"Sigh, that was underwhelming," Dan Yun murmured, closing his copy of Inuyasha.
This manga was the work of his favorite artist—the Porter's apprentice. Though it was full of romance, which usually wasn't his thing, it surprised him by being so engaging.
Still, in this manga, his fondness for the main characters didn't quite match his love for certain side characters.
Like Kikyo.
He wasn't sure why, but despite Kikyo and Kagome looking nearly identical, he preferred Kikyo by far.
Maybe it was her independent charm? Her purity, beauty, elegance, loyalty, kindness, and her gentle nature—those qualities were the perfect appeal for a male fan like him.
If only he could marry a woman like that.
"Such a shame…" Dan Yun sighed.
After all, how likely is it for a guy like him to have a girlfriend?
"I just wish the Porter would make some action-packed, male-oriented manga or anime again," he thought, shaking his head.
It was, after all, the Porter's Fullmetal Alchemist that had gotten him hooked on anime in the first place. But now, the Porter was mostly drawing slice-of-life series, which left him feeling a bit dissatisfied.
So he logged into his chat group and asked, "Anyone have any good action or battle manga or anime recommendations? No slice-of-life, please. Anything with fighting, wars, that kind of stuff."
If the Porter wasn't drawing it, he'd just have to find other manga artists who were.
"Lately, slice-of-life and food-themed manga are all the rage," one friend responded.
"Right? It's all because the Porter started that trend," someone else added.
"I'm mostly catching up on older series now."
"Why not try Tom and Jerry? It's got fights, comedy, warmth, and a hint of realism!" another friend joked.
The group kept venting their frustrations. In this world, once one genre got popular, countless manga artists would jump on the bandwagon. Just like in web fiction.
There was always a new trend, like chat groups, sign-in powers, or god-level wealth. The minute one story got popular, hundreds of authors would swarm to write something similar.
At the moment, romantic slice-of-life stories were trending, and everyone was jumping in to write them.
Reading the replies, Dan Yun sighed.
It seemed like the manga world really relied on the Porter. Many popular themes had only been brought to life because of him, like the recently trending cooking and food manga.
Suddenly, Dan Yun noticed something strange—his chat group was suddenly filled with a single word, "OMG!" repeated over and over.
"What's going on?"
It reminded him of math class: he'd understand the board one minute, then look down for just a second, only to look up and see the board covered in confusing equations.
Luckily, he quickly figured out what had happened.
The Porter's new work was here!
Mobile Suit Gundam SEED!
Dan Yun eagerly logged into Weibo to check out the Porter's page.
With an excited grin, he clicked on the promotional preview.
"New humans called 'Coordinators,' living on artificial satellites, began to be recognized only a few decades ago…
C.E. 70.02.11
Conflict arises between Earth's United Alliance and Z.A.F.T. due to economic friction. Both sides initially attempt diplomacy to resolve their issues, but growing tensions eventually lead to a full-blown war. The conflict between these two factions erupts into an all-out war after the 'Bloody Valentine' incident, where nuclear weapons were used against the Coordinators' satellite, resulting in massive casualties."
The narration was delivered by a serious male voice, and the background story quickly drew in viewers as they gazed into the vast expanse of space on their screens.
"Whoosh, whoosh!"
Suddenly, several laser beams shot across the screen, almost bursting out of their phones, startling everyone.
"Kira!!"
"Athrun!!"
A massive blue-and-white robot and a red mech zoomed through space, firing laser beams that shattered nearby asteroids.
For many viewers, the epic scene evoked memories of Naruto and Sasuke's iconic fight in the Valley of the End.
They were already guessing that Kira and Athrun would have a deep bond—maybe they'd start out fighting and eventually make up, just like in Naruto.
"This is so cool…" Dan Yun mumbled, watching the screen.
After all, what boy didn't love mechas? Mechas were the ultimate expression of adventure!
The sleek designs, the gleaming metal, all of it captivated Dan Yun's attention.
The vast, beautiful universe resembled a view through a powerful telescope, drawing him in;
The grand entrance of the Archangel-class battleship radiated a sense of weight and power;
The lifelike characters seemed almost real, as if they actually existed.
Many viewers began to feel like this world was real, as if these scenes had truly happened and were captured by the Porter's camera.
This realism was due to Ren's choice to update the visuals.
The original Gundam SEED cockpit had a retro look, understandable for its time, but Ren wanted a more futuristic feel, so he redesigned the cockpit to display information as holograms.
"Mobile Suit Gundam SEED, huh? Looks like sci-fi," he thought.
As soon as the preview ended, the group chat exploded with excitement.
"I think it looks awesome!" Dan Yun shared, fully intrigued by the concept.
The sleek mechas alone made him want to watch it.
"Me too!! It seems so cool! I want to pilot a—what do they call them in the anime? A Gundam, right? I want one too!"
"Hah! A Gundam? You can't even drive a tractor."
"At least I know how to lead a team!"
"What's the appeal of this stuff?"
At that point, a female group member voiced her disinterest.
"Silly woman! You don't understand the beauty of strength and power!"
"Yeah, enjoy your life alone!"
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