Tokyo 1970: I'll draw Doraemon?

"Good morning."

She said to herself with a radiant smile.

……

Liang stared intently at the comic book, as if he wanted to burn a hole in the paper.

"It's so well drawn..." he murmured.

"Good Morning" demonstrates Fushimikawa's profound basic skills. Whether it is the background with many objects or the realistic and beautiful female body, he draws it exceptionally well.

If any of the other people present had drawn it, they definitely wouldn't have been able to achieve this level. Liang himself was no exception.

However, the presentation of the content is even more captivating than the artwork itself.

It was a rather simple story, yet it resonated deeply with Liang.

He has certainly stayed up all night before and understands the helplessness of having to get up early after staying up all night.

The alarm clock rang, I got up, dressed, and prepared to leave. But when I came to my senses, I realized I was still lying in bed.

Willpower takes the lead, but the body is too tired to move.

"Good Morning" tells the story of a female protagonist who forces herself to get up, brushing her teeth and watching the news while still half asleep, and only fully waking up after taking a shower. Everyone has experienced this, right? Washing your face and brushing your teeth while half asleep. Fushimi-kun's drawing is truly lifelike. No wonder he's a genius admired by manga artists."

At the manga club's social exchange meeting, members discussed their thoughts on "Good Morning".

This comic can teach them so much; its narrative structure and paneling are as perfect as a textbook.

A masterpiece of technical skill; this is simply a masterpiece of technical skill.

"By combining the real and the virtual, it concretizes the sense of disconnect that comes with delayed consciousness and numbness of the body upon waking up."

He presented his viewpoint.

“I disagree,” Liang stood up. “It should be that consciousness precedes the body.”

They started arguing about it, and eventually went to the creator himself.

"Fushimi-kun, what are your thoughts?"

Fushimikawa was reading a comic book. Waseda Manga Publishing had a large collection of books, and he could find whatever he wanted to read.

This couldn't be better news. With all the loan shops closing down, there's nowhere left to read manga cheaply, and buying them at bookstores is too expensive. Fushimikawa doesn't want to be ripped off.

It's so great to be able to join a comic book club and get free comics!

He was happily thinking this when he was asked a question.

"Does that matter?" Fushimikawa asked without looking up. "All I know is that being a corporate slave is tough. You don't want to get out of bed but you're forced to work. That's the point I want to make. As for the rest, that's up to you."

The two nodded helplessly, having to admit that the plot structure of "Good Morning" was so ingenious that both statements were correct.

Chapter Six: A New Era Is Coming

I've completely lost. I'm no match for them at all, and I can't see any chance of winning.

Liang deeply realized his own weakness and was annoyed by it.

Even the president, who had always looked after him, was now paying more attention to the newcomers.

"Since 1955, a campaign to eradicate bad books, jointly launched by parents, the government, and educators, has been running vigorously for 15 years. During this period, red-inked and loan-book comics have been basically eliminated."

Confiscated, burned, and banned... trash cans filled with obscene books, and Japanese comics suffered a devastating blow.

The drama, which represented reality, bloodshed, and darkness, was also affected. Its nascent form was cut short, leaving only a part of its core elements to be incorporated into contemporary comics.

The current timidity and reluctance of the comic book industry to experiment further is partly due to this. They are developing in a distorted way within the framework imposed by reality.

Before the end of the manga club activity, the club president, Maki Fujiwara, gave a passionate speech.

"I'm not saying this to discourage anyone. Destruction is followed by rebirth, and it's precisely because the destruction was so severe that people were able to realize their mistakes."

“Parents’ thinking is changing, and I believe that a new era for comics is coming, which is our opportunity.”

History doesn't give us many opportunities; we might only get one or two in a lifetime. We must seize them and use them to achieve great things. At this juncture of transition, we must deliver a perfect performance—that's the key!

As Maki Fujiwara said, there were some tentative signs in manga magazines. "Shameless Academy," which was being serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump, became a top-tier manga thanks to its suggestive and erotic content. If this work had appeared a few years ago, it would definitely have been met with strong opposition from parents and banned, instead of thriving like it is now.

Driven by this forward-thinking approach, Weekly Shonen Jump's circulation skyrocketed.

With a small investment, it achieved great success, catching up with Weekly Shonen Sunday and following in the footsteps of Weekly Shonen Magazine, which serialized "Kyojin no Hoshi" and "Ashita no Joe".

The Japanese manga market is being eroded by these three magazines.

If you enter the market any later, you'll miss the golden age of comic book transformation, and then you'll only be able to get scraps.

“Oh,” Fushimikawa said, looking at the beautiful senior student’s passionate speech, “does she not just want to become a manga artist, but has higher ambitions?”

But that's too difficult to achieve, he shook his head.

……

After the manga club activity ended, Fushimikawa didn't rush to leave. Instead, he took out the manga magazine "Elementary School Fourth Grader" and started reading.

As its name suggests, this comic's target audience is students aged 9 to 10.

Young people would only find it childish.

However, Fushimikawa views this magazine from the perspective of an amateur manga artist, and this unexpected perspective can yield unexpected results.

"Fushimi-kun..."

He didn't know how much time had passed when someone called his name.

Fushimi looked up and found that it was already dark, with the clear chirping of birds all around him.

Is this a reminder that it's time to go back?

"Thank you, senior." After putting away the comics, he stood up and prepared to leave the activity room.

“Wait,” the man called out to Fushimi River.

"Hmm?" Stopping and looking him over carefully, Fushimikawa finally recognized him. "It's Ryo-senpai. Is there anything I can help you with?"

After hesitating for a moment, Ryo asked tentatively, "Fushimi-kun is amazing, with excellent drawing skills and creativity. I imagine you're not far from starting a serialization. Why are you still working so hard?"

While he was painting today, his attention was focused on the newcomer in front of him.

Liang is most aware of his focus and hard work.

Someone who is more talented than you and works even harder is someone you can't defeat.

"Isn't that enough? Go play baseball, play soccer, go on dates with cute girls—those are much more interesting than comics."

He admitted that he felt despicable at that moment.

Fushimikawa smiled upon hearing this: "I agree with President Fujiwara's opinion; the opportunity is just around the corner. Effort is certainly arduous and can be exhausting."

"It's tiring, but let's seize this opportunity. That will give us more options in the future. Should we be content with our current achievements and let the past become our ultimate goal?"

The boy stood there, his eyes bright, his tone calm.

"I'm not reconciled."

His desire for more milestones deeply impressed Liang.

Standing there dumbfounded, the ace of the manga club was utterly impressed by the newcomer in that instant.

……

On his way back to the dormitory, Fushimikawa stopped at the supermarket to buy some rice balls and fried food for dinner.

That's how Japan was at that time; ready-to-eat foods were still very underdeveloped, and there were only one or two options to choose from.

He was already tired of eating it, but he had to do it to save time.

He finished his dinner on the way home so he could continue drawing comics when he got back.

Whether it's "Mothers" or "Good Morning," they are all short stories he drew for experimental purposes.

Fushimikawa focused more of his energy on a long-running manga that he was preparing to serialize.

It was a Japanese anime he watched when he was a child. It was both interesting and relevant to the times, not too unconventional, and just right for making money and becoming famous.

He was filled with anticipation and motivation as he realized the dream he had set for himself since junior high school.

Back home, Fushimikawa immediately took out a drawing paper, first sketching the outline with a pencil, then using a dip pen to trace the lines, drawing the figure's outline, carefully outlining the lines, and filling in the details.

After the ink dries, erase the pencil lines with an eraser. That's how you lay the foundation.

Then use ink to blacken the areas that were marked with an "X" beforehand, such as the hair.

Finally, add the dots, onomatopoeia, and narration, and one page of the manuscript is roughly complete.

It took him about 50 minutes to complete this one page of the original manuscript.

It seems like completing one episode a day shouldn't be a problem.

Japanese manga in 1970 was like this; it hadn't yet reached the terrifying level of the future.

Fushimikawa's drawing is already quite detailed.

Otherwise, how could Osamu Tezuka have serialized more than a dozen manga at the same time?

This can only be described as a boon to plagiarists.

"Bang bang."

As Fushimikawa was engrossed in his painting, there was a knock on the door. He frowned slightly and said, "Come in."

The person who entered was Naoya Onishi, accompanied by a salty aroma.

"You haven't eaten yet, have you? I bought extra oden."

"Ah, thank you." Fushimikawa quickly stood up with a beaming smile and tidied up the paper, pen, and ruler on the table.

The temptation of delicious food completely dispelled my desire to draw comics.

“You’re drawing, huh? You’re really working hard,” Naoya Onishi exclaimed. “I joined the manga club for fun, but seeing you makes me feel ashamed of myself.”

Chapter Seven: Doraemon

Naoya Onishi was once a prodigy and the center of attention after being admitted to Waseda University.