Full-time comic artist

"What a wonderful story."

……

"The Great Revolution in Go" has ended.

Springtime big hands and before the tournament.

Odagiri closed the manga, his expression shifting from regret to sharpness.

He understood that Hikaru Shindo's story had come to an end, and so had the story of Hikaru no Go.

From this moment on, a connection between Tori Akino Mirai and Go will be severed. His inextricable bond with Go will now consist solely of himself.

"Hibiki Higashino-sensei, just watch closely," Odagiri thought to himself.

When Hibiki Higashino entrusted his Go career to him, Odagiri already had enough determination.

Now, this determination is even more profound.

"I will get first place!"

……

Akira Yamazaki is currently on live television.

Because of the huge success of "The Great Revolution in Go", television programs have also urgently launched segments explaining the Go games depicted in the comics.

It provides the latest insights as each chapter of the comic unfolds.

As a result, viewership ratings soared.

Today, the most important game in the comic has broken viewership records, reaching a height that can never be surpassed.

In the program, Akira Yamazaki explained Akino Tori's thought process when drawing manga. Because there were only a few pages about the Go game, she could only explain it according to her own understanding.

"Hikaru Shindo's idea is to play chess by exploiting the vulnerabilities of AlphaGo, which shows that Professor Akino Tori believes that artificial intelligence has clear limitations."

After this episode, Akira Yamazaki took off his headset and sat down wearily.

Her career reached new heights, but she was not happy at all. She began to regret that she should not have urged Tori Akino to serialize "The Great Revolution in Go".

Goodbye, Higashino-kun.

Akira Yamazaki thought to himself.

The two boys, who had known each other since 1993, studied Go together and researched the Shusaku style of play.

These years spent playing Go together are cherished memories for Akira Yamazaki.

But later, the boy named Hibiki Higashino no longer needed to draw manga, and he would gradually drift away from Go...

"Bye now……"

……

After finishing "The Great Revolution of Go", Hibiki Higashino felt much more relaxed. Some time ago, he drew the plot of "Gag Manga Biyori-2" and also had to draw manga at the same time, which made him extremely tired.

However, at that time, he drew vividly, expressing the future world through comics, and also drawing a perfect end to his Go career.

Next, I can put down my burdens, relax, and devote myself wholeheartedly to the serialization of "Slam Dunk".

Just then, Tetsuya Endo called him.

"The anime 'Hikaru no Go' has been introduced to mainland China!"

The first thing he said was good news.

"Hikaru no Go" has not faced any restrictions in South Asia and Southeast Asia. Benefiting from the Chinese cultural sphere, the audience generally has a good understanding of Go.

Starting with Taiwan, then Hong Kong, South Korea, Vietnam...

Now that it has been introduced to mainland China, "Hikaru no Go" has been widely released, and the influence of this work is becoming increasingly astonishing.

“That’s great news,” Hibiki Higashino replied.

The show achieved good viewership ratings in these regions, and author Hibiki Higashino reaped considerable profits from the copyright.

Tetsuya Endo invited Hibiki Higashino to a dinner party, but Higashino was annoyed. Why did people in Japan always have to have dinner parties? He politely declined.

"I also have to draw comics, so I really can't find the time."

Tetsuya Endo understood him, then said he wouldn't bother him anymore and hung up the phone.

……

The short story "Hikaru no Go" was very successful. If it weren't for "Slam Dunk", Kazuhiko Torishima would really like Hibiki Higashino to turn the short story into a long novel.

"The sales of the short story volume reached 30 copies within a week, which is simply a miracle in the world of short comics."

He was really lucky to have met two top cartoonists in a row.

"Toriyama-sensei also said he's creating a new work." Torishima Kazuhiko's face beamed with an unexpected surge of joy.

Jump might just turn bad luck into good, and maybe it will even surpass its previous peak!

With that in mind, he looked at the report in his hand.

"Yu-Gi-Oh! took third place in the minor competition this week!"

Torishima Kazuhiko was somewhat shocked. This work, which was highly regarded by Torishino, had been serialized for more than half a year but had never been very popular. Suddenly, this chapter became popular with readers.

He glanced up at the editors at work. Yoshihisa Heiji, the editor of Yu-Gi-Oh!, was standing respectfully next to Takashi Sasaki, listening patiently and nodding occasionally.

After they finished their work, Kazuhiko Torishima called over Bottle to ask about the latest developments in Yu-Gi-Oh!

“Yes, I’ve been paying attention to that,” Bottle said, adjusting his glasses. “In my judgment, it’s related to the previous game design.”

The performance of Yu-Gi-Oh! fluctuates greatly, depending on the brilliance of the game design.

In the ninth game, Kazuki Takahashi introduced his favorite monster element, incorporating monsters into the cards, with players determining the winner through the card game rules.

"The name is 'Spells and Sorcery Cards,' similar to Magic: The Gathering, so it's highly competitive."

Torishima Kazuhiko nodded; he remembered that chapter, which was highly praised by readers.

However, Kazuki Takahashi went on to draw other games, causing his good results to be short-lived.

Upon realizing this, Torishima Kazuhiko immediately understood.

"The future of Yu-Gi-Oh! that Tori Akino envisions may lie in these 'Spell & Wizardry Cards'!"

“Yes,” Bottle nodded, “so when the main storyline wasn’t popular, I suggested that Kazuki Takahashi focus on ‘Magic and Sorcery Cards,’ and now it’s showing results.”

"You did a great job." Torishima Kazuhiko nodded in satisfaction.

Bottle Yoshihisa is also a talented person. He has many talented people around him now and lacks nothing.

……

After finishing her work, Hibiki Higashino finally had some free time to read Jump.

He has been following Yu-Gi-Oh!.

When Yu-Gi-Oh! was serialized up to chapter 12, the card duels he was familiar with finally appeared.

It was also in this episode that Seto Kaiba made his first appearance.

Along with Kaiba's appearance, there was also a classic card – Blue-Eyes White Dragon!

Bruis Vettelagon!

Seto Kaiba, who makes his first appearance, is a complete scoundrel who swaps Yugi Muto's cards before the monster card duel.

In the ensuing dark duel, he was defeated by Yugi Muto.

Readers also really liked the special chapter featuring Hibiki Higashino, in which Masato from Yu-Gi-Oh! ranked second, only behind Slam Dunk.

However, for Kazuki Takahashi, card games were just one of many games; his goal was to explore more diverse games.

Then his grades dropped.

The readers didn't buy into the main storyline he set himself, and Higashino Hibiki only skimmed through it.

Ultimately, aside from the card game aspect, the plot or art style of Yu-Gi-Oh! was not as exciting as Hibiki Higashino had imagined; it was merely an extremely mediocre work on Jump.

In this chapter, Kazuki Takahashi finally returned to creating "Magic and Sorcery Cards" under pressure.

Seto Kaiba is making a comeback, and Hibiki Higashino can already glimpse the future potential of Kaiba.

He felt a sense of pressure rising within him.

This era of Jump belongs to Hibiki Higashino and Mirai Tori.

But beneath the surface of this glory, undercurrents are already surging.

Yu-Gi-Oh! is on the right track.

The upcoming serialization of "One Piece".

Both of these works have incredibly promising futures. One has immense IP value, and the other surpassed Dragon Ball in single-volume sales; both are formidable competitors.

"Shall we start preparing the storyboards for the serialization?" Oda asked excitedly on the phone.

The short story "Romance Down" performed very well and is highly anticipated by the editors.

Without a doubt, Romance Down is a classic shonen manga.

It has many elements that attract readers, such as adventure, hard work, struggle, friendship, pirates, and Devil Fruits.

I look forward to your work.

Oda has now found his target; its sharpness will naturally emerge.

Seeing him cheer, Higashino Hibiki was happy for him, but also nervous.

Just then, the phone stopped ringing, and Higashino looked at the caller ID. It was Akira Toriyama.

He hadn't called in a long time. It's rare for two men to communicate by phone, and every time they do talk, it's because they have something to say.

"Hey, Toriyama-sensei, what brings you here on the phone?"

Even when Akira Toriyama wasn't serializing "Dragon Ball," he didn't have any free time.

The exhibition of works, character designs for "Dragon Ball GT", and game character designs, as well as other miscellaneous tasks, were all done one after another.

Once you reach his position, it's hard to stay idle.

“Tori Akino, I’m feeling restless and restless,” he said.