Chapter 844: Tokyo Studio Marketing
The cherry blossoms had just begun to bloom, faint pink petals fluttering lazily in the soft breeze that drifted through Sakura City. Within the quiet corner of a bustling café near the school, two students, whose faces had yet to be known beyond their quiet routine, sat across from each other at a small wooden table. Their eyes were fixated on the glossy magazine spread open before them.
Neither was particularly popular or outspoken—just two anonymous faces in the sprawling city of Sakura City. But today, that didn’t matter. Today, they shared a quiet curiosity, a shared anticipation for the season ahead.
The shorter of the two, a girl with shoulder-length black hair and a lace headband, flicked excitedly through the pages. Her name was Ami, but her friends just called her "Ami-chan" for her cheerful, sometimes impulsive nature. She was passionate about drawing characters and analyzing story plots, dreaming of someday creating her own manga. She had a curious gaze that constantly shifted, taking in everything around her with bright enthusiasm.
Her companion, a boy with short dark hair and glasses that slipped down his nose, focused intently on the magazine. His name was Ryu, but he kept it quiet, preferring to stay in the background. He was more reserved, often lost in thought, but today, he was visibly captivated by what he read. He loved to watch anime, but more than that, he appreciated the stories behind them—the animation techniques, the music, the world-building.
They sat together in silence, occasionally exchanging quiet glances as they flipped through the pages, their world shrinking down to this shared moment of curiosity.
---
"Look at this," Ami suddenly whispered, holding up the magazine. She pointed at a small paragraph in the corner of a page dedicated to upcoming spring anime.
"Debuting this season is a new animation studio, **Tokyo Animations**, and their debut project is called *Sword Art Online*. It’s made by some of the best young talents in the industry, and everyone’s talking about how it’s going to shake things up."
Ryu blinked, leaning closer. "Tokyo? I haven’t heard of them before. Are they kind of new?"
Ami nodded eagerly. "Yeah, it says here they only formed last year, but they already have some big names working on this. It’s their first anime, too. Amazing, huh?"
He looked skeptical for a moment, then smiled faintly. "Always exciting when new studios debut. But *Sword Art Online*... I think I saw this title when I was browsing through the light novel section at the bookstore ?"
Ami chuckled. "Yeah, I saw it too. It’s gotten a lot of attention because it’s supposed to have a kind of magic-infused virtual reality story, but with a unique twist that only this world could have."
Ryu ran a hand through his hair, intrigued. "So, a new anime based on a relatively popular title, but choosing this title for a studio debut? That’s pretty bold."
Ami nodded again, flipping to another page. "Look at this picture—they’re calling it a ’psychological adventure’ set in a vast, sprawling world. It says here that the animation studio is made up of a lot of young artists and animators, many of whom worked on indie projects or side stories before."
Ryu adjusted his glasses. "Do you think it’ll be good? I mean, debut studios can be hit or miss."
Ami cracked a shy smile. "But the good ones always do well, right? Besides, I heard the director used to work on some popular fan-made animations, and they’re trying to bring a lot of that passionate energy into this series."
They turned the pages again, both immersed in a list of other anime titles announced for the season. A few caught their eye: a futuristic sports story, a slice of life set in a magical city, a mystery thriller with supernatural elements. But one, in particular, held their attention.
"Here’s another interesting one," Ami said, pointing to the headline. *"Celestial Embrace"*, an adaptation of a novel about celestial beings and forbidden love, produced by a well-established studio. But it was *Sword Art Online* that kept drawing their gaze back.
"You knwo what? We should head to the bookstore and buy the Sword Art Online light novel, just its sinopse the story seems compelling." Ami-chan suddenly said with a smile.
"Sure." Ryu smiled shyly as he agreed to Ami’s idea
Ryu would always agree with Ami’s ideas, so it wasn’t a surprise he would agree with Ami’s sudden impulsive behavior.
Just like that, the two students left the coffee shop and headed to a nearby bookstore that the two of them usually visited when they wanted to buy mangas and light novels.
When the two of the arrived there, they greeted the bookstore employees as if they knew them for years. Which was the truth as the two students frequented this bookstore ever since they started high school a couple years ago.
The two friends promptly walked towards the light novel section and started searching for the Sword Art Online light novel. They could’ve asked for help from an attendant, but the attendants knew the two youths liked to browse and search for their books.
5 minutes later, they found the shelves where Sword Art Online several editions were displayed. They chose a first edition and walked off to the side of the store where they could read the book quietly.
They didn’t even need to talk to each other, they moved as if they were synchronized. Soon they were seated and reading the start of the light novel. And soon as they did that, they were absorbed by the story.
They became even more absorbed in the story when they head the iconic part where the game creator announced that the players were trapped in the game. This was an interesting plot idea, that few others had explored before.
Chapter by Chapter, they read the light novel and in the end the two of them bought the complete Chapters edition of the light novel.
Just like that, Tokyo Studio marketing managed to attract new readers for the light novel and increase the hype for the upcoming anime debut.