Master of the Machete Style Manga

Chapter 117 The Progress of the Comic Strip

Keiko Kaji smiled, her gaze shifting between Ken Sakamoto and Mio Natsume. She certainly understood the meaning behind Mio Natsume's words.

"Alright, alright, we can talk about your business later," Keiko Kaji waved her hand and said, "I still need to discuss manga with Mr. Sakamoto."

Ken Sakamoto nodded in agreement: "Yes, let's get down to business first."

Although Natsume Mio still had some ulterior motives, she immediately composed herself and obediently sat down beside the editor when she heard that the editor wanted to talk about work.

Keiko Kaji looked at Ken Sakamoto, her expression becoming serious: "Sakamoto-sensei, as I mentioned on the phone earlier, besides picking up the manuscript, I'm here to discuss my future creative work."

She paused, then continued, "Because you used to handle all the processes yourself, right? Now that your assistant has arrived, how do you plan to arrange things? Will you only be responsible for the storyboards?"

Ken Sakamoto had planned this all along. He replied, "I'll be in charge of the plot and storyboards. The specific drawing, including line art, backgrounds, and applying screen tones, will be handled by my assistants."

Keiko Kaji nodded and said, "Sakamoto-sensei and I talked about your creative process before. You draw the finished manuscript directly on the original manuscript paper. So, from now on, you'll have to create storyboards first."

"I've already drawn storyboards for several episodes."

Ken Sakamoto got up, walked to his workbench, and took the completed manuscripts for chapters 21 and 22, as well as the storyboards for the following chapters, and handed them to Keiko Kaji.

Keiko Kaji took the thick stack of manuscript paper, weighed it in her hand, and said, "I have a lot of confidence in Sakamoto-sensei's creative abilities, but since the assistants have just arrived, I suggest you don't completely let go during the initial adjustment period. It's best to supervise them as they complete a few chapters, and once they are fully familiar with the work, you can relax a bit..."

Her words suddenly stopped here; she had just casually flipped through a page and glanced at it, but now her movements of turning the pages of the manuscript had stopped.

Her gaze was fixed firmly on the storyboard in her hand.

As a manga editor, Keiko Kaji has seen many storyboards from various authors.

They were incredibly diverse, with all sorts of forms available.

Some well-known veteran writers' storyboards are so sloppy they look like doodles. Apart from the writer himself and his long-term editors and assistants, probably no one can understand what they are drawing.

This situation is not an isolated case; in fact, it can be considered a common occurrence.

After all, the core purpose of storyboards is to quickly build the story framework and arrange the visual language, rather than pursuing beautiful visuals.

Moreover, as a work progresses into its later stages, the writer and assistant team work together better and better, and often only need to glance at extremely simple lines to understand the meaning and accurately draw the final draft.

At this stage, the storyboard will be much more unrestrained than in the early stages.

When Keiko Kaji saw the manuscript handed to her by Ken Sakamoto, she was already prepared to spend some time deciphering it.

But she was still somewhat surprised when she actually saw the storyboard.

Each panel has a clear composition, with the outline of the figure, the main dynamics and expressions drawn. Although the background omits details, it clearly indicates the main objects and perspective relationships.

The blank spaces next to it are filled with every line of dialogue, and even the special fonts, bolding, or places that indicate emotions and tone are clearly marked with symbols.

If it were a magazine or online platform with lower requirements, this storyboard could be edited slightly, such as adding the dialogue, and then it could be published directly.

"Sakamoto-sensei, are your storyboards this detailed too?" Kaji Keiko said.

Ken Sakamoto simply shrugged casually and replied in a matter-of-fact tone, "Yeah, that's my style."

Keiko Kaji realized that her earlier worries were unnecessary. If the storyboard was like this, the assistants' work would be very easy, and they wouldn't need a long time to get used to each other.

Moreover, working with Sakamoto-sensei during their work hours is also very beneficial to their creative process.

Ideally, Sakamoto-sensei could also provide guidance to them when he has time, as the manga industry has a long tradition of authors mentoring their assistants.

Kaji Keiko returned to the first page and said, "Then I'll take a good look at the rest of Sakamoto-sensei's story."

"The pace of the plot will quicken, and the story's impact will be even stronger," Sakamoto Ken said. "Hmm... its popularity will definitely rise even faster afterward." "I'm really looking forward to it! By the way, did you consider that point I mentioned earlier when you were creating it?"

Ken Sakamoto asked, "What aspect is it about?"

“Famous scenes,” Keiko Kaji said. “That is to say, we live in the age of online communication, and social media has a huge influence. If a manga has some famous scenes that are easy to discuss and that everyone can screenshot and share, it is especially important for boosting the popularity of the work.”

Ken Sakamoto smiled slightly and said, "Of course, Kaji-san, just keep watching."

What Ken Sakamoto handed over to Keiko Kaji this time was the complete original manuscript of chapters 21 and 22 of "Chainsaw Man", as well as the storyboards for chapters 23 to 26, a total of four chapters. All of these together were almost enough for a single volume of the manga.

At that moment, Natsume Mio leaned forward and said expectantly, "Ken! Can I watch it with the editor-san?"

“Okay, then you can watch it together.” Sakamoto Ken nodded and said.

"Great!"

Natsume Mio immediately cheered and quickly moved her chair to sit next to Kaji Keiko.

First, let's look at the title of this episode.

Natsume Mio read it aloud softly:

"Episode 21... The taste of a kiss..."

After reading the title, she paused slightly and secretly glanced at Ken Sakamoto.

The taste of kissing...

She smacked her lips, wondering to herself, "It must taste like peach, right?"
The previous episode ended with Denji and Himeno making a kissing promise.

However, it was also mentioned that "everyone present except the newcomers had been kissed by Himeno," so Himeno is just that kind of casual person and it's impossible for her to become the female lead.

But Machima was there.

Furthermore, Makima directly asked Denji, "Who is Denji going to kiss?"

Denji immediately denied it: "No, we didn't kiss!"

Next cell...

Himeno: "Eh? Denji-kun isn't going to kiss me?"

Denji: "I want a kiss!"

What a shameless guy! He'll do anything for a kiss...

This was Denji's first kiss, why not save it for Makima?

What about sex? Surely not just anyone can do that too!
But... Denji is going to kiss Himeno in front of Miss Machima?!

The next episode will definitely feature Denji and Machima.

He defeated the demon and completed the mission, so Miss Machima will definitely reward him!
In short, I'm really looking forward to it!

Mio Natsume stared intently at the manuscript paper in Keiko Kaji's hand.