them and spoke.
“It’s absolutely amazing. Way more intense than the storyboards you brought last time.”
“That’s right!”
“That’s the problem. It’s too good, but there’s no plan to keep riding that excitement.”
“Yeah… that too…”
Hashida pushed his glasses up and rubbed his dry eyes.
“Don’t tell the higher-ups just yet. And tell the author to hold off on any talk about ending the series for now.”
“What? But—”
“Listen. It looks like an incredible manga to us, but at the end of the day, we’re just individuals. The world outside might see it completely differently.”
“......”
Matsuda had no comeback to that.
The reason manga that get serialized in magazines are high-quality is because editors and authors put their heads together and refine their work relentlessly.
They carefully select, then carefully polish again before a manga is published in the magazine.
Even with all that effort, countless titles get canceled mid-serialization.
‘D Note’ might not be an exception.
That’s why Hashida said to put things on hold for now.
“Let’s see how it goes until chapter 20. Then we’ll talk again. Keep this conversation strictly between us for now.”
“Understood.”
Matsuda stopped pressing further because he knew this was a decision made with respect and care.
But there was something neither of them said out loud.
At this point, ‘D Note’ had only published eight chapters. By chapter 20, it would be plenty of time for the manga’s current popularity to drop enough to justify cancellation.
They were tossing around the word ‘ending,’ but really, there was still a risk of a cancellation ruling mid-serialization.
They didn’t even joke about it because they both knew deep down—
This manga didn’t seem like it would ever lose its popularity.
And so, time passed quietly under their unspoken agreement.
When chapter 12 of ‘D Note’ was published…
“Poll results… Number one for 12 weeks straight…”
‘D Note’ still held the top spot, no question about it.
＊ ＊ ＊
“Only eight weeks left now…”
“Ugh, ugh…! Still eight weeks left…!”
Matsuda gave a wry smile as he looked at me, and I clutched my chest like maybe my name had finally been written somewhere in D Note’s credits, barely able to respond.
That record—twelve weeks straight at number one—was both a blessing and a curse for Matsuda.
He had promised me that if the series kept doing well through twenty chapters, he’d talk to the higher-ups about it and set conditions for the ending.
So, while the success was thrilling, there was also the looming fear of the hammer possibly coming down.
Of course, Matsuda hadn’t explicitly said the series had to stay number one for twenty weeks.
Honestly, even at twelve weeks on top, nobody was sure it would keep going.
But since the manga stayed in the top ranks, the goal was still well within reach.
“The first volume of the comic will be released around the second week of April. There’s a center color spread this week, so make sure it’s colored nicely. If you have any requests for the cover, tell me in advance—we can still make changes this week.”
“Got it.”
“I think you’ll do great, but don’t get too obsessed with being number one. Just maintaining things as they are now is fine.”
There have been too many manga that tanked because they were too fixated on polls. Matsuda was warning me to avoid making the same mistake.
After giving me these reminders, Matsuda wrapped up the meeting by standing and saying—
“You’ll probably get busy starting next week. If anything comes up, just contact me.”
I didn’t catch the real meaning behind that last line at first, so I looked at Matsuda with a question mark on my face.
“Huh?”
“…Yeah.”
“Uh…?”
“Yeah. You’re supposed to start school next week.”
“…Wait, what?”
＊ ＊ ＊
When it comes to Japanese animation, especially scenes of spring and summer, you’ll notice they get a lot of focus.
A lot of people think it’s just exaggerated for flair. And yeah, the spring and summer vibes in anime are so striking, they almost leap off the screen.
But having unofficially lived in Japan for over ten years, I can say the landscapes in anime aren’t ‘that’ overblown.
In spring, cherry blossoms flutter spectacularly. In summer, the scorching sun’s scent hits you hot and heavy. The atmosphere in anime reflects Japan’s reality pretty faithfully.
At least when it comes to spring and autumn, they feel a bit sharper and more vivid than in Korea.
“......”
Cherry blossoms wildly fluttering, a sign in front of the school gate saying ‘Entrance Ceremony,’ kids happily taking pictures with friends and parents.
And me, watching them, dressed in a pitch-black school uniform.
“Fuck…”
For some reason, that curse just slipped out.
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HELIO SCANS
[Translator - Hestia]
[Proofreader - Kaya]
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