Tokyo 1970: I'll draw Doraemon?

Now that he has made the decision, he will not regret it.

"Hoo~" Watanabe Shizuo took a deep breath after hearing this. He was not angry. Instead, he said seriously, "Listen to my conditions first."

Talking about feelings is useless now; let's make our stance clear through interests.

"On the way from Shogakukan to here, I kept thinking about what I could contribute, and now I'll tell you the results."

He was sincere and did not try to probe or bargain, but instead listed the highest treatment he could offer.

First, the fee for a single page of manuscript increased from 1500 to 5000, meaning that Fushimikawa could earn eight times more than an average person just by publishing 80 pages of serialized manuscripts each month.

Second, resource allocation.

Magazine covers, center color pages, and animation projects can all be prioritized for Doraemon.

In news magazines and other channels, Doraemon takes the lead in promotion.

Third, it grants copyright control. Animation and related merchandise adaptations are subject to full review by Fushimikawa, which can refuse unreasonable commercialization.

Fourth, and most importantly, the royalty rate.

“From 10% to the maximum of 12%,” Watanabe Shizuo said with a burning gaze, “you should be able to feel my sincerity, Oikawa-sensei.”

When a publishing house publishes a book, it needs to share the money with the author, usually 10% of the total value, but sometimes 8%.

For example, Shogakukan's single-volume editions are usually priced at around 240 yen, so the author's income is 24 yen for each single-volume edition printed.

The royalty rate has been increased to 12%, which is 28.8 yen.

The difference may not seem significant, but once the base amount increases, it becomes a considerable income.

The four preferential treatments proposed by Watanabe Shizuo were all very tempting.

If it were an ordinary cartoonist, they would definitely agree immediately upon hearing this.

But what about Fushimikawa?

"I do see that you value me highly, Editor Watanabe, which makes me feel quite flattered."

He suddenly remembered Yoshihiro Togashi.

In 1995, Weekly Shonen Jump was in a slump following the conclusion of Dragon Ball, with sales dropping by 150 million copies and still having room to fall. Jump's editor-in-chief, Nobuhiko Horie, had no choice but to promise Yoshihiro Togashi an extremely extravagant deal.

Weekly updates are not mandatory; one chapter per month is sufficient.

Faced with such preferential treatment, Yoshihiro Togashi naturally agreed; only a fool would refuse.

Watanabe Shizuo couldn't help but smile; he thought so too.

He relaxed his requirements for Fushimikawa and offered him various benefits. No matter where Oikawa goes, he will probably not be as good as Weekly Shonen Sunday.

He nipped the crisis in the bud.

He nodded in satisfaction upon hearing Fushimikawa's agreement.

"I was able to become a cartoonist thanks to Sunday's mentorship."

"Uh-huh."

"Editor Wuju also helped me a lot, allowing me to focus on my creative work."

A smile appeared on Watanabe Shizuo's face.

"but……"

"But?" Watanabe Shizuo was taken aback, his mouth slightly agape.

The problem is that everything has to start with a "but." Once that "but" appears, everything that came before becomes irrelevant.

“I refuse,” Fushimikawa said firmly. “I will not change my decision. Please leave with the gift.”

Even with their trump card, they still failed.

Watanabe Shizuo was at a loss.

He stood there stunned for a long time before finally lowering his head.

"I understand, I'm so sorry to have bothered you today."

……

He and Toshiki Takei, who had remained silent throughout, left, naturally without taking the gift with them.

At this moment, Hirokane Kenji came out of the kitchen, carrying not tea, but a piece of red bean yokan.

“The conditions are really tempting,” Hirokane Kenji muttered, chewing. “If it were me, I would have agreed to the second condition.”

Fushimikawa glanced at him: "I won't give you that kind of opportunity. You'd better work for me for the rest of your life."

"Is it possible to make a living from comics for the rest of my life? That would be amazing."

……

The once bustling editorial office fell silent as Watanabe Shizuo walked in with a gloomy face.

The editors were puzzled: why was the editor-in-chief unhappy when there was good news everywhere?

Something seemed amiss, so they didn't dare ask any questions and buried themselves in their work.

"Yamashita, come to my studio," he said, then headed straight for the editor-in-chief's office. Remembering something, he turned back to Takei Toshiki and said, "You come too."

Yamashita was filled with trepidation, his legs trembling.

Takei Toshiki, on the other hand, didn't care about anything and was even more relaxed than usual.

The three left one after the other, and the editorial department finally came back to life.

"Phew~ What on earth happened?" someone whispered.

"Stop talking and get back to work."

"Yes."

……

"Starting tomorrow, you will work in the women's magazine branch."

Without giving Yamashita time to think, Watanabe Shizuo spoke.

Sunday is Shogakukan's top-selling product, accounting for half of its revenue.

Women's magazines, on the other hand, are neglected, with no revenue and a stagnant future, showing no possibility of development.

Generally, only editors who have made serious mistakes are banished there.

My editing career at the foot of the mountain has come to an end.

Before Yamashita could react, Watanabe Shizuo looked at Takei Toshiki.

Takei Toshiki understood that he wanted him to tell Oikawa about this, to express his remorse through Yamashita's sacrifice, and to improve Oikawa's favor.

But Toshiki Takei didn't want to do any of this.

He didn't know when it started, but he had grown tired of Sunday.

"If there's nothing else, I'll head out."

Ignoring the pale-faced Yamashita, he left directly.

A few days later, Takei Toshiki heard that Yamashita had been transferred to a proofreading position again.

Now, he's not even an editor anymore.

Just imagining working alongside informal employees in a monotonous, unfulfilling assembly-line style, Toshiki Takei could feel the despair of those down the mountain.

As for Watanabe Shizuo's punishment of Yamashita, it is still unknown whether it will come to an end.

……

Tuesday arrived, and Watanabe Shizuo's most desperate moment came.

In the end, he still couldn't persuade Oikawa to come back. In Sunday's issue No. 48, the final chapter of Doraemon by Fushimikawa appeared.

The anime series "Doraemon for Kids" has ended, but Shogakukan has chosen to keep it a secret.

They contacted Fujiko Fujio, hoping he would take over.

Fujimoto refused, citing his busy schedule and unfamiliarity with shonen manga, and also did not grant permission for Doraemon to be serialized in Sunday magazine.

Without the readers' knowledge, the "Doraemon for Teenagers" series had already ended.

They were also excitedly watching an episode titled "Grandpa Who Prompted Me in a Dream".

Morimoto was very satisfied, and said with a touch of arrogance, "After a year, Oikawa has finally fulfilled his promise to me."

Chapter 74 Ha! No Doraemon? (Two-in-One)

It was just an ordinary day, and the Doraemon magazine in Sunday was serializing an ordinary chapter.

It doesn't have the epic story of "Nobita and the Iron Man Corps," nor does it have a phased ending like Doraemon being recalled or the mission being completed.

It only tells the story of "Grandpa came to visit me in a dream".

Suddenly, Xiong's father changed his doting attitude and became stricter with Xiong.

After suffering greatly, Da Xiong learned the reason: his father had been told by his grandfather in a dream that he should train himself rigorously.

Nobita is both angry and curious about this strange grandfather who died before he was born, so he and Doraemon take a time machine back to the past.

He witnessed firsthand how his grandfather softened after criticizing his father for being weak.

Despite his tough exterior, he actually loves his son very much.

Before Shinsuke returned home, he stoked the charcoal fire to make the room warm and cozy; he left the roasted sweet potatoes for his son; although he initially refused to buy comic books, he eventually paid for them anyway.

Grandpa was very gentle with his grandson Nobita, and even went to the future to tell Shinsuke to treat Nobita well.

This is a true reflection of the affection between grandfathers and grandsons, and fathers and sons in East Asian families.

Although the father loves his son, he is very strict with him so that the son can grow up better.

Grandfathers often show extreme doting affection for their grandchildren; this is known as the special bond between grandparents and grandchildren.

Morimoto was very satisfied with this episode; he felt that Nobita's grandfather was drawn based entirely on him.

"Oikawa is still a kind person, it's just that the interval was too long."