October ended, and November arrived.
During this quarter, the Hunter x Hunter manga and anime could only be described as basking in boundless glory, with popularity reaching the highest level since the series began.
Of course, much of this momentum came from the strength of the Greed Island arc.
One of Hunter x Hunter's most remarkable traits is that the comparatively weakest arc of the entire series is its opening, the Hunter Exam arc. Every storyline that follows surpasses it.
As long as a reader finds the first arc even moderately engaging, disappointment is almost impossible later on.
So although the card-battle system of Greed Island drew early criticism, once readers truly immersed themselves in it, the tone online shifted dramatically. Praise flooded forums, and many fans even claimed that this unfinished arc was already more exciting than the Phantom Troupe arc.
As a direct result, Hoshimori Group's stock price climbed steadily. Senior executives were in exceptionally high spirits, frequently accepting media interviews. In closed high-level meetings, some even boldly spoke of catching up to Monogatari Comic.
Although Dream Comic's weekly circulation surged to 21 million copies thanks to Hunter x Hunter, it still trailed Monogatari Comic by more than four million.
And yet, a strange sense of confidence permeated the entire group.
Naturally, Hoshimori Group spared no effort in developing Hunter x Hunter's derivative products.
Its global channels were fully activated, design, manufacturing, distribution, sales, promotion, every link in the chain moved at full capacity. The scale and intensity of Hunter's merchandise rollout far exceeded what one-punch man had seen just months earlier.
This was the greatest advantage of collaborating with an industry giant like Hoshimori Group.
Although the creator might earn slightly less, Rei didn't need to exhaust himself managing the IP, everything was handled with ruthless efficiency.
As a result, compared to the frenzy of earlier quarters during one-punch man's broadcast, Rei was unusually quiet throughout autumn.
And under these conditions, November arrived.
The ninth volume of the Hunter x Hunter tankōbon was released, and its first-week sales shattered records, 7.03 million copies.
Not only did it surpass the eighth volume's performance, it also broke the long-standing first-week record of 6.95 million copies set by Echoes of the End volume thirty-two.
However, discussion around Hunter's sales only dominated the internet for three days.
Immediately afterward, Illumination Animation and Rei's official accounts across platforms began releasing dense streams of information related to Arcane.
Soon, television networks, online platforms, and ACG commercial districts across large, medium, and small countries outside Japan were plastered with Arcane promotional posters.
Then came November 21st.
The official Arcane trailer, one minute and thirty seconds long, was released globally through every channel collaborating with Rei.
In Japan, Rei barely needed to invest in promotion at all. Anime media outlets and fans spread the trailer voluntarily, flooding forums and timelines.
Overseas, however, the situation was different. While one-punch man was hugely popular, Rei himself lacked strong name recognition abroad. He did not hesitate, promotional funds were deployed aggressively.
For a time, Hunter x Hunter's momentum was partially eclipsed in global anime circles.
And Arcane, despite not yet airing, vaulted to become the most anticipated winter anime among Japanese fans, purely through trailer quality and sustained promotion.
The trailer also ignited intense discussion among Shirogane's fanbase.
"Whoa… I'm not used to Arcane's art style yet, but the character models and visual quality are insane!"
"It gave me chills. This trailer's production value is terrifying."
"I still don't fully understand the Upper City and Lower City setup, but Caitlyn is ridiculously cool."
"Shirogane-sensei has finally awakened! A female protagonist?! In his past works, women barely even existed!"
"That's not awakening, he's just returning to form. Wasn't Tonight also led by a girl?"
"Heh… I don't see anything special. The plot looks cliché, just throwing money at visuals. You Shirogane fans are too naive."
"Exactly, what's so good about this kind of work? It even made the trending searches. I seriously don't get it!"
"This Western fantasy art style is garbage. Is Shirogane out of his mind? Why not make a proper Japanese-style anime instead of this Western nonsense? This thing is definitely going to flop."
"There's still more than a month before Arcane even airs, and the anti-fans already can't sit still? Crawling out this early? Come on, how much did someone pay you to smear Shirogane-sensei's new work?"
"Fame always attracts trash. Shirogane-sensei is probably numb to this by now. Just ignore them."
"I knew people would complain about the art style. All I can say is, it's amazing. I fell in love at first sight."
"January, hurry up already. And while you're at it, bring one-punch man Season 5 too. This month, aside from Hunter, I can't stand watching anything else."
"Same here. Between Hunter and Arcane, I still prefer one-punch man Season 5. But since Arcane is Shirogane-sensei's work, I'll at least give the first episode a try."
"You brainless Shirogane fans just keep shielding him. Dumping that much money into a Western fantasy anime in Japan, what, another 'isekai demon king vs hero' routine? Heh. It'll be a miracle if it doesn't crash and burn."
"These comments have existed since Shirogane-sensei debuted, and they're still here. I'm honestly getting sleepy reading this stuff."
Rei had only released the Arcane trailer globally in mid-November.
What followed was pure internet chaos.
Anti-fans, diehard fans, casual onlookers, and media outlets all piled into the fray, hurling insults and arguments at one another in an unending stream.
Amid the noise, another piece of information began circulating rapidly:
Production cost-900 million.
Overseas promotional budget-another 100 million.
Even anime fans who had never paid attention to Rei before were forced to take notice.
In Japan, someone actually dared to invest over 900 million into a single anime?
Who exactly was this Shirogane?
Was he really not afraid of losing everything?
Even if one-punch man had been a massive success, revenue from anime IPs is notoriously slow to recover. Merchandising, licensing, overseas distribution, all of it takes time.
900 million…
That was likely a substantial portion of Shirogane's current assets.
After working relentlessly for years, he was staking it all in one go.
Did he truly have that much confidence in Arcane?
Over the following days, Illumination Production Company's official website updated daily, releasing new Arcane posters one after another.
Rei himself began appearing frequently in media interviews, steadily building general awareness for the upcoming premiere.
Time flowed on.
November ended.
December arrived.