Chapter 228: Chapter 227: Madoka Magica Started at One Percent Too, Says the Fan Trying Not to Panic
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As April arrived, the temperature began to climb.
Nozomu walked down the street, but he was completely oblivious to the scenery. His eyes were glued to his phone as he checked the premiere ratings for Spirit Flame and Azure Sky.
Both series had aired their first episodes the previous night. Spirit Flame had broadcasted at 7:30 PM on Tokyo TV1, while Azure Sky followed at 8:00 PM on Tokyo TV2. The former had secured a 3.12% rating for its debut, while the latter sat at 3.07%.
To be honest, seeing those numbers made Nozomu feel a knot of anxiety in his stomach. As a die-hard fan of the Warrior of Love, he certainly had faith in the man’s talent, but he also knew that a masterpiece like Puella Magi Madoka Magica did not just happen every day. It seemed unlikely that 7 Years From Now could generate that same level of explosive heat.
However, Nozomu had grown accustomed to seeing the Warrior of Love absolutely crush his competition. He was not quite ready to accept the idea that this new series might be overshadowed by other titles. He tapped on the official website for Tokyo TV1 and scrolled through the comment section.
"So, tonight is the big test for 7 Years From Now. The ratings for its two biggest rivals are already out, and they are both hovering around 3%. That is a pretty high bar for a premiere."
"I just hope our show does not get embarrassed tonight."
"So what if it does? Madoka Magica only started with a 1% rating. Did that stop it from hitting 6% three months later and becoming a phenomenon? Ratings at the start do not mean everything."
"Hehe, I am just waiting for the disaster. If it flops, I cannot wait to see how you Warrior of Love dogs try to spin it."
"I seriously do not get you haters. If you dislike him so much, why are you paying so much attention? Do you really enjoy seeing people fail that much?"
"Absolutely! I am sick of the Madoka fans. Tonight, your little bubble is going to burst. You are going to realize the Warrior of Love is not a god; he is just a guy who got lucky once."
"I am looking forward to the hater-tears when the ratings come in. I will admit, I do not think he can easily surpass what he did with Madoka, but even if he does not beat his own record, it does not mean he will be overtaken by generic trash."
"Generic trash? Are you talking about Spirit Flame and Azure Sky? Those shows are high-quality, and everyone knows it. Did you even watch the premieres?"
"They might be okay, but I am calling it now, both of those shows are going to get decimated by 7 Years From Now by the end of the season!"
"And what exactly gives you the courage to say that?"
"If our show is not the ratings champion of the season, I will livestream myself eating dog food. Save this comment and hold me to it."
"Wow, that is intense. Warrior of Love fans really are built different. They are willing to starve just to make a point."
Nozomu shook his head as he scrolled past the bickering. For six months, the war between the fans and the haters had been a daily occurrence. It was the price of fame.
Nozomu believed there was only one way to shut the haters up: follow the example of that other genius, Shiori Takahashi. If one masterpiece is not enough to silence them, then give them two, three, or four. The people who used to hate on Shiori Takahashi during Anohana had vanished by the time To the Moon was released.
Nowadays, it was almost impossible to find a legitimate hater for Shiori because the track record was simply too flawless to attack.
A smile touched Nozomu’s lips. The afternoon faded, and night finally fell.
As 8:00 PM approached, the frequency of the promotional spots for 7 Years From Now on Tokyo TV1 increased.
The station’s overall rating climbed steadily from 2.23% to 2.89%.
Ten minutes before the premiere, it broke the 3% barrier and continued to rise by several fractions of a point every few minutes. By the time the clock struck eight, the rating for Tokyo TV1 had reached 3.6%.
The data analysts at the station knew this was to be expected. Most of these viewers were existing fans of the Warrior of Love who had tuned in out of curiosity to see the new work. However, once the first episode began, the real culling of the audience would start. If the plot was even slightly sluggish, people would change the channel without hesitation. Whether they could maintain or grow that 3.6% depended entirely on the quality of the content.
At home, Nozomu sat up straight.
Exactly at eight, the screen flickered. The loud beer commercial vanished, replaced by a second of black screen.
Then, a scene appeared by an old, overgrown well. A young boy and a girl with a red ribbon tied in a bow in her hair stood on opposite sides of the well, looking at each other.
"So, April 1st, then..." the boy’s voice said.
"Okay. April 1st, seven years from now. Right here," the girl replied.
"Don’t you dare forget," the boy reminded her.
"I won’t. I promise. It’s a deal."
"Seven years from now... I’ll be waiting for you."
The girl’s voice sounded like it was drifting from a dream, causing Soraki’s consciousness to slowly drift back to the waking world. Was it a dream, or something more?
Soraki, the protagonist, sat up in bed. "That dream... again," he whispered, a look of confusion in his eyes.
Nozomu opened a bag of potato chips and began to snack.
The opening dream was a classic hook that perfectly established the theme of the show. So, the title was a reference to a childhood promise Soraki had made to a girl.
Nozomu recalled the golden-haired girl named Aoi from the trailer. His mind immediately began to construct the rest of the plot. The boy and girl were likely separated as children due to family circumstances or school transfers. Now that they were older, Soraki had returned to fulfill the promise, leading to a fateful reunion and a heartwarming romance.
Nozomu settled in, expecting his predictions to be confirmed. However, a minute later, he realized he could not have been more wrong.
The next minute of animation established the basic facts. Soraki was a high school student. Seven years ago, he had been adopted by a couple from a private medical facility. From that day on, he had lost every single memory of his time at the facility as an orphan being treated for an illness. The only thing he carried with him was that one lingering promise.
April 1st, seven years later. They would meet again.
The animation showed the current date in the story: March 28th. There were only four days left until April 1st. Although his adoptive family had moved away years ago, Soraki’s inability to forget the promise, and the mysterious girl he could not quite remember, prompted his loving parents to bring him back to this city. They hoped that by returning, he could finally find closure.
"What kind of setup is this? Is it a mystery?" Nozomu adjusted his seating position..
As the story continued, Soraki visited a local clinic at his adoptive mother’s request. There, he met Dr. Ichiki, the man who had supposedly treated him seven years ago. Soraki, of course, had no memory of the doctor, but Ichiki claimed they were old acquaintances.
Dr. Ichiki immediately struck Nozomu as suspicious.
When Soraki complained of a slight ache in his mouth, the doctor produced an unidentified medication. The animation provided a lingering close-up of the medicine, emphasizing its distinct fragrance, while Ichiki’s expression turned subtly unreadable. In the world of animation, these were the kinds of details creators used to signal something was wrong.
The doctor who treated Soraki’s mysterious illness seven years ago was clearly hiding something.
That medicine could have been for anything, but it definitely was not for a simple mouth sore. The fact that Soraki felt an immediate, overwhelming urge to sleep after taking it was even more suspicious.
Soraki eventually woke up, but Nozomu could not piece the puzzle together yet. To find his lost memories, Soraki left the clinic and headed to the private medical facility where he had once lived. He hoped to find someone who remembered him.
However, he discovered that the hospital had undergone a total staff overhaul following a major explosion seven years prior. Every nurse and doctor had been replaced. Yet, being back in the environment triggered a fragmented memory.
Seven years ago, he and a girl named Aoi had sneaked out of the observation ward to watch a meteor shower. Aoi, suffering from a severe lung ailment, had nearly collapsed. Panicked, they looked for the nurse call button. There were two switches: one red and one blue.
"Which one do I press? Red or blue?" Soraki had been frantic.
But Aoi, despite nearly losing consciousness, had managed to smile and tease him the moment she caught her breath. "Why don’t you just pick your favorite color?" she said gently.
"Is this really the time for that?" Soraki had asked, relieved she was okay, but he pressed a button anyway to call for help.
"It’s fine. Besides," the girl laughed, "I have a feeling that next time, Soraki might be the one who collapses first."
Nozomu recalled the earlier mention of Soraki’s own illness. If Aoi’s condition was that grave, Soraki’s probably was not much better. Was that what she meant?
"When that happens, I’ll be the one to press the button for you..."
"By the way, which one did you press just now?" Aoi asked.
"The blue one."
"Then next time, I’ll press the red one. Because I love red."
The camera focused on the red ribbon in her hair. "I’m sorry, Soraki. Because of me, we could not see the meteor shower."
Aoi used the last of her strength to smile at him. This was the first memory Soraki recovered upon seeing the hospital, the memory of a girl named Aoi from seven years ago.
Nozomu watched the screen, feeling a strange sense of unease. The music, the art style, the way the atmosphere was shifting... Why did this show feel so different from the healing romance promised in the trailer?
