Looking at himself in the mirror, Ken couldn't help but sigh.
Just a few days ago, his name had been Ben Carter, and he had been lying in a hospital in Florida, agonizing from brain cancer.
He thought that being on the brink of death would make him more afraid, or even sad, but the only thing he could think about was that he hadn't been able to see the ending of One Piece.
A manga and anime that he considered one of the greatest of all time.
He had his own personal list, and when he thought about it, he couldn't help but sigh again when Hunter x Hunter came to mind—another amazing manga whose ending he never got to see.
Now he was Ken Katsuki, a twenty-five-year-old man living in the city of Miyazaki, Japan.
At any other time, Ben would have been more than delighted. Traveling to Japan was a dream come true for any self-respecting geek and otaku.
But when he excitedly went online, he was met with a harsh reality.
He was in an alternate reality where many things were different. Many wars had started and ended in very different ways compared to his previous world.
Culture, music, and even memes were completely different. But what ultimately destroyed Ben completely… was that in this world, manga and anime culture did not exist.
The hope Ben had held onto—of someday seeing the ending of One Piece—vanished in a single second.
It would be a mistake to say that manga or anime did not exist at all in this world, but the industry was not nearly as developed or widespread within general culture as it had been in his previous life.
Ken sighed again as he looked at the clear cut marks on his arms.
Ken Katsuki was an aspiring mangaka who had tried to enter the industry ever since graduating from school.
Unfortunately, even though the competition was not as fierce as in his previous life, Ken had failed to debut in any magazine, even after trying for years.
Ken looked at the countless sheets of paper and drawings scattered all over the room.
The art was undeniably beautiful—so much so that it even rivaled masters like Murata and Kentaro Miura.
But his stories…
Ken shook his head. He could understand why Ken had never been serialized despite his beautiful artwork.
In the end, Ken was never able to serialize his stories, even though on multiple occasions he had been offered the chance to focus solely on the art while someone else handled the writing.
Out of pride and stubbornness, he refused.
So many rejections, along with the constant feeling of being a failure, had led the previous Ken to make a terrible decision.
Ken put on a long-sleeved shirt to cover the cuts on his arms. He carefully styled his long hair, trying to look at least somewhat presentable.
But the dark circles under his eyes, his dry hair, and his poorly trimmed facial hair couldn't be fixed so easily.
Ken sighed as he finished getting ready and headed down to the living room.
He felt like he had sighed more times in these moments than in his entire previous life.
On the ground floor, he found a woman in her mid-forties, slightly obese, waiting for him with a tired smile.
She was wearing an unfamiliar kimono that, according to Ken's memories, had already been used for several years, but it was her best outfit for important occasions.
"Are you ready?" she asked expectantly, and Ken nodded.
Together, they left the old house and walked in silence.
This was Ken's mother, Miyu Katsuki. For that very reason, even though she was supposed to be his mother and he had the memories of the previous Ken, he couldn't feel completely comfortable around her.
They walked silently for about twenty minutes until they arrived at a large, beautiful house completely decorated with Christmas lights.
Miyu rang the doorbell while Ken grew increasingly nervous.
They were at his uncle Takashi's house. The man was a successful businessman and the family's main support during times of crisis, which was why the entire family spent New Year's Eve and welcomed the new year at his large home.
Ken had been absent from these gatherings for many years, and he couldn't keep missing them anymore.
"Hey!!" His aunt Yoko opened the door and happily surprised herself when she saw Ken behind Miyu. "Sweetie, I'm so glad you came!! I haven't seen you in such a long time!"
Ken smiled back and greeted his aunt. Behind her stood his uncle Takashi. Ken extended his hand in greeting, but his uncle left him hanging.
Ken felt embarrassed as he remembered that he was in Japan and that wasn't the proper way to greet someone. When he was halfway through bowing, his uncle turned around and ignored him.
His mother, his aunt, and Ken stood there in shock. Feeling very uncomfortable, they entered the house, where they found the rest of the family members who had arrived earlier.
While his mother began interacting with her siblings and their partners, Ken was left to talk with his cousins, who also seemed to have attended the gathering purely out of obligation.
Ken was dazzled when he saw two beautiful girls among his cousins. Chihiro and Hitomi—the last time the owner of this body had seen them was about five years ago.
In such a short time, both had grown into beautiful young women.
Ken had to remind himself that they were his cousins so that his nervousness and excitement would calm down a bit.
As the night went on, spirits lifted, and Ken loosened up a little around these people.
Several of his cousins were also fans of anime and manga.
Fortunately, not everything had changed in this world, and classics like Astro Boy, Dragon Ball, and a few others still existed.
In fact, Dragon Ball had already broken beyond Japan's borders and was being distributed worldwide.
Ken suspected that in a few years, anime and manga would reach the level of popularity they had achieved in his world during the 1990s.