novelraw Chapter 181: The First Client
Chapter 181: The First Client
“What do you mean, ‘trying to steal the chicken and losing the rice’?!”
Guan Fang looked genuinely angry after hearing her daughter’s comment.“You seriously think the Avalon manga section can challenge us old publishing giants with just one series?”
“Haven’t they already challenged you?”
Rumi replied quietly, “You’re all jumping up and down over it—because the impact of the digital wave is way bigger than expected.A manga serialized online… actually managing to rival the flagship titles of print magazines in popularity?In terms of buzz, it’s not even close—Chainsaw Man is crushing it.”
“So what? What about sales…”
“Then why is Zhuxing Publishing scrambling to launch an online manga platform?”
Rumi cut her off before she could finish, still calm.
“If print sales were all that mattered, you wouldn’t be following their lead, right?” “…”
Guan Fang’s face turned bright red.“Whose side are you even on?”
“Of course I’m on Zhuxing’s side.But even though I’ve told you this before, I’ll say it again—Zhuxing’s editorial department has become a disaster when it comes to evaluating works and understanding reader trends.
The series they’re picking lately? Absolute garbage.We’re in this era, and they’re still selecting such conservative stories?”
Rumi shook her head.“Online platforms and print magazines operate under completely different standards. Their audiences are different. Their tastes are different.
Take Chainsaw Man as an example.Online readers tend to favor stories that are edgier, bolder, and more open in structure.
You really think Zhuxing’s editors, steeped in their long-standing conservatism, can keep up with that?”
Guan Fang fell silent.
Rumi went on,
“And then there’s the constant spin-off magazines because of the limited serialization slots in the main mag.Sure, that gives more series a chance, but it also splits up the traffic.
Zhuxing must have almost eighty titles running across all publications right now, yeah?
I’m really curious—When the new digital platform launches, how much attention and effort is editorial actually going to give it?And what happens when they realize that early on, the platform has low traffic, minimal returns, and that the ANF manga section is circling like a tiger?
Will they still back it the same way?”
“Ever since the merger, the internal factions at Zhuxing have been a mess. Infighting’s been constant, right?”
“…”
Guan Fang’s face shifted. Clearly, she remembered something unpleasant.
But she quickly composed herself.
“Those issues exist in every publishing house.And don’t think Avalon is problem-free either—they’re still a newcomer. Even if Chainsaw Man is riding a high now, it can’t hold the entire platform alone.Besides, that series isn’t going to last long.
The plot’s already going off the rails!You think Zhuxing, with its legacy and reputation, is going to lose to some rootless online startup?
When the time comes, I’ll rally the troops—I refuse to believe manga artists will pick ANF over us.”
“What, you’re going to upload my finished works?”
Rumi raised an eyebrow.“You just said they’re finished.How can those compete in popularity against a fresh new title?”
She shook her head.
“And as for you ‘rallying the troops’—sure, manga artists will pick Zhuxing first.But whether you can keep them is another matter entirely…
Your editorial team’s taste keeps getting more conservative.Can they really adapt to the rhythm of the internet, digital platforms, and cross-media operations?”
“And you think Avalon can? With Chainsaw Man? Isn’t that story already—”
“You’re one of the people who’s falling behind the times.”
Rumi interrupted coldly.
“You don’t seriously think Chainsaw Man’s plot is falling apart, or that killing the female lead means Tang Yao doesn’t know what she’s doing and the story’s entering a lull, do you?”
She shook her head.
“Don’t be ridiculous.Chainsaw Man is about to go full throttle. There’s no lull coming.”
“Absolutely impossible!”
Guan Fang snapped.
Rumi didn’t argue further.
“Then let’s wait and see.”
Meanwhile, at Avalon.
Chainsaw Man was just one of many things Tang Yao had on her plate.
As for Rumi’s mother and her little schemes?To be honest—Tang Yao had seen it coming.But she wasn’t bothered by it.
Because let’s face it—Under the wave of the internet, every industry is moving online.
She was already mentally prepared.Competitors? Totally normal.
If they wanted to stall, play games—Let them.
Contracts had terms. The promo had to happen regardless.Even if Li Xue was inexperienced, she’d at least made sure to set a hard deadline.
Before April, the FGO crossover gacha had to launch.
When that time came, it wouldn’t be up to the IP holders anymore.
In fact, the reason Avalon was even willing to wait this long was purely out of courtesy—Partially for Rumi’s sake.And partially because Tang Yao was waiting, too.Waiting for the next peak in Chainsaw Man's storyline to fully erupt.
When Chainsaw Man exploded again, and the FGO gacha pool launched in tandem…The power of the ANF manga section would be undeniable.
The ANF manga platform would prove that:
It could make hits.
It could bring massive revenue to great stories.
With those two points alone, Tang Yao didn’t believe other mangaka wouldn’t be tempted.
Of course, that would also bring some problems.Once Chainsaw Man became a huge success, copycats would inevitably pop up.
New mangaka always needed to test the waters with short stories.And most of them weren’t mature enough to craft original ideas from scratch.So naturally, they’d imitate what was popular.
And what was hot on the platform?
Of course—Chainsaw Man.
But that wasn’t a big issue.Tang Yao was even considering redrawing some of Tatsuki Fujimoto’s excellent one-shots, like Look Back and Goodbye, Eri, for reference.
Back in her past life—Jump+, the online branch of Weekly Shonen Jump, ended up flooded with creators influenced by Fujimoto, that lunatic genius.
They all started submitting one-shot “life theater” stories—short but emotionally packed.
And what were those “life theater one-shots”?
Basically, even if you expanded them, they’d wrap up in 30–100 chapters. Tops.
For Shonen Jump, that was a nightmare.Because Jump wanted long-running flagships.They wanted One Piece.They wanted Naruto.They wanted core series that could carry the magazine.
What good were a few dozen chapters?
But Tang Yao wasn’t bound by that.
Avalon didn’t have a magazine.It was a pure online platform.
So this “life theater” one-shot format?Actually kind of perfect.
If ANF could become a Jump+-like haven and spawn a wave of “Fujimoto clones,” that’d be great.
After all, creators behind Dandadan, Spy x Family, and Hell’s Paradise had all been Fujimoto’s assistants.
You could say Team Fujimoto carried half of Jump+.
Of course… Tang Yao knew that was just wishful thinking.Those assistants weren’t successful just because of Fujimoto. They were genuinely talented.
And in this world, there was no Lin Shiping, that legendary editor.
So for now, she could only stay hopeful.
“Tang Yao.”
Lost in her thoughts about ANF’s future, Tang Yao suddenly heard Li Xue’s voice.
She snapped out of it and turned to the radiant Li Xue with a smile.
“What’s up?”
“ANF just got its first client.”
Li Xue looked serious as she handed over a document.
“Someone wants to co-publish a game with ANF.”