Tokyo 1970: I'll draw Doraemon?

The only thing we need to catch up with is Shogakukan's seinen magazine, Big Comic, which features Golem XIII.

"Wow, that's amazing. Even though it's a newly established magazine that's only been around for six months, it's full of hidden talents and has many top-notch people. It reminds me of the old Weekly Shonen Jump."

"There will always be people who rise to prominence with the tides of the times. The comics industry will only become more and more magnificent in the future, right?"

"I've heard that many bookstores and schools have contacted Keiji Nakazawa, the illustrator of 'Barefoot Boy,' wanting to buy a batch of his works for collection and teaching purposes."

"His comics are indeed very educational; the tragic experience of being bombed by atomic bombs is something that contemporary children need to remember deeply."

"That must be Kenji Hirokane, right? A top student from Waseda University. 'Detective Story' is grounded in reality; it's a social realist mystery. He uses vivid stories of ordinary people to reflect contemporary social issues, making it very suitable for young people. It would be a core work of any magazine."

"I heard that he was once Oikawa-sensei's assistant."

"No wonder he's so capable."

No matter which youth magazine it is, it can thrive by having both "Barefoot Boy" and "Detective Story" at the same time.

Moreover, there's more in Weekly Youth Future...

"Oh! Oikawa-sensei has arrived!"

……

To encourage manga artists who are dedicated to their serializations, Mirai-sha held an awards ceremony.

A manga artist can win an award if their manga has 20 or more chapters.

The bonus is not much, only 20 yuan, which is equivalent to 3 to 4 months' income for an average worker.

But that's enough to give comic book artists who haven't yet released a single volume a sigh of relief.

This was a grand event, and many commentators, journalists, and editors who were curious about the inner workings of Miraisha chose to come and serve as spectators at Miraisha's invitation.

As industry newcomers took the stage to receive awards, the audience whispered among themselves, offering their opinions.

Who is that?

"Ryo Watanabe, author of 'The Original Manuscript of the Tide'."

"Oh, it's him. He has a very solid foundation."

After awarding medals to numerous manga artists, Maki Fujiwara has now presented only one on her tray.

At this moment, the place, which had become quiet due to the long time that had passed, suddenly became restless.

Because that man appeared.

Without prior arrangement, everyone stood up and gave him a long round of applause.

"It's Mr. Oikawa."

"Only when 'Parasyte' is in 'Weekly Young Future' can it be called a top-tier manga magazine."

Many people came specifically for this young man who took the stage.

He saved Weekly Shonen Sunday and successfully founded his own magazine, making it stronger and stronger, and leading it to glory.

What is even more admirable is that Oikawa's comics all have profound educational significance.

The anti-war message of "Doraemon" and the narrative of the relationship between humanity and nature in "Parasyte" both prompt reflection.

Two days ago, the court finally issued its second-instance ruling on the case of Itai-itai disease, upholding the original verdict that the mine was fully responsible and demanding permanent compensation, river cleanup, and aid for the patients.

The compensation applies to those who contracted the disease after 1945.

After all, they are a post-war government, and they have severed ties with the pre-war government.

The victims of Itai-itai disease before the war are not related to them.

Despite the various compromises, this is a great thing, representing the government's attitude. The Basic Law on Pollution Control has been further amended, and public health has officially taken precedence over industrial development.

Riding this wave of popularity, Parasyte's fame grew, and the sales of its collected volumes soared despite industry insiders' incomprehension.

I heard this is the third reprint.

This year, its issuance volume may exceed the limit of 70.

"What an amazing cartoonist."

A genius that only appears once every fifty years.

"So spirited and full of vigor, it's enviable."

The audience erupted in cheers and applause that lasted for a long time.

Fushimikawa had been standing on the stage for half a minute, looking at his colleagues with some excitement.

You should know that if he weren't one of the founders of Future Society, he wouldn't bother getting involved in such trivial matters.

After all, he had received countless small awards from Sunday magazine, but he had never attended one of them.

Instead of wasting time, you should draw a couple more pages of content.

But now, looking at the admiring and hopeful gazes of so many people, Fushimikawa suddenly felt his weight.

"I'm really happy to have won this award."

After the applause subsided and everyone took their seats, Fushimi said this while holding his medal.

Ignoring the friendly smiles of the crowd that seemed to say, "I'm just watching you perform," Fushimikawa earnestly said, "Many people came to Mirai-sha's award ceremony for me, and I am truly grateful and flattered. I will continue to dedicate myself to manga in the future, thank you."

A photographer appeared and took a photo of him with the award presenter, Maki Fujiwara.

……

"Oikawa-sensei will always be the most popular one." Hirokane Kenji said, holding his medal in the audience.

Liang nodded: "If he hadn't shown up, the scene wouldn't be this lively. Even if our Future Society used employees to make up the numbers, it would still be sparsely populated."

There are over a hundred audience members here. Future Society is constantly expanding, but currently only has about 50 employees.

They all sat down, and the scene didn't look good.

“Because of Mr. Oikawa’s support, we were able to go all out,” Nakazawa Keiji said. “Otherwise, we could have just rented a small room.”

He is the number two cartoonist signed with Future Publishing.

If "Barefoot Boy" were placed in "Big Comic", it could have become a mainstay, but unfortunately, this is "Weekly Youth Future" which has "Parasyte" in it.

Even a legend like him could only look up to Oikawa.

However, Keiji Nakazawa remained unusually calm; he had experienced far too much.

Haunted for half his life by the atomic bomb explosion he experienced in his childhood, he finally made up his mind in middle age to draw his experiences.

After half a year of preparation, he has finally become a well-known manga artist in Japan.

"Teacher Nakazawa, I heard that 'Barefoot Boy' is going to be published as a standalone book?" asked Hirokane Kenji.

"Yes, President Fujiwara has contacted me. The first edition is 8 copies, and I hope it will sell out. Too many unsold copies won't look good," Nakazawa Keiji answered honestly.

“It’s so enviable,” Kenji Hirokane exclaimed. “I also wish I could be someone who receives royalties.”

Chapter 105 Our Future Society Has Always Served Manga Artists

After Fushimikawa stepped down, the awards ceremony ended quickly.

Instead of leaving immediately, the group greeted each other and made plans to have a meal together.

Maki Fujiwara was also chatting with people from Toei Animation; she had been working hard for a long time to break into the animation market.

Unfortunately, Yoshiyuki Tomino, whom she once valued, has recently had a stroke of good fortune and has taken on the role of animation director.

The animation he produced is called "Little Flying Dragon," adapted from Osamu Tezuka's manga "The Sea Prince."

"It's such a pity we missed out on such a talented person," Fushimikawa once said.

Now that Yoshiyuki Tomino has become a manager, will he still be interested in their family's small business?

“It’s too early to say that now,” Fujiwara Maki said, still full of confidence. “It’s not something that’s bound to fail, so we can try our best to do it. After all, all that’s being consumed is energy, and there are no other losses.”

Maki Fujiwara has inexhaustible energy.

With the launch of Weekly Shonen Future imminent, she was worried about upsetting the feelings of young manga artists, so she specially organized this awards ceremony to encourage them.

Fujiwara Maki is the busiest person at Future Company, as she, as the president, needs to arrange and direct everything.

She needed to connect with various companies, including those producing "Youth Future" and "Shonen Future," printing plants, toy factories, and animation studios.

After all, Future Society is still a small company with few employees, so the president especially needs to be busy and set a good example for the other employees.

Because everyone has seen Maki Fujiwara's hard work, none of the employees at Mirai-sha disrespect her as the female president.

Even the most chauvinistic man wouldn't dare to boast in front of her.

Everyone says, "The most important person in the company is Mr. Oikawa, and then the president."

Fushimikawa was very cooperative with her work and never took credit for anything, so no one else had the right to do so.

……

“200.000, that’s a pretty good number.” Kenji Hirokane looked at the award plaque in his hand that read “JPY20” and said with a grin, “Now I can give my family an explanation.”

He resigned from a large company that many people envied and chose the comic book industry, where meals were often irregular, which inevitably caused his family to have objections.

However, Hirokane Kenshi was a very decisive person who took on all the pressure from his family, and no one else, including Fushimikawa, knew anything about this matter.

Now that he has 20 yuan, he can openly talk about his family situation.

Watanabe Ryo had only been out of university for a short time before he started serializing manga as a manga artist, so he couldn't really empathize with Hirokane Kenshi.

Holding the commendation plaque, he thought to himself that he could finally get his hands on the high-end Tachikawa G pen that he had wanted for so long.

In contrast to them, Keiji Nakazawa didn't care about 20.

He was about to receive royalties of up to 140 million, which was equivalent to seven or eight years' salary for an urban elite, so he was considering other issues.

"What are you going to do with so much money? Use it as a down payment for a house?"

For the first time since 1968, he experienced such blissful confusion.

"Thanks to Mirai-sha, they gave me the opportunity to demonstrate my abilities."

Moreover, he also knew that because of the special subject matter of his "Barefoot Boy", Future Publishing had encountered unprecedented reports and complaints.

The far-right even pressured lawmakers to remove "Barefoot Boy" from shelves and ban it from students' reading.