Full-time comic artist

Does Jump have that many female readers?

……

There will be a third and final episode of "5 Centimeters Per Second".

Naoko Takeuchi finally calmed down from her grief.

In the first chapter, "Cherry Blossom," she felt reassured after being comforted by Yoshihiro Togashi, believing that the story had an open beginning.

But then there was a second episode, titled "Astronaut".

Astronaut-related storylines occupy a very small portion of the comic, consisting of only a few basic elements.

However, it is a summary of Takaki's life.

He went to Kagoshima and never saw Akari again.

As time went by, even communication became impossible.

It's like an astronaut venturing into the stars, carrying an indescribable loneliness.

"Tori Akino is really going too far."

In "Cosmonaut", Takaki always gives her a feeling of loneliness, which is probably his purpose.

If this episode has a bad ending, she really wants to give Hibiki Higashino a piece of her mind.

Sunday has finally arrived.

Because of Togashi's presence, she was able to see sample copies of Jump and know the plot earlier than other readers.

……

The timeline jumps again, from the winter of their first year of high school when Takaki and Akari last met, to the early spring 13 years later.

Petals drifted into the bedroom, and Takaki stopped working.

Strolling along the streets where cherry blossoms were falling, I unknowingly walked to the tram tracks.

The siren of an approaching tram sounded.

Takaki brushed past someone, a back view that Naoko Takeuchi recognized all too well.

"This must be Akari!"

She stared in shock, her eyes wide with anticipation.

Unexpectedly, the beginning of "5 Centimeters Per Second" is a reunion of the two.

"At this moment, if I were to turn around, I have a strong feeling that she would turn around too."

Naoko Takeuchi stared intently at the comic book. She saw the gate drop and Akari slowly turn around.

But just then, the tram passed by, just like at the beginning of the comic, splitting the storyline...

"This... Damn train, damn Akino!" Naoko Takeuchi yelled in frustration.

She was incredibly excited about the storyline and hoped to see the two of them rekindle their romance.

Just like in "Cherry Blossom Cherry Blossom," they calmly recounted the past after their separation, and finally kissed and embraced each other under the cherry blossom tree in spring when the cherry blossoms were fluttering.

But! What's going on here?!

She felt a surge of anxiety, wishing she could scratch Higashino Hibiki's face like a cat scratching a board, leaving clear marks.

I have a thousand words on my mind, and I want to curse!

"Wait!" She suddenly snapped out of her daze, looking at the panel in the manga where Akari was gradually turning her head.

There is a subtle detail: Akari is wearing a diamond ring on the ring finger of her left hand.

This means that Akari is either married or engaged...

Thinking of this, Naoko Takeuchi took a deep breath and almost fainted.

Then came a feeling of powerlessness.

She continued reading the comic; Akari was indeed getting engaged.

In her dream, she dreamt of things from the past.

At night, in the snow, the two walked past, leaving behind their footprints.

Over time, the two gradually grew tired of each other, and their hearts eventually drifted in the most distant directions.

"I realized that the feelings that were once etched in my heart had vanished without a trace."

This is Takaki's idea.

The love stories in "Cherry Blossom" have faded away with time and space.

"Yesterday, I had a dream."

"A dream from long ago."

"In our dream, we were only thirteen years old."

"That was a pastoral scene covered with a thick layer of white snow."

"The lights of the houses were out of reach; only a few scattered points could be seen."

"On the newly accumulated snow, there were only our two footprints."

"then."

"We will be able to enjoy the cherry blossoms together again someday."

"Both of us are unwavering..."

"That's my opinion."

At the end of the comic, the two reminisce about the past, but it's completely different from the present.

5 Centimeters Per Second has ended.

So, even in the end, it ends in such a sad way.

The train isn't important; what matters is the relationship between Takaki and Akari.

They are no longer children. Over the past thirteen years, they have each led their own lives. Memories of the past have become less and less important, deep love has gradually turned into numbness, and finally, a sense of enlightenment has arrived.

And so it came to an end.

Naoko Takeuchi understood this.

"It's so realistic, Akino Tori." She felt helpless. What she really wanted to see was a fairytale story, not a love that faded away like cherry blossoms, leaving her feeling powerless.

In May, the cherry blossoms outside the window had almost all fallen.

Naoko Takeuchi put down her manga, walked into Yoshihiro Togashi's studio, ignored the gazes of her assistants, and gave him a deep hug.

……

Ever since Weekly Shonen Jump went on sale, the editorial office's landline has been ringing non-stop.

They were all angry readers.

Torishima Kazuhiko didn't care much; he was just a little surprised, "This manga should be for a niche audience, yet it has caused such a huge reaction."

"And, so many of them are female readers."

Jump has reached its peak. If it wants to develop further, it can only attract a new generation of readers, including female readers.

While Torishima Kazuhiko was struggling with this, Torishino Mirai inexplicably helped him achieve some of it.

"It's strange."

He forgot the influence of The Garden of Words.

Higashino Hibiki also left a mark on the girls, but it wasn't a good one.

Chapter 203 Considering Marriage

"Is Shoichi the number one in Hunter x Hunter?" Torishima Kazuhiko asked in surprise.

This comic is only updated to the second chapter, and Xiaozheng has already won first place twice.

Yoshihiro Togashi is indeed quite unpredictable. After trying the unconventional "LEVEL E", he has returned to the mainstream manga stage.

Moreover, perhaps due to the experience gained from "LEVEL E", the development of "Hunter x Hunter" is quite mature, directly arousing the readers' curiosity.

Of course, it was also because the Slam Dunk manga was currently serializing the match between Ryonan and Hainan, and the main Shohoku team was not appearing, so Shohoku's performance was a bit worse.

"With newcomer Eiichiro Oda, genius Yoshihiro Togashi, and Akino Mirai, I have nothing to worry about."

When he first took over Jump, the top manga was "Rurouni Kenshin." After two and a half years of hard work, he now has everything he could ever want.

Moreover, there are subtle signs that it surpasses the Platinum era.

"As expected of me."

The One Piece manga has released three volumes, with an average sales volume of 83 copies per volume. The results are steadily improving.

The setting of Hunter x Hunter is outstanding, especially the Hunter setting, which can constantly bring a fresh feel to the story and is an extremely inclusive genre.

As for "Slam Dunk," which was serialized for more than two years, that goes without saying.

With an average sales volume of 320 million copies per volume across the 11 collected volumes, and the anime adaptation being aired, this number continues to rise.

"I changed Jump."

Torishima Kazuhiko turned around, stood before the louvered window, looked out, and felt the vastness of his own heart.

"It would be good if Togashi stopped messing around, and Oda-kun... um..."

He recalled Oda at the New Year's party, who made him admit his mistakes, and felt a headache coming on.

"They're all problem kids. No, Togashi is middle-aged."

Torishima Kazuhiko turned around and said, "The problem now is to break through the limits of Jump and develop a female readership."

Rurouni Kenshin is striving in this direction, and a large portion of Nobuhiro Watsuki's readers are women.

Torishima Kazuhiko was very happy about this.

"Tori Akino also has a strong talent for romance manga, so perhaps we should look to him..."