Tokyo 1970: I'll draw Doraemon?

“Of course, no problem,” Fushimikawa pointed to his brain. “There’s enough stuff in here to draw Ikkyu for a year.”

“That’s quite an impressive level of confidence,” Fukuda nodded.

He then looked around the dormitory and frowned, "This room is too small, it's not suitable for drawing comics at all. I'll find you a room."

Fushimikawa was completely blunt: "It would be better if it were near Waseda."

“I know, that’s right!” Fukuda suddenly came to his senses and said, “The serialization meeting for ‘Ikkyu the Clever’ has been approved! The tentative start date is September 1st.”

"receive."

Fushimikawa nodded, feeling no surprise, only a sense of satisfaction that things had come to fruition.

"The editorial department really values ​​me."

"Elementary School Fourth Grader" is a monthly manga series, released on the first of each month.

"Ikkyu" was confirmed to be serialized in August and will be launched in September, making it the first among those in the same period.

"After all, Fushimi-kun is a genius. Geniuses always get preferential treatment. What if you slip away?" Fukuda joked.

Chapter Fifteen: Even if they bicker and joke around, they're still friends.

The next day, at seven o'clock in the morning, the Waseda field, which was on summer vacation, was bustling with activity.

"Waseda is like this, nothing special, nothing surprising."

"I've gotten into a top university."

"Huh? What kind of fan art are you guys drawing? I like reading Shirato Sanpei's 'Ninja Martial Arts Chronicle: Shadow Maru'."

"This comic is indeed a classic, but it's too old, and not many people know about it anymore."

"I drew Shinji Nagashima's 'Cruel Story of a Manga Artist,' in which the protagonist pursues his manga dream in this world."

"It's interesting just to listen to it."

Fushimikawa, who was organizing 500 copies of "Trying to Say Goodbye" in the northeast corner of the CM exhibition plaza, heard these mixed voices.

With 108 stalls, averaging five or six vendors per stall, the sheer number of creators made the spacious square feel cramped.

"Teachers at booths 30-40, please come this way."

Naoya Onishi held up a sign and began guiding the flow of people.

As he passed by Fushimikawa, he clenched his fist and said, "Go for it, Kawai-san, sell them all!"

Fushimikawa nodded: "I did my best."

After Onishi left, he put away the 50 copies of doujinshi (fan-made comics). He needed to give them away.

Fujimoto Hiroshi, Suzuki Jiro, Fukuda editor...

Before he knew it, Fushimikawa had made quite a few friends in Tokyo.

"Oh, right, and Adachi-senpai."

This veteran has semi-retired from the comics industry and only occasionally appears at Fujiko F. Fujio Studio.

If it weren't for his younger brother being Mitsuru Adachi, Fushimikawa might have already forgotten about him.

"What did you just say?" asked the stall owner next door in Fushimikawa, somewhat incredulous. "It was Tsutomu Adachi, right?"

Upon hearing this, Fushimikawa looked at the round face of the person in front of him thoughtfully and said, "Are you Adachi Mitsuru? Adachi-senpai's younger brother?"

"It's me. What a coincidence! You must be the genius Fushimikawa that my brother was talking about."

They both guessed each other's identities.

"Should I change my comic?" Adachi Mitsuru held up his comic called "One Out," looking at the mountain of comics piled up in front of Fushimikawa with some curiosity. "And your comic."

“Of course.” Fushimikawa became interested; after all, he was the author of “Touch.”

Mitsuru Adachi's first collected volume sold over 100 million copies, surpassing all other manga series, including Dr. Slump.

What kind of works could he produce in 1970 when he was still in his early stages?

Fushimikawa was very curious.

……

"One Person Out" has 16 pages and the content is very simple.

The protagonist comes on as a substitute after the ace pitcher gets injured.

Due to a lack of confidence and insufficient ability, he lost points in a row.

Finally, with the bases loaded and two outs, he overcame his fear of losing and just wanted to throw one pitch with all his might.

The batter was unexpectedly struck out, which boosted the team's morale and led to their victory.

The school campus and Koshien Stadium have a strong Mitsuru Adachi style.

It is also very strong in psychological description, perfectly portraying the story of the protagonist overcoming inner fear and inferiority and achieving self-sublimation in a desperate situation.

Fushimikawa could vaguely see the shadow of "Touch".

However, there are also many differences.

"One Man Out" has no romance scenes and a tough, hard-edged style, which is typical of the show and lacks the gentleness of his future.

In 1970, Mitsuru Adachi was still very young and needed to grow.

Fushimikawa drew a conclusion.

He put down "One Out" and looked at Mitsuru Adachi, who was reading it very carefully.

……

Opening the book "Try to Say Goodbye," Mitsuru Adachi saw character illustrations.

The first three are ordinary elementary school students, including common factors such as bullying and unrequited love, but the fourth is completely different. What is a future cat-shaped robot that can destroy the earth?

This left Adachi Mitsuru both amused and exasperated, as the difference between the two was simply too great.

He had also watched "Doraemon," and at first he thought it was just an ordinary show, but Fushimikawa's description made it very interesting.

Why did you choose to draw a newly released children's comic?

It's surprising that Fushimi-kun, a university student, still reads children's comics; he has a surprisingly childlike heart.

Adachi Mitsuru was filled with emotion.

Next, he started reading the story.

Gian, Suneo, and their friends are playing soccer. Nobita wants to join in, but no one pays him any attention.

He encountered two little girls playing with a cat, but they ran away after seeing him.

In this desolate summer, Nobita felt lonely, so he went to find Shizuka.

Shizuka ignored him and bid a reluctant farewell to her friend who was moving to America.

"If I move too, won't everyone feel lonely?"

Nobita couldn't help but think this way.

He's very much like Nobita; he loves to cause trouble.

He told his friends that he was moving, but no one paid any attention to him.

Because it simply wasn't convincing.

Nobita can only use the "what-if" phone booth now.

The comic here provides an explanation for what a phone booth could be.

Enter the "What If" phone booth and say "What If..." into the phone to create a parallel world where everyone in the world except the user will live according to this setting.

Adachi Mitsuru exclaimed in surprise, "What an interesting yet terrifying prop! It's so Fujiko-sensei's style!"

Nobita created a timeline where the Nobi family is moving to America the next day.

Although Xiong's father's company doesn't have a branch in the United States, he still has to move there to work.

The props are like this: all you need to do is state the settings, but the person executing them will have a lot of trouble.

Nobita's mother, Tamako, hurriedly began packing her luggage.

Nobita and Doraemon, who were waiting at home for the news to spread, finally heard the doorbell ring.

Nobita was a little disappointed when he opened the door and found that it wasn't Shizuka, but Gian.

then……

After learning that Nobita had indeed moved, Gian became very sad.

"It must be so lonely..."

Tears streamed down his face as he choked back sobs as he gave his final instructions.

"Take care of yourself! Don't let the American bullies take advantage of you. If you don't like it there, come back here!"

"Remember me sometimes, okay?"

"And also... I... I..."

Tears streamed down his face, and despite his efforts to stop them, Fat Tiger couldn't speak. He pushed open the door and ran away.

Suneo came to Nobita's house to apologize for hurting him before, and even brought a bunch of toys for Nobita.

One after another, classmates came to visit, and everyone was very saddened by Nobita's sudden departure.

Things started to get really out of control.

Mitsuru Adachi looked somewhat saddened.

Gian and Suneo used to bully Nobita, and Nobita would fight back with Doraemon's gadgets. They had such a lively relationship. However, when Nobita was about to go to America, his true feelings were revealed.

Even if we bicker and joke around, we're still friends.

That's how he was back then; he was attached to his family and friends, which is why he didn't want to come to Tokyo from Gunma.

It's all my brother Anda-myeon's fault.

But it's good that we can see a comic like this.