Full-time comic artist

So we decided to cool them down.

"What's so great about that? It's just a science fiction micro-fiction."

In my heart, I kept apologizing to the non-existent new star in this world.

He didn't do it on purpose; he was forced to.

"You..." Clutching his chest, Shinonome felt like vomiting blood; he'd been tricked by this bastard.

The others were also disinterested and didn't want to pay attention to the arrogant guy.

They could boast about writing such works for a lifetime.

The final plot point was like the finishing touch, completely bringing the entire animation to life.

Shock and astonishment cannot be used to describe their feelings at that time.

Such a perfect work, and he says it so casually? He's utterly inhuman!

She had so much to say to Higashino Hibiki, but he shut her up with just one sentence, leaving her feeling suffocated.

I really want to beat him up to vent my anger.

Their gazes grew increasingly dangerous. Asahina Yuko walked up to Higashino Hibiki, looked up at him, but said nothing.

"Wh...what's wrong?" Higashino asked nervously.

“Thank you, Higashino-kun,” Asahina said, her hands clasped to her chest. “I’m really happy to have this day.”

"This is all thanks to your own hard work," Hibiki Higashino said.

All he contributed was the script; the animation was entirely produced by Yuko Asahina and others.

You can see Asahina Yuko's hard work when she draws comics.

I felt a little ashamed to be thanked like that.

After all, he has to share half of the prize money.

Besides the trophy, the Best Animation Award brought in a whopping 500 million yen, and with the other awards, he was overjoyed.

Big companies are indeed rich and powerful.

Higashino Higashino couldn't earn this much money even after six months of drawing manga.

There's no main character, no follow-up micro-fiction, this is all we can do.

It's impossible to make a theatrical version; it's most suitable as a student's creative work.

He was very satisfied.

"Keep it up, Asahina-kun," Hibiki Higashino encouraged. "Keep running on the road to your dreams."

"Yes!" Asahina nodded.

The space, bustling with people, suddenly fell silent.

After a while, Shinohara recovered from the blow.

"With Higashino-kun's script, we're sure to win the Best Animation Award!"

Higashino was about to nod, after all, it was a case of overwhelming force.

Suddenly, I heard the person next to me burst out laughing.

He turned his head and saw that it was someone from Musashino Art University, which was near Yan Yan High School.

They were easily recognizable because they had school badges pinned to their clothes.

"Sorry, sorry, I just couldn't help it." The person who laughed was a bespectacled, black-haired man.

Seeing the animation team glaring at him, he offered a fake apology, then asked with a smile, "Judging from your appearance, you're still high school students, right? It's already quite impressive that you even came. I shouldn't have discouraged you."

"Amano, stop talking." The girl behind him tugged at his sleeve and said to Higashino and the others, "Sorry, this guy has something wrong with his head."

“We are from the animation club of Musashino Art University, and we are also participating in this event,” she said, gently pressing the head of the man named Amano.

"I am Gao Xueji, hello."

Chapter 60 Results

Takayuki explained that she and Amano with the mocking face are both second-year members of the animation department at Musashino Art University, while the others range from first to third year.

The person in charge of animation supervision is their department head, who is also a second-year student.

His name is Hibiki Ozawa, and he was the one who decided to produce "The Four Major Public Health Problems".

Higashino looked over; the other person was somewhat shy and simply nodded.

Hibiki Higashino glanced at Asahina, but she didn't say anything.

I told them that I was from Yan Yan High School.

Because they were neighbors, the atmosphere eased up a bit.

After chatting for a while, Amano and Shinohara became familiar with each other. Amano put his arm around Shinohara's shoulder and said familiarly, "Sorry, I was being tactless just now."

"However, let's be realistic. I advise you to first understand the concept of animation production. What do high school students know about animation production? Study hard and build a solid foundation. That's the most important thing."

Just moments ago, Shinobu was all smiles, but after hearing those words, his fists hardened.

Our animation is definitely more interesting than yours!

Amano waved his hand and smiled, "Stop pretending, how could that be?"

He looked at you like you were joking, but it did make him laugh.

"If you guys can win Best Animated Feature, then I'll..."

Just as Amano was about to speak, Nishimura and Kitamoto walked over, pointing at Higashino Hibiki, with another person following behind them.

The person who left Amano stunned, dumbfounded, and incredulous.

He had seen it on TV many times before—the man who made Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, Castle in the Sky, and My Neighbor Totoro—Hayao Miyazaki.

It's no exaggeration to say he's the number one figure in Japanese animated films.

He is also his idol and the driving force behind his animation creation.

Amano swallowed the words that were about to come out, his mouth agape, momentarily at a loss for what to do.

Upon realizing that his hand was still on Shinobu's shoulder, he immediately withdrew it and straightened his posture.

Hibiki Ozawa took a step forward, his face filled with excitement, but he was stunned to see Miyazaki Hayao walk straight towards Hibiki Higashino without paying him any attention.

He thought it was because of the "Four Major Public Health Problems".

Hibiki Higashino was also surprised. This person is Hayao Miyazaki, who created many timeless classic works that Hibiki watched as a child and continues to watch as an adult.

"Hello, I'm Hayao Miyazaki. Are you Hibiki Higashino, the screenwriter for 'Hey—Come Out'?"

He extended his hand, and Higashino bent down to shake it.

"it's me."

After letting go, Miyazaki glanced around at the crowd staring at them, frowned, and asked, "Excuse me for a moment?"

"My pleasure."

Afterwards, they went to a secluded corner, where the students from Enhiko High School and Musashino looked at each other in bewilderment.

……

After sizing up Higashino Hibiki.

"Are you still a high school student?" Miyazaki was surprised. He had originally planned to recruit Hibiki Higashino into Studio Ghibli. "You're really young and promising."

He read "Hey—Come Out" three times. Its merits are not only the brilliant stroke at the end, but also the excellent pacing of the whole story, which progresses layer by layer and tells the story in a gentle and engaging way.

It's clear that the original author also has excellent basic skills.

I never expected that he was only 18 years old.

“Yes,” Higashino Hibiki nodded.

"Even if I were a college student, it would be very difficult for me to get into Jipuli."

Hayao Miyazaki frowned. "You look down on Gilpuli?"

“Of course not,” Hibiki Higashino shook his head repeatedly. “Just like you drew Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, I also draw manga.”

"Drawing comics?" Miyazaki Hayao was somewhat incredulous, looking at the ink marks on Higashino Hibiki's fingertips, and asked, "Which magazine?"

“Weekly Shonen Jump, published by Shueisha,” Hibiki Higashino replied.

"Jump?" Miyazaki was taken aback; he hadn't expected it to be Japan's most famous manga magazine.

He suddenly realized and looked Higashino Hibiki up and down. "So you are Akino Mirai, the author of Hikaru no Go."

A high school student serialized in Jump—this is the only one of its kind in history.

He used to marvel at how amazing young people are these days, but now he's actually met them in person.

That would be a real shame, as it would be difficult to win him over.

Hayao Miyazaki shook his head and put the idea aside.

"Your comics contain interesting ideas about AI, which have also given me some inspiration."

They then discussed manga for a while. Miyazaki was still very busy, and since he needed to cast his vote for the awards, he had to hurry up and look at his other works. After exchanging business cards with Hibino, he took his leave.

When Higashino returned, Musashino's students were still there, staring at him expectantly.

Nishimura quickly asked, "What does Director Miyazaki want with you?"

“They invited me to join Jipuli,” Higashino Hibiki said frankly.

Amano was very jealous when he heard this, "I really envy you, being chosen by such a great director."

He became curious: what kind of work was it that even Hayao Miyazaki was interested in?

Nishimura asked curiously, "Will you join Jipuli after you graduate from university?"

Higashino looked at them, Asahina, Amano, Takayuki, and Ozawa Hibiki, all filled with envy and jealousy.

Then he spread his hands and said, "I refused."