Sora's words carried the same shape as the "big dreams" corporate suits liked to sell - the kind of inspirational pitch that, coming from an older executive, would've made any seasoned studio worker feel sick. But here, at this table, it landed differently.
Because Sora was the youngest person in the room - and yet he was the one leading them. When he said it with that easy smile, without a hint of embarrassment at how audacious it sounded, it didn't come off as hollow. It came off as youth in its purest form: reckless, bright, and unreasonably convincing. The kind that drags memories out of people - memories of when they, too, once believed they could stare the world down and win.
The same line, spoken by a different person, in a different place, at a different time, becomes something else entirely.
And after months of pressure and sleepless nights, no one heard "motivational fluff." What spread across the table was something sharper and more alive - ambition with teeth. A stubborn courage that made the room feel warmer.
Haruto could practically feel his blood ignite. He was one breath away from grabbing Sora's hand and cheering like they'd just won a championship.
Sumire went still for a moment, a fleeting scene flashing behind her eyes like a reflection caught in glass. She understood her own limits. Becoming a famous animation Kantoku on her own might be too high a mountain to climb. But staying at Sora's side - supporting him, acting as his right hand, growing alongside him - she could do that. She believed in that. And if, one day, he truly became a name the industry couldn't ignore… then she would be remembered too, even if it was as the steady shadow behind the blaze.
Across from them, Yumi Noriko sat beside Sora, studying his expression with a quiet intensity. At some point - she couldn't even say when - her phone had already found the perfect angle, discreet and precise, capturing the moment: the way he spoke, the contained laughter, the confidence that seemed too big to fit inside an eighteen-year-old body.
She'd grown up wrapped in comfort, never needing to understand what it meant to fight for something until it hurt. And yet, tonight, inside this team, soaked in this atmosphere… she felt unexpectedly happy.
There was something undeniably moving about it - watching people gather not to celebrate money or status, but to celebrate the chance to create an anime the audience would truly recognize as good. Something made with care. Something worthy.
And deep down, she knew it: Natsume Yuujinchou hadn't been born by accident. If that title had sparked this much discussion, this much heat, then she carried a massive piece of the credit. Pride swelled in her chest so hard it almost surprised her - stronger, sharper than even the day her following on NatsuYume had broken a million and the comments had flooded in with praise.
This was different.
This was real.
The team dinner celebrating Natsume Yuujinchou's strong opening ran until midnight. When it finally ended, the tight knot of tension that had been twisting in everyone's chest for months loosened at last, like someone had finally untied a cord that had been cutting off their breath.
But the relief only lasted as long as the walk home.
Because tomorrow… was work again.
And on the way back, both Sora and the rest of Yume Animation felt their emotions surge - excitement tangled with responsibility, euphoria shadowed by pressure. If Natsume Yuujinchou had opened like this, then what did it matter where it aired? What did it matter how much capital backed the competition?
The fear they'd felt toward the four "flagship" titles pushed by Tokyo's major networks this cour had thinned by more than half.
At the very least, in the four prefectures of Shikoku - Tokushima , Kōchi, Ehime, and Kagawa, Natsume Yuujinchou was standing in the same ring. Viewers could see everything and choose freely.
So who needed to be afraid of who?
Inside the team, the goal had become singular: give everything they had, squeeze out every last ounce of skill and stamina, and make Natsume Yuujinchou shine - truly shine - within Japan's anime industry.
…
October 20.
The third week of the fall cour market.
By this point, the industry's attention had shifted. It was no longer limited to the four big Tokyo networks and their heavily promoted lineups. Suddenly, everyone was talking about a low-budget anime airing through a Tokushima regional affiliate - an 11-million-yen production that had no business standing where it was standing.
And as always, once something "impossible" starts to look real, people go digging for old drama.
The public back-and-forth between Sora and Maki, and the fan war between supporters of Yumi Noriko and Natsuyuki Shirasawa, got dragged back into the spotlight like a greatest-hits compilation. It became the kind of story people chewed on endlessly - forums, message boards, comment sections, late-night conversations.
"So what do you think Natsume Yuujinchou's ratings will be this week? Last week it jumped by 0.5 points to 3.8%. If it climbs another 0.5 and hits 4.3%, then in Shikoku it'll beat The Dragon King Next Door."
"No way. The Dragon King Next Door can't be that weak."
"The first episode averaged 4.31% across the four prefectures. The second dropped to 4.20%… Even if episode three holds steady, it's still going to be close."
"Seriously though - how did The Dragon King Next Door end up like this? Before it aired, they swore it would be the cour's dominant title. Over 40 million yen in production cost, and this is the performance?"
"Budget mostly shows in visuals. Direction, music, and writing matter too. And it's obvious the rest of it isn't holding up."
"Is it the writer Natsuyuki Shirasawa's fault? When I watch it, the plot always feels… uneven."
"I heard a rumor. Supposedly the original script was really strong, just a bit bleak. But Maki thought audiences only wanted something 'for the whole family,' so he forced several characters who were meant to die to survive. Natsuyuki Shirasawa had to rewrite the main line around that - people are saying more than 20% of the story was altered. And the final product turned into… this."
"So the plot problems are Maki backfiring?"
"Who knows? Maybe the original script would've tested even worse. But one thing's clear: as Kantoku, Maki is responsible for everything. If the show's underperforming, the blame lands on him first. And if The Dragon King Next Door loses to Natsume Yuujinchou in Shikoku… that'll be a show. It's been three years since a major-network flagship got beaten in ratings by a regional broadcast. And he even mocked them before the premiere. That's a double slap in the face."
…
Maki pulled his gaze away from the comment section, his expression dark and strained.
It was already humiliating enough that The Dragon King Next Door - the most expensive anime of the cour - was only sitting at fourth place nationally. But now, the entire industry seemed to be waiting with bated breath to watch Natsume Yuujinchou overtake it in Shikoku.
If episode three of Natsume Yuujinchou maintained its quality…
Maki's eyes turned stormy, heavy like a sky before rain.
Still, irritation didn't change reality. Ratings weren't something you could control. They belonged to the audience. They were choice - pure and simple.
At the moment, episode three of Reincarnation of the Maou was sitting at 4.27% nationally. The Dragon King Next Door was at 4.21% nationwide, and in Shikoku it was slightly different: 4.22%. Meanwhile, episode three of Card had fallen to 4.23% nationally, a noticeable dip; the consensus was that the week's story had been too bland.
And tonight…
Tonight was the broadcast of episode three of Akane no Sora and episode three of Natsume Yuujinchou.
Maki's mood was awful. He never imagined he'd live to see the day when he'd be anxious over the ratings of an anime airing on a regional channel like Tokushima TV. If he lost, it would become the ugliest stain on his entire directing career.
…
That evening, episode three of Akane no Sora aired first. Even after it ended, the discussion stayed scorching hot, climbing to the top of trending lists on major entertainment sites.
Two hours later, Natsume Yuujinchou aired right on schedule.
Compared to episodes one and two, episode three was gentler - more subdued. It didn't lean heavily into memories of Natsume Reiko, nor did it hit the same emotional punch as episode two, which had offered viewers a quiet, heartfelt story centered on a youkai. Instead, the episode focused on a student named Tanuma - someone who could faintly see what most people couldn't.
Like Natsume, he'd grown up isolated because of that gift. Lonely. Quiet. Always standing slightly apart from the world. But in this episode, he finally came into contact with Natsume, and the two - two teenagers shaped by the same kind of solitude - recognized something rare in each other.
So… he's like me.
He can see youkai too.
So I'm not alone. Not in this world.
The story wasn't about spirits this time. It was about people.
Even so, it still carried tenderness in the details - small moments that landed softly in the chest. The overall impact, however, was a touch weaker than the first two episodes. Fans accepted that kind of fluctuation. A series needed to breathe. It needed rhythm, not constant escalation.
And despite the calmer chapter, Natsume Yuujinchou still rose in ratings, and the online reception remained - as it had been from the start - overwhelmingly positive.
The next day, the numbers came out.
Akane no Sora posted 4.48% nationally and 4.51% in Shikoku. Natsume Yuujinchou averaged 4.22% across Shikoku's four prefectures.
It wasn't as dramatic a leap as the 0.5-point jump from week one to week two - but it was still a 0.4-point increase. And then came the detail that made the entire industry hold its breath:
That 4.22% matched The Dragon King Next Door's Shikoku rating for episode three exactly.
Maybe, if someone published more decimal places, there would be a tiny difference - enough to declare a winner.
But for now…
It was a draw.
And that's when the talk truly exploded.
If, this week, The Dragon King Next Door and Natsume Yuujinchou were tied in Shikoku… what about next week?
And it wasn't only about The Dragon King Next Door being threatened. Compared to Card, Reincarnation of the Maou, and Akane no Sora, Natsume Yuujinchou's numbers weren't far behind either. Could it really surpass the major-network titles within Shikoku?
And when people followed that thought to its natural conclusion, an unavoidable idea surfaced.
If Natsume Yuujinchou could truly do this, what did it mean?
It meant the series wasn't just "king of its own mountain" in Shikoku. It meant the limit wasn't the work - it was the platform. In other regions, plenty of anime fans simply didn't have the same way to support Natsume Yuujinchou, because of distribution and broadcast reach.
And if, from the very beginning, Natsume Yuujinchou had premiered nationwide on Tokyo's major networks… what kind of standing would it hold now in the fall cour?
Once that line of thinking began to spread, industry insiders couldn't help but arrive at the same name.
The young Kantoku from Tokushima .
Sora, eighteen years old.
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