Tokyo 1970: I'll draw Doraemon?

All they knew was that Doraemon was coming back!

The date was in the early July issue of Sunday magazine.

In less than half a month, they will be able to see the true face of "Doraemon Returns".

"I hope that Oikawa-sensei's abilities remain undiminished and that he can still come up with stories that move me."

"Don't let yourself be defeated by your past self!"

"I need to revisit the previous stories so I don't forget the characters' personalities."

Amidst this nationwide buzz, the sales of Doraemon manga volumes surged dramatically.

Fushimikawa had just received 456 million yen in royalties when Shogakukan sent him half of that amount.

It's said to be the money for a reprint.

Fushimi Kawakami has been drawing manga for over two years and has finally amassed a huge fortune.

If he's like this, then ordinary cartoonists are even worse off.

Even if a comic book can be serialized, before it is published as a standalone volume, the comic book artist can barely make ends meet with the royalties alone, and is no different from an ordinary worker.

However, just starting a serialization is already a very high barrier to entry.

Many newcomers to the industry have to take odd jobs to make a living.

Future Publishing has plans to provide advance payment for manuscripts to newcomers who have published short stories in Future magazine when they are experiencing financial difficulties.

Of course, this requires an application from the editor.

This amount is not large; it's only equivalent to a month's income for an average worker.

But that's enough for newcomers to get through the tough times and spend more time on comics.

It also demonstrates Future Society's sincerity, so it can be said to be a win-win situation.

"The standalone volumes are selling very well, and the feedback from readers is also very positive. The situation is very promising."

"The next step is to see if 'Doraemon Returns' will satisfy them."

Fushimikawa has great confidence in it.

Anyway, he really shed tears when he watched the 98 version of "Doraemon Returns".

That delicate emotion lingered in his mind, and he spent a long time painting it before he was barely satisfied.

Chapter 92 Goodbye, Doraemon

"Inoue Keizo is really capable."

When Nagano Nori heard the news, he clicked his tongue in amazement, "They actually managed to win back that stubborn Oikawa-sensei."

Under his leadership, the circulation of Weekly Shonen Jump has increased from over 90 to 115 million.

They weren't as vigilant as before regarding "Sunday," which had only sold a mere 50 copies.

"Oikawa-sensei was too lazy to even meet me and Miyahara Teruo back then. He refused my visits repeatedly with very perfunctory attitudes. I thought he was determined to start his own magazine, but it turns out he didn't offer enough in return."

The conditions given by Sunday are conditions that Jump and Magazine would never offer.

Both magazines are on the rise, and there's no need for them to fund a competitor for the sake of a cartoonist.

At most, it would just mean reducing royalties and increasing manuscript fees; Fushimikawa doesn't need to waste his time on this.

Nakano expressed some concern: "With Oikawa Ji on board, Sunday will have to catch its breath."

“It’s alright,” Nagano Nori waved his hand. “Instead of worrying too much about the opponent’s situation, we should focus on improving our own skills.”

“Moreover,” he said with a smile, “creating two manga at the same time, even for Oikawa Ni, would mean losing control of the plot.”

"Parasyte has a tight, interconnected plot, and it's a work that requires complete dedication to draw well. Oikawa will definitely focus all his energy on Parasyte. As for Doraemon, he can just draw it casually. I think Keizo Inoue will be very disappointed."

This is why he is not opposed to the collaboration between Sunday and Oikawa.

Once a manga artist signs an exclusive contract with Jump magazine, they cannot contribute to other magazines, or even write novels or draw animations.

This is because it distracts from your work and leads to a decline in the quality of your creations on Jump.

"Have you forgotten Go Nagai?" Nakano asked. "His novel 'Devilman,' which is serialized in magazine, seems to be of very good quality so far."

Devilman is a product of Go Nagai's collaboration with Toei Animation and magazine.

Like Shotaro Ishinomori's "Kamen Rider", it is a collaborative work that involves both an anime project and a manga project.

Nagano Nori's face darkened at the mention of this.

He initially drafted an exclusive contract for Go Nagai, but Go Nagai refused to sign it and retained his status as a freelance manga artist.

The dark, brutal, and violent Devilman series is not suitable for the Jump platform.

Nagano Nori had no choice but to allow his own pillar to shine for his competitors.

He could certainly see the potential of Devilman; it was a groundbreaking work, on par with Parasyte.

The anti-hero concept of humans merging with monsters and using monster power to protect humanity is very interesting, but it's a pity it can't belong to Shueisha, which didn't even have a seinen magazine yet.

……

"Teacher Go Nagai, is the idea of ​​Akira Fudo fusing with a demon to become Devilman inspired by Parasyte?"

Looking at the letters from readers, Go Nagai was very frustrated. He didn't know why his ideas always seemed to clash with those of Oikawa.

Whether it's the mech cockpit or using the power of monsters to save humanity, these are his own ideas, and he has been proud of them for a long time.

When he was creating, he always thought about what kind of surprised expression the readers would have when they saw it.

but now……

"After Devilman ends, should I continue with my original plan to serialize Mazinger Z in Jump? I'm so conflicted."

He scratched his head and couldn't help but sigh, "Why was I, Nagai Go, born if not Oikawa Ni?"

If the plot of Parasyte were just average, that would be fine, but the key is that it's also particularly interesting, which makes him worry whether Devilman can compete with Parasyte.

A was severely injured by Shinichi Izumi, bleeding profusely. With his death imminent, he went to Ryoko Miyata, intending to take over her body, but was killed by Ryoko Miyata using a gas explosion.

Before it died, a small part of its original body was taken away by Miyata Ryoko, which gave Miyata Ryoko the ability to transform her right hand as well.

She's terrifyingly strong, equivalent to a double dose of Parasite.

Shinichi Izumi and Ue are no match for each other.

This made Shinichi Izumi, who had been questioning her, break out in a cold sweat.

"Why...why kill humans?"

The fact that Right can survive on his blood proves that parasites can also survive on ordinary people's food.

However, flies don't need to be taught; they naturally know how to fly. Spiders don't need to be taught; they naturally know how to spin webs.

They obey certain "commands," and this ability is innate.

The same goes for parasites.

When they were still tentacles, they were in a daze, only knowing how to parasitize the brain of some kind of creature.

But when they occupy the human brain, they receive a "command".

"Eat this species!"

The background of the comic is a dark Earth.

"The core idea of ​​Parasyte is that humans destroy the environment, and the Earth's immune system creates parasites to punish humans. It's just that Shinichi Izumi is an exception."

"This setting is really interesting. It's cold and realistic, judging civilization from the perspective of rational beings. Plus, the combat logic is rigorous and self-consistent, and the story has depth. Oikawa-sensei is really amazing, but it's a pity that he always 'steals' my ideas."

He sighed.

……

The latest issue of Weekly Young Future published the news that the first volume of Parasyte manga will be released in August during the summer vacation.

The first edition had 15 copies and was priced at 230.

It's 40 points higher than Doraemon because it has more content and richer visuals.

This is also because Miraisha is still a small and micro-sized enterprise and does not have the same cost control capabilities as Shogakukan.

The readers didn't care about these things; what they were most concerned about was that Oikawa had decided to hold a signing event for "Parasyte" at CM Comic Con on August 3rd!

"Will I get to see the real person? I definitely want to go!"

"I was already planning to buy the Parasyte manga volumes anyway, this is even better, it has a higher collectible value."

"I wonder if he's as handsome in person as he appears on the show?"

The crowd began to discuss it animatedly.

Yuka Higashino was naturally prepared to participate in the event, but she was somewhat troubled.

"Oikawa-sensei is truly remarkable. At the CM Comic Con in 70, apart from his good looks, few people paid attention to his 'Trying to Say Goodbye'."

By 71, it was already very difficult for me to buy a copy of "Confessions," and I hadn't even met anyone who wrote it.

A little over a month later, I'm afraid even securing a spot won't be enough; in a venue with tens of thousands of people, everyone is a competitor.

She felt a sense of loss, as if she herself was not getting any attention, after her favorite niche creators became famous writers.

"Forget it, the higher he flies, the better. That way, my good taste will be evident."

She's not the kind of person who wants her favorite authors to belong to her forever, or who would even report someone else's hit work.

"Yuka, I bought you Weekly Shonen Sunday."

"Thank you so much, Miyuki! You're my dearest friend!"

……

In this issue of Sunday magazine featuring the return of Doraemon, Shogakukan announced that it will increase the circulation by 20 copies.

To avoid everyone scrambling to grab it.

However, Yuka Higashino felt that this quantity was far from enough to satisfy the readers who had been eagerly waiting for it, and that everyone would rush to buy it as soon as possible to read it.

So, in her rush to get to her early class, she asked her friend Miyuki Nagai to buy her a copy.