A Global Battle Fought with the “Spirit Bomb” of Support! The True Identity of Scramble’s Manga “Usagi to Sora”

Hello. I’m Yodose, President and CEO of Scramble.

The origin of Hisashi Mitsui’s name in Slam Dunk
comes from the sake “Mii no Kotobuki” produced by
Inoue Gōmei Kaisha in Tachiarai, Fukuoka Prefecture.

But today, I’m not here to talk about that.
(Everyone would be confused if I did… haha)

Under the slogan “Delivering Manga to the World from Social Media,”
we at Scramble are producing
the supernatural battle fantasy manga “Usagi to Sora.”

I’d like to discuss this under the theme of “A Global Battle Fought with the ‘Spirit Bomb’ of Support.”

▽Please Allow Me to Tell You About the Manga “Usagi to Sora”

After repeating “twists” and “turns” about 108 times, with strong gravitational forces pulling us left and right
until our necks were nearly torn off,
we’ve steadily continued creating the manga “Usagi to Sora.”

On March 19, serialization began on digital platforms and official social media,
and we can finally deliver it to you…
(There are people around, so I’ll just say “yay” in my heart for now… haha)

[Brief Commercial Break]

■Title: Manga “Usagi to Sora”
(©Santei Karo・UKA / SCRAMBLE INC.)
Official Site: https://lit.link/usagitosora

■Available on Digital Platforms
Apple Books | Comic Seymour | Ameba Manga |
DMM Books | FOD | Renta! | Kinokuniya Kinoppy | and more coming soon

■All Episodes Available Free on Official Social Media
TikTok | YouTube | Instagram
[Account Name]
Santei Karo・UKA / Manga “Usagi to Sora”
@santeikaro_uk

Please like and follow!

・TikTok http://www.tiktok.com/@santeikaro_uka
・YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVFA5ST8sWScivrWMImsL4A
・Instagram https://www.instagram.com/santeikaro_uka/

If you haven’t seen the manga preview video yet, please watch it here

“Creating a manga” is certainly not easy at all,
and at first, we faced many struggles with one setback after another.

Why did we try to create a manga “without anyone asking us to”?

How were we able to overcome difficult times and “continue taking on challenges”?

There seem to be many concepts useful in the worlds of marketing and business,
so please allow me to share a few…

▽Why “Dreams,” “Hope,” and “Courage” Are Necessary Now

To reveal all our ulterior motives without hiding anything,

this manga “Usagi to Sora”

“holds original IP in-house to create new business opportunities,”

“becomes IP that can be deployed globally through non-verbal expression,”

“moves from a world of competition to co-creation, helping colleagues escape the rat race,”

among other roles.

However, in this era when it has become difficult to speak of dreams and hope,
“if you face challenges with courage, you can overcome any difficulty
and your wishes will surely come true.”

I believe the truly important role is to deliver this message
to as many people as possible through our work.

Being blessed with this opportunity now
is something for which I am truly grateful to our company members who always work hard
and to everyone who always supports us
and stays connected with us.

Furthermore, by delivering everything—both “what worked” and “what didn’t”—
I hope it will lead to insights for someone and
be useful in designing business and marketing strategies…
(It’s a bit embarrassing to show our uncool side… haha)

▽An Era Where “Creating” and “Delivering” Come as a Set

Yes, I’ve shared our thoughts…

Now what becomes interesting is the winning strategy!
(Suddenly high energy… haha)

As you all know, in today’s era, it’s essential not just to “create” but to
do the “delivering” as a complete set.

“Creating” is not the end at all—it’s merely the beginning,
and only through “delivering” does the story truly unfold…

That’s why we need to thoroughly design all the way to “delivering.”

To bring the battle to our advantage,
we need to question and break some of the “rules and conventions”
established by the giants of the manga publishing industry.
(Feels like a rock band… haha)

■Winning “Rules and Conventions” ①: Change Weekly Contact Frequency to Daily

Weekly manga magazines basically provide content to readers once a week.
Now is an era when readers can easily switch to other content before the next release.
Manga “Usagi to Sora” provides content daily on social media.

■Winning “Rules and Conventions” ②: Don’t Compete on the 19-Page Arena of the Masters

Don’t compete in the 19-page (approximately 95 panels) format that popular authors excel at (we can never beat Rumiko Takahashi in a 19-page battle… haha).
Manga “Usagi to Sora” deliberately avoids panel divisions and uses a single vertical image per manga installment.

■Winning “Rules and Conventions” ③: Bring the Battle to the Social Media World

Conversely, even large corporations and major publishers aren’t good at social media management—it’s difficult.
Scramble brings the battle to the social media world
with a proven track record of growing numerous YouTube and Instagram accounts.

■Winning “Rules and Conventions” ④: Shift Evaluation Metrics from Survey Postcards to Social Media Data

The use of postcards—a black box data source—still remains in evaluating works.
We adopt openly available data such as “likes,” “views,” and “comments” on social media.

■Winning “Rules and Conventions” ⑤: Southeast Asia’s Growing Population and Affluent Class with Low Advertising Costs

The affluent class and population are growing in Southeast Asia, especially Vietnam.
TikTok advertising costs are about one-tenth of Japan’s, allowing rapid awareness building.

■Winning “Rules and Conventions” ⑥: AI Enables Instant Automatic Translation for International Markets

Recently, a University of Tokyo startup announced an instant translation tool,
and the day when we can cross language barriers as easily as breathing is right around the corner…

etc… (This is just part of our playbook… haha)

By reviewing the previously accepted rules and conventions
and shifting their “meaning” and “position,” we create a form we can compete in,
which increases the resolution of the winning strategy for manga “Usagi to Sora.”

▽The Meaning of “Delivering Manga to the World from Social Media”

What’s critically important when “delivering” is that “support” continues to connect.

This is no exaggeration at all—
just like Goku gathering the Spirit Bomb in “Dragon Ball”
(Akira Toriyama is such a genius it’s dazzling… haha),

I believe this is a global battle we cannot fight without receiving support from many people.

We will continue working hard to “create” our work
and “deliver it to the world from social media,” so please lend us your support.

Through creating this work, I felt strongly that there are no “shortcuts” or “detours” in life—
there is only “this very moment,” and there is tremendous meaning and value
in giving our all to each and every moment…

That’s all from the field.

Oh, by the way, the alcohol content of “Mii no Kotobuki”
is 14 degrees, the same as Mitsui’s jersey number 14…
(Sensei, I want to drink sake… haha)

I hope today is a wonderful day for all of you!

Thank you for your continued support of SUNNY DAYS!