Full-time comic artist

At this time, Director Tetsuya Endo paid a visit.

He was carrying things, with a smile on his face, clearly looking like he needed something from someone.

Sure enough, he rambled on and on about the intricacies and hardships of animation production, before finally changing the subject and revealing his purpose.

"Because at this point, it's impossible to produce episode 20 of 'Hikaru no Go' on time, and we can't just do a perfunctory job."

Higashino nodded.

The animation production of "Hikaru no Go" is particularly good, and the plot is not drastically altered, remaining basically consistent with the manga.

The story's soundtrack is fantastic; the moment the background music starts, it immediately draws you into the story.

There were no major animation errors, and the voice actors performed excellently.

Overall, Hibiki Higashino was very satisfied.

The production team is far superior to that of Yu Yu Hakusho.

Conversely, such meticulous production of "Hikaru no Go" naturally takes a lot of time.

Higashino Hibiki's situation is understandable.

“I was originally thinking of making a summary episode,” Tetsuya Endo said. “It would be a compilation of highlights from the first nineteen episodes, pieced together into one episode. Over a long run, it would help viewers recall the earlier episodes.”

His righteous words were just a way to fool people for a week so he would have time to continue producing the rest of the series.

“However,” he said, “I thought about it again and wondered if that was too perfunctory. So I came up with an episode to interview the author, since the audience is also very curious about you, teacher.”

Hibiki Higashino agreed.

He doesn't resist interviews, unlike Akira Toriyama who can't face the audience.

Asahina had troubled Director Endo several times while producing "Hey—Come Out," and had received a reward in return, so she felt it was time to repay him.

When the weekend arrived, the people from TV Tokyo also came.

TV Tokyo is the broadcasting platform for "Hikaru no Go," so this situation definitely needs to be reported to them.

Upon learning that it was an interview with Akino Mirai, they became interested and came up with a special program.

They filmed a game between Mirai Tori and professional Go player Akira Yamazaki, and then conducted an interview.

The process of answering interview questions was added later.

Higashino Hibiki agreed after learning about it.

He hadn't played Go with Akira Yamazaki in a long time, and he always won online, so he was curious about his current Go skills.

Monthly tickets? Recommendation tickets?

Chapter 96 My Money!

Higashino met Yamazaki Akira, and surprisingly remained calm under the cameras and spotlights.

"Hello, Yamazaki, it's been a long time."

She gave an awkward laugh. For the past few months, she had been busy managing her television program and hadn't been to Higashino Hibiki's place for a long time.

"Hello, it's been a long time," she said shyly.

After setting up the chessboard, Higashino pointed to the opposite side and asked Yamazaki Akira to sit down.

"What are the rules?" Yamazaki Akira asked.

“Let’s go first,” Higashino Hibiki replied. “Kuroko is 5 points away.”

This is a fair move; Black goes first and uses komi to compensate for White's disadvantage.

Yamazaki Akira glanced at the camera lens, bowed, and said, "Please take care of me."

Please give me your guidance.

When the two players were evenly matched, Higashino Hibiki said, "We've played several games together. In fact, my introduction to Go was Yamazaki Akira, a 2-dan player. I've never won against him. This time, I want to try and see if I can win."

Yamazaki Akira curled his lip, clearly disbelieving.

But seeing Higashino Hibiki's serious expression, she felt a little flustered.

She gathered her thoughts and focused her attention on the chessboard.

They went their separate ways, with Higashino taking the black pieces first.

In order to draw comics, he thoroughly studied the Shusaku style and subconsciously used it.

The opening layout combines modern Go with the Shusaku style.

As the game progressed, the two sides traded blows, with neither gaining the upper hand.

Akira Yamazaki looked at Kuroko with great surprise.

In the past, Higashino Hibiki's games, although they always had a brilliant move, had many flaws in their opening moves, in her opinion.

It's easy to gain the upper hand.

But now, his moves are steady and methodical, showing no sign of distress in the face of his own attacks.

If she hadn't known that her opponent was a cartoonist, she would have thought it was a professional Go player.

"They're really tough to deal with."

Holding her fan, she shook her head, unaware that it was all being captured on camera.

She tried to set a trap, but the other party seemed to have noticed it all and dodged it.

"This kid is really tough to deal with; I can't find a single weakness in him."

"Could he also possess a thousand-year-old soul? Is he Kondo Hikaru from the manga?"

Akira Yamazaki frowned, his attention diverted, and made a move in the game.

The moment the chess piece was placed, she was startled.

"I downloaded the wrong one!"

He immediately looked at the other person, and sure enough, Higashino Hibiki laughed.

Akira Yamazaki's mistake was serious; he was certain he had won the game.

With a single move, he immediately placed himself in a position that Yamazaki Akira was unwilling to face.

After a few more moves, Yamazaki Akira could no longer make up for his disadvantage because of that one bad move, and could only try his best to play.

After the finale.

After counting the pieces, she realized she had lost.

“I lost…” she lowered her head.

He actually lost to someone who had never systematically studied Go.

She is now filled with regret for neglecting her Go studies because of the television program.

“Unbelievable,” the female reporter walked over, “it’s actually Mr. Tori Akino who won.”

A cartoonist beat a professional Go player.

After the initial shock, I felt happy. It was already full of hype, and now it's even more popular.

Shocking! The result of the Hikaru no Go author Tori Akino Mirai vs. professional Go player 2-dan Yamazaki Akira is unbelievable!

With a simple idea, she came up with a suitable title.

No! There's absolutely no need to attract readers like that. Just reporting the results honestly will be enough to get high viewership for an episode.

Suppressing my inner excitement, I began today's interview.

……

After the game, the production team filmed Higashino Hibiki's studio.

It contains his drafts and original manuscripts.

"Wow, amazing!" "That's a really good drawing!" the reporter exclaimed repeatedly.

Female reporter: The visuals are much more refined than those in Jump.

Hibiki Higashino: Yes, that's to reduce costs, since a single Jump only costs 230 yen.

She then pointed to the colored manuscript and the original manuscript with exciting content, making Higashino Hibiki talk until his mouth was dry before the female reporter finally let him go.

This was followed by a formal interview.

Female reporter: May I ask, why did you decide to draw comics?

Akino Tori: I was surprised to see the prize money for the Manga Grand Prize, which is 50 yen. That really appealed to me.

Female reporter: So what was the result?

Bird Akino: Not shortlisted.

Female reporter: That's such a shame. I didn't know that even a talented cartoonist like you can fail. Do you realize how difficult it is to be a cartoonist?

Akino Tori: No, because for my second submission, I chose the "Tezuka Prize," which has a higher prize of 100 million yen. I was selected very easily.

Female reporter: ...

Female reporter: What's the secret to your progress?

Akino Toriyama: There's no secret to it. It's just that the editor was a bit of a fan and helped me get a job as an assistant to Akira Toriyama, which is how I improved.

Female reporter...

She coughed twice, gave an awkward laugh to calm herself down, and then continued to ask.

Female reporter: Why did you think of drawing comics about Go?

Hibiki Higashino: When I was looking for a place, a man helped me and gave me directions. I saw him go into a Go club. He was a big, burly man, and I didn't expect him to know how to play Go. That left a deep impression on me, and that's how I got the inspiration.

The female reporter breathed a sigh of relief; things were finally back to normal.

Female reporter: He is indeed a kind-hearted person. Thank you for his contributions to Go. Perhaps he will see our program. Is there anything you would like to say to him?

Akino Tori: Thank you, Uncle Koharu. Good luck on this year's professional Go exam.

Female reporter: Preparing to take the professional Go player exam, that's truly amazing.