Chapter 324 - 323: End of the Quarter

As the ending theme faded out and tens of millions of fans finished watching the preview for the next episode, a heavy sense of lingering sorrow hung over the audience.

Before Rolo's death, the majority of fans felt the guy truly deserved to die. He had committed too many atrocities and was unworthy of sympathy. Yet, in this single episode, his final words gave the character a soul, transforming him from a cookie-cutter villain into a tragic figure.

Rolo had been treated as a biological test subject by the Order since childhood. With no family or friends, it was inevitable that he lacked a normal person's sense of morality. While his murder of Shirley out of pure jealousy was unforgivable, his final words resonated deeply: he had been used as a tool his entire life. First by the Order, then by the Emperor, and finally by Lelouch. All he ever truly wanted was a family.

From the audience's perspective, he was a bad person, but if one stepped into his shoes and experienced his life, few would have turned out any kinder. Most importantly, the execution of Rolo's characterization in this episode, combined with the masterful timing of the soundtrack, was simply top-tier. After a brief moment of silence on the forums, the inevitable storm arrived.

"I hope the author never finds the flavor packet in his instant ramen for the rest of his life!"

"Dammit, why did you have to kill off Rolo like that?"

"Wait, weren't you guys the ones screaming for Rolo's head for the last few weeks? What are you complaining about now?"

"Nobody expected him to go out like this! We didn't know his heart was actually like that."

"I'm in tears. A person who spent his life being betrayed and betraying others finally finds someone who is explicitly using him, yet he's still willing to die to save them."

"I'm not getting any sleep tonight."

"This is the charm of this show. If the author hadn't given Rolo this ending, fans would have hated him until the final credits. Now, suddenly, no one wanted him to die."

"It's precisely because he died this way that everyone is moved. It's a narrative paradox. Don't blame the author; it's just brilliant writing."

"I don't care, I'm still venting! I watch Code Geass for the hype, the power fantasy, and the dramatic energy. But the author keeps dropping these emotional nukes. Euphemia, Rolo, Shirley... I can't take it anymore."

"Who said this was just a power fantasy? We're forty episodes in, and the things I remember most are the deaths of Euphemia, Rolo, and Shirley. My mindset for next week's episode is going to be completely different."

"So this is what C.C. meant when she gave Lelouch the Geass. 'The power of the King shall condemn you to solitude.'"

"This episode illustrated that perfectly. Nunnally is missing, Black Knights has committed mutiny, and Lelouch's remaining family, his father, sister, and brother, all want him dead. The only person who wanted him to live was Rolo, and he sacrificed himself to make it happen. Perhaps only the immortal witch C.C. can truly stay by his side."

"It's like a curse. No one with Geass has a happy ending. Betrayal, loneliness, insanity, broken dreams... it's tragic."

"I have a feeling Code Geass is heading straight for a tragic ending."

"How much more tragic can it get?"

"Lelouch might conquer the world through Geass and his schemes, only to find there's no one left in the world he can trust. Right now, the only people who haven't betrayed him are Nunnally and C.C. If the story takes them away too..."

"Stop, I can't even think about that. What would he have been fighting for then? Surely the author won't go that far."

"According to the Haru-Yuki Animation official website, there are only a few episodes left. I'm genuinely curious how this can even end."

"Logically, Lelouch is one of the most powerful players on the world stage now. If the show is ending, he has to contribute something toward world unification or peace. But with the Imperial Army under Schneizel's thumb and the Black Knights in revolt, I can't see how he breaks this deadlock."

"Maybe he uses Geass to force world peace? Like a wide-range activation?"

"It's not that simple. There are billions of people. He can't look billions of people in the eye one by one to tell them to stop fighting."

From 8:30 PM onwards, fan groups and forums exploded with activity.

Discussions about Rolo, Lelouch, and theories on the ending flooded every website. The fans were simple: if the story touched them, they praised it to the heavens.

On the major forum voting boards, the Most Hated Character list, which had been dominated by Rolo and Suzaku for five months, now saw Suzaku standing alone at the top.

Conversely, the Most Popular Character list saw Rolo rocket into the top three in a single night, propelled by the tears of fans moved by his sacrifice. C.C. and Lelouch remained unshakable at first and second, but Rolo's third-place spot, even if temporary, proved how deeply his performance had resonated.

The following day at noon, Tokyo TV1 released the viewership data from the previous night. After dozens of episodes, Code Geass had officially hit a new peak: 6.53%.

This was a terrifying number.

Once a rating breaks 5%, every 0.01% increase is an uphill battle because 5% already indicates a phenomenon-level hit. With a population like Japan's, you can't expect everyone to like one specific work. A 6% rating meant the show spanned all demographics, men, women, young, and old, and that the habit of tuning in every week was as solid as the habit of eating daily.

Madoka Magica had previously hit a record of 6.51% due to its subversive take on the magical girl genre and a massive wave of free publicity from the mainstream media. Now, that single-episode record had been shattered.

And the show that beat it was another creation by the very same author.

This fact was what truly shocked the industry. You could argue one hit was a fluke of timing or luck, but for multiple works to reach this height? It silenced the critics. Even the media outlets that wanted to criticize Haruto couldn't find a valid reason to do so.

A day later, the media was shamelessly riding the hype train, showering Code Geass with praise.

[Code Geass Sets New Ratings Record.]

[When Madoka Magica was released, we thought it was the final milestone, an unsurpassable epic. Now, a miracle has been toppled by another. Haruto: The Undisputed King of the Industry!]

[Whether you admit it or not, the iron-clad facts remain: Haruto has reached the pinnacle of the industry's history. You may not like it, but you cannot change it.]

[Comparing the geniuses of the past few decades to Haruto makes them pale in comparison. The God of Anime! Popularity, fan count, influence, and ratings: Code Geass is #1, Madoka is #2, and Cyberpunk: Edgerunners is #4... This is insane.]

[While Code Geass broke Madoka's record, we must admit a large part of its success comes from the massive fan traffic Haruto built up. If both were released at the same time with zero reputation, Madoka would likely outperform Geass. But that is just a hypothetical. The reality is that Lelouch has officially broken the record!]

The media frenzy and fan adoration kept the heat around Code Geass rising.

Inside Haru-Yuki Animation, the members of the Code Geass project were all smiles, walking with their chests puffed out. Breaking the Madoka record was no small feat.

Haruto was equally pleased. On Wednesday night, he booked a hall at a grand hotel near the office and handed out early project bonuses to the entire department. However, the celebration lasted only one day. By Thursday, everyone was back in their daily work routines.

After all, aside from Pokemon and Doraemon, which were being developed as long-term children's IPs, the project teams for the other four works, Slam Dunk, Gurren Lagann, Fullmetal Alchemist, and Monogatari Series, were now fully established.

Even though some teams were still missing specific talents, the HR department, working with industry headhunters, began a relentless poaching campaign. They targeted the Big Three animation studios and even international firms with aggressive offers. Haruto's biggest asset right now was his deep pockets.

Between Sword Art Online and Hunter x Hunter, the annual volume sales alone generated hundreds of millions in licensing revenue.

Add to that the residual income from his previous ten-plus works, and the current merchandise, Blu-ray, and overseas licensing fees for Code Geass... the numbers were staggering.

By early March, the studio's high return on investment allowed Haruto to move forward without any financial hesitation. Around this time, he received notice that his university graduation thesis defense was scheduled for late April, requiring him to shift some of his focus back to school.

In the Hunter x Hunter, the battle between Hisoka and Gon at Heavens Arena concluded. Gon managed to land a powerful punch as promised, reclaiming his dignity, but was outmatched and defeated by Hisoka, marking the end of the arc. This arc served as an introduction to the concept of Nen, a subtle expansion of world-building.

In the final pages, the shadows of the Phantom Troupe members appeared, signaling the next phase. By February, Hunter x Hunter's average volume sales had hit 25.3 million copies, just as it entered what many considered the second-best arc of the series: the Phantom Troupe Arc.

Though the best arc remained the Chimera Ant Arc, which would elevate the series even further later on. At the current pace, reaching that point would take another year or two.

As for Sword Art Online, Haruto concluded the GGO arc. After taking a one-week break, he immediately launched into the most ambitious and longest arc of the novel: the Alicization (UW) Arc. While the third season of the anime in the parallel world had been a mess due to excessive cuts, the original novel version was a masterpiece of world-building and narrative scope.

Haruto wasn't worried about its performance here.

At this point, the three longest-running works of Haruto's career were all entering critical stages:

The Hunter x Hunter was moving into Phantom Troupe Arc.

The Sword Art Online has reached the Alicization Arc.

Code Geass was entering its final few episodes.

With only a few episodes left, the legendary anime was about to perform its final dance.

Honestly, Haruto felt a bit sentimental about it ending. But only a bit. Taking advantage of the peak fan engagement following Rolo's death, Haruto dropped a bombshell on the industry.

For the first time, he officially announced the names and brief details of the four major projects alongside Pokemon and Doraemon:

Bakemonogatari

Gurren Lagann

Fullmetal Alchemist

Slam Dunk

Along with the titles, he released four concept art posters.

[A boy in a peaceful school setting, surrounded by several beautiful girls.]

[A boy and a young man inside a drill-shaped robot cockpit, looking out at the horizon as they fly toward the sky.]

[A boy standing next to a giant suit of armor, their hands clasped together as weapons and cannons surge from the ground as if they were alive.]

[A tall, red-haired boy leaping high into the air, slamming a basketball into the hoop.]

The website offered no further explanation, just the images and the titles. Yet, on that day, anime fans across Japan celebrated as if it were New Year's.

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