Tokyo 1970: I'll draw Doraemon?

"I thought about this story for a long time and felt that it was not quite suitable for 'Fourth Grader' because it was too sad, but it would be more appropriate to serialize it in Sunday."

Before leaving, Fujimoto Hiroshi handed a storyboard to Fushimikawa.

Fushimikawa glanced at it, and upon seeing the name, he was immediately filled with respect.

Grandma's Memories.

"I'll draw it well," he assured him. "Teacher, please look forward to my wonderful performance!"

Carrying his teacher's gift, Fushimikawa returned to the studio excitedly, only to be surprised to see his two assistants.

What brings you all here today?

It's clearly not a day for drawing comics.

“Mr. Oikawa has all the necessary tools here, making learning to draw incredibly easy,” Hirokane Kenji said with a smile.

Arima nodded: "Me too."

Chapter Twenty-Four: The Preparation Phase

"Teacher, what are you holding in your hand?" Hirokane Kenji asked curiously.

"These are the manga panels that Fujiko-sensei gave me," Fushimikawa answered bluntly. "We'll be busy from now on."

"Fujiko-sensei?" Hirokane Kenji's mouth dropped open upon hearing this, and then he questioned him bluntly, "Why didn't you take me with you! I admire him so much!"

"Manga storyboards?" Arima stood up, his glasses fixed on the brown paper bag in Fushimikawa's hand. "Are those manga storyboards by a famous manga artist?"

Storyboarding is a very important part of drawing comics, and it's no exaggeration to say that it's the most important part.

It is a visual script that determines the grid layout, character positions, actions, lines, sound effects, camera angles, plot order, and so on.

The final artwork of the comic, compared to the storyboard, is simply a matter of adding a background and making the characters more detailed.

Some cartoonists even choose to publish their storyboards directly in magazines.

After all, it's enough to tell the story.

Editors and cartoonists discuss the plot based on the storyboard.

……

The two assistants had different focuses, but both expressed a desire for people or things.

“There will be opportunities, senpai,” Fushimikawa replied to Hirokane Kenji first. “After that, I will work with Fujiko-sensei for a long time, and we will meet often.”

"That's fantastic!" Hirokane Kenji's face flushed, then he became nervous and anxious. "I have to finish the manga quickly so that Fujiko-sensei can give me her feedback."

He's taken care of that; as for Arima...

“I haven’t looked at it yet,” Fushimikawa said with a smile, shaking the storyboard in his hand. “You can wait a bit.”

Arima Nong Nong nodded: "Mmm..."

……

"Grandma's Memories" depicts the grandmother's selfless love for Nobita. The story is not complicated, but the sincere emotions in it made Fushimikawa feel a lump in his throat.

It departs from the classic Doraemon storyline that revolves around novel gadgets, instead choosing to depict family affection. The content carries some touching and sad elements, which explains why Fujimoto Hiroshi entrusted it to Fushimikawa.

Even though he had seen it before, when he rewatched it now, Fushimikawa was still completely immersed in the story and thought of his grandmother who passed away when he was in high school.

Even considering past and present lives, more than thirty years have passed.

"Whoo~"

With a sigh of relief, Fushimikawa handed the storyboard to Arima.

"You see?"

Arima excitedly accepted it, and not long after, Fushimikawa heard crying.

Someone as sensitive as him would cry the most when reading this kind of comic.

……

Time flies, and it's now mid-August, the Ghost Festival is here.

In Japan, most companies choose to give employees holidays so that they can return to their hometowns to pay respects to their ancestors.

During this period, even comic magazines will not be sold, because there is no one to print and transport them; comics can't just grow legs and climb onto the shelves.

Oikawa Studio 2 was full, and everyone was silently drawing.

Fushimikawa didn't feel much of a sense of belonging to the Fushimikawa family, while Hirokane Kenji was in high spirits, painting his work titled "Twilight Meteor".

As for Arima, his home is in Tokyo, so it's very convenient for him to travel there.

During his vacation, editor Tomoyuki Fukuda would come to the studio every day to check on the progress of the drawing of "Ikkyu the Clever". He was afraid that something might go wrong.

After the Obon festival, he had to finish proofreading the first chapter of "Ikkyu" and send it to the printing factory for typesetting and printing.

"Fukuda, you've read it so many times already, don't wear out the original manuscript."

Takei Toshiki lay on the sofa, holding a glass of red wine in his hand, and said lazily.

Fukuda Tomoyuki ignored him.

Despite their efforts to stop him, he still managed to steal the fruit.

"Editors need to have a strong heart and not always do repetitive work. If you have time to busy yourself with this, you might as well polish the sixth episode of 'Ikkyu'."

In August, Fushimikawa had already caught up with the progress of Ikkyu to episode six.

After all, he couldn't afford to waste the time before the serialization began.

If the results are poor and the content needs to be revised, he can redraw it.

Drawing it multiple times is always a good thing; it helps you become familiar with the work and get into the zone more quickly.

"...I...I understand."

After a moment of silence, Fukuda nodded.

He knew the truth in Wu Ju's words, and as an honest man, he couldn't refuse other people's kindness, so he could only give a curt and simple response.

Feeling the relaxed atmosphere emanating from Wu Ju, he couldn't help but admire this shameless senior.

Compared to himself, Wuju's burden is much greater.

Not only did he have to face the post-holiday serialization meeting, but he also had to do layout and summary of the Doraemon plot and publish it in advance in the Sunday supplement so that readers who had not read the manga could understand it and lay the foundation for Fushimikawa's serialization.

I heard that Takei still had time to contact Sasaki, one of the editors of "Ultraman Seven", and collaborate with Adachi Mitsuru, a newcomer he had just discovered, to draw a short story for Sunday.

Fukuda could no longer be angry with Takei Toshiki.

With such a talented editor by his side, Fushimikawa will have a brighter future.

'I'm so incompetent.'

Fukuda lowered his head.

……

"The serialization is almost complete. You should draw more 'Doraemon' when you have time," Takei said.

At present, Fushimikawa is enjoying the simultaneous pressure from two editors to submit his manuscript.

What could he do?

We had no choice but to grit our teeth and bear it.

After all, it was my own choice.

“Draw ‘Grandma’s Memories’ after that. First, lay the groundwork for the plot and let readers get familiar with the characters in ‘Doraemon’. Then you can add ‘Trying to Say Goodbye’ and ‘Grandma’s Memories’.”

Wu Ju then made arrangements.

"Understood." Fushimikawa nodded, suppressing his anger.

He was busy working away, while the editor kept nagging. Although he knew what the editor was saying was true, he was still annoyed.

"Editor Wuju, are you very free?"

“No, that’s not it,” Wu Ju shook his head.

Fushimikawa felt a little comforted.

He continued, "I have to drink with Akatsuka tonight."

"Me!"

Fushimikawa, filled with admiration for Osamu Tezuka, exclaimed, "I truly don't know how Tezuka-sensei managed to handle eight editors simultaneously!"

He still remembered the Tezuka legend that Fujimoto Hiroshi had told him, and he felt that he was already struggling to handle even two of them, let alone eight.

“Actually, there were nine editors,” Takei said with a grin. “Akazuka was an assistant at the time, and he told me about it. He had just finished eight manga chapters for Tezuka-sensei and was so sleepy that he could barely keep his eyes open, so he lay down in bed. Tezuka-sensei crawled in and whispered to him, ‘There’s still a ninth chapter to draw.’ Hahaha, the editor in charge of Tezuka-sensei was really unlucky.”

Hirokane Kenshi listened intently, filled with longing.

He also longed to be a part of such a legendary story.

But it's not too late now.

He meticulously records everything that happens in Oikawa's studio, so that if Oikawa-sensei becomes a legend in the future, he can boast about it to others.

Chapter Twenty-Five: Am I going to be bullied too?

"The Evening Meteor...what a strange name."

After finishing his work, Hirokane Kenji asked Fushimikawa to take a look at the manga he had drawn, and Fushimikawa readily agreed.

He was also quite curious about what kind of comic his senior would draw after half a year.

That should be interesting.

The male protagonist of the story is a middle-aged man who has a female lover who is the same age as him and works as a hostess.

The lover lamented how quickly time flies and realized she needed to make plans for the rest of her life.

"I actually have a fetish for older people."

My lover said something outrageous.