Tokyo 1970: I'll draw Doraemon?

She was lost in her fantasies, but Fushimikawa thought: What a motivated worker she is.

He was satisfied, his eyes crinkling with laughter.

"Wait a moment, Xiao Hui will assign you a job when she arrives."

Mentioning Asano Megumi sent a chill down Ueda Eiko's spine. Her initial enthusiasm for Oikawa vanished instantly, and she sat obediently at her workstation, eyes fixed straight ahead, completely serious.

Fushimikawa ignored her change, watching the storyboard gradually taking shape under his pencil, and nodded in satisfaction.

"Doraemon Returns" is a collection of two manga by Fujiko Fujio.

The first is "Goodbye, Doraemon".

About two or three years after the original world, due to the poor performance of "Doraemon", Fujimoto Hiroshi planned to temporarily stop the serialization of "Doraemon" and start a new work.

Thus, this story of Doraemon bidding farewell to Nobita and returning to the 22nd century came about.

However, because readers responded very well to "Doraemon" and he couldn't bear to part with his masterpiece, he drew "Doraemon Returns" a month later to reunite with readers.

Now, thanks to Fushimikawa's presence, Doraemon's performance is exceptionally good, maintaining its number one position in the "School Year Ranking" for a long time, making it an undisputed pillar of the industry.

In terms of fame and influence, it is even stronger than the works serialized in Sunday magazine.

His dream of "creating works that children will always love" has become a tangible possibility.

Therefore, Fujimoto Hiroshi will never think about ending "Doraemon" again.

……

Not long after, the assistants arrived.

They noticed that Fushimikawa was drawing Doraemon, but they didn't say anything, though they looked somewhat excited.

Everyone tacitly agreed and completed today's work.

Through these few days of weekly serialization, Katsuhiro Otomo gradually understood the workload of a realistic weekly serialization.

He gradually learned to let go of minor issues and spend more time completing his work tasks.

Of course, he still maintains strict standards for his own work in private.

The work, which has only a few pages, is crawling along at a snail's pace.

Adachi Mitsuru, however, was very efficient.

He simplified the realistic style considerably; the characters are neither complex nor childish like those in cartoons. The eyebrows and eyes, drawn with just a few strokes, give the characters a soul.

They're all too similar. If you ignore the hairstyle, all the characters, regardless of gender, are basically made from the same mold.

Mitsuru Adachi knows how to be lazy.

“There are still some problems,” Fushimikawa said, pointing at the screen. “You’re simply not suited to drawing action-packed stories. Forget about special moves, forget about revenge, forget about your own personality. Think about your own strengths.”

Adachi Mitsuru asked in confusion, "My characteristics?"

"Isn't Shinji Nagashima your biggest idol? That means you also yearn for this kind of work deep down. When you're creating, don't think about 'Star of the Giants,' but think about how Shinji Nagashima would draw it."

Listening to Fushimikawa's earnest teachings, Mitsuru Adachi seemed to be deep in thought. He muttered to himself, "Youth, realism, restraint, gentleness, subtlety..."

“Yes, that’s it.” Fushimikawa nodded with satisfaction. “There have been enough hot-blooded works since the 60s. If you want to become famous, why not try subverting the norm? Introduce your strength in youth romance into sports manga, and maybe you’ll create a miracle.”

He has a good understanding of the market.

I think that even if Mitsuru Adachi isn't as famous as he was in his previous life, he'll still achieve good results much earlier.

This is positive guidance, not nonsense.

Mitsuru Adachi fully agreed with Fushimikawa's words.

Which cartoonist doesn't want to draw the works they truly yearn for in their heart?

Akira Toriyama previously worked at an advertising company, where he was responsible for drawing posters and flyers.

The monotonous work day after day, the repetitive and tedious tasks like an assembly line, led him to quit his job after two years and debut as a cartoonist.

Unfortunately, Jump is also known for squeezing out inspiration.

He became a world-renowned manga artist whose works became part of Japanese culture, but he also returned to his former job, drawing battle scenes day after day.

Although Jump later regretted it, feeling they should have given Akira Toriyama time to rest, the magazine's positive development lay in the continuous emergence of top-tier titles, one after another.

Instead of having a single work occupy the top spot for too long, which would make the magazine lose its vitality, once the long-running flagship series ends, there won't be any new works to keep up in the short term.

The magazine's vitality will therefore be greatly reduced.

But by the time the Jump editors understood these principles, it was too late.

"I have chosen to end Dragon Ball."

When the top executives of Jump learned of this news in 1995, they must have felt like the sky was falling.

"If I signed Akira Toriyama, I would definitely give him more creative space and rest time," Fushimikawa thought, but then laughed at his own wishful thinking.

Akira Toriyama is probably still squatting somewhere right now; how could he just sign something whenever he wants?

“Teacher, I know what to do now,” Adachi Mitsuru said earnestly.

The path ahead is already very clear; all we need to do is learn it and then draw it out.

Seeing his expression, Fushimikawa was very happy.

Even without Akira Toriyama, Mitsuru Adachi is still a good choice.

Mitsuru Adachi in the 70s was definitely better than Akira Toriyama.

"Keep it up!" Fushimikawa gave him a thumbs up.

The assistant left confidently, and Fushimikawa turned off the living room lights and went to sleep.

……

The weekend is a day when the assistant doesn't have to work, but the Oikawa Studio is going to receive a very important person.

Keizo Inoue, the new editor-in-chief of Weekly Shonen Sunday.

After cleaning up briefly, Fushimikawa began reading the first volume of "Star of Giants".

"The initial print run was only tens of thousands back then. If it were today, it would be at least three times that number, right?"

As Japan's economy grows rapidly, students' allowances are also increasing. With more money, buying physical books has become their first choice, rather than struggling to rent them.

The number of people who are used to reading comic books is also increasing.

After all, apart from Sunday, the circulation of the other two magazines is increasing.

Two days ago, Fujimoto Hiroshi told Fushimikawa that Shogakukan had decided to publish the first volume of "Doraemon" in single volume format, with an initial print run of 12 copies.

In the past, this would have been an unimaginable number, but now it's the kind of treatment that hit works receive.

"It's so vibrant, with everything bursting with life," Fushimikawa exclaimed.

This is truly a great era for creators.

Of course, Osamu Tezuka is an exception.

No matter how much he earns, it's not as good as losing it quickly.

Two months ago, "com" issued its final issue number and chose to cease publication.

This magazine, which provided a platform for many creators, has officially come to an end.

Today, Weekly Youth Future takes on some of the responsibility.

Maki Fujiwara had the idea of ​​creating another monthly magazine to experiment with new styles, try out mistakes, and explore the trends in the reader market.

Of course, this happened after the release of the Parasyte manga and the founding of Weekly Shonen Future.

Maki Fujiwara has arranged a comprehensive plan, which is being implemented at a rapid pace.

The future of Future Society is bright.

This also put a lot of pressure on Inoue Keizo, who was visiting Oikawa.

'I may curse Watanabe Shizuo in my heart for his mismanagement and letting Oikawa escape, but what's the use of that?'

"The most important thing now is to gain Oikawa's understanding and give my reforms time."

He took a deep breath and, accompanied by Toshiki Takei, rang the doorbell.

……

Fushimikawa opened the door and, besides Toshiki Takei, saw a capable-looking middle-aged man.

He is upright and dignified; his appearance alone is superior to that of Watanabe Shizuo.

"I apologize for disturbing you, and I hope you will understand, Mr. Oikawa."

"Please come in." Fushimikawa stepped aside to let the two in, then closed the door.

Keizo Inoue's attitude was very good. He didn't say anything high-sounding or make any direct demands, but instead gave conditions.

"I've discussed this with Editor-in-Chief Takei. I can agree to the prime display spot and one chapter per month on behalf of Sunday. I wonder if you have any other requests, teacher?"

Before coming to Oikawa Studio, he visited Mirai-sha.

Takei Toshiki discussed it with him for a long time, which made him more and more reassured.

Oikawa did not reject his request, which is why he agreed to meet and negotiate.

What he needs to do is be honest, straightforward, and give Oikawa the best treatment.

Putting oneself in the position of the weak is difficult for an editor-in-chief, especially when the subject is a cartoonist.

Keizo Inoue did just that; he even bowed deeply.

"I apologize for the wrong decision made by Sunday magazine back then. I was really sorry for not giving you the right treatment."

Fushimikawa looked at Takei Toshiki, who nodded silently. Fushimikawa then quickly helped Inoue Keizo up.

"What are you doing? You're overthinking it. I don't have any negative thoughts about 'Sunday,' and I even have some affection for it."

Keizo Inoue breathed a sigh of relief; it was finally done.

He now has the free time to think about other things.

'You idiot Watanabe, making me sell my dignity to clean up your mess! Disgusting!'