Tokyo 1970: I'll draw Doraemon?

The Future Society was extremely busy. In a short period of time, more than a hundred short comics came from all directions, making the preliminary selection team for the "Fuji Award" extremely overwhelmed.

“Even 15-year-old high school students submitted their work, but the drawings were mediocre and had to be rejected.”

"Hey, Sato, don't be so serious about a child. Besides, when it comes to winning a newcomer award, you should focus on the strengths rather than nitpicking," Fukuda Tomoyuki said, looking at the manuscript in his hand after hearing Sato's complaint.

The requirements for entries in the Newcomer Award cannot be as strict as those for serialized comics. Poor drawing skills or incorrect perspective are not grounds for elimination.

The judges should observe the author's inspiration and discover their potential.

"Team leader, I understand." Sato nodded.

He looked at the original comic book manuscript in his hand again, and this time he had a different feeling.

"Huh, although the visuals are terrible, the genuine emotions in the story are something many people can't achieve. The villain is redeemed, and it doesn't look awkward at all. Hmm, the narrative is still quite good."

Fukuda nodded in satisfaction: "That's right. So, what's the result?"

“Elimination is still the best option,” Sato said decisively, “but…”

He hesitated for a moment, then finally wrote down his phone number on the rejected postcard.

The letter also reads: "Although your 'Dog Adventure' wasn't selected, I saw your creative potential in it. If you still have dreams, please call me. I'll answer anytime during working hours."

After checking the text and finding no typos, Sato put down his pen and nodded in satisfaction.

That's good.

Although the girl opposite is only 15 years old, no one can predict what the future holds.

However, President Fujiwara insisted that nurturing new talent should be treated like planting a tree, requiring patient watering.

Don't be impatient for quick results. We can wait three to five years, ten years, or even longer.

Sato tied the postcard and "Dog Adventure" together, stuffed them into a piece of brown paper, and mailed it back to an ordinary family in Shinichi.

Chapter 160 How Fierce the Competition

"how's it going?"

While the Fuji Prize judging panel was busy, Fushimikawa and Fujiko Fujio walked in.

Fujimoto Hiroshi was also carrying gifts, including bananas, grapes and other fruits that wouldn't get his hands dirty, as well as some snacks.

"Thank you all for your hard work." Fujimoto Hiroshi said with a gentle smile as he handed the fruit to Fukuda Tomoyuki. "Please distribute this to everyone."

"Thank you, Fujiko-sensei, I understand." Fukuda Tomoyuki nodded, took the gift with both hands, and then told his colleagues, who had been working for more than two hours, to stop and take a break.

"it is good."

"call."

The editors were too lazy to wash their hands and just gathered around, some with bananas and others with daifuku.

Only then did Fukuda Tomoyuki have some free time to answer the questions Fushimikawa had asked when he entered.

"There are only 5 works that have made it to the final list. Among them, only 'Strange Island' by Toriyama, the assistant of Oikawa-sensei, can be considered excellent."

The editors worked hard all day, but the result was not ideal.

“Hmm,” Fushimikawa nodded, comforting him, “Talented people can be included. Let’s lower the requirements. Most newcomers need to be trained. Where are there so many geniuses who suddenly appear out of nowhere? Besides, it’s only early April, and the deadline is mid-May. There’s still plenty of time.”

"I understand."

Fukuda Tomoyuki lowered his head.

Although he was an editor, he was also a subordinate and had to be humble.

While they were talking, Fujimoto Hiroshi had already started flipping through the thick stack of original manuscripts.

He read through all the manuscripts, whether they passed the initial review or were rejected. Although he didn't go into great depth, he could at least get a general idea of ​​each one.

Fushimikawa also started watching. In half an hour, he didn't see many works, and to his regret, he didn't see any familiar names.

I didn't see any of the names like Fumio Saimon, Buronson, Rumiko Takahashi, Osamu Akimoto, or Masami Kurumada.

This also led to his lack of in-depth understanding of the content of the entries; he simply skimmed through them.

"They're all pretty good."

After a long while, Fujimoto Hiroshi put down a manuscript, stretched, and exclaimed, "The manga by newcomers in 1974 is much more exciting than our debut work in the 50s."

The "we" he was referring to were probably Akatsuka Fujio, Ishinomori Shotaro, Kakuta Jiro, and others from Tokiwa-so.

These people are now making waves in comic book magazines.

"Oikawa-kun, have you seen any interesting works?" he asked Fushimikawa beside him.

"This..." Fushimikawa realized that there was something wrong with his mindset. How could he only care about the famous manga artist from his previous life?

Many others were simply forgotten by the times.

"I'm sorry, teacher," he said, bowing his head, "my attention wandered and I couldn't concentrate."

"It's alright, what's there to apologize for?" Fujimoto Hiroshi waved his hand. "You work so hard every day, drawing Naruto and also conceiving Doraemon. It's normal that you don't have enough energy. I'm more curious about where you get so much inspiration. Your story creation speed is just like Tezuka-sensei's."

"Tezuka-sensei..." Fujimoto Hiroshi mentioned Osamu Tezuka, and Fushimikawa asked curiously, "Why didn't he come to select the entries for the Fuji Prize?"

Fujimoto Hiroshi looked into the distance: "You're probably more interested in the Tezuka Award than the Fuji Prize, aren't you? He's with Shueisha now."

……

It's a new year, and a new Tezuka Award.

With two manga series running simultaneously, Tezuka Osamu found his workload much lighter. He declined Fujimoto Hiroshi's invitation and chose to go to Shueisha, hoping to reward the editors and see if any genius works would emerge.

"It's probably impossible for someone with Oikawa's talent."

"But, will there be another Mitsuru Adachi?"

He arrived at the editorial department full of anticipation, but his expression turned rather unpleasant.

"Why are there only about a hundred entries this year?"

In previous years, the Tezuka Prize attracted four or five hundred people, and the 31-page manuscript required half a room to be stored.

But judging from the current progress, it seems likely that this year's "Tezuka Award" will go home empty-handed.

The head of the judging panel, Yano, had a somewhat bitter expression.

"I'm afraid many people have submitted their work to 'Fuji Award'."

March is the prime time for the Newcomer Awards.

The period after the New Year is more than enough for a newcomer to draw a short story; starting early will allow them to discover even more outstanding works.

Therefore, the Fuji Prize and the Tezuka Prize were awarded to the same person.

This is also why Nagano Nori chose to resort to underhanded tactics.

The traffic pool is only so big; if you grab a little and I grab a little, it won't be enough.

Unfortunately, Jump lost in its battle with Weekly Shonen Future.

This also resulted in a decrease of more than 30% in the number of entries compared to previous years.

"It's Naruto again."

Osamu Tezuka sighed inwardly.

His reputation paled in comparison to that of Oikawa.

"Clap clap," Tezuka Osamu clapped twice, attracting the editors' attention, and said with a smile, "I'll work with you all."

……

In the new high school, freshman Rumiko Takahashi is always absent-minded and not paying any attention to her studies.

Her dazed and confused state was giving the teacher a real headache.

"Takahashi-kun".

During break, a female classmate patted Rumiko Takahashi on the shoulder.

"Wh...what?"

Rumiko Takahashi was preoccupied with whether the original manuscript in Tokyo had been approved by the editor and was completely out of sorts.

"Mr. Kato asked me to find out about your situation. He's worried that you might give up on yourself because you're falling behind in your studies."

“Oh,” Rumiko Takahashi suddenly said nervously, “Has Professor Kato read ‘Confessions’? Is he worried about his reputation being ruined if he has private conversations with female students?”

"Huh? Takahashi-kun, you've read 'Confessions' too? It's a seinen manga, most of us our age aren't interested in it."

Kondo Yoko, a class representative, immediately brightened up and grasped Takahashi's hands, exclaiming, "We're best friends!"

"Huh?" Rumiko Takahashi was stunned. She didn't expect to meet a kindred spirit so soon after the start of the semester.

"I actually prefer reading shonen manga to seinen manga."

After breaking free from Yoko Kondo's hand, Rumiko Takahashi said, "For example, I prefer Doraemon to Confessions and Parasyte."

"It's okay!" Yoko Kondo patted her chest. "There aren't many girls who like seinen manga, so it's enough that we can chat."

Through this incident, they became acquainted.

"So..." Wearing a sailor-style skirt, Yoko Kondo sat on Rumiko Takahashi's desk and asked curiously, "Why do you always seem to be daydreaming?"

"Actually..." Rumiko Takahashi couldn't hold back any longer and wanted to confide in someone.

"I submitted my work to the 'Fuji Award'."

Chapter 161 "Doraemon's Long Day"

"what!!"

At lunchtime, there were other students in the classroom, but Yoko Kondo shouted loudly as if no one else was there.

"Submission! Takahashi-chan is amazing, she won the Fuji Award!"

"Hush! Hush!"

Rumiko Takahashi was terrified. This was an era where if you said you wanted to become a manga artist, your classmates would jokingly say, "Me too!"

Rumiko Takahashi, who is very thin-skinned, is terrified that this situation will occur.