Tokyo: Oreimo

"CLAMP-sensei, how's my manuscript?"

Haruba Arina couldn't wait to ask the question, her eyes sparkling as she looked at Ryosuke, hoping to hear the answer she wanted from him.

"Just barely passing with a score of 60?"

Ryosuke frowned and gave his reply.

What does that mean? So, is it okay or not?

Chun Changyoucai was speechless at his answer and felt a little uneasy.

If this were an exam, wouldn't it be considered passing? But looking at the other person's expression, she was always worried that the next second they would utter a word of rejection.

At that point, we'll have no choice but to take a gamble!

Do you have a pen with you?

Ryosuke suddenly spoke up.

"some."

Springfield has prepared in advance, and her backpack is filled with a full set of simple drawing tools, just to deal with any unexpected situation.

"I'll give you two problems. If you can solve them, I can work with you."

Ryosuke spoke directly, flipped one of the original manuscripts over, and handed it to the other person.

"First of all, none of your works feature a distinctive young man. Could you sketch one for me?"

"male?"

Chun Changyoucai paused for a moment.

It's normal for magical girl stories not to have a male protagonist, right?

No, that's not right. There are quite a few well-designed male characters in Cardcaptor Sakura, such as Yue and Sakura's brother Touya, who both meet Ryosuke's requirements.

But it was precisely her weakness, and she thought she could avoid it, but she didn't expect Ryosuke to bring it up on his own initiative.

If we're talking about male characters, she can probably only draw those dead-fish-eyed extras or some other rather sleazy type.

"I can't draw someone with the kind of beauty that Rumiko Takashiro has."

Haruba Arina picked up her pen, placed it on the paper, bit her lip, and admitted her shortcomings.

But Ryosuke shook his head.

"It's okay if you can't change your art style."

Not everyone has the ability of Rumiko Takashiro to master any art style and create distinctive features.

Arina Haruba's art style leans towards the cute type.

In Ryosuke's memory, there was indeed a good work that was very suitable for him.

But that's a work aimed at men. There's no need to worry about female characters. As long as the other party can draw the main character well, then we can collaborate.

"Just draw it according to the style you know."

Is that so?

Haruba Arina nodded and began to bury herself in her work as Ryosuke had requested.

About 10 minutes later, a figure drawn in pencil appeared on the original manuscript.

The character is depicted as a high school student with dead fish eyes, and his expression appears slightly stiff.

Ryosuke held the original manuscript in his hand, examined it for a moment, and a smile appeared on his lips.

"Isn't this something we can do?"

"Huh? But this is pretty ordinary, isn't it? And it doesn't have the distinctive features you mentioned."

Is that all?

Ryosuke pointed to the character's eyes, "Isn't that a distinctive feature?"

Dead fish eyes, how can that not be considered a characteristic?

It's just lacking some processing.

I thought Arina Haruba would be ridiculed. Such an ordinary character would be quickly overshadowed by the distinctive male protagonists in Weekly Shonen Jump, right?

Not to mention comparing him to the male protagonist in Rumiko Takashiro's new work.

It's generally easy to tell the difference between elite students and ordinary male high school students at a glance.

She also wanted to draw more outstandingly, but due to her own upbringing, the two types of men she came into contact with most were high school students and middle-aged men.

I really can't imagine what it should look like.

Since his debut, he has mostly drawn female characters.

"You like magical girl themes, right?"

Ryosuke put down the manuscript and pushed it back in front of Arina Haruba.

"Yes, so far since my debut, I have always drawn this kind of subject matter."

For this reason, her development within Shueisha has never been very good, because her audience is mainly young people who mostly like action or comedy manga.

Ryosuke nodded. "That's perfect. If we can collaborate, the theme I've prepared for you is similar to magical girl."

"similar?"

"Yes."

He reached out and pointed at the dead-eyed high school student in the original manuscript.

"My second test is to dress this man up as a magical girl."

"?"

Chapter 160 The Villain (Bonus Chapter)

"Well done, you pass, Mr. Haruba."

"The story we're working on will feature a male protagonist and will be a harem comedy manga. It seems your artwork is good enough for this project. I'll provide you with the name as soon as possible."

"Let's meet again in a week. I'll finish the draft then, and we can sign the cooperation agreement at Shueisha."

After about two hours of discussion, Ryosuke left the cafe.

Haruba Arina remained seated, staring blankly at the original drawing.

The drawing on the paper depicts a character dressed in a cute magical girl outfit, but... it's a man.

At Ryosuke's request, a total of 5 storyboard drafts were drawn, corresponding to the male character's transformation into a magical girl.

"Male magical girl or something..."

"puff!"

Suddenly, a laugh came from the side. Haruba Arina looked up and found a young man dressed as a shop assistant standing next to her at some point.

"I'm sorry, sir, I just couldn't resist glancing at it as I passed by."

The shop assistant looked up from the draft and gave a slightly apologetic look.

Why are you laughing?

Haruba Arina felt somewhat confused. Shouldn't a normal person feel disgusted when they see this kind of painting?

When Ryosuke made this request, she genuinely felt that he was trying to reject her in a roundabout way.

Drawing a male character mimicking a magical girl's transformation pose—this character looks perverted no matter how you look at it, right?

Submitting such a work to the 'Akazuka Award' might not even get you a 'Good Work' award; it would disgust the judges to the point of making them vomit their lunch.

It is indeed a different approach, making changes that differ from the conventional magical girl genre.

But this change is too bizarre!

How could anyone possibly enjoy watching a man transform into a magical girl?

"Because it's funny. Is the customer a comedian who draws comedy comics?"

When the shop assistant saw her ask the question, he stood beside her and answered.

"Huh?"

"Will this work be serialized? I usually read comics and play games, but this is the first time I've seen this type of drawing. I'm looking forward to it."

Chun Changyoucai paused for a moment.

Do you have expectations for male magical girls?

Is the shop assistant in front of me a man? How can he have expectations about same-sex transformation? Is he a pervert?

Seeing the expression on her face, the shop assistant looked embarrassed.

"I'm sorry, I was too presumptuous. I just started working recently and I'm not quite used to it yet. I always end up talking too much when I see something I like."

With that, the young shop assistant turned to leave.

"and many more."

Springfield had some vegetables and called him over.

Do you really like this kind of thing?

The girl with twin ponytails pointed to the male character on the original manuscript.

"Yes, this part alone is very interesting."

"The idea of ​​a male transforming into a magical girl and participating in battle is hilarious. It's completely different from ordinary magical girls."

Is that so?

Haruba Arina looked at the other person with a hint of suspicion.

"You didn't see me standing there looking dejected, so you're probably saying this to comfort me, right?"

She had similar experiences before. After her manuscript was rejected by the editor, she would come out of the meeting room dejectedly, and other men would come up to comfort her, saying things like "It's not bad" or "The editor has no taste" after reading the manuscript.

"Hmm? That's not what I meant at all."