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HELIO SCANS
[Translator - Hestia]
[Proofreader - Kaya]
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Chapter 12: How to Get a Promise of a Series Conclusion
Most Shōnen manga revolve around grand epics as their main story.
Even when there isn’t a sweeping saga, for popular manga, the editorial department encourages (though doesn’t force) long-term serialization.
Later on, readers often label this as a bad old habit handed down from editors.
But honestly? It’s hard to call it purely a bad habit.
It wasn’t about forcing the series to drag on endlessly; it was more about showing creators a way to actually build their stories step by step.
Sure, there was a more romantic time before all this—when there were no rules, no plans, just a desperate, heartfelt plea—
“Please, just keep drawing.”
But that kind of romanticism wore creators down. Some even famously said, “I’m done with weekly serialization—it’s the last thing I want to see again, so just leave me alone!” and basically half-retired from the manga scene.
Anyway, the tradition of long-term serialization, born from this deep history, has firmly taken root.
So when the idea of wrapping up D Note at chapter 50 came up, it got shot down in three seconds flat—with a sharp—“No!” There was nothing strange about that. Not in this industry.
＊ ＊ ＊
Deputy Editor Sawada was feeling pretty good these days.
The manga he was in charge of had settled comfortably in the mid-to-upper rankings, and the big, long-running storyline was wrapping up successfully. No worries on his end.
Plus, thanks to a rookie editor who’d landed a golden goose overseas, the publisher was looking favorably on them.
'Is this the upward curve of life?'
They say everyone hits a peak of popularity at least once. If social success were measured that way, this was definitely Sawada’s moment.
Right after lunch, Sawada, like any proper professional, was just about to step out of the smoking room after his customary post-meal cigarette.
“Deputy Editor.”
“Oh, look who it is—my lucky charms! Er, I mean, Matsuda-kun. And Team Leader Hashida. Hope lunch was good?”
The golden duo who’d snagged the big catch overseas, D note.
Sawada greeted them cheerfully; their smiling faces always brightened his mood.
But this time, their expressions weren’t so cheerful.
“Deputy Editor, do you have a moment?”
“Huh…?”
Sawada knew exactly where this was headed!
It was like a scene straight out of a company drama he’d watched after work recently.
Suddenly, the junior staff approach their boss with serious faces and say, “Let’s talk for a moment,” then more or less drag him off.
And that’s when the trouble begins.
- We found materials related to illicit favors on your computer, sir.
- I don’t know anything about that! Someone’s trying to trap me!
- That’s not the point, sir. What matters is this evidence came from your computer.
- Ugh… What exactly do you want from me?
As that drama scene replayed in his mind, Sawada’s face turned pale.
Tense, they moved to a quieter spot—Matsuda, Hashida, and Deputy Editor Sawada.
“Deputy Editor,”
Matsuda’s face was grim, serious enough to show this was no small matter. Hashida’s expression confirmed it wasn’t ordinary either.
'W-What on earth did I do wrong...?'
Maybe the beer he poured at the last company dinner looked like boss' pressure?
Maybe he didn’t really want to drink but couldn’t say no and was forced to anyway?
All kinds of thoughts raced through his head as he shivered nervously.
Then Matsuda dropped a bomb Sawada never expected—
“The author wants to wrap up ‘D note’ within 50 chapters.”
Sawada, a veteran editor who had seen it all, took just one second to come back to his senses.
One second to process Matsuda’s words.
One second to think of a reply—polite, but firm.
And after three seconds total, his answer was simple—
“No!”
＊ ＊ ＊
“It turned out that way…”
“I figured as much.”
Looking at Matsuda—who seemed to have aged five years just in one day—I couldn’t help but feel sorry for him.
Sure, he put it simply, but I’m sure he got chewed out big time by the deputy editor afterward.
“Still, don’t worry. I’ll try to convince the deputy editor somehow!”
“After that, you’ll have to convince the editor-in-chief too… Are you sure you’re up for that?”
“......”
Matsuda clammed up.
Just convincing the deputy editor looked like a battle already, and there was no imagining a world where the editor-in-chief would be swayed.
In Team Leader Hashida’s case, she managed to persuade them by showing the storyboard up to the introduction of the ending I’d drawn—but that was a total exception.
Usually, if you dared to shove a thick pile of storyboards in front of someone, you were lucky not to get smacked with it.
“Matsuda-san, I have an idea.”
Honestly, I knew Matsuda’s proposal wasn’t going to be accepted that easily.
If it passed as-is, great. But if it didn’t, I needed a fallback plan.
And that backup? It was just about ready.
“Really?”
Matsuda’s eyes lit up at my words.
“Yes. So please, just hang in there a little longer.”
“If it’s that, then… maybe there’s a chance.”
“Well, if they still say no, we can always pull the same blackmail trick we used during the serialization meeting.”
“The threat from the serialization meeting, huh… hehehe…”
“Heheh… hehehehe!”
“Gyahahahaha!”
Before we knew it, we were back to our usual antics, cackling like cartoon villains in the studio.
Someone from next door called in a noise complaint.
＊ ＊ ＊
I go to a private middle school—not public.
You know how private schools are—they’ve got that pricey, elite vibe, like they’re only for rich kids.
And yeah... this school lives up to that stereotype perfectly.
So why am ‘I’ here, then?
It's not because my family’s part of the upper crust or secretly sitting on chaebol money.
Nope. It’s just that the publishing company my parents work for happens to bankroll this school’s foundation. So giving me a spot here? Basically a favor from one big player to another.
Sounds shady, yeah, but come on—how’s a regular person supposed to understand rich-people logic anyway?
Anyway, maybe because it’s a private school and they’ve got pride or whatever, but this place is ‘absurdly’ big. Like, unnecessarily so.
There are entire wings of classrooms nobody even uses. Both the old and new school buildings exist side-by-side, but lots of rooms just sit there collecting dust.
So how do I know all this?
“Ughhh... this is insane. It’s so good...!”
Because right now, I’m having lunch with our class celebrity in one of those abandoned old classrooms.
Her name’s Hasegawa Kanna.
She’s all smiles and social grace in class, blending in like a pro—but here she is now, eyes sparkling as she flips through the latest issue of Weekly Shōnen Jump.
“Whew... that was great.”
She had just finished reading this week’s chapter of ‘D Note’, shut the magazine, and set it down.
“What happens next?”
“Wanna know? Actually, the whole amnesia thing was—”
“Ack—No! Don’t actually ‘tell’ me!!”
She smacked my back and clamped her hand over my mouth. Hard.
So hard I nearly coughed up my lunch.
“But seriously—are you really thinking of wrapping this up in 50 chapters?”
“If things go according to plan, yeah.”
“That’s surprising. I don’t think the editorial department’s gonna let you do that.”
Kanna’s been on sets since she was a kid, so she’s pretty clued in about how “adult business” works.
“Our drama got good ratings too, and they milked it for all it was worth. Any artistic value? Launched straight into orbit. You think they’re just gonna let go of a hit series that easily?”
Ahem.
“Child actor H’s shocking comment—‘The drama I starred in? Basically a reheated mess. Artistic merit? Tossed to the dogs.’—Controversy spirals!”
“Hey! What the hell are you writing?!”
“Ideeaa Nooto~ (Idea Note~)”
“More like a D Note for ruining my acting career! Gimme that!”
She lunged and grabbed both of my cheeks to rip the notebook out of my hands.
Unfair move, really—I couldn’t stop her.
She’s way stronger than she looks. Honestly, might even be stronger than me.
“Tch. Clearly you don’t know—even if the notebook’s torn, its power still activates.”
“…For a second, I was gonna play along, but yeah, nope.”
“......”
Okay, she’s not playing along.
This kind of back-and-forth only works when the other person’s willing…
Suddenly, I found myself missing Matsuda.
Kanna and I sneak away to eat lunch like this every now and then.
She seems like she fits in just fine in class, but being in the spotlight all the time must get exhausting.
“You don’t have any friends from elementary school?”
I figured it was normal that middle school friendships might still be awkward—we did start the semester at a weird point.
But from what I’d picked up in our daily convos, Kanna almost never mentioned any friends.
That’s why I asked.
“…I did. Not anymore.”
Her voice was quieter and sadder than I expected.
She’d been acting in hit movies and dramas since elementary school. I guess that had something to do with it.
I didn’t say anything. Just sat there staring out the window at the clouds drifting by.
“You’re not gonna ask what happened?”
“......”
“Ugh, ‘seriously’? You ask and then fall asleep?”
“Whoa! Sorry!”
I’d dozed off from a food coma without even realizing.
“So what were we talking about again? You like stargazing or something?”
“I don’t usually get treated like this, you know...”
Despite grumbling, Kanna looked genuinely amused.
“But really, how ‘are’ you gonna finish it in 50 chapters? You got a plan to convince the editors?”
To that, I gave her a big, smug grin.
“Curious?”
“Not really.”
...I was crushed.
“Aww fine, I ‘am’ curious~”
Kanna gave in like she was tossing me a bone.
I didn’t love the tone, but I started explaining my grand master plan anyway.
She listened with a surprisingly serious face.
And once I was done, she gave me a short but unforgettable review—
“You’re insane.”
It was the first time she ever swore at me.
＊ ＊ ＊
“Wow… ‘D Note’ has been number one for 24 consecutive weeks… That’s a record.”
“I heard the sales for the collected volumes are phenomenal too.”
“Apparently, Volume 1 is on track to break the record for single-volume sales.”
The editorial department buzzed with excitement over ‘D Note’s’ ongoing streak of achievements.
“Oh, by the way…”
One of the editors, who had been looking at the rankings, spoke up.
“I heard the author of ‘D Note’ is visiting today.”
“To the editorial department?”
“Yeah, just for a tour.”
Typically, before serialization, authors visit the editorial department to present their manuscripts.
However, once a series is ongoing, editors usually visit the authors' studios. Unless there's a special reason, authors don't often come to the editorial office. What could be the reason for this visit?
As the editors pondered this, Matsuda and Team Leader Hashida entered.
“That must be the author next to them.”
“Wakayama Jun… That’s a pen name, right?”
“He’s really a middle schooler…”
Though they had heard the rumors, seeing a middle school-aged author in person left a different impression.
Pushing through the crowd of curious editors, Jung Junhyuk stepped into the Weekly Shōnen Jump editorial department.
Despite his confident entrance, Junhyuk calmly toured the office, reacting with typical responses like “Oh…” and asking standard questions such as “What’s this?”
After exchanging brief introductions with the nearby editors, he made his way to the editor-in-chief’s desk.
Then, without warning, he dropped a bombshell.
“I’d like to conclude ‘D Note’ around chapter 50.”
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HELIO SCANS
[Translator - Hestia]
[Proofreader - Kaya]
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