novelraw Chapter 155: Manga
Chapter 155: Manga
Su Deqiang finished checking out the activities in the manga section, clicking his tongue again and again, feeling like... the manga industry might be on the verge of a major shake-up.
But after all, he was just a user. Even though he was surprised,
he only marveled for a short while.
After all, he couldn’t draw.
So soon... he shifted his attention back to Chainsaw Man.
“Chainsaw Man...”
Su Deqiang looked at the manga detail page, full of curiosity.
Probably because Fate/Zero was just too famous.
Most people, when it came to this "Third-Rate Mangaka" who had once turned down a magazine serialization opportunity, politely rejected Teacher Rumi, and went on to serialize a manga for free that somehow gave birth to a cash cow mobile game, all thought of him as someone skilled in ensemble casts and serious storylines.
In simpler terms, the manga he drew usually had serious and intense plots with a solemn and tragic tone. Of course.
That impression changed a little with the main story of Fate/Grand Order and the Observer Route FSN.
But in the manga reader community, because Fate/Zero was so iconic, most readers still thought of Third-Rate Mangaka as someone good at dramatic ensemble narratives.
So when he suddenly dropped a manga with such a weird title and a style completely different from Fate, like Chainsaw Man,
a lot of readers were left scratching their heads.
But Su Deqiang wasn’t one of them.
Because he had first come to know Third-Rate Mangaka during the Wenxin Press manga awards...
And back then, besides Fate/Zero, Third-Rate had also drawn a pretty insane-feeling short titled Human-Head Balloons.
So Su Deqiang knew quite well that this Third-Rate teacher... had been stylistically diverse from the start.
He honestly couldn’t tell what similarities there were between Fate/Zero and Human-Head Balloons...
“So... what kind of story is it this time?”
Su Deqiang clicked the “Read Manga” button with curiosity.
And then.
He saw the first chapter that established the absurd tone for the entire Chainsaw Man series...
Right from the start.
The main character Denji’s setup was absurd—he survived by selling his organs and hunting devils, and was so poor he couldn’t even afford bread with jam.
Such an extremely impoverished way of living isn’t often seen in manga.
But that part was still acceptable.
After all, there are people struggling like that everywhere in the real world...
Every nation’s polished surface hides undercurrents.
And poverty can give a character raw survival motivation, which adds tension to the story.
But the problem was... this character was just way too straightforward!
All his actions... were driven purely by primal desire.
There was no grand goal at all.
Denji’s dream in the first chapter was to hug a woman once before dying...
Generally speaking.
In traditional shonen manga, the protagonist usually carries some grand ambition, like saving the world, protecting comrades, or becoming the strongest.
And their motivations are often idealistic.
Like Tanjiro in Tang Yao’s past-life Demon Slayer, who is a textbook example.
He had a strong personality—gentle, kind, brave—and his motivation was positive: to save his family.
But Denji? He didn’t have any particularly impressive qualities.
“Is Third-Rate really that bold?... This is a complete departure from the mindset behind creating FATE, right?”
Halfway through reading, Su Deqiang couldn’t help but sigh, then... kept flipping through the pages.
Although it was clearly different from conventional manga,
this shattering of phony nobility, stripping away of the traditional hero’s gloss, and exposing of raw human desires was actually pretty refreshing.
He kept flipping.
Soon, the story reached the part where Denji got betrayed by the yakuza, signed a contract with Pochita, and was resurrected as Chainsaw Man.
Then came Makima’s appearance, and the protagonist became her dog...
Chapter Two.
After finishing a job, the protagonist actually obediently barked like a dog.
Alright then.
By this point, Su Deqiang was completely convinced this was no traditional shonen manga.
It actually felt more like Human-Head Balloons.
However.
Unlike Human-Head Balloons, which had no context and was all about unexplainable horror,
this manga still had a somewhat serious structure. Even though the protagonist was a bit peculiar, the overall narrative pacing was pretty normal, with clear transitions and developments.
Based on the progression, it looked like the protagonist would be joining the police force next and officially becoming a government-registered devil hunter.
But...
“Things are moving that fast?”
Su Deqiang was surprised when Makima said at the end of Chapter Two that she liked people like Denji.
He scratched his head, looking at the straightforward Makima, and muttered to himself, “Is this going to be a romance story?”
Honestly, it kinda felt like it!
A protagonist driven purely by primal desires, and a mysterious, rational older woman.
Makima, in her dress pants and shirt in the manga, looked pretty attractive...
Hmm.
Even though the manga’s overall tone was absurd, having a non-cliché romance story under that absurdity didn’t sound bad either?
As Su Deqiang thought about this, he casually bookmarked the manga.
The story was only just getting started, so there wasn’t much to draw conclusions from yet, but the opening was technically well-done and quite engaging.
He decided he would follow it.
However.
Makima’s suggestive lines, her timing of appearance that brought a sense of safety,
and Denji’s obedience,
seemed to be giving him the wrong impression...
After all, this world didn’t have Flame Fist.
At the same time.
The frequent activity on the ANF website had caught the attention of other users as well.
Very quickly.
ANF’s anime acquisitions,
original manga contest,
and Chainsaw Man
became the hottest topics on the ANF platform!
“Holy sht holy sht! I was just saying how it was a shame we had no anime! Now they’re bringing it in! Everyone, throw out some anime suggestions—pick stuff we all love!”
“Looks like Avalon does care about the site after all. I knew it! Someone who gets otaku culture like them wouldn't skip out on anime. But I didn’t expect such big moves in the manga section too. Anyone know the difference between serializing on ANF and in a magazine?”
“Guys, did you read Chainsaw Man yet? Someone hand me blood pressure meds! This MC is wild! Selling a kidney, wants women, acts like a dog! His worldview shattered into a QR code!”
“Hahaha, newbie up there, huh? Ever heard of Third-Rate’s Human-Head Balloons?”
“The style in this new manga is a huge shift... Not sure if it’s good or bad yet... But the start’s really interesting. This kind of MC is eye-catching.”
“Is Third-Rate’s new project gonna be a romance story?”
“...”
...
“Romance story?”
At Avalon,
Tang Yao saw the discussion under ANF’s trending topic and couldn’t help but chuckle to herself: “You mean the kind where one of them gets eaten?”
Sure, call it a romance story if you want.
It’s just that in this romance story, one side gets eaten.
In all kinds of ways...
“What gets eaten?”
Li Xue came back with a cup in hand and looked puzzled after hearing what Tang Yao said.
“Nothing.”
Tang Yao quickly shook her head.
She didn’t plan to tell Li Xue.
Because right now, in a sense, Li Xue was her editor.
So Tang Yao thought it’d be more fun to keep it a secret and let her—and the readers—witness it for themselves.
Just how many ways Makima can be “eaten”...
Thinking of this,
Tang Yao couldn’t help but laugh again. Worried Li Xue would notice, she quickly changed the subject: “By the way, we’re not just buying a few anime, right? Why are you holding a vote?”
The anime buying thing—
Tang Yao had discussed it with Li Xue.
Right now, Avalon wasn’t lacking money at all, and the price of cultural copyrights in this world was pretty reasonable. Tang Yao had originally planned to just go through an agency and buy a bunch of rights...
She hadn’t heard anything about a vote.
“Building hype.”
Li Xue sat down and explained: “ANF is still in the early growth stage, and users are all hoping the site will license anime. If we suddenly bought a whole bunch, sure, they’d be impressed at how profitable our games are... but that’s all it would be—just a moment of awe.
But if we do it this way, it gives users more sense of involvement!
While they’re discussing which anime to nominate, it adds to the site’s buzz.
They’ll also get the illusion of: ‘The anime ANF licensed was something I chose,’ ‘I helped grow this platform,’ and become what you called—spiritual shareholders.
And in the end, if we end up licensing thirty-plus titles after they voted for ten or so, don’t you think they’ll be pleasantly surprised?”
“Oh...”
Tang Yao responded with a drawn-out tone, suddenly enlightened, and praised, “Ah, I see... Nice!”
“What’s nice about that.”
Li Xue rolled her eyes at Tang Yao: “I’m sure you thought about it too—just didn’t have the time to implement it. And that phrase ‘spiritual shareholder’ came from you, remember?”
“I forgot. I didn’t think that far.”
Tang Yao smiled. “Anyway, our Li Xue is awesome.”
Li Xue’s ears turned a little red, and she gave Tang Yao a soft glare.
“Then I’ll leave the site in your capable hands.”
Tang Yao saw the glare and quickly grabbed the documents on the table, getting ready to make her escape: “I’m off to work on the game.”
She really did have work to do.
She needed to use the Dou Pai project to finalize the production direction for future games.