Chapter 338: The Summer Season

The latest episode of Fullmetal Alchemist featured no combat whatsoever, consisting entirely of heavy character drama and dialogue.

Nina’s father was taken into custody by state authorities after his crimes got reported. Just as the audience expected the episode to conclude on that somber note, a wanted fugitive made his move: the man with the scarred face, Scar.

Driven by a profound hatred for State Alchemists, he encountered Nina in her chimera form. Staring at her monstrous body, he did not hesitate. He decided to grant the girl a final, merciful release. Using his hand imbued with a strange, destructive power, he ended the life of the alchemical beast that used to be Nina.

Once the credits rolled on this ending, countless anime fans were left in a stunned silence.

A heavy, inexplicable weight settled in their chests.

Where did it all go wrong?

“Dammit, I can’t accept this!”

“We’re only on episode six and Haruto is already breaking our hearts?”

“The Warrior of Love has finally stopped pretending. The moment the childhood flashbacks ended, he went straight for the jugular.”

“I think I’m actually traumatized.”

“The trope of turning people into animals exists in plenty of other works, so why does it feel so uniquely painful in Fullmetal?”

“It’s probably because the characters are written so well. Back when Edward was taking his exam, Nina was cheering him on. She was such a lovable little girl. And then her father just turns her into a chimera for no reason?”

“I feel sick.”

“The father is definitely a monster, but I feel like there’s something wrong with the world itself.”

“This godforsaken world.”

“I get the feeling this anime is fundamentally different from his previous works.”

“How so?”

“His older works usually felt like they were powered by protagonist presence, and the world-building leaned a bit into adolescent power fantasies. But in Fullmetal, I don’t feel like Edward has any overwhelming advantage. The world is being portrayed as a tragedy, not just for the lead, but for every supporting character too.”

“Honestly, I’ve been watching this for weeks and there hasn’t been a single feel-good moment. It’s just constant suffering, yet I can’t stop watching.”

“Human transmutation… it feels a lot like a forbidden science. I’m starting to understand why certain experiments are banned in our world. It isn’t just about ethics.”

“Even though it’s only been a few episodes, this feels like his deepest work to date.”

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. It’s only been six episodes; let’s see how it holds up.”

“Even though the plot tonight made me miserable, I have to praise the quality. Of course, the Warrior of Love deserves a good cursing out tonight. I know he wrote this to show us the cruelty of the alchemist world and the meaning of Equivalent Exchange, but as the god of this story, he is undeniably the one who condemned Nina to such a tragic fate.”

“I wanted to go to his social media to flame him, but then I realized it’s a waste of time. He’s been getting flamed for years and hasn’t changed a bit. He’s probably used to it by now.”

“This is the first time I’ve watched an anime that I find brilliant but absolutely never want to watch a second time.”

“Same here. When Code Geass aired last year, I’d watch the reruns the very next day. I don’t think Fullmetal is inferior to Code Geass, but I just can’t bring myself to rewatch it. It gets heavier every time.”

“And yet, the rating keeps climbing every week. It started at 9.1 or 9.2, and now it’s sitting at a 9.6.”

“If he can maintain this level of quality, I honestly think it might surpass the success of Code Geass.”

“The cruelest part is that Edward witnessed everything but was completely powerless. He can’t change the world or his surroundings. He can’t even get his own arm and leg back. If ordinary people are just blades of grass in this world, then alchemists like Edward are no different. What a tragedy.”

Discussion regarding the sixth episode of Fullmetal Alchemist continued throughout the night. Compared to the previous weeks, the intensity of the buzz was on another level.

Naturally, this reaction was exactly what Haruto had anticipated. Out of all the episodes in the series, the chimera incident was always destined to be one of the most impactful. With the coordinated efforts of Haru-Yuki Animation and Tokyo TV1, major media outlets began reporting on the phenomenon the following morning.

[Episode 6 of Fullmetal Alchemist Shakes Fanbase; Countless Viewers Left Despondent.]

[Human experimentation is a common trope in anime, but only in Fullmetal does it force the audience into deep introspection. This is what sets Haruto apart from the rest.]

[Children Traumatized by Dark Turn in Fullmetal Episode 6.]

[An Anime for Adults: Equivalent Exchange, Human Transmutation, and the Exploration of Ethics and Humanity. While Fullmetal’s commercial reach might not yet match Code Geass, its thematic depth and intellectual core undoubtedly surpass it.]

[Twenty Years of Watching Anime, and This is the First Time I’ve Been Emotionally Broken.]

[Nina’s Father May Be Insane, but the True Distortion Lies Not in His Humanity, but in the World of the Anime Itself.]

[After a Six-Month Hiatus, Haruto Proves His Dominance. One Night Was Enough to Silence All Critics who Claimed the First Five Episodes were Slow.]

The media had essentially developed a formula by now. As long as they attached Haruto’s name to a headline, they never had to worry about clicks. Combined with the promotional push from his company and the TV station, Fullmetal Alchemist dominated the trending lists of every major website for the rest of February.

Haruto’s employees finally breathed a sigh of relief. A 6.33% viewership rating for the sixth episode was impeccable. Moreover, Fullmetal Alchemist was a long-running series. Given its current momentum, it was highly likely to eventually surpass the records set by Code Geass.

A few more weeks passed. Following the Nina incident, the pacing of the story never slowed down again.

The mysterious Scar, the fan-favorite Flame Alchemist Colonel Roy Mustang, King Bradley, the secrets of the Philosopher’s Stone, and the Ishvalan Civil War, the intricate lore of the world was being revealed piece by piece.

The focus shifted away from just the Elric brothers, expanding to encompass a rich cast of supporting characters.

The character writing in Fullmetal Alchemist was world-class. Unlike many popular series where the audience forgets everyone except the main duo, this work gave every character a moment to shine. In fact, the popularity of the Elric brothers often trailed behind several of the supporting cast members, a phenomenon similar to Hunter x Hunter.

By the end of February, two months after the premiere, the viewership ratings had stabilized. A 6% rating was generally the limit for the television industry. To go higher, a show usually needed to hit a major climax or leverage the nostalgia of a series finale.

As March began, the media frenzy died down slightly. Fans and casual viewers alike were starting to experience a bit of Haruto fatigue. Everyone acknowledged the quality of the show, and they didn’t need critics telling them what they already knew. Instead, public attention shifted toward the upcoming spring season, which would see the debut of the Slam Dunk and Initial D anime.

While Fullmetal Alchemist was the undisputed king of the current season, its challenge would be holding that throne against Haruto’s other animes for the title of Anime of the Year.

Haruto’s greatest rival was himself.

The Initial D had been building momentum for two years, and the anime adaptation had finally been completed by one of the top-tier studios.

The production company behind Initial D hadn’t intended to go head-to-head with Haruto, but with his relentless release schedule, it was impossible to avoid him. Since it was based on his original work anyway, they figured they might as well ride his massive wave of publicity.

Meanwhile, the first season of the Sword Art Online anime had reached a milestone. Because Haruto had released several volumes of the Sword Art Online: Progressive series, the animation team had integrated that content into the show. This meant the Aincrad arc had been running for a long duration before concluding its broadcast.

Now, Kiyozawa Library was in talks with top-tier domestic and international film studios to adapt various chapters of the Progressive novels into high-budget theatrical features.

With the conclusion of the first season’s Aincrad arc, the production team planned to take a six-month break before starting the next phase in the second season.

Because of this, the anime market lost one major competitor in April.

Although the season hadn’t started yet, everyone knew it would be a three-way deadlock between Fullmetal Alchemist, Slam Dunk, and Initial D.

This situation left Haruto himself a bit dazed. He hadn’t expected to find himself in a position where he was essentially the primary force behind three competing blockbusters in the same time slot.

This became the main topic of conversation.

“Does he have no rivals left? Is he just fighting himself now?”

“It’s actually hilarious. I feel so bad for his peers in the industry.”

“Looking at the info, Initial D will need a long duration of broadcasting to cover the manga content. Fullmetal definitely won’t finish this year; it’ll run into next year. We don’t know much about Slam Dunk yet, but the official site says the first season is fifty episodes, with a potential second season. Then there’s Gurren Lagann in July, and the Monogatari series in October. If you’re patient, by the end of the year, you’ll see many of his works airing in the same season.”

“I can already taste the despair of the other studios.”

“The Big Three studios haven’t produced a phenomenal hit in nearly two years. They’re fading so fast.”

“The market is only so big. When one star rises, others must fall. That’s just natural selection.”

“Honestly, I’m a fan, but I kind of want to see him fail just once. It’s getting ridiculous. He’s the top of the charts every single season.”

“Haha, don’t hold your breath. If anything is going to struggle, it might be Slam Dunk in April.”

“There’s no way Slam Dunk fails. It has a high per-episode production budget. You think they’d let that flop?”

By mid-March, with ten episodes of Fullmetal Alchemist under its belt, the world-building and power systems were well-established. The initial curiosity had faded, replaced by a loyal, weekly viewership. Haruto had been famous for several years now, and his fans were no longer easily surprised. They simply expected excellence.

As the winter season drew to a close, the temperature began to rise. Haruto’s favorite season was approaching, mostly because he preferred the warmth. He sat in his office, signing off on the establishment of the new gaming division. He also approved the funding for the manga publication and game development of Doraemon and Pokemon.

He decided not to serialize the spin-off manga and novels for these two IPs in magazines like Kiyozawa or Prime. He wanted to avoid any potential copyright entanglements. Instead, he would publish them directly as standalone volumes. The goal was to use these media to spread the IP content first, then follow up with the games.

That was the real prize. It would be a slow process, but Haruto had patience. If everything went according to plan, he would see these IPs fully mature before he even turned thirty.

Haruto was no longer micromanaging every aspect of the business as he had in the early years.

He used to personally inspect every finished animation frame and deliberate with the production teams.

Now, he spent his weekends finishing the scripts for the four ongoing projects, took two days during the week to draft the storyboards for Hunter x Hunter and write the scripts for his novel projects, and spent the rest of his time on company matters.

He was acquiring peripheral manufacturers and game studios. He was even setting up divisions for live-action films and television dramas. This series of maneuvers put the rest of the industry on high alert. His intentions were to build an all-encompassing entertainment empire.

Games, novels, manga, anime, and merchandise, he was linking the entire supply chain to maximize the commercial value of his work.

Many companies had tried this before, but none had truly succeeded on this scale.

However, the fact that Haruto was the one doing it terrified his competitors. He was already number one in manga, light novels, and anime. He had the fans, and now he had the capital. He had a natural, overwhelming advantage. Despite their wariness, his peers couldn’t do anything about it.

They simply couldn’t replicate his talent.

Following the massive recruitment drive in March, the spring season of April arrived quietly.