Full-time comic artist

Page 202

As they passed the basketball court, they heard:

"The Slam Dunk anime will start airing today."

"It's a pity that the school doesn't have a TV to watch."

"I heard that Saiki, a third-year student, and his girlfriend booked a hotel so they could watch Slam Dunk."

"Aren't you too naive?"

Hearing this conversation, Hibiki Higashino and Sasaki exchanged a smile.

"Thank you, Toriakino-kun."

Sasaki suddenly said.

Sasaki's sudden expression of gratitude caught Hibiki Higashino completely off guard.

He began to ponder what he had done.

As if sensing Higashino Hibiki's bewilderment, Sasaki explained, "When I first met you, I thought you could become a pillar of Jump and change this manga magazine with me."

"Three years later, you achieved this with 'Slam Dunk,' which is truly remarkable. Because of your help, my ambitions in Jump have also become a possibility."

He has been the deputy editor-in-chief for several years now, and as Higashino Hibiki's influence has grown, Sasaki's voice in the editorial department has also been increasing.

However, overshadowed by the most legendary Torishima Kazuhiko, the others have not yet noticed this.

Hibiki Higashino said earnestly, "My success is also thanks to Mr. Sasaki's help. You've really worked hard all these years."

The two walked on campus, the wind rustling through the bushes, and Sasaki began to speak his mind.

"With Japan's development, the decline of print magazines is an inevitable event."

Sasaki continued, "However, the previous higher-ups rarely saw this, getting lost in the glory of Jump."

"Mr. Kazuhiko Torishima has made some changes. He has started to develop the magazine towards animation and IP creation, injecting new vitality into it."

“But this can’t go on. After all, Japan only has 1 million people, so the market isn’t that big. Jump has to go global and enter the international market.”

The influence of Weekly Shonen Jump manga will be astonishing worldwide in the future.

The three manga series, One Piece, Naruto, and Bleach, are even referred to as "shonen manga" (manga for the working class).

These are comics that even migrant workers are familiar with, demonstrating the influence of these three comics in China.

This is something that Jump couldn't do before.

In Europe and America, its influence is even more astonishing.

Manga like Death Note have been popular on forums in Europe and America for a long time.

Weekly Shonen Jump has become a legendary magazine.

Perhaps all of this is thanks to Takashi Sasaki.

Higashino thought to himself.

His editors truly have a unique perspective.

“I agree with what Mr. Sasaki said,” Hibiki Higashino said.

Sasaki nodded with satisfaction.

He suddenly remembered something, "Have you heard about the newspaper reports a while ago about the decline of Weekly Shonen Jump?"

"of course."

"Because of this report, Jump's sales have declined, and Shueisha's top management is very unhappy," Sasaki said.

"Do any readers really think so?"

"Of course, since we don't know which platform it is, there will be a difference between new and old readers. It's easy to understand why people miss the old days."

Hibiki Higashino never expected that a single report could have such an impact, and perhaps many readers share the same view.

Jump used to be incredibly successful.

Chapter 193: Anime Ratings and Manga Release

It's not a big deal if Weekly Shonen Jump is criticized by its writers, but it's a big problem if readers accept it.

With fewer and fewer new readers, it is crucial to maintain a stable core readership.

"So Jump is holding a short manga competition," Takashi Sasaki explained. "Manga artists with serialized works can participate. I didn't want to tell you this, since serializing Slam Dunk is too difficult, but after thinking about it carefully, I still have to consider your own opinion."

Upon hearing this, Higashino Hibiki was taken aback. "A short manga competition?"

To be honest, he now earns over 4 million yen a year, so comic competitions or royalties are just a drop in the ocean and he doesn't care about them anymore.

The Slam Dunk manga series had a lot of work to do, and this was one of the reasons why Takehiko Inoue decided to end it early.

Therefore, Hibiki Higashino has no need to add burdens to himself.

"Around when will it start?" he asked in return.

Sasaki replied, "The original plan was to start in October."

"This October?" Hibiki Higashino asked in surprise. "Even for a short manga, it takes at least half a year to prepare, right?"

“Yes,” Sasaki nodded. “Akira Toriyama’s new work, ‘COWA,’ will be serialized in October. It’s a short to medium-length manga. We originally planned to use ‘COWA’ as a gimmick for a short manga competition, but Toriyama declined.”

Higashino understood immediately. He looked ahead; he was about to reach the main gate of the school.

He said, "Toriyama-sensei wants to create the works he likes, so he doesn't care about the results and won't participate in competitions to make readers expect it or add pressure to himself."

“Yes,” Sasaki said, brushing a fallen leaf from his head. “The short story competition has been postponed and will begin around next spring.”

Giving cartoonists enough time to come up with brilliant works has become even more important.

"I'll answer you at the New Year's party," Hibiki Higashino said.

"Ah."

The two arrived at the school gate, and Higashino waved to him before Sasaki disappeared from Higashino's sight.

……

Toei Animation is a large company, and it's practically family with TV Asahi, so Inoue Kaede wouldn't go to the TV station at night to wait for the ratings results.

He received a phone call at four o'clock in the morning.

"How are the ratings?" Inoue Kaede asked nervously.

He didn't sleep well at all, tossing and turning all night. He finally managed to fall asleep, but the moment the phone rang, he immediately woke up.

"A 15.6% viewership rating, that's amazing!" a staff member exclaimed.

Among the animated works airing during prime time this year, "Slam Dunk" stands out as the only one in its class.

"Only 15.6%?" Inoue Kaede frowned.

After hanging up the phone, he sat up in bed, looking somewhat lost in the dim moonlight.

This achievement surpasses "Saint Seiya: The Return of the Holy Child," crushes "Rurouni Kenshin," and makes "Evangelion" pale in comparison.

However, Inoue Kaede was very unhappy when she found out.

This is an era of decline for animation.

Without the fierce competition from anime like Dragon Ball, Hikaru no Go, and Yu Yu Hakusho, Slam Dunk was in a period of stagnation.

With the comic book being exceptionally popular and his painstakingly crafted work, his goal was to surpass 20%!

"It's a pity."

……

The news that "Slam Dunk" had a viewership rating of 15.6% was quickly communicated to Takashi Sasaki.

Unlike Inoue Kaede's reaction, Sasaki's heart was pounding.

This is already a very good result!

"Slam Dunk was serialized for one year and eight months, and the popularity of basketball is astonishing!"

A little over a year ago, an animation themed around basketball would have had a viewership rating that would never have exceeded 5%; it was a niche within a niche.

"The influence of Slam Dunk is much stronger than I thought."

This was great news, and he immediately contacted Kazuhiko Torishima to discuss the release of the collected volumes.

"The first eight volumes of 'Slam Dunk' sold an average of around 280 million copies each. Now that the anime has a viewership rating of 15.6%, it's time to consider a reprint. With the anime's boost, we can break the 300 million copy mark!"

It has an average sales volume of 300 million copies, and only three copies are available on Jump.

Fist of the North Star, Yu Yu Hakusho, and Dragon Ball.

All three works have now come to an end.

If it were "Slam Dunk," which was only serialized for one year and eight months, the average sales of the collected volumes could reach over 300 million copies.

That could become the highest-selling volume of Jump manga!

It's even possible.

"Breaking 400 million!"

It became the highest-selling manga volume of all time!

“I had the same idea,” Torishima Kazuhiko agreed with him immediately.

He quickly notified the Shueisha executives, and the reprint and release of the ninth volume were soon approved, and the matter was settled.

As for the first edition of the ninth volume...

"250 million copies!"

……

Two more episodes of the Slam Dunk anime have aired, but the long-awaited match still hasn't happened.

The story is still focused on Sakuragi Hanamichi's adjustment period; the main character hasn't truly fallen in love with basketball yet.

Therefore, the viewership ratings did not increase; in fact, they slightly decreased, averaging around 15%.