Full-time comic artist

The supervisor in front of us is very talented, but he's too narrow-minded.

With this excuse, wouldn't we be able to exploit the situation and gain more benefits?

It's utterly absurd that they agreed so easily.

“Mr. Inoue is very straightforward,” Hibiki Higashino nodded. “Then it’s settled. I agree that Toei Animation will produce the Slam Dunk anime.”

"That's great!" Inoue Kaede gripped Higashino Hibiki's hands tightly. "I will give you a satisfactory answer."

Torishima Kazuhiko clapped, and then the meeting room was filled with applause.

These two people are both eccentric; they put aside personal gain and are only concerned with their work.

It's rare to see such a pure and innocent heart, but perhaps that's why they can create such moving and classic works.

After everything settled down, Higashino Hibiki gave an awkward smile and said, "There's one more thing I'd like to trouble you with."

That is, the release of "Gag Manga Biyori".

Upon learning of this, the producer said with distress, "The show's schedule has already been finalized..."

After learning that each episode was only five minutes long and aired in the late-night slot, he confidently guaranteed its quality.

"It will be broadcast on January 10th, but it needs to be sent to TV Asahi a week in advance."

"Thanks for your hard work."

After signing the two contracts, Higashino Hibiki breathed a sigh of relief, having dealt with all the trivial matters.

Chapter 162 "Sailor Moon" in the Audience Seats

After the matter was settled, Higashino Hibiki and Inoue Kaede were both eager to leave, so they did not hold a gathering.

Sasaki drove Higashino home and, upon hearing Higashino's worries about not having a driver's license, Sasaki didn't have any good solutions.

"If only Tori Akino-kun could drive," Sasaki said casually. "Taking the exam as soon as possible is achievable, but cheating is not an option."

Hibiki Higashino looked pleasantly surprised and said that this was no problem.

He used to be a C1 driver's license holder with over 6 kilometers on the road. He wasn't exactly an experienced driver, but he was definitely not a novice.

Sasaki was stunned. He couldn't understand how Higashino Hibiki, who had just come of age, had driving experience.

He asked, "Have you ever lived in the countryside?"

Higashino gave a vague answer and glossed over the matter.

Sasaki didn't ask any further questions: "Since you're so confident, I'll make the arrangements immediately, but it will have to wait until after the New Year."

"This is troublesome," Higashino said earnestly.

After returning to the studio, Sasaki talked to him about work before leaving.

Hibiki Higashino had a break, so he called Yuko Asahina and learned that the first two episodes of the anime had been completed. He then told her about the anime's premiere.

Upon learning this, Asahina's stoic face broke into a smile, causing Minami Chiharu, who was standing next to her, to tremble in shock.

"Has the world ended?" She had never seen Asahina with a smiling expression before.

Asahina glanced at her, and after ending the call with Higashino Hibiki, she called Higashino Mei.

"Mei, do you have some free time? Um, I need your help with a voice acting role."

Mei Higashino, who has already officially debuted, has not yet voiced a main character, but there is no problem for her to join the animation lineup. After hearing Yuko Asahina's invitation, she still readily accepted.

They didn't even ask what kind of work it was.

……

Two weeks later, the day before Christmas Eve, the university league was drawing to a close.

Tokyo withstood the pressure from the influx of top university basketball teams from all over Japan.

The three seeded teams that made it to the semifinals are Tokyo University of Sport, Nihon University, and Takushoku University.

And then there's Donghai University, which fought its way up from the preliminaries!

All four schools that made it to the national finals are universities in Tokyo!

After watching the game between the Tokyo University of Sport basketball team and last year's champion Nihon University basketball team, Togashi went home with a sigh.

"I never expected the champion team to lose."

This year's sports university basketball team was truly amazing. In the national tournament, they defeated the powerful Meiji University basketball team and Kyushu Sangyo University basketball team. They were undoubtedly the champions who emerged victorious from among the strong teams at that time.

After returning home, Togashi was suddenly moved and wanted to watch "Slam Dunk".

He watched the real-life match, wondering if the one in the comic was just as exciting.

This comic book was sent to him by the editor; he hadn't read it until now, when he finally opened it.

……

Slam Dunk continues the previous storyline, featuring a match between Shohoku and Shoyo.

Mitsui was so nervous that he ran to the toilet again.

While in the private room, he overheard the conversation between the Xiangyang team members.

"By the way, do you know who number 14 is at Shohoku?"

This piqued Mitsui's curiosity; he was number 14.

"It's Mitsui Hisashi from Takeishi Junior High School; he even won MVP."

“I know, I played against him in junior high school, and I couldn’t stop him at all back then.”

He praised Mitsui as an excellent player, but that was Mitsui's peak performance at the time. The current Mitsui is not as formidable as he seemed back then.

"I will keep Mitsui's score below five points!"

Mitsui was so angry that he didn't even wipe his butt. He just pulled up his pants and stormed out.

The atmosphere was already tense even before the competition started.

After that, Kenji Fujima, a key player for Shohoku, was still serving as the team's coach, so he did not play.

The match features players over 190cm tall, plus top center Hanagata Toru against Shohoku.

Togashi looked forward to this match.

Since this match was crucial in determining whether he could enter the national tournament, Akagi, seeing his dream within reach, unexpectedly committed a jump ball foul.

He was too nervous.

……

The first point of the game was scored by Xiangyang.

Facing Akagi's block, Hanagata unexpectedly used a fadeaway jump shot.

This technically skillful pitch immediately drew cheers from the entire stadium.

Afterwards, due to their strong desire to win, the players of Shohoku all became stiff and repeatedly lost points against the tall, agile, and flexible Hanagata.

It seems that among the top centers in Kanagawa, Hanagata surpasses Akagi and Uozumi, truly being the number one.

"Flower shape!"

"Flower shape!"

The unified cheers from Xiangyang cast a shadow over Xiangbei once again.

"Eh..." Togashi sighed regretfully, as expected, he was in a "depressed" phase.

"The opening match is just a setup; I knew I wouldn't be interested in watching it. Tsk."

This is a common practice in sports competitions. After all, starting at a disadvantage highlights the strength of the opponent. Then, by turning the tide and defeating the formidable enemy, this strategy is what creates the most exciting moments and reveals the essence of a hard-won victory.

Togashi could foresee that the match between Shohoku and the strong team Shoyo would be very exciting!

This is a scene from the Slam Dunk manga, depicting a clash between two strong teams during an official match.

Given Tori Akino's style, it will undoubtedly be very impactful, bringing readers both emotion and excitement.

At this moment, Togashi was incredibly eager to see what would happen next.

By early spring next year, we should be able to experience the entire competition.

"What's this?" he suddenly exclaimed in surprise, because in the bustling crowd in the audience, he saw twin ponytails that looked out of place.

With twin ponytails and a moon ornament on her forehead, "Sailor Moon?"

Togashi blurted it out.

"Was this drawn by an assistant? Or by Tori Akino-kun?"

He suddenly got excited. The New Year's party was coming up soon, and he was going to give Hibiki Higashino a good beating. "Why did you add the Sailor Moon Easter egg? Do you have a crush on Naoko Takeuchi?"

This is going to be very interesting.

Togashi thought to himself with a wicked sense of humor.

……

"There's a possibility that it's illustrated by Akino Tori, who is also the author of 'The Garden of Words'!" exclaimed Fumi Saimon, a middle-aged woman, excitedly!

"Yes! It's possible! Absolutely possible!"

Naoko Takeuchi attended Tori Akino's autograph session!

Given how mature that kid is, it's perfectly normal for him to like the beautiful older sister Naoko.

"Naoko also recommended 'The Garden of Words,' and perhaps it was at that time that...the two were already in a quiet, unspoken relationship!"

"It's so romantic and wonderful, a comic that tells the story of love."

Chapter 163 On the Speed ​​of Rumor Spread

"Thinking about it now," Nishimura said while talking to Kitamoto on the phone, "it is indeed a bit strange that Higashino, who was drawing 'Hikaru no Go,' suddenly created 'The Garden of Words,' a work with a completely different style."

“Ha…” Kitamoto fell silent.

He previously thought that Hibiki Higashino was using "The Garden of Words" to help him confess his feelings.