Shonen Jump is indeed the undisputed golden signboard under Shueisha, but apart from Shonen Jump, Shueisha's strength in other publishing fields should not be underestimated.
As one of the largest comprehensive publishing houses in Japan, Shueisha is even known, along with Kodansha and Shogakukan, as the "Big Three" of the Japanese publishing industry.
However, Akira asked with some confusion, "When you say a publisher under Shueisha, do you mean Shueisha Bunko?"
Shueisha Bunko is a comprehensive literary paperback imprint founded by Shueisha in 1977, focusing primarily on publishing pure literature, modern novels, translated foreign literature, practical guides, and similar types of books.
By the way, although Shueisha Bunko sounds like Shueisha's founding ground and headquarters, it is actually just Shueisha's second son.
And Weekly Shonen Jump is Shueisha's eldest son and absolute core.
Returning to the point, regarding Akira's confusion, Hisashi shook his head and smiled, "While it's not impossible, the vibe of 'Kara no Kyoukai' doesn't quite match Shueisha Bunko. Even if the novel were published, I'm afraid its popularity and sales wouldn't be very high, right?"
I didn't really expect its sales to be that high anyway. Akira muttered this to himself, but the other party's statement still piqued his interest.
"Then, what does Mr. Sasaki mean...?"
Hisashi asked with a smile, "Has Mochizuki-sensei heard of the Super Fantasy Bunko?"
"Hmm..."
Akira carefully searched through the memories of his two lives, and he actually managed to find some scattered information from his previous life's memories—
Super Dash Bunko is a light novel imprint founded under Shueisha. Although its influence is not as great as the "Big Three" of light novels, it has still published quite a few works familiar to domestic readers: for example, "Ben-To", "Campione! ~The God of Disobedience and the God-Slaying Demon King~", "Rokka: Braves of the Six Flowers", etc...
In 2014, Shueisha renamed Super Dash Bunko to Dash X Bunko. The imprint's style underwent a subtle change, and the published works became like this—"Monster Girl Doctor", "There's No Way I Can Have a Lover! *Or Maybe There Is!?" etc...
Back to the main topic.
The Super Fantasy Bunko that Hisashi mentioned is the Super Dash Bunko before it was renamed.
But as for what works Super Fantasy Bunko had published, his memory was a blank slate. So, he thought for a moment and still shook his head, saying, "I haven't heard of it."
"I thought as much."
Hisashi smiled helplessly. However, this answer was within his expectations, so he proceeded to explain the situation of Super Fantasy Bunko to Akira.
Around the 90s, due to the birth of excellent fantasy light novel works like "Record of Lodoss War", "Slayers", and "The Twelve Kingdoms", the enthusiasm of readers and the industry was completely ignited.
Consequently, the "Big Three" of the publishing industry and the Kadokawa Group entered the fray one after another, starting to form their own light novel imprint brands. Super Fantasy Bunko was a product of that era.
Shueisha's positioning for it was a light novel imprint focusing on original fantasy, sci-fi, and mystery genres. But since its establishment, Super Fantasy Bunko's performance has not been ideal, having published almost no works that could be considered impressive.
Nowadays, let alone comparing it with contemporaries like Dengeki Bunko, it has even become increasingly marginalized within Shueisha.
There are even rumors that Shueisha's senior management is already considering whether they should replace Super Fantasy Bunko with a new light novel project.
"...So, they are on the verge of bankruptcy?"
Akira was even more confused after hearing this. Since they are in such a state, why entrust the release of "Kara no Kyoukai" to them?
"All of this is, of course, to maximize our benefits."
Seeing his confusion, Hisashi smiled and began to explain it to him in detail.
Regardless, Akira is a new author who debuted in Shonen Jump and is a key protégé, so there is no doubt that he is one of Shonen Jump's own.
Therefore, the work he submits also represents Shonen Jump to some extent, and can even be seen as a collaboration between their two departments.
Shonen Jump, Shueisha Bunko, and Super Fantasy Bunko are nominally equal departments on the surface, with no authority to interfere with each other, but in reality, that is not the case.
For a small player like Super Fantasy Bunko that is not valued and even faces the prospect of being abolished, Shonen Jump can easily gain a significant advantage in negotiations and cooperation with them.
If Akira submits "Kara no Kyoukai" to them, through negotiations, they can also secure a specially favorable contract for him.
Furthermore, the fantasy, mystery, and philosophical speculative nature of "Kara no Kyoukai" fits the positioning of Super Fantasy Bunko very well.
But it would be different if it were Shueisha Bunko. Although Shueisha Bunko is the perennial runner-up, because they follow a traditional literary path, their social status is actually higher than that of Shonen Jump.
Not only that, their ability to make money is also not bad, so they are not afraid of Shonen Jump. In a sense, they are even considered competitors.
If Akira submits "Kara no Kyoukai" to Shueisha Bunko, it is certain that Shueisha Bunko will absolutely not give him any special treatment. Not only will there be no special treatment, but they might even make things difficult for him.
"I see."
Akira nodded in realization, but he had a slight objection to this. "I don't really care about special treatment; by comparison, I care more about the other party's strength."
Although he had not held high expectations for the sales of "Kara no Kyoukai", he felt that handing it over to such a publisher on the verge of dissolution was not very reliable.
"I understand."
To this, Hisashi smiled and said, "Please rest assured, we would never treat your hard work carelessly."
"Just as I said earlier, the release of 'Kara no Kyoukai' can completely become a collaboration between our two departments."
This is also the most brilliant part of their plan.
Super Fantasy Bunko currently lacks promotional funds and channels, while Shonen Jump holds over three million loyal manga readers, which is the top-tier promotional channel.
As long as their two departments cooperate, Shonen Jump doesn't mind offering an internal low price to sell an advertising slot to Super Fantasy Bunko. This advertising slot will be used exclusively for the promotion of "Kara no Kyoukai".
Furthermore, as a currently popular serialized Manga Artist, the light novel he created is also an attractive selling point for Shonen Jump readers.
And considering the situation of Super Fantasy Bunko, the other party might even be more eager than them regarding this cooperation.
Good grief!
Akira couldn't help but clap in admiration; Shonen Jump's move was indeed top-notch.
No wonder Hisashi would eventually become Editor-in-Chief; this tactic is truly remarkable!
Hisashi actually had the same feeling. Because his original idea was simply thinking about keeping the benefits within the company, hoping that Akira's work could be published by a publisher under their Shueisha.
As for the current comprehensive and well-thought-out plan, it was something he and Kazuhiko had carefully discussed and eventually devised.
No wonder the other party could become Editor-in-Chief; this tactic is truly remarkable!