"Hey, have you guys heard? Picca Comics just launched a new company called Picca Tech."
"Wow, a company known for drawing manga getting into high tech?"
"Impressive!"
Online discussions about Picca Comics began to spark. People were surprised to learn that the company had a new tech division. However, not many knew what this company was actually doing.
Because of the mystery, fans of Picca Comics became even more curious and excited to discuss it. Some speculated that Picca's new company was making phones, pointing out that many businesses were diversifying. For example, a certain air conditioner company was rumored to be developing smartphones, and a phone company named Red Sorghum was even working on cars.
With that logic, a manga company venturing into tech didn't seem so far-fetched.
While the public buzzed with guesses, the members of Picca Tech were hard at work developing new machinery.
Although creating a duel disk capable of real-life monster battles like in the anime was out of reach, constructing a large-scale dueling arena with lifting platforms and interactive projection technology was feasible.
Tengda's prototype projection space served as a foundation for these ideas.
Picca Tech's current design involved a central arena equipped with air projection interaction technology. At both ends of the arena were large consoles featuring a duel disk-like device. Players could place cards embedded with chips onto the disk's built-in reader, allowing the arena's projection system to display the cards' monsters.
However, unlike in the anime where players shout commands like "Shatter! Obliterate! Blue-Eyes White Dragon, ultimate burst stream of destruction!" to make their monsters move, these actions needed buttons to control them.
Each card slot had buttons beneath it for changing stances, attacking, and other commands.
In fact, Picca Land was already assembling a specialized dueling setup.
The major hurdle was creating the 3D models.
Building models required a lot of time because they needed to be both static and dynamic. It wasn't something that could be finished overnight.
Fortunately, Picca Comics had an experienced film division skilled in modeling.
Even after the models were completed, the equipment wouldn't be something players could take home due to the high cost. Instead, there were plans to open gaming experience centers.
Ren intended to establish these Picca centers in major cities first and gradually expand to smaller towns.
In addition to the Yu-Gi-Oh! equipment, the manga and anime productions couldn't stop either.
First, they needed to boost the popularity of Yu-Gi-Oh!
With that in mind, Ren's new work began serialization.
"Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai and Yu-Gi-Oh!…"
Early in the morning, Daniel picked up the latest releases from Picca.
Seeing the titles, Daniel felt a bit speechless.
The title of the first series didn't give away much about the story. Was it about a protagonist dreaming of his senior in a bunny outfit? The cover of Yu-Gi-Oh! wasn't any clearer, featuring the main character with a strange device on his arm and a giant monster behind him.
However, since Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai was a romance series by the Porter, it was worth a look.
The Porter's first big hit, Your Name, was also a romantic story.
Driven by curiosity, Daniel opened to the first page.
"Do you want a kiss?"
Whoa.
Seeing the ceiling and those words, Daniel raised an eyebrow. Was this series starting off this bold?
But soon, the scene shifted to a boy slowly waking up in bed.
"She teased me with that line, but who is she really?"
Amnesia?
Daniel thought of Your Name and wondered if the protagonist had saved someone and then lost his memory, similar to the plot of that movie.
As Daniel speculated, the story moved forward.
Sakuta, the protagonist, went to the library and encountered a girl in a bunny suit.
But...
There was something odd about this girl.
If a pretty girl in a bunny costume were walking around near Daniel, people would definitely stop to look. But in this library, no one but the protagonist seemed to notice her. It was as if she didn't exist.
A ghost, maybe?
There had been other series with ghostly girls and male leads.
But soon, Daniel ruled that out. The girl was alive and attended the same school as Sakuta.
So, it had to be some kind of supernatural ability, right? Maybe this was a romance story with special powers, and the girl's ability made her invisible?
Before long, it was a school day, and Sakuta's friend's girlfriend called him aside and told him to stop being friends with her boyfriend.
The reason? Something called the "hospital incident."
Daniel took note, thinking it might be an important plot point.
Sakuta's response to the girl's confrontational tone took Daniel by surprise.
"Why are you so worked up? Is it that time of the month?"
Daniel couldn't believe a guy would say that directly to a girl.
"This main character… he's got some nerve," Daniel thought.
The girl, also caught off guard, blushed furiously. "Die, idiot! Just die!"
Then, she stormed off in her round-toed shoes.
Later, at the train station, Sakuta met Mai again and greeted her. He then learned more about the strange phenomena happening to her.
Throughout this, Sakuta's sharp and cheeky comments kept Daniel on his toes.
For example, Sakuta saying, "Mai, you looked so hot in that bunny suit that I couldn't forget it. I was too excited last night and couldn't sleep."
Or when Mai, annoyed by him, said, "I feel like I could get pregnant just from your gaze," and Sakuta deadpanned, "What should we name the baby?"
"This guy is the king of witty remarks," Daniel thought.
Even after just one chapter, Daniel was intrigued by Sakuta's banter and the mystery of Puberty Syndrome.
With that, Daniel eagerly read on.
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