Tokyo 1970: I'll draw Doraemon?

Fushimikawa remained expressionless and simply said, "The American animation industry is indeed very impressive. Japan has yet to produce a work that can rival 'Bambi.' When 'Bambi' aired in the 40s, our country's animation products were only used for war propaganda. On this point, I support that writer's view."

Chapter 54 All Efforts Are Wasted

The identity of Oikawa Ni-Nanmu San may not be able to be hidden for much longer.

Now that Fushimikawa has risen to fame and become a rising star in Japanese manga, there are probably quite a few reporters who want to know his identity.

Waseda University students all know that Fushimi River is Oikawa 2, and at their alma mater in Aichi Prefecture, there is a legend that Fushimi River was Namu 3 in his childhood.

Reporters only need to visit Fushimikawa's alma mater once, and his other identity will be exposed.

But it's nothing, he never intended to hide it anyway.

Namo San's name isn't a dark history; it simply means he had the ability to write novels even in his childhood.

It is the enduring legend of the child prodigy that brings him more fame, rather than the condemnation of public intellectuals and anti-China elements.

After all, following his reflective essay, he also wrote anti-war content, which demonstrates his intellectual progress as he grew older, gained more knowledge, and developed his thinking.

The restless atmosphere of society during his childhood ruined him.

“That’s true,” reporter Otsuka nodded.

After chatting for a while, both parties got into the swing of things and began the formal interview.

……

"Mr. Oikawa, now that 'Confessions' is so popular, what was your first thought?"

"It's troubling, isn't it?"

"what?"

"Everyone is focused on the new art style and is full of enthusiasm, but they don't have a proper understanding of it, which is not a good thing."

Sanpei Shirato, the founder of Garo magazine, couldn't help but tap the table lightly as he looked at the article in the Tokyo Shimbun.

"To remain calm and composed in the face of temptation, and to maintain composure despite the admiration of many seniors, is truly remarkable for a newcomer. He is much better than I was back then."

In an era when adults despise comics, Sanpei Shirato's works are the kind that college students actively study.

His novel, *Ninja Martial Arts Chōkagemaru*, depicts a story that is not typical of Japan.

The protagonist, a ninja, does not act as a tool of feudal lords, but instead unites with peasants to revolt against exploitation. This remarkable idea has been called a socialist comic by left-wing university students.

He also became one of the spiritual symbols of the All-Kyoto Student Movement in Japan.

It can be said that it was at its zenith.

Therefore, he suffered a lot.

Afterwards, Shirato Sanpei co-founded the monthly manga magazine "Garo" to explore the further possibilities and expressive power of manga, and he has a deep understanding of this.

"However, Oikawa's art style is indeed worthy of recognition. Tezuka's cartoon-style art only scratches the surface and cannot penetrate to the core. The distinction between ordinary people, commoners, farmers, and nobles must be based on their physical appearance. Is the skin smooth? Is the back hunched over from years of labor as a farmer? The laxity and superficiality of nobles. Cartoons cannot express class in such depth."

……

The interview was not over yet.

Reporter: "Oh? Can you give an example?"

Oikawa: "I've seen Shirato Sanpei's 'Kamui Story,' where the protagonist is also drawn based on real human bodies, but the style is completely different from 'Confessions.' I considered commercial issues, and the characters in 'Confessions' are full of refinement and beauty, idealized human bodies. This reduces some of the expression of the cruelty of reality. Shirato Sanpei, on the other hand, strengthens this aspect of expression."

"So what suits you best is the most important. Don't rashly change the background color. Instead, be inclusive and absorb the advantages of other art styles to improve yourself. That's what I think."

Reporter: "I understand, the teacher explained it very thoroughly. The next question is about some of my doubts about 'Confession'. The panel arrangement of this comic is very clever, every shot has a purpose, you must have put a lot of thought into it."

Oikawa: "That's right, drawing 'Confessions' is much more difficult than other manga. There are many factors to consider. It's like finding a loose thread in a tangled ball of yarn. I hope my hard work hasn't been in vain..."

Afterwards, Fushimikawa talked a lot about his understanding of realistic art styles.

The interview transcripts were used as teaching material.

This led readers to focus on the latter part of the content, while few paid attention to Fushimikawa's helplessness.

Therefore, for a long time, there was very little discussion about the plot of "Confessions".

He failed to achieve his goal of giving the interview.

Fortunately, two days later, Fushimikawa received some good news.

“Fushimi…Akawa,” Fujiwara Maki approached Fushimi Kawa with a troubled expression. “Your ‘Confession’ startled my sister, Chiko, and now she’s a little afraid to go to school.”

In the morning, after watching "Ikkyu-san", Senko enthusiastically played a game with her, where one of them sat on the ground and the other pressed their finger against the other's forehead, making it impossible for the other to stand up.

In the manga, Ikkyu used this method to defeat a world-famous sumo wrestler in a contest of strength.

This intrigued Chiko, and she played with her older sister for a long time.

But around noon, she saw Oikawa's name on COM and secretly started reading Confessions.

then……

I was shocked by the content.

She's also one of the rare readers who cares about the plot.

“‘You’re such a coward, you’re scared by the comics,’” Fushimikawa said with a smile. “If I convey this to her, I think Senko will muster up her courage.”

As he expected, he was mocked by the "enemy" who wanted to take his sister away. In order to protect his sister, Chiko mustered up his courage and risked his life to go to school the next day.

……

“A rating system for comics is really necessary.”

When Fushimikawa told Toshiki Takei about this, Toshiki Takei had some thoughts.

"Bookstores should refuse to sell comics that are not suitable for children and should divide the bookstore into different sections according to age."

Fushimikawa nodded in agreement.

With the emergence of exquisite and realistic art styles, it's time for 18+ doujinshi to appear as well.

Making timely plans to prevent trouble is essential.

He had to inform Fujiwara Maki that the CM exhibition had caused a public outcry.

When talking about "Confessions", Toshiki Takei was very emotional.

"I've read 'Confessions' before, but I didn't expect it to have such a huge impact. Many veteran cartoonists have spoken out to praise you. In that respect, I'm not a qualified editor."

As an editor, when he read "Confessions," his first thought was its commercial value, without considering its breakthrough in art style and the achievements it brought.

Cartoonists and editors are ultimately different, and this leads to many conflicts.

Toshiki Takei was already quite good; he fully supported Fushimikawa without giving him any pointers or imposing his own ideas on him.

Therefore, Fushimi said:

“When I was interviewed by reporter Otsuka, he told me that Mr. Nori, the editor-in-chief of Weekly Shonen Jump, wanted to meet with me.”

"Ah!" Takei Toshiki quickly pressed, "Did Nagano say anything?!"

His tone was filled with urgency, and a multitude of thoughts raced through his mind.

The worst-case scenario is that Oikawa will switch jobs and go to a rival company.

Then Sunday never recovered and never had the ability to challenge Jump again.

What would be the best option?

“I don’t know,” Fushimikawa shook his head. “I declined Nagano Nori’s invitation.”

Chapter 55 Must comics be beautiful?

In the future, Japanese manga will continue to thrive.

At its peak, it even accounted for 30% of the total print volume of Japanese publications. And what about Weekly Shonen Jump?

It divides Japanese comics into two categories: one is about oneself, and the other is about others.

It can be said that it commands all the mountains.

Dragon Ball, Slam Dunk, Hunter x Hunter, the three shonen manga, as well as Demon Slayer and Jujutsu Kaisen, are just a few of the many manga series that are familiar to many people. They are all works published in Jump.

Many manga artists consider it an honor to have their work serialized in Jump.

Fushimikawa rejected the invitation from the founder of Jump and did not even listen to the preferential terms he proposed.

This doesn't mean he's particularly loyal to Weekly Shonen Sunday; he just feels it's unnecessary.

His comics, even when published in small magazines, become bestsellers.

"Delicious in the Labyrinth" was serialized in Harta, and the collected volumes continued to be a huge hit and sell well.

Obtaining more copyrights and a relaxed and free creative environment are what Fushimikawa cares about most.

Osamu Tezuka and Sanpei Shirato in the past, and Tsukasa Hojo and Tetsuo Hara in the future, all did this.

These manga artists' demands are something Weekly Shonen Jump can't meet.

Akira Toriyama was forced to keep drawing Dragon Ball, which disgusted him so much that he never drew a long-running series again after Dragon Ball ended.

Both Yoshihiro Togashi and Takeshi Konomi developed incurable injuries due to their long serializations.

Exploiting manga artists was one of the secrets to Weekly Shonen Jump's success, and it only improved slightly after they suffered significant losses.

Fushimikawa didn't want to get involved in the mess that was Weekly Shonen Jump.

He has his own ideas, which he is about to implement.

In just over two years, the Middle East oil crisis will arrive.

That was a time of both danger and opportunity.

Many companies went bankrupt, while many others seized the opportunity to dominate the market.

If you seize the opportunity, you can grow into a behemoth much faster.

If Weekly Shonen Jump could succeed three years ago, perhaps a company will create another Jump-like miracle a year from now.

Of course, Fushimikawa's time was very limited, and he couldn't do what Osamu Tezuka did, constantly creating manga and anime while managing Mushi Productions and the magazine "COM".

He needed a trustworthy partner who was capable and had resources, and Fushimikawa had found that person.