Tokyo 1970: I'll draw Doraemon?

As Hirokane Kenji said, the program was very classy, ​​the questions were all within his acceptable range, the theme was still heart-to-heart talk, and there was no content that created sharp topics for the sake of traffic.

"Mr. Oikawa, don't be nervous. There are no audience members or other guests in the studio, just the two of us," Takahashi Keizo said kindly, seeing that Oikawa was still a student.

Fushimikawa nodded: "Thank you for reminding me."

Seeing his calm demeanor, Takahashi Keizo was somewhat surprised.

He's so mature for his age; Oikawa is really unlike his peers.

There was no curiosity or nervousness in his eyes, only composure.

He decided to treat Oikawa as someone with the same psychological age.

Their conversation went smoothly and didn't waste much time.

After the recording ended, Fushimikawa learned that the broadcast time was usually a month away.

He declined the dinner invitation and left the television station.

……

Fushimikawa spent the entire month in a flurry of activity.

Toshiki Takei selected a group of talented newcomers. Although they were not yet qualified for serialization, they could provide good feedback with just a little training.

He gathered together newcomers living in Tokyo and found manga artists with whom he had a good relationship to teach these newcomers.

For example, Fujio Akatsuka, Mitsutoshi Furuya, and others.

Of course, Fushimi River is indispensable in this regard.

Fushimikawa put a lot of effort into preparing his lesson plan. In addition to explaining realistic drawing techniques, he discussed his views on the current manga market.

“Manga artists, both in the past and present, have liked to discuss human nature in their works. For example, Shigeru Mizuki’s ‘GeGeGe no Kitarō’ is about monsters, but the true core of his work is to criticize the materialism of postwar capitalist society, the exploitation of the lower class by capital, and the dilemma that people are gradually becoming inhumane.”

"Of course, that's fine. But it's not the most important thing in comics. To attract readers, being interesting is the most important thing. Blindly copying the styles of predecessors will only affect your own way of expression. Everyone should start by telling a good story, instead of just lecturing."

"Readers are also tired of this overly realistic content; they prefer pure comic stories that can relieve anxiety and stress."

Newcomers to comics often have issues with their drawing skills and the content is quite immature; there's a lot they need to learn.

Many people who receive a magazine's newcomer award think they can be serialized, but that's just a way for the magazine to support and cultivate new talent.

Winning an award does not guarantee a serialized story; the majority of stories remain unpublished.

After class, Fushimikawa contacted Toshiki Takei.

"Just this is far from enough to find more than thirty people to teach. We need to have the means to train new people in large numbers."

This eliminates the need to spend a lot of money to commission articles from famous writers, and allows readers to always see works with fresh styles, keeping them looking forward to Weekly Youth Future.

The success of Weekly Shonen Jump is largely due to the large number of new talents behind it.

After the departure of creators like Akira Toriyama and Takehiko Inoue, manga artists such as Eiichiro Oda and Masashi Kishimoto, who ushered in the golden age of Jump, quickly followed.

Having a constant stream of new talent is the best guarantee that Jump will always stay at the forefront.

"This is a long-term strategy that will require a considerable price to pay," Toshiki Takei said with difficulty.

He comes from Weekly Shonen Sunday, an editorial department that routinely commissions top manga artists such as Osamu Tezuka and Mitsuteru Yokoyama with hefty sums of money, leveraging their talent and fame to build his reputation.

Contrary to this idea were the editors, such as Nagano Nori, who left to found Weekly Shonen Jump.

Fushimikawa said, " allocating the budget to nurturing new talent and building a talent pool is a worthwhile investment. Of course, we don't need to do it now; we have to wait until we have positive revenue."

"To learn from Jump, abandon some of Sunday's misconceptions."

Takei Toshiki nodded as he recalled Oikawa Ji, who was relatively unknown at the time, and Adachi Mitsuru, who had not yet made a name for himself.

"For the sake of generations of 'Oikawa-ji', I will do as you say."

……

Afterwards, Fushimikawa also pondered the names and home addresses of those aspiring manga artists who had not yet made a name for themselves.

Unfortunately, manga artists aren't celebrities, and not many people pay attention to them; Fushimikawa never expected this.

What are the birth dates and addresses of Akira Toriyama, Rumiko Takahashi, and Fumi Saimon? They are all unknown.

He could only hope that he would go and find these people once they became somewhat famous.

Many people have a child inside them who dreams of being rescued by a beautiful woman driving a luxury car during their most miserable time.

Although he is not a beauty and does not own a luxury car, he has a little fame in the industry, which may earn him their admiration.

……

A month later, on Thursday evening at 7:30 pm, before prime time, after much promotion by the television station, the interview with Fushimikawa was finally broadcast.

"Conversation with this person and Chuan Er".

The screen appeared, and a surprised "Huh!" came from the head of the Toriyama family. "The guests on this show are so young! They don't look much older than Amin."

Upon hearing this, Akira Toriyama looked over curiously, and then he was stunned in surprise.

"This is... Fushimi-senpai!"

He still remembered Fushimikawa, the campus celebrity who gave a speech at the senior high school graduation ceremony more than a year ago.

"He went to Tokyo to pursue his dream of becoming a manga artist, and he actually succeeded, and so quickly! That's unbelievable!"

Chapter 77 Akira Toriyama: He's my idol!

Akira Toriyama, who is about to enter his senior year of high school, still vividly remembers the short manga he read when he first entered the school.

Mothers.

Author Fushimikawa vividly portrays maternal love and the horrors of war in just a few words.

It rapidly eroded countless families and the young men and women raised over more than a decade.

From that time on, Akira Toriyama had an idea: he wanted to draw this kind of manga too.

So he began to have many fantasies about where the original author had gone.

Has Fushimi-senpai truly become a manga artist? Is he currently drawing works like "Mothers"?

For now, should we just learn from cartoonists, accumulate experience, and wait for our moment to shine?

Akira Toriyama had never considered the possibility that Fushimi River would be unable to continue its serialization.

He was a fan of Fushimikawa and believed that with his idol's abilities, he was sure to make a name for himself.

However, the accumulation period may take several years.

When he was working, Fushimi River suddenly appeared and sparked a lot of discussion, which he could then talk about in a calm tone.

"Ah, this cartoonist is my senior from high school. He was really good at drawing comics back then."

Akira Toriyama had been trying his best to imagine it, but he had never imagined what was happening before his eyes.

"Fushimi-senpai got on a show like 'Talk to This Person' in just under two years... That's terrifying!"

"Huh?" His strong reaction puzzled the head of the Toriyama family. "Do you know this manga artist named 'Oikawa Ji'?"

“Oikawa Ni?” Akira Toriyama was shocked again.

"So Fushimi-senpai is Oikawa Ji! The brightest new star in the manga world!"

He really enjoys watching Doraemon, an episodic series with lots of imaginative gadgets.

The plot is lighthearted and heartwarming, gentle and without any hostility, making it very watchable.

He then had the idea that he wanted to create this kind of work.

For example, a story about a robot girl in a small town who uses all sorts of props to create laughs and farces.

There are no truly heinous villains; the content is lighthearted and primarily intended to entertain.

"Grandma's Memories" and "The Elephant and Uncle" are his favorite chapters as a high school student.

Nobita and the Steel Troopers, featuring many robots, thoroughly entertained him, a man who loves machines.

"So it turns out that what I've always liked is Fushimi-senpai's manga."

"Bang!" The chopstick tip hit his head. The head of the Toriyama family said irritably, "Don't be so startled. Speak properly."

"Ouch," Akira Toriyama said, rubbing his forehead, his voice tinged with pride. "Oikawa-sensei is a senior from our industrial high school."

"Huh? So you're from Aichi Prefecture?" The head of the Toriyama family had a good impression of Fushimi River. He said to his son, "What are you so proud of? You're not him."

"By the way, you're always saying you want to become a manga artist. Look at Oikawa, and then look at you. You're really no match for him."

Akira Toriyama wasn't angry at all at his father's teasing tone.

His eyes shone as he watched the television, his tone light and airy.

"How could I possibly compare to Fushimi-senpai? He's so handsome."

……

Keizo Takahashi asked, "Why did you choose to become a manga artist?"

Fushimikawa bluntly stated, "Because I have no talent in literature, I decided to retreat and weave a net instead of just admiring the fish in the pond, so I chose manga, which is also a form of literature and art."

His answer puzzled Takahashi Keizo: "Have you tried publishing literary works?"

Fushimikawa nodded: "I have made some achievements, but it is inconvenient to tell you."

Takahashi Keizo then stopped asking questions.

He continued, "What obstacles did you encounter when you first submitted your manuscript? What was the editor's attitude towards you at that time?"

“Obstacles?” Fushimikawa scratched his head in frustration. “I haven’t encountered that. As for the editor’s attitude? Editor Takei saw my manga by chance at a doujinshi convention and has been helping me with the serialization ever since. The appearance of ‘Doraemon for Kids’ is all thanks to his efforts.”

“Haha,” Keizo Takahashi chuckled, “So you have no past to complain about in this regard.”

"That's right, all my plans were disrupted, and I became a manga artist without really knowing what I was doing. You should know about 'Ikkyu-san,' right? I was originally planning to focus on that monthly manga. But I was forced to go to 'Sunday' instead."

His confusion and helplessness made Akira Toriyama feel terrible.

"So becoming a comic artist... is it really that easy?"

"Stop overthinking! You're so stupid, how can you compare to others?"

"That's true."