Full-time comic artist

Pierrot, Toei Animation, Sunrise...

There are a few small animation companies, but they don't have much of a future.

Chapter 158 Turning Defeat into Victory

"The results aren't out yet," Hibiki Higashino said. "I'll share my opinion at the last minute."

Japanese creators have a great deal of choice when it comes to adapting their works into anime.

In the anime "Shirobako" that he had watched before, there was a scene where the original author refused to let Musashino Animation produce his work. The protagonist made a sincere request, showing his sincerity, and after gaining their approval, the anime adaptation finally began.

It is clear that the author's opinion is still very important and has the right to veto.

Higashino carefully chose among the three.

Although they had collaborated with Pierrot, the anime adaptation of "Hikaru no Go" was exceptionally well-received.

However, their production of "Yu Yu Hakusho" made Higashino Keigo tremble with fear.

Although this animated series achieved amazing viewership ratings, it received almost no feedback from the original work.

Even Nobuhiko Horie had secretly thought that the Yu Yu Hakusho anime felt like a completely different work.

As for Sunrise, it doesn't seem to be an animation production company that you could choose.

Sunrise, known for its robots and Gundam, could hardly imagine the quality of their production of "Slam Dunk"—it might be quite good, but it could also be a complete flop.

Moreover, Sunrise's resources are mostly used for Gundam and Super Mashin Hero Wataru, and Hibiki Higashino has some concerns about the proportion of investment in Slam Dunk.

The remaining Toei Animation production company is actually a good choice.

Toei Animation is one of Japan's oldest animation production companies, boasting a glorious history. Masters like Osamu Tezuka and Shotaro Ishinomori both worked at Toei.

Many of today's famous animation masters, such as Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata, came from Toei Animation.

Such a company possesses the deepest cultural foundation, and can complete any type of work without worrying about the final product's quality.

Most importantly, Toei's distribution channels are very powerful.

Not only does it own a satellite channel, but Toei also wields considerable influence within TV Asahi.

Not to mention sales channels.

Moreover, Toei has a strong presence not only in Japan, but also in China and the United States, with numerous collaborations and works that have been introduced to China.

This will undoubtedly be a boost to the overseas promotion of "Slam Dunk" in the future.

A work like "Slam Dunk" is popular all over the world, and audiences in other countries may even love it more than audiences in Japan.

Riding on the coattails of Toei Animation, Slam Dunk will become a work with true global influence.

The Slam Dunk anime he saw in his previous life was of above-average quality, and it did not significantly alter the settings and content of the Slam Dunk manga.

It simply added a few original plot points.

In its previous life, Jump also had Dragon Ball and Yu Yu Hakusho, so it didn't put too much effort into the production of Slam Dunk.

But now, the editorial department can only rely on "Slam Dunk", so the requirements for the "Slam Dunk" anime adaptation will inevitably be more stringent in order to attract more readers to the manga.

Furthermore, if Hibiki Higashino had the right to end his work, he wouldn't have had a major argument with Jump and Toei, and their relationship would have fallen apart.

He did the math himself and concluded that, in any case, he was much happier than his teacher, Takehiko Inoue.

Toei seems pretty good.

……

As a result, no decision has been made for a long time.

In mid-December, half a month later...

In "Slam Dunk", Shohoku won four consecutive games and advanced to the finals of their group.

The situation can be described as very favorable.

Apart from Sakuragi Hanamichi, who was ejected in all four games, the starting lineup of the Shohoku basketball team became more and more stable, and they cultivated the aura of a strong team through continuous victories.

But this time it's different. Shohoku's opponent is Shoyo, a seeded team from Kanagawa.

Shohoku was not the weak team that Shohoku had encountered before. In Kanagawa, apart from the king Hainan, Shohoku was the strongest team.

This match is destined to be very difficult for Shohoku.

At the same time, Tokai University in Japan also began to encounter a strong opponent, Senshu University, which finished third in the 1994 basketball league.

Although their performance was poor last year, they are definitely a strong team.

The stadium stands were completely full, a dense mass of people.

They couldn't possibly give up on such a match; they were all eagerly anticipating a thrilling and intense battle.

Although the specialized basketball team is a student basketball team, it actually has a group of regular fans, and a huge cheer erupted in the arena, which inevitably made Yagami and his team nervous.

"If we win this match, we'll qualify for the national tournament no matter what the outcome of the next one!"

It was this mentality, coupled with the pressure from the opposing fans, that caused the Donghai University basketball team to falter, losing points one after another as the opponent tightened their defense.

Some of them are already in fourth grade, and this is their last chance, so they are under tremendous psychological pressure.

As the match continued, Takehito Kanda became increasingly nervous.

He lost in the most crucial game in high school, and today's match was the same as always.

It seemed like the court was a cycle; as he ran on the court, all he could see was darkness, and he couldn't hear anything.

……

Hibiki Higashino, watching the match from the stands, was surprised by the one-sided situation.

Higashino Hibiki has studied the level of both teams. Tokai cannot be said to have a clear advantage, but it can be said to be on par with them.

However, he did not perform to his full potential.

Just then, the East China Sea coach called a timeout.

Indeed, not every coach is like Hiroki Anzai, able to remain unmoved when facing a losing team.

Higashino watched as the coach of the Tokai basketball team severely reprimanded the team members. Although he couldn't hear it, he still mentally recorded the sound.

"Is this your fighting spirit?"

"Off the court he talks about dominating the nation, but on the court he's a spineless coward!"

"What's there to be nervous about? Aren't you afraid to challenge the vocational college?"

"We're going to beat the top three in the country!"

This pause was mainly to disrupt the rhythm of the game; if things continued like this, Donghai would have no hope.

While listening to his coach's words, Kanda Takehito's mind wandered elsewhere.

He never had a future to begin with, and now that he has a goal, he has lost the courage he used to have.

It's not a big deal. The worst that can happen is losing one game. Show your spirit!

He kept encouraging himself when he heard a voice in his ear.

"Don't embarrass yourself too much, Kanda!" He looked over and saw Takago standing on the second floor of the stands, looking at him with disdain and pressing his thumb down.

"Coward, you coward!"

Kanda Takehito's inner fire was ignited. He glared angrily at Takago and roared, "I must win!"

The voice was deafening, interrupting the coach's roar.

He paused for a moment, then clapped his hands and said, "Yes, that's it, that's the idea! You should learn from Kanda."

Hua Chao looked up at the bright lights on the ceiling and felt a wave of dizziness. The sense of urgency in his heart finally subsided.

He then looked towards the audience and saw familiar faces.

"That is……"

Hua Chao paused for a moment, then her expression turned serious. "I must win!"

……

Thirty minutes later, the match ended.

Donghai basketball team narrowly defeated Zhuanxiu University with a score of 89:86.

Except for a poor start, they fought hard for the rest of the game, leveled the score in the second half, and eventually overtook the score to win.

Hana looked towards the stands and realized that Higashino Hibiki was gone. Her elation at winning the game instantly cooled down.

We won!

Kanda, standing beside him, shed tears, as he healed the wounds in his heart.

Yagami, a fourth-year university student, gaped in amazement, imagining himself letting out an excited shout.

"We've qualified for the national competition!"

The Donghai basketball team was overjoyed, and the members of the specialized basketball team choked up with emotion.

Hibiki Higashino pressed the shutter button on this poignant scene.

Chapter 159 Chess Playing and the Final Match

When Hibiki Higashino returned to the studio, Oda was there too.

He and Tanaka were watching "Sailor Moon".

After Oda successfully preached to Tanaka, he found like-minded people, so he became especially enthusiastic.

Tanaka initially said, "The love in Sailor Moon is so beautiful that I feel jealous and heartbroken watching it, and I really can't bear to watch it."

But in the end, he still became addicted.

He looks so enthusiastic now, and if girls saw him, they would think he's a disgusting shut-in.

Akemi Akemi didn't care, resting her chin on her hand and watching the TV with great interest.

Her dream is to become a manga artist, so of course she would like this kind of work. She would also read the collected volumes of "Sailor Moon" and learn from Naoko Takeuchi's manga paneling.