novelraw Chapter 194: Scratching Head
Chapter 194: Scratching Head
As expected.
The promotional video for FGO x Dark Night exploded in popularity the moment it was released.
ANF had already attracted a large wave of manga readers due to Chainsaw Man, and combined with their existing user base, the platform was extremely active.
The promotional video was placed in the most prominent position.
So when the evening peak arrived,
The video's view count skyrocketed to over a million in no time!
Although most users watched it through banner ads,
The official FGO account on ANF also posted the video, and those views were counted together.
Thus, before 8 PM,
The video had already claimed the top spot on the platform's daily rankings. This exposure led even more users to see it.
And among them... was Jian Yinghua.
He could be considered a fan of Rumi, though not a hardcore otaku. He occasionally read manga and watched anime, keeping up with some related news.
His favorite work was Dark Night, widely regarded as Rumi's masterpiece.
A while ago, he saw ads for Dark Night Decree and learned that the manga would be adapted into a game.
Not just any game—it was also getting an FGO crossover...
He had never played FGO, as he wasn't much of a gamer.
But his favorite manga getting a game adaptation? That piqued his interest.
Because he loved Dark Night so much! He was genuinely curious about how it would translate into a game and eager to control his favorite characters.
So he had been following updates on Dark Night Decree, counting down to its release.
As for FGO...
Well, since he had never played it before and Dark Night Decree's marketing kept pushing the narrative,
He genuinely believed the crossover would be a lazy reskin—same old gacha pool, same old mechanics, just with new character models slapped on.
He wasn’t interested.
In fact, he was somewhat put off.
Seriously.
If you want to make money, at least put in some effort! Make it unique! Otherwise, what’s the point of a crossover? Even dogs wouldn’t play this!
That had been his mindset...
Until today.
Until he saw FGO x Dark Night’s promotional video...
When the female protagonist of Dark Night appeared, followed by a rapid montage of battle sequences,
His mind was flooded with question marks.
Huh???
Wasn’t this supposed to be half-assed?
Why... did it look nothing like that?
Not just different—it looked even better than Dark Night Decree!
The Live2D character art stunned him. Every detail matched the source material: the lantern she carried, her abilities, even her outfit.
Jian Yinghua vividly remembered that in the final arc of Dark Night, the protagonist wore this exact outfit when crossing into the dark realm—though only once.
At the time, he had lamented how such a gorgeous design appeared so briefly, especially with the series ending soon.
But now, the game seemed to have heard the fans’ wishes, perfectly recreating it—even enhancing its beauty beyond the manga!
And the art style... It felt so familiar! As if Rumi herself had drawn it!
The characters flashing by in the battle montage—aside from the original FGO cast he didn’t recognize—were all from the manga, flawlessly adapted.
He could even name which story arcs each character appeared in.
And the limited 5★ Servant "Eternal Night Gatekeeper," whose face wasn’t shown but only named? Any manga reader would recognize who that was and smile knowingly.
This level of faithfulness... this dedication to the source material...
And people claimed FGO wasn’t taking this crossover seriously?
Jian Yinghua felt his worldview shaking!
He rewatched the FGO x Dark Night trailer, then, after some thought, pulled up the Dark Night Decree promo he had saved.
After revisiting that one,
The differences became glaring.
The Dark Night Decree trailer had initially seemed decent to him, though overly fanservicey. Did the protagonist’s chest really need to be that exaggerated? Why the cleavage-baring outfit? And why were all the female characters dressed like that while the males looked ripped straight from the manga?
Back then, despite his doubts, hearing familiar lines from familiar characters made him overlook those issues.
Maybe it’s just marketing?
They said it was a faithful adaptation... The actual game must still be good, right?
That’s what he had told himself.
But now,
With a direct comparison,
What "marketing"?
Was FGO not also marketing? Their trailer didn’t rely on fanservice, yet it still outshone Dark Night Decree’s—by a landslide!
Even the voice acting felt better suited in FGO’s version.
The difference was night and day!
So which one was the "faithful adaptation" now?
He suddenly found himself more interested in FGO...
Jian Yinghua scratched his head, conflicted.
After a moment, he switched back to ANF, reopened the FGO x Dark Night video, and scrolled down to the comments to see what others were saying.
The moment he did,
He noticed something—the official account had replied to several top comments.
Curious, he read through them.
[Holy shit! This is amazing! Who said Avalon was slacking? Just because their initial marketing was cryptic doesn’t mean they half-assed it! They might be new, but when have they ever delivered anything less than stellar?]
[FGO: Beats me. Maybe some... *ahem* "industry peers"?]
[Hyped! I knew Avalon wouldn’t disappoint! Going all-out for a crossover with such a famous manga? Of course they’d nail it! The trailer proves it!]
[FGO: Thanks... But really? Then what’s this post from a week ago about how you "can’t wait for Dark Night Decree"? 🔪]
[I was a bit worried at first, but after the trailer? All doubts gone! New content! New waifus! But is the limited story mode a manga recap or original crossover plot?]
[FGO: Brand-new original story! Rumi-sensei was involved too~ Oh, and it’s not short!]
[WHOA! Original story? Rumi-sensei helped?! How many manga characters are in it?]
[FGO: No fewer than the first gacha pool. This is part of FGO’s annual seasonal updates—Spring Edition. Even though it’s a crossover, the content scale rivals main story chapters.]
[LMAO, admin-san, you’re being way too blunt! "Industry peers"? Spilling all these details? Won’t your boss get mad?]
[FGO: Nah, we’re close.]
[..."we"?]
[...]
Scrolling further,
The FGO account stopped replying.
Most comments were just hype and praise for the trailer,
Which didn’t really warrant responses.
But Jian Yinghua couldn’t shake the feeling... that the admin had slipped up and was now laying low.
He scratched his head again.
Soon, though, he dismissed the thought and focused on the official replies.
Original story! Comparable to the first gacha pool’s scope! From what others said, it sounded substantial! And most importantly—Rumi-sensei was directly involved?!
Jian Yinghua’s excitement surged at that detail. He rewatched the trailer, his earlier disdain completely forgotten.
Was this really the "lazy reskin" Dark Night Decree’s side had made it out to be?
It looked anything but.
Honestly...
He wanted to play this now.
March 21st.
The release date flashed at the end of the trailer. He thought back.
Wasn’t Dark Night Decree launching on the 20th?
Just one day apart.
He could try both.
But... was that intentional?
Jian Yinghua stared at the date on-screen, lost in thought.
...
Meanwhile.
ANF Headquarters.
"The account isn’t with you? Then who’s replying?"
Li Xue narrowed her beautiful eyes, shoving her phone screen toward Cai Quan. Her expression was icy. "Why these replies? Why mention Tang Yao’s involvement? Who’s behind this?"
"......"
Cai Quan froze. For the first time, he realized this usually gentle mature woman could glare with murderous intent—
What the hell?!
Since when was she this scary?!
He hurriedly explained, "It’s Tang Yao! She asked for the account credentials, said she wanted to reply to players herself..."
"......"
Li Xue paused, then her gaze softened.
She recalled how, before leaving earlier, Tang Yao had been typing furiously, muttering angrily about "those damn competitors." Everything clicked.
So that’s what happened...
A smile bloomed on her face, radiant as a highland flower in full bloom. "I see."
Wait.
Cai Quan blinked at her sudden shift in demeanor.
What happened to the interrogation?
This is favoritism!
But Li Xue didn’t notice his bewilderment.
With that,
She turned to leave, chuckling as she headed off to find Tang Yao.
Yet after just a few steps, she slowed to a stop, as if remembering something.
Eventually... she turned back.
"...Actually, first tell me about ANF’s recent performance."