I just want to quietly draw manga

As soon as New Year's Eve ended, the calendar flipped to January and with it came the busiest season in the anime industry.

Like in the parallel world, the anime industry in this one followed a familiar rhythm: January, April, July, and October were the four main seasons for new releases. But unlike the traditional TV model, things had shifted. The dominance of online streaming platforms meant studios no longer had to strictly follow broadcast schedules. Airing dates were more flexible, and productions could launch any time of year.

Even so, half the year's major titles still clustered in those four seasonal months, while the rest spread out more freely. For instance, Anohana had aired the previous February and done exceptionally well.

This year, January kicked off with high anticipation. The first episode of The Frozen Witch—a big-budget title promoted heavily for weeks premiered at midnight on January 1st. Forums, fan sites, and streaming platforms had been buzzing about it.

The anime market was currently oversaturated with cutesy, trope-heavy series. So even though The Frozen Witch showed flashes of fanservice in its trailer, its marketing leaned heavily into action and fantasy. That genre still had a loyal audience, and early hype was strong.

Four high-profile series dominated the January lineup:

The Frozen Witch (Jan 1): A dark fantasy with a battle-heavy plot.

City of Echoes (Jan 2): A teen romance that had taken a strange turn late in the light novel, becoming a melodramatic love triangle to appeal to a wider demographic.

I Got Summoned by a Demon Queen from the Sewer and Now I'm Her Househusband (Jan 3): A slapstick isekai comedy.

A Merchant from Another World (Jan 4): An economics-driven isekai where the protagonist trades Earth's everyday goods for treasure.

Studios had spaced out the release dates to avoid clashing and splitting viewership.

Then there were the smaller, low-profile shows the ones fans called "filler shows." They'd just get slotted in wherever there was space in the schedule.

The Frozen Witch aired right at midnight. Within hours, it had climbed past two million views. Most viewers paid to stream the first two episodes, even though pricing caused some grumbling online. But in this market, where people were used to paying for content, quality justified the price.

And for most, The Frozen Witch delivered. The animation was crisp, the action flowed well, and while there were flashes of fanservice, it didn't dominate the tone. The plot was tight and paced briskly.

The only sticking point was the protagonist. He started as a cowardly, indecisive everyman and gained sudden strength after being chosen by the icy witch, Sutia—a feared figure who inexplicably warmed up to him. His shift into a confident, overpowered hero felt rushed and underdeveloped.

Still, most viewers forgave it. After all, it was the first episode. There was world-building to set up, action to showcase, and plenty of expectations to meet. Not everything could be explored right away.

By the end of the day, The Frozen Witch was well on track to become the frontrunner for the season's most-watched title. With views crossing two million, it was already seen as a favorite for the "Winter Crown."

That night, the team behind the show—Dakai Animation Productions—gathered at a restaurant to celebrate.

Masaru Fujimoto, the scriptwriter and associate producer, was in high spirits. Besides the lead producer, he had the most influence over the series, and with numbers like these, his stock was rising fast.

"Producer Fujimoto, congrats! If this keeps up, Frozen Witch might cross five million views by the finale."

"Yeah, and when you get that promotion, don't forget us little guys," someone added with a laugh.

Masaru waved them off with mock humility. "I'm still an associate producer. You're jumping the gun."

As the drinks kept flowing, conversation shifted toward the upcoming releases.

"City of Echoes airs tomorrow, right?" Masaru asked.

"Yup. Then on the 3rd and 4th, the rest drop. Once they're all out, we'll have a clearer picture of the season."

Someone across the table added, "Hey, Mizushiro's anime is airing tomorrow too—5 Centimeters per Second."

"Oh, right," another chimed in. "That's the one airing on the same day as City of Echoes, right? Pretty sure it's going to get buried. They're both teen romance dramas, but Echoes already has a solid fanbase from the novel."

"Can't count Mizushiro out that easily," someone else countered. "He's got way more fans than the original author of City of Echoes—what was her name? Yuko Takahashi?"

"Sure, but his story's an original script. No pre-existing fans. If it was another season of Initial D or Natsume, it'd be different. But what even is 5 Centimeters per Second? The title sounds like it's about traffic!"

A round of laughter followed.

January 2

Six new anime dropped across the major platforms today, but none received more attention than City of Echoes.

Thanks to its light novel origins and viral fan art among the BL(emotional relationships between male characters.) and fujoshi(fans of BL content) communities, the premiere had a built-in audience. Its character design and voice cast were polished. Fans flocked to it the moment it launched.

The other five anime that aired today were smaller productions, mostly under the radar. Whether they'd find an audience depended heavily on viewer reviews and word-of-mouth.

The real surprise came later.

One curious user, using the streaming platform's new rating filter, sorted all of January's anime by user score.

To everyone's shock, the number one anime—wasn't Frozen Witch.

It wasn't City of Echoes either.

It was something called…

"5 Centimeters per Second."

Shout out to Vita_Repetit, TIANZHU for joining my p-atreon! your support means everything to me.

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