Chapter 219: Chapter 218: The Only Award That Wasn’t a Foregone Conclusion Was the Film Category

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Time marched steadily into the start of a brand-new year.

During this period, Tokyo was draped in a pristine coat of silver. The streets were teeming with students and couples enjoying their time off, navigating the slush and the crisp winter air.

However, the professions of novelist and manga artist come with a distinct drawback: there is no such thing as a fixed holiday. Or, to put it more accurately, as long as you have a backlog of completed Chapters, every day can be a holiday. Unfortunately, neither Haruto, Reina, nor Shizuru were the type to keep a significant buffer of manuscripts. Consequently, while the rest of the world celebrated, the three of them remained buried in their work.

The situation was slightly more pressing for Haruto and Shizuru. Immediately following the New Year break, Minazuki University would be conducting final examinations. Given their academic standings, both of them needed to engage in a desperate, last-minute cramming session to ensure they passed.

Reina, being more academically gifted and naturally composed, was able to maintain a more relaxed pace.

Just as the New Year holiday was coming to a close, Haruto received four major notifications.

In the manga industry, Manga Prime had officially submitted Initial D to the relevant associations for the Ryugin Awards, the most prestigious award in the manga world.

Much like the awards for novels, the Ryugin Awards evaluated all new manga series serialized across Japan’s prefectures over the previous year. The judging criteria were comprehensive, focusing on overall cultural impact, reader reception, narrative depth, and whether the work had introduced significant innovations to the industry.

The first-place prize money was a somewhat symbolic ten million yen. While the cash reward was relatively modest for a top-tier creator, securing a spot in the top ten was the equivalent of receiving an official certification as an elite, first-class mangaka in Japan.

However, as the organizing committee and the various publishing houses began tallying the nominations, a wave of despair washed over many other creators. This was especially true for the talented veterans whose own series were performing exceptionally well.

They all knew the reality of the situation.

Initial D would be competing this year.

How are we supposed to win against that?

In previous years, a series that managed to rank in the top tier of a flagship magazine like Weekly Prime would be considered a frontrunner for the gold. After all, the awards only considered works that had debuted within the last calendar year; few series can accumulate massive popularity in such a short window. But was Initial D a normal work? When standing on the same stage, how could any other rookie manga compete in terms of raw popularity or momentum? The thought alone gave everyone a massive headache.

The evaluation process for the Ryugin Awards, including the preliminary rounds and final judging, would span three months, with the winners being announced in April.

Simultaneously, the preparations for the annual grand event of the light novel world, began with the turn of the year.

Kiyozawa Library has nominated Sword Art Online for the Naoki Awards.

Interestingly, Reina’s Absolute Realm was also nominated. Her series had only been serializing for a few weeks, but its popularity had already climbed to the sixth rank within the magazine. This was a staggering achievement for a newcomer.

However, because the influence of Sword Art Online was so overwhelming, Reina’s brilliant performance remained somewhat obscured by the shadow of Haruto’s success.

Much like the manga world’s reaction to the Ryugin Awards, the light novel community viewed SAO as a nightmare for any other competing author. There was simply no way to argue against its dominance.

Furthermore, Seika Awards for best television series and best animated film were also entering their nomination phase. Sugar Man Pictures, owned by Yukino’s father, submitted To the Moon to the committee. Meanwhile, Yukino, acting on behalf of the Warrior of Love, submitted Puella Magi Madoka Magica.

Of these categories, the Best Animated films was the only one where Haruto’s victory wasn’t a certainty. To the Moon had finished the year with a box office total of over 2 billion yen. While its financial performance was impressive, it wasn’t the absolute number one, making the gold medal a bit harder to grasp. However, To the Moon boasted a critical rating that was significantly higher than the film in the top spot, so the final outcome remained a topic of intense debate among cinephiles.

These awards, after all, factored in artistic merit alongside commercial success.

The other three awards felt almost like foregone conclusions. Even a cautious person like Haruto, after analyzing the competition, had to admit he held a massive advantage.

Unless the judging panels engaged in blatant, shameless corruption to sabotage him, his works were the clear favorites. When the holiday break ended and the various companies officially announced their nominations, Haruto’s fans finally began to realize the magnitude of what was happening.

"Wait... is Shiori-sensei actually going to sweep the novel, the Ryugin, and the Best Animated Feature awards all in one go this April?"

"Honestly, the possibility is quite high. Initial D and SAO might have one or two rivals that can keep pace with them in terms of weekly popularity, but if you limit the competition to works that debuted last year, there’s nothing else even in the same league."

"If that happens, it’s going to be the biggest story in the history of the industry."

"Imagine one person taking the gold for the best novel, the best manga, and the best movie in a single year. It’s almost comical. How are his peers in the industry even going to look him in the eye after that? The embarrassment would be legendary." 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

"It’s a shame Shiori-sensei didn’t produce a TV anime last year or have one of his works adapted for the small screen. Otherwise, he could have aimed for the Best TV Anime award too. Winning all four major pillars of the subculture world would have been god-tier."

"What are you talking about? Even if Shiori-sensei had a TV anime out last year, he wouldn’t have won that specific gold medal. No one would have."

"Exactly. Because that spot is already reserved for one masterpiece and one masterpiece alone: Puella Magi Madoka Magica!"

"Ah, right... Madoka."

"That’s true. Even for a genius like Shiori-sensei, going up against the Warrior of Love in the TV animation sector is a losing battle. The records Madoka set are just too ridiculous to overcome."

"Look, whether it’s Shiori-sensei or the Warrior of Love, they’re both my favorite creators. If the two of them actually manage to lock down all four major awards for the year, I will personally dress up in a full Madoka cosplay and do a celebratory sprint around the Minazuki University campus to show my support."

"I’m bookmarking this comment. I’ll be back in April to hold you to that. Don’t you dare back out."

"Someone record this for history."

"If you just want an excuse to cross-dress and let out your inner magical girl, just say so. No need to be so cryptic about it. Go buy your pink dress; no one is going to judge you."

The four major awards of the industry were all scheduled to finalize their selections in April. This was an industry standard, as the judging window needed to include works that began their run in the previous winter season, necessitating a waiting period through the spring to gauge their full impact.

With the New Year concluded, the official websites for the four awards opened their public forums and voting portals. Haruto’s fanbases, for both his identities, descended upon these sites in a massive, coordinated wave.

Within twenty-four hours of the portals opening, the forums were almost entirely occupied by supporters of the Warrior of Love and Shiori Takahashi.