Chapter 472: The Insidious Little Japs
"That's right. I've had someone study the development of *Zhiyin Comic Weekly*. This manga magazine poses a huge threat. According to the authoritative rankings compiled by the Manga Association, *Zhiyin Comic Weekly*'s weekly circulation has reached 920,000 copies, surpassing *Great Voyage* from Xin Bookstore, placing it in ninth position."
Shueisha's president, Sakaga Ichiro, said with a stern expression.
The authoritative rankings Sakaga Ichiro referred to are highly accurate, compiled weekly by the Japanese Manga Association.
Yesterday, he saw the ranking report from his subordinates. Shueisha's core manga magazine, *Weekly Shonen Jump*, was still in second place.
The latest top ten rankings are as follows:
1. *Weekly Shonen SUNDAY*: Weekly circulation of 2.82 million copies, published by Shogakukan, featuring the now-popular *Cosmic Youth*.
2. *Weekly Shonen JUMP*: Weekly circulation of 2.54 million copies, published by Shueisha.
3. *Weekly Shonen MAGAZINE*: Weekly circulation of 2.03 million copies, published by Kodansha.
4. *Weekly Manga Action*: Weekly circulation of 1.51 million copies, published by Futabasha, serializing the national manga *Lupin III*.
5. *Hana to Yume*: Weekly circulation of 1.40 million copies, published by Hakusensha.
6. *Weekly Shonen Champion*: Weekly circulation of 1.20 million copies, published by Akita Shoten.
7. *Weekly Manga TIMES*: Weekly circulation of 1.12 million copies, published by Houbunsha.
8. *Shonen King*: Weekly circulation of 1.00 million copies, published by Shonen Gahōsha.
9. *Zhiyin Comic Weekly*: Weekly circulation of 920,000 copies, published by Jiuding Animation Co., Ltd.
10. *Great Voyage*: Weekly circulation of 900,000 copies, published by Xin Bookstore.
This data reflects the Japanese manga market, excluding markets outside Japan.
Recently, *Zhiyin Comic Weekly* had first entered the top ten with a weekly circulation of 860,000, surpassing a manga magazine with 850,000 weekly copies, making it highly visible and significantly impactful.
This was the first time a foreign manga magazine had entered the top ten of the Japanese manga market.
The original manga giants were now fully aware and mobilized their efforts to undermine *Zhiyin Comic Weekly*.
To their surprise, not long after, *Zhiyin Comic Weekly* had climbed to the ninth position with a weekly circulation of 920,000 copies.
At this rapid growth rate, it wouldn't be long before *Zhiyin Comic Weekly* reached a circulation of one million copies.
What concerned the Sakaga family even more was that market research revealed the four main manga in *Zhiyin Comic Weekly* had exceptionally high quality, already impacting the reputation of their own manga magazines. The comparison was stark, and even Sakaga Ichiro and his colleagues had to admit this.
How could the Sakaga family, as the leader in the manga industry, not take this seriously?
The best solution was to take advantage of *Zhiyin Comic Weekly*'s current weakness and acquire it.
Unfortunately, Jiuding Animation Co., Ltd. had not disclosed the circulation of *Zhiyin Comic Weekly*, so the Sakaga family was unaware that its market outside Japan exceeded one million copies.
They were outright rejected by Ma Tengdong, who cited the price being too low.
The real reason was that *Zhiyin Comic Weekly* was a core component of Xia Yu's cultural strategy and was simply not for sale.
"If they won't sell, we have to suppress them. I've already had someone create a manga with a style similar to *Pokémon*. After blocking them, with a bit of time, we can take away their market share."
Hakusensha's president, Sakaga Seitaro, said coldly.
"Let's suppress them and seize the market. I've also had someone create a manga with a style similar to *Dragon Ball*. It's time for it to be released."
Sakaga Kohei, who is not only the president of Shogakukan but also the head of the Ibridge Group and the Sakaga family's patriarch, nodded slightly and made the decision.
After setting the tone, Sakaga Kohei first contacted his old rival, the Otowa Group, and after explaining the situation, Otowa Group immediately agreed to join in suppressing *Zhiyin Comic Weekly*.
The Ibridge Group and the Otowa Group were the only two major superpowers in the Japanese publishing market. Although manga contributed over one-fifth of their profits, their publishing volume was less than one-seventh of their total output. Their influence extended beyond manga to humanities, social sciences, and other fields, giving them significant sway over major bookstores, making them the major patrons of bookstores.
*Zhiyin Comic Weekly* was just a manga magazine. In major bookstores, its sales were relatively insignificant compared to the large volume of books from the Ibridge Group and the Otowa Group.
Thus, to avoid offending the Ibridge Group and the Otowa Group, everyone agreed to stop selling *Zhiyin Comic Weekly*.
...
At Jiuding Animation Co., Ltd.'s Japan branch, the distribution department was in disarray.
"President, this is bad. Something's happened!"
Wu Tengjun, the head of the distribution department, hurriedly approached Ma Tengdong, looking grave.
Ma Tengdong furrowed his brow with a sudden uneasy premonition and asked in a deep voice, "What's going on?"
"President, the new issue of the magazine is due to be released the day after tomorrow, but so far, not a single distributor has placed an order with us!"
"I've contacted five distributors consecutively, but none of the distributors' managers were available. Others said that due to decisions from above, they have temporarily stopped ordering our magazine. The specific reasons are still under investigation!"
Wu Tengjun bowed his head deeply, speaking heavily, and was anxious about facing Ma Tengdong's potential wrath.
After all, as the distribution head, any issues with distribution, regardless of the cause, fell squarely on his shoulders.
However, the expected fury did not descend upon him. He looked up slightly and saw Ma Tengdong deep in thought with a furrowed brow.
"It must be them! Damn it!"
Ma Tengdong was furious, and a black hand seemed to appear in his mind, growing more certain the more he thought about it.
The Ibridge Group had been coming to him repeatedly, trying to acquire Jiuding Animation Co., Ltd., but Ma Tengdong had refused. He couldn't make that decision alone.
Especially when facing his former superior, Shueisha's president Sakaga Ichiro, Ma Tengdong had not given him a good face.
Many members of the Sakaga family held key positions at Shueisha. Ma Tengdong was well aware of the Sakaga family's character and stance, and as a Chinese, he had faced many grievances there.
Whether the situation was as he suspected or not, Ma Tengdong needed further confirmation.
Shaking his head slightly, Ma Tengdong relaxed his brow and picked up the phone to dial a number.
He called a good friend who owned a bookstore.
"Hello, Mr. Moriya, this is Ma Tengdong. Long time no see..."
"I wanted to ask... alright, I understand perfectly. We'll talk later!"
After hanging up, Ma Tengdong's face was very dark.
He had guessed part of it correctly; indeed, the Ibridge Group was behind the scheme, and the situation was even more serious.
Not only the Ibridge Group but also its rival, the Otowa Group, was involved in the suppression.
His friend only owned two small bookstores, and faced with the opinions of the Ibridge Group and the Otowa Group, the bookstore naturally had to comply. Ma Tengdong understood this.
However, perhaps feeling guilty for forgetting to inform Ma Tengdong, Moriya also revealed a piece of news: the latest issues of *Weekly Shonen SUNDAY*, *Weekly Shonen JUMP*, and other manga magazines had new comics with styles similar to the four major mangas in *Zhiyin Comic Weekly*.
This was the real reason for Ma Tengdong's outrage.
The little devils were too insidious!
They were using their power to bully others, taking advantage of their own strength to suppress their company and then presenting similar styles of manga to snatch away the market that originally belonged to *Zhiyin Comic Weekly*.
Such tactics were too ruthless! Too shameless!
They were going too far!