Full-time comic artist

This one was even closer to him, after all, they had lived in the same dormitory for three years.

Aside from Minami Chiharu's leggings, Higashino Hibiki knew everything about her.

Minami Chiharu swallowed the sweet and sour pork and asked Higashino Hibiki, "Where is the script for the new work?"

Higashino nodded, "It'll be ready soon."

“Huh?” Nan Qianchun looked at him speechlessly. “You creators are all like this.”

Higashino picked up a piece of extra spicy Mapo Tofu for her, saying, "Eat up, even delicious food can't shut you up."

Looking at the bright red tofu, Nan Qianchun swallowed hard. She had been curious about this for a long time but never had the courage. Now that the time was right, she closed her eyes and ate it without hesitation.

"It smells so good." Nan Qianchun nodded happily.

But it wasn't long before she was about to breathe fire. Her lips and eyes were red, and snot was practically coming out of her nose.

"It's so spicy!"

“Hehe,” Higashino Hibiki laughed.

Ozawa Hibiki handed Minami Chiharu a glass of milk, and it took five minutes for Minami Chiharu to calm down after drinking it.

"This is not something a human could eat."

She became afraid.

Yuko Asahina became curious. Without changing her expression, she picked up a piece of Mapo Tofu and put it in her mouth. Under Chiharu Minami's panicked gaze, Yuko Asahina's eyes lit up, and she ate a few more bites.

It was like opening the door to a new world; she was captivated. "So delicious!"

The three people at the table were stunned. This was the first time Hibiki Higashino had ever seen a Japanese person who could eat so much spicy food.

It took him a while to get used to the spiciness of this Mapo Tofu.

They chatted and laughed all the way through, and eventually reached an agreement on the animation production.

Hibiki Higashino will open an animation company.

He was in charge of the animation script, Asahina and Ozawa Hibiki served as directors, and the daily work arrangements and production management were all handled by Minami Chiharu.

Nan Qianchun's role is more that of a chairman's secretary.

This can no longer be called a company; it's more like a studio. It's incredibly simple, like a child's playhouse.

If it weren't for Hibiki Higashino, Ozawa Hibiki would be really worried about the company's future.

“I’m counting on you to take care of the core staff,” Hibiki Higashino told him. “Recruit members from the animation club. The benefits and treatment will be no worse than those of large animation companies, and you can work in your spare time while still studying.”

"Yes, President," Ozawa Hibiki replied with a smile.

"Three days from now, I'd like to ask you to come to my dorm to discuss this in detail. The animation script issue will also be resolved."

"Mmm." Asahina nodded helplessly.

……

After parting ways with Asahina, Hibiki Higashino returned to his dormitory.

Akemi Akemi looked at him curiously, "What have you been doing?"

"While I was running, I opened a company on the way," Hibiki Higashino replied.

Although the formalities have not yet been completed, the top-level framework has already been established.

“You’re joking.” Akemi Akemi shook her head.

It wasn't until three days later that she realized Higashino Hibiki was telling the truth.

"President," said Ozawa Hibiki, dressed in a suit and wearing gold-rimmed glasses, exuding the aura of a social elite.

"Including us, there are ten people preparing to join the animation company. Five are from the second year, two from the third year, and three from the fourth year," he said. "They are all people who dream of working in the field of animation."

Higashino nodded. Ten people are enough for now.

After all, the animation he wanted to create was just a short, short series.

It's a short anime series where each episode is 5 minutes long, and excluding the opening and ending themes, there are only 4 minutes and 15 seconds of actual content.

Seeing that they seemed serious, Akemi Akemi was taken aback to discover that Hibiki Higashino, the otaku, was actually going to start a business.

It's simply unbelievable.

"The artwork you've been sketching in your spare time these past few days is actually a script," she said, pointing to Higashino Hibiki with a sudden realization.

“Not bad,” Hibiki Higashino nodded. “The name of this work is ‘Gag Manga Biyori.’ It’s a simple and cost-effective production.”

After all, even the landlord's family has no surplus grain, so let's try and fail first.

Chapter 152 Anxious Sasaki and Torishima Kazuhiko

Sasaki heard about Higashino Hibiki's outlandish idea.

He immediately notified Torishima Kazuhiko, then put down his work, took nothing with him, rushed downstairs to get his car, and arrived at Higashino Hibiki's building in just 20 minutes.

With Slam Dunk being serialized at its peak, how could Hibiki Higashino possibly focus his attention on other things?

Without even knocking or saying hello, Sasaki pushed the door open and entered.

"Thump! Thump! Thump!" Sasaki walked quickly into the living room and noticed Higashino Hibiki and his assistants looking at him with surprise.

He had an unfinished manuscript of "Slam Dunk" on his hands.

It's still the same as always, a picture of tranquility and peace.

This relieved Sasaki.

"Mr. Sasaki, what's wrong with you?" Hibiki Higashino asked him.

"Mr. Endo informed me that you consulted him about setting up an animation company?" Sasaki took a breath, regaining his composure. "Is that so?"

Higashino nodded. "It's almost resolved."

Currently, the studio is located within the animation club. Students will graduate in six months of their fourth year. There's no rush to rent commercial space or recruit new staff; things can be done gradually.

"So it's true?" He was about to ask another question when another person pushed open the door behind him and strode into the living room, just like before, shouting, "Slam Dunk has only just officially started! You're not allowed to abandon it!"

It was Torishima Kazuhiko. He was genuinely worried that Hibiki Higashino might not understand something and wanted to end "Slam Dunk".

Higashino Hibiki put down his paintbrush and sighed, "Let's talk in the study."

……

"So why start an animation company?"

Jump has a rule that during the serialization period, manga artists cannot submit their work to other magazines. This is to retain talent and ensure that they focus all their energy on the manga serialization.

But they forgot that cartoonists would do things like this, starting an animation company. It's amazing that he even thought of that.

"Sigh," Higashino sighed, and told her about his disappointing younger sister.

Torishima Kazuhiko's expression twisted in disbelief as he asked Higashino Hibiki, "Such a small thing? You actually went to the trouble of starting an animation company?"

If he had known about this earlier, he would have contacted the leaders of animation companies such as Toei Animation, Pierrot, and Sunrise directly.

Why make such a fuss over something as trivial as voice acting?

It's perfectly acceptable to let Hibiki Higashino's sister choose the lead role in the upcoming anime.

Slam Dunk is currently being adapted into an anime, and it wouldn't be a problem to have Akino Mirai's younger sister voice Akagi Haruko.

“It won’t take much time,” Higashino Hibiki explained. “I can finish the script for 12 episodes of a season in a few hours. Other matters will be handled by other people.”

Torishima Kazuhiko questioned, "12 episodes? How is that possible!"

“I forgot to mention,” Higashino Hibiki realized, “The first anime we’re preparing to produce is actually a short-form anime, with each episode only 5 minutes long. The scripts for all 12 episodes, when combined, are only equivalent to the content of 3 episodes of a normal anime.”

Torishima Kazuhiko breathed a sigh of relief.

Sasaki said, "Can I see the manga you drew this week?"

Hibiki Higashino replied, "Of course."

He went to the living room, took out the 15-page original drawing from the drawer, returned to the study, and handed it to Sasaki.

Sasaki accepted it with both hands and looked at it with a serious expression.

This episode is simple: it's Shohoku's first basketball game against Miura Dai.

Miura Dai is nothing special. Although they lost to the strong team from Hainan High School, their strength is actually quite average compared to Shohoku.

If it weren't for the problem children getting into a fight and being banned from the game by Coach Anzai, leaving only Takenori Akagi struggling to keep things going, then Miura Dai would have been no match at all.

The three people off the field are worth noting.

The player who came to watch the game was Maki Shinichi, the captain of the Hainan basketball team, which had won seventeen consecutive years.

Also, Hainan's key players are first-year player Nobunaga Kiyota and second-year player Soichiro Jin.

Two minutes later, Sasaki glanced at Torishima Kazuhiko and nodded silently.

Torishima Kazuhiko's expression relaxed.

There was nothing he could do now that things had come to this.

Higashino Hibiki has become a problem child, which troubles him greatly, but he can only console himself that the fact that his level hasn't declined is good news.

“So finally,” Jump’s editor-in-chief said, “is there anything I can do to help?”

At this point, the best we can do is conserve this guy's energy and let him focus on his comics.

"Hmm..." Hibiki Higashino thought for a while, and then he made a very outrageous request, "Could the anime we're making be serialized in Jump as a manga first?"

Torishima Kazuhiko looked at him amusedly, "You're advertising in Jump? You really dare to say that."

"As expected, it won't work," Higashino nodded.

He was just saying it casually.

After all, this is Weekly Shonen Jump.

Torishima Kazuhiko could not agree, not just because of the advertising, but mainly because of the dual-account policy.

There has never been a case of two works being serialized simultaneously in Jump.

Moreover, it's easy for them all to fall apart, and the last two works were both ruined.