Full-time comic artist

On Jump, there are very few women who are as beautiful, have excellent drawing skills, and frequently submit their work but always fail.

……

Tuesday arrived quickly, and Omori went to work at Hibiki Higashino's studio.

His condition remained unchanged; he was still depressed.

However, this person became much more lively, talking about going to the amusement park on the weekend.

He also mentioned meeting a beautiful woman at the amusement park who had a very good impression of him, and he was planning to pursue the relationship further.

"Perhaps becoming a professional comic artist's assistant wouldn't be bad."

Tanaka bit his lip.

Hibiki Higashino was organizing the storyboards.

Akemi Akimiya looked at the storyboard of "Sakura Mission".

“Miss Akimiya, oh no, I should say Mrs. Higashino,” Omori noticed Akimiya and greeted her with a smile.

“You can call me Miss Akimiya,” Akimiya Akemi said.

Higashino nodded in agreement.

"Hmm." Omori nodded, a smile playing on his lips as he asked, "Mrs. Higashino, are you drawing storyboards for a new manga again?"

He then looked at Tanaka and asked, "Does Mrs. Higashino often draw storyboards?"

Tanaka thought for a moment and nodded, "Since I came here, I've learned about five or six."

“But none of them have succeeded.” Omori shook his head slightly. “Mrs. Higashino, you are already thirty years old. You should understand that no matter how well someone draws, they will not be able to serialize their work if they don’t have talent.”

Akemi Akemi puffed out her cheeks angrily.

She held the storyboard paper in her hand.

"You can't succeed without hard work, but with hard work, there's always a possibility," she said.

Omori smiled and said, "Perhaps that's true."

Akemi Akemi was even angrier by this nonchalant attitude.

She said, "Mr. Omori, has your drawing skill always been this good?"

"No, I was just a newbie at first, and I gradually learned from what others figured out."

"Why are you working so hard to improve your drawing skills?" Akemi Akemi asked.

"..." Omori was stunned.

“If you only want to be an assistant, you don’t need such good drawing skills. Ordinary, unremarkable drawings would be fine too!” Akemi Akemi said in a long string of words. “It is because you have dreams that you have become who you are today. If you give up your dreams, you will be even more pathetic!”

Omori was stunned.

After a long pause, he said with a troubled expression, "Miss Akimiya, you are really something. I have no way to refute you."

He rubbed his hair, his voice choked with emotion, "But people like us, no matter how hard we try... no matter how hard we try... we can't make it a serial!"

Omori's eyes welled up with tears.

"I also want to be able to serialize it. I still have that dream, but it's too difficult, really too difficult."

Silence fell over the studio. Faced with the harsh reality, neither Higashino Hibiki, who had succeeded so easily, nor Tanaka, who hadn't even tried, had the right to comfort him.

Just then, the phone rang. "This is Sasaki."

"I'll go open the door," Higashino Hibiki said quickly.

Akemi Akemi said to Omori, "Let me prove it to you."

……

Holding the storyboard, Sasaki felt the anxious gazes of the four people in the living room and swallowed hard.

Suddenly, the storyboard in my hand felt as heavy as a thousand pounds.

“I’ve started watching,” he said.

Sasaki then started watching "Sakura Quest".

The protagonist, Yuno Kiharu, is an ordinary 20-year-old girl who came to Tokyo from the countryside and is about to graduate from junior college.

That's the premise, but just by looking at the storyboard, Sasaki can tell that Yoshino Koharu is very cute, lively, and cheerful; her character design is excellent.

Yoshino Kiharu wants to stay in Tokyo, the city she longs for.

She believes, "Tokyo has everything."

However, after receiving interviews from more than 30 companies, she still failed to pass the interview.

Just when she was facing difficulties, a job placement agency contacted her.

"As part of the revitalization of this small town, we hope you can come and be the king."

The town was once a sensation throughout Japan, but with the bursting of the economic bubble, it has now completely lost its former prosperity and is now a mini-independent nation.

And so, Yoshino Kiharu began her life as the queen of Mount Mano.

After reading it, Sasaki put down the storyboard.

Akemi Akimiya's latest manga was beyond his expectations.

It's surprisingly appealing, unlike the dry, uninspired stuff I used to have.

It can be described as a suspenseful, interesting, and compliant work with room for development.

Although it's not as good as "Slam Dunk" or "One Piece".

However, there is no problem getting into the serialization meeting.

Although Jump is the number one manga magazine in Japan, it doesn't have extremely strict requirements.

The story of "Sakura Quest" is fine, and Akemi Akemi's artwork is excellent; that's all that matters.

“Very good,” he said, looking up under everyone’s expectant gaze.

Chapter 245 Girls' Comic "RIBON"

"Not bad." Sasaki said to Akemi Akemi after finishing reading "Sakura Quest".

"Is that so!" Akemi Akemi took two quick steps toward Sasaki, her expression filled with barely suppressed excitement.

"Hmm, very good." Sasaki leaned back slightly, emphasizing his words.

Akemi Akemi paced back and forth, overjoyed, her heart pounding. "My manga is pretty good, hehe, hehehehehe."

She started submitting articles in college. Now, at thirty, she has finally seen the light at the end of the tunnel.

The satisfaction at this moment is unimaginable to others; the sense of accomplishment is overwhelming.

After the initial excitement, she began to panic, becoming restless and constantly inhaling and exhaling.

Omori stared wide-eyed at Sasaki.

He immediately asked, "Is it a comic book that can be serialized?"

Sasaki hesitated for a moment, considering it for a long time, before slowly speaking under Akemi Akemi's anxious gaze, "It's a bit difficult..."

Akemi Akemi asked urgently, "Why?"

Omori gritted his teeth and listened attentively.

"Because the style of Sakura Quest is too different from Jump. There is no male protagonist, no battle scenes, no superpowers, and no special world view," Sasaki explained.

"Sakura Mission," a story centered around several female protagonists saving the economy of Mano City, seems ill-suited for serialization in Jump.

Akemi Akemi nodded weakly.

She understood.

“Unless,” Sasaki began.

Higashino Hibiki looked at Akemi Akemi with pity and asked, "Unless what?"

Sasaki glanced at Hibiki Higashino and said, "Unless it's a manga like 'Millennium Actress,' so amazing that it breaks boundaries and transcends conventions."

But "Sakura Mission" doesn't reach that level.

Omori lowered his head in disappointment. "I knew it," he thought.

It's impossible for someone without talent to serialize a story.

……

“Millennium Actress…” Akemi Akemi murmured.

There is no manga that can rival "Millennium Actress".

Over the years, Jump has only released one book, "Millennium Actress".

She was able to draw "Cherry Blossom Mission" because of the inspiration she gained from her bond with Manoyama, which means she had already exceeded her usual level.

Akemi Akemi feigned composure, but everyone could see her disappointment. "Thank you, Mr. Sasaki. I'm sorry to have troubled you again."

She then said to Omori, "I'm sorry, Mr. Omori, I've failed again, but please believe that there is hope."

She witnessed the continued success of Yu-Gi-Oh! on Jump after ten years of consistent effort, so she didn't want to give up either.

"I will try harder."

“Miss Akimiya…” Omori was at a loss.

Higashino sighed and silently took Akemi Akemi's hand, offering her some warmth.

A somber atmosphere enveloped the studio.

“I haven’t finished speaking,” Sasaki said, looking at everyone with a smile. “It’s not the work’s fault that it’s not suitable for the platform. Perhaps ‘Sakura Mission’ can be serialized in ‘RIBON’.”

"It all depends on whether Mrs. Higashino is willing or not."

"RIBON?" Hibiki Higashino was taken aback. He hadn't read the manga magazine, but as someone in the industry, he had heard of it.

"RIBON" is a monthly shoujo manga magazine published by Shueisha. It is considered one of the three major shoujo manga magazines in Japan, along with Kodansha's "Nakayoshi" and Shogakukan's "Ciao".

The highest issuance was 225 million in 1994, and it should still be around 200 million in 1999.