Full-time comic artist

It's no secret that manga artist Mirai Toriaki is studying at Musashino University.

Musashino's students never bothered him before, but today, they all seemed to want to eat him alive.

"Inoue Takehiko's 'Slam Dunk' probably hadn't become a huge hit yet in the Ryonan Friendship Match storyline."

Higashino Hibiki found it rather strange.

In his memory, it was after Mitsui Hisashi's line, "Coach, I want to play basketball," that he became a sensation in Nagasaki, Hokkaido.

But he didn't notice one thing.

Before serializing "Slam Dunk," Inoue was a newcomer with no works to his name. Readers didn't think much of his manga, and even the editors thought that basketball games weren't important and that the focus should be on comedy and fighting.

Therefore, it naturally lacks the popularity and influence of Higashino Hibiki.

Also, Inoue Takehiko's artwork wasn't particularly outstanding in the early stages of his serialization.

His unparalleled drawing skills were developed through continuous refinement and self-improvement during the serialization of "Slam Dunk."

At this stage, Hibiki Higashino's drawing skills are superior.

Hibiki Higashino has been serialized for two and a half years. He has been studying art for even longer and is also very talented. His drawing skills are a huge plus.

Therefore, the charm of "Slam Dunk" was felt by the public during the friendly match between Shohoku and Ryonan.

When you immerse yourself in this comic, you can appreciate the exhilarating feeling of burning yourself out in a fierce battle against a powerful team.

It's truly fascinating.

Hibiki Higashino once joined a biker gang that would ride motorcycles and cause disturbances in the streets every night.

After watching "Slam Dunk", I felt that my threshold had been raised. I no longer had the energy to ride a motorcycle recklessly. I would rather save my energy and wait for the next episode of "Slam Dunk".

……

Higashino arrived at the classroom, still not able to breathe a sigh of relief.

He was then surrounded by a group of people.

They blinked their bright eyes and stared at Higashino Hibiki.

Kazuya Takasugi, who loves basketball, even used his short stature to squeeze through the crowd and stand in front of Hibiki Higashino.

"Slam Dunk is just sooooo fun!"

He yelled, completely losing his usual gloomy demeanor.

The others didn't pay much attention and chimed in, "Tori Akino-sensei's drawing is so good, I'm really touched."

"Me too! As the basketball games progress, I'm coming to appreciate their appeal more and more."

"Please make sure the next chapter has more content, I'm still not satisfied."

"Yeah, yeah! Everyone's been watching Sakuragi goofing around, we want to see a serious game!"

They all spoke at once, excitedly sharing their feelings.

That's how Slam Dunk captivated readers.

Hibiki Higashino couldn't help but sigh inwardly, "As expected of one of the three great works of Jump's platinum era, it is in no way inferior to Yu Yu Hakusho and Dragon Ball."

When "Hikaru no Go" was being serialized, only a small number of people asked him for autographs, but now, most people bring autograph boards and hand them to Higashino Hibiki.

Even at this point, the climax of "Slam Dunk" had not yet arrived.

Higashino felt a chill run down his spine. He wondered how many more enthusiastic readers there would be by then.

The class ended at four o'clock in the afternoon.

Before Hibiki Higashino could even get up, his phone rang.

Looking at the caller ID, it was Akira Toriyama.

He hadn't spoken to his mentor in a long time, and sometimes Higashino Hibiki would call him, but he found it too much trouble.

"I watched Slam Dunk, and the art is really good. It's been a long time since I've seen such a moving work in Jump."

"I have a feeling that this work will become a groundbreaking work."

"You have to work hard, Higashino."

When it came to the competition arc, Akira Toriyama finally felt the charm of "Slam Dunk".

He was amazed by the brilliance of the sports manga and placed high hopes on Hibiki Higashino.

"Kazuhiko Torishima said that Slam Dunk could save Jump, and I agreed with him at the time. But now, I'm truly convinced that Higashino, you can do it."

As "Slam Dunk" fermented, a certain flavor emerged.

This is the flavor that only great works can have.

Hibiki Higashino replied, "That's what I think too. Right now, there's nothing better than Slam Dunk to save Jump."

He was convinced of it.

Chapter 131 Shohoku vs Ryonan (Part 2)

After ending his call with Akira Toriyama, Hibiki Higashino felt a surge of emotions.

He put on a mask and walked back to his dormitory.

At this time, even drawing comics was a fun thing to do.

When he got to the bottom of the dormitory building, he met Sasaki.

Sasaki's face showed rare excitement, and he walked very fast, as if he were about to take off.

Higashino called out to him.

Sasaki turned around, strode up to Higashino Hibiki, grabbed his arms, and said excitedly, "How can you still be wandering around? Hurry up and draw your manga!"

"Huh?" Hibiki Higashino asked, puzzled.

“Sorry,” Sasaki said, regaining his composure, “Last week, Slam Dunk was second, but this week, it’s first! And it far surpasses Seikou, making it the undisputed number one!”

"You have received many letters from readers, but considering that this is a critical time, I have not sent them to you yet. Let's wait and see."

Sasaki's emotional reaction couldn't possibly be solely due to Kosho being number one.

He also discovered the immense potential of "Slam Dunk" as its ranking soared.

If you keep drawing like this, it will be a miraculous work, the pillar of Jump.

Hibiki Higashino was in charge of Hibiki's first serialization, and Sasaki saw a glimmer of hope in this young man.

Therefore, he had a strong preference for Hibiki Higashino, a preference that even Nobuhiro Watsuki was jealous of.

Now, he was right.

“Okay,” Hibiki Higashino nodded. “Mr. Sasaki, please watch my wonderful performance.”

……

Since the change in style in "The Sun Murder Case", Yamamura Morimichi has been racking his brains and coming up with many ideas.

But in the end, the work couldn't be saved, and this week it was cancelled.

From the initial serialization of the novel into a manga, to the subsequent revised works, and then to the creation of new stories, Yamamura has devoted a great deal of effort to this project.

However, due to a momentary lapse in judgment, his debut work was ruined by his partner.

Yamamura regretted it; she wished she had chosen Tori Akino back then.

However, as the story of "Slam Dunk" progressed, he realized that Akino probably wouldn't have agreed to it back then.

"You can only rely on yourself!"

The mountain village heard that some people, after seeing Jump's works, thought they could also serialize their own works, so they submitted their works and were eventually accepted.

If others can do it, he certainly can too!

Shancun recently enrolled in the Qiugong Art Class and is learning art. He plans to serialize his own works!

"Let's study Akino Tori's manga."

In his spare time, he also studies the storyboards of other comic artists, such as those from Dragon Ball and Kindaichi.

Now, he's going to watch Jump.

……

After the color illustrations in the opening pages, the second manga was "Slam Dunk," and Yamamura hadn't read two chapters of it.

Sakuragi Hanamichi is warming up, using basic dribbling techniques.

Someone like Sakuragi can attract countless people's attention even with the most ordinary warm-up.

His skillful basic movements, combined with his intense exercise, left everyone in awe.

I think this guy must be pretty good.

Unfortunately, the only thing Sakuragi can boast about now is his physical attributes, along with his basic dribbling skills that he has practiced for a long time.

Ayako, who had been teaching Sakuragi, smiled, though she didn't think Sakuragi would be effective against the powerful Ryonan team.

But let's still hold onto some hope.

Sakuragi was very excited. He was just warming up, but he was so tired from dribbling that he collapsed and was panting heavily.

Everything quieted down.

The intense competition and the enthusiastic cheers and shouts were all gone.

"Finally, it's almost time for my basketball prodigy, Sakuragi, to take the stage. Even though it's just a practice match..."

As Sakuragi listened to his own panting and heartbeat, he felt increasingly palpitations.

"However, I'm getting more and more nervous."

"There are only ten minutes left in the game, and Shohoku is still down by ten points. They must hurry up and catch up. If the gap widens, it will be very difficult."

Sakuragi listened to Ayako's words.

He comforted himself with his usual self-proclaimed genius, believing that any problem could be solved with a single shout.

Make a good impression on Haruko Akagi.