Tokyo 1970: I'll draw Doraemon?

Her heart is gradually growing into another version of herself, which means there are a total of 42 Tomies in the world.

Tomie's body was dismembered; will the remains continue to multiply?

This is a very interesting concept that can give rise to countless stories.

"A short story that can show people its future is already a great success. It's just a matter of seeing what Oikawa will do next."

……

Oikawa is busy studying.

Although spring break has already begun.

However, his grades in the February final exams were not ideal.

Even Fushimikawa, after devoting all his energy to his career, almost failed his studies.

He felt humiliated by barely passing the test.

So, in addition to drawing comics, he has been studying hard during this period.

After struggling for half a month and finishing the book, he was finally satisfied.

"That should solve the problem."

He cared more about his academic performance than the discussions surrounding him.

The famous manga artist Oikawa failed his final exams and will be ridiculed by everyone.

If he draws plots that defy common sense in the future, people will use that as an excuse.

His impressive academic credentials will crumble on their own.

Compared to his composure, Hirokane Kenji was much more nervous.

"Teacher Oikawa..."

Rubbing his hands together, after becoming a cartoonist, Kenji Hirokane returned to the place where he had once struggled.

"Huh? What brings you here?" Fushimikawa asked in surprise.

Since the serialization has just begun, Hirokane Kenshi must have a lot of things to do.

Whether it's training assistants or busy drawing original manuscripts, it's all very energy-consuming and time-consuming.

“Yes,” Adachi Mitsuru nodded in agreement.

Arima is drawing "Ikkyu the Clever," and Kenji Hirokane has started serializing it. Fushimikawa only has one assistant, Megumi Asano, and he has been busy with Mirai-sha's affairs lately.

Takei Toshiki then assigned his most promising newcomer, Adachi Mitsuru, to Fushimikawa.

"Let him learn from you properly. He's lazy all day long and hasn't made any progress."

Fushimikawa agreed.

Teaching Mitsuru Adachi is a very fulfilling thing.

Unlike Toshiki Takei, who found someone to be the original author and Mitsuru Adachi to draw the illustrations, Fushimikawa had Mitsuru Adachi draw the manga himself, in addition to drawing Tomie.

Don't let the market influence you. Draw what you most want to draw: brotherhood, youth, Koshien (the national high school baseball tournament), and love.

Mitsuru Adachi is quite interested and has been busy designing the female lead for his work recently.

He also unusually began to work hard.

"Teacher," Hirokane Kenji ignored Adachi Mitsuru and asked nervously, "I heard that when it was first published in Weekly Shonen Future, a total of 15 copies were printed?"

"That's right, these figures were determined by Editor-in-Chief Wu Ju after market research."

Currently, there are fewer than 10 youth comic magazines with a circulation of 15 copies.

Toshiki Takei's initial decision to invest so heavily was based on Fushimikawa's reputation and the formality of Weekly Youth Future.

"So, 15 people are reading my comics?" Hirokane Kenji was unexpectedly nervous. "Whenever I think about this, I feel very uneasy. I feel more at ease when I come here with you."

Fushimikawa understood his thoughts and, without encouraging him, simply smiled and said, "Perhaps Weekly Youth Future has accumulated a backlog and not sold as many copies."

“Huh?” Hirokane Kenji was taken aback. “Isn’t that even worse?”

……

After receiving "Tomie," Toshiki Takei discovered that it was just a short manga, and kept urging Oikawa to produce a long-running series.

"Don't be so gory. Tomie is just a niche work. Kazuo Tomo, the most popular author of horror comics right now, doesn't have top popularity and can't support a comic magazine."

So now, three days after the release of Weekly Youth Future, Toshiki Takei is still a little nervous when he contacts the distributor, Koji Co., Ltd.

“Mr. Fukada, I am Takei from Mirai-sha.”

"Editor-in-Chief Wuju, are you worried about the sales figures for 'Future'?"

Fukada, the head of the magazine section at Toriji Company, could understand Takei's nervousness.

He had worked with many emerging comic book publishers, and although most of them went out of business, they felt the same way as Takei when the comic book magazine was first published.

Filled with tension and anticipation, I longed to hear good news.

Chapter 81 Parasite

In Japan, Toriji Co., Ltd. is responsible for connecting publishers and bookstores, as well as logistics and promotion.

Publishing houses of all sizes, whether it's Shueisha, Kodansha, or the newly established Mirai-sha, all need to collaborate with them.

The downside, of course, is that they will take a 10% commission from both ends.

The benefits would be considerable.

Firstly, it can increase the exposure of the comics and utilize Tokiwa Company's sales channels.

This is quite helpful for small publishing houses, since they don't have many employees, so how can they get sales channels running smoothly?

Secondly, this explains why Takei Toshiki contacted Section Chief Fukada.

Toji Company possesses sales data aggregated from bookstores nationwide, so the manga sales of Mirai Company, as a partner, are naturally no problem for them.

However, the first issue of Weekly Youth Future has not yet been settled, and without computers, relying on card-based statistics is still quite lagging.

Fukada could not provide specific data, but could only offer comfort to Takei Toshiki's anxious heart based on his experience.

“We distributed copies of Weekly Youth Future to bookstores and convenience stores of all sizes across the country. It’s been almost three days now, and not many bookstores have requested returns, which shows that Weekly Youth Future is very popular with readers.”

He spoke sincerely, and Toshiki Takei listened attentively.

"Thank you so much. I'm so sorry to have troubled you today. There's a high-society club in Ginza. Let's go for a drink together to express my apologies."

Fukada declined a few times, but then agreed.

After hanging up the phone, Takei Toshiki stared blankly for a while, expressionless.

immediately……

"Yes! That's great!" He clenched his fist and raised his arm, his face flushed, his excitement beyond words.

At middle age, leaving a stable work environment and choosing to work for a startup, the pressure on him is considerable.

With a wife and daughter to support and not wanting to be a laughingstock, Takei Toshiki shouldered everything, working at the company every day. Now he can finally indulge himself for a while.

"Speaking of the Ginza Club, I promised Oikawa I'd treat him to drinks. Now that he's an adult, it's time to keep my promise."

Takei Toshiki pondered whether Oikawa's decision to release a niche work like "Tomie" was a form of revenge against him.

Only after making oneself tremble with fear and trepidation will one bring out the real trump card.

“No way,” Takei Toshiki waved his hand, finding his own thoughts laughable. “Oikawa isn’t a petty person, why would he take it so seriously? Hahaha.”

After relaxing for a while, Toshiki Takei got up and went to look through the comic works submitted from all over the country.

……

At 7 p.m., Fushimikawa was painting.

Someone pushed open the door and walked into the studio.

Fushimikawa looked up at the door and saw Asano Megumi taking off her scarf.

She hung her scarf next to the one given to her by Maki Fujiwara. The two scarves matched well; one was a vibrant red, and the other was an elegant white.

"Are you done with your work?" Fushimikawa asked.

"Mm." Asano Megumi nodded.

Upon discovering that Fushimikawa was the only one in the studio, she took off her trench coat, revealing her curvaceous figure encased in a wool knit sweater.

She walked behind Fushimi Kawa, leaned over the back of the chair, and pressed her chest against his back, her chin resting on his shoulder.

The ends of her hair tickled Fushimi Kawa's face.

"Why are you back so late? Didn't you say you'd be done by five o'clock?"

Fushimikawa sensed something was amiss and quickly asked what was wrong.

Asano Megumi is going to do market research today.

Using a laborious method, they inquired at bookstores and convenience stores throughout Tokyo about the sales of Weekly Youth Future.

Many employees at Mirai-sha also do this kind of work, including President Maki Fujiwara.

There aren't many people available right now, so there's nothing we can do about it.

When it's time to pay salaries, Maki Fujiwara gives generous bonuses to everyone as compensation for their hard work.

"I ran into Nagai-san and chatted with her."

Fushimikawa never expected that his request to Nagai Miyuki to deliver a message would actually lead to the two becoming friends.

That's good. Asano Megumi has always been rather aloof and clingy. Now that she has friends, she can finally have her own life.

For some reason, Asano Megumi was even more clingy to him today.

Don't you have friends now?

Feeling the breathing around his ear, Fushimikawa became somewhat lost in thought.

Why did you choose to paint "Tomie"?

"Ok?"