The days following Arcane's premiere became a period driven largely by word-of-mouth.
In truth, aside from die-hard fans and industry insiders, most anime viewers don't obsess over premiere ratings. Veteran anime fans understand very well that popularity doesn't always equal personal taste. Instead, they tend to focus on an anime's art style, worldview, character design, atmosphere, and narrative ambition.
And those, coincidentally, are Arcane's greatest strengths.
Arcane's visual style is undeniably unconventional. Yet this was also the case in Rei's previous life, where audiences around the world, long accustomed to standard Japanese anime aesthetics, initially found it unfamiliar. Even so, that never stopped Arcane from dominating the charts during its original broadcast run.
For the Japanese version, Rei had also made subtle adjustments to the character designs, blending the animated style more closely with the refined look of the original game artwork. As a result, the characters felt sharper, more expressive, and more appealing to Japanese audiences.
Over these few days, with Rei's fan communities actively recommending the series, many casual viewers, people who hadn't planned to watch it at all, began to grow curious.
A slow-burn narrative isn't a flaw. In fact, nearly 90% of anime only become truly engaging after several episodes. What really mattered was this: across the entire internet, the most common criticism of Arcane was simply that it was "slow." Very few people criticized its plot logic, worldbuilding, or character design. That alone was extremely rare, and telling.
Although Arcane's premiere ranked only third in its first week, Ion TV Station's reruns over the following days significantly exceeded expectations.
More importantly, Rei's works had become tightly interlinked in the public consciousness.
When Hunter × Hunter and One-Punch Man aired, fans from each series naturally crossed over to the other. Now, with Arcane's debut, the same effect was happening again. Many Hunter × Hunter fans hadn't watched Arcane immediately, but after seeing consistently positive discussions online, their attitudes began to shift.
Online buzz was only part of the picture.
Offline, Rei was even busier.
Anyone in the Japanese anime industry knew one thing very well: Rei's works were famous for gaining momentum over time. One-Punch Man had debuted with ratings around 4% and later climbed past 7%. So what was there to doubt about Arcane, which had already opened above 5%?
Advertising offers began to pour in, not only from Japanese companies, but from a considerable number of overseas partners as well.
Amid this whirlwind of activity, time quickly rolled around to Sunday.
Episode two of Arcane aired.
In reality, the first three episodes of Arcane function as the foundation of the entire story.
Vi, Powder, and their partners Mylo and Claggor smuggle themselves from Zaun into Piltover and, by coincidence, break into the dormitory room of Jayce, a top student at Piltover University. As a child, Jayce had once been saved by a mysterious arcane mage whose face was hidden beneath a cloak. The crystal left behind by that encounter became the subject of his research, and eventually led to the creation of Hextech.
Hextech is both the beginning of the story and the root of its tragedy.
Because Powder accidentally triggers a Hextech explosion in Piltover, Zaun comes under severe threat from the upper city. Vander is forced into an impossible choice: protect his daughters, or allow war to erupt once more.
At the same time, Jayce faces his own dilemma. He has created something powerful, unstable, and dangerous, within the walls of Piltover University itself. What responsibility does he bear for its consequences?
Thus, episode two shifts its perspective to Piltover.
The city is governed by a council of powerful figures, and the episode opens with a council meeting debating how to deal with Jayce and his illegal research. Naturally, this introduces a new wave of characters.
Heimerdinger, Mel, Viktor, Caitlyn.
Heimerdinger, as a council member, does everything he can to protect Jayce from harsher punishment, but even he can only manage to have Jayce expelled from the university.
Jayce pleads with everyone around him. His mother is powerless. Caitlyn, who seems to share a subtle bond with him, can do nothing. In the end, only Viktor, born in Zaun, risen through relentless effort, and now serving as a teaching assistant, truly understands Jayce's research and the hidden potential of Hextech.
When everyone else turns away, Viktor does not.
Once again, the episode focuses on setup. The number of characters introduced rivals that of the first episode.
Ultimately, the first two episodes of Arcane mirror one another: they depict the diverging misfortunes of Powder's group in Zaun and Jayce's world in Piltover, two paths shaped by the same incident.
After the second episode aired, viewers around the world began to realize something important about Arcane.
"Wait… is this an ensemble anime?"
"I thought Vi was the protagonist. Turns out there isn't a single main character at all."
"Oh, an ensemble cast? That's actually my favorite kind of show."
"This feels a bit like One-Punch Man in structure, multiple characters, multiple perspectives. I love ensemble storytelling."
"But, the plot didn't really move forward that much this episode, did it?"
"That's exactly how ensemble works go. You lay down a ton of groundwork, let different storylines run in parallel, and then, boom, everything collides at once."
"Honestly, the amount of information packed into just two episodes is insane. On the surface, Vander looks like the boss of Zaun, but Silco is clearly manipulating several gangs behind the scenes. And that Shimmer stuff, he can create bio-enhanced fighters with it? This guy obviously wants the peace between the two cities to collapse."
"And Piltover is even more blatant. A council full of smug capitalists who dump pollution downward and act morally superior. Watching them makes my blood boil. If I were born in Zaun, I'd hate Piltover too."
"That reaction is exactly the point. If you're angry, it means you're already immersed in the world."
"Even though it's slow, I'm surprised by how patient I'm being. Episode one made me restless, but episode two actually felt satisfying."
"Of course it did. In episode one, Vi's group just looked like reckless kids who stole something and caused a disaster. I hate that kind of protagonist too. But episode two reframes everything. If I were Vi, I'd despise Piltover as well, forcing Zaun's people to live in toxic slums, controlling their resources, restricting their freedom. It's infuriating to watch."
"Exactly. That anger is part of the narrative design."
"Honestly? I still find it kind of boring."
"But I trust Shirogane-sensei. I'll give it another week or two before judging."
"That's fair. Not everyone has to like everything. Some people don't like sushi, doesn't mean sushi is bad. If Arcane doesn't click with you, it just means your wavelength doesn't match."
"Anyway, I think it's really interesting."
"I'll be honest, I don't even think One-Punch Man is that divine. Personally, I like Arcane's first two episodes more than One-Punch Man's opening."
Despite the mixed opinions, the numbers spoke clearly.
The second episode of Arcane recorded a viewership rating of 5.63%, maintaining its third-place position in the January winter season.
However, compared to the previous week, the gap between Arcane and the second-ranked game adaptation Blade of No Light had narrowed significantly.
The reasons were obvious.
The production quality was undeniable. The investment was massive.
The promotional reach was extensive. And most importantly, Rei's name appeared prominently as both screenwriter and investor.
Even with a slow-burn structure, very few viewers dropped the show after two episodes.
Word-of-mouth continued to spread.
Another week passed.
January moved into its later days.
And finally, it was time for the premiere of episode three of Arcane.