Full-time comic artist

As September drew to a close, the "Golden Future Cup" welcomed its fourth entry, Omori's "Despair Diary".

Hibiki Higashino looked at Jump with a sigh.

This comic surprised him; Omori, who struggled with story creation, actually produced a wonderful comic.

"Despair Diary" is similar to "Death Note" and is a dark manga.

The students in Class A of Grade 3 all have diaries on their phones, detailing how they will die on which day.

The students went from initial disdain to panic upon the appearance of the first victim.

Just as the diary records, Kaoru Kusaki, who was bullied in Class A, jumped off the rooftop and fell to her death, her limbs twisted into a grotesque corpse.

Despair began to spread.

The students frantically searched for ways to avoid death.

The protagonist and his friends pieced together the contents of the diary, and a clue began to emerge...

That's roughly the story.

……

"Omori draws dark manga, but it's still within the scope of Jump," Hibiki Higashino muttered to himself. "It has Jump's elements of 'friendship, effort, and victory,' without resorting to student conflict or dark, brutal content just to attract attention."

If "The Diary of Despair" were drawn with a storyline that wouldn't appear in Jump, it would surely interest many children.

But then, it wouldn't be a work that Jump should be making.

Hibiki Higashino could see that Omori, after much deliberation, still painfully chose the current content.

“The manga is really interesting,” Hibiki Higashino contacted Omori to encourage him and share his opinion.

“Oh, this was Xiaotian’s strong suggestion for me to draw,” Dasen said with a smile. “It’s pretty good, isn’t it? Haha.”

"Yeah, good luck," Hibiki Higashino joked, "whether it's manga or your own happiness in life."

Of course!

……

On Friday, in the editorial department of Weekly Shonen Jump, Yoshida looked at Masashi's report with a broad smile. Omori's results were also excellent.

"It's almost certain that Hoshino Katsura's manga will be serialized. Tanaka-kun and Omori's manga also have a chance of being serialized, which means..."

He pointed to himself and said excitedly to Onishi, "I might even get promoted to team leader!"

With his track record of managing "Death Note" and the discovery of three serialized manga artists, his future looks promising.

"Yoshida-kun is just lucky." Onishi glanced at him. "Hoshino-kun is a legacy of the temple, and Tanaka and Omori are also Tori Akino-sensei's capable assistants. What does that have to do with you?"

"I was the one who discovered Sorachi-kun, so I'm the one who made him the team leader first."

"You're just jealous." Yoshida tidied up the documents, stood up, and said, "I'm going to get back to work."

He needs to contact the three people to start creating storyboards for the serialized storyboard.

……

“The Golden Future Cup… This is terrifying.” Aida was stunned. He thought victory was in his grasp, but he didn’t expect each and every entry to be so terrifying.

Akira Amano's "Katekyo Hitman Reborn!" has no advantage now.

Why is my comic the last one?

When he contacted Amano Akira, the other party said something that sounded ambiguous and clearly showed his dissatisfaction.

He could only offer words of comfort, saying that it made no difference whether it was released first or later.

"I hope it can be serialized!"

Soichi Aida is praying.

……

The final piece of the "Golden Future Cup" has finally been published, and it's now October.

"It's another comedic slice-of-life manga, which clashes with Gintama," Akemi Akimiya commented after watching Katekyo Hitman Reborn!

"There was indeed a conflict..."

Whether now or in the future.

Both of these comics have evolved from comedy comics to action-packed classic comics.

No wonder people often compare Hideaki Sorachi and Akira Amano.

……

"All five works in the 'Golden Future Cup' are so interesting!"

"I really wish they could all be serialized."

"I don't know which one will be selected."

"Is it Zone? Katekyo Hitman Reborn! and Gintama are comedy manga, so they are naturally less competitive. Code Gems and Despair Diary are too niche, they are manga aimed at a small audience."

"Tori Akino-sensei is the best!"

Readers are paying close attention to the "Golden Future Cup," which is Jump's biggest event in the second half of the year and has given them a lot of novelty.

"One Piece is very interesting, but you can't read the manga serialized in Jump all the time. It's a pleasant surprise when a short story appears occasionally."

In the editorial department of Weekly Shonen Jump, Sasaki, paying attention to the readers' comments, couldn't help but smile.

The bottle said, "Editor-in-Chief, the readers really appreciate the 'Golden Future Cup'."

If readers are not resistant and are even enthusiastic, then the "Golden Future Cup" is already halfway to success.

With the emergence of many excellent works, the "Golden Future Cup" was a resounding success.

"Yes, but the 'Golden Future Cup' isn't over yet, so don't let your guard down."

“Hmm,” Bottle nodded, a hint of regret in his voice, “It’s a shame that a really good manga about shogi wasn’t selected.”

"Five manga titles are already the limit; six would be too bloated. Besides," Sasaki pushed up his glasses, "although the number of people playing shogi in Japan has surpassed that of Go in recent years, there hasn't been a popular manga about shogi yet. Bottle, not everyone is Akino Mirai."

"I understand, Editor-in-Chief." Bottle nodded.

“It’s almost time,” Sasaki glanced at his watch. “The selection meeting should begin. Please inform the team leaders.”

……

10 month 10 day.

Weekly Shonen Jump released the rankings of young stars and announced the results of the "Golden Future Cup".

"Zone" won the spot with 1502 votes, ranking second with an 81% approval rating.

Katsura Hoshino was the champion of the first "Golden Future Cup".

"Hibiki, this is different from what you said," Akemi Akemi teased him.

Hibiki Higashino coughed twice and said awkwardly, "Because I didn't know about 'Zone' beforehand."

Who knows, Hoshino Katsura will suddenly appear out of nowhere.

……

"Selected!"

Katsura Hoshino's eyes widened. "Does this mean I might actually start serializing a story?!"

Her sister nudged her, "Think about the bonus first, it's a million yen!"

"Yes!" Hoshino Katsura exclaimed in a panic, "One million!"

This is the amount she earns after working for more than three months.

The fact that she received it all at once surprised her, but also left her somewhat at a loss.

"What does my sister want?"

"No need, you can decide for yourself. This is Gui-chan's first award, so let's buy some commemorative items."

"Okay, I understand." Hoshino Katsura crossed her arms over her chest, her eyes sparkling.

……

"Editor Yoshida, please let me draw 'Continue'."

Koji Yoshida was stunned for a moment when he saw the 100 million yen that Katsura Hoshino handed him.

This scene looks exactly like someone paying protection money!

"Do I... look like a bad person?" he asked, pointing to himself and emphasizing each word.

“Mmm,” Hoshino Katsura nodded.

"Hmm?" Yoshida asked, displeased.

"No, it's just that I really want to draw 'Continue,' it's what I want to do most right now."

That's why I thought of using the prize money from the "Golden Future Cup" to solve the problem.

“Okay,” Yoshida shook his head slightly, “you can draw it.”

"Long live!"

"But before that, get the storyboard for 'Zone' done! The Jump serialization meeting is on December 25th, and you have to finish the first three chapters of 'Zone' within two months, understand?"

"Okay." Hoshino Katsura's cheeks puffed out. "Then what about the money?"

"Keep it yourself," Yoshida sighed. "Do you really intend to give it to Mr. Toriakino?"

Katsura Hoshino's success was also influenced by Mirai Tori.

Over the past few days, the Jump editorial department has been responding to readers' questions: Is Katsura Hoshino actually Mirai Tori?

"Is that alright?!" Hoshino Katsura took a step forward, eagerly saying, "I'll hand it to the teacher myself!"

Meeting Akino Mirai is also her dream.

A million is no big deal.

"You really are something else." Yoshida lowered his head. "Never mind, the teacher will be there at the New Year's party. You can give it to him then."

"Hmm!" Hoshino Katsura carefully hid the 100 million yen.