Master of the Machete Style Manga

Chapter 57 is getting exciting! (Seeking monthly votes!)

"Chainsaw Man?" Keiko Kaji stared ahead, her tone full of certainty. "Of course, I believe in Sakamoto-sensei's abilities."

“Yes, yes, Chainsaw Man will definitely be adapted successfully, and the anime will be a huge hit!” Natsume Mio said.

“It’s still early. Sakamoto-sensei has only drawn up to chapter 16. If you want to adapt it into an anime, you should at least publish a few volumes first,” Keiko Kaji said.

"Huh?" Natsume Mio was slightly taken aback and said, "Ah... cough cough, Sakamoto-sensei has already drawn chapter 16?"

"Huh?" Kaji Keiko realized that she had accidentally revealed Sakamoto-sensei's drafts, and quickly laughed and said, "A writer can't just finish one chapter and publish it, right? They definitely need to prepare some drafts in advance."

Not entirely convinced, she turned to look at Natsume Mio and said, "Natsume-sensei, just pretend you didn't hear this. We can't disclose the number of manuscripts a writer produces."

“Yes, yes! I understand!” Natsume Mio quickly agreed.

The vehicle continued to drive smoothly on the road. After about five minutes of silence, when Keiko Kaji stopped at the traffic light, she turned her head to look at the girl who was carefully flipping through the JUMP magazine in her hand.

She's watching the Chainsaw Man segment again. She must have watched it many times. If she's still watching it, then she must be a true fan.

Keiko Kaji asked, "Was 'Chainsaw Man' your first voice acting assignment?"

"Yeah, did the editor notice?" Natsume Mio chuckled and said, "Actually, it's still a bit unprofessional."

“No, Natsume-san’s voice acting just now was fantastic,” Kaji Keiko said. “I’ve seen the voice actor resume the agency gave me. You should be going to Kanzaki Art Academy to study voice acting, right?”

"Yes, school hasn't started yet, so I'm basically a part-time student..."

“Then you really are very talented,” Keiko Kaji said. “If you receive some professional training, I think you could be considered one of the best even among those experienced professional voice actors.”

"Thank you, editor-san~" Natsume Mio was a little embarrassed by the praise.

“Speaking of which…” Keiko Kaji paused for a moment, then said, “Natsume-san, you’re planning to continue voicing Makima in future animation projects, right?”

"Huh?!" Upon hearing Keiko Kaji suddenly bring it up, Mio Natsume immediately sat up straight. She bit her lip, lowered her head and remained silent for two seconds, then softly hummed in agreement.

"I think the most important thing in the arts is passion," Keiko Kaji said with deep feeling. "Passion is more important than any professional ability. Readers and viewers can feel the spirit in the work."

"gas?"

“A kind of passion,” Keiko Kaji explained. “Emotions can be conveyed through a work of art. If Natsume-san truly loves something, then the audience will be infected by it.”

“Is…is that so…” Natsume Mio lowered her head in thought.

Keiko Kaji continued, "Once Sakamoto-sensei's work is adapted into an anime, I will definitely push the production committee to cast you as the lead voice actress."

"Yay! Thank you, editor!" Natsume Mio quickly expressed her gratitude.

Seeing her so excited, Kaji Keiko was also infected by her emotions.

She reached into her pocket, took out a business card, and handed it to Natsume Mio.

“Natsume-san, here is my contact information. Please take it and remember to send me an email so we can keep in touch later,” Kaji Keiko said.

"Okay!" Natsume Mio quickly took it with both hands.

They had arrived near Natsume Mio's house. After turning into a small alley, Natsume Mio pointed to a detached house in front of her and said, "Editor-san, this is my house. Thank you for bringing me back."

"Okay, goodbye Natsume-san~"

"Goodbye~"

Keiko Kaji waved to Mio Natsume through the car window again, and drove out of the alley in the residential area.

On her way back to Shueisha, Keiko Kaji stopped by Akihabara.

After parking the car, I went straight to the Animate Akihabara store, where I was greeted by huge character standees from "The Idolmaster".

The anime, which premiered two months ago, is currently enjoying its peak popularity.

There was also a promotional poster for the second season of the anime "Fate/stay night" next to it.

On the other hand, Shueisha's IP also has a strong presence, with a giant Koro-sensei smilingly watching everyone who passes by.

Even if it weren't for work, Keiko Kaji would often visit this place, and she would enter the store with ease.

Take a deep breath.

“Whoosh~” Keiko Kaji’s facial expression relaxed a lot.

The store was filled with anime merchandise, light novels, and manga, creating a reassuring atmosphere. After a quick browse, Kaji Keiko found four newly published books in her arms; she planned to buy them and read them at her leisure.

Then I stopped in the magazine section.

Weekly Shonen Jump was placed in the most prominent position, but the number of magazines piled up next to it indicated that sales were not particularly booming.

In recent years, the sales of print comic magazines have continued to decline, which is an indisputable fact for the entire industry.

Even a store like Animate can't sell many copies of JUMP in a day.

Today is Thursday, and based on past experience, most readers who follow the magazine will have already bought it by Monday.

By Thursday, the weekly magazines released on Monday have already lost their initial hype, and the shelves are usually deserted.

But now, there are several people gathered in front of the magazine rack.

The bookstore only provided one sample copy for people to browse, and the boys were huddled together, discussing a page from the sample copy with great enthusiasm.

Keiko Kaji pretended to be looking at other magazines, quietly approached, and listened intently.

"Let me tell you, this comic is super interesting."

"Isn't he just another pathetic, poor male lead? What's so special about him?"

"You'll see when you take a look. The male lead is fused with Chainsaw Dog, and the art style and paneling are amazing. I've already finished watching it on the web, and the weekly magazine has only just published the first episode."

"What web?"

"JUMP+, the first few chapters are still free. I'll send you the link. This manga has been updated to chapter 6 online."

"Okay, let me take a look."

As she listened to their discussion, Keiko Kaji's lips curled into a slight smile.

Although it seems to have made the weekly magazine even less likely to sell, the popularity of Chainsaw Man is already clearly visible.

A strange sense of accomplishment welled up inside me.

This is the comic I was in charge of!
Suppressing her excitement, she took the books in her hand and went to the cashier to pay.

Although it's still early, it's definitely time to start preparing for the follow-up work.

Sakamoto-sensei's writing speed is astonishing. He has already accumulated enough manuscript for two volumes of collected works, and the collected works can be put on the agenda and released to the market faster than usual.

First, they published a single volume, and then they adapted it into an anime!

Keiko Kaji was silently planning the future development of "Chainsaw Man" and felt full of energy.

She knew that the days ahead would be incredibly busy, but they would definitely be a mix of pain and joy.

I've been a comic book editor for two years now.

For the first six months, she was just an assistant following her seniors around, doing odd jobs and handling minor support tasks.

Later, she began to independently manage writers, but they were all newcomers with average abilities. Seeing the works she was in charge of being canceled due to poor popularity, and those writers giving up their writing in despair, she began to doubt her own judgment.

Later, I was transferred to the new, less favored department JUMP+, where I was responsible for online comics of even more inconsistent quality.

Every day I'm sifting through a sea of ​​submissions, trying to find the gold in the garbage, with no future in sight.

She once thought that her career was over.

To be an unknown nobody in this vast Shueisha.

After drifting aimlessly for several years without achieving anything, he was eventually relegated to a peripheral department to just coast along.

When I'm almost an older single woman, I'll go to all sorts of matchmaking events, find a man who's barely acceptable but I don't really like him, marry him, and live that kind of ordinary life that I can see the end of in a day...

Until Chainsaw Man came into view.

Now, everything is different!
Keiko Kaji had already stepped out of Animate, and looking back at the famous IP characters outside the bookstore, her eyes burned with the fire of ambition.

Sakamoto-sensei, you are the beginning of my career!

(End of this chapter)