Tokyo 1970: I'll draw Doraemon?

Now it was completely quiet, and the sound of his footsteps seemed to still echo in my ears.

Fujiwara Maki stood in front of him with her arms crossed, looking at him with a smile.

"What's this?" Fushimikawa looked at her and asked, "What happened?"

Fujiwara Maki smiled without saying a word.

"boom!"

Without him noticing, Toshiki Takei appeared before him.

The middle-aged editor-in-chief, disregarding his image, actually pulled the cannon and cheered.

"Oikawa-sensei, Naruto became an instant hit!"

"Huh?"

"Long live! Long live Oikawa-sensei!"

"We made it!"

"Great!"

"Weekly Shonen Future - Grand Opening!"

As Fushimikawa wondered what was going on, cheers and shouts suddenly erupted in the previously quiet editorial department. The editors jumped around, their faces beaming with happiness.

Everyone went wild, swimming in an ocean of joy.

Two editors even clasped their hands together and started dancing ballroom.

Their reaction answered the question that had been bothering Fushimikawa: "In other words..."

“Yes, that’s exactly what you think,” Maki Fujiwara walked over and explained to him, “In just four days, more than 5000 reader survey forms were submitted to Mirai-sha.”

5000 tickets?!

Even though the comic magazine included a postcard, readers still had to pay 10 sen for postage.

This extra expense makes many people reluctant to fill out the reader survey.

For a typical shonen manga magazine, getting feedback from 1% of readers is considered quite good.

The figure is even lower for seinen manga. Of the 300,000 copies of Weekly Seinen Future, which had a circulation of 300,000, only 0.4% to 0.6% of the 300,000 survey postcards ultimately returned to Miraisha.

However, only four days have passed, and 5000 out of 200,000 postcards have been returned, which is remarkable and demonstrates the readers' willingness to participate.

Because I really like it, I'm expressing my support for the magazine by filling out a survey.

This also shows that Weekly Shonen Future is selling very well; it's probably all sold out.

Fushimikawa asked, "Does Torijutsu Company have any data?"

Toshiki Takei replied, "Section Chief Fukada was just saying that the circulation of 20 copies for Weekly Shonen Future was too cautious, and that a larger number could be chosen."

By combining data from bookstores, convenience stores, and other channels, Toji Co., Ltd. can provide publishers with accurate sales figures.

Since it's still early and the data hasn't been integrated, Fukada cannot provide specific figures.

But Fukada still knew the general situation.

He must be saying that because it's selling like hotcakes and readers are buying it like crazy.

After all, the more he does, the more mistakes he makes, and if he misleads the publisher, his performance will suffer.

Only when the outcome is extremely certain will one use this method to show goodwill to the future society.

“Yes,” Fushimikawa nodded, “it’s all good results.”

As he expected, driven by Naruto, Weekly Shonen Future was a great success as soon as it was launched.

This is an outcome that many popular comics have failed to achieve.

After all, the nickname "shonen manga" represents the large and wide audience of "Naruto".

"Are you unhappy?" Fujiwara Maki tilted her head and asked with concern.

Everyone else at the scene was overjoyed; some even called home to share the good news with their wives.

Fushimikawa, at the heart of the incident, remained calm.

"What happened?"

“No,” Fushimikawa shook his head. “I’m happy, but I’m not surprised by the result.”

"Because I was fully prepared mentally, therefore..."

Fushimikawa smirked: "I think that's all there is to it."

Chapter 113 The Popular Mini-Games Arising from "Thousand-Year Kill"

The first chapter of Naruto achieved unimaginable success, with readers responding very positively, giving Weekly Shonen Future a great start.

The initial print run of 20 units, which Maki Fujiwara set with gritted teeth, now seems a bit too cautious.

This made the staff of Weekly Shonen Future's editorial department ecstatic, singing and dancing non-stop. However, Oikawa, who had created this positive situation, asked a question instead.

"What about Touch? How did that manga do?"

Takei Toshiki was taken aback by his question, then realized what he meant: "Are you worried about your assistant? Touch is alright. Although there are criticisms that there are too few sports scenes, it has a lot of youthful school vibes, so it hasn't fallen into the danger zone of being canceled. It's ranked in the upper-middle range."

There's no need to include bad comics in magazines; that's irresponsible to the readers.

Unlike Shueisha, Miraisha is not strict and regards reader survey results as the benchmark for all evaluations.

However, if a cartoonist is given enough time and still cannot reverse the situation, they will be asked to finish the work quickly.

Leave the opportunities to those who need them more.

“Mid-to-upper tier, that’s not bad,” Fushimikawa nodded. “However, it should be even better.”

Through Oikawa's words, Toshiki Takei sensed his appreciation for Mitsuru Adachi and for "Touch".

He himself was also aware of Adachi Mitsuru's talent, after all, it was he who had discovered this man.

But now, Toshiki Takei doesn't see anything about Touch that deserves Oikawa's praise.

This is a work that goes against the market trend.

Gaining some success through differentiation is feasible, but without changing the main storyline, the upper limit is limited.

"Sports comics should ultimately return to the field of competition." This is Toshiki Takei's idea.

Fushimikawa did not refute.

"Let's wait and see."

Just moments ago they were celebrating the success of "Naruto," and now the two of them—one the editor-in-chief and the other a pillar manga artist—are arguing over "Touch," leaving Fujiwara Maki both amused and exasperated.

However, only those who love and appreciate comics can fulfill their responsibilities.

"There's a celebration party tonight, do you want to attend?" Fujiwara Maki asked Fushimikawa.

"No," Fushimikawa shook his head. His manga was progressing quite well, and he had time to attend the party, but he was a little scared. Did the Japanese really love having parties?

There are big and small ones, every three to five days.

Some gatherings aren't just once, they have two or three.

"That's a real shame," Fujiwara Maki sighed softly. "I would be so much happier if you were here."

"Please forgive me, Maki. I promise I'll do it next time."

After chatting with the editors for a long time and accepting their congratulatory wishes, Fushimikawa left Mirai-sha.

……

Over the next month, the main characters of Naruto made their appearances one by one.

Konohamaru, the third-generation grandson of Naruto, failed to challenge his grandfather and then recognized Naruto as his elder brother.

Naruto's crush is Sakura Haruno, who has pink hair and is very cute.

Sasuke Uchiha is a handsome male character who suffers from deep hatred and accidentally kisses Naruto.

The three of them, all the same age, became Team 7. Their teacher was Kakashi Hatake, a mysterious Jonin whose face was covered by a mask.

The character designs for these characters are quite good. Oikawa's simplified style, which is more appealing to readers, is a result of his work.

By simplifying complexity and retaining precise lines, the image becomes exceptionally clean and easy to look at.

It's perfect for shonen manga.

The readers' feedback was generally positive, with no obvious signs of resistance or aversion.

However, because the plot lacked any major surprises, the subsequent performance of "Naruto" was not as impressive as the first episode, causing the circulation of "Weekly Shonen Future" to remain around 28 copies.

This is normal; it's just the plot being set up.

What work is there where every episode is a climax?

Of the three characters, Fushimikawa made some modifications to Sakura Haruno.

In order to show the character's growth potential, Masashi Kishimoto went a bit overboard in the early stages.

Instead of creating a qualified ninja image, Sakura was labeled as a violent woman, outspoken, and love-obsessed.

In 1973, violent female attributes were not popular.

What are the personalities of Shizuka Minamoto and Minami Asakura?

Perfectly gentle, dignified, and sensible.

This is the kind of female protagonist that readers currently prefer.

Fushimikawa smoothed out Sakura's sharp edges, giving her her own unique characteristics while reducing the points that readers might dislike.

This way, by depicting Sakura's shining moments, people won't resist her from the bottom of their hearts.

……

"Thousand-Year Kill!"

Osamu Tezuka quickly turned around and saw his son diligently practicing his moves.

Tezuka Makoto brought his hands together, raised his four fingers to form a long spike, bent his legs slightly, and thrust his waist forward and upward with a sudden movement, shouting the name of the move again.