Full-time comic artist

"I shouldn't have confessed my feelings so hastily during the fireworks display in 1993."

"Spend more time together first, build up your relationship in daily life, and only when you feel confident of victory should you sound the horn of triumph."

"When I saw Ms. Akimiya, I suddenly fell in love with you. It was inexplicable, and I couldn't control myself. In the end, it formed a barrier between us."

Perhaps because graduation was just around the corner, Hibiki Higashino spoke her mind.

His gaze was gentle, filled with warmth and affection.

“I’ve always been curious,” Akemi Akemi chuckled, “why Higashino-kun suddenly fell for me, so different from your usual self.”

"Mature, steady, hardworking, and ambitious—so that's what it means."

“Yes,” Hibiki Higashino nodded, “Ms. Akimiya is just too cute.”

The coldness touched his nose for a moment, then melted into water.

Higashino looked up and saw snowflakes falling from the dark sky. "It's snowing. Let's go back."

“Yes.” Akemi Akemi nodded.

She trailed behind Higashino Hibiki, her cheeks flushed.

The heavier the snow fell, the more unbearable the heat became for her.

This New Year's visit will be unforgettable for her.

……

The next day, Sasaki brought an assistant with him.

His facial features are quite good, but he's a bit overweight and has acne, which detracts from his overall appearance.

He introduced himself, saying, "I've watched 'Hikaru no Go' and really like it. I often wonder why I didn't draw it."

The chubby boy spoke fluently and without any restraint, rambling on and on.

In 92, when he was still a high school student, he participated in the Tezuka Award under the pen name "月火水木金土" (Moon, Fire, Water, Wood, Metal, Earth), hoping to attract the judges' attention with this unique pen name.

The result was a masterpiece, which gave him the confidence to dedicate himself to the comic book industry.

After being admitted to university, he felt that his studies were a waste of time, so he decisively dropped out to work as an assistant to improve himself.

"Tori Akino, you and Nobuhiro Watsuki are both geniuses. After reading your manga, I'm not convinced. I should be able to serialize my own manga."

Higashino Hibiki was tired of hearing what he was saying.

He hasn't stopped talking since he entered the room.

He then talked about how, when he was a child, he accidentally saw the second volume of Dragon Ball and was immediately overwhelmed with an indescribable sense of awe.

"I thought it was no worse than Disney comics, but much better. I became a loyal reader of Akira Toriyama, the kind who's completely oblivious to everything else. I also set my own goal: to become a manga artist."

At this point, he stared at Higashino Hibiki with envy.

Akira Toriyama did not accept assistants; he applied many times but was rejected each time.

"Akira Toriyama has only had two assistants throughout all these years of serialization. After they left, he's been drawing the manga all by himself." He gritted his teeth. "I never expected to suddenly take you on as an assistant! You're too honored!"

"Hahaha, it's naturally because I'm exceptionally talented." Higashino Hibiki laughed.

It's the legacy of the young Higashino Hibiki.

His paintings once deeply moved Akira Toriyama.

Seeing that Tsukihira was about to speak again, Higashino Hibiki reached out his hand, signaling him to stop.

He said seriously, "Let me see your drawing skills, and we'll talk after I approve them."

An assistant is someone who serves a cartoonist, so it's natural to assess their basic skills.

Moonfire nodded confidently.

"I will definitely succeed. I'll tell you my name in advance."

"Oda, Oda Eiichiro."

Chapter 73 Feeling Wronged

"Eiichiro Oda?" Hibiki Higashino exclaimed in surprise.

Is this young, inexperienced person in front of me the future famous Eiichiro Oda?

A top manga artist on par with Akira Toriyama, the one who saved Jump in the future?

Every time he watches One Piece, what impresses him most, besides the opening line "Wealth, fame, power, the 'Pirate King' Gol D. Roger who owns the whole world," is the name that brought him endless fantasies in his youth—Eiichiro Oda.

He took a deep breath and calmed down.

If you think about it carefully, you will meet Oda someday. Even if he appears as your junior, you should remain calm.

"Do you know me?" Oda asked curiously.

Hibiki Higashino shook his head. "Just hearing the name 'Eiichiro Oda' makes me think he must be a manga artist."

“Hahaha,” Oda laughed heartily, “That’s what I think too. My dream since I was a child has been to become a manga artist. When I was in junior high school, I always drew manga behind my friends’ backs and didn’t dare to tell them. But I worked very, very hard, and I felt that I could definitely become a manga artist.”

Higashino covered his ears and quickly took out several photos, which were of the Go preliminary rounds from different perspectives.

This was taken by him at the request of Akira Yamazaki during last year's preliminary rounds, as material for the "Hikaru no Go" serialization.

There are twenty people competing at the same time, and the amount of information within the framework is huge, which really tests individual skills.

"Please draw it, it should take up about 1/6 of the paper," he said to Oda. "For the rest of the paper, please draw Hikaru and Sai playing Go."

"Yes." Oda took a deep breath and sat down at the workbench next to him.

Sasaki glanced at him and then began discussing the content of the next chapter with Hibiki Higashino.

Hibiki Higashino said, "The storyboards aren't finished yet, but the subsequent plot is pretty much conceived."

He handed Sasaki a written outline, which contained about four chapters of content and was about a part of the preliminary rounds.

Sasaki looked at it for a while and then nodded.

"No problem, draw it like this."

This is how he and Hibiki Higashino usually interact.

When Tori Akino Mirai takes out the storyboard, he glances at it and always says, "No problem."

As an editor, Tori Akino found his work both easy and unfulfilling.

With its meticulous content, engaging storyline, and constantly evolving main character development, "Hikaru no Go" is becoming increasingly excellent.

Sasaki looked at the young man in front of him and recalled their first meeting.

"Become a pillar of Jump."

Perhaps this time is not as far away as he thought.

Sasaki is no outsider, so Hibiki Higashino doesn't need to be polite.

He sat down at his desk and began drawing storyboards.

With a story outline in hand, storyboarding becomes a very troublesome task.

Consider the use of framing, the use of camera language, the use of negative space, perspective, rhythm, etc.

Also, try to summarize the sentences as much as possible, making them concise, clear, and not complicated.

The same goes for the characters, especially in the current qualifiers, where a lot of new characters need to be drawn, which takes a long time to design.

Faces, clothes, various professions, different ages...

"Phew~" Higashino Hibiki let out a breath and started working.

Not long after, Oda said, "It's finished!", which startled Akemi Akemi, who was watching him draw.

Oda ran to Hibiki Higashino's side and handed him the drawing with both hands.

"Tori Akino-sensei, please look."

Higashino Hibiki glanced at Akemi Akemi, who shook her head.

I glanced at it out of curiosity, then fell silent.

"Is this Oda?"

There are many problems with the painting technique.

It looks very out of place at first glance.

“The figures in the painting lack distinctive features,” Higashino Hibiki said. “There are many figures within a frame. If you need to draw a person with just a few fine strokes, then you should exaggerate and draw their distinctive features.”

"It's especially important that readers see all sorts of faces at a glance. As a manga, exaggeration is fine. Even a very realistic work like 'Hikaru no Go' has to conform to the characteristics of a manga."

Eiichiro Oda nodded; he understood.

When faced with a professional teacher, the techniques he figured out on his own were indeed very problematic.

Working as an assistant to Akino Mirai will definitely allow you to learn a lot more.

Oda firmly believes this.

“There’s a second point, which is very important in manga,” Higashino pointed to Hikaru Shindo in the drawing, “that is perspective. Your drawing is too flat and doesn’t show a sense of space.”

He pulled out a piece of paper and started drawing in front of Oda.

In less than five minutes, Hikaru Shindo was vividly sketched.

Comparing the two drawings, Oda felt increasingly uncomfortable with his own work, realizing it didn't resemble a real person.

"What did you major in at university?" Hibiki Higashino asked.

Oda's heart sank, and he replied, "Department of Architecture, Faculty of Engineering, Kyushu Tokai University."

“Oh,” Higashino Hibiki nodded, “Didn’t you have any professional training in figure art?”

"No." Oda shook his head.

He became increasingly nervous and stopped talking nonsense.

It's clear that Tori Akino Mirai is very dissatisfied with him.

He also pointed out many shortcomings that he couldn't refute.