Finished 教え子に脅迫されるのは犯罪ですか？7時間目/Oshiego ni Kyouhaku Sareru no wa Hanzai desu ka? 7 Jikan-me
Having finished the first volume of his latest work, Tenjin's editor gives him the task of advertising it on social media. Like many new content creators, though, Tenjin finds himself posting to the void. It isn't until Toe accidentally livestreams on his Youtube channel via a hidden camera Yaya placed that his channel immediately goes viral. Hoping to capitalize on this stroke of luck, Toe, Yaya and Seika start a video series to draw attention to Tenjin's new book. But it this really what being an author is about?
This volume focused on self-promoting your own work as an author and the difficulties that come with that. Tenjin just wants to write and, being a jaded old man, can't take advantage of the innate popularity that comes with being a pretty JK like Seika. Even after his Youtube channel explodes in popularity once the 3 heroines join, he feels guilty for taking advantage of them and finds their success doesn't translate into actual sales for his novel. The book also touches briefly on other themes such as "What does it matter how interesting a book is if it doesn't sell?"
Unfortunately, despite bringing up a number of interesting topics the book doesn't explore them too deeply. The main focus is still the romcom antics and any serious topics felt very surface-level. I was reading some old thoughts I wrote on Vol. 1 and how much I enjoyed reading about the MC's struggles navigating both the education system and the publishing industry, but over time the books have lost that delicate balance and have been focussing mainly on the publishing side. Part of what made Vol. 1 so much fun to read was the author drawing on his own experiences as a cram school teacher, but I feel like he hasn't been able to take advantage of his writing experience in the same way; the challenges he writes about just don't have that same weight and depth.