Tokyo 1970: I'll draw Doraemon?

……

"Wow~ This drawing is so touching. Didn't A-Chuan say this was his comeback work? It looks more like a farewell."

In the midst of her busy schedule, Maki Fujiwara, while flipping through "Doraemon," gasped, feeling a chill run down her spine.

She looked around and sensed that something bad was about to happen.

"No way... This is a matter for Sunday magazine, what does it have to do with our Future magazine?"

She forced a smile and prepared to continue with her official duties.

Recently, thanks to communication with Sunday magazine, Oikawa Ji has acquired all the copyrights to the junior version of Doraemon.

Fujiwara Maki considered that perhaps she could gain something from it.

"Producing animation?" Mirai Studio is still developing and doesn't have that kind of capability.

"Perhaps we can reach a cooperation agreement with Toei Animation."

Shogakukan also hopes that Miraisha will act in this way.

The copyright of "Doraemon" is mostly held by Fujiko Fujio, so it's a great thing that Mirai-sha is producing "Doraemon" anime to promote itself.

Furthermore, the animation production costs could potentially bankrupt Mirai Studio, leaving Oikawa with no way out.

"The movie 'Nobita and the Iron Army'? How much money was invested? Movie-level frame rate requires a lot of money."

She suddenly remembered that Future Society's target audience was young people, and they really liked the concept of the Christmas Samurai mecha.

"We can use Samurai Santa as a starting point to design a mecha anime!"

This way, you gain brand recognition and can also partner with toy manufacturers like Bandai, mitigating risks. It's a win-win situation.

"Who was the designer of that Christmas knight? I remember A-Chuan telling me about it."

She was deep in thought when suddenly there was a loud knocking on the door.

"Enter."

Editor Noguchi exclaimed in panic, "Something's wrong! We've received so many letters from readers!"

……

"Not only Shogakukan, but Miraisha Publishing House is also overflowing with letters from Doraemon readers..."

Fushimikawa was both amused and exasperated.

They were so afraid of missing out on the news that they even added Future Society's channels.

They were a little too in love, and they misunderstood their own thoughts.

But these things can't be blamed on the readers, since this chapter was originally intended as Fujiko Fujio's farewell to Doraemon and his readers.

Readers may misunderstand, which is perfectly reasonable.

"I cannot accept Doraemon leaving Nobita!"

"Please, Mr. Oikawa, don't end Doraemon. Let him go back to Nobita's side."

"Please let Doraemon go home."

The words of the teenagers and young adults were truly sincere.

A sudden counterattack left many people stunned.

Even elementary school students wrote letters.

They drew hand-drawn doodles of Doraemon and Nobita together, expressing their inability to accept the disappearance of the blue robot who accompanied them.

Shogakukan and Miraisha received far more letters from readers than ever before, and the sentiments expressed were overwhelmingly against the story ending.

Many Doraemon readers even bought Weekly Young Future magazine, spending 85 yen just for the reader survey form inside.

This is the data source that the magazine cares about most. They filled the reader comment section with a lot of messages trying to retain readers, which moved the staff who were compiling the statistics very much.

Besides the fact that they couldn't get their hands on a copy of Future magazine for young readers, this incident touched many people.

The news programs all reported it.

The emotional status of "Doraemon" among its readers is unbelievably high.

This is what Shogakukan wants to tell the public:

"Due to the 'ending' of Doraemon, letters poured in from readers all over the country. The letters flooded the Shogakukan building like snowflakes; readers who loved the manga didn't want to say goodbye to Doraemon. It was a rescue of their cherished memories."

Looking at the report, Yuka Higashino was very satisfied. She clenched her fist and said to her fellow fans in the manga club, "See? When we readers unite, even the magazine is moved! After expressing our love, everything has to give way to us, even Oikawa-sensei!"

"Doraemon will definitely return."

"Oh!"

At Japan's top women's university, these students are as innocent and happy as children.

……

In Oikawa's studio.

"So, Mr. Fushimi, should we issue a public announcement?" Keizo Inoue asked, sitting across from Fushimi River.

After pondering for a moment, Fushimiwa shook his head.

"No need. Since everyone has misunderstood our ideas, let them continue to think that way. Defeating 'evil' through one's own strength is a truly beautiful thing. Years later, readers will still reminisce about it."

Keizo Inoue nodded, admiringly saying, "Teacher, you are truly generous and considerate of your readers."

The readers' enthusiastic response was a great thing for him.

He paid a huge price to bring Oikawa back.

Even if Shogakukan's higher-ups don't say anything, they'll still be dissatisfied.

But through this incident, the value of Doraemon became clear, and Keizo Inoue's strategic goal was initially achieved.

With Doraemon as a foundation, he can make sweeping reforms.

They abandoned the competitive hot-blooded manga market and shifted their focus to comedic slice-of-life and youthful romance stories that were gradually gaining popularity.

“I also have my own reasons,” Fushimikawa shook his head, “With this hard-won victory, readers will love Doraemon even more.”

Increasing group belonging, refining loyal followers, and strengthening cohesion are all benefits.

Furthermore, the sales of Doraemon manga volumes have recently increased again, which is also due to readers spending money to boost the data. They hope that Shogakukan will see the huge profits and change Fushimikawa's mind.

Keizo Inoue was no stranger to this tactic. He asked, "So, will the next episode of Doraemon need to be postponed?"

Their contract stipulated one episode per month.

He suggested, "One and a half to two months is the most suitable."

“Let’s not wait that long,” Fushimikawa sighed. “Let’s publish the next chapter in about two weeks, in early July.”

He even voluntarily shortened the serialization period.

It leaves room for me to be moved by the readers and immediately start drawing new content, while also allowing the readers to see it immediately.

He's not as rational as he claims to be.

Inoue Keizo sighed.

"That's fine then."

Before Oikawa could even get the editor he had assigned to Oikawa, Kamei Osamu, he took the manuscript of the next chapter of Doraemon away on his own.

……

The following week, readers did not get to see Doraemon.

"This is understandable, as publishing comics is a very complex process. It takes a lot of time for the cartoonist to draw the comics, not to mention the time it takes for the magazine to type, proofread, print, and distribute them."

While we can understand, everyone is still uneasy, since Shogakukan has not responded to our feedback.

All our efforts were like hitting cotton.

"That's terrible."

Until early July 1972.

With anticipation in her heart, Yuka Higashino personally went to the school store.

She was accompanied by many people, and they looked at each other, conveying strength through their gazes.

Although they were filled with trepidation, everyone's steps were quite firm.

'When it comes to war, you have to be serious!'

This sentiment permeated everyone.

"Welcome...please welcome..."

The store doors opened, and a group of people walked in with resolute expressions that suggested they were ready to die, which made the cashier, who had said the same thing a thousand times, stumble over her words.

'Could they be here to cause trouble?'

Her body tensed, and she dared not meet the eyes of these people.

Yuka Higashino walked ahead and saw "Weekly Shonen Sunday," her heart leaping into her throat.

"I went."

"Please be careful with it."

"Please take care."

The encouragement from everyone gave Yuka Higashino boundless confidence. She picked up "Sunday," turned to the table of contents, and started searching from the back to the front.

"No... still no... Where's Doraemon?"

My body trembled as I looked at the eighth, the fifth, the third...

Finally, at the very beginning of the table of contents, she saw the words "Doraemon Returns".

"Great!"

Her body suddenly relaxed, and she clenched her fist and cheered.

"We have Doraemon now!"

"Great!"