Full-time comic artist

Akimiya and Yoshii were worried, Oda was watching the show, while Sasaki and Hibiki remained calm and discussed what would happen after Slam Dunk.

"I have to consider this; it's my only chance..."

Tanaka gritted his teeth and continued drawing.

The background of this original manuscript is a basketball court, which doesn't look complicated.

Tanaka deliberated on each stroke for a long time, and as he painted, he became more and more adept at it.

His confidence gradually increased, and his writing became more and more powerful.

The new students will be arriving soon!

until……

With a "whoosh," his hand cramped up and drew long lines on the original manuscript.

Tanaka's face immediately turned pale.

Higashino Hibiki heard the sound, walked over, glanced at him quietly, and then left.

Tanaka's heart pounded, and his vision blurred.

"Am I eliminated?"

I finally mustered up the courage...

I'm definitely not a normal person. I guess I'll just stay home and not go out to work from now on...

The world was growing darker and darker, and he was about to fall into the abyss.

"Tanaka...Tanaka-san."

Tanaka suddenly heard a voice beside him, and a beam of light shone down. It was Higashino speaking.

"This is white ink. Please make some corrections. I'll be relying on you for my assistant's work from now on."

"Yes Yes!"

His head slammed against the coffee table with a loud thud, and tears streamed down his face.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Torino Akino!"

"Hmm." Higashino Hibiki nodded with satisfaction, until he noticed...

"Don't cry on my manuscript! Wow! There's snot on it!"

"Fine, you can keep crying. I'll draw another one."

Hibiki Higashino himself was on the verge of tears.

The achievement of Chapter 124 of "Slam Dunk"

Hibiki Higashino introduced his new assistant, Tanaka, to Asahina and Chiharu Minami.

"Hello... hello everyone..." Tanaka said shyly.

He hadn't talked to so many girls in a long time.

"Hello," Asahina said expressionlessly.

"Hello." Nan Qianchun looked at him curiously.

The animation club's "The Death of the Dragon Girl" was very popular. This kind of work, which has a tragic ending but is warm overall, is very popular among students.

Afterwards, Takayuki submitted "The Death of the Dragon Girl" to the Tokyo Folk Art and Culture Exhibition, where it received high praise and gained her fame.

The animation department is currently working overtime to produce an opening animation for a promotional campaign by the Japan Agricultural Cooperatives.

Asahina and Minami Chiharu finally had some free time, so they went to Higashino Hibiki's place to rest for a while.

"Young people these days are really amazing," Tanaka remarked.

Such social activities, typical of those who thrive in a fulfilling life, only exist in his dreams.

When talking about the animation club, Hibiki Higashino suddenly thought of the anime "Evangelion" that was currently showing in theaters.

More than three months have passed since October.

Fifteen episodes have been aired so far.

The style of "EVA" has changed, from the initial robot battles to a deeper exploration of the characters' inner world and spirit.

The core ideas of the work are undoubtedly more profound.

However, because of this, the viewership ratings are also declining.

Especially in the last two episodes, it dropped below 1%.

The scene in episode 15 where Asuka asks Shinji Ikari for a kiss is also unclear and has drawn criticism from many viewers.

This anime is hard to understand, full of stream of consciousness, religion, and some inexplicable things. Higashino Hibiki didn't have time to watch it carefully either; he could only watch it for entertainment.

What Hibino Hibiki understands is that the creative foundation of "Evangelion" is inseparable from the current era.

As the economic bubble collapsed, young people became disillusioned with real life and chose to become otaku.

This cowardly desire to escape from despair gave birth to a masterpiece like Evangelion.

Excellent works are like this, such as "Ultraman Tiga," which Tsuburaya Productions is planning to produce; it is also a product of the bursting of the economic bubble.

As society develops, people become increasingly distant, and indifference becomes the dominant theme of society. The Kirieloid cult in the later plot is also a reflection of cults.

Injecting positive energy and positive genes into a negative society.

Thinking of this, Hibiki Higashino suddenly recalled Takeshi Obata's "Death Note," which was also a way of venting social problems.

His thoughts became increasingly scattered. After tapping his head, he said to his assistants, "Then let's get to work."

Akemi Akemi agreed, "Okay."

She, Yoshii, and Tanaka stood up and walked towards the work table.

“Wait a minute,” Hibiki Higashino said, glancing around the room before asking, “Where’s Oda?”

"Oda-san went to Enhiko High School to gather material!" Yoshii Yamahisa replied.

Yan Yan High School is the prototype of Ryonan High School in Hibiki Higashino's manga, since it is nearby and easy to find material for it.

When drawing a school, there's absolutely no need to follow Takehiko Inoue's style and make a special trip to Kamakura High School, the model school for Ryonan High School. Any high school that fits the style of the artwork is fine.

"That must have been hard work for him. Let's get started."

……

A month later, four more chapters of "Slam Dunk" were published.

The main content is about Sakuragi joining the Shohoku basketball team and the team's personnel.

Among the important members are Captain Akagi Okanori, Vice-Captain Kogure Kiminobu, Rukawa Kaede who joined in the first year, and the protagonist Sakuragi Hanamichi who joined later.

Other less important figures include Satoru Kakuta, Kentaro Ishii, and others.

The basketball manager is named Ayako Inoue; she's a pretty girl with a messy hairstyle and a strong personality.

The basketball coach was Mitsuyoshi Anzai, a chubby, white-haired old man who didn't talk much and was always cheerful, but he was very authoritative within the team.

As Sasaki walked through the campus, he thought about how he had graduated seven or eight years ago. Compared to these youthful and beautiful college students, he had indeed aged considerably, not just in appearance, but also in his soul.

While working, I overheard the editors discussing "Slam Dunk".

"Can this comic really become a pillar work?"

"Basketball comics, they just don't seem like a realistic thing."

"Xiao Zheng's ranking isn't high either, it's really hard to understand the editor-in-chief's choice."

"If I were in charge, I would draw more comedic scenes. Akino Tori's 'Slam Dunk' has some really interesting comedic elements, and increasing the proportion of comedic scenes should attract a lot of readers."

"Gag manga will never be number one, so you should give up. I think Akino-kun's drawing skills are great, and the basketball storyline is especially exciting to watch."

"But Xiao Zheng only came in seventh this week."

They were arguing about the results of "Slam Dunk," and Sasaki listened silently.

If even the editors think this way, the readers must think even worse.

Bird Akino...

His heart sank, and he walked out the door.

Then we arrived at the entrance of the teachers' dormitory.

……

"In the first episode, Xiaozheng got first place in his class."

"In episode two, Xiaozheng came in third place."

"Episode 3, Xiaozheng ranked ninth."

"Episode 4, Xiaozheng ranked sixth."

"In today's fifth episode, Xiaozheng is in seventh place."

These are the positive results for each episode of "Slam Dunk," which look healthy and there's no risk of it being canceled.

However, the results were very ordinary, barely passing for a popular manga artist like Tori Akino.

“It’s normal for the popularity to be average when the work has just started to spread,” Sasaki comforted Hibiki Higashino. “When Dragon Ball first started serialization, its performance wasn’t good either. It was only when it turned into a hot-blooded battle manga and Goku changed from an adventurer to a martial artist that its performance began to improve.”

He wasn't in a hurry. The early stages of the comic were about establishing the world and enriching the character settings, so it was normal for the results to be average.

For Hibiki Higashino, there's no need to rush to attract readers at the beginning; he already has a large readership base and can develop his readership gradually.

“Of course I understand.” Higashino Hibiki nodded.

He knew this outcome when he started serializing "Slam Dunk".

To be honest, the beginning of "Slam Dunk" was not exciting. It was only after the plot progressed and the focus was placed on the competition and the exploration of the core ideas of the characters that it became a national-level work.

"Being an editor for Bird Akino is so easy."

Sasaki looked at Higashino Hibiki and realized that he had underestimated him, so he began to discuss the development of the plot.

"Sakuragi joined the basketball team because he liked Haruko. Now we should depict the process of his changing feelings, making him truly fall in love with basketball. That's what makes him the protagonist..."