Full-time comic artist

The person in front of me had a stubble beard, messy hair, and exuded an aura of despondency.

He looks a bit like a homeless person.

Luckily it's noon now; if it were evening, he would definitely be questioned by the police.

"Yes!" Omori thought to himself, but immediately replied.

“I’m Tanaka from Toriakino Studio,” Tanaka said, mustering his courage. “Please come with me.”

"Thank you for your help, Tanaka-senpai!"

……

Using only storyboards, "Millennium Actress" was scheduled to be published on July 15th after being serialized.

It's mid-May now, and there are only two months left. Higashino Hibiki doesn't have much time left.

Hibiki Higashino, who now only has Akemi Akemi and Tanakai as assistants, is undoubtedly extremely busy.

Sasaki quickly found him an assistant, Omori, whom he found in Tanaka.

He wanted to draw manga, and it wouldn't be appropriate for Akemi Akemi to meet a strange male assistant, so the task was left to the socially awkward Tanaka.

Higashino Hibiki was actually a little worried, but he wasn't in good condition either; his cheeks were so thin he looked like a dried-up corpse.

He hasn't had a rest in a long time.

I usually rely on coffee to force myself to stay awake.

Higashino Hibiki wearily picked up the coffee, his hand empty. He shook it, but no sound came out.

This bottle is empty.

Three bottles of coffee on the table fell to the ground with a clatter.

"Ah, that's all."

Hibiki Higashino stood up and staggered toward the refrigerator.

The coffee bottle slipped to his feet, and Higashino Hibiki tripped and fell to the ground.

Akemi Akemi glanced at him listlessly, then looked away.

Just then, the door lock clicked, the door opened, and Tanaka and Omori walked in.

"Eh!" Omori exclaimed in surprise, looking at Higashino Hibiki. "Who is he?"

Tanaka replied calmly, "It's Teacher Akino Tori."

Why are you so calm?

"I hope nothing bad has happened to the teacher!"

"I've been looking forward to becoming his assistant for a long time, and this is the first time I've been so eager. Please don't let anything go wrong!"

He rushed to Higashino Hibiki, examining him nervously. In his flustered state, he finally remembered the important matter.

"Quick! Call an ambulance!" Omori urged.

“It’s alright,” Tanaka waved his hand and returned to his workstation. “I’ve gotten used to it these past couple of days.”

"How can I get used to this!" Omori said angrily. He leaned closer to Higashino, thinking about artificial respiration, but then heard snoring.

The source of the sound is Akino Mirai.

"Ah, I fell asleep again, sorry." Higashino got up, rubbed his cheeks to wake himself up, and then asked the dumbfounded Omori.

"Are you the new assistant, Mr. Omori? Hello, I'm Toriakino Mirai."

Well, this teacher is a good person, but he's just too strange!

……

"Ahem," Higashino Hibiki said, sitting on the sofa, as he talked about his work arrangements.

"Editor Sasaki told me, Mr. Omori, that you are now a senior assistant."

Omori nodded shyly. "I've been an assistant for ten years now."

After saying this, he sighed inwardly.

He was an assistant ten years ago, and he is still an assistant ten years later.

I haven't made any progress at all in Tokyo.

Yes, there are some, and the fees for senior assistants are naturally higher.

A typical manga artist's assistant earns around 1 yen a day.

Senior assistants like Omori are not only skilled, but they can also teach new manga artists how to arrange manga work and assign tasks to other assistants.

They have a strong sense of initiative.

This also reduces the burden on cartoonists.

Therefore, the cost of a senior comic artist's assistant, based on current market rates, is around 2.5 yuan.

If you work three days a week, your monthly salary won't be low; it'll be on par with that of a white-collar worker.

"As you just saw, the workload here is huge. So there will be overtime. I'll pay you 3 yen per day, and I won't calculate overtime pay. Is that acceptable to you?"

Thirty thousand yen!

Omori looked pleasantly surprised and bowed deeply, saying, "Thank you so much!"

If I could have 30,000 yuan, I wouldn't need to do odd jobs in my spare time, and I could spend more time improving my skills.

"Tori Akino-sensei is a kind person after all."

“So you agree,” Higashino Hibiki said. “Then let’s arrange the work.”

He took out the original manuscript of "Millennium Actress" that he had drawn in the past two days.

"Editor Sasaki probably already mentioned that I will have a new serialization, which is this work. Please take a look."

"Yes." Omori nodded.

The manuscript had 10 pages and smelled of ink, which invigorated Omori.

He looked at it and couldn't help but exclaim, "Amazing!"

This original manuscript answered his questions.

He had previously thought that a manga artist like Tori Akino Mirai wouldn't be so exhausted from working on two projects at once, but now that he'd seen the original manuscript, he thought it made perfect sense.

The ten-page manuscript is very simple. Due to frequent earthquakes, Gin-ei Photography Company was forced to demolish an abandoned photography studio. As a memorial, Tachibana Gen also wants to visit an actress who has supported Gin-ei Company for decades.

She was also his idol, named Fujiwara Chiyoko.

Chiyoko is 70 years old now. She no longer has the youthful beauty she had at the beginning of the story, but she still maintains an elegant demeanor.

One look is enough to tell that she was a beauty in her youth.

It is indeed a very ordinary story, just two people talking and recounting the past. But Akino Mirai drew it with unusual seriousness.

The trees, the people, the buildings—all have an "explosive budget."

In terms of details, the textures of the wood and clothing are clearly visible.

Within the small frame, he drew meticulously with his pen.

In Omori's eyes, none of this was necessary.

Why go to such lengths and elaborate designs for a shonen manga?

That can't be right.

If it were simplified further, readers wouldn't have any complaints; on the contrary, they would think it was drawn very well.

This can be described as an obsessive drawing style, no wonder it wastes so much time.

and……

Omori was taken aback; "Millennium Actress" didn't seem like a shonen manga.

The manga is enveloped in a relaxed and peaceful atmosphere, and through Fujiwara Chiyoko's recollections, her glorious past slowly emerges.

This comic, just like its name suggests, simply describes the life of an... adult film actress?

Is this a shonen manga?

There's no fighting, no superpowers, and as of now, not even love.

Chapter 223 Toyotama's Obsession

"A very strange comic," Omori thought to himself.

But when faced with Hibiki Higashino, whom he was not yet familiar with, he nodded repeatedly in admiration, saying, "Your drawing is truly excellent."

He can draw to this level, but he didn't need to work this hard before.

In weekly serials, mistakes are usually omitted if possible, and mistakes can be corrected.

In just one week, the author was not given any time to make revisions, let alone draw a manga like "Millennium Actress" that required their full effort.

He hadn't expected that Higashino Hibiki, who had already achieved great success, would still be so serious.

Higashino Hibiki told him about the manga's style after he finished reading.

Today is the adjustment period; as long as we can maintain a consistent style, that's fine.

“I will do my best,” Omori said to Hibiki Higashino.

……

While working, Omori would frequently ask Higashino Hibiki questions, as he was constantly refining his work on "Millennium Actress," which was becoming increasingly similar to Higashino Hibiki's drawings.

"Omori-san's drawing skills are truly amazing," Hibiki Higashino exclaimed, looking at his painting.

When Sasaki recommended Omori to Hibiki Higashino, he also said that Omori's drawing skills were among the best in Jump, and as an assistant, he contributed to the development of Jump and was an indispensable cornerstone.

If the plot weren't so bad, it could have been serialized long ago.

This experience sounds familiar, but it's the norm for most people, and it's also the sad side of this industry.

“That’s fine,” Hibiki Higashino said.