As the end of March arrived, so did the long-anticipated Liora Awards. Being an international ceremony, the show was broadcast live around the world. On that Sunday evening, Haruki didn't attend in person; his schedule was too packed. Instead, he turned on the TV at ho to watch the event.
The show opened in its usual grand fashion, moving through the categories one by one. Best Visual Animation went to Maya Productions, while Best Original Soundtrack was awarded to Initial D. Excitent built as the night drew closer to the biggest award: Ani of the Year.
The nominees were announced one after another. Then the host opened the envelope, and with a smile declared:
"Ani of the Year is… Madoka Magic!"
The hall erupted in cheers. So guests rose from their seats in surprise, clapping and shouting. Online, the chat feeds suddenly flooded with ssages, and hashtags like #MadokaMagic and #LioraAwards trended right away.
At that sa mont, Haruki's system voice rang in his mind as he was waiting for the reward that the system would give him after Madoka Magic won the international award for Ani of the Year:
"Madoka Magic has won Ani of the Year worldwide. Congratulations, host, for winning a Special S-Class Lottery."
Haruki blinked. A new lottery? Special S-Class? He quickly pulled up the description.
"This lottery allows you to choose any work within the S-rank category."
His eyes widened. Wait, so if I used it on a major work where I already have half the story, like JoJo or Rurouni Kenshin, can I use it on them? Or do I have to choose another?
"No. As the description says, you can unlock any work, including half-completed ones you've received, using the lottery ticket. However, this is a one-ti special reward, given on a unique occasion. From now on, to earn another ticket, you must create an ani that surpasses the parallel world's original version. The greater the margin by which you exceed it, the higher the rank of the ticket you will receive."
Haruki leaned back, thinking thoughtfully. So… this is above even S-Class. With this, I wouldn't need to spend points to complete a story. Still, it's not sothing to use recklessly.
He had read from system reviews of people about how JoJo really takes off after Part 6. Not that the earlier parts weren't great, but you can see with each part that Araki was going to the next level. And if I committed to publishing all six parts, that would take six or seven years at least. It might be smarter to hold onto this ticket and use it on sothing in between, when the timing is right.
As the possibilities ran through his mind, another thought surfaced from years ago. He was young and wanted to beco a mangaka, and he knew his chance was slim to go into this industry. And since the system has awakened, it all went through him easily, with one award after another.Maybe I can write my manga. How bad can it be?
"His phone buzzed nonstop with ssages. Haruka. Kotone. Ariri. Kazuya. One after another:
'Congrats!!!'
'You did it!'"
Sites, blogs, and social dia platforms all lit up with the sa headline: "Madoka Magic wins Ani of the Year at the Liora Awards."
Fans from around the world started reacting:
"wtf madoka won?? no way 😭😭"
"That ending still has in pieces. No ani hit like that in years."
"madoka > everything else omg"
"i literally scread when they said it"
"Finally, an award show that recognized creativity instead of just sales numbers."
So first-ti viewers were equally vocal:
"Watched Madoka Magic last night after the win, what did I just experience?"
"I doubted all the hype. Then I binged it. Now I can't stop crying."
"The ending destroyed … but I'm so glad I gave it a chance."
People in the industry started weighing in too. A veteran director comnted, "Mizushiro's work is evolving faster than any of us expected." A critic wrote, "Madoka Magic's victory wasn't just about popularity, it set a new bar for narrative ambition." Even so rivals admitted, "It hurts to lose, but honestly, Madoka deserved it. That ending was hauntingly good."
As the echoes of Madoka's win still filled tilines and comnt sections, the attention also shifted toward Code Geass. At the end of Madoka Magic, a teaser for Code Geass briefly appeared. But as it didn't have a date or marketing, people thought it would take ti, and many dismissed it. But Mizushiro's fans couldn't stop speculating when it might be released.
As weeks passed, another rumor caught fire. Reports claid that David Whitlock and Wes rrick had flown to Japan for an ani project. The story spread quickly. Fans even camped outside in hopes of catching proof. Before long, photos surfaced of Wes, David, and veteran sound director Masafumi Mima leaving the sa building together.
people started asking nonstop online. Evermark Production's official accounts were flooded with ssages asking whether the rumor was true:
"rrick in Japan? That can't be real."
"No way, David Whitlock too? This is insane."
"If this is for Mizushiro's next project, I'm already sold."
Finally, the studio responded with a carefully prepared announcent, revealing the production staff in full for Mizushiro's next ani:
Creator: Mizushiro
Director: Kazuya
Art Director: Wes rrick
Producer: David Whitlock
Sound director: Masafumi Mima
When the list dropped, the industry and fans alike were stunned.
Yuuya, upon seeing it, muttered to himself, "So that's why they didn't make room for just Mizushiro alone. With this lineup, anyone would step aside."
The ssage was clear: Mizushiro was now aiming on an international level, dominating last year's awards, and this ti he was aiming to do it globally.
Shout out to Carl Joe, Torrent, K, Sankami, Erebus677, Praveen Karthik for joining my p-atreon! your support ans everything to .
(TL:- if you want even more content, check out p-a-t-r-e-o-n/Alioth23 for 60 advanced chapters)
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