According to the information Chen Xiaoqui had dug up, the whole thing was a tangled mess.
First of all, before My Roommate Is the Grim Reaper started airing, a card game called Lord of All Gods had already taken the world by storm.
I'd heard of the game, too. It had existed before the world changed and had been immensely popular, with a huge player base, high sales, and plenty of buzz. It was one of the best in its genre.
In the game, players drew cards featuring gods and spirits from all kinds of myths and legends. Mythological figures from any country or culture could be turned into cards, with famous artists hired to design them. Sometimes, the game would even collaborate with popular anime and video games, releasing cards with special designs.
Lord of All Gods had a Grim Reaper character. The "Grim Reaper" category included figures from different legends: scythe-wielding skeletons, underworld kings, and judges of the dead.
Judging from the Mingxite consciousnesses I'd encountered, they were pitifully few and could hardly affect the way most people thought about "death." After all, they were built on the foundations of popular perception. Every one of those figures had a counterpart in the myths of the real world. There were still more people who didn't play video games than those who did, and most of them understood death through vague impressions of legends. In other words, when most people heard "Grim Reaper," they pictured a skeleton with a scythe, not a card from the game.
Besides, although the cards in the game came with backstories and character profiles, they still stayed close to the legends. Overall, they reflected popular perceptions.
Then My Roommate Is the Grim Reaper became a hit. Among all the different Grim Reaper figures, it added