Full-time comic artist

"Victory belongs to the East China Sea!"

The champion has been decided!

The Meiji players shed tears at the victory of the Tokai basketball team.

They managed to qualify as runners-up, but their loss to Tokai was a huge blow to the Meiji basketball team.

Chapter 161 of "Slam Dunk" is being adapted into an anime.

Although the Meiji basketball team was able to enter the national tournament, they lost to their former underdog, the Tokai basketball team, which made them very frustrated.

Hirota spent the entire night dreaming about winning the preliminary round, basking in the spotlight, and enjoying the cheers of the crowd.

But now, the cheers belong to someone else.

Seeing Akino Mirai at the scene, he didn't dare to go up and ask for an autograph.

Feng Nan suppressed his grief and called his teammates together to shake hands with the Donghai basketball team.

"We will definitely beat you in the national tournament," Hirota said, giving Higashino Hibiki one last look before disappearing down the corridor.

Hirota made up his mind that he must win the national championship, and at that time, he could also ask Akino Mirai for her autograph.

……

Hibiki Higashino declined the dinner invitation, said goodbye to Takehiko Orimo, glanced at the time, and hailed a taxi by the roadside.

I waited for more than ten minutes, but I still didn't see an empty car.

He grew increasingly agitated; time was precious, and he was wasting it all here.

"It's time to get my driver's license," Higashino thought.

This is quite troublesome for him because it wastes a lot of time.

Short-term dormitory stays require living at the driving school, which makes it impossible to work.

If a day student takes half a day each Sunday to practice driving, it would take about six months.

This is something that must be done.

Higashino Hibiki has driving experience, so it won't take him long to switch from left-hand drive to right-hand drive. However, the learning process takes a long time, which leaves him speechless.

With that in mind, the year is almost over, and Hibiki Higashino still hasn't gotten his driver's license.

Without a private car, Higashino Hibiki's life is becoming increasingly inconvenient.

Another ten minutes or so passed before a taxi finally came up empty.

Hibiki Higashino gave me the address of Shueisha.

The meeting was to discuss the anime adaptation of "Slam Dunk." The editorial department had already finalized the profit-sharing arrangements and selected Toei Animation as the production company.

The person we need to communicate with now is the original author, Akino Mirai.

If we reach an agreement with him, then we can announce the anime adaptation of "Slam Dunk".

Sasaki originally planned to visit Hibiki Higashino with the producer and director, but after calculating the distance and time, Higashino simply arranged to meet at Shueisha.

Higashino Hibiki thought about this for a long time along the way.

In the previous world, Inoue Takehiko's decision to end "Slam Dunk" after the Sannoh National Tournament led to a minor conflict with Toei Animation.

This minor friction could actually have been avoided on Higashino Hibiki's side.

Hibiki Higashino decided to make things clear in advance so that Toei could make a decision.

If you can't tolerate the ending of a popular work, then don't make Slam Dunk.

Before serializing "Slam Dunk," Inoue-sensei was a complete newcomer and had no ability to negotiate with Shueisha.

Before Hibiki Higashino started serializing "Slam Dunk," he already had the influential work "Hikaru no Go."

As a highly popular author, he has an agreement with Kazuhiko Torishima regarding the "right to complete the work".

Animation companies that haven't officially entered the market yet, facing both magazine publishers and authors, naturally understand their position.

……

Hibiki Higashino got out of the taxi in a hurry, only to find that Sasaki and his group were already waiting at the entrance of Shueisha.

He quickly jogged over and said, "Sorry for taking up your time."

"We arrived early, ten minutes before the agreed time. We apologize for the surprise, Mr. Toriakino."

One of the strangers spoke to Higashino Hibiki.

Finally, he looked at Higashino Hibiki with eager eyes.

This must be the coach. Hibiki Higashino quickly extended his hand: "Hello, I'm Mirai Tori, the author of Slam Dunk."

“I am Inoue Kaede,” the other person shook hands with Hibiki Higashino, “an employee of Toei Animation Production Company.”

He handed Higashino Hibiki a business card, which indeed bore the title of supervisor.

“Let’s go into the conference room,” Sasaki said.

The December wind outside felt like a knife scraping bones. Seeing everyone shivering, Higashino Hibiki couldn't help but feel guilty.

As I entered the conference room, there was a hot coffee on the table. Kazuhiko Torishima also came in, holding an ornament in his hand. He glanced into the conference room and chuckled.

Higashino Hibiki quickly pulled him in as well; now was the time to put into practice what they had agreed upon.

Unexpectedly, the supervisor was not in a hurry at all. Inoue Kaede took out the single volume and got Higashino Hibiki to sign it as the top priority.

He glanced at the signed copy with satisfaction, then carefully slipped it into his pocket.

“When I was little, back in my hometown of Kagoshima, I saw an anime called ‘Big Rice Bucket’ on TV. It was a baseball manga created by Shinji Mizushima,” said Kaede Inoue. “This anime captivated me. I realized that sports anime could be so interesting.”

Under Hibiki Higashino's gaze, Kaede Inoue casually remarked, "When I was in elementary school, I hoped that I could become a director and produce an anime about sports."

"When I was in junior high school, I joined the basketball team. Back then, or even now, I limited my understanding of sports to the word 'basketball'."

"There are just too few basketball comics, and original basketball animations are even less likely to be approved by the company. At this stage, I could only improve myself. I produced quite a few animated films."

"For example, Tsukasa Hojo's 'Cat's Eye' and 'City Hunter'."

Higashino Hibiki stared at him blankly, never expecting that "Cat's Eye," the book that had once stirred his passion, was the work of this bespectacled man in front of him.

From this perspective, Inoue Kaede is indeed a seasoned director.

"At the beginning of this year, I saw Slam Dunk in Jump. It was very similar to Tsukasa Hojo's art style, with a realistic charm. This gave me a big surprise. I had a feeling that the first half of my life was born for this work."

"Tori Akino-sensei, please, please let me produce 'Slam Dunk'. I will give it my all!"

This coach, having only met Higashino Hibiki for a short time, uttered these heartfelt words.

Hibiki Higashino was moved, feeling that Hibiki loved Slam Dunk even more than he did.

Moreover, Hibino Hibiki had a premonition that what the director said was true.

He himself has the craftsman's temperament of an artist, the type who will meticulously polish his works and have strict requirements.

Higashino opened his mouth, wanting to agree immediately.

It would be impolite to refuse him.

At the last moment, under Inoue Kaede's expectant gaze, Higashino Hibiki shut his mouth.

Suddenly, his gaze turned lost.

Sasaki coughed and stated Toei Company's terms.

The production budget was more than sufficient, and the work was broadcast during prime time on TV Asahi.

The promotion of "Slam Dunk" will utilize all available channels simultaneously.

As for the content of the work, the staff employed are top-notch.

Even the outsourced content is strictly vetted.

What will be presented to Higashino Hibiki is his earnest dedication that is clearly visible to the naked eye.

It's rare for Toei to make such a guarantee, which shows their enthusiasm.

The timing was crucial; it was the end of 1996, a low point for Jump. For Toei, Dragon Ball, their cash cow, was no longer around.

Although "Dragon Ball GT," produced at the beginning of the year, was a hit with an average viewership rating of 14%, there will be no more animated works based on the Dragon Ball IP for a short period of time after "Dragon Ball GT" ends.

Therefore, Toei set its sights on "Slam Dunk". "Slam Dunk" could have received the same treatment as "Dragon Ball".

Higashino Hibiki was very satisfied with these rather tempting conditions.

The author himself, of course, hopes that his work can be treated well.

So he looked at Torishima Kazuhiko.

Torishima Kazuhiko was watching the spectacle, turning the ornament in his hand back and forth, when suddenly, following Higashino Hibiki's gaze, everyone in the room turned to look at him.

"???" Torishima Kazuhiko was completely confused.

However, it wasn't long before he understood Higashino Hibiki's thoughts.

Although he thought Higashino Hibiki was worrying unnecessarily, he still coughed twice and told her all about the agreement he had made with Higashino Hibiki.

"With Jump's circulation surpassing 500 million copies, Akino-sensei has already met the initial requirement. Shueisha, on the other hand, has no power to stop him from finishing the manga."

By saying this here, he is telling Higashino Hibiki that he will keep his promise.

"How could you do this?" The producer, who had been silent all along, slammed his hand on the table and stood up.

He felt that Shueisha was becoming unreliable.

The author is the one being exploited, and he is too lenient towards Torishino and Torishima Kazuhiko!

“On behalf of Toei, I can absolutely agree!” Inoue Kaede felt a warmth in her heart and stood up.

Hibiki Higashino, with this kind of thinking, is the author who could create "Slam Dunk"!

The fact that the integrity of the work was not compromised for the sake of profit made Inoue Kaede admire Hibiki Higashino, who had just come of age.

"Inoue-san, let's contact the president first." The producer, frustrated by being sabotaged, tugged at Inoue's sleeve, inwardly cursing his incompetent teammate.

“There’s absolutely no need for that. Toei is not going to give up on Slam Dunk. Given the current situation, the president will definitely agree,” Inoue Kaede said.

"I know..." the producer said, somewhat speechless.