Starting as a Manga Editor-Chapter 98: It’s Seriously Amazing!

Shang Tao had absolutely no idea why Zhao Fangsheng was saying all this… because he hadn’t played the game himself.
“No way, Vice President. That can’t be right.”
He snapped out of his daze and immediately refuted, “It’s just a game. Even if Fate’s sequel is in it, there’s no way it’s going to shake up the entire anime industry. That’s just over the top.”
“……”
Zhao Fangsheng glanced at his phone screen, then responded,
“You’ll get it once you download and play it. You’d never imagine that a game could be like this—using anime-style characters as the main selling point… every character has a unique design, personality, and backstory.
It’s not just appealing to hardcore anime fans—even a middle-aged guy like me, someone who’s spent years working at a publishing house, got completely hooked.
What’s more… this game has Fate/Zero as its foundation and includes a direct sequel to this red-hot manga. The quality is off the charts! The experience is almost like a high-budget interactive novel or animated movie. Visually, it’s top-tier. And thanks to Fate/Zero, the story grabs you from the start…”
“That still doesn’t mean it’ll revolutionize the anime industry.”
Shang Tao gave him a strange look, like he was thinking, What’s gotten into him? “There have always been anime, right…”
“You’re still not getting it…”
Zhao Fangsheng picked up his phone. “This game is selling characters to players! Characters that are brought to life through story, through detail, through voice—it’s all built around emotional investment!
And the kicker? It’s not a straightforward price tag. It uses this insanely clever gacha mechanic!
It fits perfectly with the model of selling characters—because what this game is really selling is emotion.”
“……”
Shang Tao still didn’t get it.
“Forget it. You don’t need to understand. Just go contact Editor Tang.”
Zhao Fangsheng waved him off impatiently. “Go do it now. Don’t bother me again.”
“What about this document…”
“Just leave it there.”
Zhao Fangsheng replied without looking up, eyes already fixed on his phone again.
At first, he’d completely dismissed this game. But after actually playing it, he couldn’t help but admire it… whoever designed this was a total genius!!!
You can make games like this!?
From his perspective, this model was tailor-made for the anime industry! It fit the manga industry like a glove!
Right now, the entire print magazine business was under pressure. Physical manga sales had been declining, the business model was struggling, and numbers kept dropping… That’s also why he had been pushing so hard for online manga publishing.
But unfortunately, their online platform hadn’t been performing that well… He’d been racking his brain for a new monetization strategy.
And now—it was right in front of him.
After all, manga has never lacked deeply loved characters!
They could license IPs… or even make their own.
That’s why he was so desperate to reach the third-rate artist! He wanted to talk face-to-face! Or more importantly—he wanted to talk to the game devs working with him.
“……”
Shang Tao saw that Zhao Fangsheng wasn’t paying him any more attention. He quietly shook his head, set down the documents, and turned to leave.
He was nearly fifty years old, and yet still this impulsive. Acting like a high school kid just because of a game.
Seriously…
He didn’t even know what to say, so he just walked away.
But… back at his own department,
as he stared at his computer screen, Shang Tao couldn’t help but feel curious after seeing Zhao Fangsheng’s earlier expression. Just what kind of magic does this game have? What made him act like that…?
So he hesitated for a moment, then opened the official game website.
Before long,
the download was finished.
Shang Tao stared at the game icon on his phone. As he tapped it, he muttered under his breath,
“Can this thing really change the anime industry?”
At the same time.
Shang Tao wasn’t the only one opening the game.
Su Deqiang was launching it too…
Originally, he had planned to play right when the servers opened at noon, but today was the weekend. Last night was a rare break, and now that he was finally living on his own in college, he let his guard down and ended up staying up all night.
He had only just woken up—so he’d missed the launch window.
But hey, better late than never.
Su Deqiang got up, washed up, and ordered some food delivery. Then he flopped comfortably back onto his bed and launched the game he’d pre-downloaded.
“The Fate/Zero sequel is serialized in a mobile game… Wonder how that’s gonna work. Sure, the screenshots looked good, but I swear, if it’s just a scam…”
Holding his phone, he adjusted his position while starting the game.
As soon as he tapped in, the screen went black and the game loaded briefly… then the prologue began.
The moment the game’s stunning illustrations appeared on-screen—
with the polished art style and rich detail on full display—
Su Deqiang shot upright in bed.
“No way… they can really pull this off!?”
Sitting on the edge of his bed, eyes glued to the glowing screen,
he stared at what was, without a doubt, the best-looking anime-style mobile game on the market. He leaned closer, eyes wide.
“This basically looks like an actual anime…”
Muttering to himself, he kept playing through the story.
Soon,
the prologue ended.
And then the game hit him with exactly what he was dying to see—
Under a flashback filter, Fate/Zero’s final scene of Saber destroying the Holy Grail played out in-game. Though it was just dynamic CG, the production value was sky-high and absolutely jaw-dropping.
“So f***ing cool…”
Su Deqiang murmured, barely containing his excitement.
No way.
Was this actually 1:1 fidelity!?
Not nerfed at all!?
Staring at the screen, he looked completely stunned.
Then the game seamlessly transitioned into the Fifth Holy Grail War arc. As the Fate/Stay Night logo appeared—
Su Deqiang sprang to his feet.
“It really is a direct sequel! And this art… this presentation… holy sh*t!!”
“So the beta testers weren’t exaggerating…”
“No way—this character art is insane… And wait—is that Rin Tohsaka!? She gets a dynamic camera entrance!? The devs totally know what they’re doing!!”
In his dorm room—
Su Deqiang was completely hooked.
His voice and the game’s sound alternated as they filled the space.
To save money, the game’s voiceovers were mostly outsourced. Due to budget limits, characters in the main story only had interjections and vocal sounds. In fact, many of the female characters’ voice clips were recorded by some anonymous boss at the studio…
Some sound effects were done by the same guy, too…
Because honestly, they were broke!
Almost all resources were allocated to the characters that had collectible cards.
So the story characters didn’t have full voice acting—just text and occasional sound snippets.
But maybe because of that constraint, it helped players focus more on the story itself.
And to be fair, the art was so stunning that even simple dialogue felt immersive.
As the story unfolded—
Shirou Emiya, Saber, Archer (Red A), Rin Tohsaka, and Sakura Matou—one memorable character after another—began to appear.
The plot progressed with strong pacing and layered storytelling, paired with moderately challenging battles…
Su Deqiang’s excitement kept climbing.
He clutched his phone, constantly exclaiming in awe.
One moment he was on his feet.
The next, sitting.
Then walking around.
Then sprawled out on the bed again.
He’d forgotten all about the food delivery sitting on the side—untouched.
He completely lost track of time.
Mobile gaming’s strengths were on full display in that moment.
Nearly two hours later…
“…This is seriously amazing!!”
The Fate/Stay Night intro story ended, and the game’s main plot began.
Su Deqiang finally looked up, face glowing with excitement.
Sure, Fate/Zero had been incredible—but let’s be real—it was an adult-oriented ensemble drama. Most readers couldn’t really insert themselves into the characters’ shoes due to age gaps and differences in experience. They were mostly there for the story, not to self-project.
But FSN was different. At its core, Fate/Stay Night was a boy-meets-girl love story.
And for young readers like Su Deqiang, it was way easier to relate to…
And the game’s quality?
It had blown all his expectations away!
“Mobile games… can actually be this good!?”