Master of the Machete Style Manga

Chapter 109 Heart-Shaped Omelet Rice

Ken Sakamoto considered it for a moment, then simply replied, "I moved."

After the message was sent, the other party remained silent for a full half minute before sending a new message, which was also a voice message.

"Huh?! You moved? How come it's so sudden! When did this happen?" Natsume Mio's tone was full of surprise.

Ken Sakamoto: "I just moved yesterday. In order to set up a studio, I will need to recruit assistants. The old house was too small."

"Oh, I see... That makes sense. It must be too tiring for Ah Jian to draw all by himself. Having an assistant would definitely make things much easier! By the way, where is the new studio?"

Ken Sakamoto had absolutely no intention of hiding something that couldn't be concealed at all.

He directly selected the location of his new home on the map and shared the coordinates.

Ken Sakamoto: "2-chome, Taito Ward. I'm staying at the studio now."

Soon, Natsume Mio sent a voice message: "Huh?! Ken, you've already moved in?! So fast!"

Before Sakamoto Ken could reply, another voice message came: "Ah... well, the bento I prepared for you today..."

Ken Sakamoto: "No need today, there are plenty of restaurants around here."

Mio Natsume: "Huh? I just checked the navigation, Ken, the place you live now is closer to my house!"

Mio Natsume: "Besides, I've already bought the groceries and started preparing. My parents aren't home these next couple of days, so if I don't cook it well, the ingredients will go to waste!"

Sakamoto Ken knows Natsume Mio quite well. In this situation, even if he says he doesn't need her to prepare anything, Natsume Mio will probably still make the bento and bring it over.

It wouldn't hurt to let her visit the studio; it's only a matter of time.

Sincerity is the greatest weapon.

Last time, Ken Sakamoto felt that one of the key elements to achieving a Bad Ending was concealment.

Because they were afraid of being exposed, they kept various things from them, resulting in more and more things being hidden. One lie required another to cover it up, eventually leading to a situation that was difficult to resolve.

Ken Sakamoto typed back: "Then come to my new studio. The alleys around here are complicated. It's at 2-29, the newest detached house. There's a red vending machine next to it. Call me if you can't find it."

"Great!"

"Today I'm making heart-shaped omelet rice, which I just learned recently. Jian, you can try it at lunchtime!"

Ken Sakamoto: "Thank you, I'm really looking forward to it."

……

Ken Sakamoto went downstairs and stood in the lobby on the first floor.

The first floor serves as a studio, with drawing tables, chairs, and other furniture already set up.

Ken Sakamoto sat down in the ergonomic chair, adjusted the height, and bent over the drawing table to draw. It felt much better than sitting cross-legged and hunched over to draw in his old apartment.

In the morning, Ken Sakamoto first completed the manuscript for chapter 22. However, unlike usual, he did not immediately finish the manuscript on the manuscript paper.

He replaced the storyboard paper with a stack of storyboard sheets and began drawing storyboard drafts.

Starting next week, assistants Tatsuyuki Ryu, Tomoharu Kaku, and Tatsuya Endo will officially come to the studio.

Ken Sakamoto had complete confidence in the abilities of these three individuals.

Ken Sakamoto knew very well that, in terms of pure drawing skills, he might not be as good as them in terms of detail and background depiction.

After all, during his university years last week, he didn't devote much energy to practicing basic drawing skills.

However, in the comics industry, strong drawing skills do not necessarily guarantee a successful debut.

Ultimately, comics rely on characters and stories to attract readers.

Too many skilled illustrators end up as assistants because they are not good at storytelling.

Even if he could earn a fairly high salary, he would still only be an assistant. Ken Sakamoto's current thinking is very clear: he wants to distribute all the most time-consuming physical work, such as outlining, applying screen tones, and drawing backgrounds, to other people.

On the one hand, although I can draw it from start to finish by myself, the physical and mental exertion is enormous. If I draw like this for several months, I'm afraid I'll develop cervical spondylosis.

On the other hand, he felt that relying solely on a comic book was too slow to make money.

He can create two or even more works simultaneously by drawing only storyboards.

After all, the lines of the storyboard are simple, just to express the shots and movements. With the memory of the previous week, it's easy to finish one episode per hour.

This speed isn't actually that fast; many comic artists can achieve the same result with completely original content if they have a clear idea.

Ken Sakamoto believes his core strength lies in the blockbuster stories from the future that have been tested by the market.

It's 2015 now. Works that started being published in 2015 and 2016 may already have prototypes, or even be in discussions with editors.

However, comics published after 2017 are much easier to remake, as few people have a very clear idea for their work that far in advance; at most, they are only in the idea stage.

As his thoughts wandered, his pen never stopped.

Ken Sakamoto's storyboard drafts are much more detailed than those of the average writer.

The characters' movements, key expressions, and camera transitions were all drawn, and the dialogue was written next to them, marking places where special fonts were needed. Only the details of the drawing were omitted; these were the tasks of the assistants later on.

Soon, around noon, Ken Sakamoto finished the storyboard draft for this episode and put down his pen.

In just one morning, he had already drawn all the storyboards for episodes 23, 24, and 25 of "Chainsaw Man," and a thick stack of storyboards was piled on the table.

Just then, the doorbell rang.

"Ding-dong-"

Mio is here?

Ken Sakamoto thought to himself, "I told her this morning, and it seems she came a little earlier than usual."

After all, she still had to go to the convenience store where she used to work later.

Now that Ken Sakamoto has moved here, Mio Natsume definitely won't be going to work anymore.

Today should be her last day there; she's going to say goodbye to the store manager.

Ken Sakamoto stood up and said as he walked towards the entrance, "Coming, coming."

He arrived at the door, still wondering what Mio would be dressed for today.

As he thought about it, he turned the doorknob and opened the door.

"Mio, you're here so early."

However, the moment the door was fully opened, Ken Sakamoto was completely stunned.

The girl standing at the door also stared at him with wide eyes, looking completely astonished.

She was wearing an elegant dress with black tights, and a white headband adorned her long, flowing hair. Her small face was filled with confusion.

This is not Natsume Mio at all.

That's clearly Mikazuki Haruna!
No, why didn't you say anything before coming over?!

Sakamoto Ken's eye twitched slightly. He managed to maintain his composure and asked, "It's you... What brings you here?"

Haruna Mikazuki's surprise lasted only a few seconds before she pouted and crossed her arms unhappily.

She stared intently at Ken Sakamoto and said, "Hey, what did you just call me?"

(End of this chapter)