When the official Ascent of New Gods website released the latest data, the entire forum fell into a state of total chaos. Readers could accept the top six rankings. Whether it was the quality of the prose or the pre-existing fame and massive fanbases of those authors, the results made sense.
However, the first chapter of To the Moon was undeniably underwhelming in terms of immediate excitement.
"I can understand the top six, but what on earth is this seventh place? Why is To the Moon ranked so high?"
"Out of fifty-one entries, at least forty of them had a more thrilling first chapter than To the Moon. How did it get this many votes?"
"Is it vote manipulation?"
"Stop talking nonsense. I am a fan of Sensei Shiori Takahashi. Even I think the first chapter was a bit flat, but I am voting for her anyway. What are you going to do about it?"
"Exactly. Sensei has a massive following, and we all have faith in her. So what if her work is a slow burn? We are willing to wait. Why are you all so bothered?"
"Look, we need to be objective when reading. If a story is good, vote for it. If it is mediocre, don't follow blindly! Pushing To the Moon to seventh place like this is a bit too blatant. Aren't you afraid of the backlash?"
"We are all legitimate readers who bought the physical magazine. We aren't hackers using bots to farm votes. What is there to be afraid of?"
"Forget it. Go ahead and look down on To the Moon all you want. Those of us from Minamijo who followed Anohana during its serialization know exactly how this works. Sensei's stories start with a lot of foreshadowing and world-building."
"It is normal for it to feel a bit slow at first, but as long as the payoff is great, that is all that matters."
"I am an Anohana fan from Tokyo, and I am standing with our Minamijo bros and sisses. We support Sensei Shiori Takahashi!"
"I am from Hokkaido, and I am a fan too. What is wrong with supporting her new work? I believe this story is going to have an incredible development later on."
"I am in Kyushu, and I am voting for To the Moon under my real name. Just based on the emotional impact Anohana had on me, I am putting my trust in Sensei this time."
"I am a reader from the northern prefectures. The only reason I bought the Ascent of New Gods magazine was because it featured Sensei Shiori Takahashi's new work. Who else would I vote for?"
Initially, it was just a vocal minority questioning whether the quality of the first chapter deserved the seventh-place ranking in the magazine's debut. This quickly sparked the ire of Haruto's fanbase.
For days, they had been seeing people on the forums trashing the Anohana anime, claiming the original novel's million-copy success was just the result of a million "idiot readers." Now that people were questioning their votes, the fans stopped being polite and came out in droves to defend their choice.
The online debate was fierce, with neither side willing to back down. However, this controversy caused many passersby, readers who knew nothing about Anohana, to start wondering.
Is this Anohana by that Minamijo author really that good? It finished months ago, yet it still has enough loyal fans to blindly support his new work, To the Moon, just for his sake. While this curiosity wasn't quite enough to make them spend their hard-earned money on the Anohana volumes yet, many people were now planning to tune into Tokyo TV7 to see if the anime adaptation was actually worth the hype. After all, watching the anime was free.
In Minamijo, Nanzawa...
Haruto was naturally keeping a close eye on the reception of To the Moon.
"Seventh place!" Yukino had been wearing a look of pure excitement for an entire day. "I really didn't expect it to be seventh. The loyalty of your Anohana fans is absolutely incredible."
"I didn't expect it either," Haruto admitted, feeling somewhat surprised. He had mentally prepared himself for a disastrous ranking in the first issue. He never imagined that his old fans would carry him so high on their shoulders.
"Back when Anohana was being serialized, it was a slow burn too, but then it had that legendary development toward the end. Your readers now have a psychological expectation for your style. They know you take your time. You could say things just happened to fall into place," Yukino chuckled happily.
Technically, the success of this competition had nothing to do with her as an editor at Crimson Maple Literature, but she couldn't help but feel proud. As she spoke, Yukino glanced over at Reina, who was diligently working on the illustrations and posters for Haruto.
"It is winter break now. You have plenty of time for work, so why don't you take a break?"
"There is no time to rest. My new novel only ranked twenty-ninth. Once I finish these drawings for Haruto, I need to spend my time refining the plot and the outline for the later chapters," Reina replied, a flicker of frustration crossing her cool, elegant features.
"But you have to look at the rating! Your work ranked eighth in the rating category, which means the readers who actually read it had a very positive impression of your first chapter. You are different from Haruto. He has the backing of a million fans from Minamijo and beyond. Once the serialization goes on a bit longer and your plot unfolds, your popularity rank will climb," Yukino reassured her.
Reina looked up at Haruto and Yukino, shook her head slightly, and returned her focus to the drawing paper.
Under a clear, starry night, a young boy and girl sat on a fallen log, gazing up at the sky.
A massive, brilliant moon provided a sense of deep tranquility. Haruto's specific request for this illustration was that the stars and the moon had to be arranged in a way that, with a bit of imagination, one could draw connecting lines to form the shape of a rabbit. It was a task that required a refined artistic sense, but she was more than up to the challenge.
"It is beautiful, Reina."
As she was carefully applying color with her brush, Haruto's voice sounded right beside her. Her fingers trembled ever so slightly.
"Are you talking about this starry sky?"
"Of course," Haruto said, pointing to the paper. "Look. There are the two ears. And there are the two feet. Even someone with as little imagination as me can easily find the rabbit if I am looking for it. This starry sky you have painted... it is even better than what I imagined."
Haruto smiled as he pointed out the details.
Reina tilted her head slightly to look at him.
"Is there some deep meaning behind this request? The rabbit in the stars... does it have a connection to the paper rabbits in the first chapter of To the Moon?"
"You will find out once the serialization progresses," Haruto said. He never liked giving spoilers. "It is like if I asked you about the secret of the heroine's past in your new novel. Would you tell me?"
"Of course not," Reina replied, finally understanding.
"I suppose I will just have to wait and see what role my illustration plays in your story."
It was another Wednesday.
The second episode of the Anohana anime aired on television. Although many newcomers who had not read the book complained that it was still a slow burn, the characterization of Menma was undeniably charming.
Many viewers found themselves continuing the show simply because they liked her character.
The viewership ratings saw a slight increase compared to the first episode, with an average rating of 1.13%, ranking twenty-fourth among the new spring releases. The Ascent of New Gods magazine was published every ten days.
While this was a relatively slow pace for serialization, it gave the stories plenty of time to build momentum and word-of-mouth. In the early stages, the rankings were heavily influenced by the author's existing fanbase. However, as the weeks went by, readers would prove they weren't fools.
A "friendship vote" might carry an author through the first two or three issues, but eventually, people would only vote for the stories that were actually compelling. Otherwise, the competition would be meaningless; they could just hand out prizes based on whoever had the most Twitter followers.
On Wednesday, January 24th, the second issue of the Ascent of New Gods magazine was released nationwide. The story of To the Moon picked up immediately after the end of the first chapter.
Neil and Eva said goodbye to the mental projection of the elderly Johnny from his most recent memories and used the machine to dive deeper into his subconscious. A significant portion of the text was still dedicated to their exploration of his past, trying to find the root motivation for his desire to go to the moon.
In this layer of memory, they encountered Johnny from one year prior. He was holding a stuffed platypus, staring at the lighthouse and the grave of his late wife, River. He looked lost and profoundly lonely.