Full-time comic artist

"I wonder how Soma Ichiro's new work is. I'll find it and take a look later."

He had a sudden whim.

Looking at the dozens of boxes of storyboards that Kawaguchi Taro had left, Mashiro Moritaka finally realized that his idea that Kawaguchi Taro had committed suicide was wrong.

To complete so many storyboards, one needs to dedicate all their time, even their sleep time, to drawing comics.

Taro Kawaguchi died from overwork, not from suicide.

Ryoma Sakamoto's famous line from "Star of Giants" is: "When a man dies, even if he's in a ditch, he should die in a forward-leaning position."

Masashi Moritaka realized that he couldn't continue living half-heartedly; he had to risk his life for his dream.

"How should I put it? Even though I'm not a child anymore," Kuriyama Minami stared at the close-up of Mashiro Moritaka at the end of the manga, her fingers trembling slightly, "it still feels so exciting."

He thought of Takeshi Yabuki, who gave his all in the arena, burned himself out, and turned into pure white ashes.

"Decades later, Japanese manga artists are still using this technique to create protagonists who are focused and work their lives to the bone. Oh dear, I actually fall for this style."

Once he got here, he completely forgot about "Hanzawa Naoki".

Bakuman hit his sweet spot. This manga is the kind that teenagers and young adults like, and no one can dislike a protagonist who grows up earnestly.

Moreover, readers are quite curious about the daily lives of comic artists.

After a while...

"Oh, I need to find some works by Ichiro Soma!"

He quickly went to the computer and searched for information about Soma Ichiro.

There is very little information available about this cartoonist; the only thing that can be found is "Space Rail Heroes".

“That’s strange,” Minami Kuriyama muttered.

……

"That's strange." Tanimura scratched his head.

After reading "Bakuman," he wanted to write a summary of the Easter eggs in the manga and publish it in the news.

Although Bakuman's performance was only average, not as good as Tori Akino Mirai's previous works, it is still Tori Akino's manga, and it still has a large audience.

It's no problem to get a small piece of content published in the newspaper.

After writing about obvious Easter eggs from works like "JoJo's Bizarre Adventure," "Dragon Ball," "Death Note," "Hikaru no Go," and "One Piece," he searched for more substantial content.

For example, news about Ichiro Soma, the manga artist who inspired Taro Kawaguchi.

This cartoonist also drew "Space Railroad Heroes," so there should be some interesting news about him in the future.

But he searched and searched, and found nothing.

Manga artist Ichiro Soma seems to have vanished without a trace, never to be seen again.

"Could it be..." Tanimura looked at "Bakuman," "that Soma Ichiro-sensei has died?!"

Just like in the comics, they worked themselves to death from overexertion.

"That must be it! Tori Akino-sensei is using 'Bakuman' to reminisce about this old friend!"

Everything made sense. Tanimura activated his Ren and Du meridians, his hands flying across the keyboard as he typed words like a pianist.

"According to sources, manga artist Ichiro Soma passed away at a young age..."

Given his status as a contributor and a reader of Soma Ichiro, he must be a relevant person, right?

Yes, it must be.

Tanimura nodded confidently.

"He is the model for Taro Kawaguchi in Mirai Toriaki's latest manga, Bakuman. His previous work, Space Railway Hero, brought us countless joys."

"I deeply mourn the passing of Ichiro Soma and thank him for his many years of dedication. This pure manga artist was still striving to draw manga until the very end..."

He used "Bakuman" to attract attention, and his writing was incredibly profound and sincere, touching people with his earnest heart.

"Yes, this article is sure to go viral."

He smiled with satisfaction.

As for what exactly happened to Soma Ichiro, he didn't care!

……

A few days later, Kuriyama Minami was flipping through the newspaper.

This newspaper originated from a news media outlet owned by Shueisha, so the headline was about "Hanzawa Naoki".

"This comic is truly amazing; every chapter surprises me."

It was the right choice for Akino Mirai to have her series published in Weekly Young Jump.

The serious core he embodied in Weekly Shonen Jump truly shines in seinen manga.

The earlier "Paprika" satirically pointed out the problems in all aspects of Japanese society, and now "Hanzawa Naoki" is based on Japanese culture, reflecting on them with deep sorrow.

This is the most captivating workplace manga available right now; a must-read. Housewives, office workers, and corporate executives alike can appreciate Hanzawa Naoki's aesthetics.

Kuriyama Minami nodded repeatedly; this advertorial had completely resonated with him.

Although he understood that the commentator was working for Shueisha and praising the excellence of "Hanzawa Naoki".

But Minami Kuriyama felt that commentators didn't need to be so restrained and could be much bolder.

He conservatively felt that the commentators were not radical enough.

The commentator roughly described the plot of Hanzawa Naoki, wrote the famous line "An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth," and even highlighted Hanzawa Naoki's "Kneel down and apologize" in red.

Each sentence is full of emotion and is truly amazing.

"Let more people know about 'Hanzawa Naoki'! Take off, Hanzawa!"

More people appreciate Hanzawa Naoki, and they believe that working professionals don't have to work so hard anymore.

Moreover, he hopes to share his favorite works with everyone.

He is not a niche reader and hopes that the author's work will only circulate in a small circle.

The better the results of Miki Tori's "Hanzawa Naoki", the happier he is.

With some time to spare before work, Kuriyama Minami made herself a cup of coffee and started reading other news.

In other sections of the newspaper, there were news items about the latest entertainment news, as well as information about other comics.

"The continued decline in One Piece's ratings is really not good news."

He has never been able to let go of One Piece, which started serialization in 1997.

After all, it's a work I watched during my student days, and even as an adult, I still have that feeling.

Many of the Dragon Ball readers were already adults when it started, but they only bought Jump because Dragon Ball was still being serialized.

After Dragon Ball ended, there was no longer a demand for shonen manga, and Weekly Shonen Jump's sales plummeted as a result.

"Isn't 'Water Seven' quite interesting? Kids these days really don't know how to appreciate it."

"Water Seven" subtly transcends the realm of shonen manga, much like the plot of "JoJo's Bizarre Adventure," proving to be a thankless task—adults like it, but children dislike it.

"I hope Oda-sensei won't be discouraged."

As long as One Piece continues, he will keep reading Weekly Shonen Jump. This manga is also his last connection with his student days.

Kuriyama Minami took a sip of coffee and flipped through the newspaper. He came across a small news item.

"In memory of manga artist Ichiro Soma".

"puff!"

Minami Kuriyama spat out his coffee and coughed violently.

"What is this! A memorial?"

He endured a violent cough and tried his best to watch the news.

"So, Mr. Soma is already dead."

Kuriyama Minami believed it.

……

"Tori Akino-sensei, something terrible has happened!"

Koji Yoshida ran to Tori Akino's studio.

Nagase Naomi looked at him in surprise.

She used to be Katsura Hoshino's assistant, but moved in to serve Akemi Akemi.

Yoshida was very capable and resourceful with Hoshino Katsura, and Nagase Naomi had never seen him so panicked.

Even when readers wrote curse letters to Hoshino Katsura, Yoshida just smiled slightly, calmed the situation, and told Hoshino Katsura to take it easy.

In discussions about storyboarding and character design, Koji Yoshida always provided articulate and logical opinions, demonstrating complete control over everything. This gave Naomi Nagase the feeling that Koji Yoshida was someone she could rely on.

And now? He looks like Nobita is looking for Doraemon.

It was so bad that she couldn't bear to look at it.

"What happened?" Higashino asked, frowning.

"Teacher, look!"

Yoshida was typing on the computer, which was a computer for photocopiers and fax machines and was placed in the studio.

Higashino went over and found it was a website.

"In memory of Ichiro Soma..."

The users of this website are all readers of "Cosmic Railway Heroes," who have grown up from children into adults.

They spread the word far and wide, saw the news, and spontaneously created a website.

The page contains original manga pages from "Space Railroad Heroes" and screenshots from the anime.

There were also candles, and an animated origami crane...

It looks quite professional.