Tokyo 1970: I'll draw Doraemon?

Although he left Shogakukan, he still had a lot of connections there, and he knew everything about their every move.

Fushimikawa asked with interest, "Do you know who the newly appointed editor-in-chief of Sunday is?"

"It's almost certainly Inoue Keizo," Takei Toshiki said. "I've worked with him before. He's an editor by training and very capable. I think he's the only one who can clean up the mess that Watanabe Shizuo made."

"Inoue Keizo..." Fushimikawa muttered the name, but had no recollection of him. "What kind of person was he?"

“He is energetic, has strong execution skills, and knows the comic editing industry very well,” Toshiki Takei said earnestly. “The key is that he has different ideas from the main faction of Sunday, likes to play with differentiation, and cultivates new people with more potential.”

Fushimikawa thought of Mitsuru Adachi and Rumiko Takahashi.

These two "Sunday Twins" likely emerged during the time of Keizo Inoue.

He began to take this unfamiliar editor seriously.

“If he really is the new editor-in-chief of Sunday, I think,” Toshiki Takei looked at Fushimikawa with certainty, “he will definitely visit you and seek opportunities to work together again!”

Fushimikawa frowned: "Hmm? Why?"

Toshiki Takei explained, "Now, the circulation of 'Sunday' has dropped to only twice that of our 'Future,' and we're in a precarious situation. If we want to turn things around quickly, asking you to make a comeback is the fastest way. Keizo Inoue is a shameless guy and doesn't mind asking young people for help."

"But I'm already a manga artist with Mirai-sha."

“It’s alright!” said the editor-in-chief of Future Publishing. “While there are disadvantages to having two manga serialized simultaneously, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages!”

Fushimikawa discovered that although he was good at drawing manga, he didn't understand these intricacies at all.

If he were to start his own business, he might become the next Osamu Tezuka.

He didn't understand Takei Toshiki's thoughts.

Fushimikawa sighed, "Just tell me straight, don't try to lead me on."

Takei Toshiki's eyes were piercing: "Actually, you don't know, besides the troublesome Sunday, Magazine and Jump are also suppressing Weekly Youth Future."

"These two magazines have recently started serializing several horror comics. This is to divert the sales of Parasyte and cause Future's sales to decline, which has indeed had some impact."

"Besides that, there's also the distribution channel. Although everyone else distributes their products through Toji Company, they can use a more subtle approach, partnering with bookstores and convenience stores to secure prime display spots. They can relegate our 'Future' magazine to the bottom corner. 'Jump' magazine also suffered from this before."

Although Jump and Sunday are under the same group, the internal competition within large corporations is even more intense than outside.

They have intuitive performance comparison and evaluation methods.

and so……

"Try negotiating with Sunday and getting them to give up some of their prime display space to us. I think Sunday will agree."

The distribution channel is the biggest problem facing Future Society today.

Utilizing Sunday's channels will greatly increase Future's sales.

"Furthermore, if Sunday fails, Future will become a thorn in the side of the other two magazines."

Fushimikawa could understand that.

It's very common for the eldest and second eldest brothers to fight and the third brother to die.

Maintaining market chaos, allowing for opportunistic profiteering, is especially important for emerging companies like Future.

"Most importantly, this is basically a risk-free business. The benefits are so great, but there are hardly any losses. Why not do it?"

Fushimikawa was somewhat tempted by what he was being said.

"Huh?" He suddenly realized, "How can there be no loss? Isn't this the loss I'm facing? Serializing Parasyte is tiring enough, how can I have time to draw Doraemon?"

"Mr. Oikawa, you are the pillar of our Future Publishing Group. With great power comes great responsibility. We all owe our success to you." Takei Toshiki flattered. "And you can talk to Inoue Keizo about updating one chapter of 'Doraemon' every month. I think that's no problem. Besides, don't you have four assistants now? It would be a waste to only draw 'Parasyte'."

Fushimikawa was rendered speechless by what he said.

"I see now. Your purpose in treating me to dinner today wasn't to fulfill your promise at all, but to set me up." Fushimi Kawa shook his head.

He had already agreed in his heart.

Readers will be happy to see Fushimikawa return to Sunday magazine, especially since the beloved Doraemon artist, Shizuo Watanabe, has left.

“Then it’s settled.” Takei Toshiki was beaming with excitement. Having gained Fushimikawa’s approval, he was invigorated. He stood up, straightened his clothes, and sniffed his collar twice. “There’s no perfume smell, right? Let’s go.”

"Leaving so soon?"

“My daughter has been studying hard lately and wants to get into a good high school, so of course I have to go back to be with her.”

"I just can't do anything with you."

Fushimikawa got up and left the club with him.

Takei Toshiki drove at breakneck speed all the way and soon arrived at the Oikawa Studio. After dropping off Fushimikawa, he left without saying a word or looking back.

"Are you worried I'll change my mind?" Fushimikawa shook his head. "You really underestimate me."

The studio lights were still on. With a sense of unease, he opened the door.

There was only one person inside the room, Asano Megumi, who was reading a book.

Upon seeing Fushimikawa, her excited expression vanished for a fleeting moment before she wrinkled her nose in disdain and said, "Such a strong perfume smell."

Fushimikawa didn't explain, but just smiled.

"The editor-in-chief of Wuju is going to have a hard time when he gets home."

Chapter 89 The Reader's Resentment

After outmaneuvering Oikawa, Takei Toshiki went home satisfied.

Lady Takei moved closer to him, intending to loosen his tie, but after her nostrils twitched, her expression changed slightly.

"Go see Aiko first, she's been waiting for you to come home," the lady said to Takei Toshiki with a warm smile.

"Okay." Takei Toshiki nodded, changed into indoor shoes, and walked towards his daughter's room.

Lady Takei looked at him quietly, her gaze gradually deepening.

Not long after, just as she had expected, a loud commotion came from her daughter's room.

"What a strong perfume! Father is truly amazing! He's such a good father."

"Ah, no, it was just work-related socializing!" Takei Toshiki's voice rang out in defense.

He lamented to himself that he had finally gotten a holiday, but he couldn't even get a peaceful rest.

I hope things aren't going well for Oikawa either.

He prayed silently.

I hope something bad happens in Oikawa.

……

"Akawa, I've already prepared the bathwater. Go and relax with a good bath." Although Asano Megumi was somewhat dissatisfied, her first thought was still out of concern for Fushimi Kawa.

"Thank you for going to so much trouble to socialize with us."

Fushimikawa smiled and said, "Thank you for taking care of me. It's getting late, you should go back and rest."

"Mm." Asano Kei nodded steadily, watching Fushimi Kawa enter the bathroom.

After a while, when she heard the bathroom doorknob turn, indicating that Fushimikawa was about to finish her bath, she turned and left the Oikawa Studio.

……

Episode 4, "Parasyte," tells the story of a lion that escaped from a zoo and became accustomed to being kept in captivity by humans.

The lion easily bit through the throat of a passerby, realizing its strength. The crowd scattered and fled. The lion was very proud, but little did it know that it would soon be riddled with bullets by the arriving police.

But before that, disregarding its trembling "wild instincts," it attacked the parasite in the crowd and was easily killed by it.

"That man's head looks deformed..."

Some of the witnesses were speechless.

"It must be an illusion, how could it be?"

Others objected, and after discussion, everyone agreed that the man had probably thrown some kind of explosive at the lion.

Keizo Inoue looked at this story, which could even be described as a fable, and remained silent for a long time.

"Even the lion, at the top of the food chain, is powerless against the parasite. This shows that the parasite is a higher-level being that is outside the food chain."

"Some people have witnessed the parasites' ability to transform their bodies, yet they dare not believe this surreal fact, which proves that the exposure of the parasites is not easy. People always believe what they want to believe."

"Lions with limited intelligence will eventually be hunted by humans, but parasites possess extremely high intelligence and can infiltrate people."

"Readers who have read this far will be able to directly feel the terror of the parasites."

As he predicted, Watanabe Shizuo lost his position as editor-in-chief some time ago and was transferred by senior management to the shoujo manga department.

The person who took over as the new editor-in-chief was Keizo Inoue himself.

He presented the policy he had already considered.

"Weekly Shonen Magazine excels at sports manga with a strong sense of passion and determination, and we can no longer compete in that area. Instead, let's try the youth romance and slice-of-life comedy that readers have recently started to favor."

"The reader survey system of Weekly Shonen Jump has increased the competitiveness of Jump and the chance of elimination, so the works in Jump are becoming faster and faster."

“We might as well give cartoonists more space. Even if a cartoon that fits the style of ‘Sunday’ is only moderately successful, we can allow them to slowly adjust the plot to build popularity.”

“By going against those two and catching up with the latest trends, I think that's enough to give *Sunday* a place in the market. But…”

Keizo Inoue hesitated, "These strategies require a long period of implementation to be effective. Our 'Sunday' needs someone who can immediately stabilize the situation. That person…"

He recalled the manga *Parasyte* he had read: "One must have immense popularity, widely loved by *Sunday* magazine readers. Strong capabilities, maintaining stability as a pillar of support for a long time. Someone like that…"

"Who is it?" the higher-up asked.

"Is it only Oikawa Ni?"

“Sunday wouldn’t be complete without Oikawa Ji.”

When Shogakukan executives asked Keizo Inoue about his strategy to reverse the situation, this is what he said.

"Is it Oikawa Ni?"

“There is no irreconcilable conflict between Oikawa and us at Sunday. As long as the interests are large enough and meet the common needs of both parties, we can reach an agreement.”

"Then I'll leave it entirely to you."

"Yes."