Master of the Machete Style Manga

Chapter 152 Natsume Mio is full of confidence
Tokyo in April wasn't hot yet; it was still a bit chilly outside.

Upon entering the Shueisha building, Ken Sakamoto immediately spotted Keiko Kaji standing by the front desk, chatting and laughing with the staff.

She was clearly dressed up carefully today, wearing a well-fitting light gray women's suit skirt, which made her look very capable.

"Sakamoto-sensei! You're here!" Kaji Keiko walked over quickly, her voice tinged with urgency. "Hurry up, everyone's waiting for you!"

"Kachi-san, is it in such a hurry?" Sakamoto Ken asked.

"Of course we're in a hurry!" After entering the elevator, Keiko Kaji pressed the floor button, turned to Ken Sakamoto, and said, "This is a crucial meeting that will determine the fate of Chainsaw Man!"

Ken Sakamoto nodded, said nothing more, and followed her toward the conference room.

Keiko Kaji pushed open the door, and the conference room immediately fell silent.

Several people were sitting inside, each with some printed materials spread out in front of them.

Ken Sakamoto glanced around and recognized the editor, Tomohiro Ohno; he didn't recognize anyone else.

Upon seeing Ken Sakamoto enter, Tomohiro Ohno smiled slightly, stood up, and introduced him to everyone: "Everyone, this is Ken Sakamoto, the author of 'Chainsaw Man'."

Then he said to Ken Sakamoto, "Mr. Sakamoto, this is Ms. Kyoko Hanabe, the representative of NESX. She is the executive producer of this animation, and the entire production is funded by NESX."

Kyoko Hanabe looked to be in her early thirties, wearing a dark blue office lady suit, her hair up, and her makeup exquisite.

She nodded slightly to Ken Sakamoto and said, "Mr. Sakamoto, I've heard so much about you. It's a pleasure to work with you."

Ken Sakamoto replied, "Ms. Hanabe, thank you for your support. Please take care of me."

Tomohiro Ohno continued to introduce the two older men sitting opposite him: "This is Director Seiji Mizushima, who was invited by Ms. Hanabe to direct Mr. Sakamoto's work, and this is screenwriter Mr. Noboru Aikawa."

Ken Sakamoto was slightly startled when he heard the name Seiji Mizushima.

He didn't recognize the other person's face, since supervisors mostly work behind the scenes, but he was very familiar with the name.

Seiji Mizushima is a renowned director who directed "Fullmetal Alchemist," in addition to "Shaman King" and "Mobile Suit Gundam 00."

He also worked as a director on "EVA," having started his career as a cinematographer on "Doraemon."

Unexpectedly, they managed to get him to direct "The Chainsaw Man".

From this perspective, NESX has invested a significant amount of money.

Ken Sakamoto said to Seiji Mizushima and Noboru Aikawa, "Director Mizushima, Mr. Aikawa, nice to meet you."

Seiji Mizushima nodded and said, "Sakamoto-sensei, your manga is very impactful, and I'm really looking forward to this collaboration."

Aikawa Noboru chuckled: "Yes, the plot is very dramatic, but it's quite challenging to adapt."

Ken Sakamoto sat down in the empty seat indicated by Keiko Kaji, and Tomohiro Ohno began, "Alright, let's continue. Today's main discussion is about the number of episodes and the plot plan for the anime. The first season is confirmed to have 12 episodes. Now we need to determine the approximate content of the manga that each episode corresponds to, and then optimize it according to the anime's pacing..."

Seiji Mizushima, the director, said, "Looking at it now, the biggest problem is that the manga probably doesn't have enough content for 12 chapters. We only have the storyboards for the first 33 chapters. Setting the end of this season at the 33rd chapter of the manga would be like cutting the emotions in half."

Noboru Aikawa continued, "Sakamoto-sensei is also continuing his work during the animation production. The content might be able to catch up later, but adjustments will take some effort, unless the later content uses an original script for the animation."

“Director, I actually brought these with me…” Ken Sakamoto put his backpack on the table, took out a stack of storyboards from it, and handed them to Keiko Kaji beside him. “These are my latest completed storyboards. They’ve progressed to episode 38. As I envisioned, the content of the first season of the anime will correspond exactly to chapters 1 to 38 of the manga.”

Keiko Kaji took the manuscript, her eyes widening slightly: "Sakamoto-sensei, wasn't yesterday's storyboard only up to chapter 33?"

Ken Sakamoto nodded: "I got up early this morning to draw it, and now it's finally coming in handy."

Keiko Kaji remarked, "Sakamoto-sensei really has a lot of drive."

The way everyone else in the meeting room, including Director Mizushima and Noboru Aikawa, looked at Ken Sakamoto had completely changed.

In just one morning, or even if you stayed up all night, you managed to draw storyboards for five episodes?!

Five chapters, yet nearly a hundred pages!

This goes beyond just being "energetic"; it's practically a human drawing machine that doesn't need to think at all.
"Five chapters a day?" Seiji Mizushima frowned. He took the manuscript from Keiko Kaji with some suspicion, subconsciously thinking that Ken Sakamoto was rushing to meet the deadline and was just doing a perfunctory job.

If it's just about sketching, it's possible to complete hundreds of pages of lines in an entire morning.

After all, in terms of lines alone, the amount of drawing work for storyboards is not large.

But this is comic book storyboarding; it involves designing the plot, character movements, and panel layouts...

Storyboard design is no easy task; sometimes it's normal to revise a single storyboard page repeatedly for several days.

If all else fails, just treat his content as a plot reference. It's not a problem to make the animation storyboard completely original, since the budget is large. At worst, you and the screenwriter can just work a little harder...

Seiji Mizushima had already prepared for the worst, but he was still slightly surprised when he saw the storyboard in his hand.

These storyboard drafts are already quite complete, except for the lack of outlines and specific background details.

Not only can you see the plot and story direction, but the panel layout and character movements are also very clear, which is the most important aspect of animation adaptation.

Seiji Mizushima's brow relaxed: "This new content comes at just the right time. Episode 38 is a perfect climax. The battle between Denji and the katana is over, which will give the first season a very strong ending."

The storyboard was passed around among the group, and Hanabe Kyoko, representing the investors, nodded in approval: "In that case, 12 episodes would be just right. The first few episodes would lay the groundwork for the characters and the world-building, the middle would advance the battles, and the final episodes would climax and conclude the story. It would be a very complete series."

Next, everyone discussed the pacing of the episodes, while Ken Sakamoto sat listening without offering many suggestions.

He knew that the animation was being adapted several years earlier than the previous iteration, and the entire project was completely different from the original. It was better to leave it to professionals.

The Bones team is very strong; I believe they can handle it well.

It was noon soon. Tomohiro Ohno checked his watch and said, "It's almost lunchtime. Sakamoto-sensei, you've been listening in the class. If you have any requests, please let us discuss them."

Ken Sakamoto thought for a moment and asked, "Should we consider the voice actors now, or should we wait until later in the production process to decide?"

Upon hearing the topic of voice actors, Hanabe Kyoko, who had been slightly relaxed, immediately sat up straighter.

Kyoko Hanabe said, "It's still in the early preparation stage. Although we can consider voice actors, it's still a long way from finalization. Does Mr. Sakamoto have any recommendations?"

Before Ken Sakamoto could speak, Keiko Kaji said, "Actually, we have a suggestion for the voice actress for Makima, namely Mio Natsume, who previously did the voice acting for the promotional video for the Chainsaw Man manga. Although she is a newcomer, her skills and adaptability to the role are quite good."

Keiko Kaji played the promotional video with a few lines from Machima on the big screen.

After listening, Seiji Mizushima nodded: "It's very close to the Makima I imagined."

He looked at Hanabe Kyoko, who smiled slightly: "Ms. Kaji can give me the information, but we will still need to conduct recruitment and interviews, and make a decision after comparison."

Kaji Keiko nodded: "Okay, I'll send you her information after the meeting."

Kaji Keiko didn't mention the relationship between Natsume Mio and Sakamoto Ken, lest the other party think that she was recommending an acquaintance, and Sakamoto Ken also tacitly remained silent.

Ken Sakamoto observed the group of people present. Kyoko Hanabe placed her phone on the table, seemingly typing, but she was covering the screen with the documents in her hand, so the screen was not visible.

At that moment, Ken Sakamoto's cell phone vibrated in his pocket.

He took it out and saw that it was a message from Natsume Mio.

Natsume Mio: "Ken, I'm here. I'm in the lobby downstairs. Is the meeting over?"

Ken Sakamoto typed back: "Still in the meeting room. I just recommended you to the production team as the voice actress for Makima, and we also played your lines. It seems the director is quite satisfied."

Natsume Mio replied instantly: "Really! Thank you, Ken!!! I'll do my best to voice Makima!!!"

Ken Sakamoto: "However, the investors' representatives seem difficult to deal with; they may still need to conduct recruitment and interviews."

Natsume Mio confidently replied, "It's okay! Ken, just give me an audition opportunity, and I'll definitely get the role!"

(End of this chapter)