Tokyo 1970: I'll draw Doraemon?

At 2 p.m. on Monday, Fushimikawa arrived at Mirai-sha on time.

Maki Fujiwara, Toshiki Takei, Shinsuke Kitahara, and others looked serious, because today's meeting was of utmost importance.

"Since its launch 5 months and 18 days ago, the circulation of Weekly Youth Future has steadily increased from 15 at the beginning to 31 today." As Fushimikawa sat down, Fujiwara Maki looked around and said to her subordinates, "This is all thanks to everyone's hard work. Oikawa-sensei and I are very grateful for everyone's contributions."

The audience erupted in enthusiastic applause.

Whether it was the initial employees like Utsunomiya or the newcomers who joined later, everyone felt proud, their expressions a mix of excitement and self-satisfaction.

It is a remarkable achievement to have built a magazine with one of the highest circulation rates among youth comic magazines in such a short period of time.

Even if they can't stay at Miraisha, this resume will still make them look better in the industry.

Of course, they won't give up on Future Society, which has enormous potential.

"The sales of 30 copies of Parasyte have injected new vitality into our business, and our finances are no longer as tight as before."

Utsunomiya nodded; as the logistics and finance officer, he knew these things best.

Parasyte only sold one volume. After deducting channel commissions, printing costs, and taxes, Mirai Publishing made a net profit of 960 million yen.

It may not seem like much, but the profits from Parasyte are far from over. Volumes two and three will continue to bring high returns to the magazine.

Not to mention the manga series "Detective Story" and "Barefoot Boy".

Weekly Youth Future is now on the right track, with returns far exceeding investments, and it can start to recoup the losses for Future Publishing.

With this foothold firmly established, President Maki Fujiwara began a new project.

"The summer bonus will be issued soon, and the amount is two months' salary for you." Fujiwara Maki began to motivate her employees.

As she expected, the cheers from the more than 30 employees present were so loud they nearly lifted the roof off.

"Great!"

"Long live the president!"

Editor Masahiro Noguchi said to his colleague, "This is great! The weather has been unbearably hot lately, and I just happened to use my bonus to buy Akemi an air conditioner."

My colleague rolled her eyes: "You're so sentimental."

“You don’t understand. In today’s market, you can’t get a good woman without putting in a lot of effort. I’m not…” He glanced cautiously at Fujiwara Maki and said in a low voice, “Oikawa-sensei.”

Fujiwara Maki glanced at him, which startled Noguchi so much that he immediately stopped whispering.

He sat up straight, like a primary school student.

"That concludes today's meeting. Please keep up the good work."

"Yes!"

The employees, having received their promises, left one after another with smiles on their faces.

They were in high spirits, and many couldn't wait to get to work.

Only a few people remained in the meeting room.

"It still has to be a monetary reward," Takei Toshiki said with a chuckle.

As the editor-in-chief, he received much higher bonuses, so he didn't have to worry about his daughter's tuition at the prestigious private high school for a year.

Utsunomiya shook his head: "It's just that it will be hard on me."

Unlike them, Shinsuke Kitahara, a core member, couldn't wait to ask, "How's the preliminary preparation for the shonen magazine going?"

Maki Fujiwara said, "We don't have enough staff. I'm worried that if we draw staff from Youth Future, there will be problems. After all, they are already operating at full capacity."

Takei Toshiki interjected, "Of the people I contacted, three are quite interested."

One of them is Osamu Kamei, an editor at Weekly Shonen Sunday.

One of them is Kazuya Takeda, an editor at Weekly Girls' Comic.

There's also Tomoyuki Fukuda, the editor of "Shonen no Shi".

"Kamei values ​​Mitsuru Adachi highly, and he didn't have a good time at Sunday magazine. However, he is actually very talented, but his talents were not put to good use."

“Takeda doesn’t like working in the shoujo manga department; he prefers shonen manga. It’s not difficult to lure him over with that condition.”

“As for Fukuda…” Toshiki Takei looked up at Fushimikawa, “he will come for Oikawa-sensei.”

"Ikkyu the Clever" has achieved great success and recently received the honor of being a "Recommended Work by the Central Council for Children's Welfare".

According to Arima, Toei Animation wants to contact the original author, Fushimikawa, about adapting this high-quality work into an anime.

Fukuda's willingness to give up "Ikkyu" for his own sake surprised Fushimikawa.

"why?"

Takei replied, "He believes that the future will be better if he follows Oikawa-sensei."

Fushimikawa was silent for a moment, then nodded: "I understand, I will contact him later."

There were many difficulties in launching a shonen comic magazine, but everyone came up with solutions through discussion.

In any case, it's simpler than when Future Society was first established.

"Let's set up the framework first, and I think the official promotion will be in October."

Maki Fujiwara concluded.

"receive."

Fushimikawa left Mirai-sha.

……

Come to think of it, Fushimikawa hasn't gone to see Arima since he went solo.

Taking advantage of the upcoming discussions regarding the anime adaptation of "Ikkyu-san", Fushimikawa visited Arima's studio near Shogakukan.

He seemed flustered by Fushimikawa's arrival, while his two assistants, engrossed in their drawings, secretly glanced at Fushimikawa with curiosity.

"Is there anything I'm lacking on my end..." Arima rubbed his trouser leg with his fingertips, his voice tense.

Fushimikawa looked around the studio, which was very similar to his own.

The equipment for drying the original manuscripts, the arrangement of the assistants' workstations, and the storage locations for the storyboards were all exactly the same, making Fushimikawa feel completely at ease.

“Very good,” he nodded, “You’re doing quite well; you’re already a qualified cartoonist.”

"Giving you 'Ikkyu' was a very successful choice."

Throughout the past year, Arima's version of "Ikkyu" has never had any major problems.

Although there were a few plot holes, they were quickly filled in.

Arima drew with great care, yet his manga gained recognition from readers.

There are now calls for it to be adapted into an animated version.

"Eh?! 'Entrusting Ikkyu to you'..." The female assistant was stunned. She pointed at Fushimikawa, her index finger trembling. "Could it be...could it be that you are Oikawa-sensei?!"

Her male assistant across from her also looked surprised.

The two had been at Arima Studio for a long time. The original author, Oikawa Ji, whom they had only heard of but never met, finally made an appearance on an ordinary day.

"I really love your Doraemon comics, teacher!"

"I am Parasyte, Oikawa-sensei, your drawing is amazing!"

They are fans of Oikawa Ni.

Fushimikawa has finally reached the point where he can run into people who like his manga no matter where he goes.

"Thank you for your help to Arima-san." Fushimikawa nodded to his assistants, which made them excited.

He gave me his autograph, we chatted for a long time, and then he and Arima went to the living room to talk about serious business.

"Toei Animation seems to be putting in a lot of effort, but I don't know much about it. It's all handled by editor Fukuda." Arima told Fushimikawa everything he knew.

"The director is Kimihiro Yabuki, who previously produced the theatrical anime film 'Puss in Boots'."

Fushimikawa knew this person; he had read "Wolf Boy Ken," a book he had worked on.

With his expertise in creating educational and heartwarming narratives for young children, he seems perfectly suited for the anime adaptation of "Ikkyu-san".

Aside from this information, Arima doesn't know much else.

He apologized for his ignorance, and Fushimikawa shook his head: "Your job is to draw manga, so it's okay if you don't pay attention to these things."

His trip here wasn't primarily about learning about the anime adaptation; meeting Arima was the most important thing.

We can't just leave him alone for another year or two, can we?

Do you have any questions about the serialization of "Ikkyu"?

Arima shook his head, but he was full of confidence when it came to this.

"I remember all the teachings my teachers have given me. If I encounter difficulties, I can look back at my past memories and notes, and then everything becomes clear."

Fushimikawa should have been very satisfied, but when he went to Fujiko Fujio's studio and met Suzuki Jiro, he was somewhat disappointed.

"I really envy Fujiko-sensei for having you as an assistant."

Chapter 101 "The Unparalleled Reward"

Faced with Fushimi's praise, Suzuki was a little surprised, then he laughed and said, "That's right! It's all thanks to me that Fujiko-sensei was able to finish 'Doraemon' so quickly! Fushimi, you're absolutely right."

The fact that the famous manga artist Oikawa Ji admired Fujiko-sensei because of him made Suzuki Jiro very happy.

Tell me, what's so great about me?

With his hands on his hips, he awaited more praise.

Fushimikawa immediately said, "Stable."

"Stable?" Suzuki Jiro asked, puzzled.

“Yes,” Fushimikawa sighed. He thought of people like Arima, Hirokane Kenshi, Adachi Mitsuru, and Otomo Katsuhiro. Although they were all geniuses, how long could they stay with him?

They probably won't be able to stand on their own for more than a year, right?

I'll leave as soon as I get used to the work rhythm.

Fushimikawa constantly sought out new assistants and familiarized them with the working methods of the Oikawa Studio.