Tokyo 1970: I'll draw Doraemon?

The male protagonist was shocked. Considering his mother's death, his 70-year-old father was depressed and his mental state was deteriorating.

He jokingly said he would introduce his father to his lover.

The lover did not refuse.

After meeting twice, the male protagonist never expected that his old-fashioned father would actually have an affair with his lover.

The lover also said that her father was better than her.

During a rendezvous with his lover, his father suddenly arrived. He hid under the bed and personally witnessed the truth of his lover's words.

Finally, the father married his lover...

It was such an outrageous story that Fushimikawa read it with a furrowed brow.

"You said you wanted to become a manga artist because of Tezuka-sensei's manga?" Fushimikawa stared at Hirokane Kenji with one eye wide open and the other narrowed.

Hirokane Kenji nodded without any shame: "That's right."

Fushimikawa was filled with doubt: "Is this how Tezuka-sensei taught you!?"

This person has such a serious face, yet he likes to draw these kinds of bizarre stories.

You can know a person's face but not their heart.

“However…” Fushimikawa closed his eyes and tried to be as objective as possible, “The story is very interesting and engaging, and as a short manga, it’s quite mature. If a magazine were willing to publish it, it might achieve some success.”

Hirokane Kenshi was indeed talented; in this respect, Fushimikawa was right about him.

During his months in Tokyo, he met a bunch of aspiring manga artists.

Adachi Mitsuru, Hirokane Kenshi, Arima, Watanabe Ryo, and Kurokawa Hideki—if they can persevere, making a name for themselves is not a problem.

“That’s wonderful,” Hirokane Kenji said with a smile. “All our efforts have finally paid off.”

He'll probably debut soon.

……

After the Obon festival, a meeting was held at Shogakukan that would determine the fate of many manga artists regarding their Weekly Shonen Sunday serialization.

In the Japanese manga industry today, Weekly Shonen Magazine is leading the way with its sports manga; Weekly Shonen Jump is close behind, with circulation exceeding one million.

Following them was "Sunday".

These three comic magazines are the most prestigious, and getting a serialized work in them is not easy, but as long as a work can be published in them, it proves the author's own strength.

Now, Fushimikawa's "Doraemon" is just one step away from completion.

"What was Takei-senpai thinking?" the editors, who weren't qualified to attend the serialization meeting, whispered. "To have an 18-year-old college student collaborate with Fujiko-sensei to draw a teenage version of Doraemon."

"Doraemon wasn't very successful to begin with, and the artist was relatively unknown. It'll probably be canceled soon after it's been serialized, right?"

"I think so too."

"That's strange. Could that newcomer named Oikawa Ni be... a relative of Takei-senpai?"

He swallowed the last few words, but when he looked at the other editors, they all seemed to have the same idea.

This is just too strange; there are very few precedents for it.

If any problems arise, Toshiki Takei will have to apologize.

"It would be better to focus our energy on persuading Fujio Akatsuka to come back and continue drawing 'Tennis Baka'."

"Yes, that's right."

"That's true."

Everyone agreed.

"The Genius Fool" was serialized in magazines for several years, and then Akatsuka serialized it in Sunday magazine for eight months before returning to magazines.

This is a very successful comic, and it can now carry a major role in the current "Sunday" magazine.

However, in magazines that also feature titles like "Star of Giants" and "Ashita no Joe," it was completely overshadowed.

In other words.

"The Genius Fool" could never make "Sunday" beat "Magazine".

Even with the best efforts, the best one can do is mend and patch things up, at best avoiding any mistakes.

But the more you do, the more mistakes you make; the less you do, the better.

These editors, clinging to this mindset, never dared to take risks, which is why they never became legendary editors.

"Splash."

The conference room door creaked open, and the editors who were attending the meeting walked out one after another.

The man at the front looked grim. He ignored his curious colleagues and went straight to his desk, picked up the landline phone, and dialed a number.

"Mr. Morimoto, I'm sorry, 'Little Doctor' failed to make the list."

……

At 6 p.m., Fushimikawa received a phone call in his studio.

The day before yesterday, Toshiki Takei had informed him that the serialization meeting would end around 5 p.m.

As a result, we were a full hour late.

This shows how intense the debate was.

This made Fushimikawa a little nervous.

After all, he's a newcomer, and he's going to serialize his work in Sunday, so the chances of his work being rejected are quite high.

He took a deep breath and answered the phone.

"Oikawa-sensei, please prepare for the serialization of 'Doraemon'."

Before Fushimikawa could ask, Toshiki Takei gave him the answer directly.

Gripping the microphone tightly, Fushimikawa said calmly, "Thank you very much, Editor Takei. Without your efforts, there would never have been a children's version of Doraemon."

“You don’t need to thank me. What you need to do is…” Takei said calmly, “to draw Doraemon to its best and defeat the Giants’ Star!”

Defeating "Star of Giants"? That's probably very difficult.

"Star of Giants" serves as a learning template for countless future comic artists, and its classic quotes have inspired many generations.

"If you are a man, even if you die in a ditch, you should die in a forward-leaning position."

The more adversity you face, the more you must grit your teeth and persevere; you must not give up.

"Did you know? Mr. Oikawa, most editors actually don't approve of the serialization of 'Doraemon'."

Takei suddenly said, "They think Doraemon isn't suitable for shonen manga, and they don't believe in your abilities. I've heard the phrase 'Doraemon will be canceled very quickly' many times."

"so what?"

Takei shouted, "So we can't just coast along! We have to work hard on our manga, make the most of every minute, and polish Doraemon to its best! We have to surprise those people with our perfect work!"

Fushimiwa shook his head slightly.

Seriously, it's one thing for sports comics to promote resilience, but why is the editor so passionate?

"There's nothing I can do, I understand."

Chapter Twenty-Six: The Times Roll Forward

"Did my novel 'Little Doctor' fail to pass the serialization meeting?"

Morimoto was sitting at his desk when he received some unpleasant news.

"It's just been temporarily removed," the editor said, wiping his sweat. "You can still submit your work after making revisions."

"Revise? I've revised it so many times! It's completely different from my original idea!" Morimoto shouted angrily. "Just tell me if it'll work or not!"

Helpless, Yamashita could only try to comfort the teacher who had erupted in a fit of temper.

“This time, ‘Little Doctor’ had a good chance of being approved, but…” He pursed his lips, “It’s all the fault of editor Takei, who insisted on recommending the 18-year-old newcomer he was in charge of… Even when everyone else was against it, he forced ‘Doraemon’ to be included.”

"If Takei can do it, why can't you!" Morimoto immediately blamed his editor. "Can't you even fulfill your responsibilities as an editor?! Otherwise, I might as well go find Takei!"

Yamashita, drenched in sweat, said, "Teacher, please don't say that. I've been trying my best, but my status isn't as high as Wuju's, and I don't have enough say. However..."

"But what?"

"If Takei forces Doraemon to pass this time, his authority will be greatly diminished if the manga doesn't perform well, haha."

The editor's smug voice made Morimoto frown.

He wouldn't have chosen someone like this as a partner if there were other options available.

"Wait a minute," Morimoto suddenly shouted, "What did you just say? It's a serialization of Doraemon. Isn't Doraemon a work by Fujiko Fujio?"

Yamashita explained, "That's why I said Takei was being ridiculous, actually having Fujiko-sensei collaborate with a newcomer to draw a shonen manga version of 'Doraemon.' It's laughable."

He wanted Morimoto to join him in mocking Takei Toshiki, so that he could change the subject.

However, the cartoonist on the other end lost interest.

"Okay, that's all. I understand."

Instead of criticizing himself for his efforts in running "Little Doctor" as usual, he hung up the phone directly.

A few seconds later...

"Tch, just an old codger from a backward era, how dare he talk to me like that!" Upon hearing the dial tone, the fawning on his face vanished, and Yamashita repeatedly berated him into the microphone.

"They're about to be phased out! And they're still acting all high and mighty all day! Bah!"

……

Since Osamu Tezuka published "New Treasure Island," Japanese manga has been developing rapidly.

After a few years, readers grew tired of the children's manga dominated by Osamu Tezuka's style and began to read gekiga, which featured a dark and bloody style, led by gekiga artists such as Sanpei Shirato.

Not long after the theatrical version appeared, the movement to banish evil books began.

Cartoonists and magazines are forced to survive in the cracks, publishing new comics that are both educational and theatrical.

Morimoto, who has been studying Osamu Tezuka's style, hasn't even adapted to the new manga yet, and a brand new era is about to begin.