Third place…
Scrolling further down the list, Lin Yu finally saw Inuyasha's name near the bottom.
Ninth place, Inuyasha, 10,863 votes.
Seeing the result, Lin Yu didn't show much emotion. No joy, no disappointment. Just calm.
A work with the potential to become a phenomenon only made it to ninth place. To Lin Yu, this wasn't anything worth celebrating—certainly not to the same extent as Nana's excitement.
Nana glanced at Lin Yu and instantly understood this quirky teacher of hers.
When it came to creating manga, he was outrageously gifted and ridiculously hardworking.
But when it came to things like industry norms and basic practicalities, he was… often a bit of an airhead.
Case in point: he still hadn't remembered to buy a phone.
With a soft smile, Nana slowed her grip on the phone and tilted her head toward Lin Yu playfully.
"Is this result not good enough for you, Aomatsu-sensei?"
She emphasized Aomatsu-sensei, even giving a cheeky little wink, full of girlish charm.
"It's… fine, I guess," Lin Yu said with a shrug, still relaxed.
"Haha, only Aomatsu-sensei could break Weekly Shonen Jump's decade-long record and still be this calm~"
Lin Yu blinked, puzzled. "Record-breaking? Ninth place?"
Seeing his confusion, Nana stopped teasing and turned serious, putting her phone away.
"I'm sure Lin-kun knows—ever since the burst of the bubble economy, Shonen Jump's circulation has been dropping year by year."
"So editorial standards have gotten even stricter. Only top-tier works make it to print these days."
"For a newcomer manga artist to not only get published in Shonen Jump, but also rank in the top ten? That's almost unheard of."
"Sure, it's only ninth place. But the rest of the top ten are all long-running series with loyal fanbases."
"To reach this far on your very first week—it's definitely a record-breaker."
As Nana explained, Lin Yu finally started to understand.
He had heard of Action Mask and Magical Girl Lovely P from the Crayon Shin-chan anime back in his original world.
But as far as their actual influence or how dominant they were in this world's manga scene? He really didn't have a clue.
And let's face it—his original self was a complete failure in the manga world. Barely even qualified as a real manga artist.
Like Lin Yu, he only knew which series were famous—he had no idea what that actually meant.
Putting things into perspective, Nana's words weren't exaggerated at all.
Inuyasha may be a rookie entry, but the impact it made was scary.
It managed to knock two long-running series off the charts—and it only had one chapter released.
Just one chapter.
But with its fresh setting, deep backstory, and those tantalizing previews for chapter two, it had already triggered a huge reader response. The survey cards were flooded with requests for more Inuyasha.
Compared to the older giants like Action Mask and Lovely P, which had built massive fanbases over many years, every other series in the top ten was feeling the pressure.
Because Inuyasha wasn't just good. It was exploding.
Even Action Mask, back in its prime, hadn't debuted with such firepower—partly due to the limitations of its time.
The reincarnation concept? Completely unheard of in this world.
It wasn't an exaggeration to say Inuyasha had opened up a brand-new subgenre in this relatively underdeveloped and youth-leaning manga world.
And people love new things. The unfamiliar always draws attention.
Combined with Lin Yu's polished art, intriguing plot, and unique setting, this one-week-old manga had already made history.
If this momentum continued, and Lin Yu didn't drop the ball, Inuyasha might actually challenge the reigning king—Action Mask.
That wasn't just Nana's opinion—it was what the editor-in-chief personally told her during the call.
If it weren't for her dad being present, Nana would've squealed with joy on the spot.
To think that the manga artist she randomly scouted from a sushi shop would come this far… Her heart swelled with pride.
For an editor, discovering a talent who achieves success like this is the ultimate fulfillment.
Lin Yu scratched his nose and nodded earnestly, no trace of embarrassment on his face. He gave Nana a small smile.
"Sounds like the results were actually pretty great, then."
"More than great! The editor-in-chief was full of praise on the phone. Said just one week of Inuyasha boosted magazine sales significantly!"
And for a publishing company, sales were everything.
Especially in this post-bubble economy where circulation was falling fast. Any sign of growth was reason to celebrate.
As Japan's biggest publishing house and Shonen Jump its most iconic magazine—
Back in 1994-95, the magazine had a staggering 6.2 million annual circulation.
But by 1999, thanks to the economic downturn, that number had nearly halved.
Just last year, it barely broke 3.6 million copies.
So Inuyasha? It was a jolt to the heart. A spark of life in a fading industry.
"Guess I'll need to work even harder," Lin Yu said, draining the rest of his tea. "Can't afford to get knocked off the rankings—what a shame that would be."
He smiled at Nana, setting his cup down.
"It's getting late. Sorry for bothering you all evening. You should get some rest too. I'll head home and keep working on the next chapter."
Nana sighed softly as she watched him go, eyes drifting to her dad.
If her dad had achieved something like this, forget working—he'd be drunk and singing karaoke by now.