I just want to quietly draw manga Chapter 333

At the Tokyo Magazine headquarters.

Inside the meeting room, the editors were gathered around the table.

Editor-in-chief Tsubasa Mori started the meeting. “So, is it finalized? What are we covering this month in general?”

Assistant Yuto handed over a detailed report. “Here’s what we’ve decided to add.”

Tsubasa scanned through it carefully. “How many pages have we given to Code Geass?”

“Eight pages,” Yuto replied. “Each director working on Code Geass and one for Evermark Studio is getting one page, and Muzishiro will get three.”

Editor Ayaka added, “We’re also including a section on Echo Shroud’s recent success. As of last month, Echo Shroud reached 12.5 million in sales compared to Red Lantern’s 10 million. Their numbers increased too, but not by that much. So I think we can officially write that Echo Shroud has taken the third biggest publishing spot.”

Editor Sosuke nodded slightly. “With that, all seven major publishing houses have their ranks clearly set.”

“It’s kind of amazing,” Ayaka said. “In just two years, Echo Shroud went from eight million to 12.5 million sales and finally took third place. Red Lantern and Echo Shroud have been fighting for that spot for, what, ten years? Without ever overtaking completely.”

Tsubasa looked up from the report. “Do you think Echo Shroud still has the gas to climb higher?”

“I think if they want to go up,” Ayaka replied, “especially with their model of having no fixed genre, they need to secure a strong female mangaka. Arir’s Dream World is nearing its end, and she hasn’t announced a new series yet. Based on her record, she usually takes a one-to-two-year break. So, for Echo Shroud, finding someone like that is essential if they want to keep rising.”

Sosuke adjusted his glasses. “I heard they’re now targeting female audiences too. Muzishiro’s new works are action-based, and Arir’s series is also technically action, but it attracts a lot of female readers. So now, to fill that gap, they’re looking for similar creators.”

“I’ve heard the same from Red Lantern,” editor Mina said. “They’ve started changing their approach for scouting new mangaka after seeing Echo Shroud’s growth through Muzishiro. They’re paying more attention to younger creators now.”

“It’s hard to say,” Yuto added quietly. “I never thought one mangaka could impact a publishing house’s total sales until Muzishiro did it.”

There had been mangaka before who built fanbases through multiple hit works, bringing readers over from one series to the next. But it was rare — something that happened maybe once a decade. Most could only sustain their popularity for a few titles before their next work failed to reach the same audience.

Sosuke spoke again. “I think Muzishiro might be the first of a new type. A mangaka who can keep producing multiple hits across years. The last one I remember like that was Naoki-sensei — he had four hit manga over a decade. That was the record for popularity back then. Muzishiro already has four, not counting his first two short works. If his next manga succeeds again, he might actually make history in this industry.”

Ayaka gave a short laugh. “It’s hard to measure his talent. We can look at top mangaka who’ve been serializing for twenty years, but it’s not the same. Someone who’s spent twenty years on a single title isn’t comparable to someone who’s created multiple hit series.”

Tsubasa said, “Just look at Code Geass. Its current popularity is because of the directors, who are world-class names, but also because of the tone and story itself. The fact that it could bring together three world-class directors says everything. It needed a story that could convince all of them to join. Honestly, I could fill a whole issue just talking about how much Muzishiro has achieved in three years.”

Ayaka added, “We’re doing that for this issue too. But honestly, Code Geass has created such a vacuum that there’s barely anything new to cover. I think this might be one of our lowest page counts in the last three or four years.”

Sosuke smiled faintly. “Yeah, I know. I had to dig through so much just to fill one page that wasn’t about Muzishiro, Code Geass, or Evermark. It’s like the rest of the industry froze.”

“I can’t really blame them,” Mina said. “With how Code Geass is doing, it was smart to stay quiet. I think those studios are losing more sleep than we are.”

The room broke into small laughter as the meeting wrapped up. They finalized the lineup for the upcoming issue, set to release at the end of July.

When the magazine finally hit the stands, the cover featured Lelouch from Code Geass. Many readers had hoped for something different this time, since Tokyo Magazine had already covered Code Geass in its previous issue. But when they looked past the main feature, they noticed a detailed section ranking Japan’s top seven publishing houses by sales — and for the first time in ten years, there wasn’t a tie for any position.

That immediately caught everyone’s attention. The manga industry in particular took note of Tokyo Magazine’s new issue. The feature officially placed Echo Shroud at number three, ahead of Red Lantern, which stirred up plenty of discussion online and within the publishing circles.

What stood out most, however, was how much attention it brought back to Muzishiro himself — not just as the writer behind hit anime, but as a mangaka.

For the past three months, most conversations had centered around his anime work. With this issue, the focus had finally shifted back toward his manga side.