Tokyo 1970: I'll draw Doraemon?

"Perhaps it won't be long before Sunday catches up with Jump."

"It's all thanks to Mr. Oikawa. Speaking of which, Fukuda-san, weren't you the one who signed Mr. Oikawa first?"

"Ah."

When asked by his colleagues, Tomoyuki Fukuda nodded expressionlessly.

"Ikkyu-san" has consistently performed well, maintaining its second place among "Elementary School Fourth Graders," behind "Doraemon."

It perfectly met his requirements for Fushimi River.

But why am I so upset?

I was here first!

He had unearthed a sparkling diamond and received praise from his long-admired senior, Takei. These two joyful events intertwined, and he should have been filled with immense happiness. So why did things turn out this way?

People only know the shonen manga artist Oikawa Ji, but they don't know the creator of "Ikkyu-san".

In the relationship between the three, Fukuda became the one who was most easily overlooked.

In the future, after "Ikkyu-san" ends, he may never be able to collaborate with top manga artist Oikawa Ji again.

"What exactly happened?" a colleague asked.

Fukuda Tomoyuki himself wanted to know the reason, and he shook his head: "I'll go see Oikawa-sensei."

He got up and left the academic year's editorial office.

……

Nobita and the Steel Army has released a new chapter.

Nobita and his friends sneak into the mirror world and find the Christmas Samurai, who is unable to move due to the dimensional tremor.

After placing the "bowling ball," they successfully obtained this deadly weapon. They then infiltrated the base's core and learned the terrifying news that the "Iron Legion" would arrive on Earth the following night.

This threw everyone into a panic, leaving them disoriented and frantic.

At the critical moment, Gian stepped forward. Although he had no solution, he still managed to stabilize the situation.

"Don't panic. We already know the army is coming, don't we?"

This allowed Nobita and his friends to calm down, face the robot's attack with composure, and escape the base.

Suneo's robot toy, Micross, gained intelligence similar to that of the Necatebia Legion thanks to Doraemon's gadgets.

He even felt fear and timidity, and soon after entering the mirror world, he left the group out of fear.

But when Shizuka was attacked by Lilulu, Microros bravely stepped forward and delivered a flying kick, killing Lilulu, who was already severely injured by the dimensional quake explosion.

"They're all robots, but Microross is protecting humans, which is completely different from the Iron Legion."

Although it is not as glamorous as Samurai Santa, nor as cute as Lilulu, and is clumsy and timid, it is a righteous robot.

"The contrast is obvious. Mr. Oikawa is saying that robots don't necessarily have to invade Earth. There is another way to do it."

"Their differing ideas stem from the influence of their upbringing in society."

"The plot is really cleverly conceived."

On the subway, Fukuda Tomoyuki looked at the manga and, from an editor's perspective, was once again impressed by Oikawa Ni's brilliance.

It's not just about having lots of inspiration or being a skilled artist; his control over the plot has reached a level of consummate skill.

"It's a pity, will we always have to say goodbye?"

……

Lilulu is hurting herself; she's a bad robot. Yet Shizuka still wants to take care of her and heal Lilulu, both physically and mentally.

Xiao Fu, however, thought: "Let's completely destroy her!"

Doraemon, wanting to get information from Lilulu, decides to cure her.

The group had different ideas, which were also inconsistent with the idealized and righteous views of the protagonists in shonen manga.

However, that's how Japan was in the 70s; children shouldn't be too naive.

Children's comics are full of the cartoonist's views on the world.

Unable to voice their opinions through other channels, they incorporated their ideas into literary works.

……

On the other side of the galaxy, God abandoned humanity, which was willful, greedy, hateful, and prone to killing each other, and created a pair of robots instead.

And he said to them, "Robots, strive to create a society like paradise."

After a period of rule by the aristocracy over slaves, the robot planet began to spread the idea of ​​equality, and slavery was abolished.

Lilulu was very proud when she recounted the glorious past of her home planet.

"So in order to find new labor, it was decided to use humans."

"Robots are God's children, and the universe exists for robots."

"This is exactly the same as the history of human development."

Shizuka hit the nail on the head.

What difference is there between this being the people of some god and the establishment of a deified emperor system in Japan after the Meiji Restoration, which claimed that the emperor was a descendant of Amaterasu Omikami and a living god?

All of this was to brainwash the public, instill loyalty to the Emperor, and foster extreme militaristic morale.

Lilulu is exactly like the fanatical Japanese of the past.

"At this point in the comic, the purpose of its creation has finally been fully expressed."

"Oikawa still used the story to criticize the crimes of the wartime government."

Morimoto put down the comic book and rubbed his temples.

He had previously told his grandson that the war was fake, just a fictional story in a comic book.

But now he suddenly realizes that the Iron Legion's invasion of Earth had already happened in the past.

Although they failed that time, it caused a terrible price to other countries.

"There's not much to say in the face of this situation. But what should Nobita do in the face of this fanatical and morbid ideology?"

There is more than just Lilulu in the Iron Man Legion; there are hundreds of millions of people who would rather die than give up the war.

"Unless Doraemon uses a devastating atomic bomb."

"But isn't that too extreme?"

As an older Japanese man, Morimoto was not extreme, but he was unwilling to accept the trauma caused by the atomic bomb.

"How exactly should I draw it?"

He was caught in a dilemma.

……

"How can we change the robots? The conflicts of interest between planets can't be resolved by love and peace, right? I'm very curious about the plot of 'Iron Legion'."

"Gian is steady, Suneo is realistic, and Shizuka represents kindness. The main characters each have their own strengths, which is really great."

"Hurry up and bring us the rest of the story!"

The latest chapter of "Iron Legion" surprised readers by introducing a difficult-to-resolve conflict and subtly alluding to militaristic expansion, brainwashing, and hegemonic logic.

It really appeals to the tastes of today's left-wing youth.

Chapter Seventy: Our Sunday is thriving!

I hope that the number of readers of "Nobita and the Iron Man Corps" will continue to grow.

This story, which has only been serialized for 6 chapters, completely creates a familiar society where civilization relies on external enslavement to divert internal conflicts, collectives are brainwashed to carry out expansion, and the worship of force alienates the race.

This is the logic of power that is being re-examined today.

It is neither free nor democratic.

"I really want to see the next chapter soon."

The student movement was so violent that it disrupted the normal lives of citizens, causing ordinary people who initially understood and sympathized with them to begin to despise the reckless left-wing students.

As someone who had once been a member of the university's student council, Yoshiyuki Tomino had a different perspective.

"Why hasn't Oikawa reflected on the factional infighting and power struggles that have consumed ideals within the student movement?"

"I want to make anti-war animations in the future, but they will also need to criticize blind and violent resistance."

……

Thanks to the recent surge in popularity of "Nobita and the Tetsujin Corps," the circulation of Weekly Shonen Sunday has begun to rise again.

Shogakukan is saying through many channels that they are running out of manga to sell and hope to receive another batch of magazines.

The eagerly awaiting readers have delighted the senior management of Shogakukan.

Our Shogakukan is on an unstoppable upward trajectory!

At Shogakukan, Managing Director Yoshitsugu said to Watanabe Shizuo, "You did a great job, Watanabe. You've brought Weekly Shonen Sunday back to life, and now I can finally face President Aiga."

"Not at all, it's all thanks to your guidance, Director, and the hard work of the manga artists," Watanabe Shizuo said, his back hunched, his tone calm.

He was happy inside, but he didn't show it on his face.

You can't laugh yet.

“Hmm,” Ji Gang nodded, turned around with his hands behind his back, and said leisurely, “You’ve been the editor-in-chief of Sunday for several years now. If things go smoothly this time, it’s not like you don’t have a chance.”

"Yes!" Although he didn't say everything, Watanabe Shizuo understood that as long as Sunday didn't have any major problems, his promotion to the board of directors was a sure thing!

He was thrilled: "I will urge the editors of 'Sunday' magazine to do their best to serve cartoonists and readers!"

Back in the editorial department, he looked at his subordinates working in an orderly manner and nodded with satisfaction.

"No problem at all."

……

As usual, Tomoyuki Fukuda arrived at the Oikawa studio.