Tokyo 1970: I'll draw Doraemon?

Unfortunately, these hopes were dashed after Parasyte.

"A month... only a month has passed..."

He was struggling to maintain Sunday's circulation, but Fushimikawa was able to turn things around immediately, increasing Future's circulation by 10 units in a short period of time.

The differences between people are simply too great.

He had mixed feelings and even considered leaving.

"I'm already out of touch with the times."

Chapter 85: New assistant Otomo Katsuhiro Ueda Eiko

"That's the handsome guy from Tokyo, casual yet languid. His facial features are rather rugged, but his demeanor is very gentle. Ah, it's so great that I was able to get into Tokyo!"

Eiko Ueda, a country girl from Kagoshima who came to Waseda University, gazes ahead, longing for Tokyo.

There was a male college student resting with his eyes closed, looking slightly tired.

This is near the manga club activity room. The thought that the handsome guy from Tokyo might be a member of the team, and that she could look at him all day long, made Ueda Eiko a little excited.

Born in a remote area of ​​Kagoshima, she only saw a few boys growing up, who were average-looking and quite rude, which led her to develop the habit of drawing comics.

They've maintained this practice until now, arriving at Waseda.

"Maybe I should go and say hello..." she pondered, then hesitated.

Helpless, Fushimi opened one eye and looked at the junior who was openly spying on him.

Even when he hid behind an empty teaching building, he couldn't find peace.

Back in his studio, he had to draw Parasyte.

It was really hard work to meticulously depict these contents in a realistic style, even more tiring than when he was running two accounts simultaneously.

Drawing monsters, especially those with unusual appearances, requires exceptional perspective skills.

He draws for eleven or twelve hours a day for four out of seven days a week. In addition, he also has to go to school, so he has no spare time.

He finally made it to the comics club, but the team members wouldn't leave him alone.

Ask him about the single volume they drew for the CM exhibition.

After exhausting his efforts to persuade a dozen or so people to leave satisfied, Fushimikawa finally found a moment of peace to come here.

Surprisingly, there were people even in this kind of place.

"Let me make this clear first, I'm not from Tokyo, I'm from Aichi Prefecture."

The junior student was reluctant to leave, so Fushimikawa had to speak first.

"Huh!" he suddenly said, startling Ueda Eiko. She then waved her hand, "Aichi Prefecture is no different. I'm Ueda Eiko from the south. The Chubu region and Kanto are no different to us."

She has a passion that Tokyoites don't have.

Fushimikawa asked, "Is there anything else?"

“Um,” Eiko Ueda approached Fushimikawa, looking at his flawless face, racking her brains for a topic, “By the way! I heard that Mr. Oikawa is a member of our manga club, have you met him before, senpai?”

Because he was too busy, Fushimikawa did not participate in this year's manga club recruitment.

He rarely comes to the manga club anymore.

It was Hideki Kurokawa's responsibility to recruit new members for the Future Club through the Manga Research Club.

He told Fushimikawa that a new artist this year had very good drawing skills, and his paintings were full of warmth, so he might have the potential to be serialized.

Unfortunately, the newlyweds were not present when Fushimikawa came this time.

After a slow, sluggish thought, Fushimikawa finally remembered the question from the junior student with delicate features and dark brown, wheat-colored skin.

"Of course I've seen them, I see them every day."

"Really! I'm so envious of you!" Eiko Ueda opened her mouth and revealed a big smile, her teeth shining white. "I especially love Oikawa-sensei's 'Confessions,' and I really want to meet him."

It seems she hasn't watched the show "Talking to This Person," otherwise she wouldn't have failed to recognize Fushimikawa.

When Fushimikawa was about to introduce himself, the girl said, "Only Oikawa-sensei would draw a manga like 'Confessions.' Teachers hurt students and wish they could drive them crazy. To draw such conflicted and extreme content, Oikawa-sensei must be a gloomy and cynical person."

This was the first time Fushimikawa had ever encountered a fan attacking him face-to-face.

To avoid an awkward situation between the two, he did not reveal his identity.

They only introduced themselves to each other.

"I am Fushimikawa, a third-year student in the Faculty of Letters."

"My name is Eiko Ueda. I'm also in the literature club and I want to become a manga artist."

……

As spring arrived, Fushimikawa returned to his hated studio, where Mitsuru Adachi and Megumi Asano were already there.

"Sigh." Adachi Mitsuru sighed first, looking out the window. "I have to draw manga again. The weather is so nice, I really want to go out and play baseball."

Looking angrily at the intricate scenes under his pen, he couldn't help but think that he would never use this style of art for serialization again; it would be exhausting.

He wanted to draw the kind of characters where every character looked pretty much the same, and a simple outline of their faces was enough.

Unlike him, Asano Megumi was in a good mood, even humming a Showa-era tune. It was unclear what made her so happy.

"First place again!" She looked up at Fushimi River, a slight smile playing on her lips.

"The readers' reviews are also very good. 'I've always been afraid to read horror manga, but Oikawa-sensei's Parasyte is an exception.' That's what some people say."

She was overjoyed when Parasyte was a success.

Fushimikawa's vexation dissipated as a result.

He clenched his fist: "Then let's keep going!"

"Okay!" This was Asano Megumi.

"Eh~" This is Mitsuru Adachi.

No matter how I feel, I'll always draw comics.

We can't be like Osamu Tezuka, constantly delaying our work and leaving our readers disappointed.

“Oh, right,” Adachi Mitsuru suddenly slapped his palm, “someone just called and said his name is Otomo Katsuhiro, that he came to Tokyo after graduating from high school.”

Katsuhiro Otomo?

Fushimikawa's brow twitched.

Is this animation director, who will one day represent Japanese culture, finally about to take his first step into becoming a manga artist?

Did he say anything else?

Adachi Mitsuru took out a piece of paper and waved it in his hand.

"You can contact him via this phone number."

The next day, a shy-looking boy came to Oikawa Studio.

Fushimikawa introduced to his assistants: "This is Katsuhiro Otomo. He is a very good artist, especially skilled in perspective. He will be joining us in the future to lighten our workload."

Adachi Mitsuru was overjoyed: "Welcome, Otomo-kun! It's wonderful. You can ask me any questions you have later."

Faced with the enthusiastic Mitsuru Adachi, Katsuhiro Otomo was a little nervous and just nodded quietly.

"His name is Mitsuru Adachi. He is a very talented manga artist who has drawn several short stories. He is now learning from me and may be able to start serializing his own works soon."

Mitsuru Adachi's current short stories are getting closer and closer to "Touch," which he will draw a few years later.

This person will soon shock the entire comic book industry.

He will present what is considered the most perfect comic by many.

Fushimikawa's high praise made Katsuhiro Otomo remember Mitsuru Adachi.

He then looked at Asano Megumi.

Who is this person?

“She is my childhood friend, Asano Megumi.” Fushimikawa briefly introduced Asano Megumi.

She really didn't have anything worth mentioning.

Even if her drawing skills are good, it's still too much to ask her to compare with Mitsuru Adachi and Katsuhiro Otomo.

Mitsuru Adachi: "..."

Asano Megumi: "..."

Chapter 86 Winning Hearts and Minds

Katsuhiro Otomo came from a poor family, and after graduating from high school at the age of 18, he faced a life choice.

Should I stay in my hometown to develop my career, or go to Tokyo to make a name for myself?

He chose the latter.

My friend knows an editor at Futabasha, so we can work together towards that goal.

Katsuhiro Otomo hesitated.

He held a business card in his hand, which was given to him by the famous manga artist Oikawa Ji when he attended the CM Comic Con.

"Feel free to contact me anytime if you need anything."

Katsuhiro Otomo still remembers what Oikawa said back then.

However, after arriving in Tokyo, he discovered that Oikawa's manga career seemed to have encountered some setbacks.

Tomie received poor reviews, with some saying that Oikawa Nii, a young man, had become so complacent that he forgot how to draw manga.

He was in a terrible predicament, so it wasn't a good time to bother him.

Katsuhiro Otomo supported himself by doing odd jobs while living in a row house and drawing comics.

It wasn't until April, when "Parasyte" suddenly appeared and reversed Oikawa's unfavorable reputation, that Katsuhiro Otomo called him and left the phone number of the convenience store where he worked with the assistant who answered the phone.

……